BOOKS ABOUT NATURE AND LIFE SCIENCE

SCIENCE CONCEPT PHOTOGRAPH / ACTIVITY CARDS FROM
CREATIVE TEACHING PRESS AND EDUPRESS

DECEMBER SALE   December 10- 31, 2011 for books on this page only.
Prices, when you order as directed, will be marked down 25% from the prices on this page.
Books with live title links not eligible for the sale are noted beside the price.
Christmas delivery not guaranteed. If you order economy shipping, be aware that the average delivery time is 10-14 days and it can be as long as 30 days in the U.S.A.
To qualify for this sale, you must order and pay through our secure server at tomfolio.com by following the blue live links on the titles. Books without links are not on sale because they aren't on the database. Quantities are limited and sale applies only to stock on hand. When they are gone, they are gone, and in most cases sold-out-titles will not be showing as still available at the end of the link.

African Plains Coloring Book by Dianne Gaspas-Ettl, Dover, 1996. Features 41 well-researched, excellently rendered scenes documenting African wildlife in their natural habitats, among them a magnificent giraffe at a water hole, a cheetah with its young on an abandoned termite mound, a yellow-winged bat amid the blossoms of the baobab tree, and much more. Descriptive captions accompany each illustration. Limits rights to reproduce designs for personal projects. 48 pages + colored plates for selected scenes on covers. BTH-4124. $3.56-D

Arctic and Antarctic Life Coloring Book by Ruth Soffer. Dover, 1998. This coloring book will introduce you to a variety of polar inhabitants as you color lifelike drawings of terns and humpback whales, baby harp seals, a sea spider, king and emperor penguins, and other creatures — all shown in their native habitats. Fact-filled captions accompany 44 excellent illustrations in this entertaining and educational coloring book. Limits rights to reproduce designs for personal projects. 44 pages. BTH-4125. $3.56-D

Aquarium Take-Along Book, by Sheldon L. Gerstenfeld, illustrated by Paul Harvey. Paper, 104 indexed pages. A guide to the natural environments , skills, and adaptations of water animals. Includes information on how to preserve marine life. For ages 7-10. BTH-4800.  $3.93-B

Arctic Alphabet: Exploring the North from A to Z by Wayne Lynch. Firefly Books, 1999, glossy hard cover with no dust jacket. 32 pages. This book introduces elementary age children to the arctic region. It covers the following subjects: Aurora Borealis; Beluga Whale; Caribou; Ducks and Geese; Eagle; Fox; Glacier; Hibernation; Inuit; Jaeger; Kittiwake; Lousewort; Mosquito; Narwhal; Owl; Polar Bear; Qiviut; Raven; Seals; Tern; Under the Ice; Voles and Lemmings; Walrus; Xanthoria; Yellowcoat; and Zooplankton. You don't have to be young to learn something from this book, which is illustrated with color photos on each page. Book may have slight defects as from publisher. BTH-1820 $19.99, $9.93-B

At Home in the Rain Forest, by D. Willow. This lush visual journey through the rain forest stresses the interrelatedness of all life-forms. Illustrated with vibrant full-color paintings by L. Jacques. Written for elementary students, but all ages will enjoy it. May have light damage to cover, since this is a remainder. BTH- 4803. $5.93-D

Biography of a Silver Fox, by Ernest T. Seton. This is a beautiful nature story that lets you see into the inner life of a fox as it grows up, hunts, fights, mates, and starts a family. A rare and beautiful book, now out of print. When my supply is gone, it's gone. Upper elementary level and up. Illustrated with black and white drawings. Lots of white space around text. BTH-1412. $5.00-B

Bird Watching for Kinds: A Family Bird Watching Guide by Steven and Elizabeth May Griffin. NorthWord Press, 1995. This family guide to bird watching gives all the information elementary age children need to know: what a bird is, why to watch them, how to watch them, what to listen for, bird nests, where to watch birds, the types of birds, and hwo to preserve the bird watching experience. There is also a short bird watching log to fill in and an index. 96 pages. BTH-4795. $6.93-B

Birds, Nests, and Eggs, a Take-Along Guide by Mel Boring. Illustrations by Linda Garrow. NorthWord Press, hardcover, 1996.This fun, informative guide helps you identify 15 different birds, learn how and where they build their nests, and all about their young. It also contains some awesome, easy-to-do activities, like making a "blind" for bird watching, and giving birds a shower-bath. There is also a 7-page scrapbook for drawings, notes, or anything else. On the back cover is an 8-inch ruler. Birds discussed are American Robin, House Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Blue jay, Northern Oriole, Ruby-Throated Hummingbird, American Goldfinch, Barn Swallow, Black-Capped Chickadee, Downy Woodpecker, White-Breasted Nuthatch, Meadowlark, Mourning Dove, and Killdeer. 48 pages, including scrapbook pages. BTH-4808. $8.93*

Butterflies for Kids by E. Jaediker Norsgaard. NorthWord Books, paper. Suitable for grade 3 and up. This story elementary readers will join a film-making father, his daughter, and a neighbor boy as they witness the amazing changes that take place during the life cycle of a butterfly. There are close-up full-color photographs and illustrations of every stage in this drama to keep young readers captivated. 48 pages. BTH-4791. $6.26-D

Color and Learn Birds, Butterflies, and Wild Flowers by Lisa Bonforte, Paul Kennedy, and Jan Sovak. This volume combines three popular Dover coloring books for middle grades and higher. Part of the Dover Pictorial Archive Series, which means illustrations may be used without permission for craft projects if you make ten or less of the same project. Descriptive captions at the bottom of each page give information about the creatures or flowers in the pictures. 144 pages + color plates showing actual colors of the plants and animals in nature. BTH-4123. $7.16-D

The Dinosaur Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallota, illustrated by Ralph Masiello. Charlesbridge, 1991. The perfect way to introduce children to the fascinating world of dinosaurs. Full of interesting facts - did you know some dinosaurs had sharp front teeth while others had no front teeth at all? - this alphabet book explores both the known and the not-so-well-known dinosaurs. Meet the heterodontosaurus (one of the smallest known to exist), the megalosaurus (the first dinosaur ever discovered), the iguanodon, the ultrasaurus, and more!

Once again, Jerry Pallotta and Ralph Masiello have combined their talents to create a unique children's book that will inform and entertain young readers. Reading level is about grade 3 and up and, except for the illustrations, is probably more appropriate for K-5 that preschool. 32 pages. BTH-4812. $6.26-D

Frogs Sing Songs by Yvonne Winer, illustrated by Tony Oliver. Charlesbridge, 2003. Each stunning color illustration of a frog in its habitat is enhanced by a by five-line lyrical verse on the opposing page. Together the verses explain how and why and where and when frogs sing their songs. At the back of the book is a frog identification guide with smaller versions of the frogs featured throughout the book and a descriptive paragraph for each species and where it lives. This book would make a perfect gift for any child who loves nature, and frogs in particular. Unpaginated. BTH-5074. $6.95*

Green Thumbs A Kid's Activity Guide to Indoor and Outdoor Gardening, by Laurie Carlson. For ages 3-9. This wonderful book introducing young children to the pleasure and importance of working with nature and gives them practical skills they can use all their lives. With a few seeds, some water and soil, and a bunch of great activities, they will learn not only how to make things grow, but also where living things come from and how the different parts of the environment -- weather, seasons, soil, animals, and insects -- work together in the garden. Green Thumbs has over 80 things to do and make. It uses materials easily found around the house. Grown-up teachers need no prior gardening experience to help children with activities in this book. 132 pages. BTH-3869. $11.66-D

The Grizzly, by Jerolyn Nentl. Library binding. 48 pages. Part of the Habits and Habitats series  for grades 3-6. Discusses this powerful American bear, how he looks, how he lives, and what will become of him. Illustrated with color photos. Has index and habitat map. Remainder mark on side edge. BTH-4794. $3.93-B

The Honey Makers by Gail Gibbons. HarperCollins, paper. The book opens with two beekeepers placing a beehive on a hill. Then the young readers observe what goes on inside and outside the hive until the honey is collected and processed. At the end of the book are a couple of pages reproducing "a beekeepers yearbook" and another couple of pages with miscellaneous illustrated facts that didn't fit in the story itself.  Although this is designed for children 3-8 years old, I would consider the interest level much higher because of the detailed pictures. Bees and cells in the hive are shown much larger than live size so that you can see exactly what they look like. Even adults will probably learn something they didn't know before. About 32 pages. The book is oversize, and the scan of the cover art cuts the bottom off a bit. HC-175317. $5.36-D. Will price will probably go up next time I reorder.

Insects and Spiders, by Penny Clarke. Part of the Worldwise Series published by Franklin Watts. This resembles an Usborne book with its spectacular illustrations, some of which show greatly enlarged pictures of the insects. Tells how to identify an insect and how it differs from a spider. Insects are shown in their habitats and close-up by themselves, with their parts labeled. We see the life cycles of these creatures close-up. Main text is large and double-spaced so it is easy for primaries to read. More details are described in smaller text in the margins of the page, still double-spaced. Size is about 8 inches square, with 40 indexed pages and a glossary of useful words. For third grade and up. The pictures will fascinate even adults. Cat. #WW0531. $6.30-D

Jerry Pallotta Nature Alphabet Series  Not included in sale.

Life in a Bucket of Soil by Alvin and Virginia Silverstein. Dover, trade paper. If you were to fill a bucket full of soil, you would probably discover many of the small creatures described in this fascinating, easy-to-read book, which is designed to help you get to know the many creatures which live underground. These creatures include earthworms, roundworms, snails and slugs, wood lice, centipedes, beetles, spiders, ants, and mites. You will learn how these small animals live, breed, interact, move, eat and defend themselves. You will learn how they affect the soil in which they live. and you will learn how to collect and preserve and study them. Contains over 70 black and white illustrations, a bibliography, and an index. 96 pages. Suitable for upper elementary grades and up. BTH-3871. $4.46-D

Marine Science 1, by Lisa Wood. This is the first in a series of three books that present the fascinating world of the ocean through scientific experiments and cross-curricular activities. It offers extensive information and activities related to tide pools, sea water, fish, marine animals, invertebrates, and food chains. Includes background information for teachers, reproducible activities for students, glossary, and answer key. For grades K-2. 72 pages. BTH-182. $11.66-D

Marine Science 2, by Lisa Wood. This is the second in a series of three books that present the fascinating world of the ocean through scientific experiments and cross-curricular activities. It offers extensive information and activities related to kelp forests, sea water, fishes and sharks, marine mammals, marine invertebrates, marine plants and algae, and food chains and food webs. Includes background information for teachers, reproducible activities for students, glossary, and answer key. For grades 3-5. 88 pages. BTH-183. $11.66-D

My Little Book of Burrowing Owls by Hope Marston. Illustrated by Maria M. Brown. Children can watch two burrowing owls search for and make a home, bear young, and observe the owl family's life and adventures as the owlets grow up and begin to search for homes of their own. The large color illustrations surrounding the clear easy-to-read print make this book hard for young readers to resist. Trade paper, square picture book. BT-1963. $5.93*

My Little Book of Wood Ducks by Hope Marston. Illustrated by Maria M. Brown. Trade paper, square picture book. Children can watch two wood ducks flit through the trees, searching for a home, and finally deciding to settle in an old woodpecker whole in a rotting oak tree. That is where they make a next and lay eggs.Before long, the ducklings hatch and begin the process of growing up. The large color illustrations of the antics of the ducklings and the clear, easy-to-read print make this book hard for young readers to resist. BT-1966. $5.93*

Night Book by Pamela Hickman: Exploring Nature After Dark with Activities, Experiments, and Information. Lots of hands-on activities and large pastel pictures make this just the book for nocturnal explorers, ages 7-9. Activities include identifying features of the moon, making a starscope, testing echolocation in bats, discovering how eye shine works, telling the temperature with cricket sounds, and more. Most of the questions that might come up on a night hike are answered in this book, which can be great preparation for a camping trip. 48 pages with index and stiff paper cover. BTH-5073. $6.26-

Pagoo, by Holling C. Holling. An intricate study of tidepool life is presented through the story of Pagoo -- a hermit crab. Though the average 4th grader will be able to read it, even adults will enjoy the intricate pencil drawings and full-page color illustrations. BTH-3868. $10.00* Except from sale, since publisher won't permit a lower price than they charge.

Pets in a Jar: Collecting and Caring for Small Wild Animals by Seymour Simon. Illustrated by Betty Fraser. For ages eight and up. What child can resist the urge to catch a small creature and want to make a pet of it? Perhaps you've been asked for a jar to house one of these small creatures. Simon explains where to find the creatures he suggests as "pets" and how to house and care for them. He suggests various experiments to find out more about them (but none that would hurt the animals.) The creatures he covers in this book are hydras, planarians, pond snails, water bugs, tadpoles, newts, toads, earthworms, ants, crickets, praying mantes, butterflies and moths, brine shrimp, hermit crabs, and starfish. Simon suggests that children should not capture any more creatures than they are committed to caring for at one time and that after a time of keeping and studying a creature, it should be turned loose again in its natural environment.  BTH-3873. $6.29-D

  Poisonous Plants, by Suzanne Coil. Though the text is at about third grade level, the color pictures can help those of all ages identify and learn about some of the most common poisonous plants and where they are most likely to be found. 63 indexed pages. BTH-4798. $5.95*.

Ready, Set, Grow! A Kid's Guide to Gardening by Rebecca Spohn. Good Year Books, 2007. For grades 1-5. As more families and even schools start gardens, this is the perfect book to get kids interested in growing a garden. It has instructions for both indoor and outdoor gardens and includes general tips on garden care, transplanting, weeding, watering, beneficial and harmful insects, fences, and much more. There are also specific instructions for easy-to-grow fruits, vegetables, and flowers and recipes and crafts for using the results. In each chapter there are also glossary terms and a few related reading suggestions from children's literature. 96 pages. BTH-5579. $11.66-D

Safe, Warm, and Snug by Stephen R. Swinburne. Illustrated by Illustrated by Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey. Harcourt Voyager Books, 2002. This picture book uses its huge, vivid pictures and short verses in reader-friendly print to show and tell how various creatures on land, in water, and in the air protect their young. At the end are small pictures of each creature with a paragraph to provide more details on the animals, their habitats, and how they care for their babies until they can fend for themselves. BTH-5075. $5.40-D

Science Arts: Discovering Science Through Art Experiences by MaryAnn Kohl and Jean Potter. Bright Ring Publishing, 1993. For children 3-10.  The activities in this book will work both at home and in a classroom. They are designed to awaken the imagination, challenge the mind, and delight the artist and scientist within each child. The art experiences are also like science experiments, and the science related to each project is explained in a box on the bottom of each project page. A chart of contents indicates the area of science covered, the season best suited for the project, an age suggestion, the art techniques used, amount of preparation needed, difficulty level, and more. Topics covered are water and air; light and sight; motion and energy; reaction and matter; and nature and earth. There are over 100 activities in all, including projects such as crystal bubbles, dancing rabbits, building beans, magnetic rubbing, stencil leaves, magic cabbage, marble sculpture, paint pendulum, ice structures, the volcano, bottle optics, chromatography, straw painting, frozen paper, marshmallow tower, spaghetti painting, invisible paint, sculptured pretzels, sand drawings, and many more. 142 pages. BTH-3503. $14.36-D

Science Experiments You Can Eat, by Vicki Cobb. A "lab manual" of edible experiments. You can turn your kitchen into a laboratory your children will love. Kids spend their own money on these books at school book fairs. Discover how cabbage can detect acid, how bacteria makes yogurt, and much more. Revised to reflect advances in scientific knowledge and the invention of the microwave. Remainder: New book with light wear to cover and black marker line on bottom edge. For grades 4-6. 214 indexed pages. BTH-3487 $3.53-B

Sharing Nature With Children, by Joseph Cornell. 20th Anniversary Edition, Revised and Expanded. The author, a very highly regarded nature educator, has written this books of games and activities with instructions on how parents and teachers can use them to introduce nature to children. He suggests we do more showing and less telling so that our children will become good observers. 173 pages. BTH-3874. $8.96-D

Simple Nature Experiments with Everyday Materials, by Anthony D. Fredericks. Hardcover, 128 indexed pages. Simple experiments demonstrate environmental concepts such as erosion, aeration, and animal camouflage. Fun B/W drawings enhance text. Each experiment has four sections: You need; What to do; What happens; and Why. For elementary grades. This is a remainder and may have slight defects. BTH-4799.  7.93-B

Sky Tree: Seeing Science Through Art by Thomas Locker with Candace Christiansen. HarperCollins, 1995. The author himself says of this book in his Author's Note, " Sky Tree invites adults and children to experience the life of a tree and its relationship to the sky in several different ways. Through storytelling, art appreciation, and scientific exploration, Sky Tree attempts to reach both the heart and mind." It does. As each season progresses and changes, the reader sees a full-page color painting of the tree against the sky. On the facing page are a sentence or two describing the picture and at the bottom a question to help the reader interact with the picture. At the back of the book is a section where the author or Ms. Christiansen gives answers to the questions at the bottoms of the pages. The author is referred to in the third person in this section. This book can cross the curriculum from art to science and can suit all ages interested in art, trees, or seasons. Unpaginated. BTH-3226. $6.29-D (out of stock as of 12-8-2011)

NOT INCLUDED IN DEC. SALE Take-Along Guides: Titles available until sold out are Caterpillars, Bugs, and Butterflies; Frogs, Toads and Turtles; Rabbits, Squirrels and Chipmunks; Snakes, Salamanders and Lizards; Trees, Leaves, and Bark and Wildflowers, Blooms and Blossoms.  Books are individually priced according to condition.   Each page of the books has drawings of the plant or animal or signs in color, tips on finding the subject, what is looks like, what it eats and where it lives (if animal). Little boxes a the top have special facts. Little boxes at the page bottom have warnings and tips. At the end of each book is at least one related hands-on activity (such as making a rabbit refuge or watching chipmunks walk a tightrope or making a bark rubbing poster. There are also several blank pages with attractive borders at the end of each book to use as a scrapbook. The individual books are great for those who have one focused interest they want to pursue.  Order individual books by title and catalog number or just follow the links to put them in your shopping cart on our secure server. These are all bargain books and may have minor flaws in the cover. Click link above to see all the titles. Click title links to see details of individuals titles. Prices vary according to condition. NOT INCLUDED IN DECEMBER SALE

Tarantulas, by William R, Sanford and Carl Green. Library binding. 48 pages. Part of the Habits and Habitats series   for grades 3-6. Describes the physical characteristics, habits, natural environment, and relationship to humans of the tarantula, a spider whose size and weight makes it impossible to spin a web strong enough to hold it.  Illustrated with color photos. Has index and habitat map. Remainder mark on side edge. BTH-4802. $3.93B

Wild and Swampy: Exploring with Jim Arnosky. HarperCollins, 2000, first edition, hardcover with dust jacket.  For ages 6-10 and their parents and teachers. Jim Arnosky invites his readers to explore a southern swamp with him. First he explains the safe way to see a swamp. Then he introduces you to the life of the swamp with his gorgeous full-color, full-page paintings of the creatures he meets. From a bald cypress swamp we see a turtle , an egret stalking a fish, a yellow-crowned night heron,a southern brown water snake, a cottonmouth moccasin , and a barred owl. In Okefenokee Swamp we see a raccoon, unaware he is being stalked by an alligator and a fawn. We meet an alligator in a mangrove swamp in a bayou, along with an anhinga, or snake bird, and mangrove crabs climbing up the mangrove trees. We also catch sight of a pelican, up close. Throughout the book are also pen and ink sketches of types of swamps and extra details not in the paintings that provide more information. Unpaginated. Out of print. Limited to stock on hand. BTH-1819. $15.93*

Find more nature books in our bargain section

Also see Usborne Science Books for all ages
and Rookie Read-About Science Books for primaries

Picture Books About Nature
Back to Catalog / Back to Home Page

************************************************************************************************

We're in the Pacific Time Zone
Our normal office hours when we answer the phone are 10: 30 AM - 4 PM Monday - Friday.
We answer email and ship at other times, but normally take Sundays off.
 

We prefer you ask your questions about products and availability by e-mail (barbsbooks@sbcglobal.net), since that gives us more time to prepare a thoughtful answer and keeps us from playing phone tag. Please remember to put our email address in your address book if you have a spam filter or you won't ever get your answer unless you also leave a phone number. We cannot usually tell you immediately over the phone if a book is here. We have to walk two blocks to check the warehouse, so I usually have to call you back or email you anyway.  We do check our e-mail frequently throughout the day when we are at home. If we should be out, and you leave a message on our answering machine, we sometimes cannot hear the phone number clearly to return your call. Those are some reasons why we recommend you email us first. If you want us to call you, please leave your phone number and time zone.
When you do email us, please do not leave the subject blank or just say "Hi" or "Hello" as the subject. We delete those before opening because a lot of spam messages look like that. 
We have supplied a subject line in the link provided above that will guarantee your mail will be opened fast.
Or call (800)925-8587 (not before 10 AM or after 10 PM Pacific Time)
We receive a small commission from some links to third party sites with whom we have an affiliate relationship.

About Us / Upcoming Events
Back to Home Page / Privacy and Disclosure Statement (updated in December, 2011)
Articles / Catalog / Awards
Contact Information
Links to our Favorite Sites / Frequently Asked Questions