Friday, March 24, 2006

Let's-Read-And-Find-Out Science

The Let's-Read-And-Find-Out Science series for children, published by HarperTrophy, has been a favorite in our house since our oldest was in Kindergarten. While the series has been around for decades - you can often find old copies (with terrible illustrations) in the library - the reissued series (beginning in the late 80s) is very informative with illustrations that range from charming to stunningly beautiful.

The series is divided into two "stages". Stage 1 is deemed suitable for preschoolers and kindergartners, while Stage 2 is a little more complex and intended for early grade school. Our favorites tend to come from Stage 2 and are much beloved even by the younger ones in our family.

The content in these books is substantial, but easy to grasp. They start with a very limited topic - take The Moon Seems to Change, for an example. Through simple, but clever illustrations and hands-on learning, this book explains the changes from new moon to full moon and back again.

Not only are these great to spark children's interest in science (and help answer some of their delightful questions!), but they're also a great refresher course for parents.

We haven't seen all the books in the series (and they keep coming out with new ones), so I'll just include a list of our favorites. I hope I don't forget any - these are the kinds of books I have to dig out from under the kids' beds and from all over the house. They are big time favorites around here...

Stage 1:

Animals in Winter
Baby Whales Drink Milk
How a Seed Grows
My Five Senses
My Hands
What Lives in a Shell?

Stage 2:

The Big Dipper
Falcons Nest on Skyscrapers
Flash, Crash, Rumble and Roll
Fossils Tell of Long Ago
How Do Apples Grow?
How Do Birds Find Their Way?
How We Learned the Earth is Round
The Moon Seems to Change
Snow is Falling
Sunshine Makes the Seasons
Switch On, Switch Off
What Makes a Magnet
What Makes Day and Night
Who Eats What?
Why Do Leaves Change Color?

You can purchase these from any bookstore, but we first heard about them from Michael Olaf.


3 comments:

Ana Braga-Henebry said...

We love these too!
http://www.harperchildrens.com/teacher/K-3/science.asp
This is the Harper Collins website where they are all listed. It is geared towards teachers and it allows you to find out lots if info about each book-- author, illustrator, chapter excerpt, and more.
Some of our family's favorites: A nest full of eggs, Let's go rock collecting, Milk from cow to carton (by Aliki), Why I Sneeze, Shiver, Hiccup, & Yawn.

Hillside Education said...

We love these too. I have just pulled them out again for the current 6 year old. All the others gather 'round when I read them out loud even though they have seen them several times over.

LH said...

We enjoyed these books also. My student read every one our library had.