Children's books and activities
Nature: Our Green World
Do you know any outdoorsy kids who are happiest dipping their toes in a freshwater pond, searching for animal tracks, listening for birds, or hiking to a waterfall? We've gathered up a great collection of books, activities, apps, and websites for learning all about nature.
Try pairing fiction with nonfiction books and exploring different genres [6] (like poetry and biographies) and formats (like graphic novels and audio books). You'll be creating your own "text sets" — collections of texts focused on a specific topic, such as nature and the environment. Reading widely in this way helps children build background knowledge [7], vocabulary [8], and comprehension skills.
How to explore this theme:
- Read fiction and nonfiction books
- Try some hands-on activities
- Build writing skills with these fun ideas
- Dig deeper with kid-friendly websites
- Play and learn with mobile apps
More themed resources:
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Great Fiction & Nonfiction Books
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Print List
Bear Came Along
By: Richard T. Morris
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Once there was a river flowing through a forest. The river didn't know it was capable of...
Purchase book [18]
Can You See Me?
By: Ted Lewin
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Sharp eyes are needed to see most of the well-camouflaged creatures in the Costa Rican...
Purchase book [20]
Eddie's Garden and How to Make Things Grow
By: Sarah Garland
Age Level: 3-6 years old
The garden that Eddie and his Mum plant while his younger sister "helps" grows in the...
Purchase book [21]
Every Autumn Comes the Bear
By: Jim Arnosky
Age Level: 3-6 years old
As the seasons change, a large black bear prepares for hibernation. In his search for a den, he...
Purchase book [22]
Fabulous Frogs
By: Martin Jenkins
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Endpages show swimming tadpoles; turn the page and the progression from tadpole to frog appears...
Purchase book [23]
Flip, Float, Fly: Seeds on the Move
By: JoAnn Early Macken
Age Level: 3-6 years old
The many ways seeds get to where they can grow is revealed in poetic language enhanced by...
Purchase book [24]
Green
By: Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase book [25]
Hey, Water!
By: Antoinette Portis
Age Level: 3-6 years old
An introduction to the water cycle and water conservation for the youngest readers. Join a young...
Purchase book [26]
How Did That Get in My Lunchbox? The Story of Food
By: Lucia Gaggiotti
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase book [27]
In the Small, Small Pond
By: Denise Fleming
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase book [28]
Inside Outside
By: Lizi Boyd
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase book [29]
Jo MacDonald Had a Garden
By: Mary Quattlebaum
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase book [30]
Out on the Prairie
By: Donna Bateman
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase book [31]
Picture a Tree
By: Barbara Reid
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase book [32]
Plant a Little Seed
By: Bonnie Christensen
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase book [33]
Planting a Rainbow
By: Lois Ehlert
Age Level: 3-6 years old
A dazzling celebration of the colorful variety in a flower garden and the cyclical excitement of...
Purchase book [34]
Plants Feed Me
By: Lizzy Rockwell
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase book [35]
Redwoods
By: Jason Chin
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Giant redwoods are usually found in the Northwest United States, so how does a boy on a New York...
Purchase book [36]
Secrets of the Garden
By: Kathleen Zoehfeld
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase book [37]
Seed, Soil, Sun: Earth's Recipe for Food
By: Cris Peterson
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase book [38]
The Big Green
By: Peggy Gifford
Age Level: 3-6 years old
How many types of green exist? There’s “anaconda green, electric-eel green, green-iguana-in-the-...
Purchase book [39]
The Curious Garden
By: Peter Brown
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase book [40]
The Forever Garden
By: Laurel Snyder
Age Level: 3-6 years old
A young girl and an older woman, Honey, bond over Honey’s garden and her chickens. When Honey...
Purchase book [41]
The Little Plant Doctor: A Story About George Washington Carver
By: Jean Marzollo
Age Level: 3-6 years old
George Washington Carver was always curious and grew into a recognized scientist in spite of the...
Purchase book [42]
The Water Walker
By: Joanne Robertson
Age Level: 3-6 years old
The determined story of an Ojibwe grandmother (nokomis), Josephine Mandamin, and her great love...
Purchase book [43]
There Was a Tree
By: Rachel Isadora
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase book [44]
We're Sailing to Galapagos: A Week in the Pacific
By: Laurie Krebs
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Two people in bright, stylized garb sail to the islands known as the Galapagos. On successive...
Purchase book [45]
Where the River Begins
By: Thomas Locker
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase book [46]
Why Do We Need Bees?
By: Emily Bone
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Why do we need bees? Where do they live? Who's who in a beehive? This lift-the-flap book answers...
Purchase book [47]
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Print List
A Whiff of Pine, a Hint of Skunk: A Forest of Poems
By: Deborah Ruddell
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase book [48]
Beneath the Sun
By: Melissa Stewart
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase book [49]
Chavela and the Magic Bubble
By: Monica Brown
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Chavela loves chomping chicle — chewing gum and blowing bubbles. One day, while out with her...
Purchase book [50]
City Green
By: DyAnne DiSalvo-Ryan
Age Level: 6-9 years old
There is a garbage-filled, vacant lot on the street where Marcy lives. Instead of growing...
Purchase book [51]
E-I-E-I-O: How Old MacDonald Got His Farm
By: Judy Sierra
Age Level: 6-9 years old
When Old MacDonald tires of cutting his large suburban lawn, he gets a goat and then a very...
Purchase book [52]
Everglades
By: Jean Craighead George
Age Level: 6-9 years old
As an Indian storyteller guides a boat of children down the sea of grass, he reveals the story...
Purchase book [53]
Eyewitness Plant
By: David Burnie
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase book [54]
Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table
By: Jacqueline Briggs Martin
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Martin shares the remarkable life story of former professional basketball player Will Allen,...
Purchase book [55]
First Garden and How It Grew
By: Robbin Gourley
Age Level: 6-9 years old
White House gardens started with John Adams in 1800 and continue with Michelle Obama. History...
Purchase book [56]
Fresh Picked Poetry: A Day at the Farmers’ Market
By: Michelle Schaub
Age Level: 6-9 years old
As the weather warms farmers’ markets begin to open. Celebrate the start of the season through...
Purchase book [57]
Galápagos Girl / Galapagueña
By: Marsha Diane Arnold
Age Level: 6-9 years old
As a Galápagueña, Valentina spends her days observing the natural world around her. This...
Purchase book [58]
Get Outside: The Kids Guide to Fun in the Great Outdoors
By: Jane Drake, Ann Love
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase book [59]
How Does My Garden Grow?
By: Gerda Muller
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase book [60]
Jack's Garden
By: Henry Cole
Age Level: 6-9 years old
In this cumulative tale, Jack plants, tends and harvests his garden. Not only will readers...
Purchase book [61]
Jackson Jones and the Puddle of Thorns
By: Mary Quattlebaum
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase book [62]
Life in the Amazon Rainforest
By: Ginjer Clarke
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Crisp, clear, full-color photographs are carefully placed with text to present an overview of...
Purchase book [63]
Marshes and Swamps
By: Gail Gibbons
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Get an introduction to the concept of wetlands (swamps have trees, and marshes do not) and learn...
Purchase book [65]
Meadowlands: A Wetlands Survival Story
By: Thomas R. Yezerski
Age Level: 6-9 years old
The 20,000 acres of wetlands in New Jersey now known as the Meadowlands were once home to...
Purchase book [66]
Miss Rumphius
By: Barbara Cooney
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Miss Rumphius leaves the world more beautiful with an unusual legacy. This gentle story can...
Purchase book [67]
Nature Log Kids: A Kid's Journal to Record Their Birding Experiences
By: DeAnna Brandt
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase book [68]
No Monkeys, No Chocolate
By: Melissa Stewart, Allen Young
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase book [69]
Our School Garden!
By: Rick Swann
Age Level: 6-9 years old
The garden at Michael’s new school is full of fresh sensations. Thirteen poems describe holding...
Purchase book [70]
Over and Under the Pond
By: Kate Messner
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Discover the plants and animals that make up the rich, interconnected ecosystem of a mountain...
Purchase book [71]
Pedal Power: How One Community Became the Bicycle Capital of the World
By: Allan Drummond
Age Level: 6-9 years old
How one person helped make one community into the bicycle capital of the world is told in...
Purchase book [73]
Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangara Maathai
By: Claire Nivola
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Wangari Maathai's native Kenya was a changed land, literally blowing away because its trees...
Purchase book [74]
Rachel Carson and Her Book That Changed the World
By: Laurie Lawlor
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Rachel Carson was a shy child, always drawn to nature. She grew up to become a professional...
Purchase book [75]
Story Worlds Nature
By: Thomas Hegbrook
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Examine each double page spread in this oversized book. See the realistically pictured animals...
Purchase book [76]
Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature
By: Joyce Sidman
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Strong lines and evocative language call on readers to observe the natural world around them in...
Purchase book [77]
The Year Comes Round: Haiku through the Seasons
By: Sid Farrar
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase book [78]
Up We Grow! A Year in the Life of a Small, Local Farm
By: Deborah Hodge
Age Level: 6-9 years old
This look at one local farm presents a look at work on a farm raising food and animals while...
Purchase book [79]
Watch Me Grow! A Down-to-Earth Look at Growing Food in the City
By: Deborah Hodge
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Growing fruits and vegetables doesn't take a lot of space; they can even grow in crowded...
Purchase book [80]
What If There Were No Bees?
By: Suzanne Slade
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Grassland ecosystems can be found on nearly every continent. Countless animals and plants live...
Purchase book [81]
When Green Becomes Tomatoes: Poems for All Seasons
By: Julie Fogliano
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Short poems and gentle illustrations present seasons almost as a journal. Each entry captures...
Purchase book [82]
Where Once There Was a Wood
By: Denise Fleming
Age Level: 6-9 years old
This book is a good introduction to the effects people can have on the environment. The simple...
Purchase book [83]
Wilderness: An Interactive Atlas of Animals
By: Hannah Pang
Age Level: 6-9 years old
A conversational tone and flaps to lift on each double page look at different biomes are sure to...
Purchase book [84]
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Print List
A Green Place to Be: The Creation of Central Park
By: Ashley Benham Yazdani
Age Level: 9-12 years old
How did Central Park become a vibrant gem in the heart of New York City? Follow the visionaries...
Purchase book [85]
Earth Verse: Haiku from the Ground Up
By: Sally Walker
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Sophisticated haiku and illustrations done with colored pencil explore the Earth inside and out...
Purchase book [88]
Leaf Litter Critters
By: Leslie Bulion
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Default blurb text. Just the good ol' boys, never meanin' no harm. Beats all you've ever saw,...
Purchase book [89]
Least Things: Poems about Small Natures
By: Jane Yolen
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Short poems (haiku) were written in response to but also evoke creatures shown in crisp close-up...
Purchase book [90]
Luz Makes a Splash
By: Claudia Davila
Age Level: 9-12 years old
With a heat wave and a drought threatening the city's water supply, Luz and her friends dive...
Purchase book [91]
The End of the Wild
By: Nicole Helget
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Eleven-year old Fern lives near an old-growth forest which her family relies on to forage for...
Purchase book [92]
Hands-on Activities
Build on what you're learning together through books with these family-friendly activities, experiments, and crafts.
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ABC Nature Book [94]
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Animal Migration [95]
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Backyard Nature Map [96]
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Backyard Photo Scavenger Hunt [97]
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Backyard Scavenger Hunt [98]
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Baking Soda Volcano [99]
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Butterfly Feeder [100]
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Community Cleanup Scavenger Hunt [101]
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Community Plant Count [102]
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Daily Water Log [103]
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Design a Rain Garden [104]
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Exploding Seed Balls [105]
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Fairy Garden I [106]
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Fairy Garden II [107]
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Flower Hunt [108]
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Framing Nature [109]
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Hexagon Hunt [110]
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How Big Is Your Tree? [111]
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Leaf Hunt [112]
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Let’s Learn About Trees [113]
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Nature Box [114]
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Nature Exploration Table [115]
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Nature Journal [116]
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Nature Photo Scavenger Hunt [117]
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Nature Scavenger Hunt [118]
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Nature Sound Safari [119]
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Oil Slick [120]
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Oil Spill Challenge [121]
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Outdoor Fairy Hunt [122]
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Red, White and Blue Nature Scavenger Hunt [123]
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Salt Dough Leaf Impressions [124]
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Seed Paper [125]
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Stuff to Do Outside [126]
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Summer Nature Sleuth [127]
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Terrarium Mini-Garden [128]
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Water Conservation at Home [129]
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Water Detective [130]
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Weaving a Food Web [131]
Summer Writing
Give kids a chance to flex their writing muscles all summer long. Try one of these prompts, selected from our writing contest archives and other literacy organizations.
Great Websites for Kids
Dive deeper into topics of interest with these media-rich and interactive sites.
- A Walk in the Woods [133]
- Amazing Bees [134]
- Aphid Eater [135]
- Brain Pop: Earth Systems [136]
- Brain Pop: Our Fragile Environment [137]
- Bumblebee Conservation Trust [138]
- Buzz About Bees [139]
- California Academy of Sciences: Live Webcams [140]
- Children and Nature Network [141]
- Discover the Forest: Find Forests and Parks Near You [142]
- Earth Rangers [143]
- EcoKids [144]
- Gizmos: Ecosystems [145]
- Gizmos: Plants [146]
- Journey North [147]
- Kids Gardening [148]
- Kids Recycling Guide [149]
- Maggie's Earth Adventures [150]
- My First Garden [151]
- National Geographic Kids [152]
- Nature Find: Find Parks, Trails, and Other Nature Sites Near You [153]
- Nature Sound Map [154]
- NOVA: Nature [155]
- Ocean Adventures: Shark Protector [156]
- Ocean Adventures: Whale Watcher [157]
- Oil Spill [158]
- PBS Kids: Plum Landing [159]
- Project Noah [160]
- Sortify: Natural Resources Game [161]
- The Lorax Project [162]
- Think Garden [163]
- Trees with Don Leopold [164]
- Waste Eco-Quiz [165]
- WebRangers [166]
- Where Do Plants Grow? [167]
- Why do leaves change color? [168]
- YardMap: Citizen Bird Mapping Project [169]
Mobile Apps
Educational apps recommended by Common Sense Media and other trusted reviewers.
- Builda the Re-Bicycler [170] $
- DIY Lake Science [171]
- Expeditions [172]
- iBiome: Ocean [173] $
- iBiome: Wetlands [174] $
- Leafsnap [175]
- Meet the Insects: Water & Grass Edition [176] $
- Plants HD [177] $
- Trash Chaos [178]
- Trees Pro HD [179]
- Wild Berries & Herbs [180]
More Themed Resources
Growing Readers Tip Sheets
Simple activities for parents and kids to do together to build reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. Read online or print the PDF.
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Capturing and Sharing Images [181]
Download PDF: English [182] | Spanish [183] -
Five Literacy-Based Ways to Celebrate Earth Day [184]
Download PDF: English [185] | Spanish [186] -
Journals and Field Notes [181]
Download PDF: English [182] | Spanish [183] -
Outdoor Explorations [187]
Download PDF: English [188] | Spanish [189] -
Patterns and Categorizing [190]
Download PDF: English [191] | Spanish [192] -
STEM Tools at Home [193]
Download PDF: English [194] | Spanish [195] -
Teaching Sequence [196]
Download PDF: English [197] | Spanish [198]
Our Summer Blog
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Postcard from the Road [200]
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Songwriting with Kids [201]
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Take Reading Outside [202]
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It’s a Tomato Warning! [207]
Washington DC for Kids
Events
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Pick Your Own Produce [212]
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Summer Safari Day Camp [214] $
Places
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Eastern Market [220]
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National Arboretum [224]
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National Zoo [226]
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Old Maryland Farm [227]
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U.S. Botanic Garden [231]
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Watkins Regional Park [232]