Books for the Budding Young Naturalist in Your Life

In this book, Grandin introduces kids to various areas of science and the scientists working in each field, along with the different things they do. Looking at aspects of the natural environment like the beach, the night sky, rocks, and animals, she explains the things you might see in different environments and includes different experiments and activities you can do. The back matter also has a ton of resources that a nature loving kid, teacher, or caregiver will find very helpful!

Craig, whose birding memoir, Birdgirl, comes out later this month, has also written a book for children/tweens. Indigenous people have always been on the forefront of environmental justice, and BIPOC communities are disproportionately affected by the climate crisis and environmental issues. Craig profiles 30 young environmental activists around the world, all of whom are Indigenous people or People of Color, including Autumn Peltier, Rebeca Sabnam, and Litokne Kabua.

If your kiddo loves animals, this is a must-read. In this book, Spikol has compiled 50 different activities and adventures with animals. Things like developing your own animal scat collection, making your own binoculars, how to build a bird blind, how to pick up a spider, and much, much more! Beautiful illustrations make this a fun read, and there are all sorts of accessible activities that are always accompanied by lots of facts or a story about the animal. It’s an inspiring book sure to give any future scientist plenty of ideas.

All of Chin’s picture books are amazing, but this one might be my favorite. It’s perfect for an aspiring geologist, archaeologist, or an emerging public lands conservationist. Like all his books, the art is detailed and stunning, and the scientific information is plentiful without being overwhelming. This picture book tells the story of not only the Grand Canyon, but also of a father and daughter walking through the Canyon, looking at the present and the history of the landmark.

There’s a reason Rothman’s books are on almost every homeschooler’s shelves: they’re fun to read and easy for kids to understand, but are also filled with information that even adults will love. Nature Anatomy is a great start for a young environmentalist, and she has a new one coming out in April — Wildlife Anatomy. In Nature, Rothman takes the reader through various landscapes, like a volcano, explores the makeup of snowflakes, looks at what’s involved with monarch butterfly migration, illustrates all of the parts of various animals, and details the life cycle of different animals, including a frog. It’s a great book that can be used with kids of all ages.

This gorgeous book is a great introduction to the importance of clean water and protecting water sources. The prose is lyrical and minimal, but tells volumes, and the illustrations are vibrant and dreamy. My son and I return to this book again and again for the beautiful and important message, along with the calming images. It’s a good reminder that even kids can take a stand for environmental justice.

McAnulty wrote a memoir about being a young naturalist and won the 2020 Wainwright Prize for it, and in this book, he writes about the multi-sensory ways you can connect with the natural world around you. Divided into five sections, including the garden, the woods, and the riverbank, he writes about the animals and plants you might see in each area, as well as various aspects about science and nature. At the end of each section there are activities that you can do at home, too.

This is more of a book for adults to read with children and then do the activities, but I included it here because it’s fantastic. It’s part of the Keepers series that also includes Keepers of the Animals, Keepers of Life, and Keepers of the Night, and all of the books are wonderful. There are Native American stories that address various topics like nature, human needs, geology and soil, wind and clean air, and more, and following each story, there are activities. There’s also a very detailed section on how to tell these stories respectfully, what not to do in nature and how not to be culturally appropriative, and how to respect the land and living things around you.

Another book that caregivers or educators can use with kids, this is a great introduction to citizen science: what it is, what you need in order to get involved, how it works, and how the data is eventually used. It has lots of project resources and suggestions, ways to bring citizen science into schools or communities, and a year-round calendar of seasonal projects in which to get involved. It’s a small book, but filled with possibilities.