100+ Science Picture Books to Help You Homeschool
We follow a four-year cycle for teaching science. In the elementary years, science picture books have helped me introduce and explain scientific topics so well that I consider them as much curriculum as anything else we use to teach science.
How We Learn Science
While we do use the occasional science textbook during the elementary years, much of the learning takes place through three modalities:
Nature Study
Nature Study covers most of the biology and earth science topics. We consider nature walks to be our outdoor science labs and spend indoor hours reading, researching, and sometimes completing hands-on projects.
Unit Studies
Unit Studies cover most of the chemistry and physical science topics. We spend plenty of time reading, completing experiments, and sometimes preparing show-what-you-know projects.
Living Books
Living Books support us through all the nature studies and unit studies. They connect us to real-life science, demonstrate concepts, and even serve as the teachers of information for all of the sciences. We use them before, during, and/or after nature studies or unit studies.
Since science picture books have been such a wonderful thread of learning over the years for us, I thought it was high time to pull together a mega list of our tried and true favorites.
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Using Picture Books for Science
You’ll find most of these books appropriate for 1st-6th graders. However, some will be a little too easy for the older group and some will be a little too difficult for the younger group. Never fear. If something is too easy, have your student read it through quickly if you like – or not. If something is too hard, you can try rephrasing things as you read aloud or just hang on to the book for another year. The topic will come around again whether you follow four-year science cycles or not.
I have broken the booklists below into the four-year cycles that we follow. You don’t need to follow a four-year cycle to use this list. Just pick and choose what works with your current plan of study.
Note that living science books can be used even if you have a textbook curriculum you’re pleased with! Consider the books an extra bit of goodness during science – or even just as great selections to use during read-aloud or quiet reading time.
Science Series Worth Reading
The following series each include several books on a wide variety of science topics. Rather than include each of the books in the cycle lists below, I’ll link to pages where you can peruse all the titles in each set. (I’ve only included a very small sampling of their topics in the images.)
Franklyn M. Branley Books
Franklyn M. Branley – K-3rd
Gail Gibbons Books
Gail Gibbons – K-3rd
Jim Arnosky Books
Jim Arnosky – 1st-4th
Magic School Bus Books
Magic School Bus – 1st-5th
Seymour Simon Books
Seymour Simon – 2nd-6th
Max Axiom Books
Max Axiom – 3rd-7th
Holling C. Holling Books
Holling C. Holling – 3rd-7th
Science Picture Books for Biology
Picture Books About Plants
- Bamboo Valley by Ann Whitehead Nagda
- The Bee Book by Charlotte Milner
- Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
- Corn is Maize by Aliki
- The Dandelion Seed by Joseph Anthony
- The Ever-Living Tree: The Life and Times of a Coast Redwood by Linda Vieira
- Gregor Mendel: The Friar Who Grew Peas by Cheryl Bardoe
- How the Forest Grew by William Jaspersohn
- In a Nutshell by Joseph Anthony
- Log Hotel by Ann Schreiber
- Miss Ladybird’s Wildflowers by Kathi Appelt
- Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
- Pick, Pull, Snap by Lola M. Shaefer
- Plants That Never, Ever Bloom by Ruth Heller
- The Reason for a Flower by Ruth Heller
- A Seed is a Promise by Claire Merrill
- A Seed is Sleepy by Dianna Aston
- A Tree is a Plant by Clyde Robert Bulla
- A Tree is Growing by Arthur Dorros
- A Tree is Nice by Janice May Udry
- Tops & Bottoms by Janet Stevens
Picture Books About Animals
- Animals Born Alive and Well by Ruth Heller
- Ant Cities by Arthur Dorros
- The Armadillo from Amarillo by Lynne Cherry
- A Bold Carnivore by Consie Powell
- The Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audubon by Jacqueline Davies
- Butterfly House by Eve Bunting
- Chickens Aren’t the Only Ones by Ruth Heller
- Ducks Don’t Get Wet by Augusta Goldin
- Eliza and the Dragonfly by Suzy Caldwell Rinehart
- Extinct Alphabet by Jerry Pallotta
- Fish is Fish by Leo Lionni
- Hanna’s Cold Winter by Trish Marx
- A House for a Hermit Crab by Eric Carle
- It’s a Frog’s Life by Steve Parker
- Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
- Pass the Energy, Please! by Barbara Shaw McKinney
- The Raft by Jim LeMarche
- Salamander Rain: A Lake and Pond Journal by Kristin Joy Pratt-Sarafini
- The Salamander Room by Anne Mazer
- Sam the Sea Cow by Francine Jacobs
- Smithsonian Backyard Collection
- Snakes are Hunters by Patricia Lauber
- Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert
- Who Eats What? by Patricia Lauber
- Wiggling Worms at Work by Wendy Pfeffer
Picture Books About the Human Body
- Body Battles by Rita Golden Gelman
- Body Detectives by Rita Golden Gelman
- A Drop of Blood by Paul Showers
- Germs Make Me Sick by Melvin A. Berger
- Oh, the Things You Can Do That Are Good for You by Tish Rabe
- Ouch! by Melvin Berger
- The Skeleton Inside You by Phillip Balestrino
- What Happens to a Hamburger? by Paul Showers
- Why I Sneeze, Shiver, Hiccup, and Yawn by Melvin A. Berger
Picture Books for Earth Science
Picture Books About Geology
- Alejandro’s Gift by Richard E. Albert
- Dirt: The Scoop on Soil by Natalie Rosinsky
- Everybody Needs a Rock by Byrd Baylor
- How Mountains Are Made by Kathleen Zoehfeld
- If You Find a Rock by Peggy Christian
- Jump Into Science: Dirt by Steve Tomecek
- Jump Into Science: Sand by Prager
- Let’s Go Rock Collecting by Roma Gans
- The Mountain That Loved a Bird by Alice McLerran
- Rocks in His Head by Carol Otis Hurst
- The Sun, the Wind, and the Rain by Lisa Westberg Peters
Picture Books About Weather & Water
- The Big Snow by Berta Hader
- Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema
- The Cloud Book by Tomie de Paola
- Cloud Dance by Thomas Locker
- Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett
- Crawdad Creek by Scott Russell Sanders
- A Drop Around the World by Barbara Shaw McKinney
- Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
- The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
- Storm in the Night by Mary Stolz
- The Story of Snow: The Science of Winter’s Wonder by Mark Cassion
- Three Days on a River in a Red Canoe by Vera B. Williams
- Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco
- Water’s Way by Lisa Westberg Peters
- Where the River Begins by Thomas Locker
Picture Books About Astronomy
- Find the Constellations by H.A. Rey
- Meteor! by Patricia Polacco
- A Moon of My Own by Jennifer Rusgi
- Postcards from Pluto: A Tour of the Solar System by Loreen Leedy
- Reaching for the Moon by Buzz Aldrin
- Starry Messenger by Peter Sis
- The Moon by Paulette Bourgeois
- There’s No Place Like Space: All About Our Solar System by Tish Rabe
- You Are the First Kid on Mars by Patrick O’Brien
Picture Books About the Ocean
- The Big Book of the Blue by Yuval Zommer
- Down, Down, Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea by Steve Jenkins
- Manfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau by Jennifer Berne
- Night of the Moonjellies by Mark Shasha
- An Octopus is Amazing by Patricia Lauber
- One Tiny Turtle by Nicola Davies
- Otis and Will Discover the Deep by Barb Rosenstock
- Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean’s Most Fearless Scientist by Jess Keating
- Smithsonian Oceanic Collection
- Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea: Marie Tharpe Maps the Ocean Floor by Robert Burleigh
- Sponges Are Skeletons by Barbara Juster Esbensen
- Underwater Alphabet by Jerry Pallotta
- Very Last First Time by Jan Andrews
- What It’s Like to be a Fish by Wendy Pfeffer
Picture Books About Ecology
- Farewell to Shady Glade by Bill Peet
- The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry
- The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
- Just a Dream by Chris Van Allsburg
- The Wartville Wizard by Don Madden
- Oil Spill! by Melvin Berger
- A River Ran Wild by Lynne Cherry
- The Wump World by Bill Peet
Picture Books for Chemistry & Physical Science
- Bartholomew and the Oobleck by Dr. Seuss
- Berenstain Bears’ Science Fair by Stan and Jan Berenstain
- Energy Makes Things Happen by Kimberly Bradley
- Forces Make Things Move by Kimberly Bradley
- George Washington Carver: Teacher, Scientist, Inventor by Lori Mortensen
- How Do You Lift a Lion? by Robert E. Wells
- I Am Albert Einstein by Brad Meltzer
- Leonardo: Beautiful Dreamer by Robert Byrd
- Light: Shadows, Mirrors, and Rainbows by Natalie Rosinsky
- Listen Up! Alexander Graham Bell’s Talking Machine by Monica Kulling
- Marie Curie: Scientist Who Made Glowing Discoveries by Mike Venezia
- My First Science Textbook: Atoms by Mary Wissinger
- Newton’s Rainbow: The Revolutionary Discoveries of a Young Scientist by Kathryn Lasky
- Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin by Gene Barretta
- Simple Machines by D.J. Ward
- Simple Machines: Wheels, Levers, and Pulleys by David A. Adler
- The Story of Salt by Mark Kurlanski
- Switch On, Switch Off by Melvin Berger
- The Three Little Pigs by James Marshall
- Theodoric’s Rainbow by Stephen P. Kramer
- Timeless Thomas: How Thomas Edison Changed Our Lives by Gene Barretta
- What is the World Made Of? All About Solids, Liquids, and Gases by Kathleen Weinder Zoehfeld
- What Makes a Shadow? by Clyde Robert Bulla
- What’s Smaller Than a Pigmy Shrew? by Robert E. Wells
Picture Books for Science Inquiry
- The Crow and the Pitcher by Stephanie Gwyn Brown
- Greg’s Microscope by Millicent E. Selsam
- How Big is a Foot? by Rolf Myller
- Measuring Penny by Loreen Leedy
- The Popcorn Book by Tomie de Paola
- Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young
Would you like other living book lists? I have tons of them for you!
More About Living Literature
There are plenty of opportunities to learn how to use living literature in your homeschool in the Our Journey Westward Shop. Not to mention, almost all of the curriculum includes curated living literature lists so you don’t have to do the hard work of figuring out the best books for each topic!
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There are so many books we have not heard of, and would be great for our homeshool journey. Thanks for sharing
You’re very welcome, Clare. 🙂
I love this post!!!! Once again you are such a blessing to my homeschool Cindy!!!!! Thank you!!
Aw. ❤️❤️❤️
Hi! I came across your page while searching for science living/picture books. Your book lists look amazing! Thank you so much for taking the time to compile them for us homeschooling mommas. I am wondering…do the books you mention support a creation/young earth view or are they written from an evolution standpoint? Thank you for your time!
Hi Miranda! Thanks for the encouraging words. Sharing good books is one of my favorite things to do. 🙂 Most of the books on this list are completely neutral.
Today is my first day visiting your website and I must share that I am very impressed! I’ve added many of your book recommendations to our library hold list. Thank you!
I sure hope you enjoy each and every book! 🙂