Swirl by Swirl

Spirals in Nature
By Joyce Sidman
Illustrated by Beth Krommes
2011

This beautifully illustrated book simply explores spirals in nature; in animals and plants, spiderwebs and waves, tornadoes and galaxies-- spirals appear all around us because they work well in nature.

Compost Stew

An A to Z Recipe for the Earth
By Mary McKenna Siddals
Illustrated by Ashley Wolff
2010

This is a clever ABC book with a wonderful theme: a "recipe" for Compost Stew. Told in verse, with beautiful collage illustrations, it is a great guide for making a compost pile, and building an ecological foundation.

Actual Size

By Steve Jenkins
2004

If you've never seen one of Steve Jenkins books, definitely check them out. They are all wonderful.
I particularly love this one, and I have read it to students from preschool up to 8th grade--seriously, it engages everyone!
Each page introduces an animal or two, or perhaps just part of an animal (giant squid eyeball, for example) in actual size. There is very little text, just a sentence or so plus the height, weight, length, etc.of the featured animal.
At the back of the book , you can see full-body pictures of each animal and read a little more about each one.
This is a perfect read-aloud for any age group!

Danger! Volcanoes

By Seymour Simon
2002

This little book is a nice introduction to volcanoes for younger readers.
With great photos, the book is engaging and is a good read-aloud. It has some nice non-fiction text features like bolded words, but no table of contents or index (like many of S. Simon's books).

The Drop in My Drink

By Meredith Hooper
Illustrated by Chris Coady
1998

This is an older book as far as science resources go, but it is a gem! It tells the story of the water cycle as a riveting narrative--comets, dinosaurs, giant pythons, caves--the whole nine yards. The story begins and ends with a boy holding a glass of water and considering where each drop has been. Really lovely for an upper-grade read-aloud.

Sun Up, Sun Down

The Story of Day and Night
By Jacqui Bailey and Matthew Lilly
2004
31 pages

This book has a comic-book style that appeals to many children. It is full of information about the sun from dawn to dusk, including how light rays travel, how shadows are formed, and how the moon lights up the night sky. There are some fun projects suggested at the end.

A Seed is Sleepy

by Dianna Hutts Aston
Illustrated by Sylvia Long
2007

This book is gorgeously illustrated and beautifully written; it is full of all kinds of seed and plant facts, but in a poetic style.