Halea Stairs

Ecosystems Forests
1. Growing Frogs by Vivian French
This book is a non-fiction, but has an interesting story line to it. It
is not just facts and information, but a story with facts. It talks how a little girl
first read a book about frogs and then wanted to have her own frogs. So, her
mother took her to get real frog eggs out of a pond. Then the little girl
watches the frog eggs grow into tadpoles and eventually into full grown
frogs. This books sums up the process of frog development without being too
complicated for young readers wanting to know more about how frogs grow.
This book also states important facts if the reader would like to watch their
own frog grow and develop from egg to full sized frog.
2. Bats by Gail Gibbons
This books is a non-fiction book all about bats. This book tells the
reader many different facts about bats such as: how many different types,
what they eat, and different parts of the bats body. Bats are one of the many
creatures that live in the forest. However, this book mentions that bats are
endangered due to the up rise in population and destruction of their habitats.
This would be a good book for children who want to learn more about bats as
well as showing children how destruction of our forests, or the animals
habitat, can create dangers in an animals population.
3. All about Owls by Jim Arnosky
This book is a non-fiction book about different types of owls. This
book answers questions like where owls live, what they eat, how many
different kinds of owls there are, and many more questions a child can be
curious about. Due to owls needing trees to sleep on I figured it would be a
good book for children to read and learn more about a creature that needs
the forest. This book also states why the owls need trees to protect them
during the day time and also why they need trees at night.
4. Tree Life by Theresa Greenaway
This book is a non-fiction book all about animals that live in the
trees all around the world. It states how the animals can be large like
monkeys or tiny like ants. This book shows children that all of these animals
need the forest to live and how the specific animals mentioned in the book
thrive off of the trees for survival. In this book majority of the animals have
their babies in trees. If the tree is cut down, then there are less and less of
those animals. It also shows that a lot of animals use trees for their food.
Monkeys and lizards find bugs that live on trees and will eat them to stay
alive. Lastly, this book talks about how all of these animals use trees for their
homes. Most of the animals hide up in the trees to escape predators.
5. While a Tree Was Growing by Jane Bosveld

This book is a non-fiction book on how a tree grew and while it

was growing what events took place throughout history. This book would be a
good book to use as a teacher while talking about the ecosystem of a forest.
It shows a child how long it actually takes a tree to become as big as it is.
The tree starts off as an acorn back in 1500 B.C. and grows all the way up to
1996 A.D. This book has a timeline of events that happened in history while
the tree was growing, and what happened to the tree as it grew up in its
lifetime. It gives events such as a lightning bolt striking the tree at the same
time frame as the first man walked on the moon. As a teacher you can
explain to the students more of the events going on and the significance
behind the time it took for that tree to grow into how large it is today.
6. Wildfires by Seymour Simon
This book is a non-fiction book on how wildfires can be a good
and bad thing to nature. This book mainly talks about the drastic wildfire that
happened at Yellowstone National Park in 1988. It states how a regular fire is
created and how if you leave an unattended campfire it can cause a wildfire.
It states that most forest fires dont take long for the plants to grow back
again. Also, many of the animals that were in the forest main unharmed
because they flee very quickly before it gets worse. It shows how there can
be naturally occurring wildfires, and also how they can be man-made. This
book shows how a small fire can cause a large fire, and continue on to
becoming the largest wildfire known. Although it shows the disaster of the
wildfire, it also shows the beauty of what can happen after a wild fire. It
shows that most trees grow back, most animals return, and life in the forest
will go back to normal. I like this book because it shows that wildfires can be
disastrous but also they are something nature needs so that it doesnt
become over populated with dead brush and trees laying around.
7. Trees and Forests from Algae to Sequoias: The History, Life, and
Richness of Forests by Scholastic Books
This book is a non-fiction book all about trees, forests, and the
animals that live there. It shows the science behind on how they believe
trees came to be, how a seed becomes a tree, how trees become a forest,
different types of trees all around the world, what happens between day and
night with trees and animals, what lives on trees, what happens during the
four different seasons, what animals live and thrive on trees, what do we do
with trees, and what can we do to save the forests. All of these ideas are
stated in the book in age appropriate content. I really like this book because
it has flip pages that will show the different tree bark and then what tree it
comes from, or it will show the tree and then what environment it is from.
This book gives good factual information without it becoming boring for a
child to read and remember.
8. Autumn Leaves by Ken Robbins

This book is a non-fiction book that shows all the different types
of leaves and what trees they come from. It states how some of
the leaves will change colors while others will just dry up and fall
off. It shows the veins of different leaves and how the textures
and colors will be different depending on the leaf. This book then
shows the different types of trees and connects their specific leaf
to them. I do believe that this book will work well with students if
you are going outside and looking at different leaves because the
child can connect the leaves in the book to the leaves they are
examining outside.

9. Goldilocks and the Three Bears by James Marshall

This book is a fictional book based off of the nursery rhyme. This
book tells of a girl who was wondering in the forest and came
upon the three bears house. The bears werent home, so she
ended up trying out the porridge that was left on the table, she
sat in their chairs, and laid in their beds where she ended up
falling asleep. Once the bears got home they noticed someone
was in their house. They found Goldilocks asleep in baby bears
bed. Although before they could get an explanation Goldilocks
was out the window, went home, and never went back. This book
is a good fictional book for children because in forests there are
lots of bears, and even though they dont have houses they do
live in caves or under big rocks.
10.

Diary of a Spider by Doreen Cronin

This book is a fictional book about a spider who wrote a diary on
the things he did in his life. It shows different days and what this
spider learns and does. He says how he went to school, built
spider webs, and played with his friend fly. This book also
shows that Spider scares somethings, but is also scared of
different things as well. I believe this is a good book because a
lot of spiders make their homes in the forest, so while the
students are learning about spiders the children can read this
book to lighten up the mood.
**ALL BOOKS WERE FOUND IN THE CHILDRENS LIBRARY AT
REEVES LIBRARY AT SETON HILL UNIVERSITY**