100 books like Nature Anatomy

By Julia Rothman,

Here are 100 books that Nature Anatomy fans have personally recommended if you like Nature Anatomy. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Island of the Blue Dolphins

Lynn Brunelle Author Of Life After Whale: The Amazing Ecosystem of a Whale Fall

From my list on awaken curiosity in nature for kids.

Why am I passionate about this?

My name is Lynn Brunelle, and for as long as I can remember, I have been at least two things—a bookhound and an outdoorsy girl. Ever since I was little, I have explored trees, insects, tadpoles, snowflakes, tidepools—whatever I discovered in my home in the woods by the beach. I had so many questions, which led to books. So it seems only natural that I LOVE books—lots of different genres of books, but mostly books for kids and mostly books that make me wonder about science and nature. Bringing this curiosity to others and making the amazing things in nature accessible to kids is what I do. 

Lynn's book list on awaken curiosity in nature for kids

Lynn Brunelle Why did Lynn love this book?

I know, I know, this is fiction, but what a glorious story it is! It resonates with me because it is all about a girl being dazzled by nature, working with it, and surviving.

I first read this book in 3rd grade and loved it. I love the character’s resilience, respect, and perspective. Although the world she lived in was so different from my own, there were so many similarities in approach and so many things to learn. It’s the first book that made me think about what it might be like to live in and with nature. 

By Scott O’Dell,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked Island of the Blue Dolphins as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 7, 8, 9, and 10.

What is this book about?

Twelve-year-old Karana escapes death at the hands of treacherous hunters, only to find herself totally alone on a harsh desolate island. How she survives in the face of all sorts of dangers makes gripping and inspiring reading.

Based on a true story.


Book cover of Over and Under the Snow

Lynn Brunelle Author Of Life After Whale: The Amazing Ecosystem of a Whale Fall

From my list on awaken curiosity in nature for kids.

Why am I passionate about this?

My name is Lynn Brunelle, and for as long as I can remember, I have been at least two things—a bookhound and an outdoorsy girl. Ever since I was little, I have explored trees, insects, tadpoles, snowflakes, tidepools—whatever I discovered in my home in the woods by the beach. I had so many questions, which led to books. So it seems only natural that I LOVE books—lots of different genres of books, but mostly books for kids and mostly books that make me wonder about science and nature. Bringing this curiosity to others and making the amazing things in nature accessible to kids is what I do. 

Lynn's book list on awaken curiosity in nature for kids

Lynn Brunelle Why did Lynn love this book?

Great books reveal new worlds. I am crazy about books that wake up curiosity. These books are fabulous. They make exploration and observation accessible to anyone.

I love the illustrations and the information that introduces readers to the notion that a lot is going on beneath the surface in nature. There always is! It may be hushed and white up top, but beneath is a secret world where animals have different strategies to survive the cold, dark winter. It makes me wonder about all the other things that are happening that we don’t always see.

By Kate Messner, Christopher Silas Neal (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Over and Under the Snow as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Over the snow, the world is hushed and white. But under the snow lies a secret world of squirrels and snow hares, bears and bullfrogs, and many other animals making their winter home under the snow. This beloved nonfiction picture book exploring the subnivean zone reveals the tunnels and caves formed beneath the snow but over the ground, where many kinds of animals live through the winter, safe and warm, awake and busy, but hidden beneath the snow.


Book cover of Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera

Lynn Brunelle Author Of Life After Whale: The Amazing Ecosystem of a Whale Fall

From my list on awaken curiosity in nature for kids.

Why am I passionate about this?

My name is Lynn Brunelle, and for as long as I can remember, I have been at least two things—a bookhound and an outdoorsy girl. Ever since I was little, I have explored trees, insects, tadpoles, snowflakes, tidepools—whatever I discovered in my home in the woods by the beach. I had so many questions, which led to books. So it seems only natural that I LOVE books—lots of different genres of books, but mostly books for kids and mostly books that make me wonder about science and nature. Bringing this curiosity to others and making the amazing things in nature accessible to kids is what I do. 

Lynn's book list on awaken curiosity in nature for kids

Lynn Brunelle Why did Lynn love this book?

We see them all the time. We know they’re important. We may drizzle honey on our toast, but did we ever stop to think about what this creature’s life is all about? This up-close and personal journey is so eye-opening, beautiful, and fresh. It's also so important.

The book makes us curious, makes us stop and spend a little time, and makes us care about these remarkable beings. What more could you ask for in a book?

By Candace Fleming, Eric Rohmann (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Honeybee as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 6, 7, 8, and 9.

What is this book about?

Robert F. Sibert Medal Winner
 
Take to the sky with Apis, one honeybee, as she embarks on her journey through life!

An Orbis Pictus Honor Book
Selected for the Texas Bluebonnnet Master List
Finalist for the AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books

A tiny honeybee emerges through the wax cap of her cell. Driven to protect and take care of her hive, she cleans the nursery and feeds the larvae and the queen. But is she strong enough to fly? Not yet!

Apis builds wax comb to store honey, and transfers pollen from other bees into the storage.…


Book cover of What It's Like to be a Bird

Lynn Brunelle Author Of Life After Whale: The Amazing Ecosystem of a Whale Fall

From my list on awaken curiosity in nature for kids.

Why am I passionate about this?

My name is Lynn Brunelle, and for as long as I can remember, I have been at least two things—a bookhound and an outdoorsy girl. Ever since I was little, I have explored trees, insects, tadpoles, snowflakes, tidepools—whatever I discovered in my home in the woods by the beach. I had so many questions, which led to books. So it seems only natural that I LOVE books—lots of different genres of books, but mostly books for kids and mostly books that make me wonder about science and nature. Bringing this curiosity to others and making the amazing things in nature accessible to kids is what I do. 

Lynn's book list on awaken curiosity in nature for kids

Lynn Brunelle Why did Lynn love this book?

The title is pretty clear, and of course, I immediately wondered—what is it like to be a bird? Why the foot shape? How do woodpeckers NOT get concussions? You wonder that, admit it!

The illustrations are so clear and accessible and the essays about wings and other marvels of “birdness” are so compelling and leave me looking at birds in an entirely new light. 

By David Allen Sibley,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked What It's Like to be a Bird as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The bird book for birders and nonbirders alike that will excite and inspire by providing a new and deeper understanding of what common, mostly backyard, birds are doing—and why: "Can birds smell?"; "Is this the same cardinal that was at my feeder last year?"; "Do robins 'hear' worms?"

"The book's beauty mirrors the beauty of birds it describes so marvelously." —NPR

In What It's Like to Be a Bird, David Sibley answers the most frequently asked questions about the birds we see most often. This special, large-format volume is geared as much to nonbirders as it is to the out-and-out…


Book cover of These Olive Trees

Timothy Kleyn Author Of Grilled Cheese? Yes, Please!

From my list on food-centered picture books.

Why am I passionate about this?

Growing up, my family was a meat and potatoes family. The food was good but it was never really about the food. It was about eating together. When I got older, I ventured beyond the world of meat and potatoes, made more friends to eat with, and learned more and more to enjoy the little things in life. My two books are about food but also not really. They're community books. Family books. Adventure books. Same thing with the 5 books on my list. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Timothy's book list on food-centered picture books

Timothy Kleyn Why did Timothy love this book?

This is a powerful and beautiful book that captures the strength and culture of the Palestinian people. Some books feel like they must exist, and this is one of them.

I feel like food is such a great theme because you can really tackle heavy or tough subjects with it. This book does a good job of not sugarcoating that heaviness but being real about it and presenting it by using a focus of the olive trees and what that means to Palestinians. It takes skill to do that.

I really appreciate this book and it should be in every home.

By Aya Ghanameh,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked These Olive Trees as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 3, 4, and 5.

What is this book about?

The story of a Palestinian family’s ties to the land, and how one young girl finds a way to care for her home, even as she says goodbye.

It’s 1967 in Nablus, Palestine.

Oraib loves the olive trees that grow outside the refugee camp where she lives. Each harvest, she and her mama pick the small fruits and she eagerly stomp stomp stomps on them to release their golden oil. Olives have always tied her family to the land, as Oraib learns from the stories Mama tells of a home before war.

But war has come to their door once…


Book cover of Where's Spot?

Tanya Preminger Author Of Luna is Missing

From my list on picture books about pets.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always loved animals and felt a deep empathy for every living creature. But it wasn’t until the COVID lockdown that I truly connected with them. Locked up with a partner, a boy, two dogs, and three cats in a small house with a yard, I realized that it's not just us taking care of them—they're doing their best to take care of us, too. Trained in art since childhood by my mom, it was during the COVID lockdown that I began to draw our furry companions in earnest. I spent every waking hour capturing their funny and endearing moments, ultimately putting it all together in a picture book.

Tanya's book list on picture books about pets

Tanya Preminger Why did Tanya love this book?

This is a classic. The enchanting illustrations and delightful humor mesmerized my 3-year-old, who kept asking to read it over and over throughout his childhood and insisted on buying the rest of the books in the series.

The interactive lift-the-flap elements really capture young readers' attention, and the character, Spot, is simply irresistible.

By Eric Hill,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Where's Spot? as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In Eric Hill's classic Where's Spot? lift the flaps to find Spot!

In Spot's first adventure children can join in the search for the mischievous puppy by lifting the flaps on every page to see where he is hiding. The simple text and colourful pictures will engage a whole new generation of pre-readers as they lift the picture flaps in search of Spot. A No.1 bestseller since it was first published in 1980, this interactive favourite has stayed in the charts ever since.

This is a bigger, brighter paperback edition of Eric Hill's iconic first lift-the-flap book.

'Spot is one…


Book cover of Old Black Fly

Jean Abernethy Author Of Fergus and the Greener Grass

From my list on read-aloud fun for little folks and big folks together.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up on a farm in a musical, artistic family. Poetry, music, animals, and laughter were the fabric of daily life. I happened to be gifted with the ability to draw. With a particular passion for horses, I eventually earned my art degree and created the cartoon character Fergus the Horse. I truly believe that when extraordinarily skilled illustrations are combined with extraordinarily skilled writing to create a published work, then the projected age recommendation for readers becomes irrelevant.

Jean's book list on read-aloud fun for little folks and big folks together

Jean Abernethy Why did Jean love this book?

I love this book because I love books whose illustrations are as enticing as the text.

“Silly” is a quality I look for in a book to share with little kids. Silly certainly applies to Gammell’s splashy, exquisite illustrations. The cadence of the text invites the reader (of any age) to engage with the rhyme and not just read it but perform it!

It also teaches the alphabet. Who knew that going through the alphabet could be such messy fun? 

By Jim Aylesworth, Stephen Gammell (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Old Black Fly as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

Nothing drives a family crazy faster than an old black fly on a hot summer day, especially when the family's a little crazy already. And this fly is as bad as they come. He knows every low-down trick in the book--and won't rest until he's gone through them all.

He ate on the crust
of the Apple pie.
He bothered the Baby
and made her cry.
Shoo fly!
Shoo fly!
Shooo.


Book cover of Cinderella

Sheri Langer Author Of Love-Lines

From my list on novels about romance, rejection, and betrayal that pair well with tubs of ice cream.

Why am I passionate about this?

My parents split up when I was six. I escaped from my sadness by reading stories about love and relationships and exploring how others went about the business of living and coping. I married young for security and to have a big family of my own. I succeeded. I have four amazing kids, but after years of wedded chaos, I too was divorced. As a single mom, I set out in search of my own identity and went back to novels to help me find myself. Though I’ve since been fortunate to find my happily ever after, I still enjoy characters that feel like friends who offer warmth, hope, and comfort. 

Sheri's book list on novels about romance, rejection, and betrayal that pair well with tubs of ice cream

Sheri Langer Why did Sheri love this book?

No, this is not a throwaway or a joke. Cinderella is the ultimate template for modern romance. It was the first bedtime story I remember being read to me, and it immediately sparked my curiosity about romantic love. 

The protagonist is a young girl living in service to her wicked stepfamily. She must wait on them hand and foot just to have a roof over her head - talk about abandonment, rejection, and betrayal! But with it all, our girl stays sweet, charming, open, and optimistic.

I wanted to be Cinderella. I wanted to wear that ball gown, have all these little critters become my loyal friends, and eventually end up with a dashing prince. Admittedly, my dress shoes hurt my feet when I was little, but I would’ve been willing to endure a cramped sole to find my soulmate. And eventually, with my soles intact, I did.

Flavor Pick:…

By Charles Perrault, Loek Koopmans (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Cinderella as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

"This satisfying tale never grows old." –Yellow Brick Road

Cinderella, the most popular of all fairy tales, is a time-less story of virtue rewarded. Sweet, beautiful Cinderella, cruelly mistreated by her evil stepmother and stepsisters, is helped by her magical fairy godmother, who sends her off to win the heart of a handsome prince and live happily ever after. Anthea Bell’s graceful translation of this classic tale is faithful to the original, yet accessible to today’s children.

"Illustrations featuring mix of styles in both clothing and architecture set the story in an imaginary yet vaguely familiar landscape, lit by a…


Book cover of New Orleans: A Pictorial History

Jennifer Blake Author Of Challenge to Honor

From my list on exploring the fascination of Old New Orleans.

Why am I passionate about this?

Early in my career, I attended a writer’s conference in southern Louisiana. During a discussion of the best-selling Louisiana-based novels of Vermont-born author Francis Parkinson Keyes, a local historian said with great ire, “That woman came down here and picked our brains for her books!” As a follower of my state’s incredible past, I immediately saw the attraction. Since then, I’ve written more than 65 historical and contemporary novels, most set in New Orleans and broader Louisiana. Hours have been spent at the famed Historic New Orleans Collection, talking to people and walking the streets of the French Quarter—and, of course, collecting a library of famous Louisiana histories.

Jennifer's book list on exploring the fascination of Old New Orleans

Jennifer Blake Why did Jennifer love this book?

I love old photographs. Nothing else is as exact or reliable when it comes to studying a time and place for research purposes. Whether it’s the long-ago appearance of a particular street or building, the design of a wrought iron balcony, the style of an antique ballgown, or the setting of a mausoleum, the details are all there.

Huber’s book contains over a thousand entries. Not only are photographs shown, but also photographed copies of drawings, paintings, and portraits that predate the invention of the camera. They depict famous landmarks but a vast selection of people as well, from servants and street vendors to the highest society. Each picture is carefully described and, where possible, dated.

I’ve spent many happy hours paging through them, often forgetting what I intended to find.

By Leonard Huber,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked New Orleans as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A captivating visual guide to New Orleans's history!

Hailed as being one of the most comprehensive collections of photos, paintings, and drawings on its release in 1971, this educational and entertaining selection is now in paperback! From the city's French and Spanish beginnings to American forces fighting off British soldiers in the War of 1812, this is truly a fascinating compilation. These pages chronicle major historical moments along with the architecture, jazz, scandals, duels, cuisine, and fine arts that make New Orleans an amazing city to behold.


Book cover of My First Book Of Feminism (for Boys)

Virginia Mendez Author Of Childhood Unlimited: Parenting Beyond the Gender Bias

From my list on challenging gender stereotypes with your children.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am Virginia Mendez, mother of 2 and author of 2 children’s books and a parenting book about the topic of gender equality from childhood. My day job is in Diversity and Inclusion Consulting, and I train companies and schools on how to bring more gender equality into their organisations. I wasn’t always a feminist, but I was by the time I was pregnant with my first child, and it made me determined to make the world a more fair place for everyone. Everyone. 

Virginia's book list on challenging gender stereotypes with your children

Virginia Mendez Why did Virginia love this book?

This is an absolute favourite of mine as a gift for new baby boys.

It is in rhyme and has very easy illustrations. It is never too early to let people know that feminism is for everyone, including boys, and to show in an easy way the things that they can do to help but also expand the options for them. 

By Julie Merberg,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked My First Book Of Feminism (for Boys) as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Feminism begins at home—and My First Book of Feminism (for Boys) is where it begins!

Simple illustrations paired with engaging, rhyming text make the compelling, age appropriate argument that girls and boys are equal, plain and simple. Humorous, familiar scenarios are treated as teachable moments for very young boys (ages 0-3) who will ideally grow up without ever questioning women's equality. From "no means no," to "women's rights are human rights," important, grownup ideas are made clear and fun for young, impressionable minds. This is the book every mom should read to her son!


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