Great Books Archives - Rolling Prairie Readers

12 Jungle Books for Kids

By Melissa Droegemueller | August 17, 2019 | Comments 0 Comment

If you are putting together a jungle or rain forest unit study for your children, a stack of bright colorful picture books is always a great place to start! Since most of our kids are unlikely to experience a tropical rain forest during their childhood, these jungle books for kids are just what you need.

A quick note:

You’ll notice that most of these books are about rain forests. Since all jungles are forests, this is a great conversation to have with your kids who can understand. “Jungle” is a casual term, while “rainforest” is the more scientific one.

Jungle and Rain Forest Books for Kids

12 Jungle Books for Kids

(Reminder: Rolling Prairie Readers uses affiliate links at no additional cost to you. You can see our full disclosure policy here.)

Start with a broad non-fiction book that introduces different aspects of the tropical habitat.

Our library had Tropical Climates by Cath Senker.

Other good non-fiction books are:

We Both Read About the Rain Forest by Heather Johnanasen and Sindy McKay

Rain Forests: A Magic Tree House Research Guide by Will and Mary Pope Osborne

In the Rain Forest by Catherine Nichols

Up a Rainforest Tree by Carole Telford and Rod Tehodorou

Predators in the Rain Forest by Saviour Pirotta

Our kids also enjoy reading fiction jungle books! Here are some of our favorites:

Over in the Jungle: A Rainforest Rhyme by Marianne Berkes

“Slowly, Slowly, Slowly,” Said the Sloth by Eric Carle.

The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest by Lynne Cherry

We’re Roaming the Rainforest by Laurie Krebs

Secrets of the Rainforest: A Shine a Light Book

By the way, have you heard of cloud forests? I picked up this book at the library, all about the Monteverde Cloud Forest in Costa Rica:

The Forest in the Clouds by Sneed B. Collard III

And one “eh” book:

Most lists of recommended jungle books for kids include Rumble in the Jungle by Giles Andreae. And while it is a completely cute book, I just can’t get over the fact that (gasp!) it’s not even about jungle animals. In case you want to check it out for yourself, click here:

If you have a favorite jungle book, I would love for you to leave it in the comments! And if you’re looking for any jungle-related learning activities, be sure to check our latest family activity guide, now available in The Play School Club.

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12 Fun Jungle Books for Kids

13 Desert Books for Kids

By Melissa Droegemueller | July 26, 2019 | Comments 0 Comment

Growing up in California and Texas, learning about the desert never really appealed to me. It’s dry and dusty, everything is brown, and there are lots of poisonous plants and animals waiting to get you. At least, that’s what I thought. When I sat down to make our desert-themed Family Activity Guide for The Play School Club, I quickly discovered just how fascinating the desert really is! And what’s really neat is that every continent has at least one desert, and they all have unique qualities, including a variety of plants and animals that aren’t found anywhere else in the world! Next time you go to the library, check out these desert books for kids.

13 FUN Desert Books for Kids

13 Desert Books for Kids

(Reminder: Rolling Prairie Readers uses affiliate links at no additional cost to you. You can see our full disclosure policy here.)

Desert Giant: The World of the Saguaro Cactus by Barbara Bash

Animals in the Desert by Elisabeth De Lambilly-Bresson

Desert by DK Publishing

Seasons of the Desert Biome by Shirley Duke

Desert Night Desert Day by Anthony D. Fredericks

Cactus Hotel by Brenda Z. Guiberson

A Walk in the Desert by Rebecca L. Johnson

Desert Dwellers (board book) by Dr. Holly Karapetkova

The Three Little Javelinas by Susan Lowell

A Dry Place by Catherine Nichols

Hot Deserts by Rose Pipes

Why Oh Why Are Deserts Dry? by Tish Rabe

There Was a Coyote Who Swallowed a Flea by Jennifer Ward

Check out our Desert Family Activity Guide, now available in The Play School Club!

With just one click of the button, you can access our downloadable guide, with 40 hands-on learning ideas, recommended books for your next library trip and a master list of materials (most items are already in your house!).

WOULDN’T IT BE NICE TO:

have a ready list of simple activities to do together?
connect with your children through play?
spend family time creating memories rather than planning them?

Be sure to share your favorite desert books for kids in the comments below!

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desert books for kids

19 Moon Books for Kids

By Melissa Droegemueller | July 9, 2019 | Comments 0 Comment

The Apollo 11 50th anniversary is coming up, and you know we are celebrating with a list of moon books for kids! This booklist has it all — from non-fiction fact books about the moon’s role in our solar system to biographies of the astronauts and scientists who made the moon landing possible.

Be sure to check out our moon-themed invitations to play in the Resource Library!

19 Moon Books for Kids

(Reminder: Rolling Prairie Readers uses affiliate links at no additional cost to you. You can see our full disclosure policy here.)

If you’ve been around here long, you know I LOVE Gail Gibbons’ non-fiction children’s books.

Seymour Simon also has great solar system books for kids, including this one about the moon.

If your library doesn’t have either of those, here’s a few more that give a good overview of the moon:

The Moon (Isaac Asimovs 21st Century Library of the Universe: the Solar System)

The Moon Seems to Change (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2)

Exploring Our Solar System: The Moon

While you are learning more about the moon landing, you might also want to check out books about astronauts:

Busy People: Astronaut

If You Decide to Go to the Moon

And now for books all about the moon landing!

Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon

Moon Landing (Graphic History)

Eight Days Gone

Rocket To The Moon

When Neil Armstrong Built a Wind Tunnel

Ordinary People Change the World: I Am Neil Armstrong

One Giant Leap: The Story of Neil Armstrong

Neil Armstrong: Young Flyer

Apollo 11 Moon Landing: An Interactive Space Exploration Adventure

Our library doesn’t actually have Moonshot, but you might enjoy this article on Medium: “The Time I Called Out a Children’s Book Author For Letting Girls Down”

I AM raising a girl who wants to work at NASA when she grows up, so Katherine Johnson and Margaret Hamilton are big heroes around here. 😉

You Should Meet Katherine Johnson

Margaret and the Moon

While you’re here, be sure to check out our list of solar system books and space activities for kids!

Your library may have other moon books for kids. Can you think of any I missed?

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