booklist Archives - Rolling Prairie Readers

17 Bug Books for Kids

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

Spring has sprung, and we are excited to learn more about the bugs in our yard! There are so many fascinating facts about insects, and reading more about them can make learning fun. Our library has lots of great bug books for kids, and here are some of our favorites.

Bug Books for Kids

(Just a reminder that Rolling Prairie Readers uses affiliate links, at no additional cost to you. You can read our full disclosure policy here.)

Scholastic’s Bug Dictionary by Jill Bailey

Worldwise: Insects and Spiders by Penny Clarke

Do All Bugs Have Wings? by Suzanne Slade

Bugs are Insects by Anne Rockwell

Usborne’s 1001 Bugs to Spot by Emma Helbrough

DK Eyewitness: Insects by Laurence Mound

Want to learn more about bugs?

Check out our 40 fun learning activities!

Eric Carle Bug Books

Eric Carle is one of our favorite author-illustrators, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a classic children’s book! (Did you know it’s celebrating its 50th birthday?) Mr. Carle has also written a bunch of other books about insects and arachnids:

The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle

The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle

The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Enjoy this sweet video of Mr. Carle talking about The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

More Insect Books for Kids

Taking my kids to the library to experience the non-fiction section is one of my favorite things. They get to explore a variety of books all about one topic and discover new authors they might not have tried otherwise. (Anne Rockwell and Gail Gibbons are two of our favorite non-fiction writers, and Lois Ehlert has written and illustrated many terrific children’s books!)

A Butterfly is Patient by Dianna Hutts Aston

Becoming Butterflies by Anne Rockwell

Monarch Butterfly by Gail Gibbons

Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert

The Big Bug Book by Margery Facklam

Beetle Bop by Denise Fleming

It’s a Good Thing There Are Insects by Allan Fowler

Do you have favorite bug books for kids? Leave a comment, and let me know!

Best Parenting Books for Teaching Kids at Home

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

On a site called Rolling Prairie Readers, you’d probably expect at least one post with recommendations for parenting books! It’s been on my to-do list for years, so let’s get to it: the best parenting books for teaching kids at home.

Note: this list will be updated frequently, so be sure to come back often!

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

Nurture by Nature: Understand Your Child’s Personality Type – And Become a Better Parent by Paul D. Tieger and Barbara Barron-Tieger

MotherStyles by Janet Penley

Teaching from Rest by Sarah Mackenzie

The Brave Learner by Julie Bogart

The Garden Classroom by Cathy James

What Your **-Grader Needs to Know (series) by E.D. Hirsch

The Power of Play by David Elkind

The Whole-Brain Child by Daniel J. Siegel

The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease

Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever by Mem Fox

The Read-Aloud Family by Sarah Mackenzie

Give Your Child the World: Raising Globally Minded Kids One Book at a Time by Jamie C. Martin

The Intentional Bookshelf by Samantha Munoz

The Miracle Morning for Parents and Families: How to Bring Out the Best in Your KIDS and Your SELF by Hal Elrod + Mike and Lindsay McCarthy

Your **-Year-Old (series) by Louise Ames Bates

Earth Day Activities and Books for Kids

By Melissa Droegemueller | April 7, 2019 | Comments 0 Comment

Spring is here! What a fun time to teach our children about science in a creative, hands-on way. Whether you go on a nature walk, pick up trash at a local park, or start a garden, children can learn to care for the environment with these fun Earth Day activities and books!

Simple Earth Day Activities for Kids

(Just a reminder that Rolling Prairie Readers uses affiliate links, at no additional cost to you. You can read our full disclosure policy here.)

We celebrate the beginning of spring with weekly walks around our neighborhood. We look for budding trees, nesting birds, and the arrival of daffodils and tulips in neighbors’ yards. This year, we’ll be starting a family nature journal to document all the changes we see.
We’ll also be working in our vegetable garden in our yard. We have a raised garden bed on our back deck, right off the kitchen, which makes it easy for the kids to prune and harvest each day.
Visiting the botanical gardens every year is a fun family field trip to celebrate the changes that spring brings!
Now that the snow is melting, our family is excited to get back to geocaching, one of our favorite ways to explore nature near and far. We use the Geocaching app to find hidden treasures wherever our travels take us: from the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Headquarters and Visitor Center in Omaha, Nebraska to Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin to Lighthouse Ann Arbor Park in Menominee, Michigan!
This year, we’ll also be watching our Extraordinary Earth DVD from Rachel and the Treeschoolers. You can watch a clip of it below:

Earth Day Busy Box

Our Earth Day busy box is filled with green and blue toys found around the house! You can watch the video to see what I included or scroll down for a full list:

bristle blocks
pegs
pom poms and tweezers
linking rings
lacing buttons
green and blue craft sticks

9 Earth Day Books for Kids

Picking up seasonal books from the library and placing them in a basket by the couch is another fun way to introduce a holiday like Earth Day to your kids! Here are some that we found at our library: