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Made with recycled paper, this book shows how global warming affects two polar bear cubs and their family. Part of the new, eco-friendly Little Green Books line from Little Simon, The Polar Bears’ Home includes tips for kids on what they can do to help slow down global warming — without scaring them. An upbeat, topical picture book.

Perfect for: Kids who like science and nature.

Find at your local library.

The words “You are mostly made of water” start a young boy on a mysterious exploration of that very substance. He moves from fear (“If his cat scratched him, would all the water leak out?”) to kinship (“When he stood on the cliffs, the waves sang to him”) and finally to control (“He was able to toss water from a glass and have it come snapping back, like a yo-yo”). The lack of a name (he is always called “the boy”) and the deliberate cadence of the sentences give this book a sense of universality and solemnity while the luminous images — lit by a strange interior light — lend a dreamlike quality to every scene. This is a book that will appeal to the quiet, inquiring, and introspective child who sees — or seeks — mystery and magic in the everyday world.

Perfect for: Kids who like science and nature.

Find at your local library.

Early one morn­ing, a teeny tiny mos­quito is swal­lowed by a frog. The frog is swallowed by a fish. As each animal gets swallowed by the next, the tiny mosquito keeps singing, until something surprising happens. This sing-song rhyming book introduces kids to the concept of a food chain. You may think of mosquitoes as annoying, but you’ll be rooting for this one in the end.

Perfect for: Curious kids.

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This photo essay chronicles the rescue, treatment and ultimate release back to the ocean of a critically ill loggerhead sea turtle at the South Carolina Aquarium. Although the author goes beyond describing the turtle’s observable behavior by attributing human emotions to the creature, this book might be comforting to kids going through difficult medical treatment and would certainly be of interest to any young animal lovers. The large print and simple vocabulary format should be accessible for beginning readers.

Perfect for: Kids like science and nature.

Find at your local library.

Reptiles are endlessly fascinating to kids, so this book should be appealing to young non-fiction lovers. The book is also packed with fun, interesting facts that kids will love, for example, “A chameleon’s tongue is as long as the rest of its body.” The colorful, eye-catching photos on each page feature these scaly creatures up-close and personal in their natural habitats. Published by Dorling Kindersley, publisher of the wildly popular Eyewitness Series, this series is aimed at a younger group of readers with simpler vocabulary and less text on each page. The meanings of new words are clearly explained in context. If this book is a hit with your child, there are seven more in the Eye Wonder series: Big Cats, Birds, Bugs, Explorer, Mammals, Ocean, Rain Forest, Rivers and Lakes, Space.

Perfect for: Kids who like science and nature.

Find at your local library.

An informative and fun way for the reader to learn what a beetle is and isn’t. Illustrations help the reader see the unique aspects of the featured beetles. Upper and lowercase letters are included on each page, and there’s subtle humor throughout.

Perfect for: Kids who like science and nature.

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OK, not to be overly technical, but not all of these creepy-crawlies are insects — some are arachnids, diplopods, or crustaceans. But they’re all pretty icky. Author Jerry Palotta chose 26 subjects, including stinkbugs, pill bugs, and periodical cicadas. Not only will kids learn that blister beetles are used for medicine and that honey pot ants make delicious snacks, but discerning readers will also notice that this is an ABC book in reverse, beginning with one zebra swallowtail butterfly and ending with 26 army ants.

Perfect for: Kids who like science and nature.

Find at your local library.

This book is an excellent resource for any classroom, school or home library! Colorful illustrations accompany the fun and informative text. It’s broken into bite size categories, such as “Bath-time Questions” (e.g., Why is soap so slippery?) and “Kitchen Questions” (e.g., Why do onions make you cry?).

Perfect for: Kids who like science and nature.

Find at your local library.

Answering your youngster’s questions about plants, animals, water, and just about anything else having to do with nature is easy with this reference book in hand. Broken up into 22 sections, The Nature Treasury covers topics like “How animals grow,” “Soil up close,” and “What animals eat.” With double-page spreads depicting ecosystems ranging from savannas to tundras, this book will have kids searching the panoramas for the animals that live there. Large labeled ovals with the animals superimposed on them act as guides, so children can scan the scenes to find where the sea stars are hiding in the coral reef or the sidewinder in the desert. Children will be enchanted by the lush illustrations.

Perfect for: Kids who are curious — and parents who don’t know all the answers!

Find at your local library.