100+ Children’s Books for Studying Southern California Nature: Land

Here are the recommended books for the 12 different lessons found in Southern California Nature Kids: Land. Remember, you don’t need to read them all! Choose one or more per lesson to read together. A few books are out of print… please don’t go spend $153 on a used hard-to-find book. :) Your library may still carry them, so check there.

Don’t have the curriculum yet? You’re welcome to peruse this list, and consider purchasing Southern California Nature Kids: Land for field trips, nature journaling, hands-on activities, nature walks, lessons about animals, and more to go along with the books you see below!

(Links below are affiliate links to Amazon).

Used in all 12 Lessons (these are the only “mandatory” books in the curriculum) -

• Wild LA: Explore the Amazing Nature In and Around Los Angeles by Lila Higgins, Gregory B. Pauly, Jason G. Goldman, Charles Hood

• Southern California Nature Guide by Erin McCloskey

• The National Audubon Society Field Guide to California by Peter Alden and Fred Heath

• Slow Down: 50 Mindful Moments in Nature by Rachel Williams

Lesson 1: Welcome to Southern California

• G is for Golden: A California Alphabet by David Domeniconi

• Golden Numbers: A CA Number Book by David Domeniconi

• California the Magic Island by Doug Hansen

• Aesop in California by Doug Hansen

• Our California by Pam Muñoz Ryan (also in Spanish: Nuestra California) previously called California Here We Come

• The Tree Lady by H. Joseph Hopkins

• Maybe Something Beautiful by F. Isabel Compoy and Theresa Howell (also in Spanish: Quizás Algo Hermoso)

• All Aboard California by Kevin and Haily Myers

• C is for California: A Golden State ABC Primer by Trish Madson

• Hello Riverside by Mark and Giselle Cloud

• A Tale of Yosemite: The Very Quiet Village by Leah Vis

• Wild Colors of the West by Elain Miller Bond

Lesson 2: Mapping California

• Me on the Map by Joan Sweeney

• As the Crow Flies: A First Book of Maps by Gail Hartman

• Follow That Map! A First Book of Mapping Skills by Scot Ritchie

• Mapping Penny's World by Loreen Leedy

• Crow Not Crow by Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple

• Mapmaking with Children by David Sobel (excellent resource for parents)

• any atlas you own (My family uses the National Geographic Kids United States Atlas)

• Maps and Globes by Jack Knowlton

Lesson 3: Native People of California

• A Story of Seven Sisters: A Tongva Pleides Legend by Pamela Marx (purchase from MalkiMuseum.org)

• When the Animals Were People by Kay Sanger (purchase from MalkiMuseum.org)

• Kíicha (Bilingual Edition) by Jo A. Garcia

• Cooking the Native Way by the Chia Cafe Collective (not a children's book, but the recipes and full-color photographs will fascinate all ages)

• A is for Acorn: A California Indian ABC by Analisa Tripp and Lyn Rysling

• Coyote at the Big Time: A California Indian 123 by Lyn Rysling

• Waa'aka: The Bird Who Fell in Love with the Sun by Cindi Alvitre

• The Girl Who Helped Thunder and Other Native American Folktales by James and Joseph Bruchac (p. 59 - 68 feature Northern California tribal stories)

• Coyote Moon by Maria Gianferrari

• California Native American Tribes series (Gabrielino Tribe, Chumash Tribe, etc.) by Mary Null Boule (if you can't find these, try Life of the California Coast Nations by Molly Aloian + Bobbie Kalman)

Lesson 4: Nature is All Around Us

• The Listening Walk by Paul Showers

• Wild in the City: A Guide to Urban Animals Around the World by Kate Baker

• Hidden City: Poems of Urban Wildlife by Sarah Grace Tuttle

• Wild Animal Neighbors: Sharing Our Urban World by Ann Downer

• Outside In by Deborah Underwood

• Finding Wild by Megan Wagner Lloyd

• The Gardener by Sarah Stewart

• The Raccoon Next Door: Getting Along with Urban Wildlife by Gary Bogue

• Nature in the Neighborhood by Gordon Morrison

• A Quiet Girl by Peter Carnavas

Lesson 5: All About Ecosystems and Habitats

• Bringing Back the Wolves: How a Predator Restored an Ecosystem by Jude Isabella

• The Wondrous Workings of Planet Earth by Rachel Ignotofsky

• A Sparrow's Disappearing Home by Mary Ellen Klukow (or others in the Animal Habitats at Risk series)

• A Walk in the Tundra by Rebecca L. Johnson (or other "A Walk in the..." books in her Biomes of North America series)

• Beastly Biomes by Carly Allen-Fletcher

• One Small Square: Seashore by Donald Silver (or other books in the One Small Square series)

• Gray Squirrel at Pacific Avenue by Geri Harrington (or others in the Smithsonian's Backyard series)

• The Forested Taiga: A Web of Life by Philip Johanson (or others in his World of Biomes series)

• Welcome Home Bear: A Book of Animal Habitats by Il Sung Na

• This is a Taco by Andrew Cangelose

Lesson 6: Deserts

• Over and Under the Canyon by Kate Messner

• National Parks of the USA by Kate Siber

• Creatures of the Desert World by National Geographic Society

• Deserts by Gail Gibbons

• Snakes by Gail Gibbons

• Watching Desert Wildlife by Jim Arnosky

• A Walk in the Desert by Rebecca L Johnson

• The Wondrous Workings of Planet Earth by Rachel Ignotofsky

• Southern California Nature Guide by Erin McCloskey

• A Joshua Tree Named Lily by L.S. Lange (free on National Park web site)

• Desert Giant: The World of the Saguaro Cactus by Barbara Bush

• Cactus Cafe: A Story of the Sonoran Desert by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld

• Cactus Hotel by Brenda Guiberson

Lesson 7: Mountains and Forests

• How Mountains are Made by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld

• A Day on the Mountain by Kevin Kurtz (Spanish edition)

• Mountain Chef: How One Man Lost His Groceries, Changed His Plans, and Helped Cook Up the National Park Service by Annette Bay Pimentel

• Oak Tree by Gordon Morrison

• The Sequoia Lives On by Joanna Cooke

• The Magic and Mystery of Trees by Jen Green

• Treecology: 30 Activities and Observations for Exploring the World of Trees and Forests by Monica Russo

• Forest Explorer: A Life-Size Guide by Nic Bishop

• National Parks of the USA by Kate Siber

• Because of an Acorn by Lola and Adam Schaefer

Camping-Theme Picture Books for Pretend Play:

• A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee by Chris Van Dusen

• S is for S’mores: A Camping Alphabet by Helen Foster James

• The Camping Trip by Jennifer Mann

• Charlie and Mouse Outdoors by Laurel Snyder

• What about X? An Alphabet Adventure by Anne Marie Houppert

• C is for Camping (BabyLit) by Greg Paprocki

• Bailey Goes Camping by Kevin Henkes

• Adventure to the Top of the Mountains by Nataliya Moon

• Camp Out: The Ultimate Kids’ Guide, from the Backyard to the Backwoods by Lynne Brunelle

Lesson 8: Chaparral

• Coloring Nature: In the California Chaparral by Richard Halsey

• The Chaparral: Life on the Scrubby Coast by Salvadore Tucci

• Chaparral Shrublands of Southern California Pocket Naturalist® Guide

• Most of the Better Natural Things in the World by Dave Eggers and Angel Chang

• Earth's Biomes: Chaparral and Scrub by Tom Warhol

• Kingfisher Illustrated Nature Encyclopedia

• Chaparrals by Michael de Medeiros

• What's Inside a Flower by Rachel Ignotofsky

• Plant the Tiny Seed by Christie Matheson

Lesson 9: All About Energy

• Running on Sunshine: How Does Solar Energy Work? by Carolyn Cinami DeCristofino

• The Bluest of Blues: Anna Atkins and the First Book of Photographs by Fiona Robinson

• Renewable Energy: Discover the Fuel of the Future With 20 Projects by Joshua Sneideman and Eric Twamley

• The Sun: Our Nearest Star by Franklyn Branley

• Charged Up : the Story of Electricity by Jacqui Bailey and Matthew Lilly

• The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2012 picture book version) by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer

• Energy Makes Things Happen by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

• Iqbal and His Ingenious Idea : How a Science Project Helps One Family and the Planet by Elizabeth Suneby

• What's So Bad About Gasoline? Fossil Fuels and What They Do by Anne Rockwell

• Solar Story: How One Community Lives Alongside the World's Biggest Solar Plant by Allan Drummond

Lesson 10: Earthquakes and Underground

• The Street Beneath My Feet by Charlotte Guillian and Yuvall Zommer

• Up in the Garden, Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner

• Under Your Feet: Soil, Sand, and Everything Underground by DK Books and Wenjia Tang

• Under Earth/Under Water by Mizielinska

• A Rock is Lively by Diana Hutts Aston

• Sam & Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett

• Fault Lines: Understanding the Power of Earthquakes by Johanna Wagstaffe

• Nature Anatomy by Julia Rothman

Lesson 11: California Agriculture

• On the Farm, At the Market by G. Brian Karas

• How Did that Get In My Lunchbox? The Story of Food by Chris Butterworth

• Fresh Picked Poetry: A Day at the Farmer's Market by Michelle Schaub

• The Vegetables We Eat by Gail Gibbons

• The Fruits We Eat by Gail Gibbons

• Right This Very Minute - A Table to Farm Book by Lisl Detlefsen

• A Seed is Sleepy by Dianna Hutts Aston

• Lola Plants a Garden by Anna McQuinn - also in Spanish: Lola planta un jardín

• Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert

• We Are the Gardeners by Joanna Gaines

• The Biggest House in the World by Leo Lionni

Lesson 12: Colorful California (Review)

• Colors in Nature by Magdalena Konecna

• Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert

• The Hidden Rainbow by Christie Matheson

• Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson

• Emile and the Field by Kevin Young

• Tree of Life - The Incredible Biodiversity of Life on Earth by Rochelle Strauss

• Watercolor with Me in the Forest by Dana Fox

• Big Tracks, Little Tracks: Following Animal Prints by Millicent Selsam

• B is for Bear - A Natural Alphabet by Hannah Vaino

• Wild Tracks: A Guide to Nature's Footprints by Jim Arnosky

• Tracks, Scat, Signs by Leslie Dendy