Helping Your Child Learn Science - Resource List

Publications for Parents

American Association for the Advancement of Science. A Family Guide to Science. Washington, DC, 2003. (Available online at www.scienceeverywhere.org)

American Association for the Advancement of Science. Ten Questions to Ask Your Neighborhood School about Local Science Education. Washington, DC, 1998. (Available online at www.project2061.org/research/questions/10questions.htm)

Barber, Jacqueline, Parizeau, Nicole, Bergman, Lincoln and Lima, Patricia. Spark Your Child's Success in Math and Science: Practical Advice for Parents. Berkeley, CA: Great Explorations in Math and Science (GEMS), 2002.

Barry, Dana M. Science Fair Projects: Helping Your Child Create a Super Science Fair Project. Huntington Beach, CA: Teacher Created Materials, 2001.

Children's Partnership. Parent's Guide to the Information Superhighway: Rules and Tools for Families Online, 2nd ed.. Washington, DC, 1998. (Available online at http://www.childrenspartnership.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&TEMPLATE=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=4687)

Milbourne, Linda A. and Haury, David L. Helping Students With Homework in Science and Math. ERIC Digest, 2003.

National Research Council. Every Child a Scientist. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1997. (Available online at www.nap.edu/books/0309059860/html/index.html)

National Science Foundation. New Formulas for America's Workforce: Girls in Science and Engineering. Washington, DC, 2003.

National Science Teachers Association. Help Your Child Explore Science. Washington, DC, 2000. (Available online at http://www.nsta.org/portals/parents/explore.aspx)

National Urban League. Science and Math at Home for Young Children. New York, 1994. (Available online at www.nul.org/)

Pearce, Querida L. How to Talk Dinosaur With Your Child. Los Angeles: Lowell House, 1991.

SciMathMN. What Should I Look for in the Science Program in My Child's School? Minneapolis, MN: SciMathMN, 2000. (Available online at www.scimathmn.org/parent_science.htm)

Sherwood, Elizabeth A., et. al. More Mudpies to Magnets: Science for Young Children. Beltsville, MD: Gryphon House, 1991.

U.S. Department of Education. Helping Your Child With Homework. Washington, DC, 2002. (Available online at www.ed.gov/parents/academic/help/homework/index.html)

U.S. Department of Education. Parents Guide to the Internet. Washington, DC, 1997. (Available online at www.ed.gov/pubs/parents/internet/index.html)

Walthall, Barbara (Ed.). IDEAAAS: Sourcebook for Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education. Washington, DC: American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1995.

Zeman, Anne. Everything You Need to Know About Science Homework. New York: Irving Place Press, 1994.

Books for Children

Libraries and bookstores now have available an enormous number of excellent science-related books for children. When making selections, you may want to consider questions that the National Science Teachers Association uses in evaluating books. For instance:

• Does the author have a good science background and reputation?
• Is the content interesting to children?
• Is the sequence of events logical?
• Is the format (the placement of pictures, photographs and text) pleasant and easy to follow?
• Are the pictures, photographs and illustrations accurate, and do they match the text?
• Is the vocabulary appropriate? (Big words are OK if they are explained and used in context.)
• Are controversies handled fairly?
• Are the suggested activities safe? Practical?

When selecting books, also keep in mind:

• Children can learn science from "non-science" books too, such as fictional stories, biographies and historical accounts.
• Recommended age or grade levels are usually printed on a book's back cover, but they are recommendations only. You're the best judge of which books are appropriate for your child, regardless of age. Just take special care with age-level recommendations for those books that could pose potential safety hazards, such as the use of certain equipment or chemicals.

The following list is only a small sample of the many excellent science-related books that your child might enjoy. Many of the books listed here appear on the recommended lists prepared jointly by the National Science Teachers Association and the Children's Book Council and the lists prepared the American Association for the Advancement of Science. For additional titles or for titles about specific science-related topics, go to the Web sites of these organizations or ask your local or school librarian for recommendations. Many of the following books also are available in languages other than English, and your librarian can help you locate them.

The books are arranged according to subject. For each book, you'll see a suggested age range: P indicates books that are most appropriate to read with preschoolers and children in grades K through 2; E indicates those books that will appeal to children in grades 3 and up, who read independently.

Anatomy and Medicine

Baeuerle, Patrick and Landa, Norbert. The Cell Works: Microexplorers: An Expedition Into the Fantastic World of Cells. New York: Barrons Juveniles, 1997. (E)

Balestrino. Philip. The Skeleton Inside You. New York: Harper Trophy, 1991. (P)

Balkwill, Frances R. and Rolph, Mic. Enjoy Your Cells. Cold Spring Harbor, NY: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 2002. (E)

Berger, Melvin. Why I Sneeze, Shiver, Hiccup, and Yawn. New York: HarperCollins Juvenile Books, 2000. (P)

Cobb, Vicki. Feeling Your Way: Discover Your Sense of Touch. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook Press, 2001. (P)

Davidson, Sue and Morgan, Ben. Human Body Revealed. New York: DK Publishing, 2002. (E)

DeGezelle, Terri with Hogan, Marjorie. Your Bones. Mankato, MN: Bridgestone Books, 2002. (E)

Farndon, John. The Human Body. Tarrytown, NY: Benchmark Books, 2002. (E)

Gordon, Sharon. Bruises. Danbury, CT: Children's Press, 2002. (P)

Manning, Mick. Wash, Scrub, Brush! Morton Grove, IL: Whitma, 2001. (P)

Romanek,Trudee. ZZZ!: The Most Interesting Book You'll Ever Read About Sleep. Tonawanda, NY: Kids Can Press, 2002. (E)

Showers, Paul. Hear Your Heart. New York: Harper Trophy, 2001. (P)  

Archaeology, Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Times

Aliki. Digging Up Dinosaurs. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1981. (P)

Baquebado, Elizabeth. Aztec, Inca & Maya. New York: Knopf, 1993. (E)

Barrett, Paul. National Geographic Dinosaurs. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society, 2001. (E)

Beshore, George W. Science in Ancient China. London: Orchard Books, 1998. (E)

Bishop, Nic. Digging for Bird Dinosaurs: An Expedition to Madagascar. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000. (E)

Camper, Cathy. Bugs Before Time: Prehistoric Insects and Their Relatives. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2002. (P)