One Small Square Nature Study Series

First published in the 1990s, the series includes the following titles: Arctic Tundra, Backyard, Cactus Desert, Cave, Coral Reef, Night Sky, Pond, Seashore, Swamp, Rain Forest, and Woods. Published by Scientific American Books for Young Readers, an imprint of W. H. Freeman and Company; each title is about 50 pages.

Donald M. Silver & Patricia Wynne

Silver is the author of more than 40 science books for children and teachers. All of his books have been illustrated by Wynne.

Wynne is the illustrator of over 200 science books for children and adults; her books have received awards from Parenting Magazine and the National Science Teachers Association among others.

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Book Brief

Best Learning Ideas

This a a phenomenal nature book series for children! The lush illustrations accompany habitat descriptions and activities a child can complete independently. The books follow a similar pattern beginning with safety rules for its specific habitat followed by a methodical approach to nature study using basic methods of science observation and science theory building. This is truly a book for hands-on discovery and learning.  

At the end of each book there is a "Further Reading" list - which may be a bit dated! But the list of art supplies to use with a nature diary is spot on. 

I wish we had known about this series when we taught our Daughters at home!  Given where we lived, we would have started with the Backyard  or Woods titles and followed up with others according to the girls' interests and our travels.

Family Read Aloud Time
Although, not a traditional read aloud these books would be fascinating as picture books for younger children to "read."

Learning at Home
With 11 titles, this series is perfect for developing a cycle of nature study for 6-10 year olds. Depending where you live only a few of the titles would be appropriate for use with a nature-diary. If your family travel-schools, then you have your pick of which habitats to study.

​Classroom Ideas
If I were teaching a 4th or 5th grade class and needed to create lessons to meet the NGSS for Earth Systems, I would use these books to learn about the internal and external structures in plants and animals which support survival, growth, behavior and reproduction.

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Since these books were published quite some time ago, your best bet is to look for them at your library or used-book stores.  Bookshop.org has just the one title listed below, but Acorn Naturalists carries new copies of all the titles.