Guest Hollow’s Science of Seasons Curriculum Book and Resource List

Welcome to the Guest Hollow’s Science of Seasons Curriculum Book and Resource List! This list is to give you an idea of what will be needed if you are using Guest Hollow’s Science of Seasons Curriculum along with some helpful tips and other information. For details about the curriculum itself please click here.
Thank You,
The Guest Family
© Guest Hollow, LLC

Literature-based science that’s engaging and fun!

In order to use Guest Hollow’s Science of Seasons Curriculum, you will need to obtain the scheduled books and other items separately. You may be able to borrow many for FREE from your local library! Check out the F.A.Q. below for tips on how to save money when using a literature-based curriculum.

The printable version of the book list features:

• The ISBN number and author’s name
  You can make sure your copy of the book matches the one in the schedule.
• Notification of when each book or item is used
  You can plan ahead when to check out books from the library. Books used throughout the year are marked “multiple weeks,” so you can decide whether you want to purchase them vs. borrow them.
• Checklists for planning
  A handy checklist helps you plan if you are going to buy or borrow a book. It can also help you choose the format of your books (physical copy, e-book, or audio book).
• Consumables are marked
  You’ll get advance notice of which items are consumable, so you’ll know what you may need to purchase and how many copies you may want to get if you are using the curriculum with multiple students.

Here’s an example of the printable book list:

Keep scrolling to see the full online book list (below the F.A.Q. on this page).

We’ve scheduled in lots of colorful, fact-filled, interesting and engaging books for Science of the Seasons! Before taking a look at the books and resources, we’ve addressed some common questions:

Book and Resource F.A.Q.

Warning! Preview all materials! We strongly recommend you preview all items to see if they are appropriate for your student. Every family is different in what they find offensive! Additional notes about some of the books are in the descriptions below.

Books and Items
	The Science of Seasons Click here for a PDF version you can print. Join Abigail, Henry, Grace, and their lively Fox Terrier, Beowulf, as they learn about the seasons in this lavishly illustrated, Christian friendly science book! Kids will learn about the seasons in different parts of the world, solstices, equinoxes, and a myriad of other topics brought together in a way to draw in both strong and reluctant readers! There are fun comics to read, celebrations in other parts of the world to learn about, and even yummy recipes to commemorate each season.
	The Science of Seasons Learn-and-Play Activities  Click here for a PDF version you can print. This activity book is stuffed with over 125 pages of engaging things to learn and do that expand on the topics in The Science of Seasons. Kids can bring to life the lessons they are learning with character cutouts and playsets, fill out the make your own comic templates, and create a globe of the earth for fun experiments and much more! Far more than a typical activity book,The Science of Seasons Learn-and-Play Activities contains a highly varied assortment of cross-curricular lessons and projects, which will engage children on many different levels.
	Explore Spring: 25 Great Ways to Learn About Spring This is an easy to read book with comic style illustrations and tons of activities. Even though it says, “Explore Spring!”, the book covers lots of different, basic science concepts.
	If You Were Quotation Marks (Word Fun) “If you were quotation marks, you would stand on either side of a book title, such as Cinderella. You could stand on either side of Cindy’s words when she says, This glass slipper fits!” What else could you do if you were quotation marks?”
	Art for Kids: Comic Strips: Create Your Own Comic Strips from Start to Finish This optional book is for kids who enjoy the comic book templates in The Science of Seasons Activities book and want to write and create more comics. It’s a great way to sneak in language arts for more reluctant writers, or to fan the flames of those who can’t write enough.
Note: This book is recommended as a read-aloud for younger children. Older children can use it as a reader.	Miracles on Maple Hill “The war is over and Marly’s father is home – but he’s not the same. Something inside him seems as cold and dead as the winter world outside. But when the family moves to Grandma’s old house on Maple Hill, miracles begin to happen. The sap in the trees begins to rise, the leaves start to turn, and maybe, just maybe, Marly’s father will begin to bloom again, like the world around them. Winner of the Newbery Medal, this wise and moving classic is a story of children and parents and the miracles of nature.”
	Why Do Elephants Need the Sun? “There are trillions of stars in the universe, but we rely on our sun to provide (or contribute to) most of what we need to survive and thrive: heat, light, plants, animals, wind, and water. Complete with fun, cartoon illustrations, this book give kids plenty of information about our sun in an easy-to-read and digest format. By focusing on the needs of an elephant, Wells makes clear just how important the sun is to life on Earth.”
	The Sun “Seymour Simon explores the wonders of the sun, from the constant nuclear explosions at its core to the sea of boiling gases that forms the surface, in this crisp, clear book illustrated with over twenty startling, full-color photographs, The Sun presents a fascinating introduction to the star that is the center of our Solar System and essential to life on Earth.”
This book is also scheduled in Guest Hollow’s Conceptual Physics Curriculum.	Come See the Earth Turn  This book is only available used. “A sickly child, a poor student, and a medical school dropout, Léon Foucault seemed an unlikely candidate for greatness. But his ingenious experiment—simple, beautiful, and stunningly original—changed how we see the world.”
	Tedco 8″ X 10″ Sun Art Paper Kit Use natural or man-made objects to make beautiful and unique prints.
	National Geographic Readers: Great Migrations Whales “Over the course of their 70-year lifespan, sperm whales will easily travel the circumference of the Earth in search of food and the need to breed and find a mate. Males will travel as far north as the Bering Sea and as far south as Antarctica in order to find enough food to sustain their ways of live-up to 700 squid a day! Along the way, these massive beasts battle 30-feet-long giant squids, and each other, to sustain their ways of life.”
Note: I love books that teach math concepts with picture books! What a nice break from a textbook! I read this to my son several times over the course of our studies when he was younger.	What’s Your Angle, Pythagoras? “On a trip to Egypt, Pythagoras’ curiosity helps him discover the secret of the right triangle. A clever introduction to the Pythagorean Theorem.”
	The Greedy Triangle This is another fun math book that reinforces the lesson in The Science of Seasons Activities book.
	Explore Earth’s Five Oceans “Oceans cover three-quarters of the planet. This book shows how the world’s five oceans – Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern, and Arctic – are interconnected and why they are vitally important to the rest of Earth.”
	Arctic Lights, Arctic Nights “Imagine a land where the sun rises at 1:58 a.m. in the summer and shines for less than four hours on a winter’s day.  The animals in the wilderness near Fairbanks, Alaska, witness some of the world’s greatest temperature extremes and light variations ever year.  At an average low of -16 degrees Fahrenheit, the winters may be unpleasantly frigid, but the light shows are always glorious!”
	How Much Is a Million? How Much is a Million is used to help kids better understand just what it means when we say the sun is 93 million miles away! This book was taken off the shelf and read multiple times by my son. It is a family favorite and does a terrific job of making the number million meaningful.
Note: This book is recommended as a read-aloud for younger children. Older children can use it as a reader.	The Wheel on the School  Note: This book is only available used right now. You may be able to find it at a used book site. It’s also available for free at Openlibrary.org. Click here. “Why do the storks no longer come to the little Dutch fishing village of Shora to nest? It was Lina, one of the six schoolchildren who first asked the question, and she set the others to wondering. And sometimes when you begin to wonder, you begin to make things happen. So the children set out to bring the storks back to Shora. The force of their vision put the whole village to work until at last the dream began to come true.”
	Less Than Zero (MathStart 3) Introduce your children to negative numbers with this fun book about Perry the Penguin.
	Extreme Temperatures: Learning About Positive and Negative Numbers This is another picture book to help reinforce negative numbers and help your children retain what they are learning in The Science of Seasons Activities book.  Click here for a Google preview.
	The Great Graph Contest “Two comical creatures go crazy with graphs in an imaginative look at organizing information. Young readers can learn about bar graphs, pie charts, Venn diagrams, and more. Details about how each graph was made are shown at the end plus instructions for students to make their own.”
Choose one of the following four books:
Option 1: Australia (Country Guides, with Benjamin Blog and his Inquisitive Dog)	Option 2: The Mystery on the Great Barrier Reef: Sydney, Australia
Option 3: Flat Stanley’s Worldwide Adventures #8: The Australian Boomerang Bonanza	Option 4: Florence Young: Mission Accomplished (Christian Heroes: Then & Now)  This is a Christian book. We used this series as read-alouds. It would take 2-4 weeks to read it aloud.
	National Geographic Kids Bird Guide of North America  If you get this book, encourage your children to reference it throughout the year! Beautiful photographs illustrate this very informative book that features 100 species of birds from coast to coast.
This book is also scheduled in Guest Hollow’s Language Arts.	Slide and Slurp, Scratch and Burp: More About Verbs “One book is never enough to explore the wide range of verbs! The crazy cats deliver loads of additional examples to illustrate the power of both action verbs and linking verbs. Brian P. Cleary’s playful verse and Brian Gable’s comical cats turn traditional grammar lessons on end. Each verb is printed in color for easy identification. Read this book aloud and share the delight of the sense and nonsense of words.”
This book is also scheduled in Guest Hollow’s Language Arts.	Hairy, Scary, Ordinary: What Is an Adjective? “Simple, rhyming text and colorful cartoon cats help children expand their vocabularies and gain an appreciation for the rhythm of language in this lighthearted book of rhyming verse. Adjectives like frilly, silly, polka-dotted, fizzy, and spunky are printed in color, and all the words will tickle you pink!”
	Going Home: The Mystery of Animal Migration “For animals, migration is a powerful compulsion, sometimes over long distances, often skipping meals. Sometimes, as in the case of the monarch butterfly, a round-trip takes several generations. Why do they do it? How do they succeed? The ten featured species offer a broad representation of migration: loggerhead turtles, monarch butterflies, manatees, ruby-throated hummingbirds, Pacific salmon, Canada geese, California gray whales, caribou, Arctic tern, and emperor penguin. The book is loaded with additional tips for teachers.”
	Face to Face with Caterpillars “Readers learn to study these insects like the experts: witness the astonishing life cycle with its metamorphosis from caterpillar to pupa to butterfly; see the amazing snake-like defenses of some poisonous species; and the silk stitching used by others to build leafy hideaways. Face to Face with Caterpillars encourages an active study of this intriguing insect: How to find caterpillars, how to raise a monarch, how to help preserve their habitats, how to photograph the caterpillar, and how to learn more; it’s all in Darlyne Murawski’s fun book.”
	Insect Lore Live Butterfly Garden My family did this project several times over the years, and it was well worth it. It’s highly recommended for a memorable experience and hands-on science your kids will love
	Creation Camouflage  One-Week Unit Study / Lapbook Click here for a sample. “Learn all about how and why animals hide in different parts of the earth, from oceans and rain forests to deserts and even the tundra. Meet distinguished animal-loving experts and watch videos of astonishing animals from around the world while learning about their most amazing forms of camouflage.”
Note: This book is recommended as a read-aloud for younger children. Older children can use it as a reader.	Cherry Blossoms in Twilight: Memories of a Japanese Girl “Yaeko Sugama Weldon’s memories of a poor but happy childhood shattered by the destruction of war offer a window to a different culture and an eye-opening look at how civilians survive the fears and horrors of a war they never wanted. Cherry Blossoms in Twilight is a learning experience about the Japanese culture as well as a personal account of WWII in Japan, gently told for a younger audience but nonetheless unflinching in its message of the humanity of all – even the enemy’s people.”
	A Strange Place to Call Home: The World’s Most Dangerous Habitats & the Animals That Call Them Home “Under the desert’s cracked and barren skin, spadefoot toads are waiting for rain. In the endless black of the deepest caves, blind fish find their way. Even in the frozen hearts of glaciers, ice worms by the billion flourish. In this fascinating look at fourteen animals who defy the odds by thriving in Earth’s most dangerous places, renowned poet Marilyn Singer and celebrated artist Ed Young show that of all the miracles of life, it is life’s persistence that astounds the most.”
	Japanese Traditions: Rice Cakes, Cherry Blossoms and Matsuri: A Year of Seasonal Japanese Festivities You might be wondering what a book about the Japanese is doing in a science curriculum. It’s all part of learning the Guest Hollow way! LOL…I like weaving in extra topics. You’ll see how it all ties together when you read the Science of Seasons books!
	Hide-and-Seek Science: Animal Camouflage “The stunning book looks at how animals use camouflage in seven distinct ecosystems spanning the globe: swamp (Florida Everglades), desert (Africa’s Sahara), rain forest (South American’s Amazon), deciduous forest (Europe), arctic (North America), and coral reef (Australia’s Great Barrier Reef). For each habitat. A lush full-page spread is followed by the key that explains how each animal uses camouflage and where it can be found in the preceding spread.”
	The Longest Day: Celebrating the Summer Solstice “The Longest Day takes us on a journey through the history and science behind the summer solstice, with a focus on summer celebrations from various cultures around the world. Teachers and students alike will treasure the varied and accessible knowledge, and activities in the back let everyone in on the festivities.”
	Farmer Boy (Little House) My kids loved this book, as did I, when I was a child! There is a rhythm to Almanzo’s family’s life that is dictated by the seasons.
	All About Me: A Keepsake Journal for Kids This journal for children has thought-starter writing prompts.
	Sea Clocks: The Story of Longitude “Sailors knew how to measure latitude, their location north or south of the equator, but they could not measure longitude, their location east or west of their home port. Because of this, many lives were lost worldwide. The key to solving this problem lay in devising a clock that could keep absolutely accurate time while at sea, unaltered by rough water or weather conditions. With such a timekeeper sailors would be able to know the time back at their home port and calculate the longitude. But no one knew how to design such a clock. John Harrison (1693-1776), an Englishman without any scientific training, worked tirelessly for more than forty years to create a perfect clock. The solution to this problem was so important that an award of 20,000 pounds sterling (equal to several million dollars today) was established by the English Parliament in 1714. Harrison won recognition for his work in 1773. “
	National Geographic Kids Everything Weather “Weather can be wild, freaky, and fascinating! Powerful twisters roar through homes; earthquakes shatter whole cities; hurricanes fly through towns. How does it all happen and how do we know what we do? All you need to know about weather and all of its wildness will be found in the pages of this colorful, energetic, and accessible book.”
	We Gather Together: Celebrating the Harvest Season “The fall equinox signals the time of year when we gather our harvests and give thanks for their bounty. With accessible, lyrical prose and vibrant illustrations, this nonfiction picture book explains the science behind autumn and the social history of harvest-time celebrations.”
	Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs Every child should read this book at least once. I remember listening to it read aloud at a library story time when I was little. I was delighted to find it for my own kids. It’s a family favorite!
	Stormy Weather Make & Learn Project “Did you know that thunderstorms are the least dangerous kind of storm? Follow the birth of a thunderstorm with this lift-the-flaps mini-book! This interactive mini-book features simple text and realistic art. Includes background information, easy how-tos, extension activities, and print and Web resources. A great way to introduce children to science and nonfiction!”
	Battleship This game is optional. I’ve linked to free printable versions of the game in the weekly schedule. It’s a great way to reinforce what your child will be learning about coordinates.
	Why Do Leaves Change Color? I’ve included more detailed information for older children to read (or listen to), in the curriculum schedule. This picture book is still worthwhile for older children who don’t know why leaves change colors.
Note: Younger students may need assistance with this kit.	Thames & Kosmos Wind Power V4.0 STEM Experiment Kit ★ Build wind-powered generators to energize your electric vehicles and charge your rechargeable batteries! ★ Models include: a 3-foot tall long-bladed turbine, short-bladed turbine, glider, motorcycle, jet car, tractor, race car, and sail car. ★ Includes two styles of wind turbine blades and a gearbox with three different gear ratios for experimenting. ★ A 36-page, full-color manual guides model building with step-by-step assembly instructions. ★ Learn all about renewable energy!
	The Story of Snow: The Science of Winter’s Wonder “How do snow crystals form? What shapes can they take? Are no two snow crystals alike? These questions and more are answered in this visually stunning exploration of the science of snow. Perfect for reading on winter days, the book features photos of real snow crystals in their beautiful diversity. Snowflake-catching instructions are also included.”
	The Big Snow “The woodland animals were all getting ready for the winter. Geese flew south, rabbits and deer grew thick warm coats, and the raccoons and chipmunks lay down for a long winter nap. Come Christmastime, the wise owls were the first to see the rainbow around the moon. It was a sure sign that the big snow was on its way.”
	Winter Bees & Other Poems of the Cold “In this outstanding picture book collection of poems by Newbery Honor-winning poet, Joyce Sidman (Song of the Water Boatman, Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night), discover how animals stay alive in the wintertime and learn about their secret lives happening under the snow.”
	Instant Snow My kids LOVED activities like this.
This book is also scheduled in Guest Hollow’s Actions and Reactions Curriculum.	Snowflake Bentley “From the time he was a small boy in Vermont, Wilson Bentley saw snowflakes as small miracles. And he determined that one day his camera would capture for others the wonder of the tiny crystal. Bentley’s enthusiasm for photographing snowflakes was often misunderstood in his time, but his patience and determination revealed two important truths: no two snowflakes are alike; and each one is startlingly beautiful. His story is gracefully told and brought to life in lovely woodcuts, giving children insight into a soul who had not only a scientist’s vision and perseverance but a clear passion for the wonders of nature. “
	Volcanoes My son loved the Seymour Simon series of books. They are full of beautiful photographs!

The terrific materials listed above are for Guest Hollow’s Science of Seasons Curriculum! We invite you to check it out!
Thank You,
The Guest Family
© Guest Hollow, LLC