These are the books we’ve used in the first five weeks of our prehistory unit. We’ve covered the formation of the universe up to the time of the earliest reptiles. I’ve included links to ones I’ve written more about in more detail on previous Non-Fiction Mondays.
Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia of World History – includes a section on the prehistoric world that starts with the formation of the universe
Our Family Tree: An Evolution Story by Lisa Westberg Peters – simple picture book showing our connections to the first lifeforms and tracing our “family tree” to modern humans
Born With A Bang by Jennifer Morgan – the universe tells it’s story from it’s beginning until the Earth was formed, at first I wasn’t sure about the personification of the universe but it grew on me and M really liked it
Life on Earth by Steve Jenkins – excellent introduction to the history of animals on our planet, could be used to introduce the concept of geologic time scale
Magic School Bus in the Time of the Dinosaurs – Ms. Frizzle and her class take a field trip to an archaeological dig and then go back in time all the different era of the dinosaur age. Another good intro to the periods of geologic time.
From Lava to Life by Jennifer Morgan – continues the story from Born With A Bang, the universe tells how the oceans and continents were formed and how life began in the ocean and moved slowly onto land
Magic School Bus Blow Its Top: A Book About Volcanoes – Ms. Frizzle and her class see a volcano erupt and form a new island
On This Spot by Susan E. Goodman – starts with a scene of moden day NYC then travels back through time until just after the earth was formed,
National Geographic Readers: Volcanos by Anne Schreiber – an easy reader that decribes introduces readers to the different types of volcanoes and gives specific examples from around the world
When Fish Got Feet, Sharks Got Teeth, and Bugs Began to Swarm and When Bugs Were Big, Plants Were Strange, and Tetrapods Stalked the Earth by Hannah Bonner – fantastic, humorous approach to life in the Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous and Permian periods, the best children’s books I’ve found yet on the age before the dinosaurs
Paleo-Sharks: Survival of the Strangest by Timothy J. Bradley – wonderful pictures and facts about amazingly weird species of prehistoric sharks along with descriptions of modern sharks that share similar characteristics
Paleo-Bugs: Survival of the Creepiest by Timothy J. Bradley – some of these species are very creepy indeed, great overview of some of the large and strange bugs of the Paleozoic era
Giant Shark: Megalodon by Caroline Arnold – fantastic overview of Megalodons (the largest sharks that ever lived), this species evolved later than the time period we’ve studied so far, but we’re going to see a Megalodon exhibit in a few weeks and we have a Megalodon tooth fossil so we read this book along with Paleo Sharks
Prehistoric Actual Size by Steve Jenkins – fantastic pictures that give the reader a sense of the scale of prehistoric creatures
DK Eyewitness Reptile and DK Eyewitness Amphibian – these books focus on modern amphibians and reptiles but both have excellent description of the defining characteristics of these animal group and a few pages on prehistoric species
This week’s Non-Fiction Monday Round Up is at Wild About Nature.
Part 2 can be found here.
Thanks so much for sharing this list of books – a really great resource, and one I shall be returning to I’m sure.
What a great list! A few years off for us, but I’m marking it for later. 🙂
What an amazing list! I might suggest one addition if you don’t mind. I like Life Story, which is by Virginia Lee Burton, of The Little House and Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel fame, and I think came back into print pretty recently. This history of the world from the prehistoric era took her eight years to write and draw, and is quite wonderful. Best wishes to you.
I was just about to recommend the Bonner books. My kids love those! =) Thanks for a great roundup.
I will have to pass this on to my sister-in-law. 🙂 great list.
Hi Sarah,
Not much luck on the fossil hunting so far this week – the weather has been terrible… BUT, I did just come across this:
http://www.vintagechildrensbooksmykidloves.com/2010/02/life-story.html and wondered if it might be something for you.
Keep your fingers crossed for some dry spells today – after all this horrid weather there could be great fossil finds, as the wind/waves ensure fresh cliff falls and thus new fossils brought to the surface….
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