Elementary Living Science Resource
I’m so thrilled to let you all know about this series of books authored by Mr. Glenn O. Blough and delightfully illustrated by Jeanne Bendick! They are all out of print now, but they were very easy for me to find and purchase used very inexpensively. They may still be in your library system, so do check!
I discovered one of the books quite by accident and it didn’t take me long to realize that it was a treasure. Inspecting the book closely I came across a list of other books by Mr. Blough and set out to add to our collection. I’ve been adding and collecting this series and finding them to be utterly fascinating and engaging…and so have the children! The illustrations are informative, delightful and detailed and the writing is simple and engaging while still conveying a fantastic amount of scientific information! What a treasure!
Each of these books is what I would consider a picture book, but they are not a one-time-sitting picture book, the reading of them stretches out over a longer period of time quite naturally. They’re something between a picture book and chapter book – a pic-chap-book? In any case, they work wonderfully when read a few pages at a time, a little each day, over a few weeks.
Fair warning: this book would be overwhelming and you’d lose so much of the treasured information if you plowed through them too quickly! You’ll want to have time to digest, to quietly consider, to observe in your own setting, to complete the inspiring and simple projects. Which is why a few of them (3-4) would be perfect for an entire year worth of elementary science!
These books engage and capture everyone in my home from 6th grade down to the 3 year old (who is so adorable as she perfectly repeats the life cycle of a butterfly!!), and truthfully, even the 10th grader finds them fascinating! That’s a living book, folks! Having said that, they live on my 2nd grader’s lesson plans, and they are really perfect for this age, I think. I’d say that they are most well-suited to students from 2nd – 5th grade.
You could certainly read these alongside any other nature or science living books, and there are a wealth of picture books that could be read in one sitting which would be lovely complements to this series.
Here are the books in this series that are authored by Mr. Glenn Blough and illustrated by Jeanne Bendick:
Seasons:
- Soon After September: The Story of Living Things in Winter
- Wait For the Sunshine: The Story of Seasons and Growing Things
Animals:
- Who Lives In This House: A Story of Animal Families
- Who Lives In This Meadow: A Story of Animal Life
- Who Lives At the Seashore: Animal Life Along the Shore
- Bird Watchers and Bird Feeders
- After The Sun Goes Down: The Story of Animals at Night
Plants:
- Discovering Plants
- Lookout For the Forest: A Conservation Story
- The Tree On the Road to Turntown
(life cycle of an Oak tree)
- Christmas Trees and How They Grow
Insects:
Rain (plants, animals, ponds, roots)
with pictures by Gustav Schrotter:
illustrated with photographs:
Hope you enjoy getting to know these treasures as much as we have!
Thank you for sharing these! I'm still looking for just the right science resources. I appreciate this.
I hope I can find these books! Thanks for sharing.
Great finds Jen, I'm adding to my list of authors to be on the look out for. I just ordered Margaret Waring Buck's Along the Seashore and this style looks very similar : )
I love that combination of nature journal pictures and writing feel.
Thank you! An excellent resource that I hope to find at our library.
These books may be just what I am looking for. I just checked my library with no luck and am wondering where you purchased your books.
Thanks for the great blog!
Aylin
Aylin,
I purchased all of mine used through Amazon. I did not pay much for any of them, sometimes I could find them for as little as a cent and then just pay shipping.
Good luck finding them!
Thank you so much for sharing these! I have been trying to find something for my oldest, 2nd grade, for Science. I believe these fit the bill. I just love books like these.
Your blog is lovely and inspiring.
Jeannie
These are great looking books. I think they are going on my to-buy list for next year!
There is also “The Monkey with a Notion” by him, which our library has.
Thanks for the heads up:) did you know he also has
Elementary School Science and How to Teach It (found it at addall when searching after your post)
Particularly appealing are the very not-ugly drawings. One of my biggest complaints about SO many children's books these days is the just plain unappealingly hideous illustrations.
Thanks for posting about these charming books!
i love older books.. theres something about the smell and the pictures. i need to looking out for these too for our class room. I love your blog and am in alabama too. We moved to anniston about 3 months ago but i grew up in st. clair county…have a blessed week!
What a lovely find! I can get them from other libraries in our state, love the wonderful library system we have!
I recently came across some of Mr. Blough’s books and just fell in love. Then I came across this post. Am having the darndest time finding a copy of these – you were quite blessed to find them on amazon for so cheap! They are available on Internet Archive (an online library borrowing system), but I so prefer to have a beautiful book in my hands from which to read! I will keep looking. What a gem these are!! I wish someone would reprint them!