TanglewoodEducation: Science- Insects

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                      Group A- Birds
                      Group B- Animals
                      Group C- Plants (not yet up)
                      Group D- Geology (not yet up)
                      Group E- Hard Science (not yet up)

                       Tanglewood Suggestion:
Necessary:  1. Handbook of Nature Study
                         2. Peterson First Guides: Caterpillars
                         3. Familiar Butterflies of North America

**If you can only buy one book, this is the one you need!* Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock First written in 1911, this book was intended to "teach" teachers how to teach their students the art of nature-study. It is a comprehensive volume, containing the most common species of everything from insects to shells, ferns to rocks, and so on. This book has never failed to answer our "nature" questions. For example, one day Chloe and I noticed that our parsley plants were completely devoid of leaves and that peculiarly striped caterpillars covered the stems. We quickly got out our handbooks and easily found out what our culprit was-- and in the black and white illustration, we could see that even Mrs. Comstock's striped caterpillar was sitting on a parsley plant! Another reason I like this book is that interspersed throughout the nature pictures and observations are bits of poetry and prose, illuminating the subject of study. $24.95 pb 886pp
Fabre's Book of Insects by Jean Henri Fabre Written in the early 1900s by Fabre (nicknamed the "Homer of Insects"), this absorbing book blends folklore, mythology, and factual explanations about the six-legged creatures. 6th grade & up $8.95 paperback	Peterson First Guides: Caterpillars How many caterpillars have your children brought home, wanting to keep them until they became butterflies? (I must admit that I prefer to buy my caterpillars online- but my children prefer to find their own.) Anyway, this is the best guide I've come across for determining what kind the caterpillar is and what butterfly/moth it will become. (Helps you avoid giving a home to a hundred tent caterpillars on accident!) It gives pictures of 120 of the most common North American species and information on how to raise them. This book can also double as a butterfly/moth guide, as it has pictures of them too! Another bonus is that many of the chrysalises are pictured as well. $6.95
Familiar Butterflies of North America One day the girls and I were touring the garden of an old home. Kievan spotted a butterfly walking along the underside of a statute. We all gathered around and made notes of its particular characteristics. When we got home, we couldn't find it in any of our guides. We ended up at our local bookstore looking through all of the butterfly guides until we finally located it this guide. It turned out to be a very common butterfly- the Gulf Fritillary- and all of the other guides had it listed. However, they all showed it with its wings flat rather than up. Our observation were made with the wings up. In this particular case, the undersides of the wings are very different from the top! This is the only butterfly guide that shows both sides of the wings- very important when trying to make an identification! Avoid the frustration of the other guides! $9.00	Pets in a Jar: Collecting and Caring for Small Wild Animals I gave this book to Chloe for her birthday last year and one year later it is in tatters from heavy use. We definitely got our money's worth from it- it gives all the details needed in order to find, catch, and care for little "animals" such as pond snails and water bugs, tadpoles, newts, toads, worms, ants, crickets, praying mantises, butterflies, and more! Thanks to this book, as I'm writing this description, there are tadpoles, worms, ants, butterflies, and lots of other creepy-crawlies living in various jars throughout our house. Come to think of it, you may not want this book.... $6.99
Girls Who Looked Under Rocks This book contains short interesting biographies of six female naturalists including Anna Botsford Comstock (yea!), Maria Sibylla Merian, Francis Hamerstrom, Rachel Carson, Miriam Rothschild, and Jane Goodall. Many of these women studied insects and their stories most likely will inspire your young lady to look at a few herself! (Read aloud for 3rd-4th, 5th & up can read on own. $6.99	BUGS! (A Know-It-All book) Basically, everything your elementary student needs to know about insects is covered in this very colorful and attractive book. The price can't be beat either! (The picture is of the BUTTERFLY! book, so you can see the type of artwork I don't have a picture of the BUGS! book. Sorry!) $2.79
BUTTERFLIES! (A Know-It-All book) As with the other colorful Know-It-All books, the basic information of the subject is covered thoroughly while being fun to read. $2.79	SPIDERS! (A Know-It-All book) I wouldn't exactly call spiders "happy," but the old-fashioned illustrations in the Know-It-All books- even the spider one- just leave me with a "happy" feeling! Again, this book covers all the basic info on spiders. $2.79
The Family Butterfly Book This wonderful book is a butterfly guide and lesson book rolled into one delightful and absorbing volume. Its goal is to help you "discover the joy of attracting, raising, and nurturing butterflies. I didn't list this book as a necessary item, but I wouldn't want to do without it. This is the book my girls thumb through for fun and for ideas of what to do with all the caterpillars/eggs/butterflies/plants they acquire. The guide portion is OK, but not sufficient (you'll still need the Familiar Butterflies of North America). However, the rest of the book will certainly inspire your youngster. $15.25 (10% off list price because we want you to be able to have it!)
Playing Cards Each pack contains 54 playing cards, each with a different full-color picture and name of the species. An easy way to learn what those critters are! Choose from: Insects of the World- $5.00 Butterflies of the World $5.00