Back to School Science Books for Preschoolers!

One of my favorite Back-to-School supplies to get each year are a few new science books for our preschoolers and other children!  These science books need to be informative, accurate, exciting, have great pictures, and be accessible to kids.  That doesn't mean that young children need to be able to read every word, but what they can't read needs to be illustrated well enough to capture their attention...and make them want me to read it to them!

We still visit the library all the time and frequently buy books in the middle of the year, but the new set of science books at the start of each year makes the upcoming school time feel a little like Christmas in July!

This year, I am happy to recommend these Back-to-School Science Books!  They are all fantastic for young kids...preschoolers included!  Even my toddler grabbed the First Animal Encyclopedia today and asked to read about the elephants!  They also work great for elementary kids--my 8-year old can easily read any of them to herself or the younger kids around her, and they love sharing them together.

DK First Animal Encyclopedia walks you through the Animal Kingdom by sharing fun facts about popular, and some not-so-popular, animals and animal groups!

All About Scabs by Genichiro Yagyu teaches you about scabs and how and why they form while still asking classic questions that young children can relate to, like "Can I pick this scab," and "What is a scab made of?"

My Body is a very child-friendly introduction to your body systems and would work great in an "All About Me" type of unit.  Of course, it also works great just as a fun book to read and talk about how our bodies work!

Bugs is a marvelous introduction to the world of insects and other small (and some not-so-small!) critters!  My daughter loves to take this book with us on short drives and read as many pages as she can fit in before we reach our destination!

Are You a Grasshopper? by Judy Allen takes you through the life cycle and unique characteristics of grasshoppers and many other insects.  In fact, the entire "Are you a..." series is fantastic!

Penguins is the most adorable book all about penguins!  It introduces you to the the different species of penguins and teaches basic penguin-life information.  And, it is full of real photographs of these remarkable birds!

How the Universe Works is a slightly older book that ties our planet into the bigger picture of space, our galaxy, and the universe.  Normally, I would not recommend an astronomy book more than five years old, but this is an exception!  It is full of over a hundred hands-on demonstrations and experiments you can do with your children to model and learn about different aspects of our universe!  My kids love flipping through this, and other books like it, choosing an experiment, and then doing the experiment.  Usually, the actual doing takes a little more supervision, but I love having a collection of hands-on activities they can choose from to learn more about space!  Some of the activities are definitely geared toward older elementary children, but the vast majority can be easily adapted for preschoolers and other young children.

I'm also super excited to recommend ThriftBooks.com as a fantastic place to get a set of new-to-you science books too!  I first discovered them almost two years ago and have been telling everyone I know about them ever since!  Their books are all used, and they have a HUGE inventory...over 7 million books!  It is the only place I've ever seen where I can get seven amazing science books (like the set I listed above!) for under $30!!  Last year, I bought seven science books that fit an electronics and robots theme from them for under $30 too!  Almost all of the books I have looked at (including the entire set above, most of which are hard cover) are priced between $3.50 and $4.50 each. They also have a great referral program to save even more money!

My shopping experience at ThriftBooks.com is always a pleasure!  As you look at each book on their website, you can see a description of the book, details like how many pages the book has and how big it is, its format (paperback or hardcover), additional books by the same author or similar titles, and a description of the quality of the book (very good, good, or acceptable).  I have only bought "very good" or "good" books and have been very, very pleased with the results.  If the book you want is out of print or off the shelves, you can place it on a "wish list" and get an email as soon as it is in stock!  The only thing I wish the site had were pictures of the inside pages of the book, but most of the books I've looked for are very well known, so I haven't needed to actually see inside first.

Once you order from them, you get an email that confirms your order, another email telling when your order is shipping and where it is shipping from, and a link to track the order.  AND...if you spend $10 or more, you get {FREE} shipping!!  Their policy is to ship within 24 hours.  Most of our books arrived within a week, and all of them arrived within 10 days.  They also have a reward program where you can earn a coupon to use on the website as you spend money there.  Obviously, we've been using it to get children's books (especially science books!), but they sell everything from board books to novels!  There is definitely something for everyone, and at an amazing price!  You can visit ThriftBooks.com and see all their awesomeness for yourself!

Do you have any favorite Back-to-School books?  What are your kiddos' favorite science books?  I'd love to know!  Feel free to leave a comment or stop by on Facebook and tell us!

I may share at any of these parties!


I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.



Never miss another post again!  Sign up for our weekly updates newsletter and get links to all our posts once a week in your inbox!  Sign up here!!