Eyewitness Juniors series and Eyewitness Books

Random House, Inc./Knopf

Two outstanding series of books from Knopf make excellent science resources. These books are beautifully illustrated, primarily with photographs. Text is well-written and loaded with fascinating information. Eyewitness Junior books are written for children ages 6-10, while Eyewitness books aim for ages 10 and up. There is less text, and it is printed in larger type in the younger level books.

Titles in the Junior series all start with the word “amazing.” The Amazing titles are Animal Babies; Armored Animals; Bats; Birds; Birds of Prey; Bikes; Boats; Butterflies and Moths; Cats; Crocodiles and Reptiles; Fish; Flying Machines; Frogs and Toads; Insects; Lizards; Mammals; Monkeys; Poisonous Animals; Snakes; Wolves, Dogs, and Foxes; and Spiders.

Older level titles include Butterfly and Moth, Dinosaur, Fish, Insect, Mammal, Reptile, Car, Crystal and Gem, Early Humans, Flying Machine, Invention, Plant and Flower, Pond and River, Rocks and Minerals, Seashore, Shell, Skeleton, Sports, Tree (see review of this particular book below), and Weather.

Tree, from the Eyewitness Books series

By David Burne

This is one of the best resources for older children (ages 9-10 and older) about trees. Illustrations are beautiful photographs and drawings. The content is detailed, yet not overwhelming. This is a much more comprehensive and useful book than the Usborne books and others that I have seen in the library.