2025 Naturalist-in-Residence Inspired Book List for Kids and Teens

A newly planted sidewalk tree in the city transforms the neighborhood as residents nurture it through the seasons. 

While observing the assorted birds in her town, Sparrow, a curious Black girl, learns about their flight patterns, colors, and songs.

There are so many places that wild can exist, if only you know where to look! Can you find it? Two kids set off on an adventure away from their urban home and discover all the beauty of the natural world. From the bark on the trees to the sudden storm that moves across the sky to fire and flowers, and snowflakes and fresh fruit. As the children make their way through the woods and back to the paved and noisy streets, they discover that wild exists not just off in some distant place, but right in their own backyard. Available to download: eBook

A normal everyday puddle may not seem very special. But for a mother turtle, it might be the perfect place to lay her eggs. For a squirrel, it might be the only spot to cool off and get a drink when the sun is shining down in July. And for any child, it can be a window into the elegant, complex natural world right outside their window. With lush, playful illustrations and fun facts about the animals featured, Hello, Puddle! is a joyful celebration of the remarkable in the ordinary, and the importance of even the most humble places in fostering life.

All over the world, cities large and small were built near rivers because of what they can provide: drinking water, transportation, power sources. But over the centuries as cities grew, the rivers became polluted by sewage and industrial waste, and their natural flow patterns were disrupted. Disease and flooding were often the result. In a short-sighted attempt to address these issues, city planners buried old rivers beneath city streets. But this solution brought more problems. Finally, a group of naturalists realized that freeing buried rivers could be the answer to managing urban waterways. In rhyming text, the fascinating story of "daylighting," unearthing and restoring buried rivers to their rightful places as source of well-being and beauty, comes to life.

The first book in a middle grade series for young environmental activists and nature lovers, The Wild World Handbook offers a roadmap for change and an invitation to explore the outdoors, alongside surprising facts and hands-on STEAM activities. Featuring nine habitats from around the globe, each section includes diverse biographies of outdoor adventurers, scientists, and artists who used their passion and skills to become bold allies for Earth’s natural diversity and resiliency. Available to download: eBook

We share this beautiful planet we call home with countless living creatures, from monarch butterflies and falcons to koalas and dolphins. And just like us, animals everywhere are faced with the growing threat of climate change. Featuring seven categories of animals, this handbook offers a roadmap for change and an invitation to explore the outdoors with fascinating facts, hope-filled stories, and hands-on STEAM activities. Each section includes biographies of adventurers, scientists, and artists from all over the world who used their passion and skills to become bold allies for nature. Available to download: eAudio

Connecting with his busy dad over their love of nature, Tim goes through his dad's old nature journals, which inspire him to go on adventures of his own and record all the things he finds to share with his dad.

Ready for a wonder walk? Well, then just head outside. Let your imagination soar and your curiosity run wild...and soon you'll be looking at the world in a whole new light. Micha Archer's stunningly detailed collages bring the wonders of the natural world to vivid life and demonstrate the fun to be had in exploring its marvels.

Ready for a wonder walk? Well, then just head outside. Let your imagination soar and your curiosity run wild...and soon you'll be looking at the world in a whole new light. Micha Archer's stunningly detailed collages bring the wonders of the natural world to vivid life and demonstrate the fun to be had in exploring its marvels.

Finn is in a bad mood, so his grandfather takes him on a walk in the forest, and tells him about all the things that are beneath the surface of plants and animals--and even people.

The Hike is a plucky and sweet adventure story about three intrepid young female explorers set out to conquer the outdoors in their local forest. Here is the best and worst of any hike: from picnics to puffing and panting, deer-sighting to detours. This spirited picture book is filled with lyrical language that captures the majesty of the natural world, coupled with a fun narrative throughout. Features a glossary and scientific backmatter. Includes a sketchbook by one of the characters that highlights aspects of the hike. Abundant labels throughout for scientific learning. The Hike is about how fun it can be to explore nature in your own backyard. This book is a must-have for budding scientists, best friends, and all adventurers in preschool and kindergarten.

After a long day in the hustle and bustle of the big, noisy city, Lewis is ready to go home. But when the BRUMMM of their bus is stopped by a loud POP!, they are stuck waiting along a country road. With nothing to do, Lewis finds himself listening to new noises all around him. Beetles BUZZ and critters ZIP in the moon-bright sky. Whooooooosh, whirr, flitter flutter, rustle rustle-whoa! The more he listens, the more he hears-nature's sounds are full of music. 

Joy and her peers are eager to visit a nearby forest for a class trip. But Joy's excitement quickly turns into anxiety when she is asked to choose one thing in the area for a school assignment. Seeing her classmates connecting with the natural environment, Joy discovers how each of their choices reflect the ways they relate to and interact with the world. Together, a Forest begins as an exciting journey into nature and blossoms into a meditation on how our unique personalities and ways of being help create a more vibrant and beautiful world. The forest reveals that everyone--including those of us with disabilities and neurodivergence--belong to nature. There is no one right way for a mind, body, or person to be.

A first collection by an acclaimed poet invites readers to join Bear on his journey to meet friends and explore his woodland home during a magical year of seasons as depicted on high-detail hidden-object spreads.

A playful field guide for natural scientists and curious observers of the world right under our noses.

What do we learn from plants when we listen to them speaking? Indigenous plantsman Nicholas Hummingbird calls on the legacy of his great-grandparents to remember how one drop of rain, one seed, one plant can renew a cycle of hope and connection--for him and for each of us. 

Ready to meet some far-out flora? Leaf through this book and you'll unearth some of the amazing adaptations that help plants thrive: Seeds that explode. Leaves that look like stones. Berries so deadly that swallowing just a few will stop your heart. A plant that eats meat, and another that pretends to be meat--rotten meat, with a smell so rank you'll want to plug your nose. Dig in to the science of plant survival in a botanical book blooming with lush illustrations and filled with engagingly narrated, fascinating facts about how plants flourish, even in the most extreme environments on earth. A glossary, source notes, index, and select bibliography round out the back matter for readers eager to know more. 

An interactive, illustrated guide perfect for any burgeoning plant lover! Research shows plants can keep us (and our living spaces) happier and healthier. This illustrated guide breaks down everything from basic light and water needs to soil and temperature requirements for over fifty plants, and will help you find the right plant(s) for your personality, regardless of where you live or how much space you have. With an expansive glossary of plant terms, you'll be speaking like a horticulture pro in no time.

Perfect for curious explorers and aspiring artists, this beginning drawing book will show kids how to observe and draw their favorite animals and the natural world in a fun, interactive style! Popular YouTube drawing instructor Brad Woodard, founder of the Brave Kids Art Club show, shares his easy-to-follow lessons and tips and tricks for getting outside and drawing cool stuff. Drawing lessons inlcude drawing a deer, a beaver, a squirrel, a fox (and other mammals), a robin, a blue jay, an owl (and other birds), a gragonfly, a praying mantis, a grasshopper (and other insects), as well as some plants, fish and reptiles. Includes nature journal pages. 

Beti lives in a little round house in the green woods under the mountains with Mam, Tad, baby Jac, and her very own tiny goat named Naughty. Beti loves the little round house, where there is always the promise of adventure with Naughty, Jac, and her friends, whatever the season!

Roz must take an under-the-ocean journey to save her island from a mysterious poison tide. Available to download: eBook eAudio

Through the eyes of her family and friends we see the young Rachel as she explores nature and overcomes obstacles to write about harmful chemical practices and launch the global environmental movement. Written in blank verse.

Twelve-year-old Henna loves living with her two papas and cultivating her beloved plants on the tiny island of Earth's End--until Papa Niall grows seriously ill. Now Henna is determined to find a legendary, long-extinct plant with miraculous healing powers, even though the search means journeying all the way to St. Basil's Conservatory, a botanical boarding school rumored to house seeds of every plant ever grown. At St. Basil's, Henna is surrounded not only by incredible plants, but also, for the first time, other kids--including her new roommates: wisecracking, genderfluid P, who gleefully bends every rule they come up against, and wealthy, distant Lora, who is tired of servants doing everything for her, from folding her clothes to pushing her wheelchair. But Henna's search for the fabled healing seed means she doesn't have time for friends--or so she thinks. This tender tale, blossoming with moments of joy, is a story of hope, grief, and learning to flourish with a little help from those around you. Available to download: eAudio

Caspia's summer is transformed when she discovers a bundle of letters containing ten plant-based riddles in this enchanting adventure for children ages 10 and up All right, she had to admit it: it really was an adventure to be in a new place. A different Caspia emerged here. A Brooklyn-Caspia, just like the Brooklyn-dandelion. Twelve-year-old Caspia hates big cities, especially New York. So, she isn't thrilled by the news that her parents are taking her to Brooklyn for the whole summer. But everything changes when Caspia discovers a bundle of letters, written by a blind girl many years ago, and hidden in an old chest of drawers. Each letter contains a 'green' riddle, with clues leading to a different plant. Caspia sets out to solve the riddles and, as she does, she meets friends she could never have imagined and finds, to her surprise, that sometimes you can put down roots where you least expect it. 

Holly Foster knows better than to get attached to people and places. Yet, when she is sent to her uncle's house in Arden, Vermont, she finds herself drawn into a fight to protect a grove of trees from being torn down. 

With the growth of genetically modified foods, the use of many seeds is dwindling--of 80,000 edible plants, only about 150 are being cultivated. With a global cast of men and women, scientists and laypeople, and photographic documentation, Nancy Castaldo chronicles where our food comes from, and more importantly, where it is going as she digs deeper into the importance of seeds in our world. Available to download: eBook

In this queer reimagining of The secret garden, fifteen-year-old orphan Mary sets off to live in the Georgian Bay wilds where she discovers family secrets both wonderful and horrifying. Available to download: eAudio

How does climate change make you feel? Sad? Afraid? Powerless? Guilty? Manage your eco-anxiety with this helpful guide. Drawing on years of experience as a psychoanalyst, Anouchka Grose shares cutting-edge insights on how to manage your eco-anxiety. Find out how to validate your emotions and build your resilience. Discover the comfort that can be found in your community. Understand and face your eco-anxiety with ten accessible steps. A "tool kit" at the end of each step shows you ways to build on that knowledge and take action. You'll finish this book feeling equipped with solutions and practical advice to help you be kinder to the planet . . . and yourself. 

A must for fans of science and history-and also armchair detectives-this entertaining and informative illustrated compendium delves into nature's deadliest plants and their fascinating histories as implements of medicine, warfare, and foul play.

Long, long ago, sprites were the caretakers of gardens. Every flower was grown by their hand. But when humans appeared and began growing their own gardens, the sprites' magical talents soon became a thing of the past. When Wisteria, an ambitious, kind-hearted sprite, starts to ask questions about the way things used to be, she'll begin to unearth her long-lost talent of gardening. But her newly honed skills might not be the welcome surprise she intends them to be. Available to download: eBook