Concept Books

Bread Comes to Life: a garden of wheat and a loaf to eat, by George Levenson Tricycle Press, 2004 A poetic, photographic explanation of how wheat is turned into bread. Includes related activities and a bread recipe. Reading Level: 3.9; Accelerated Reader: 1.9
Doodlers Doodling, by Rita Goldman Gelman Greenwillow, 2004 A young doodler begins drawing some teachers teaching and allows her imagination to run free to a surprising conclusion. Reading Level: 2.5
Food for Thought: the complete book of concepts for growing minds, by Saxton Freymann Arthur A. Levine, 2005 Uses bright photographs of fruit and vegetables shaped like animals and simple labels to teach toddlers shapes, colors, numbers, letters, and opposites.
Four in all, by Nina Payne Front Street, 2001 Illustrations are accompanied by rhyming lists of things that come in fours, such as "eyes, ears, nose, mouth" and "east, west, north, south." Reading Level: 2.0 Accelerated Reader:
Five Creatures, by Emily Jenkins Frances Foster Books, 2001 In words and pictures, a girl describes the three humans and two cats that live in her house, and details some of the traits that they share. Reading Level: 1.3; Accelerated Reader: 1.6
I Face the Wind, by Vickie Cobb Harper Collins, 2003 Introduces the characteristics and actions of the wind through simple hands-on activities. Reading Level: 2.4; Accelerated Reader: 3.0
I Fall Down, by Vickie Cobb Harper Collins, 2004 Simple experiments introduce the basic concept of gravity and its relationship to weight. Reading Level: 1.8; Accelerated Reader: 2.9
I Get Wet, by Vickie Cobb Harper Collins, 2002 Shows kids the properties of water, explaining why some things get wet and some do not. Reading Level: 2.6; Accelerated Reader: 2.6
I stink! by Kate McMullan, Kate. Joanna Cotler Books, 2002 A big city garbage truck makes its rounds, consuming everything from apple cores and banana peels to leftover ziti with zucchini. Reading Level: 3.3; Accelerated Reader: 1.6
If the world were a village : a book about the world's people, by David J. Smith. Kids Can Press, 2002 Breaks down the population of the world into a collection of one hundred representative people and describes what one would find in this global village, covering languages, ages, religions, food, air and water, schooling, and possessions, accompanied by vivid color illustrations. Reading Level: 5.6; Accel. Reader: 5.0
Let's Eat, by Beatrice Hollyer Henry Holt, 2005 Published in association with Oxfam, this large-format book introduces five children from S. Africa, Mexico, Thailand, France and India, and the foods they eat. Reading Level: 5.5.
M is for music, by Kathleen Krull Harcourt, 2003 An alphabet book introducing musical terms, from allegro to zarzuela. Reading Level: 4.3
Madlenka, by Peter Sis. Farrar, Strauss & Giroux, 2000. Madlenka, whose New York City neighbors include the French baker, the Indian news vendor, the Italian ice-cream man, the South American grocer, and the Chinese shopkeeper, goes around the block to show her friends her loose tooth and finds that it is like taking a trip around the world. Reading Level: 1.3; Accel.Reader: 1.4
Muncha! muncha! muncha! by Candace Fleming Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2002 "An Anne Schwartz book." After planting the garden he has dreamed of for years, Mr. McGreely tries to find a way to keep some persistent bunnies from eating all his vegetables. Reading Level: 2.7; Accelerated Reader: 2.4
My house has stars, by Megan McDonald Orchard Books, 1996 Young people describe the different kinds of homes they live in around the world-- all under the stars. Reading Level: 2.2 Accelerated Reader: 3.2
Punctuation takes a vacation, by Robin Pulver Holiday House, 2003 When all the punctuation marks in Mr. Wright's class decide to take a vacation, the students discover just how difficult life can be without them. Reading Level: 5.4; Accelerated Reader: 3.9
This little chick, by John Lawrence. Candlewick Press, 2002 A little chick shows that he can make the sounds of the animals in his neighborhood. Reading Level: 2.7 Accelerated Reader:
What a great idea! : inventions that changed the world, by Steve Tomecek Scholastic Nonfiction, 2003 Profiles forty-five historic and prehistoric inventions, explaining how they work and describing their origins and impact. Includes such developments as the hand ax, the axle, writing, money, the clock, anesthesia, and the nuclear reactor. Reading Level: 8.2; Accelerated Reader: 8.7
Where do Chicks Come From? by Amy E. Sklansky HarperCollins, 2005 Describes what happens day-by-day for the three weeks from the time a hen lays an egg until the baby chick hatches. Reading Level: 2.7; Accelerated Reader: 3.3
Where is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox Harcourt, 2004 Little ones will bounce with anticipation as the simple yet clever text takes them to visit one sheep and then another..... Until the lost sheep turns up, children will have fun with the other sheep that make an appearance and perhaps, unbeknownst to them, also get lessons in colors and comparisons. Reading Level: 1.7
Wow! City! by Robert Neubecker Hyperion Books for Children, 2004 Izzy, raised in the mountains, has only one word to describe the people, buildings, cars, and other exciting things she sees in the big, bustling city. Reading Level: 2.3