In the 1950's and early 60's, Franklin Watts published a series of science books for upper elementary/middle school; students. These were "living books" that captured the interest and imagination of the children who read them. The First Book of Sound, written and illustrated by David C. Knight is one such book. Its principles are timely, even though technology has progressed beyond some of the examples found in the book. Nevertheless, the science of sound is made very understandable to the young reader. The author begins with a definition of sound and progresses to how humans hear it. He breaks the topic down into sound waves and their characteristics. A discussion of pitch, loudness, and quality follows. He discusses music and how instruments differ in their sound. He concludes with modern applications, such as supersonic flight and the atomic bomb. A thorough Table of Contents and Index is included. Illustrations include actual photographs and drawings of the subjects discussed. The book concludes with several simple experiments that the student can do to demonstrate sound and its characteristics.

The First Book of Sound: A Basic Guide to the Science of Acoustics

Science & Math

Knight, David C.

Physics

Living Library Press

Cardboard Modelling by William Heaton was the second book that Charlotte Mason used in training her students in the discipline of Sloyd, the Swedish discipline used to teach students how to follow precise directions and learn eye-hand coordination. Like the more elementary book, Paper Modelling, this volume was virtually lost for years and has been out of print even longer. Brittney McGann found a very rare copy and has worked with the publisher to bring it back into print with a new chapter that more fully explains Sloyd and how it is used. The projects in the book are listed according to increasing difficulty and are meant to be a continuation of the skills learned in Paper Modelling. The publisher has included, for historical purposes, the original preface adn introduction that alludes to supplies giving the 1895 prices, which would be inaccurate in today's market. However, the reader can substitute alternative supplies and materials in craft stores or on the internet. The publisher has printed Cardboard Modelling to be a companion to Paper Modelling, although it can be used as a stand alone volume.

Cardboard Modelling: A Manual With Full Working Drawings and Instructions

Crafts, Hobbies & Home

Heaton, William

Crafts & Hobbies

Nature study has become an important part of a child's education, especially for the home schooled student and field guides are often the staple of such study. However, they usually are individually dedicated to trees, birds, reptiles, flowers, etc. and not found in a simple and comprehensive format. Clarence J. Hylander wrote and illustrated this classic field guide, first published in 1932. It is timeless in its beauty, accuracy, and detail. While it does not utilize the color plates that are so common today, The Year Round is organized by season, which allows the student to look for and find subjects and specimens throughout the year. In his preface, Dr. Hylander states that the purpose of the book is to assist not only the student, but the parent or teacher who does not possess a thorough and complete knowledge of nature to be able to help the child identify what they have seen in the out-of-doors. However, the book is sufficiently simple that the child can also use it by themselves. While the author has aimed the book at the northeast United States, many of the specimens are common throughout the country in other regions as well. The pen and ink drawings have been re-produced and are amazing in their clarity and usefulness.

The Year Round: A Book of the Out-of-Doors Arranged According to Season

Children's Books

Hylander, Clarence John

Science, Nature & How It Works

The information contained in First Book of Electricity is timeless and continues the tradition of Living Library Press in reprinting classic elementary science books from the golden age of children's literature. The book was written by children's authors, Sam and Beryl Epstein and illustrated by Robin King. The purpose of the book is to give a basic understanding of electricity, what it is, where it comes from, and how it is generated. It then goes on to discuss how it is brought into homes from generating plants and what problems one may encounter once it comes into the home and how ro solve the difficulties of blown fuses and circuits. Finally the book concludes with a series of basic experiments that help th student understand first hand the principles of electricity.

The First Book of Electricity

Epstein, Sam

Epstein, Beryl

Paper Modelling by M. Swannell was the actual book Charlotte Mason used in training her students in the discipline of Sloyd, the Swedish discipline used to teach students how to follow precise directions and learn eye-hand coordination. This volume was virtually lost for years and has been out of print even longer. Brittney McGann found a copy of volume 4 after researching Sloyd in the PNEU archives and the publisher asked her to write an introduction that more fully explains sloyd and how it is used. The projects in the book are listed according to increasing difficulty and are models of furniture and toys that the student will enjoy making.

Paper Modelling: A Combination of Paper Folding, Paper Cutting & Pasting and Ruler Drawing Forming an Introduction to Cardboard Modelling

Swannell, M.

A republication of the 1958 book by Irene Sevrey with illustrations by Mildred Waltrip, The First Book of the Earth is an elementary level natural history book that was written during a time when children's books held a student's interest and imagination because they were "living" rather than simply based on factoids and vivid pictures. It is a wonderful introduction to the subject of geology and covers the earth as a planet in the solar system and the physics of how it circles the sun, thereby defining our days and years. It then moves on to describing the earth's origin as scientists understand it and takes up the topics of the earth's composition, its structure, molecular makeup, rock families, minerals, volcanoes and earthquakes, mountains and their formation, and how glaciers and rivers affect the shaping of the earth's surface. The book ends by briefly discussing dinosaurs and the possible aging techniques used to date the earth's age in terms of epochs or periods.

The First Book of the Earth

Sevrey, Opal Irene

Earth Sciences

Katherine Shippen collaborated with Anthony Ravielli, the illustrator to give a history of the study of biology for students in the middle school grades. She beautiful tells the story of the progression of scientific discoveries that built upon one another to give us our present day understanding of the created world. First published in 1955, Shippen republished it in 1968 under the title of So Many Marvels. Katherine B. Shippen was born on April 1, 1892, and spent her life as a history teacher, museum curator and children's author. She died on February 20, 1980. During her career as an author, Shippen published 21 books won the Newbery Honor Award twice, one of which was for Men, Microscopes, and Living Things.

Men, Microscopes, and Living Things

SHIPPEN, KATHERINE B.

Biological Sciences

Rain, Hail, Sleet & Snow was first published by Nancy Larrick in 1961 and served as an introduction to elementary students about how weather conditions are formed.  The book has been out of print for quite some time and modern books do not offer this age group such an approachable discussion of how inclement weather is formed and the conditions that effect it.  While it does not discuss the most modern tools of meteorology, it does mention the use of airplanes, satellites, and other tools of measurement.  Other topics besides rain, hail, sleet and snow that are discussed are tornadoes and hurricanes, lightning and thunder, fog, humidity, water vapor, condensation, ice crystals, and the different types of clouds.

Rain, Hail, Sleet & Snow

Larrick, Nancy

Originally published as the Junior Science Book of Magnets, this book is a reprint of Rocco Feravolo's 1960 elementry science book. The work provides a fundamental introduction to the physics of magnets, both metallic and electromagnets. Covered in the discussion is an explanation of why magnets attract, experiments demonstrating their properties, how to make a magnet, how to use them in compasses, and how they are used in industry. Reproductions of the artwork by Evelyn Urbanowich enhance the student's understanding of the concepts discussed. The text includes a Table of Contents and Index.

Magnets

Feravolo, Rocco V.

The First Book of Plants by Alice Dickinson is a wonderful science book that targets upper elementary/middle school readers. It is very thorough in its presentation of plants as organisms, discussing the different types of plants (annuals, biennials, and perennials and various examples of each, bacteria and fungi), The book discusses the many ways that plants reproduce, a discussion of seeds and fruit, and the parts and components of plants, from the cellular level to their structure. Beautiful illustrations by Paul Wenck are contained throughout the text. Some basic experiments are included. An index is provided. This book was originally intended for upper elementary grades but because of its broad coverage of the material, would be valuable reading for upper grade levels as well.

The First Book of Plants

Teen & Young Adult

Dickinson, Alice

Education & Reference

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