Summer is such a great time to read and relax on the porch with a glass of your favorite cold beverage. I have had several requests from homeschool moms this summer for books about critters to read aloud to their children. I aim to please (if I can) and have some nonfiction books that I have loved or heard about.

Sam Campbell wrote books about all of the creatures he either observed or adopted while living in the wilderness in northern Wisconsin where he lived with his wife. His books are entertaining as he describes the antics of these creatures.

All Creatures Great and Small is one in a series of books written by James Herriot. Telling the stories of a country vet in Great Britain, Dr. Herriot’s  are funny, sad, and heart-warming. One time we listened to CD’s while we were in the car and the boys were not happy with just one story. They begged for more and more to the point that I thought we would run out of stories before we arrived at our destination. PBS also dramatized his stories if you want to see the countryside where he worked and lived. Some of Dr. Herriot’s stories have been made into children’s books too, such as Moses the Kitten.

The Institute for Excellence in Writing has a program for students in grades 3-5 that would correlate nicely with Dr. Herriot’s books called All Things Fun and Fascinating. It includes outlining, grammar, source texts, and creative writing. Here is a description of the program CLICK HERE

A video review of the product by a homeschool mom may prove beneficial to you as well. CLICK HERE

Unlikely Heroes, by author Jennifer Holland, is a compilation of 37 animal stories. Tales of heroic deeds done by all sorts of animals will be sure to be of interest to your animal-loving children. If this title sounds interesting, she also has written a book called Unlikely Friendships.