Do you teach food chains? I have compiled a list of books you might want to check out!
This first one would be GREAT to kick off your unit- it is a fiction book that is filled with humor…
Carnivores by Aaron Reynolds
This book tells the story of three lonely carnivores who are trying to fit in- and while it is a funny book with AMAZING illustrations- the book has an underlying message of the importance of being true to yourself. (The author of this book also wrote Chicks and Salsa– which is a favorite of mine!) Be sure to really look over the illustrations and all that they include!
Food Webs: Who Eats What?
by Claire Llewellyn
This book provides a great overview of the food chain. The illustrations are bright and vivid. The book is filled with nonfiction text features that you can point out to reinforce those reading concepts! I highly recommend this book as part of your food chains study.
What Do You Know About Food Chains and Food Webs
by Suzanne Slade
This book is written as a set of 20 food chain questions with answers. It is also filled with great information about food chains and is written in an easy to understand manner for students.
Savanna Food Chains
Forest Food Chains
Wetland Food Chains
all of these are Bobbie Kalman books
These are all excellent choices to share specific habitat food chains with your students (this is just a sample- there is a book for just about every habitat you can list in this series!). These are very in depth books filled with nonfiction text features that really explain all you would want to know about these habitats and their food chains. The photos are gorgeous- they make the books very interesting to kids.
The Library of Food Chains and Food Webs
Producers in the Food Chain
by Alice McGinty
Food Chains in a Backyard Habitat
by Isaac Nadeau
This is another great series of food chain books. These are done in a different style and are very pleasing to the eye- filled with great info written for easy student understanding. Another set of books with outstanding photos in the illustrations. This series also includes the following titles- Carnivores in the Food Chain, Herbivores in the Food Chain, Omnivores in the Food Chain, Scavengers and Parasites in the Food Chain, and Decomposers in the Food Chain.
*I especially love the Food Chains in a Backyard Habitat book because it brings the concept of food chains right into the students’ backyard- where they are familiar with all the components in that food chain.
Natures Cleaners by Bobbie Kalman
Ok- so this book is both AMAZING and GROSS at the same time. Filled with really interesting information that most kids will find fascinating- the subject matter is also gross. This book covers all of the ways that the “leftovers” are taken care of. Scavengers, detrivores, decomposers are covered in this book- in vivd color! I learned quite a bit from this book.
What If There Were No Gray Wolves?
by Suzanne Slade
This is a terrific book for teaching the concept of what would happen in a food chain if one of the links were removed. Such a great way to teach a concept that might be difficult for some students to understand. Suzanne Slade also has other titles in this series- including What If There Were No Bees, What If There Were No Lemmings, and What If There Were No Sea Otters.
And finally- a great book to wrap it all up…
Food Chains and You
a Bobbie Kalman book
This book kind of wraps the concept of food chains up by bringing it back to how all of this ties to humans. It reviews all of the information learned throughout a food chains unit and then discusses how we get our animal food and plant food and how that helps us.
If you are looking for any resources to add to your study of food chains- you might want to click here to be taken to my Teachers Pay Teachers Food Chains Interactive Notebook Resource.
