Living Book Lists for Homeschool Science Study

October 7, 2019
Written by:
Guest Author

As many homeschoolers enjoy a more Charlotte Mason-themed approach to homeschooling, we wanted to share with you our favorite picks for a Charlotte Mason science education. For all the subjects that I have collected living book lists for, math and science give me the most difficulty. My children tend to be difficult to please when it comes to reading. Yet, even with that, I feel like there is a fairly good selection for the more challenging science subjects and since we’ve developed some pretty cool science unit studies recently, we wanted to give you some living book lists to back up those unit studies!

Earth Science Living Book List

Core or Spine Books for Earth Science: For young learners –Exploring Creation with Botany, Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics, Exploring Creation with Physical Science

Living Books for Earth Science:

  • The Weather Book: An Easy-To-Understand Guide to the USA’s Weather by Jack Williams
  • Footprints in the Ash by John Morris and Steven A. Austin
  • The Geology Book by Dr. John D. Morris
  • A Grain of Sand by Gary Greenberg
  • Secrets from the Rocks by Albert Marrin
  • Beneath our Feet by Ron Vernin
  • The Rock Book by Carol Lane Fenton and Mildred Adams Fenton
  • Annals of the Former World by John McPhee
  • The Map that Changed the World by Simon Winchester


Zoology Living Book List

Core or Spine Books for Zoology: Exploring Creation with Zoology 1: Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day, Exploring Creation with Zoology 2: Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day, Exploring Creation with Zoology 3: Land Animals of the Sixth Day

Zoology Living Books

  • The Science of Classification: Finding Order Among Living and Nonliving Objects by Martin J. Gutnik
  • Greg’s Microscope by Millicent Selsam
  • Benny’s Animals and How He Put Them in Order by Millicent Selsam
  • Animal Homes by Sally Cartwright
  • The Journey: Stories of Migration by Cynthia Rylant
  • The Secrets of Animal Flight by Nic Bishop
  • Men, Microscopes and Living Things by Katherine Shippen
  • The Way Life Works: The Science Lover’s Illustrated Guide to How Life Grows, Develops, Reproduces, and Gets Along by Mahlon Hoagland
  • How to Dissect by William Berman


Astronomy Living Book List

Core or Spine Books: Exploring Creation with Astronomy, The Creator and the Cosmos: How the Greatest Scientific Discoveries of the Century Reveal God by Hugh Ross

Astronomy Living Book List:

  • Find the Constellations by H. A. Rey
  • Our Solar System by Seymour Simon
  • Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei by Peter Sís
  • All About the Stars by Anne Terry White
  • First on the Moon by Barbara Hehner
  • Look to the Stars by Buzz Aldrin
  • The Sun by Seymour Simon
  • America’s First Woman Astronomer, Maria Mitchell by Rachel Baker and Joanna Baker Merlen
  • Our Created Moon: Earth’s Fascinating Neighbor by Don DeYoung and John Whitcomb
  • The Stargazer’s Guide to the Night Sky by Dr. Jason Lisle
  • The Stars: A New Way to See Them by H. A. Rey
  • The Astronomy Book by Dr. Jonathan Henry
  • Seymour Simon’s individual planet books (there are 15 of them)


Biology Living Book List

It’s very interesting how living books can capture our children’s imagination and interest. It never ceases to surprise me! The lists below are ordered from younger to older appropriate books. *Many of our followers may not support evolutionary theory, however, most homeschoolers do agree that it is helpful for our children to have a solid understanding of all sides of the creation/evolution argument, therefore, we have listed this book as a good option.

Core or Spine Books: Exploring Creation with Anatomy and Physiology (young explorers), Exploring Creation with Biology, The World of Biology by Tiner, Life of Fred Biology, and *Evolution by Fleisher

Living Books for Biology:

  • All About Great Medical Discoveries by David Dietz
  • All About the Human Body by Bernard Glemser (Caution: Has a chapter on reproduction.)
  • How We Are Born, How We Grow, How Our Bodies Work, and How We Learn by Joe Kaufman (fyi-there is a chapter on reproduction)
  • Pasteur’s Fight Against Microbes by Beverly Birch
  • The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells
  • Pasteur and the Invisible Giants by Edward F. Dolan, Jr.
  • In Praise of Wolves by R. D. Lawrence
  • Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat
  • Paddy by R. D. Lawrence
  • Secret Go the Wolves by R. D. Lawrence
  • Trail of the Wolf by R. D. Lawrence
  • The White Puma by R. D. Lawrence
  • Mr. Tompkins Inside of Himself by G. Gamow
  • Spare Parts: From Peg Legs to Gene Slicing
  • The Great Dinosaur Mystery: Solved! by Ken Ham
  • Dr. Jenner and the Speckled Monster: The Search for the Smallpox Vaccine by Albert Marrin


Chemistry Living Book List

Typically, we use a core text and then living books on each subject to expand and develop the topic with enjoyable reading.

Core or Spine Books: Apologia Chemistry, Life of Fred Chemistry, Exploring the World of Chemistry by Tiner, and the Joy of Chemistry by Cathy Cobb and Monty Fetterolf

Living Books:

  • Molecules of Murder by John Emsley
  • The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean
  • Crucibles: The Story of Ancient Alchemy to Nuclear Fission by Jaffe
  • Who Was Marie Curie? by Megan Stine
  • Napoleon’s Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History by Penny Le Couteur
  • The Mystery of the Periodic Table
  • The Periodic Kingdom: Journey into the Land of Chemical Elements by P.W. Atkins
  • Elements of Faith by Richard Duncan
  • That’s the Way the Cookie Crumbles by Joe and Joseph Schwarcz
  • Robert Boyle: Trailblazer of Science by John Tiner


Physics Living Book List

Core or Spine Books: Exploring Creation with Physics (or for younger the young explorer series), Conceptual Physics

Living Books for Physics:

  • The Brooklyn Bridge: They Said It Couldn’t Be Built by Judith St. George
  • Building Big by David Macaulay
  • The Way Things Work by David Macaulay
  • Michael Faraday: From Errand Boy to Master Physicist by Harry Sootin
  • The Art of Construction: Projects and Principles for Beginning Engineers & Architects by Mario Salvadori
  • Physics for Future Presidents: The Science Behind the Headlines by Richard Muller
  • How Things Work: The Physics of Everyday Life by Louis Bloomfield
  • Uncle Albert’s Books: The Time and Space of Uncle Albert, Black Holes and Uncle Albert, and Uncle Albert and the Quantum Quest
  • Sound: More Than What You Hear by Christopher F. Lampton
  • For the Love of Physics by Walter Lewin
  • The Romance of Physics by Keith Gordon Irwin (biographies)
  • Six Easy Pieces by Richard P. Feynman