Optional Books List by Week
None of these books are required! They just go with the material for that week and are great for kids who love reading or being read too. A good bit of them are available on hoopla or Epic and/or Hoopla

Could Be Read Anytime
Earth the First 5.45 Billion Years
Older than Dirt (graphic novel)
What's Older Than a Giant Tortoise?
Can You Count to Googol?
Planet Life: The Amazing History of Earth by Aina Bestard

	Topic	Books
1	The Big Bang	Annabelle & Aiden: Worlds Within Us The Stuff of Stars First Light First Life Black Gold The Stuff Between the Stars (biography: Vera Rubin) Sky Watcher #5 (Jada Jones #5) (early chapter book)
2	Formation of the Stars and Elements	Older than the Stars You are Stardust The Fire of Stars (biography: Cecilia Payne) The Sun is Kinda a Big Deal Why Do Elephants Need the Sun? Science Comics: Periodic Table of Elements
3	Galaxies & Solar Systems	Your Place in the Universe (Chin) Here We Are Mars: Welcome Earthlings Pluto: Not a Planet? Not a Problem Sun: One in a Billion Science Comics: Solar System
4	Gravity	Gravity (Jason Chin) Moon Earth’s Best Friend
5	Formation of Earth	What Is the World Made Of?: All About Solids, Liquids, and Gases (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) Science Comics: Volcanos
6	From Lava to Layers: The Story of Rocks	A Rock is Lively Grand Canyon (Jason Chin)  Old Rock I’m Trying to Love Rocks The Rock Factory: The Story About the Rock Cycle Science Comics: Rocks and Minerals Jada Jones: Rock Star (early chapter book)
7	Plate Tectonics & Moving Continents	How Mountains Are Made (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2)
8	Liquid Water and the Atmosphere	A Drop Around the World Hey Water (very young!) Water is Water (Chin) Our Planet: There’s No Place like Earth What Is the World Made Of?: All About Solids, Liquids, and Gases (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) Did a Dinosaur Drink This Water?
9	Definition of Life	What’s Alive (Read and Find Out) Living Things and Nonliving Things: A Compare and Contrast Book
10	The First Life (Bacteria and Archaea)	The Universe in You (Chin) Do Not Lick this Book What’s Smaller Than a Pygmy Shrew? Microbes: Discover an Unseen World Invisible Things Master Hamster Super Science: Mold Science Comics: Plagues
11	Oxygen Changes Everything	Why do We Need Air? Exploring the Elements: Oxygen How Plants Clean the Air: One Leaf at a Time The Amoeba Sisters' Cartoon Guide to Biology ch. 7=8 (advanced)
12	Eukaryotes	Master Hamster Super Science: Seeds, Weeds, and Genetic Misdeeds (graphic novel) Cells: Experience Life at Its Tiniest The Amoeba Sisters' Cartoon Guide to Biology ch. 4 (advanced)
13	Multicellular Life Begins	We Go Way Back The Amoeba Sisters' Cartoon Guide to Biology ch. 10 (advanced)
14	The Cambrian Explosion	Ocean: Waves for Us All Trilobites (Susan H. Gray) Fossils Tell of Long Ago (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) Ocean Renegades! (Earth Before Us #2): Journey through the Paleozoic Era (graphic novel)
15	Life in the Ordovician & Silurian Seas	Coral Reefs (Chin) How the Sea Came to Be (highly recommend!) Catfish, Cod, Salmon, and Scrod: What Is a Fish?