I have not looked at the SCM list, so I may be repeating it. And I’m sure I’ll keep adding to the list as I think of more. But right off the top of my head, we love anything by Jim Arnosky, especially the “Crinkleroot” books. And we read Thornton Burgess books extensively. He wrote the Burgess Bird Book for Children that SCM uses in one of its science studies. But he also wrote many novels that feature specific animal characters. His style can be a bit to get used to, as he anthropomorphizes the animals and sometimes his worldview feels a bit racist with one animal in particular and its style of speech. Also, he refers to Mother Nature all the time. But, these things aside (and I find them easy to correct or revise on the fly), they are fun to read aloud and do offer interesting animal learning. My 6yo daughter adores them and will sometimes listen to an entire book in one sitting if I’m willing to read it. They are great as starting points for further study, too. They are very inexpensive at Amazon and I think they may be available free for Kindle.
