I had been looking recently for the older outdated one you posted above, Doug. Are you no longer recommending those books then, for science living books (the ones that are still listed that you have used yourselves)? We have only used a few so far but they seemed great. My son especially reads a lot and I need many, many books to keep him busy and satisfied so I’m always looking at book lists and recommendations.
ETA: he also uses “textbooks”: God’s Design for Science by Answers in Genesis and really enjoys those. Not sure yet which textbooks we will use for High School. He is very scientific so using strictly living books would not have been enough for him.
Many of the books in the older charts were also on that page we removed. Not to say that there wasn’t some good stuff in there, though, but we are recommending different books now. What grade is your son? Maybe we can give some suggestions.
By the way, with science it’s not so much about living books being enough, it’s that they aren’t a complete education for the subject. Take chemistry, for example. If you approach chemistry with living books then you may be learning “about chemistry” but not actually learning chemistry itself. Living books might tell you about the history of chemistry, important discoveries, scientists in the field, and some of the concepts. Those are good things, but to actually learn chemistry you would do things like work chemical equations and learn about the properties of elements and how they interact.
He is starting 8th grade and dislikes anything that is not creation based. He has to have textbooks for science because he needs all the information he can get. My interest in living books for him would be supplemental simply because he reads so much and always wants more. 🙂
Thanks again, Doug. The older outdated ones are what I was looking for. I purchased many of those resources over the years. (But I love the new SCM materials too.)
It’s great that your son loves science and enjoys learning! His dislike for any books not creation based will make it more difficult to find many books.
Some options to consider:
Wonders of Creation series from Master Books. Each title in the series is focused on one science topic, such as weather or geology.
The Stargazer’s Guide to the Night Sky by Jason Lisle.
Eric Sloane’s Weather Book. This is an older book with some out-of-date material, but it is a good introduction to how weather works.
The Way Things Work by David Macaulay. This one is not creation based, but that shouldn’t matter because it is focused on physical science. Also, there are several editions of this book out there, all with similar titles. The original title is The Way Things Work; revised and updated editions are titled with a variation of that, such as The New Way Things Work.
I would recommend just about anything Masterbooks sells. Their science materials are written by scientists who love their field and all creationist based. The John Tiner books come to mind. They also have a new a Building Blocks series that looks interesting. What about It Couldnt Just Happen.
Thank you for the suggestions! We do use anything we can find from Answers in Genesis and Masters Books, including some of what has been mentioned. I’m always looking for more since he goes through them so quickly. He loves the Answers magazine so we will continue that subscription as well.
We love the Pablo Yoder books at Christian Light Education: My Father’s World, The Works of His Hands, The Works of His Fingers. They have wonderful nature photography, engaging Creation-based text, and they are nice, big hardcover books.