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Children discover the world around them when they play. They discover in nature what they will later learn to call science. Our books feed this joyous approach to life.

 



 

Bees in Loretta's Bonnet
When Loretta dropped her armload of firewood on the hearth, a mysterious tube fell from between the logs. It was a leafcutter bee nest. Loretta took it back out to the woodpile and watched as holes appeared. But where were the bees?
 
She found more holes appearing in leaves on her rose bushes. And even some of the rose petals. But where were the bees?
 
Leafcutter bees are more efficient than honey bees for pollinating gardens.  The book includes instructions for building a nest that may lure wild bees to your yard.
Loretta's Caterpillar
Loretta finds a monarch caterpillar egg on a milkweed plant and protects it from a wasp, a bird, and a lizard as it eats milkweed, grows through metamorphosis and becomes a butterfly. Learn alongside Loretta about the life cycle of a monarch butterfly.
Loretta's Stick That Walks
What do a walking stick insect and a bleeding heart fern have in common? They both have parts that ants like to eat. They both grow in the dirt. They even look alike.  Loretta likes insects. In this book, she finds seeds that are fun, too.
What Loretta's Katydid Did
Grandma brings a small orange tree from Florida when she comes to visit Loretta in Colorado. But the tree has aphids in it. Grandma says Loretta must kill the aphids before they kill the tree, but Loretta refuses because she loves insects. One day, a katydid finds the tree. It eats all the aphids. Then the katydid starts eating the tree.  Loretta doesn’t want to get rid of the katydid. How will she keep her orange tree healthy for the science fair?
The Glow in Loretta's Garden
When Loretta digs in the dirt to plant her flower garden, she discovers glowing larvae. Learn about the lifecycle of the firefly as Loretta puts the larvae in her empty ant farm box and watches the larvae build tunnels and mud houses. After they hatch, she also learns the secret to their special flashing messages. 
Ladybugs for Loretta
Loretta is a mischievous girl who lives in a cabin high up in the Colorado
mountains.  She loves her garden and the ladybugs that protect it.  But
where do they go in the winter? On a cold winter day while she is collecting
pine needles for her strawberry patch, she discovers ladybugs hiding under a
rock.  She finds even more behind a chunk of loose tree bark.
 
Through a loving relationship with her parents and  her garden, Loretta
learns about the life cycle of ladybugs.