Field Guides & Nature Handbooks

The children and nature movement is fueled by this fundamental idea: the child in nature is an endangered species, and the health of children and the health of the Earth are inseparable." —Richard Louv

A boy is running through the woods, his bare feet kicking up dust on the beaten dirt path. In the concrete city the heat is oppressive, but here it is cool and quiet as he slides to a stop in the shade of a tall pine tree. He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a field guide. Glancing at the bird's nest above, he thumbs through the pages. Is that a finch nest? He makes a mental note to return tomorrow and check its progress.

Just one of the benefits of a field guide over a phone is that it doesn't run out of battery, doesn't need wifi, and is much less distracting. If you want your child to be out in nature, exploring and enjoying all that it has to offer, get them a field guide as a starting point for getting to know the world that God made.

Besides a handful of miscellaneous field guides, we intentionally carry three specific publishers. The Audubon Field Guides come from the well-respected National Audubon Society. These typically have a a full color photograph section in the front and the text-only field guide section in the back. This series is limited to about 20 titles, and are helpful to a broad audience, so we carry most of them. The Peterson field guides, famous for their patternistic identification system, typically have illustrations interspersed inside the book. There are a LOT of Peterson Guides, and they are often very specific, so while we only carry the First Guides (geared toward 1st-4th grade naturalists) and a few of their coloring books, we are more than happy to order full-fledged guides as well. For our local customers, the Timber Press field guides are amazing, featuring insects, animals, flowers, trees and mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest.

Review by Lauren Shearer
Lauren Shearer writes words for fun and profit. She also makes films, but everyone knows you can't make a profit doing that. Her other hobby is consistently volunteering way too much of her time. You can read more of her reviews here.
Did you find this review helpful?
Parent Categories
Field Guides & Nature Handbooks
57 Items found Print
Active Filters: 6th grade (Ages 11-12)
Animal Tracks
from Waterford Press
for 3rd-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
Another Field Guide to Little Known and Seldom-Seen Birds of North America
by Ben, Cathryn, and John Sill
from Peachtree Publishers, Ltd.
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Bird Watching Answer Book
by Laura Erickson, Illustrated by Pedro Fernandes
from Storey Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
Birds of America
by T. Gilbert Pearson (editor), illustrated by Louis Agassiz Fuertes
from Doubleday & Company
for 6th-Adult
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Birds of Oregon
by Roger Burrows & Jeff Gilligan
from Lone Pine Publishing
for 6th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Birds of the Pacific Northwest
by John Shewey & Tim Blount, edited by Hendrik Herlyn
from Timber Press, Inc.
for 5th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$27.95
Birds of the Pacific Northwest Coast
by Nancy Baron & John Acorn
from Lone Pine Publishing
for 4th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
Birds of the Puget Sound Region
by Dennis Paulson
from R. W. Morse Company
for 3rd-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Bumper Book of Nature
by Stephen Moss
1st edition from Crown Trade Paperbacks
for 1st-Adult
in Hiking & Outdoor Adventures (Location: NAT-HIKE)
Compact Guide to Wildflowers of the Rockies
by C. Dana Bush
from Lone Pine Publishing
for 6th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
DK Handbooks: Insects, Spiders and Other Terrestrial Arthropods
by Randall Jarrell
from DK Publishing
for 3rd-Adult
1966 Newbery Honor Book
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Familiar Animals of America
by Will Barker, illustrated by Carl Burger
from Harper & Brothers
for 4th-12th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Farm Anatomy
by Julia Rothman
1st edition from Storey Publishing
for 6th-Adult
in Self-Sufficiency (Location: SS-Self)
$18.99
Golden Guide: Skyguide
Golden Guides
by Mark Chartrand
from Golden Books
for 2nd-7th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Golden Guide: The Sky Observer's Guide
Golden Guides
by R. Newton Mayall, Margaret Mayall, and Jerome Wyckoff
from St. Martin's Press
for 2nd-7th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Golden Guide: Weather
by Paul E. Lehr, R. Will Burnett, Herbert S. Zim
from Golden Press
for 3rd-8th grade
in Meteorology (Weather & Climate) (Location: SCI-WEA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Golden Guide: Whales, Dolphins and Other Marine Mammals
by George S. Fichter, illustrated by Barbara J. Hoopes Ambler
from St. Martin's Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Illustrated Book of Trees
by Eric A. Bourdo Jr., consultant editor
from Salamander Books Lmt.
for 6th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
Instant Guide to Wildflowers
by Pamela Forey and Cecilia Fitzsimons
from Gramercy Books
for 6th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
Look Up!
by Annette LeBlanc Cate
2nd edition from Candlewick Press
for 2nd-6th grade
2014 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
$8.99
National Audubon Society Field Guide to Fishes
2nd ed. from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
National Audubon Society Field Guide to Mammals
by John O. Whitaker
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 5th-10th grade
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$26.00
National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Fishes, Whales & Dolphins
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$12.00 (2 in stock)
National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms
by Gary H. Lincoff
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$26.00
National Audubon Society Field Guide to Reptiles & Amphibians
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
National Audubon Society Field Guide to Rocks and Minerals
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$25.95
National Audubon Society Field Guide to Seashore Creatures
by Norman A Meinkoth
First Edition from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$27.00
National Audubon Society Field Guide to Shells
Reprint from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$24.95
National Audubon Society Field Guide to Trees: Eastern Region
Chanticleer Press Ed from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$23.95
National Audubon Society Field Guide to Trees: Western Region
by Elbert L. Little
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$26.00
National Audubon Society First Field Guide: Birds
by Scott Weindensaul
from Scholastic Inc.
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
National Audubon Society First Field Guide: Shells
by Brian Cassie
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
National Audubon Society First Field Guide: Weather
by Jonathan D. W. Kahl
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
North American Wildlife
by Jay Ellis Ransom
from Reader's Digest
for 4th-10th grade
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
Our Trees: How to Know Them
by Arthur I. Emerson (photographs), and Clarence M. Weed (text)
1959 Reprint from Garden City Books
for 6th-Adult
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
Peterson Field Guide Coloring Book: Forests
Peterson Field Guide Coloring Books
by John C. Kricher, Sara Bennett
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-6th grade
in Forests & Mountains (Location: SCI-FOREST)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Peterson Field Guide to Insects
Peterson Field Guides
by Donald J. Borror, Richard E. White
2nd edition from Houghton Mifflin
for 6th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
Peterson Field Guide to Mammals
by William H. Burt, Richard P. Grossenheider
3rd edition from Houghton Mifflin
for 6th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Peterson First Guide to Birds of North America
by Roger Tory Peterson
2nd edition from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-8th grade
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$9.99
Peterson First Guide to Butterflies and Moths
by Paul A. Opler
2nd edition from Houghton Mifflin
for 5th-12th grade
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$7.95
Peterson First Guide to Insects
Peterson First Guide
by Christopher Leahy
2nd edition from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-8th grade
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$9.99
Peterson First Guide to Mammals of North America
by Peter Alden
3rd edition from Houghton Mifflin
for 3rd-6th grade
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$8.99
Peterson First Guide to Rocks and Minerals
by Frederick H. Pough
from Houghton Mifflin
for 5th-8th grade
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$7.95
Planets, Moons and Stars
Take-Along Guide
by Laura Evert, Illustrated by Linda Garrow
from Northword Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Plant Kingdom
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 6th-Adult
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Pocket Naturalist Guide: Portland Birds
from Waterford Press
for 3rd-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Rare and Endangered Plants of Oregon
by Donald C. Eastman
from Beautiful America Publishing
for 6th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
Spotter's Handbook
by Michael A. Ruggiero, Alan Mitchell, Philip Burton
from Mayflower Books
for 6th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
Squirrels of the West
Lone Pine Field Guide
by Tamara Hartson
from Lone Pine Publishing
for 3rd-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
Tree Book for Kids and Their Grown-Ups
by Gina Ingoglia
from Brooklyn Botanic Garden
for Kindergarten-Adult
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
$15.95
Trees and Shrubs of the Pacific Northwest
Timber Press Field Guides
by Ellen Kuhlmann, Mark Turner
from Timber Press, Inc.
for 4th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$29.95
Trees to Know in Oregon
by Charles R. Ross, illustrated by Hugh Hayes
Revised from Oregon State University Press
for 6th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
What's That Bird?
by Joseph Choiniere & Claire Mowbray Golding
from Storey Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$14.95
Wild Flowers of the Pacific Coast
by Leslie L. Haskin
from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 4th-Adult
in Clearance: Science & Health (Location: ZCLE-SCI)
Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest
Timber Press Field Guides
by Mark Turner, Phyllis Gustafson
from Timber Press, Inc.
for 4th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$29.95
Wildlife of the Pacific Northwest
Timber Press Field Guides
by David Moskowitz
from Timber Press, Inc.
for 4th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$29.99
World of Fish
by Franco de Carli, translated by Jean Richardson
from Gallery Books
for 4th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)