National Parks for Kids Mega Booklist and More

Biographies, picture books, chapter books, trail guides, games, and activities…. wow! The National Parks are such a rich source of inspiration. Since we’re planning our first National Park visit, I’m flooding our world with books and games before we set out!

Last school year in our year-long geography study of the U.S., we touched on some of the parks. This time around we’ll be able to review some of the state locations, but we’re taking a deeper dive!

Here’s what we’ve been enjoying– biographies, picture books, chapter books, guide books, and fun extras. (My kids are entering 3rd and 1st grades.)

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Chapter Books

Camp Time in California(also available as an audiobook for travel time!) We began our study with this Magic Tree House book as an introduction to a bit of the history and key players in the early days of the parks’ creation: Teddy Roosevelt and John Muir.

The Adventures of Bubba Jones: Time Traveling Through the National Parks Each book in this series focuses on one National Park and explores its history (exploring extinct creatures, the area’s first inhabitants, past presidents and US time periods, former park residents, and park founders). Currently there are 3 books in the series (Great Smoky Mountains, Shenandoah, Acadia) with a third releasing 8/2021 (Grand Canyon). We’ve learned so much through the story that is both practical and historical! The plotline also includes ciphers which are another layer of fun.

John Muir: My Life With Nature. “It has been said that Muir was the only person who could turn a government report into poetry!” Using his own words as much as possible, this book captures the spirit of Muir and his passion for nature as the father of America’s national parks. *This could also be in the biography section but I include it here because it’s more chapter book in format.

Biographies

Antsy Ansel: Ansel Adams, A Life in Nature. My kids loved this one, especially when they learned that Ansel Adams was homeschooled! I was similarly inspired to learn about his struggle with traditional schooling (in his autiobiography he states that he would have been diagnosed with “hyperactivity”) and the courage of his parents to pull him out and provide him with ample time in nature. We borrowed from the library a few of his portfolios to view alongside of the biography.

John Muir: America’s First Environmentalist. This is a text heavy picture book biography of John Muir, with colored illustrations throughout, arranged by chapters chronologically.

Heroes for All Times. One chapter of this book features John Muir. My kids love the MTH Fact Trackers, so we included this as well.

Marjory Saves the Everglades. A beautiful picture book of Marjory Stoneman Douglas, environmental activist and journalist who saved the everglades from development, amidst the cries of “Drain the Everglades!”

Who Was Theodore Roosevelt? My older son (8) loves the Who Was series! As far as I could tell, this was the only of the series that intersected with our National Park study… but feel free to correct me:)

Other historical figures that I didn’t have luck finding books about, but you could do some searching– perhaps using your library’s children’s databases– to learn more about them with your kids:

Stephen Mather & Horace Albright- founding directors of the National Park Service
Captain Charles Young- first African American superintendent of a National Park
Gerard Baker- superintendent who brought Native American heritage and perspectives to the parks

Picture Books

When the Wolves Returned: Restoring Nature’s Balance in Yellowstone

If I Were a Park Ranger

Home: An Ode to the National Parks – great for poetry teatime!

The Camping Trip that Changed America

The Bunyans Expanding on the Paul Bunyan folk story, this follows his giant family as they “create” the parks through their larger than life antics: e.g. the Great Sand Dunes of Colorado were created by young Little Jean emptying the sand from his giant shoes.

Who Pooped in the Park? This series has books specific to a variety of National Parks, 22 in all. They each explore the animals found in the parks through tracks and scat.

Grand Canyon and Redwoods by Jason Chin are award winning and gorgeously illustrated!

National Parks Guides/All-in-One Fact Books

National Geographic Kids guideincludes maps and family friendly activities for each park

National Parks: A Kid’s Guide to America’s Parks, Monuments, and Landmarks

America’s National Parks (Lonely Planet Kids)

National Parks of the U.S.A. (illustrations)

Bookish… and Not Books

Funny Fill-In: My National Parks Adventure– mad-lib style!

Trekking the National Parks board game– similar in play to Ticket to Ride

Camp game- not national park specific but a fun game for a variety of ages that centers on camping. My 6yo loves this and I’ve learned a lot of facts by playing too! Players can each choose a difficulty level so many ages/skills can play together. We’re planning to bring this along on our trip for playing.

National Parks posters puzzle- 1000 pieces!

National Parks scratch off poster-intended to be completed as you travel to each park, but you could also scratch them off as you study them!

Monopoly National Parks Edition game- my 6yo who loves Monopoly equally loves this one! The tokens/community chest/chance cards are Parks themed. Cute!

Rock the Park- YouTube channel/show. A family favorite! Each episode focuses on one park, with two young adult friends traveling the park and finding the “off-the-beaten-path” adventures of each

For Grown Ups

Ken Burns Documentary- National Parks: America’s Best Idea. This series is phenomenal! My husband and I watched the whole thing over a long period (we don’t watch much TV so it took us a while), and it was just incredible! At some point in the future we’ll watch it with the kids, but I would say best for much older kids (high school?) just because it’s sweeping and in-depth (and long- 12 hours). Check your library for this, too! Ours had DVDs.

The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, an Illustrated History. The documentary above in book format! Full of photographs.

Leave Only Footprints: My Acadia to Zion Journey Through Every National Park. Incredibly interesting but also so readable– fascinating history about the parks but also seen through the lens of a young journalist recovering from a breakup and finding his place in the world.

Vintage National Parks novel series. I enjoyed reading the first of this series, The Road to Paradise, for a light, easy (and predictable) vacation read– FYI, this is a Christian series.

Phew! As it turns out, I think I put together our book and resource list for the next several years of learning! Are you planning a trip to a national park? Connect with me in the comments below or on my instagram or facebook accounts!

UPDATE: Tips

We’re back from our trip, and I wanted to make sure you all know about the Junior Ranger program. It’s free and fantastic! Kids complete activities, take a pledge, and earn a badge (which is made of wood and really very impressive looking).

National Parks Service has an app that is GREAT for navigating the parks! Since wifi can be spotty at best, you can download the section for the park you’re visiting to access while you’re exploring. Maps, sights to see, etc. Also, we found that searching youtube for the NPS/name of the park you’re visiting leads you to lots of great ranger-led videos (not sure if these were a product of pandemic closures but such a great resource!).