Watch Them Grow: The Fascinating Science of Animal Beginnings
Guides by Deb – Keeping your books in the hearts of young readers and in the hands of those who care for them.
Watch Them Grow: The Fascinating Science of Animal Beginnings
Written by Carrie A. Pearson
Published by Millbrook Press/Lerner Publishing Group
ISBN-13: 979-8765627464
Synopsis: Sure, baby animals are cute. But have you ever seen what they look like before they’re born?
Have you ever wondered how animals develop the traits they need to survive? Or how they grow from a single cell at conception to complex, unique creatures? The answer is complicated―there are so many ways to grow!
Author Carrie A. Pearson introduces readers to a variety of animals and shows how they develop some of their defining features. See how bats form wings so they can take flight. And how mice make whiskers to sense their surroundings. Watch Them Grow explores genetics, gestation, and early development through twelve different animal examples. Discover animal beginnings and watch them grow everything they need to survive.
Teaching Values & Instructional Focus
Watch Them Grow: The Fascinating Science of Animal Beginnings invites students to explore life science through curiosity, inquiry, and wonder. The guide emphasizes scientific thinking by encouraging readers to ask questions, analyze patterns, and reflect on how animals develop the traits they need to survive. Through chapter-based discussions, students examine genetics, gestation, adaptation, and variation while drawing meaningful connections between animal development and their own growth. The guide thoughtfully reinforces the idea that there is no single “right” way to grow, highlighting diversity in life strategies across species and fostering respect for difference, adaptability, and resilience. Reflection prompts woven throughout support critical thinking, metacognition, and a deeper understanding of how science explains — and celebrates — the natural world.
Educational Content, Standards & Age Range
This comprehensive guide integrates science, literacy, math, and project-based learning across multiple disciplines. Students engage in close reading, chapter-based discussion, scientific vocabulary development, data analysis, and explanatory writing aligned with Common Core State Standards for Reading, Writing, Speaking & Listening, and Mathematics. Life science concepts are explored through strong Next Generation Science Standards connections, including cell structure and function, inheritance of traits, variation, adaptation, and organism development. Hands-on learning opportunities — such as graphing animal gestation periods, analyzing data patterns, completing Punnett square genetics investigations, designing original animals, and participating in vocabulary reasoning activities — provide meaningful application of scientific concepts. Designed for grades 4–6, the guide is especially well suited for upper elementary and middle school classrooms, with flexibility for enrichment, science blocks, literacy integration, and cross-curricular STEM instruction.
