Georgia Journal of Literacy 2025, Vol. 47(1), pp. 84–97 https://doi.org/10.56887/galiteracy.169 ISSN: 2833-7611 Teaching Tips CONTACT Dr. William P. Bintz, Professor of Literacy Education, College of Education, Health, and Human Services; School of Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum, Kent State University, Kent, OH; wbintz@kent.edu. Combining Picturebooks and Poetry as Blended Genres to Teach Life Science William P. Bintz Kent State University, Kent, OH ABSTRACT This article introduces the concept of combining poetry and picturebooks as blended genres and shares an instructional strategy that K–8 teachers can use with blended genres to help students learn important concepts in ELA and life science. It begins with background on the important relationship between science and literature. Next, it describes fundamental differences between paired text and blended genres and connects blended genres to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Then, it shares examples of blended genres and a sample of an instructional strategy that can be used with blended genres to teach important concepts in Life Science. It ends with a final thought. KEYWORDS science and literature integration; intertextuality; blended genres, picturebooks and poetry; inquiry- based learning There is much to be learned from both poetry and science, and when they are combined, the potential for learning grows. (McClure, 2013, p. 13) teach a graduate reading course entitled Reading in the Content Areas. A major goal of the course is for me to demonstrate, and my students to experience, the power and potential of picturebooks as curricular resources to teach content material across the curriculum. I begin each class session by reading aloud a selected picturebook from a different content area and for a specific purpose. Recently, I read aloud I Wonder (Harris, 2013) to highlight wondering as an important process in learning science and introduce the importance of inquiry in learning. This picturebook tells the story of Eva, a little girl who likes to take walks with her mother. On one walk, Eva wonders and poses questions to her mother about gravity, life cycles, and the vastness of the universe. While neither knows the correct answers, her mother reminds Eva that wondering is the first step to understanding and it is always okay to say, “I don’t know.” Afterwards, I invited students to share their responses to the picturebook. All responses were thoughtful, but one response caught my attention. One student stated, This picturebook reminded me of taking walks with my grandfather around his farm when I was little. Like Eva, I’d asked lots of questions, too. And like the mother, my grandfather listened, too. It also reminded me of the poem, “I Like to Wonder Off Alone.” I read this poem in high school, and I’ve never forgotten it. As you were reading, I found myself seeing all kinds of similarities between the picturebook and the poem. I mailto:wbintz@kent.edu Bintz 85 This response was interesting and insightful, but not the first of its kind. After reading aloud picturebooks, I often hear students saying they were making personal connections to the picturebook during the read aloud. In this instance, however, this student’s response, unbeknownst to her and me at the time, created a paired text. Traditionally, a paired text consists of two texts that are interrelated in some way, and the texts reflect the same or similar genre (Bintz, 2015). Her paired text was different. I Wonder (Harris, 2013) and “I Like to Wonder Off Alone” (Wynne, 2023) is a paired text but consist of two different genres, one a picturebook and the other a poem. In many ways, her paired text was a blended genre. I started to wonder about the idea of blended genres. I have read I Wonder several times, but was unfamiliar with the poem, “I Like to Wonder Off Alone.” I wondered what connections I would make between the picturebook and the poem. I read the picturebook again, then the poem, and completed an H-Map to record my connections between the two texts (see Figure 1). I used an H-Map to record my intertextual connections between this blended genre. I wrote the title of the picturebook at the top of the left vertical column, and the title of the poem at the top of the right vertical column. I wrote the heading, Intertextual Connections, at the top of the rectangle to connect the left and right columns. During and after reading, I recorded important ideas from the picturebook in the left column, and important ideas from the poem in the right column. In the middle, I recorded important intertextual connections from this blended genre. I found this instructional strategy helpful for recording and reflecting on my intertextual connections. Figure 1: H-Map Text: I Wonder Tells the story of Eva, a young girl who wonders about everything. She wonders why the moon follows her from place to place, disappearing behind trees and then appearing again someplace new. One day she talks a walk with her mother and shares her wonderings along the way. How does the moon really stay close to us? Her mother introduces her to the concept of gravity. How many grains of sand are in the whole world? Her mother reminds her that is okay to say we don’t know and encourages her to keep wondering. Where did all these butterflies come from? Her mother introduces her to the notion of life cycles and invites her to think about other things that change. After their walk, Eva learns that it is important to always wonder, but wonderings can reveal mysteries and it is okay to say we just don’t know. Poem: “I Like To Wonder Off Alone” In rhyming verse, an unidentified young person describes a desire to wander off alone and wonder about the natural world, including the sky, a curly cloud, the grass, and birds. The young person also wonders if things in the natural world wonder about him or her. The young person concludes that everybody and everything likes to wonder because there is so much to wonder about. The young person will always wonder, except for stopping sometimes to play. Intertextual Connections 1. Both texts include young people as main characters. 2. Both texts include young people who like to wonder. 3. Both texts include young people who wonder about concepts related to earth and space science, e.g. life cycles, moon, sky, gravity, grass, flying things (birds, etc.), butterflies, clouds, etc. 4. Both texts include young people who wonder but don’t insist on finding immediate and correct answers to their wonderings. 5. Both texts depict wondering as a natural, positive, and lifelong process. 6. Both texts have potential to introduce wondering as form of inquiry and scientific inquiry. 86 Georgia Journal of Literacy 47(1) In the end, this whole experience sparked my curiosity about the idea of blended genres. It generated my interest in developing other blended genres across the curriculum that I could use with students in my own courses. Specifically, I wanted to develop and share blended genres that English/Language Arts (ELA) and science teachers could collaboratively implement in the K–8 classroom. The purpose of this article is to share picturebooks and poetry as blended genres and an instructional strategy to teach important concepts in ELA and life science. I focus on ELA and science for several reasons. One, I am a former middle and high school English/Language Arts teacher with a personal interest in this content area. Two, I am presently a teacher educator in literacy education with a professional interest in advocating for the use of literature, specifically picturebooks, to support student learning across the K–12 curriculum. Three, to date, I have developed blended genres by pairing picturebooks with poems in English/Language Arts and am currently developing blended genres in English/Language Arts & Social Studies and English/Language Arts & Mathematics. However, I have not developed blended genre in English/Language Arts & Science. This whole experience inspired me to do so. With this experience and background in mind, I began by providing background on the relationship between science and literature, describing differences between paired text and blended genres, and connecting blended genres with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Next, I share examples of blended genres and a sample of an instructional strategy to teach important concepts in Life Science. I end with a final thought. Science & Literature Storytelling will bring the science to children. (Kaser, 2001, p. 355) The value of literature and storytelling to teach and learn science has long been recognized by both science and literacy specialists (Dagher & Ford, 2005). Much research continues to indicate that literature is a valuable tool to support growth and development across science and literacy (Broemmel et al., 2021). Consequently, and fortunately, literature is increasingly being included as an integral component to the science curriculum (Rice, 2002). Moreover, much research indicates that picturebooks are effective instructional tools to integrate science and literacy (Saul, 2004). Among other things, picturebooks help students “ask and address questions about science content…and build their capacity to engage in scientific reasoning” (Hapgood & Palincsar, 2007, p. 55). Poetry is also an effective tool to integrate science and literacy. Poetry Instead of coexisting as parallel lanes without intersection, poetry and science can cross over as one merges lanes. (Brown, 2015, p. 1) Historically, poetry has been a popular and flexible literary genre, a way to experiment with rhyme, rhythm, repetition, and a variety of poetic formats. Poetry supports abstract thought and provides a means to communicate “complex ideas in symbolic ways” (Graves, 1992, p. 163). It also helps develop rich vocabulary and explore “poetic devices like metaphor, simile, imagery, alliteration, and rhyme” (Kane & Rule, 2004, p. 665). Bintz 87 Poetry offers many benefits for readers of all ages and backgrounds. One benefit is that poetry is often brief. Vardell and Wong (2015) state, poetry has an advantage in that it typically consists of fewer words than expository- prose passages, and poems can be read and reread in very little time. The brevity of poetry is less intimidating to children who may be overwhelmed by longer prose and streams of new vocabulary, especially students acquiring English as a new language. (p. 30) Poetry is also multisensory. It allows readers and writers to experience all five senses, especially through metaphor and imagery. Poetry also supports interdisciplinary teaching and learning across the curriculum (Vardell & Wong, 2015), including science (Kane & Rule, 2004). Science Historically, science and poetry have been viewed as dichotomies, or at least “unlikely partners.” (Vardell & Wong, 2014, p. 15) In large part, this is because scientists and poets perceive the world through different lenses and reflect different mindsets. Instead of dichotomies, however, science and poetry have had a long symbiotic relationship. Webb (1948) stated, Poets find science, in the form of nature, more interesting than love…Practically every bird, flower, and tree has been studied with poetic insight. The sea, the mountains, the sky, the fields, the list of nature’s wonders that have inspired poets is almost endless. (p. 30) More recently, Hoffman (2002) described this relationship as “two luxuriating contra entropic glories of the human spirit walking hand in hand” (p. 137). Today, much research indicates that science and poetry are interdependent fields of study (Bono, in Kurtz and Loewenstein, 2007), and incorporating poetry in the teaching of science offers many benefits for students (Rule et al., 2004). These benefits are based on three important concepts: transfer, process, and goal. Transfer recognizes that “spontaneous transfer of useful knowledge across domains is a powerful cognitive tool” (Kurtz & Loewenstein, 2007, p. 335). In this case, the domains are science and poetry. Process recognizes that the “processes of science and literacy learning are similar and may help the development of each discipline” (Akerson, in Vardell & Wong, 2015, p. 1). Goal recognizes that science and poetry share a common goal and “emerge from an attempt to understand the universe around us—and from a wish to share that understanding with others in words” (Hoffman, 2002, p. 140). Additional benefits of integrating poetry and science include:  Poetry plays a role in humanizing science and functions as a creative trespasser to end the cold war between science and poetry (Watts, in Rule, 2001).  Poetry uses images and metaphors which can clarify and intensify the meaning of science content (Rule et al., 2004).  Poetry invites and enables scientists to quickly capture and express new ideas. 88 Georgia Journal of Literacy 47(1)  Poetry offers a way for scientists to play with language, to reframe concepts, and to engage with aesthetics to capture readers in ways that are not possible with scientific articles (Silverton, 2015).  Poetry that reflects good science leads to a fuller inquiry, interpretation, and appreciation of science. Paired Text and Blended Genres All texts are tinted with echoes and reverberations of other texts. (Bakhtin, 1986, p. 91) Traditionally, a paired text consists of two texts that are conceptually related in some way (Harste, Short, Burke, 1988). It is a curricular resource and instructional tool to teach the concept of intertextuality, a term commonly referred to as making connections between texts (Harvey & Goudvis, 2017). Intertextuality is an important concept in reading and learning. For example, one College and Career Readiness Reading Anchor Standard (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010) states the need for students to “Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take” (Integration of Knowledge and Ideas section, para. 3). Paired text is one way to put intertextuality into action and address this standard in the classroom. A blended genre is also a paired text. It consists of two texts with each text representing a different literary genre. For example, the picturebook The Life Cycle of an Emperor Penguin (Kalman, 2006) and the poem “Dark Emperor” (Sidman, 2010) is an enjoyable and informative blended genre that focuses on the topic of life cycle. Blended Genres, CCSS, and NGSS Standards The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS, 2013) states that “literacy skills are critical to building knowledge in science” (see Appendix M, p. 1). Similarly, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in literacy identify skills for high proficiency in literacy, and the Common Core Reading Anchor Standards (CCRAS) identify skills for high proficiency in reading. To ensure consistency, NGSS identifies connections between CCSS literacy and CCRAS reading skills and science content demands in grades 6–12. Blended genres is a curricular resource that, when used with instructional strategies, can integrate NGSS, CCSS, and CCRAS standards. Blended Genres and Instructional Strategies In this section, I share an example of a blended genre and a sample of an instructional strategy that teachers can use to teach important content area material in Life Science. I created this sample to share specifically with K–8 ELA and science teachers, but the instructional strategy can be used with any blended genre across the curriculum. First, however, I want to share a two-step process that teachers can use to teach this strategy, along with the other strategies, to help students make intertextual connections between the two texts in any blended genre. The two-step process involves teacher demonstration and student engagement. For demonstration, teachers can do the following: 1) organize students in pairs or small groups (3–4) to support collaboration and discussion, 2) prepare and distribute a blank copy of the instructional strategy to each student, 3) display a selected blended genre to students and introduce each text with a picturewalk, introduction, book chat, etc., 4) demonstrate Bintz 89 the instructional strategy by reading aloud both texts, pausing at strategic times, e.g., major episodic changes in the text, 5) identify examples of intertextual connections between the texts and record these connections on the instructional strategy displayed to the entire class, e.g. PowerPoint, and 6) as a culminating experience, invite student discussions on the paired text, reflections on the intertextual connections, and questions about completing the strategy on their own. For engagement, teachers can follow the same procedure with a different blended genre, but this time inviting students to identify, discuss, and record intertextual connections between the two texts. Life Science Summer Birds: The Butterflies of Maria Merian (Engle, 2010) is a picturebook biography of Maria Merian, naturalist, field scientist, and artist. Born in 1647, she secretly captured, fed, and observed insects that at the time people considered “beasts of the devil.” She observed that many insects, especially butterflies, go through developmental life cycles. Over time and with persistent observation, she discovered metamorphosis and nine new species of butterflies. “Maria Sibylla Merian, January 1670” (Ackerman, 2020) is a biographical poem about Maria Merian. Here is an excerpt. Maria Sibylla Merian, January 1670 There was a way of beholding nature that was like a form of prayer. When she painted a caterpillar, she limned the whole bracing saga of its life from birth, instars, and metamorphosis… She chose to reveal the smallest, most despised creatures on earth as divine works of nature… and peer in wonder at the visible but unseen life all around them, dining, sparring, molting, mating… Here is a caterpillar's eye, her paintings said, look how cleverly it's designed! Here is a spider's toe with tiny hairs. Can you imagine how they tread? Here is time elapsing inside a chrysalis, where caterpillar becomes butterfly, shape-shifting with infinite gradualness from one unlikely form to another, its behavior and purpose radically changed. Come closer, I will show you. Figure 2 illustrates Interwoven Intertextual Connections as an instructional strategy to represent intertextual connections between this blended genre (for additional strategies, see Bintz, 2015). This strategy invites individual students, pairs of students, or small groups of students to create and represent intertextual connections they consider most important across the blended genre. Afterward, students share their connections with the whole class, noting and discussing similarities and differences between connections. 90 Georgia Journal of Literacy 47(1) Teachers can also use this strategy to create and represent their own intertextual connections and share them with the class. This is important for three reasons. One, it demonstrates active engagement by teachers. Second, it allows students to see and understand connections different from their own. Third, in the event students do not recognize some important connections, it allows teachers to bring those connections to the attention of students. Figure 2: Interwoven Intertextual Connections Summer Birds In Medieval times, butterflies were a mystery. People believed they magically came from mud and were evil and people who studied them, like Maria Sibylla Merian, practiced witchcraft. Maria Sibylla Merian studied the life cycle of summer birds, noting they are born from eggs, eat leaves, spin cocoons, and turn into butterflies. Maria Sibylla Merian compared herself to summer birds, growing slowly but waiting to fly to faraway lands. Marian Sibylla Merian also studied other species born from eggs and who change forms, e.g. tadpoles turning into frogs. Trailblazer Life Cycle Personal Connections Changing Forms “Maria Sibylla Merian, January 1670” Maria Sibylla Merian studied butterflies which in Medieval Times were regarded as “one of the most despised creatures on earth.” She discovered and shared just the opposite. She regarded them as “divine works of nature.” Maria Sibylla Merian wrote about the life cycle of butterflies, using language people could understand, e.g., a caterpillar is a shapeshifter until it gradually becomes a butterfly. Maria Sibylla Merian considered studying nature as a form of prayer and a chance to peer in wonder at the visible but unseen life existing all around. In addition to butterflies, Maria Sibylla Merian also studied other living things that changed form (spontaneous combustion), e.g., maggots hatching freely from eggs. Final Thought According to Vardell and Wong (2015), “Science is rich in content and poetry offers powerful language. Together they can both inform and inspire” (p. 15). The student vignette at the beginning of this article inspired me to develop blended genres for use in the English/Language Arts and science classrooms. 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A drop around the world. Dawn Publications. McKinney, B. S. (2000). Pass the energy, please! Dawn Publications. Milne, A. A. (1927). Forgiven. In Now we are six. E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc. https://www.gutenberg .org/ebooks/70516 Monem, S. (2019). Charles Darwin [Poem]. Poem Hunter. https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/ charles-darwin-3/ Mr. R. (n.d.). Butterfly metamorphosis [Poem]. Mr. R.’s World of Science. https://sciencepoems .net/butterfly-metamorphosis-poem/ Mr. R. (n.d.). Human bones poem [Poem]. Mr. R.’s World of Science. https://sciencepoems.net/ human-bones-poem/ Nash, O. (1937). The germ. In The private dining room and other verses. Little, Brown and Company. https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-germ/ Nims, J. F. (1990). The six-cornered snowflake and other poems. New Directions. Norman, K. (2019). Give me back my bones! Candlewick. O'Meara, K. (2020). In the time of pandemic [Poem]. The Daily Round. https://www.medhumchat. com/discussionguides/2020/7/15/kitty-omeara-in-the-time-of-pandemic Padmini, S. (2021). Caterpillar’s journey to metamorphosis. Independently Published. Pallotta, J. (2000). Dory story. Charlesbridge. Petty, D. (2021). Moth & butterfly: Ta da! Nancy Paulsen Books. Pham, B. (2022). Cardiology for kids: A fun picture book about the cardiovascular system. Black Phoenix Press. Pulsifer, C. (n.d.). Life like a butterfly [Poem]. StressLess Country. https://www.stresslesscountry .com/bring-butterflies-garden/ Recao, F. (2021). Why the butterfly: Why do seasons and weather change? Author. Reniscience Education. (n.d.). Cell theory [Poem]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/ ourlearninglab/posts/a-poem-explaining-cell-theory-by-a-7th-grader__________ shakespearean-sonnets-are/302855489846947/ Richardson, J. (2015). And Tango makes three. Little Simon. Robertson, M. P. (2009). Food chain. Limited. Scieszka, J. (2004). Science verse. Viking. Senker, C. (2003). Rosalind Franklin. Hodder Wayland. Sidman, J. (2000). Just us two: Poems/animal dads. Millbrook Press. https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/rosalind-franklin/ https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/rosalind-franklin/ https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/70516 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/70516 https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/charles-darwin-3/ https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/charles-darwin-3/ https://sciencepoems.net/butterfly-metamorphosis-poem/ https://sciencepoems.net/butterfly-metamorphosis-poem/ https://sciencepoems.net/human-bones-poem/ https://sciencepoems.net/human-bones-poem/ https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-germ/ https://www.medhumchat.com/discussionguides/2020/7/15/kitty-omeara-in-the-time-of-pandemic https://www.medhumchat.com/discussionguides/2020/7/15/kitty-omeara-in-the-time-of-pandemic https://www.stresslesscountry.com/bring-butterflies-garden/ https://www.stresslesscountry.com/bring-butterflies-garden/ https://www.facebook.com/%E2%80%8Courlearninglab/posts/a-poem-explaining-cell-theory-by-a-7th-grader__________%E2%80%8Cshakespearean-sonnets-are/302855489846947/ https://www.facebook.com/%E2%80%8Courlearninglab/posts/a-poem-explaining-cell-theory-by-a-7th-grader__________%E2%80%8Cshakespearean-sonnets-are/302855489846947/ https://www.facebook.com/%E2%80%8Courlearninglab/posts/a-poem-explaining-cell-theory-by-a-7th-grader__________%E2%80%8Cshakespearean-sonnets-are/302855489846947/ Bintz 95 Sidman, J. (2005). Song of the water boatman and other pond poems. Clarion Books. Sidman, J. (2010). Dark emperor and other poems of the night. Clarion Books. Sidman, J. (2014). Winter bees & other poems of the cold. Clarion Books. SilentFairyNat. (2011). White blood cells [Poem]. AllPoetry. https://allpoetry.com/poem/ 7202472-WHite-blood-cells-by-SilentFairyNat Silverstein, S. (1981). A light in the attic. HarperCollins. Simon, S. (2006). The heart: All about our circulatory system. HarperCollins. Sis, P. (2016). The tree of life: Charles Darwin. Farrar, Straus, & Giroux. Smith. A. (2022). Allergies [Poem]. Funny Poems for Life. https://www.funnypoemsforlife.com/ poems/allergies Sunprincess. (2013). Mystical migration of the monarch butterflies [Poem]. Poem Hunter. https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/mystical-migration-of-the-monarch-butterflies/ Swope, S. (2000). Gotta go! Gotta go! Square Fish. Tan, S. (2019). Cicada. Arthur A. Levine Books. Tweet, J. (2016). Grandmother fish: A child’s first book of evolution. Feiwel & Friends. Vilma. (2020). Untitled poem about COVID-19 [Poem]. Save the Children. https://www.savethe children.org/us/charity-stories/childrens-poems-about-covid-19-and-lockdown Winter, J. (2016). My name is James Madison Hemings. Schwartz & Wade. Wilson, K. (2002). Bear snores on. Little Simon. Wing, C. (2005). Evolution song [Poem]. Poetry Magazine. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/ poetrymagazine/poems/43237/evolution-song- Wolf, A. (2003). The blood-hungry spleen and other poems about our parts. Candlewick. Wynne, P. J. (2017). My first book about the five senses. Dover Publications. Yost, J. (2013). Snakes! CreateSpace. Table 1: Additional Blended Genres in Life Science Topic Picturebook Poetry Grade Band K–4 Charles Darwin The Tree of Life: Charles Darwin (Sis, 2016) Darwin (Gunawardana, 2016) Charles Darwin When Darwin Sailed the Sea (Long, 2020) Charles Darwin (Monem, 2019) Charles Darwin One Beetle Too Many (Lasky, 2012) Forgiven (Milne, 1927) Evolution The Story of Life: A First Book About Evolution (Barr, 2015) Evolution (Scieszka, 2004) Evolution Grandmother Fish: A Child’s First Book of Evolution (Tweet, 2016) Evolution Song (Wing, 2005) Natural Selection Galapagos George (George, 2014) The Loneliest Creature (Lewis, 2007) Life Cycle The Life Cycle of an Emperor Penguin (Kalman, 2006)C Dark Emperor (Sidman, 2010) https://allpoetry.com/poem/7202472-WHite-blood-cells-by-SilentFairyNat https://allpoetry.com/poem/7202472-WHite-blood-cells-by-SilentFairyNat https://www.funnypoemsforlife.com/poems/allergies https://www.funnypoemsforlife.com/poems/allergies https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/mystical-migration-of-the-monarch-butterflies/ https://www.savethechildren.org/us/charity-stories/childrens-poems-about-covid-19-and-lockdown https://www.savethechildren.org/us/charity-stories/childrens-poems-about-covid-19-and-lockdown https://www.poetryfoundation.org/%E2%80%8Cpoetrymagazine/poems/43237/evolution-song- https://www.poetryfoundation.org/%E2%80%8Cpoetrymagazine/poems/43237/evolution-song- 96 Georgia Journal of Literacy 47(1) Life Cycle The Ugly Butterfly: An Imaginative Story About the Life Cycle of a Caterpillar (Espinoza, 2021) Chrysalis Diary (Fleischman, 1988) Life Cycle Spring Peepers are Calling (Billings, 1978) Listen for Me (Sidman, 2005) Life Cycle Beavers (Gibbons, 2014) Under Ice (Sidman, 2014) Life Cycle Song of the Water Boatman and Other Poems (Sidman, J., 2005) Water Boatmen (Fleischman, 1988) Life Cycle Coral Reefs: A Journey Through an Aquatic World Full of Wonder (Chin, 2016) How Coral Reefs are Made from Tiny Animals (polyps) not Much Bigger than a Pinhead (Lewis, 2007) Grade Band 5–8 Life Cycle Cicada (Tan, 2019) Cicadas (Fleischman, 1988) Life Cycle The Emperor’s Egg (Jenkins, 1999) If I Were an Egg (Sidman, 2000) Life Cycle And the Bullfrogs Sing: A Life Cycle Begins (Harrison, 2020) Bullfrog (Lewis, 1998) Life Cycle The Tiny Seed (Carle, 2005) The Seed (Hopkins, 1999) Life Cycle The Peregrine’s Journey: A Story of Migration (Dunphy, 2008) Egg Business (Sidman, 2000) Snakes Snakes! (Yost, 2013) Snake’s Lullaby (Sidman, 2014) Seasons & Weather Why the Butterfly: Why do Seasons and Weather Change? (Recao, 2021) Life Like a Butterfly (Pulsifer, n.d.) Seasons & Weather The Story of Snow: The Science of Winter's Wonder (Cassino, 2009) The Six-Cornered Snowflake (Nims, 1990) Seasons & Weather The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s First Spring (Carle, 2022) First Burst of Spring (Lewis, 1998) Five Senses My Five Senses (Aliki, 2015) The Senseless Lab of Professor Revere (Scieszka, 2004) Five Senses My First Book About the Five Senses (Wynne, 2017) Senses (Silverstein, 1981) Food Chain Dory Story (Pallotta, 2000) Food Chain (Scieszka, 2004) Food Chain Pass the Energy, Please! (McKinney, 2000) Food Chain (Scieszka, 2004) Food Chain Food Chain (Robertson, 2009) Food Chain (Scieszka, 2004) Metamorphosis Summer Birds: The Butterflies of Maria Merian (Engle, 2010) Maria Sibylla Merian, January 1670 (Ackerman, 2020) Metamorphosis Moth & Butterfly: Ta da! (Petty, 2021) Changes (Scieszka, 2004) Metamorphosis The Very Impatient Caterpillar (Burach, 2019) Conversation on a Leaf (Lewis, 2005) Metamorphosis Waiting for Wings (Ehlert, 2001) Metamorphosis (AmberLynne, 2014) Metamorphosis Caterpillar’s Journey to Metamorphosis (Padmini, 2021) Changes (Scieszka, 2004) Metamorphosis Butterfly House (Bunting, 1999) Butterfly Metamorphosis (Mr. R’s, n.d.) Hibernation Bear Snores On (Wilson, 2002) Bubba Bear’s Cozy Hibernation Haven (Krutsinger, 2022) Migration Gotta Go! Gotta Go! (Swope, 2000) Mystical Migration of the Monarch Butterflies (Sunprincess, 2013) Bintz 97 Human Heart Cardiology for Kids: A Fun Picture Book About the Cardiovascular System (Pham, 2022) You Can’t Beat Your Heart (Wolf, 2003) Human DNA Rosalind Franklin (Senker, 2003) Rosalind Franklin (Mahtrow, 2006) Human DNA DNA is Here to Stay (Balkwill, 1993) DNA Test (n.d.) Human Cells Cell Wars (Balkwell, 1993) Cell theory (Reniscience Education, n.d.) Human Cells Cells are Us (Balkwell, 1990) Fifty Million Cells (Lewis, 2007) Human Bones The Bones You Own (Baines, 2009) Human Bones Poem (Mr. R’s, n.d.) Genes What a Family! (Isadora, 2006) My Genes (Hough, 2011). Chromosomes My Name is James Madison Hemings (Winter, 2016) Chromosome poem (Lewis, 2007) Chromosomes Amazing Schemes Within Your Genes (Balkwill, 1993) Chromosome Poem (Lewis, 2007) Human Bones Give Me Back My Bones! (Norman, 2019) Boneless (Wolf, 2003) Human Circulatory System The Circulatory Story (Corcoran, 2010) Shy Silent Rivers (Wolf, 2003) Human Lungs Lungs (Brown, 2022) Lungs (Wolf, 2003) Human Germs Under the Microscope: Earth’s Tiniest Inhabitants (Professor, 2024) Under the Microscope (Hopkins, 1999) Human Germs Cell Wars (Balkwill, 1993) Germ (Nash, 1937) Germs Germs Make Me Sick! (Berger, 1985) Germ (Nash, 1937) Germs Operation Achoo! (Humowitz, 2020) Germ (Nash, 1937) Germs Body Battles (Gelman, 1992) White Blood Cells (SilentFairyNat, 2011) Viruses A Little Spot Stays Home: A Story About Viruses and Safe Distancing (Alber, 2020) Untitled poem about COVID-19 (Vilma, 2020) Parasites What’s Eating You? Parasites, the Inside Story (Davies, 2009) Mary had a… (Scieszka, 2004) Allergies The Sneezy Breeze (Loper, 2020) Allergies (Smith, 2022) Human Heart The Heart: All About Our Circulatory System (Simon, 2006) Heart to Heart (Dove, 2004) Human Body Human Body Book: Introduction to the Respiratory System (Professor, 2017) Respiratory Failure (Bagert, 2006) Viruses & Pandemics A Little Spot Stays Home: A Story About Viruses and Safe Distancing (Alber, 2020) In the time of Pandemic (O’Meara, 2020) Received: August 16, 2024 | Accepted: October 21, 2024 | Published: May 20, 2025 Science & Literature Poetry Science Paired Text and Blended Genres Blended Genres and Instructional Strategies Life Science Final Thought References Picturebooks and Poetry Cited