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Book Reviews Author Reviews eBooks Movie Reviews Our Favorite Books eBay eZine   More About Us Contact Us	Author Review: Millicent Ellis Selsam (1912- Our family has read and enjoyed many nature books by Millicent Selsam. I always assumed that she spent much time in the country seeing all the animals and plants she wrote about. But just recently I found out that she was born and raised in New York City. She had this to say in an autobiographical sketchwritten in 1963: "I was born and brought up in New York City and have never lived anywhere else. This often seems strange to my co-workers in the field of nature books. But I came to my interest in nature through the study of biology in high school and college. The field trips I took grew out of course work and were my first contact with the world of nature. Perhaps this is one reason why I so strongly try to interest very young people in the subjec tnow. i feel their lives will be richer and fuller if they become and stay curious about the world around us." Ms. Selsam majored in biology and graduated magna cum laude with a B. A. degree from Brooklyn College. At Columbia she received an M.A. in botany and a Ph.D. After graduation she taught biology for ten years in New York City high schools. Then after a short stint working as an assistant stage manager in a Broadway show, she began devoting herself to writing science books for children. In 1964, Ms. Selsam received the Eva L. Gordon Award of the American Nature Study Society for her outstanding contribution to the literature of natural history. Biography of an Atom, written with J. Bronowski, won the Edison Foundation award for the best children's science book of 1965. Ms. Selsam was greatly inspired by Rachel Carson and thought the best compliment she ever received was in a review that said she "was leading the children as Rachel Carson has led their elders to observe and to understand." Some of her books do include some evolutionary ideas. Our family reads these parts together and discuss how our viewpoints differ and why. From Peanut: "Working with Jerome Wexler's astonishing close-up photographs, the like of which are rarely seen, Millicent Selsam explains the life cycle of the popular peanut in the simplest terms possible. Although the book is intended for young children, it is marked by meticulous research." About Seeds and More Seeds: "Children love to learn. And as they begin to read they're at their most inquisitive. Seeds and More Seeds not only provides a clear, simple text for young readers, but teaches them fascinating facts about seeds and plants. The test has a rhythm to it which makes for reading fun." - Junior Libraries List of titles by Millicent Selsam: Amazon.com has over 100 titles by Ms. Selsam listed on their website! A First Look At Series: "Few children's books actually encourage the child's powers of observation. This series is an attempt to develop those powers, particularly the art of looking for the differences among living things." We have read many of these and used the simple drawings for tracing. A first look at animals that eat other animals A first look at animals with backbones A first look at animals with horns A first look at animals without backbones A first look at bats A first look at bird nests A first look at birds A first look at caterpillars A first look at cats A first look at dinosaurs A first look at dogs A first look at ducks, geese and swans A first look at fish A first look at flowers A first look at frogs, toads, and saladmanders A first look at horses A first look at insects A first look at kangaroos, koalas, and other animals with pouches A first look at leaves A first look at mammals A first look at monkeys and apes A first look at owls, eagles, and other hunters of the sky A first look at poisonous snakes A first look at rocks A first look at seals, sea lions, and walruses A first look at seashells A first look at sharks A first look at snakes, lizards, and other reptiles A first look at spiders A first look at the world of plants A first look at whales A first look at bird nests Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science Books: Big tracks, little tracks: following animal prints (aka Nature Detective) Science I Can Read Books: Benny's Animals Egg to Chick Greg's Microscope Hidden Animals Let's Get Turtles More Potatoes! Plenty Of Fish Seeds and more Seeds Terry and the Caterpillars The Bug That Laid the Golden Egg Tony's Birds When an Animal Grows With photographs by Jerome Wexler: Apple and other fruits, The Bulbs, corms, and such Carrot and other root vegetables, The Catnip Cotton Eat the fruit, plant the seed Harlequin moth, The : Its life story Maple Tree Milkweed Mimosa, the sensitive plant Mushrooms Peanut Plants we eat Play with plants Play with seeds Play with trees Play with vines Popcorn Tomato and other fruit vegetables, The Vegetables from stems and leaves Others: A time for sleep; how the animals rest All About Eggs All kinds of babies All kinds of babies and how they grow Animal mixups Animals as parents Around the world with Darwin Backyard Insects Biography of an atom Birth of a forest Birth of an Island Exploring the animal kingdom How animals live together How Animals Sleep How animals tell time How kittens grow How Puppies Grow How puppies grow How the animals eat How to be a nature detective How to grow house plants Is this a baby dinosaur? And other science picture puzzles Keep looking! Land of the giant tortoise : the story of the Galápagos Microbes at work Nature detective Night animals Plants that heal Plants that move Play with leaves and flowers Questions and Answers About Ants Sea monsters of long ago See along the shore See through the forest See through the jungle See through the lake See through the sea Strange creatures that really lived The amazing dandelion The courtship of animals The don't throw it, grow it book of houseplants The Doubleday first guide to wild flowers The language of animals The quest of Captain Cook The tiger; its life in the wild Tree flowers Tyrannosaurus rex Underwater zoos Up, down, and around: the force of gravity When an animal grows Where do they go? : insects in winter You and the world around you Home Last Updated: October 3, 2003 Website created by Lauren Tatum