When we dive into a state unit study I always have so much fun putting together the books for not just my kids but for me too. This list of Florida books was especially fun because I was born and raised in southwest Florida. So being to learn more about things I had seen experience at their age has been interesting!
24 Best Florida Books for a Florida Unit Study!
Since we still have family in Florida we have been back to visit and I love how my kids light up when we learn about someplace they have been! So now that we are working on our Florida Unit Study I want to share our list of Florida Books.
Books about Florida for Younger Kids
Hark, a Shark! The Cat in the Hat dives deep in this fascinating exploration of the world of sharks. Learn about the different types of sharks, how we study them, and why they aren’t so scary after all. Perfect for kids who love sharks and Dr. Seuss alike, and for any kid who loves learning and science.
Good Night Beach This book is the perfect gift for little beach adventurers everywhere, for birthdays, baby showers, housewarming and going away parties.
My Grandma Lives in Florida This sunny, happy, and the lovingly humorous story follows a child alligator―who lives in NYC―as he visits his grandma in her Florida home.
It Never, Ever Snows in Florida AJ lives in Florida where it never, ever snows. He dreams of a day when he can build a snowman, or wear warm boots in the winter like other kids. AJ soon learns he can’t say “never” when it comes to weather.
Related: Visiting Winter and Hope at Clearwater Marine Aquarium – Clearwater, Florida
Florida Books for Older Kids
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo One summer’s day, ten-year-old India Opal Buloni goes down to the local supermarket for some groceries – and comes home with a dog. But Winn-Dixie is no ordinary dog.
The Lion’s Paw by Robb White Set in Florida, it’s the perfect tale to carry school children on a geographic tour of Florida.
Freddy Goes to Florida by Walter R. Brooks Freddy and his friends from Bean Farm migrate south for the winter, with every mile of the way a terrific adventure complete with bumbling robbers and a nasty bunch of alligators.
The Pink Motel by Carol Ryrie Brink When Kirby, Bitsy, and their parents inherit an unusual and very pink motel in Florida, they find it filled with eccentric characters, mystery, and adventure
Related: 11 of the Absolute Best Places to View Manatees in Florida
Books About Florida for Kids
Florida: What’s So Great About This State? WHAT huge herbivore swims in the rivers and shallow coastal areas of Florida? HOW the land in the Florida Keys was formed? Find these answers and more in the Florida edition of What’s So Great About This State?
Celebrating Florida This entertaining and educational mix of travel, geography, history, and pop culture includes maps and learning activities. Great for beginning readers!
Good Night Florida Good Night Florida includes coconut palm trees, snorkeling the Keys, dolphins, sea turtles, manatees, the Everglades and alligators, orange groves, Kennedy Space Center, Daytona 500, Ginnie Springs, St. Augustine, swimming. beaches, and more.
Hello, Florida! In this board book from best-selling children’s author-illustrator Martha Day Zschock, a parent and child alligator explores the wonders of the Sunshine State. From the panhandle to the Florida keys, from the gulf coast to the Atlantic Ocean, the pair enjoy the sun, the sand, and the surf.
F is for Florida Take an alphabetized field trip around the Sunshine State and discover the plants, animals, foods, and places that make it, well, Florida!
S is for Sunshine: A Florida Alphabet Book Do you know which city is the state capitol? Which fragrant blossom is the state flower? Learn all this and more with S is for Sunshine: A Florida Alphabet.
Related: Tour of the Pinellas County Heritage Village Largo Florida
Books About Florida for Adults
The Yearling – Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings No novel better epitomizes the love between a child and a pet than The Yearling. Young Jody adopts an orphaned fawn he calls Flag and makes it a part of his family and his best friend. But life in the Florida backwoods is harsh, and so, as his family fights off wolves, bears, and even alligators, and faces failure in their tenuous subsistence farming, Jody must finally part with his dear animal friend.
Their Eyes Were Watching God – Zora Neal Hurston One of the most important and enduring books of the twentieth century, Their Eyes Were Watching God brings to life a Southern love story with the wit and pathos found only in the writing of Zora Neale Hurston.
Florida Roadkill – Tim Dorsey Sunshine State trivia buff Serge A. Storms loves eliminating jerks and pests. His drug-addled partner Coleman loves cartoons. Hot stripper Sharon Rhodes loves cocaine, especially when purchased with rich dead men’s money.
Hoot – Carl Hiaasen Everybody loves Mother Paula’s pancakes. Everybody, that is, except the colony of cute but endangered owls that live on the building site of the new restaurant.
Thunder on the River: The Civil War in Northeast Florida A captivating history of the Civil War in Northeast Florida
Mr. Flagler’s St. Augustine Arguably no man did more to make over a city—or a state—than Henry Morrison Flagler. Almost single-handedly, he transformed the east coast of Florida from a remote frontier into the winter playground of America’s elite.
Related: Planning a Trip to Key West on a Budget
Florida Workbooks
Florida Straits So begins this classic Key West caper, the hilarious and touching book that launched a much-loved series and introduced the world to Bert the Shirt and his chihuahua Don Giovanni, two of the most unforgettable characters in contemporary fiction.
Surfing Florida A visual history of how the Sunshine State carved out a place for itself on the map of surfing meccas.
La Florida Five Hundred Years of Hispanic Presence Commemorating Juan Ponce de León’s landfall on the Atlantic coast of Florida, this ambitious volume explores five centuries of Hispanic presence in the New World peninsula, reflecting on the breadth and depth of encounters between the different lands and cultures.
Florida Wildlife Coloring Book You’ll find dolphins, turtles, herons, and more as you travel through natural Florida with this beautiful selection of drawings by Julie Burch. Each illustration features some of Florida’s most fascinating plants and animals, with a brief scientific explanation on the facing page so you can learn while you color. Rest and relaxation are only a page flip away.
Do you have any favorite Florida Books that didn’t make the list? Let me know in the comments below!