Category: Animals

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#Kidlit: Into the Field Guides To Explore Nature

For Nonfiction Monday we are featuring two children’s books provided by Downtown Bookworks Publishing. They are part of a children bird science book giveaway offered at our sister blog, Growing With Science, starting today and running until 12:00 a.m. EST February 7, 2017.

These Into the Field Guides are lightweight and a perfect size to carry along on a hike. They won’t take up much room in a backpack. The guides feature color photographs and clear, simple descriptions to help youngsters learn to identify common animals, plants, and even rocks. They also include an introduction to some basic scientific concepts and facts. For example, the description of the stick insect explains how it uses camouflage to hide from predators.

A Walk in the Woods: Into the Field Guide by Emily Laber-Warren

A Walk in the Woods has descriptions of animals, plants, and rocks found in Eastern deciduous forests. For example, the bird section highlights American robins, Northern mockingbirds, chickadees, goldfinches, etc.

Age Range: 5 and up
Grade Level: Kindergarten and up
Paperback: 112 pages
Publisher: Downtown Bookworks (June 18, 2013)
ISBN-10: 1935703269
ISBN-13: 978-1935703266

A Walk on the Beach: Into the Field Guide by Laurie Goldman

A Walk on the Beach helps young readers learn about common animals, plants, rocks, shells, and even debris found on the beach. The bird section includes information about water birds ranging from great blue herons and seagulls, to eagles and ducks.

Age Range: 5 and up
Paperback: 112 pages
Publisher: Downtown Bookworks; Original edition (June 18, 2013)
ISBN-10: 1935703277
ISBN-13: 978-1935703273

 

These field guides would be perfect to accompany the The Great Backyard Bird Count citizen science event.

What is the Great Backyard Bird Count? Basically all people need to do is count the birds they see over 15 minutes during the weekend of the event and then report the numbers on the website. Although it is called “backyard,” people can count anywhere birds are found, including parks, preserves, or fields. There is plenty of information and instructions about getting started at the website. It is a wonderful project for kids to participate in.

See more children’s bird science books, related activities, and a giveaway at Growing with Science blog.

Disclosure: These books were supplied by the publisher for review purposes. Also, I am an affiliate with Amazon so I can provide you with cover images and links to more information about books and products. As you probably are aware, if you click through the highlighted title link and purchase a product, I will receive a very small commission, at no extra cost to you. Any proceeds help defray the costs of hosting and maintaining this website.

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Looking for more children’s nonfiction books? Try the Nonfiction Monday blog.

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New #kidlit From Animal Planet: Farm Animals

Want to take a trip to the barnyard without leaving the house? Let’s explore the lives of our favorite domesticated animals with Animal Planet’s new Farm Animals (Animal Bites Series) by Laaren Brown.

(Amazon Affiliate link)

Pop open this book for over 200 large, dynamic photographs of horses, cows, pigs, duck, turkeys, chickens and more. Learn what farm animals eat, where they live and what their families are like. Included is a two-page spread of wild creatures that use farms as homes, such as spiders, bees, and wild birds.

The book is packed with fascinating facts.  For example, did you know that in a few breeds of geese the males and females have different eye colors? Pilgrim geese are an example.

In the back matter are activities to reinforce learning, such as animal sound matching, as well as a page packed with resources for further exploration, two pages of glossary, and an extensive index.

Farm Animals is a perfect choice for young children who love animals. It could also be used to accompany a field trip to a petting zoo or local farm.

See reviews of two other titles in the Animal Bites series, Polar Animals and Ocean Animals,  at Growing with Science.

Related Activities:

  1. Horses at Growing with Science
  2. Goats and Sheep at Growing with Science
  3. Four books about chickens for kids (here at Wrapped in Foil)
  4. Younger kids will enjoy playing with toy farm animals like the Animal Planet Farm Bucket

 

(Amazon Affiliate link)

Age Range: 7 – 10 years
Publisher: Animal Planet (June 21, 2016)
ISBN-10: 1618934139
ISBN-13: 978-1618934130

 

chickens

 

Disclosure: This book was supplied by the publisher for review purposes. Also, I am an affiliate with Amazon so I can provide you with cover images and links to more information about books and products. As you probably are aware, if you click through the highlighted title link and purchase a product, I will receive a very small commission, at no extra cost to you. Any proceeds help defray the costs of hosting and maintaining this website.

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Looking for more children’s nonfiction books? Try the Nonfiction Monday blog.

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New #kidlit From Animal Planet: Animal Atlas

I’m back from Camp NaNoWriMo. Do you wonder how it went?

CNW_Winner_200

First draft of novel completed!

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Let’s kick off being back to blogging about children’s books with Animal Planet’s new book, Animal Atlas, with text by James Buckley, Jr. and maps by Aaron Meshon. It arrives on shelves on May 17.

 

Animal Planet Animal Atlas guides children through the world of animals in an orderly fashion, with chapters representing the seven continents plus the oceans. The chapters begin with a map of the featured continent and descriptions of the biomes that occur there, such as rainforest, desert, and tundra. In the following pages are covered with big, bright photographs of different kinds of animals living in each biome, from a type of antelope known as an addax to stripy zebras.  Short descriptions of the animals are included in color-coded sidebars. Finally, children will want to look for the Reach Out. Act. Respond or ROAR sidebars highlighting conservation and animal rescue efforts in that region.

What’s great about this big book is that it is a resource children are likely to return to again and again. Young children may use it to learn the names of animals. Older children will start to see emergent patterns, such as the animals found in northern areas or taigas are more likely to be white at least part of the year.

The bottom line is that Animal Atlas is sure to please young animal lovers everywhere!

Related:

If this book inspires a child to learn more, try the books in the Animal Planet Animal Bites Series, reviewed recently at Growing with Science.

Age Range: 6 +
Publisher: Animal Planet (May 24, 2016)
ISBN-10: 1618931652
ISBN-13: 978-1618931658

 

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Disclosure: This book was supplied by the publisher for review purposes. Also, I am an affiliate with Amazon so I can provide you with cover images and links to more information about books and products. As you probably are aware, if you click through the highlighted title link and purchase a product, I will receive a very small commission, at no extra cost to you. Any proceeds help defray the costs of hosting and maintaining this website.

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Looking for more children’s nonfiction books? Try the Nonfiction Monday blog.

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#Cybils: Frozen Wild Tells How Animals Survive Winter

Winter might not be in full force yet, but many children have questions about what happens to animals when it gets cold out. Frozen Wild: How Animals Survive in the Coldest Places on Earth (Slither and Crawl) by Jim Arnosky describes how animals are able to live in the cold places, including the Arctic and Antarctic regions (nominated for the 2015 Cybils award in the Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction category.)

The first thing you notice about Frozen Wild is the gorgeous paintings, all done with a cool color palette. To fully capture the effect, many of the pages fold out into panoramic scenes. Lovely!

Accompanying the illustrations is a fact-filled text, where young readers learn about insulation, feeding behavior and even the importance of “goose bumps.”

Jim Arnosky is an incredible naturalist, writer, and artist. He has written many nonfiction children’s books about animals and the natural world. As with many other of his books, he includes first person narration that helps bring young readers into his world. As he says on the last page, “I live in awe of wild things.”

Frozen Wild: How Animals Survive in the Coldest Places on Earth is a perfect book to curl up with on a cold winter day. Pick it up for units on animals, weather, and the seasons, as well.

Age Range: 6 – 10 years
Publisher: Sterling Children’s Books (September 1, 2015)
ISBN-10: 1454910259
ISBN-13: 978-1454910251

Disclosures: This book was provided by our local library. I am an affiliate with Amazon so I can provide you with cover images and links to more information about books and products. As you probably are aware, if you click through the highlighted title link and purchase a product, I will receive a very small commission, at not extra cost to you. Any proceeds help defray the costs of hosting and maintaining this website.

Come visit the STEM Friday blog each week to find more great Science, Technology, Engineering and Math books.