On this page: General Resources | Food Chains | Habitats | Animal Intelligence | Experiments
animals
General resources
📖 Animalium by Katie Scott and Jenny Broom. Animalium is the first book in the "Welcome to the Museum" series, which seeks to recreate the experience of visiting a museum. Following a brief introduction to the tree of life, you will find beautifully illustrated "galleries" of Invertebrates, Fish, Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds, and Mammals. This unusual over-sized book deserves a place in your home library. – All
📖 Actual Size by Steve Jenkins. With appealing collage art, Jenkins depicts animals—or just the parts that fit on the page—at their actual size. The minimal text, along with information on the size and weight of the animals shown, makes this a quick and enjoyable read. Also see Jenkins' Prehistoric Actual Size. – Elementary
📖 Eye to Eye: How Animals See the World by Steve Jenkins. Here is a really neat short book about animal eyes. Jenkins describes the four major classes of animal eye—eyespot, pinhole, compound, and camera—and introduces representative animals in each class through appealing collage art illustrations. – Elementary
📖 Bone by Bone: Comparing Animal Skeletons by Sarah Levine. “What animal would you be if your finger bones grew so long that they reached your feet? Or what if you had no leg bones but kept your arm bones? This picture book will keep you guessing as you read about how human skeletons are like—and unlike—those of other animals.” Levine’s creative approach to comparative anatomy is sure to be a hit with the elementary school crowd. Also along these lines, see Tooth by Tooth: Comparing Fangs, Tusks, and Chompers.– Elementary
📖 Bones: Skeletons and How they Work by Steve Jenkins. Here's another good introduction to comparative anatomy from Steve Jenkins. Using his distinctive cut-paper collage art, Jenkins nicely reveals the similarities and distinctions between the skeletons of many different kinds of animals, including humans. – Elementary
📖 Egg: Nature’s Perfect Package by Robin Page and Steve Jenkins. Learn all about “nature’s perfect package” in this simple picture book from Page and Jenkins. The authors touch on the eggs laid by a wide variety of species – from birds to reptiles to insects. Topics covered include protection, packaging, incubation, and hatching. – Preschool • Elementary
📺 Planet Earth from BBC. Narrated by David Attenborough, each 50 minute episode in this excellent series explores a different habitat. "This jaw-dropping, award-winning, landmark series from the BBC's Natural History Unit presents the epic story of life on Earth. Planet Earth shows you our world in a way you've never quite seen it before." Episode titles include "Caves," "Deserts," and "Shallow Seas." – All
📺 Life from BBC. Also narrated by David Attenborough, the Life series is every bit as visually stunning as its predecessor, Planet Earth. The main distinction is that this show organizes animals by class rather than habitat. Episode titles include "Mammals," "Fish," and "Birds." – All
🔗 Content Connection: Conservation. Learn about ecosystems and biodiversity.
▶️ Claws vs. nails from TED-Ed. “Consider the claw. Frequently found on animals around the world, it’s one of nature’s most versatile tools. Bears use claws for digging as well as defense. An eagle’s needle-like talons can pierce the skulls of their prey. Even the ancestors of primates used to wield these impressive appendages, until their claws evolved into nails. So what caused this adaptation? Matthew Borths investigates.” – All
food chains
📖 Who Eats What? by Patricia Lauber. This Stage 2 Let's-Read-and-Find-Out title offers a good introduction to food chains and food webs. – Preschool • Elementary
habitats
📖 Over in the Forest and others by Marianne Berkes. Each book in this sequence introduces the animals of a certain habitat through a series of little rhyming verses set to the tune of "Over in the Meadow." For example: "Over in the forest / Where the clean waters run / Lived a busy mother beaver / And her little kit one." Also look for books on the river, rainforest, Arctic, ocean, mountain, and farm. Just right for preschoolers and kindergartners. – Preschool • Elementary
📖 Grasslands and other books in the About Habitats series by Catherine Sill. With a sentence or two on each page, the books in Sill's "About Habitats" series give the basics on different animal habitats - these simple books will be of interest to the very young (Pre–1st). If you like this format, also look for Sill's books on different animal classes (mammals, birds, reptiles, etc). – Preschool • Elementary
📖 Even an Octopus Needs a Home by Irene Kelly. This cozy little book illustrates different types of animal homes - from caves and dens to beehives and beaver lodges. – Elementary
animal intelligence
📖 Beastly Brains: Exploring How Animals Think, Talk, and Feel by Nancy Castaldo. This short chapter book nicely summarizes key research discoveries in the field of animal intelligence. It’s packed with appealing photos and fascinating anecdotes about a diverse range of animal subjects—from parrots to rats to dogs—who exhibit some truly remarkable behaviors. – Middle • High
📖 Second Nature: The Inner Lives of Animals by Jonathan Balcombe. "Drawing on new research, observational studies, and personal anecdotes to reveal the full spectrum of animal experience, Balcombe paints a new picture of the inner lives of animals that diverges from the "fight or die" image often presented in the popular media. He challenges traditional views of animals and makes the case for why the human-animal relationship needs a complete overhaul." Though written for adults, younger students with an interest in animal intelligence will find Second Nature to be a fascinating and illuminating book. Consider it as a read-aloud or audiobook. – Middle • High
📺 NOVA: Inside Animal Minds from PBS. "Inside Animal Minds explores how animals understand the world around them through the eyes of three iconic creatures: dogs, birds, and dolphins. As we discover how scientists are pushing the animal mind to its limits, we'll uncover surprising similarities to—and differences from—the human mind." Three-part series. – All
▶️ Do animals have language? from TED-Ed."Michele Bishop details the four specific qualities we associate with language and investigates whether or not certain animals utilize some or all of those qualities to communicate." – All
▶️ Inside the minds of animals from TED-Ed. "Do animals think? Bryan B Rasmussen navigates through this controversial question, showing how determining intelligence often says more about how humans think than about anything else." – All
▶️ Can animals be deceptive? from TED-Ed. “A male firefly emits a series of enticing flashes. He hopes a female will respond and mate with him. A female from a different species mimics his patterns: by tricking the male, she lures him in—and turns him into a meal. Where else do we see this kind of trickery in the animal kingdom? Eldridge Adams details the surprising complexity of how animals manipulate predators, prey and their rivals.” – All
experiments
🖐️ Experiment with animals. The experiments in Unit II of Janice Van Cleave’s Biology for Every Kid allow kids to study different types of animals, including fish, earthworms, fireflies, crickets, and grasshoppers. – Elementary
🖐️ Participate in Citizen Science. Search the SciStarter database to find projects appropriate for your child’s age; typical animal-focused projects include observing the birds that visit your garden, monitoring bats using an acoustic detection kit, and collecting bugs from local streams. – All
