Actual Size
Author: Steve Jenkins
Illustrator: Steve Jenkins
Publisher: Sandpiper, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (Pbk.)
Recommended Age Range: 5 to 9
Website
Actual Size is a fascinating look at just how truly big, and small, animals are throughout the world. Focusing on some of the largest, children are introduced to a squid’s eye, a great white shark’s tooth, even a crocodile’s mouth, among others. And while these are truly impressive, wait until you see the smallest ones – such as the dwarf goby – who could fit in its name (and still have room to grow). ☺ A fantastic way to teach kids about creatures – up close!
Awards: Bccb Blue Ribbon Nonfiction Book; International Reading Association “Children’s Choices 2005,” non-fiction; CHILD Magazine Best Book of the Year; A Booklist Editor’s Choice; A New York Public Library’s 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing; Natural History Best Books for Young Readers, 2004; Chicago Public Library Best-of-the-Best; Editors’ Choice Top of the List Winner 2004 Youth Nonfiction; The Children’s Literature Choice List, 2005; Top 10 Sci-Tech Books for Youth, 2004; American Library Association-Booklist; Orbis Pictus Honor Book
Almost an Animal Alphabet
Author: Katie Viggers
Illustrator: Katie Viggers
Publisher: POW! (U.S. Edition)
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 7
Through wonderful sketches and playful drawings, Almost an Animal Alphabet offers an entertaining and informative way to observe the animal kingdom or, at least, one version of it. ☺ A great way to get children excited about nature’s amazing creatures and the way we see them – or wish we could.
Animal Babies: A Pop-Up Book
Author: Chuck Murphy
Illustrator: Chuck Murphy
Publisher: Intervisual Books
Recommended Age Range: 3+
Big & Little
Author: Steve Jenkins
Illustrator: Steve Jenkins
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 7
Awards: School Library Journal Best Books 1996; 1997 Scientific American Young Readers Book Award; The Children’s Literature Choice List, 1997; Los Angeles’ 100 Best Books, 1996
Website
Color Surprises: A Pop-Up Book
Author: Chuck Murphy
Illustrator: Chuck Murphy
Publisher: Little Simon
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
Whether it walks, flies, swims, or slides, these colors become as extraordinary as the animal kingdom itself.
Dear Zoo
Author: Rod Campbell
Illustrator: Rod Campbell
Publisher: Little Simon
Recommended Age Range: 1 to 4
When a little boy writes to the zoo for a pet, wow, is he in for a surprise! With each lift of the flap a “not-so-perfect” pet appears until, of course, the very last page. ☺ A wonderful and interactive book that has the happiest of endings (or rather, beginnings).
Draw!
Author: by Raul Colon
Illustrator: Raul Colon
Publisher: A Paula Wiseman Book, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
Whether your child loves drawing, safaris, the animals that live there, or all of the above, this book is for you. With stunning images of a boy’s imaginative journey to visit, and sketch, the animals that live in the African Savanna, this book is a true work of art.
Awards: ALA Notable Children’s Book; International Latino Book Award 1st Place; KSRC Primary Titles – TOP PICK; NCTE Charlotte Huck Outstanding Fiction Recommended Title; Wisconsin State Reading Association’s Reading List
Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal Alphabet
Author: David McLimans
Illustrator: David McLimans
Publisher: Walker & Company
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
Awards: A Caldecott Honor Book; A New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year; An ALA Notable Children’s Book
Living Color
Author: Steve Jenkins
Illustrator: Steve Jenkins
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company
Recommended Age Range: 5 to 9
Awards: Booklist Editor’s Choice; New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing; Publishers Weekly lists their Best Books of 2007; Book Sense Autumn 2007 Children’s Picks List; 2008 Orbis Pictus Recommended Books
Website
My Heart Is Like a Zoo
Author: Michael Hall
Illustrator: Michael Hall
Publisher: Greenwillow Books, an Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Recommended Age Range: 1 to 5
Through simple rhyme, and animals designed from the heart, this lyrical prose shows – and shares – the feelings found in all of us.
Awards: IRA Primary Nonfiction Book Award
There is a Tribe of Kids
Author: Lane Smith
Illustrator: Lane Smith
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Recommended Age Range: 5 to 8
Awards: Kate Greenaway Medal Winner
Website
Xander’s Panda Party
Author: Linda Sue Park
Illustrator: Matt Phelan
Publisher: Clarion Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
Website
What does a panda do when his party’s invitation list gets bigger and bigger? Well, in this case, invite them all. A terrific lesson about including everybody, even if your party turns out to be a “zoo.” ☺
Awards: School Library Journal Best Children’s Books 2013, Picture Books; ALA 2014 Notable Children’s Books, Younger Readers; 2014 IRA Teachers’ Choices, Primary Readers
Zoo Flakes: ABC
Author: Will C. Howell
Illustrator: Will C. Howell
Publisher: Walker & Company
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 6