Short stories, ideal for reading aloud or independently, are followed by information about the animal and region in the narrative, subtly presenting issues related to climate change. Handsome illustrations throughout both illuminate and engage.
Secrets of the Forest
Bear and Moose, two dogs who don’t look like their names, are adopted from a shelter by a woman named Cathy. The dogs soon find a lost and lonely kitten named Tiger. This sweetly told and gently illustrated story with a very happy ending is the beginning of a new series just right for young animal lovers.
The Rescues Finding Home
An expert invites the reader to join him as he explains how animals communicate. From insect stridulation (chirping, really) to underwater clicks and cracks, each sound is presented and then explained (translated, really). Well-organized and illustrated in full-color comics engage as well as inform.
How to Chat Chicken, Gossip Gorilla, Babble Bee, Gab Gecko, and Talk in 66 Other Animal Languages
A girl and her mother find and adopt a lone polar bear cub. Together they thrive until the bear is no longer a cub, who leaves the humans to find his own community. One day, the bear returns with his mother. This adaptation of an Inuit tale is simply and touchingly illustrated.
The Woman and Her Bear Cub
On its long migration to Antarctica, an Arctic tern sees whales, geese, and more on its journey. Luminous illustrations show what the tern sees from above sometimes in panels, sometimes on full-page spreads. Backmatter provides a bit of information about the animals seen on the tern’s journey.
Time to Move South for Winter
When snow starts falling, the perfectly normal animals on Farmer Pumpernickel’s farm start acting strangely; they catch snowflakes on their tongues! Eventually, even the farmer himself gets with the rhythm. Rhyming text accompanied by comical illustrations will make a joyful read aloud.
Snowflakes on Our Tongues
A boy, his dog, and elephant set out to find Dinosaur in the big city. One must be very observant! Readers will quickly see Dinosaur on every page long before the boy does. The gentle watercolor illustrations are filled with humorous details of ubiquitous dinos and onlookers surprised to see an elephant with the boy and his dog. This is a clever follow-up to Barrow’s equally engaging, Have You Seen Elephant? (opens in a new window).
Have You Seen Dinosaur?
Doris, a performing horse, steps out of her comfort zone to find out what is twinkling beyond. She feels the “moonness” and soon is joined by a brown pony and together they dance off. Swirling illustrations combine with limited text that whirls across the pages in this joyful celebration.
Doris
A young scientist explains to a caterpillar what it will be when it grows out of this stage of its life. With clear illustrations, accessible language, and lots of humor, science comes to life in the hands of the creator who wrote the informative and equally engaging The Real Poop on Pigeons and Snails Are Just My Speed.
Caterpillars: What Will I Be When I Get to Be Me?
Will the runaway pea become a snack for one of the animals it rolls by? Illustrations call to mind folk art in this rollicking translation from the French. The tale is likely to hold up to multiple readings and may inspire young gardeners!
Roll, Roll, Little Pea
A small dog and tiny cat are best of friends, playing all day, until one day Tao is hurt. George misses Tao very much until the friends are reunited, one with a bandage and gentler play. Simple but evocative illustrations complement the effective, brief narrative.
George & Tao
Tired of the same Old MacDonald’s farm? Add donuts and a greedy crocodile alongside a take-charge rooster and it’s a new tune! Silliness is the word (and picture) on this farm as children will sing along with the rousing E-I-E-I-O!
Croc-a-Doodle Doo!
Following each rhyming clues is the animal that inspired various inventions such as snowshoes and water fins. More familiar inventions are followed by lift-the-flaps to intrigue or confound more sophisticated readers.
Copy That, Copy Cat! Inventions Inspired by Animals
How many people actually know where chocolate comes from? How it’s made? Or that monkeys do their part to help this delicious sweet exist? Kids will learn that chocolate comes from cocoa beans, which grow on cocoa trees in tropical rain forests. But those trees couldn’t survive without the help of a menagerie of rain forest critters: a pollen-sucking midge, an aphid-munching anole lizard, brain-eating coffin fly maggots — they all pitch in to help the cocoa tree survive. Two wise-cracking bookworms appear on every page, adding humor and further commentary, making this book accessible to readers of different ages and reading levels.
No Monkeys, No Chocolate
In Manu National Park in Peru, an amazing fourteen different species of monkeys live together. That’s more than in any other rainforest in the world! How can they coexist so well? Find out in this lyrical, rhyming picture book that explores each monkey’s habits, diet, and home, illustrating how this delicate ecosystem and its creatures live together in harmony. From howler monkeys to spider monkeys to night monkeys, young readers will love getting to know these incredible primates and seeing the amazing ways they share their forest.
Fourteen Monkeys
With the soothing rhythm of a bedtime story and the scientific wonder of a nature documentary, comes a celebration of the moon and all the creatures who rely on its light to find their way home. Under the glow of a shimmering moon, creatures great and small creep out of their dens, using its light to hunt, fend off predators, build their nests or build families. As the moon changes phases these animals adapt their behavior to match its waxing and waning — while human animals look on in wonder.
Thank You, Moon
Maggie’s stutter complicates her relationship with her father who wants to send her for “treatment.” Instead, Maggie will spend some time with her grandfather near Wildoak forest where she comes across a snow leopard abandoned by a wealthy Londoner. It is there she finds self-acceptance and a way to communicate for herself and the animal. Inspired by an era when exotic animals could be purchased from a London department store, this moving novel is unforgettable.
Wildoak
Dip in or start at the beginning to follow the trail to amazing, unique, and always intriguing tidbits of information about a world of animals. Silly and often laughable illustrations open the format for an open and appealing book.
Animal FACTopia! Follow the Trail of 400 Beastly Facts
Though a whale dies and sinks to the ocean floor, it creates life that is sustained for another 50 years. Illustrations evoke the deep water while introducing the various creatures that come to feed on the carcass over time. Additional information adds depth to the riveting exploration.
Whale Fall: Exploring an Ocean-Floor Ecosystem
Plum, a peacock, and other animals from the Athensville Zoo are excited and a bit nervous about going on a school visit. Unfortunately, a blizzard upsets the plans, and the peacock and others are stuck in the school until Plum figures out a way to get them out. Short chapters in this standalone companion to Leave it to Plum! is heavily illustrated and sure to tickle readers
A Snow Day for Plum!
Evergreen is a timid young squirrel who is frightened to take soup to ailing Granny Oak. But as Evergreen confronts and overcomes each obstacle, her confidence grows. Line and wash illustrations by a Caldecott medalist and short chapters are humorous but with more serious themes of kindness and bravery.
Evergreen
Doggo and Pupper try to help their housemate, cat, adjust to the new bed. But change isn’t easy and “finding cozy” can be tough, too. Each generously illustrated short chapter provides a glimpse into this trio’s friendship and relatable experiences — and a chuckle or so. Although this is the third book in the Doggo and Pupper series, it stands alone and is just as engaging as the first books.
Doggo and Pupper Search for Cozy
Nature has inspired countless designs from the umbrella to space saving and naturally cooled buildings. Short poetry (Japanese tanka) accompanies a handsome illustration of the object that inspired the human invention shown in a photograph on the opposing page. Additional information is carefully presented at the end as are additional resources.
Copycat: Nature-Inspired Design Around the World
The true and truly amazing tale of how Yoshi, a rescued loggerhead turtle, found his way back to his home territory many years after being rehabilitated and housed in an aquarium. Illustrations evoke the water world in which Yoshi was found, lived, and traveled. A final word and a photograph of Yoshi conclude this handsome and engaging look at a phenomenon of nature.