Tag Archives: animal nonfiction

Tarantulas

Posted on by

Written by Becca Becker

Pogo Books: All About Arachnids is an eight book series that is written in a format that is appropriate for young readers that are ready for a bit more complexity in sentence structure. Typical nonfiction features include: table of contents, index, glossary, labeled diagrams and illustrations, headings and bold typed words. “Activities & Tools” presents a simple STEM activity and “To Learn More” notes ways to gain more information. Each book has high interest photos and details habitats, behavior, anatomy and diet of a particular spider. Add this series to your library for those newer readers that are ready for something more.

Tarantulas is a unique spider book in that some young readers may already have some prior knowledge of the topic, given that this spider can be a pet. Readers will learn more about the 900 or so species of tarantulas and what makes these spiders so unique. Labeled diagrams and photo illustrations add further to reader knowledge. Directions for making a pipe cleaner tarantula top off a high interest book for young scientists. Is a visit to the pet store in the future? Highly recommended.

Jumping Spiders

Posted on by

Written by Becca Becker

Pogo Books: All About Arachnids is an eight book series that is written in a format that is appropriate for young readers that are ready for a bit more complexity in sentence structure. Typical nonfiction features include: table of contents, index, glossary, labeled diagrams and illustrations, headings and bold typed words. “Activities & Tools” presents a simple STEM activity and “To Learn More” notes ways to gain more information. Each book has high interest photos and details habitats, behavior, anatomy and diet of a particular spider. Add this series to your library for those newer readers that are ready for something more.

In Jumping Spiders, readers learn that these spiders live up to their name – they jump (sometimes up to 30 times their body length!). These small (all under one inch) and mighty spiders leap to catch their prey and escape predators. They live everywhere, except Antarctica, and there are over 5000 different species of jumping spiders! Your young readers will even learn that these clever arachnids have been trained to jump on cue. What else will they learn? Highly recommended.

Huntsman Spiders

Posted on by

Written by Jenna Lee Gleisner

Pogo Books: All About Arachnids is an eight book series that is written in a format that is appropriate for young readers that are ready for a bit more complexity in sentence structure. Typical nonfiction features include: table of contents, index, glossary, labeled diagrams and illustrations, headings and bold typed words. “Activities & Tools” presents a simple STEM activity and “To Learn More” notes ways to gain more information. Each book has high interest photos and details habitats, behavior, anatomy and diet of a particular spider. Add this series to your library for those newer readers that are ready for something more.

In Huntsman Spiders, readers learn about their size (up to the size of a dinner plate!), habitat, diet, reproduction (they don’t eat their mates) and hunting skills. Accompanying photos and illustrations are clear and often labeled. Hand this book to a budding scientist, who wants to know about a spider that doesn’t spin a web and wait for food! Highly recommended.

Garden Spiders

Posted on by

Written by Becca Becker

Pogo Books: All About Arachnids is an eight book series that is written in a format that is appropriate for young readers that are ready for a bit more complexity in sentence structure. Typical nonfiction features include: table of contents, index, glossary, labeled diagrams and illustrations, headings and bold typed words. “Activities & Tools” presents a simple STEM activity and “To Learn More” notes ways to gain more information. Each book has high interest photos and details habitats, behavior, anatomy and diet of a particular spider. Add this series to your library for those newer readers that are ready for something more.

Garden Spiders takes the reader into the world of one of the more common spider species. Readers will learn about their webs, eating habits, reproduction and variety of appearance. Accompanying photos are clear and vibrant and the close-ups are amazing! The STEM activity, making a spider web, uses common materials and is simple to do. Hand this book to your spider fans. They’ll be heading outside to observe their local garden spiders after learning all about them! Highly recommended.

Hello, I’m a Loris by Hayley Rocco

Posted on by

Hello, I’m a Loris is a delightful nonfiction picture book. The text is simple enough to be accessible to the youngest elementary school students but provides enough information to support research projects or just give readers a better understanding of this unique animal. The book also addresses the serious issues of habitat loss and the illegal pet trade in an age-appropriate way for young readers.

My favorite part of this book is the illustrations. The expressions on the loris’s face, though not objectively ridiculous in any way, had me laughing out loud several times. I am so excited to add this to my library because I know these pictures will make students fall in love with this creature and want to learn more about it. I highly recommend this book for both school and home libraries.

Saving Zalea by Nicola Jones

Posted on by

The story begins with Zalea, a northern spotted owl, falling from her nest. Researchers find her and take her to a rehabilitation center. The rest of the book tracks Zalea’s recovery story and life at the research center until her release back into the wild. Alongside this recovery story, the author provides detailed information about owls as well as endangered animals, egg incubation, biologists, and more. 

This is a challenging book for elementary age readers due to the fact that it is quite long and the information about Zalea is interspersed with additional nonfiction content, but any child who reads this book will come away with a wealth of knowledge. The glossary of terms at the back will help them develop new vocabulary and access the information within the book, and the story of Zalea’s successful recovery will fill them with hope and inspiration.