From the adorable to the fascinatingly frightening, animals continue to captivate readers. Whether you’re looking for books to support science curriculum or are seeking fascinating nonfiction to appease animal lovers in your library, our roundup below includes titles readers of all ages will love.
Make Way for Animals! A World of Wildlife Crossings by Meeg Pincus and illustrated by Bao Luu
Around the world, roads and highways have cut through natural spaces. As a result, wild animals are cut off from the resources they need to survive. Fortunately, solving this problem has inspired some creative solutions! Take a tour of wildlife crossings across the globe—including badger bridges, penguin pipelines, and elephant underpasses. Discover how these inventive pathways have saved both animal and human lives and helped preserve ecosystems.
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Washed Ashore: Making Art from Ocean Plastic by Kelly Crull
Every day, we use plastic products. And where do these items go when we are done with them? Too many end up in the ocean. Enter artist Angela Haseltine Pozzi, the founder of Washed Ashore. With the help of volunteers, she collects ocean trash and uses it to construct sculptures of ocean wildlife. The sculptures go on display to educate people about the effects of trash in our oceans. Author and photographer Kelly Crull highlights this phenomenal work, featuring fourteen sculptures. Each sculpture is accompanied by information about the animal as well as tips for how to reduce your plastic use.
Little Killers: The Ferocious Lives of Puny Predators by Sneed B. Collard III
What do you think of when you hear the word “predator?” Lions, tigers, or bears? What about ladybird beetles? Meet some of the world’s most impressive predators! Small creatures can make a huge impact, changing ecosystems, controlling pests, and even taking down much larger creatures. Tiny predators utilize adaptations including poisons, strong jaws, and social groups to take down their prey. From pteropods to driver ants, discover the amazing lives of these voracious killers.
Sensational Senses: Amazing Ways Animals Perceive the World by Rebecca E. Hirsch
Humans have five senses. But some animals can perceive things we can’t thanks to their extraordinary senses. From science writer Rebecca E. Hirsch comes a fascinating book that introduces these animals and delves into the science behind their senses. Discover how animals use their senses to find food, navigate their environment, and communicate. Featured animals include the star-nosed mole with its highly developed nose, the deadly sidewinder rattlesnake which uses its pits to strike its prey, and the electric eel that uses electroreception to sense its prey.
The Adventures of Dr. Sloth: Rebecca Cliffe and Her Quest to Protect Sloths by Suzi Eszterhas
Sloths spend most of their lives in trees, and until recently scientists didn’t know very much about them. But Dr. Rebecca Cliffe was determined to discover their secrets. To find out more, she fitted sloths with special backpacks containing a device to track their activity. She learned how to climb trees in the Costa Rican jungle so she could take sloth hair samples and test their DNA. And she’s helped create sloth crossings and plant trees to ensure the sloths aren’t trapped in shrinking territories. Along the way, she earned the nickname Dr. Sloth.
Discover the story of how an animal-loving kid in England grew up to become one of the world’s leading sloth scientists, and learn how Dr. Sloth is using her discoveries to help keep sloths safe. Author and professional wildlife photographer Suzi Eszterhas brings readers up close to the action with engaging text and fantastic photos. Scan QR codes throughout the book to see her videos of sloths in the wild!
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Hidden Animal Colors by Jane Park
Why should the bright and flashy animals get all of the attention? If you look closely at some seemingly ordinary animals, you may find a colorful surprise. A lizard is brown. A hippo is gray. But wait! The lizard has a blue tongue to scare predators, and the hippo has pink “sweat” that protects it from the sun! Brilliant photos accompany author Jane Park’s rhyming nonfiction text in this playful exploration of animals’ hidden colors.
A Trip to the Zoo with Sesame Street® by Christy Peterson
From the Series Sesame Street® Field Trips
Young readers explore the zoo with their Sesame Street friends to learn about animals, their habitats, and more. Readers also learn how to make a bird feeder from a milk carton.
Glowing Bunnies!?: Why We’re Making Hybrids, Chimeras, and Clones by Jeff Campbell
Our brave new world is here. With modern genetic technologies, science fiction’s “what if?” has become scientists’ “why not?” Bioengineering has the potential to remake animals in almost any way we can imagine, and it’s being used to solve a range of urgent global problems, including climate change, species extinctions, conservation, and human health. With reassuring, wry humor, Glowing Bunnies!? introduces teen readers to the possibilities, dangers, and ethical issues of bioengineering. Presented as a compendium of existing and proposed creatures, this book describes the animals being created, the scientific techniques involved, and each animal’s purpose. Additionally, it addresses bioethics, unintended consequences, and animal welfare.