Must-Read Animal Nonfiction for Kids
I had a book as a kid that I loved reading. It was a paperback book filled with all sorts of animal facts. This book was a lot of fun because you don’t have to read it cover to cover. You can open it to any page and learn a little something. Many of these 15 titles are really great for browsing, while others are perfect read alouds or cover-to-cover reads. Kids will be pouring over these books for hours and bringing you lots of cool, interesting, and sometimes gross facts!
These all make great books for kids who might be reluctant to pick up a full-size novel. Nonfiction titles are super accessible by creating snippets of text, often supplemented by photographs, illustrations, graphs, and charts. So, if you’ve got a reluctant reader on your hands this summer, try finding a book for browsing instead of reading cover to cover… maybe even try one of these!
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read the full disclosure for more information.
Must-Read Animal Nonfiction for Kids
125 True Stories of Amazing Animals: Inspiring Tales of Animal Friendship & Four-Legged Heroes, Plus Crazy Animal Antics by Nat Geo Kids
Meet a kayaking sea otter, a penguin that became a knight, a bear that stole a family’s car, a pet cat that called 911 to save its owner, and many more amazing animals. This page-turner offers 100 heartwarming and hilarious anecdotes, illustrated with full color photos of these intriguing animals. Stories include unlikely animal friends, animal heroes, amazing animal tricks, surprising animal hybrids, wacky truth-is-stranger-than-fiction stories of animal antics, and more. Plus, loads of animals facts, lists, and information boxes add even more fun on every page.
1,000 Animals by Jessica Greenwell, illustrated by Nikki Dyson
This delightfully illustrated picture reference book contains exactly 1000 animals, from familiar farm animals to exotic creepy crawlies and fascinating undersea creatures. Each page has an array of animals to pore over.
The Animal Book: A Collection of the Fastest, Fiercest, Toughest, Cleverest, Shyest―and Most Surprising―Animals on Earth by Steve Jenkins
Animals smooth and spiky, fast and slow, hop and waddle through the two hundred plus pages of the Caldecott Honor artist Steve Jenkins’s most impressive nonfiction offering yet. Sections such as “Animal Senses,” “Animal Extremes,” and “The Story of Life” burst with fascinating facts and infographics that will have trivia buffs breathlessly asking, “Do you know a termite queen can produce up to 30,000 eggs a day?” Jenkins’s color-rich cut- and torn-paper artwork is as strikingly vivid as ever. Rounding out this bountiful browsers’ almanac of more than three hundred animals is a discussion of the artist’s bookmaking process, an animal index, a glossary, and a bibliography. A bookshelf essential!
The Animal Book: A Visual Encyclopedia of Life on Earth by David Burnie
This inspiring children’s reference guide welcomes you to the animal kingdom where you can meet more than 1,500 species, ranging from ants to zebras and everything in between. Stunning pictures bring you face to face with giant predators you know and love, including polar bears and tigers, as well as mysterious microscopic life, including amoebas and bacteria.
A variety of animal habitats are shown in beautiful detail, while accessible information, additional fact boxes, and amazing galleries complete the stories. A jaw-dropping spectrum of animal types – from fish and birds to reptiles and mammals – provides a learning experience like no other.
Whether you’re a budding naturalist or simply want to complete a school project, The Animal Book has got it covered!
Bringing Back the Wolves: How a Predator Restored an Ecosystem by Jude Isabella, illustrated by Kim Smith
An unintended experiment in Yellowstone National Park, in which an ecosystem is devastated and then remarkably rehabilitated, provides crucial lessons about nature’s intricate balancing act.
In the 1800s, hunters were paid by the American government to eliminate threats to livestock on cattle ranches near Yellowstone National Park. They did such a good job that, by 1926, no gray wolf packs were left in the park. Over the following decades, virtually every other part of the park’s ecosystem was affected by the loss of the wolves — from the animals who were their prey, to the plants that were the food for that prey, to the streams that were sheltered by those plants — and the landscape was in distress. So, starting in 1995, in an attempt to reverse course, the government reintroduced gray wolves to the park. Over time, animal populations stabilized, waterways were restored and a healthy ecosystem was recreated across the land. It’s a striking transformation, and a fascinating tale of life’s complicated interdependencies.
Jude Isabella’s thoroughly researched, expert-reviewed text and Kim Smith’s beautiful nature art bring science to life in this captivating story of renewal. Readers will recognize just how complex an ecosystem is and learn about the surprising interconnectedness of its members. Biodiversity, ecosystems, the food chain, habitats, needs of living things and the importance of human stewardship of the environment are all covered through this real-life example, offering direct links to earth and life science curriculums. Food web infographics help reinforce the information. A glossary and index add to the book’s usefulness.
Creaturepedia by Adrienne Barman
Drawn in a fun and vibrant style, this book groups animals by their special skills. Flick through these amazing animals that think, look, sound, and act in incredible ways!
Introducing:
- ‘the architects’
Super-skilled animals that build objects using their legs, beaks, and mouths!
- the ‘noisy neighbors’
What’s all that racket?! Meet the loudest big mouths on the planet.
- the ‘homebodies’
These territorial creatures keep watch of the land around them.
- the ‘forever faithfuls’
Some animals mate for life! Discover which animals pair up.
- the ‘night owls’
These fascinating animals only come out at night.
Filled with fascinating facts, curious creatures, and characterful cartoons, this book will keep young explorers busy for hours.
Crossings: Extraordinary Structures for Extraordinary Animals by Katy S. Duffield, illustrated by Mike Orodán
Around the world, bridges, tunnels, and highways are constantly being built to help people get from one place to another. But what happens when construction spreads over, under, across, and through animal habitats? Thankfully, groups of concerned citizens, scientists, engineers, and construction crews have come together to create wildlife crossings to help keep animals safe.
From elk traversing a wildlife bridge across a Canadian interstate to titi monkeys using rope bridges over a Costa Rican road to salamanders creeping through tiny tunnels beneath a Massachusetts street, young readers are certain to be delighted and inspired by these ingenious solutions that are saving the lives of countless wild animals.
Extreme Animals: The Toughest Creatures on Earth by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Neal Layton
From the persevering emperor penguins of the South Pole to the brave bacteria inside bubbling volcanoes, from the hardy reptiles of the driest deserts to the squash-proof creatures of the deepest seabeds, animals have adapted to survive in conditions that would kill a human faster than you can say “coffin.” Discover how they do it in this amazing natural history book from a celebrated team — and find out who wins the title of the toughest animal of them all.
First Animal Encyclopedia: A First Reference Guide to the Animals of the World by DK
Watch animals of all kinds in action and investigate their habits and habitats in the readable, browse-able, picture-packed First Animal Encyclopedia. Children will learn all about different animal groups ― including mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians, insects, and fish ― and meet amazing creatures in all sizes, shapes, and colors. Clear, vibrant photographs bring it all to life in the pages of this delightful first reference book for kids.
Glow: The Wild Wonders of Bioluminescence by Jennifer N R Smith
The natural world is an infinite source of wonder, and the phenomenon of bioluminescence is no exception. Glow explores the remarkable way creatures light up of their own accord, and what we can learn from their incredible glow-in-the-dark abilities. Written and illustrated by Jennifer N. R. Smith, Glow takes readers on a magical journey to the deepest ocean trenches, through winding networks of caves, and into the dark of the forest to experience the marvel of bioluminescence.
The first in a series of nonfiction children’s books exploring natural phenomena, Glow introduces readers to creatures that glow in the dark, including anglerfish, firefly squid, lanternfish, the glowing sucker octopus, Flor de Coco, and Honey fungi, as well as hosts of fireflies and glowworms. It also celebrates the scientists and deep-sea explorers who have traveled to the darkest and most dangerous corners of the planet to study bioluminescence. Combining natural history with STEM, Glow considers how bioluminescence works and what we can learn from it, including ways to prevent climate change and tackle pollution.
Gross As a Snot Otter by Jess Keating
The creators of Pink Is for Blobfish are back, and they’ve brought 17 of their most revolting friends: there are slippery, slimy snot otters, gulls that projectile-vomit on command, fish that communicate via flatulence, and chipmunks that cultivate healthy forests by pooping a trail of seeds wherever they go. But there’s more to these skin-crawling creatures than meets the eye, and as zoologist Jess Keating explains, sometimes it’s the very things that make us gag that allow these animals to survive in the wild.
Hidden Dangers: Seek and Find 13 of the World’s Deadliest Animals by Lola M. Schaefer, illustrated by Tymn Armstrong
These 13 deadly creatures can be difficult to spot until you’re right on top of them . . . or they’re right on top of you. Look for each animal in its environment—look closely!—and learn all the ways you could perish—or survive—depending on how smart, well-informed, and good at running away you are. From the deathstalker scorpion and the poison dart frog to wasps, alligators, and many more, young readers will gain a new appreciation for the animal kingdom, and the dangers it hides in plain sight!
Little Kids First Big Book of Pets by Catherine D. Hughes
From cats to dogs to guinea pigs to birds to fish to snakes and more, this adorable reference book introduces kids to a wide variety of family-friendly pets. Readers learn which kinds of animals make good pets and which ones are better off staying in the wild, along with how each type of pet eats, sleeps, and plays. Packed with more than 200 colorful photos, the book also provides information on animal breeds, characteristics, and behavior and includes tips for training pets. Filled with fun facts and designed for interactive learning, this book will quickly become a favorite at storytime, bedtime, and any time.
The World’s Most Ridiculous Animals by Philip Bunting
This witty, quirky, colourfully illustrated and fact-filled book features some of the most absurd and flamboyant animals on the planet!
The second title in the series from the hilarious Philip Bunting is filled with facts about some of the weirdest creatures in the natural world.
The antagonist voice (speaking though cheeky annotations) points out the apparent ridiculousness of each creature’s features, while the narrator’s voice describe the evolutionary reasons or advantages for each animal’s extraordinary characteristics.
With hilarious text throughout and bright, contemporary illustrations, this guide to ridiculous animals contains funny labelled diagrams and will help teach kids about evolution by studying some of its most wild products!
Zoology by Emmanuelle Grundmann, illustrated by Joelle Jolivet
Each spread in this dramatically oversized book displays 30 or more different animals in thought-provoking thematic groupings: Large and Small, Hot Weather, Cold Weather, Feathered, Horned, Spots and Stripes, Friends of Mankind, and so forth. The illustrations are robust, graphic prints that will catch the eye–and the large selection of over 350 different species will make absorbing reading. Includes four pages of informational notes.
