Books to Read
Books to Read
Your school and public library have many interesting books about animals
for you to look at and read. You may find these and other books there.
Ages 5 to 8
Ant Cities by Arthur Dorros (Crowell, 1987)
An ant can lift as much as fifty times its own weight. If people could
do that, we could each lift a car. This is only one of the many
interesting facts that can be found in this book. You’ll even learn how
to set up your own ant farm.
Beaver at Long Pond by William T.
and Lindsey Barrett George (Greenwillow, 1988)
Accompany a beaver as it goes about its nightly activities.
Daytime Animals by Joanna Cole (Knopf, 1985)
This book tells about some animals that are active during the day, and
shows life-sized pictures of them. Also look for the companion book,
Nighttime Animals.
Dinosaur Bones by Aliki (Crowell, 1988)
Find out how, by studying dinosaur bones, scientists learn about
dinosaurs and the world they lived in.
Do Not Disturb: The Mysteries of Animal Hibernation and Sleep by
Margery Facklam (Little, Brown, 1989)
This book unlocks the secrets of how and why animals hibernate.
Farm Animals by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent (Holiday, 1984)
Wherever you live, on the farm or in the city, you are sure to enjoy
this book. The author describes many favorites: cows, goats, pigs,
sheep, horses, chickens, guinea hens, turkeys—even cats and dogs.
A First Look at Animals with Horns by Millicent E. Selsam and Joyce
Hunt (Walker, 1989)
After reading this book, you will be able to tell many animals by the
size and shape of their horns and the direction in which the horns grow.
Ko-hoh: The Call of the Trumpeter
Swan by Jay Featherly (Carolrhoda, 1986)
Learn all about this beautiful bird and how it has made a comeback from
nearly becoming extinct.
Mammals and Their Milk by Lucia
Anderson (Dodd, 1985 1984)
This fascinating book begins by looking at some of the mammals that
produce milk. A closer look at what exactly makes up milk follows. There
are even simple experiments that will help you see how milk is used to
make other products.
Monarch Butterfly by Gail Gibbons (Holiday, 1989)
The monarch butterfly’s life cycle and unusual habits are explained with
words and bright, bold pictures.
Nature Hide and Seek: Oceans by
John Norris Wood (Knopf, 1985) Lift up the flaps on this book as you try
to find the sea creatures that nature has hidden.
Never Kiss an Alligator! by Coleen Stanley Bare (Cobblehill, 1989)
Words and photographs combine to explain many fascinating facts about
alligators.
On the Trail of the Fox by Claudia Schnieper (Carolrhoda, 1986)
Unbelievable close-up photographs give you a look at the world of the
red fox.
Zoo Day by John Brennan and Leonie Keaney (Carolrhoda, 1989)
Learn about activities that take place at different times of day at a
zoo.
Ages 9 and Up
Animal Architects by Donald J.
Crump, ed. (National Geographic Society, 1987)
This book answers the question, “Why do animals build?” It also
describes the different methods animals use.
Bugs for Dinner? The Eating Habits of Neighborhood Creatures by Sam
and Beryl Epstein (Macmillan, 1989)
Join the authors as they explore the eating habits of thirteen creatures
that live around you.
The Complete Frog: A Guide for the Very Young Naturalist by
Elizabeth Lacey (Lothrop, 1989)
What are the differences between frogs and toads? The author answers
this and many other questions about frogs!
Creatures of Long Ago: Dinosaurs by the National Geographic Society
Staff (National Geographic Society, 1989)
This pop-up book explains many interesting facts about the giant
reptiles that ruled the earth for millions of years.
The Crocodile and the Crane: Surviving in a Crowded World by Judy
Cutchins and Ginny Johnston (Morrow, 1986)
The crocodile, the crane, and four other endangered species of animals
are covered in this book.
The Digging Badger by Kathryn A.
Minta (Putnam, 1985)
The author describes field studies on badgers in this informative book.
Inside the Burrow: The Life of the
Golden Hamster by Heiderose and Andreas Fischer-Nagel (Carolrhoda,
1986)
This book tells all about hamsters both in the wild and in captivity and
explains how to care for them.
Peeping in the Shell: A Whooping
Crane Is Hatched by Faith McNulty (Crowell, 1986)
This is the true story of how Tex, a whooping crane, hatches her egg.
Snakes by Sylvia A. Johnson (Lerner, 1986)
Did you ever wonder how snakes are able to move through the water? The
author of this informative book explains how they do this and much, much
more.
Wolf Pack: Tracking Wolves in the Wild by Sylvia Johnson and Alice
Aamodt (Lerner, 1987)
If you have a pet dog at home, you may be interested to find out that
your dog’s ancestors were wolves.
The World of Fishes by Hiroshi
Takeuchi (Raintree, 1986)
This book explores the unusual fish of the coral reefs and the deep.
New Words
Some of the words you have met in this book may be new to you. Many of
them are words you’ll meet again, so they are good words to know. Some
are the names of animals. Here are some of these words. Next to each
word you are shown how to say it: algae (AL jee). The part shown in
capital letters is said a little more loudly than the rest of the word.
Under each word, the meaning is given in a complete sentence.
ajolote (ah hoh LOH tay)
An ajolote is a two-legged lizard with a wormlike body.
algae (AL jee)
Algae are plants that live mainly in water and make their own food.
amphibian (am FIHB ee uhn)
An amphibian is an animal that lives in water and breathes with gills
when it is a baby. It lives on land and breathes with lungs when it is
an adult. Frogs and toads are amphibians.
anaconda (an uh KAHN duh)
The anaconda is the largest South American snake. It lives near water
and eats mainly birds and small animals.
Anglaspis (an GLAS pihs)
The Anglaspis was a jawless fish that lived in the sea millions of years
ago.
Apatosaurus (ap uh toh SAWR uhs)
An Apatosaurus was a gigantic, planteating dinosaur with four
elephantlike legs, a long neck, and a long tail.
aphid (AY fihd)
An aphid is a tiny insect that feeds by sucking juices from plants and
trees.
arachnid (uh RAK nihd)
An arachnid is an insectlike animal with no feelers or wings. It has
four pairs of jointed legs. Spiders and daddy-longlegs are arachnids.
Archaeopteryx (ahr kee AHP tuhr ihks) The Archaeopteryx was a
crow-sized bird that lived millions of years ago. It had claws on its
wings, and teeth.
arthropod (AHR thruh pahd)
An arthropod is an animal with jointed legs and an outside shell.
Insects, spiders, and shrimps are all arthropods.
bacteria (bak TIHR ee uh)
Bacteria are tiny creatures that can be seen only with a microscope.
They may be oval, rod-shaped, or spiral.
biologist (by AHL uh jihst)
A biologist is a person who studies living things in all their forms.
Birkenia (buhr KEE nee uh)
A Birkenia was a small, jawless fish that lived in the sea millions of
years ago.
bombardier beetle (bahm buhr DIHR
BEE tuhl)
A bombardier beetle is a ground insect. It makes a popping sound and
lets off a bad-smelling gas when it is in danger.
brachiopod (BRAK ee uh pahd)
A brachiopod is a shellfish with two differently shaped shells.
Brachiosaurus (brak ee uh SAWR uhs)
A Brachiosaurus was one of the largest of all dinosaurs. It had a huge
body and a short tail.
Brontosaurus (brahn tuh SAWR uhs) Brontosaurus is another name for
an Apatosaurus. The name means “thunder lizard.”
caecilian (see SIHL ee uhn)
A caecilian is an animal that looks like a worm. It is related to frogs
and toads.
centipede (SEHN tuh peed)
A centipede is a small wormlike animal whose body is divided into many
parts. Each part has a pair of thin legs attached.
Cephalaspis (sehf uh LAS pihs)
A Cephalaspis was a kind of fish that lived millions of years ago. It
had a large bony shield attached to its head.
chaffinch (CHAF ihnch)
A chaffinch is-a small European songbird.
chameleon (kuh MEE lee uhn)
A chameleon is a lizard. It can change its color to blend in with its
surroundings.
cicada (suh KAY duh)
A cicada is an insect with four thin wings. The male cicada makes a
buzzing sound in hot, dry weather.
Coccosteus (kuh KAHS tee uhs)
A Coccosteus was a jawless, armored fish that lived in the sea long ago.
Coelophysis (see LAHF uh sihs)
A Coelophysis was one of the first dinosaurs. It had a long neck and a
long tail. It ran on its hind legs.
conch (kahngk)
A conch is a large, heavy, sea snail that has a twisty, cone-shaped
shell.
crustacean (kruhs TAY shuhn)
A crustacean is a kind of animal that has a shell-covered body and many
jointed legs. Most crustaceans live in or near water. Crabs, lobsters,
and shrimps are crustaceans.
diatom (DY uh tahm)
A diatom is a tiny water plant.
Dimetrodon (dy MEH truh dahn)
The Dimetrodon was a reptile that lived millions of years ago. It had a
large fin on its back.
dinosaur (DY nuh sawr)
A dinosaur is any one of two groups of reptiles that lived millions of
years ago.
dolphin (DAHL fihn)
A dolphin is a sea mammal that belongs to the whale family. It is
smaller than a whale.
echidna (ih KIHD nuh)
An echidna, also called a spiny anteater, is a small mammal. It has a
flattened body that is covered with coarse hair and sharp spines.
elephant-nose mormyrid (EHL uh fuhnt- nohz mawr MY rihd)
An elephant-nose mormyrid is a freshwater fish that lives in Africa.
Eohippus (ee oh HIHP uhs)
The Eohippus was the ancestor of the horse. It was a small animal about
10 to 20 inches high.
gerbil (JUR buhl)
A gerbil is a furry, mouselike animal with a long tail. It lives in the
dry, sandy parts of Africa and Asia.
gnu (noo)
Gnu is another name for a wildebeest. It is a large animal that lives in
Africa.
great auk (grayt awk)
The great auk was a bird that lived on the coasts of the North Atlantic
Ocean. There are no great auks alive today.
grebe (greeb)
A grebe is a bird that dives to get fish.
It has a flattened body covered with waterproof feathers.
hedgehog (HEHJ hahg)
A hedgehog is a small, insect-eating animal. It has a long nose, a short
tail, and stiff, pointed growths, called spines, on its back.
hibernation (hy buhr NAY shuhn) Hibernation is a deep sleep that
some animals take during the winter. Badgers, ground squirrels, marmots,
and some other animals hibernate.
Ichthyostega (ihk thee AHS tee guh)
The Ichthyostega was the first amphibian. It looked like a fish with
legs. It lived millions of years ago.
iguanid (ih GWAH nihd)
An iguanid is a kind of lizard. It belongs to the same family as the
iguana, the horned toad, and the pine lizard.
jaguar (JAG wahr)
A jaguar is a large, wild cat. It has dark yellow fur with black or
brown spots.
jewel cichlid (JOO uhl SIHK lihd)
A jewel cichlid is a small, bright-colored freshwater fish. It has spiny
fins and jewellike spots of color on its sides.
kiwi (KEE wee)
A kiwi is a shaggy-feathered bird about as big as a chicken. It has no
tail and cannot fly because its wings are too small.
koala (koh AH luh)
A koala is a small animal that lives in Australia. It looks somewhat
like a teddy bear.
kudu (KOO doo)
A kudu is a big African antelope. It lives in the grassy parts of the
Sahara.
macaw (muh KAW)
A macaw is a long-tailed, brightly colored parrot.
millipede (MIHL uh peed)
A millipede is a wormlike animal with many thin legs.
Moeritherium (mihr uh THIHR ee uhm) The Moeritherium was a small
animal that lived millions of years ago in Egypt. It was the ancestor of
the elephant.
mosquito (muh SKEE toh)
Mosquito is the Spanish word for little fly. The female mosquito has
mouthparts that can stab the skin of animals and humans and draw blood.
The itching and swelling called a mosquito bite is caused by the
mosquito’s saliva.
naturalist (NACH uhr uh lihst)
A naturalist studies plants and animals in the places where they live.
nuthatch (NUHT hach)
A nuthatch is a small, climbing bird that lives mostly in trees.
onychophoran (ahn uh koh FAWR uhn) An onychophoran is a small,
wormlike animal. It has thick, short legs attached to the many parts of
its body.
orangutan (oh RANG u tan)
An orangutan is a large, reddish-brown ape. It has long, strong arms.
oryx (AWR ihks)
An oryx is an African antelope.
pangolin (pang GOH luhn)
A pangolin is a mammal that has scales on its body. It looks like a
combination of an anteater and an armadillo.
platypus (PLAT uh puhs)
A platypus is an egg-laying mammal. Its bill is shaped like a duck’s
bill.
porpoise (PAWR puhs)
A porpoise is a small mammal that belongs to the whale family. It is
sometimes mistaken for a dolphin.
psychologist (sy KAHL uh jihst)
A psychologist is a person who is trained to understand the mind and its
activities.
Pteranodon (tehr AN uh dahn)
The Pteranodon was a flying reptile about the size of a turkey. It lived
millions of years ago.
Pterichthyodes (tuh rihk thee OH deez) The Pterichthyodes was a kind
of fish that lived millions of years ago. Its head and back were
protected by bony armor.
Pterygotus (tehr uh GOH tuhs)
The Pterygotus was a lobsterlike animal. It lived millions of years ago.
quagga (KWAHG uh)
The quagga was a zebra that had stripes on the front part of its body
only. It lived in South Africa. There are no quaggas any more. They are
extinct.
Rhamphorhynchus (ram fuh RIHN kuhs) The Rhamphorhynchus was a flying
reptile that lived long ago. It had a long, paddlelike tail, and long,
sharp teeth.
scallop (SKAHL uhp)
A scallop is a shellfish. It belongs to the same family as the oyster.
sea anemone (see uh NEHM uh nee) A sea anemone is a
bright-colored sea animal that looks like the flower from which it gets
its name. It belongs to the same family as the jellyfish and the coral.
spore (spawr)
A spore is a tiny kind of seed. Molds and mushrooms grow from spores.
sturgeon (STUR juhn)
A sturgeon is a large fish with a long body. Its eggs are used to make
caviar.
Stylonurus (sty LAHN uh ruhs)
The Stylonurus was a prehistoric sea animal with a hard shell and many
jointed legs.
termite (TUR myt)
A termite is an insect. Sometimes called white ants, termites live in
colonies.
Thelodus (THEHL uh duhs)
A Thelodus was a bony-armored fish that lived in the sea millions of
years ago.
tortoise (TAWR tuhs)
A tortoise is a turtle that lives on land.
Tremataspis (tree muh TAS pihs)
The Tremataspis was a jawless, bony- armored fish that lived long ago.
Triassochelys (try ahs oh KEHL eez) The Triassochelys was a turtle
that lived millions of years ago. It was much like today’s turtle, but
it could not pull its head and legs all the way into its shell.
Triceratops (try SEHR uh tahps)
The Triceratops was a dinosaur that lived in the western part of North
America millions of years ago. It had a big head with a horn over each
eye and on its nose.
trilobite (TRY loh byt)
A trilobite was a small, shell-covered, prehistoric sea animal with
feelers and many legs. Its shell was divided into three sections or
lobes. Its name means three lobes. It breathed through gills in its
legs.
tuatara (too uh TAH ruh)
The tuatara is a large reptile that lives in New Zealand.
turbot (TUR buht)
A turbot is a large, round, flatfish. It swims on its side, and its two
eyes are on the left side of its head.
Tyrannosaurus (ty ran uh SAWR uhs) The Tyrannosaurus was a huge,
meat- eating dinosaur. It walked upright on its two hind legs.
ultraviolet (uhl truh VY uh liht) Ultraviolet is a color that some
animals can see. It is invisible to people.
wildebeest (WIHL duh beest)
A wildebeest is a large animal that lives in Africa. It has a big head
with long, curved horns, skinny legs, and a long tail. It is also known
as a gnu (noo).
wrasse (ras)
A wrasse is a bright-colored fish with spiny fins. It has thick lips and
strong teeth. It lives in warm seas.
zoologist (zoh AHL uh jihst)
A zoologist is a person who studies animal life.
zoology (zoh AHL uh jee)
Zoology is the study of animal life.
