First Animal Encyclopedia: A First Reference Guide to the Animals of the World

Great book with lots of information and great pictures. Perfect for my grandson in kindergarten

Bought this for my grandson who is 3, but somewhat advanced. He loves learning about all the animals and we use the quiz in the back.. Pictures are great and great little trivia for each animal. I actually sat down and read it myself.

This book is such a great addition to a homeschool biology curriculum for 1st graders. My LO constantly wants to get this one off the shelf and just look at it. I chose it over the beautifully illustrated DK Visual Encyclopedia of Animals because of the bite-sized, elementary-appropriate text for each animal. Animals are listed by real family or invented group, such as "small and cunning" or "hoofed mammals." While this encyclopedia won't grow with a child past maybe 5th grade, I could see a child getting to the end of this book with hundreds of memorable 1- or 2-sentence facts about the plethora of wildlife in our beautifully made world. A neat fact listed in the book explains why female nesting game birds are duller in color than males: to camouflage them against the ground when nesting. It was like a lightbulb went off in my 1st grader's brain and got her thinking about all the adaptive mechanisms animals employ to survive. That tidbit is much more interesting than how many meters tall each animal grows, its lifespan, its habitat down to the latitude and longitude, or what animal it purports to descend from. New vocabulary is explained in simple terms that most 1st/2nd graders can read, i.e., "Camouflage: A good way for insects to 'disappear' is to hide among plants. This white orchid mantis is hiding in plants that are the same color as it is. Can you find it?" So impressed! Nice binding, thick paper, crisp, clear graphics and text. Short glossary, but sufficient index and table of contents. There's even trivia at the bottom of each page.

Got this for my 5 year old son as his first animal encyclopedia and it has been a HUGE hit! The verbiage used is appropriate for elementary-aged children (not too many “big” words, but not infantilizing either), the images aren’t too graphic, and it’s a nice balance of words vs photos. There’s also a very wide range of species, not just the expected basics.

I gave this book as gift and they loved it. Great photos and information. Very nice book.

My kids (age 3 and 5) love this book. Great facts on animals, lots to read!

If you are looking for the book recommended by The Well Trained Mind, this isn't it... I think... The book they describe has pages devoted to specific animals listed alphabetically... This one has sections for types of animals (mammals, reptiles and amphibians, insects, etc.). My kids still like it very much, but it's more of an overview and doesn't go into detail about specific species. I think the one Jessie Wise describes is an older edition, possibly out of print.

Kids generally like animals and this book is full of charming photos of real creatures who share our planet. The child I gave it too is not a reader yet, but he loves the photos and enjoys looking at them often. His parents take him to the zoo and he can now identify what he sees all by himself! A great book that will hold interest for several years. It