WILD ANIMAL ATLAS

Wild Animal Atlas 

Earth’s Astonishing Animals and Where They Live

Priyanka Lamichhane, Project Editor

National Geographic, 2010

Grades K-5

Nonfiction

“North America is 9,449,000 square miles (24,474,000 square kilometers) in area. It is the third largest continent and makes up almost 17 percent of Earth’s land area. It stretches from ice caps and tundra in the north to tropical forests in the south with grasslands, wetlands, mountains, and deserts in between. These ecosystems are home to many animals, including this Grizzly Bear trying to catch a salmon in a river in Alaska.” A three quarters-sized image of a fish headed straight for a grizzly’s open mouth dominates the introduction to North America.

This atlas has it all. Perfect for the elementary ages, the atlas presents its fascinating information by continent and ecosystems. When many states are including more about biomes in their standards, the atlas is right on top of the information. The book begins with the table of contents and a map of the world across the spread depicting the animals on each of the continents. The tiny animals dot the continents with a key for each one. The next spread identifies the animal ecosystems and shows a bright, bold picture for each.

Each continent opens with a gripping photo and a paragraph of information about the continent. The subsequent pages provide the animal information, including habitat, diet, and survival of the group. The National Geographic standard “Facts at a Glance” box gives basic, short information. Two sets of map keys designate animals and habitats.

Filled with fascinating animals and an abundance of information, this book is a winner for me. Every library should have at least one copy of this useful, inexpensive ($18.95) reference book. Kids can spend hours poring over it and it hits the standards for science and social studies both.

Activity

Choose an animal from one of the continents. Look up facts about that animal and list as many ways the animal is adapted to it habitat as you can find.

The National Geographic website is a good place to begin your search.

Here’s a fun place to see animal adaptations.

Take a look at Playing by the Book for Nonfiction Monday and see many other great nonfiction books for kids.

National Science Standard: organisms and their environment

Book provided by publisher for Librarian’s Choice Book Review Committee.