2025 Blogging A to Z Challenge: Zoology
Alright, we’ve made it to the letter Z! 26 letters later, we’re finally here at the end of the alpahbet and this year, I’m really excited about this final list – zoology! Here are 12 books to pour over all about animals. I love learning about animals – I’ve always loved it. When I was a kid I had a fact book about animals and I loved learning new and crazy facts. I’m still that way and I think these are some of the best books from the past 26 days. I love learning little facts that I can pull out when having a conversation with someone. I learned why flamingos are pink when I was a kid and it’s still one of my most favorite facts to share – it’s because they eat shrimp!
Stop back on Friday for my reflections about the past month of blog posts and find a whole list of links for all the great book lists that includes all 312 titles I suggested!
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2025 Blogging A to Z Challenge: Zoology
5,000 Awesome Facts (about Animals!)
Bursting with fascinating, fun-tastic facts, this treasure trove of all things animals leaves no habitat unexplored or unusual animal ability unmentioned! Ever wonder how smart a chicken is? Why a tiny island is home to thousands of venomous snakes? What sound a rhino makes when it’s happy? Find these answers and 4,997 more in this captivating and colorful collection!
Actual Size by Steve Jenkins
How big is a crocodile? What about a tiger, or the world’s largest spider? Can you imagine a tongue that is two feet long or an eye that’s bigger than your head?
Sometimes facts and figures don’t tell the whole story. Sometimes you need to see things for yourself—at their actual size.
An Anthology of Intriguing Animals
The animal kingdom is so much bigger than young minds can fathom and there is always more to learn. An Anthology of Intriguing Animals is a stunning animal encyclopedia for young readers to explore, with reference pages packed with fascinating information, little learners will be captivated as they discover the facts, stories and myths behind their favourite animals. Whether it’s where the slow-motion sloth lives, how the plodding pangolin protects itself from predators, or which animal the Ancient Egyptians thought rolled the Sun across the sky, children can learn all sorts of fun animal facts from the storybook descriptions.
This beautiful modern bestiary lets you find the animals that interest you and uncover new favourites along the way. From tigers and chameleons to wolves and owls there’s an animal for everyone in this compendium of creatures. Each type of animal is shown both photographically and illustrated, and children will love poring over the detailed close-up images. The engaging storybook-style descriptions and simple text shed a light on the wonders of wildlife and array of animals, perfect for children aged 6-8 to love and explore for hours on end.
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 engaging encyclopedia welcomes children aged 9-12 to the animal kingdom where they can meet more than 1,500 species big and small, ranging from ants to zebras and everything in between.
Striking pictures bring kids face to face with giant predators they know and love, including polar bears and tigers, as well as mysterious microscopic life, including amoebas and bacteria. Our World in Pictures The Animal Book is the ideal guide for all budding zoologists, as well as those who simply want to brush up on their animal knowledge.
An Immense World (Young Readers Edition): How Animals Sense Earth’s Amazing Secrets by Ed Yong, illustrated by Rebecca Mills
Did you know that there are turtles who can track the Earth’s magnetic fields? That some fish use electricity to talk to each other? Or that giant squids evolved their enormous eyeballs to look out for whales?
The world is so much BIGGER and more “immense” than we humans experience it. We can only see so many colors, we can only feel so many sensations, and there are some senses we can’t access at all.
Exploring the amazing ways animals perceive the world is an excellent way to help understand the world itself. And this young readers adaptation of the mega-bestseller An Immense World is perfect for curious kids and their families. Sure to capture young readers’ interest it is filled amazing animal facts and stunning full-color illustrations.
Along the way are tons of amazing animals facts: Did you know that leopard pee smells like popcorn? That there is a special kind of shrimp whose punches are faster than a bullet? That it’s important to take your dog for dedicated “smell walks?” Want to know the real reason zebras have stripes? (hint: it’s not for camouflage)? Pick up this enthralling and enormously entertaining book to find out!
DK First Animal Encyclopedia
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.
Explanatorium of Nature
Marvel at the breathtaking photography showcasing flora and fauna in the most incredible, intricate detail in this nature-packed guide for children aged 9+. This unputdownable book is a guaranteed favorite for animal lovers, nature enthusiasts, and budding wildlife experts everywhere.
Farm Animals by Joanne Mattern
Adult and child readers will learn all about adorable farm animals together in this new co-reader from National Geographic Kids.
First 100 Animals by Roger Priddy
There are 100 animal photographs to look at and talk about, and 100 animal names to read and learn, too. The pages are made from tough board for hours of fun reading, and the cover is softly padded for little hands to hold.
A Kid’s Guide to 50 Backyard Animals by Sterling Sawyer
From the towering forests of the Northeast to the sunbaked deserts of the Southwest, America is home to an incredible variety of wildlife—and many of these creatures can be found right in your own backyard!
In A Kid’s Guide to 50 Backyard Animals, you’ll meet 50 amazing animals from raccoons to rabbits, salamanders to snakes, that call America home. Whether you’re spotting a red fox in the woods, a coyote in the open plains, or a raccoon in your neighborhood, this book will help you discover and appreciate the incredible biodiversity of the U.S. Packed with fun facts, fascinating animal profiles, and full-color illustrations, it’s the perfect companion for nature lovers, young explorers, and wildlife enthusiasts!
The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s Very First Animal Encyclopedia
Take a tour of the animal kingdom and discover everything you need to know about creatures from elephants to ants in this colorful and charming first animal reference book.
Different chapters focus on different animal types, with a new critter every time you turn the page. Bite-size chunks of information are complemented by captivating illustrations by the World of Eric Carle, eye-catching photography, and simple how-it-works diagrams, while pull-out images and facts provide extra nuggets of interest. Young learners can find out all about koalas, armadillos, eagles, penguins, turtles, frogs, sharks, and butterflies and many, many more in this one-of-a-kind introduction to nature.
For lovers of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and all bright young minds, this is the ultimate must-have animal encyclopedia.
2025 is my tenth year participating in the Blogging A to Z Challenge! This year, I chose as my theme: Fact Finders Club: Nonfiction for Curious Kids with a focus on providing book lists focused on all types of nonfiction books for readers from birth to teens. Each letter of the alphabet will focus on different topics and will provide twelve titles on each list. Nonfiction is having a heyday in children’s literature and if you think it’s dry and boring, then I implore you to take a look at these amazing suggestions! Stop by daily to check out the new books and other posts that I’ll be sharing in April.
