ABC Animals

by American Museum of Natural History

Twenty-six letters; 26 animal friends! From Armadillo, with its long sticky tongue, to chimps that greet each other with kisses, to the slow-swimming manatee and plant-munching zebra, this delightful board book from the American Museum of Natural History introduces children to both the alphabet and some of the most interesting creatures displayed in the museums galleries. Featuring extra-large letters, fun facts, and bright, eye-catching photos on every page, ABC Animals will enchant and teach preschoolers.  

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens

18 pages, Board Book

First published September 3, 2013

Reviews

[Brie Kapina · Rating 5 out of 5]

She loved it!!

[Maeve · Rating 3 out of 5]

An alphabet book from the American Museum of Natural History focusing on animals. Includes fun facts on every animal.

[Crystal MacNamee · Rating 5 out of 5]

ABC Animals
American Museum of Natural History (no author specified)
ABC book
Published in 2013

This is a very advanced picture book for children. It is meant for children 2-5 when read by an adult. It not only has animals for every alphabet letter, but it gives interesting facts about every animal showcased that even adults may not know. I did not know that a giraffes prints are like finger prints and no two giraffes have the same exact coat. Another fact it gives is that there are Jellyfish as small as your finger and as large as 100 feet. I was very intrigued with the layout of the book because it has the animals side by side with the letters, interacting with the letters. They were altered to appear to be in the same picture. It has the advantage of being from a highly credible source and it is part of a series. Other titles include ABC Oceans and ABC Insects all by the American Museum of Natural History.

I would use this book for students who are needing extra help one on one with their letters. It is an engaging book and can be used in comparison to another title from the series. I would put a volunteer or a specialist with the child to read the book with depending on what the child needs. It is content rich for it's genre and can serve a dual purpose of educating a child while reviewing the basics of phonics. This is a much better alternative than using a print out or mass produced product that has been purchased by the school which can be impersonal or unappealing.

For ESOL strategies this book lends itself to one on one instruction (E2), providing meaningful language practice (E12), and captioning (B14) among others.

I would recommend this book to be in every classroom through the second grade. It is possible to have a student who is seriously behind with letters or might enjoy the book as a beginning reader book. It is a versatile title that can be used in many different activities. Once it has been introduced as being from the American Museum of Natural History more information can be learned about the museum and what it offers. It can be a doorway to more independent learning and interaction. It is a quality product that is thoughtfully prepared.

[Shanshad Whelan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm picky about my alphabet books these days. I've read a lot of them, especially animal alphabets, and I get irritated when someone creates a book of alphabetical animals and then cheats.

While some letters are harder than others to find animals for, there's no reason to have N for "Nocturnal animals" instead of a creature if every other letter has one.

This American Museum of Natural History board book manages to combine great photographs with clearly written letters and bright colors. It's a book even a baby or toddler can love and work on identifying letters. But where it gets clever is in adding some interesting facts about the critters in question. Like "butterflies use their feet to taste things!" or "No two giraffes have the same pattern of spots. Each giraffe is unique!" This moves the book out of the range of simple alphabet concept book and into early nonfiction book for preschool kids.

Parents and teachers needing books that fit the new Common Core may find this one to be a useful addition to their libraries.

[Jessica]

This book can be used to introduce letters in the alphabet as well as different animal names that start with that letter. The pages include extra large letters, fun facts, and eye catching photos. This book can also be used to teach alphabet recognition. Alphabet recognition could be taught in the form of a game. Each letter of the alphabet can be written on an index card. The cards will be placed on the floor in a circle, and the children will form another circle around the letters. I can play music, and the students will walk around the circle of letters. Once the music stops, the students will pick up the letter they are standing in front of and wait for the me to ask them to say the letter that is on their index card.

[Katt Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's probably too many facts for the intended audience (the average child of board book age isn't going to understand most of those concepts like how many pounds something weighs or what a herbivore is), but the pictures and layout are a delight. And it's a book that even if you went through and just named the animals for the little ones, you can revisit as they grow and introduce the facts. I liked this book, and think the American Museum of Natural History did an excellent job with this book. (Makes me want to visit there someday!)

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great photos of animals paired with interesting facts about each animal represent the 26 letters of the alphabet. Great page layout and formatting in this book. Each page features the capital letter being introduced to readers and the animals are positioned in visually interesting ways around the facts and letters. Backgrounds are vibrant solid colors.

Great for sharing with toddlers. Also a great gift book for this season.

[Taylor Washington · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary: This book goes through the alphabet with animals that start with the letters of the alphabet. These animals are not just any animals but exotic ones that children do not usually know about.

Activity: Students would spend about 1-2 week(s) learning about different animals in the book. Then we will go on a field trip to the zoo. Students will see if they can find animals that they learned about in the book.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the animals that the author chose for this book. There are some that everyone knows about, but the majority are uncommon species. I would read this to my younger grades of students and have them participate in echo reading. I also love the colors and pictures that they incorporated in this book as well.

[Nicole Adams]

ABC Animals reaches past all expectations of an ABC books. Students know the simple animals like ant and bear but ABC Animals takes you on a journey of many different animals that start with our alphabet.

A great lesson for this would be for pre-k teaching their letters as well as it being tied into science with the different animals and animal facts on each page.

[Carina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the large size of this book, and the sturdiness of it. The bold, colorful images are great too- it makes the animal photographs stand out. Only problem with it is that Mommy doesn't know how to pronounce all of the animal names - like quetzal and nudibranch!

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great ABC board book with some unusual choices for some letters.

[Morgan Echtenkamp · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great alphabet board book! The pictures are bright and colorful and each page features a interesting animal with a fact or two.

[TAMMY WRIGHT · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute. I'm an adult and sometimes enjoy a kids book.

[Lucy&Molly1000Books]

real animals

[Wendy Kuzma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the real photographs along with an interesting fact about each animal.