Books to Learn about Animals

 

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Today I want to share two fun new books about animals. From a very young age Hazel was in love with animals and wanted to learn all about them. I tend to gravitate to books about animals because of her interest. Today I am going to share two books that will teach kids about animals. The first is Endangered Animals and How You Can Help by Sam Hutchinson and Sarah Dennis.

Animal Books & Activity Round-Up

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own!

We are a family of animal lovers. Hazel from a young age was interested in animals and learning about them. She has always seemed to love books about them and today I'm sharing some fun books and an origami kit all themed about animals. These books range for kindergarten and up. Starting with books for the youngest we will start with Hummingbird by Nicola Davies and illustrated by Jane Ray. It is recommended for kindergarten through third grade.

Honey Girl the Hawaiian Monk Seal Review & Giveaway

Disclosure: I was sent a digital version of this book free of charge for this review in return for an honest review by The Children's Book Review & Jeanne Walker Harvey. All opinions in my review are my own and I will receive a small compensation for writing it.  As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation for your purchase.

A couple of winters ago New England had a record breaking amount of snow mostly in February. A couple of weeks ago I was afraid we were having another year like that, however this past week has had us all feeling spring. But during the record breaking winter I did a series called Dreaming of Hawaii, just to think of some place sunny and warm. Hawaii is one of the top place I want to visit. Today's book shares a true story Hawaii and enables my Hawaii dreaming again. It is Honey Girl: The Hawaiian Monk Seal by Jeanne Walker Harvey and illustrated by Shennen Bersani.

Madagascar's Lemurs -- Global Learning for Kids

This month Global Learning for Kids is exploring the African country of Madagascar. Madagascar is an island just east of Africa (the green island in the map below). Being separated from the mainland it has some unique wildlife that exists in the wild only there. This is what I decided to focus on with Hazel since she loves animals and has seen several of the Wild Kratts episodes where they were in Madagascar. In many ways she was teaching me this month!

By Shosholoza (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Doyli to the Rescue -- Multicultural Children's Book Day Review

Disclosure: WAKA Books sent me a copy of this book free of charge to review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

I am so excited to share this book with you!! I think this has become Hazel's favorite book in the last few weeks. She also has informed me she wants to be Doyli and live in the middle of the Amazon with no running water or electricity. The book is Doyli to the Rescue by Cathleen Burnham.

Tigers and Bears, Oh, My! Book Reviews and Crafts

Disclosure: Candlewick Press gave me a copy of these books free of charge to review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

Today I am going to share two great books with you. The first is a bit more serious and the second is a fun picture book. I am also providing some crafts and activities to go with the books. The first book is Can We Save the Tiger? by Martin Jenkins and illustrated by Vicky White. 

Emus and Hippos!! Book Reviews

Disclosure: Candlewick Press gave me a copy of these books free of charge to review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

Today we are sharing two fun and educational animal books from Candlewick Press. They are written in the same style as Grandma Elephant's In Charge and Big Red Kangaroo which Candlewick Press sent previously to me to review (and we bought one as a birthday gift for one of Hazel's friends because we love them so much!). These books tell a story about a particular animal and/or group of animals as well as have aside facts about the animal.

The first we travel to Australia to learn about emus, with Emu written by Claire Saxby and illustrated by Graham Byrne.

Flamingo Friday--The Andean Flamingo

Source:
Copyright Trevor Rickard and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

Today I want to share with you a little about the Andean Flamingo. First I want to share that they are on the endangered list because their numbers are plummeting.I am going to share information I found in Birds edited by Tim Harris. It is part of the Facts at Your Fingertips and Endangered Animals series by Brown Bear Books. I will also add some information I found on-line. We will start with this YouTube video of some Andean flamingos in Bolivia.


The Andean flamingo is the rarest of the world's five species of flamingos. They belong to one of the oldest bird families which originated over 50 million years ago and are now threatened by the continuing exploitation and deterioration of their habitat. The Andean flamingo has show a decline equal to 24 percent in 15 years. Breeding success is consistently low and the adults live 50 years (therefore considered long-lived).

By Valerio Pillar (DSC_5251.JPG (DSC_5241 cropped)) [CC-BY-SA-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

They live on the puna. The puna is a high, cold, dry plateau in the Andes Mountains. These flamingos live in Peru, Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. The flamingos live in lakes where the water is ten times as salty as the sea. The lakes are home to diatoms which are microscopic single-cell algae which is what these flamingos eat. Like all the other flamingos, the Andean flamingo is an upside down filter feeder. (For more on feeding see my post here.) Here is a YouTube video of some Andean flamingos feeding Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust near Slimbridge, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom.


In the winter the Andean flamingos migrate to the lower wetlands. It is expected that this migration is due to the extreme aridity of the lakes in winter.  (Source)

The species nest in only ten or so major colonies and the breeding sites are under increasing pressure. Away from regular colonies, the flamingos are still hunted for their meat, feathers and fat (used in traditional medicine). Most of the birds killed are juveniles. Some people also remove their eggs for personal consumption or to be sold. There have also been an increase in mining near the breeding colonies and the development of the mining industry and towns to support it are major threats. There is water pollution as well as water diversion which cause fluctuating water levels. (For more on breeding and the life of a chick see my post here.

Source: Arpingstone at Wikimedia Commons

Now what makes the Andean flamingo different than the other species of flamingos? They are the only flamingos with yellow legs. Their bodies are pale pink with bright underparts and noticeable black patch on the wings.  Their bills are yellow and black and of course curved. (Source) They have three forward facing toes with no hind toes. Their voice is nasal and raspy in the calls in the colonies. The young Andean flamingos are grey in color. (Source)

By Paulo Fassina (Flamingo Flying 2) [CC-BY-SA-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

I should note that only the greater flamingo is not considered threatened. Even with several million birds (all four species combined) they are threatened due to hunting, long breeding cycle and there are fewer than 30 major breeding sites in the world.

I'll be sharing this in the Multicultural Kid Blog Hispanic Heritage Blog Hop. Have you entered the amazing giveaway yet?