Introduction
These are the books we’ve found useful at each early learning stage. I’ll continue to add more as we explore new titles, but this is my complete yet simple starters guide. I have used these for teaching animals to my kids.
Disclaimer: I may earn a small commission if you purchase through the links on this page. This does not affect the price you pay.
Baby & Toddler Animal Books
My First Library: Boxset of 10 Board Books for Kids
- Board book set
- Sized for baby hands
- Good for learning common animals
- Has wild animals, farm animals, pets, birds
- One photo with animal name per page
- Large clear images of single animals
- Full body animal on white background
- Lower case letter words for identifying letters to go with known animals
Preschool Animal Books
Leap Frog 100 Animals Book
- Hard plastic book with carry handle
- Lap book for small kids
- Good for learning most well known animals
- Has wild animals, farm animals, pets, birds, bugs, and more, organized by ecosystem
- Multiple animal species per page
- Mix of photos and drawings
- Small images, sometimes multiple of same animal in one image
- Bilingual English and Spanish animal labels
- Includes a touch-activated voice feature (includes removable batteries)
Kindergarten and First Grade Early Reader Animal Books
DK First Animal Encyclopedia
- Large but thin lap book
- Glossy paperback
- Real photos of animals in action
- Not for species identification
- Detailed facts about different animal types
- Good to boost early reader confidence and advance their skills by using small sentence clusters (no paragraphs, but uses complete sentences)
Visual Reference Animal Books
If you want a pretty animal book, this one is amazing. It’s less about reading or learning facts, and more about seeing animals in detail for art, comparison, or inspiration.
DK Smithsonian Our World in Pictures: The Animal Book
- Large, heavy, Glossy hard cover, Shiny textbook pages
- Very text light, not much info
- 100% clear animal photos
- Arranged for side by side comparison (different kinds of turtles on one page, frogs on another, etc)
- Labels species names
- Aesthetic and visually appealing (colorful animals, size comparisons)
- Very thorough groups of wild, common, and less common animals
- Includes detailed species names, perfect for kids advancing from board books or the Leap Frog book
- Best for art reference, side-by-side species comparison, and learning about less common animals
Browse more books from our family library here.