A book review of Zoology for Kids: Understanding and Working With Animals by Josh and Bethanie Hestermann
Stars: *****
Chicago Review Press (2015)
Animals
144 pages
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This post contains affiliate links.
Summary: Zoology for Kids invites the next generation of zoologists to discover the animal kingdom through clear, entertaining information and anecdotes, lush color photos, hands-on activities, and peer-reviewed research. Young minds are introduced to zoology as a science by discussing animals’ forms, functions, and behaviors as well as the history behind zoos and aquariums. Related activities include baking edible animal cells, playing a dolphin-echolocation game, and practicing designing an exhibit. Young readers can peek into the world of zookeepers and aquarists, veterinarians, wildlife researchers, and conservationists as they “train” their friends, mold a tiger’s jawbone, and perform field research in their own backyard. This engaging resource provides readers with new knowledge, a healthy respect for the animal kingdom, and the idea that they can pursue animal-related careers and make a difference to preserve and protect the natural world.
Zoology for Kids
After an foreword by The Kratt Brothers (from children’s tv) and an introduction to zoology, the book is broken up into two parts. Party one is called Zoology for Beginners and includes topics such as animals, animal behaviour and animals and their environments. Part two is Zoology in Real Life. It includes topics such as zookeepers, veterinarians, wildlife researchers, conservation warriors and more.
Each chapter has 2-4 activities that will be fun but also teach your child about something zoology related. As an example; the first chapter, Animals – Form and Function, has the following activities: bake an edible animal cell, dig up animal bones, play dolphin echolocation game and explore concealing coloration. Each activity has an introduction, a materials list, instructions and a sidebar with either a tip or extra credit activity.
The book is full colour with glossy pages which I absolutely love and appreciate in an animal book. Any child would enjoy the activities but I’d recommend 5-9 if an adult is reading and helping. 10+ a child could probably do most of these on his or her own. There is at least one that requires a stove though and it’s marked as ADULT SUPERVISION REQUIRED. So that’s good.
It’s not just a book of activities though, there is full text to read to learn about zoology too. We will be using this in our homeschool as my fifth grader and twelfth grader study zoology but any child could just do these for fun of course too. The twelfth grader may find some of the activities too young but I’ll give her the choice if she wants to participate or not.
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