HELPING TEACHERS INSPIRE COMPASSION FOR ANIMALS, PEOPLE & THE ENVIRONMENT

Classroom Resources

Animal Smarts
Author: Sylvia Funston
1997

Animal Smarts, one of The Secret Life of Animalsseries, details fascinating findings about all sorts of creatures, from our everyday pets to exotic wildlife from remote places around the world. Sylvia Funston, former editor-in-chief of OWL and Chickadee Magazines, is a multi-award-winning science author and editor provides readers with up-to-date information on how animals behave and what that tells us about what goes on in their heads.

Being Caribou: Five Months on Foot with a Caribou Herd
by Karsten Heuer
2007

This 48-page picture book chronicling the 2003 epic journey through the wild country straddling the Canada-Alaska border by newlywed Albertans Karsten Heuer and Leanne Allison will appeal to upper elementary or early junior high students. It documents the physical hardships, unexpected dangers and wondrous discoveries they encountered as they followed the 100,000 caribou over 1500 km on their annual trek to safe (but environmentally threatened) calving grounds by the Beaufort Sea.
Find out more about their trip and the caribou migration at www.beingcaribou.com

Birdhouses (Kids Can Do It)
by Renée Schwartz
2005

Building birdhouses is a great way to get chickadees, bluebirds, swallows, wrens and many other kinds of birds to nest in your backyard. And with fewer old trees around for birds to nest in, building birdhouses is not only fun, it’s important. Nine different designs are identified for different bird species.

Birds of Prey Rescue: Changing the future for endangered wildlife
by Pam Hickman
2006

In Birds of Prey Rescue, you’ll meet people from around the world who are fighting to ensure a future for these magnificent birds, including an Alberta rancher who helps burrowing owls on his land. The author is a biologist with the Federation of Ontario Naturalists.

The Kids’ Horse Book
by Sylvia Funston
2005

The Kids’ Horse Book is part reference book and part activity book. Full of detailed illustrations and evocative photographs, this ultimate guide to everything “horsey” brims with information on breeds, grooming, riding techniques and horse communication, plus captivating stories and amazing facts. The entertaining format encourages browsing or reading from cover to cover. One spread is a history lesson, the next, a horse board game.

Pigs Aren’t Dirty, Bears Aren’t Slow: And Other Truths About Misunderstood Animals
by Joanna Boutilier
2005

The facts on animals with bad raps. Lifelike illustrations and fascinating text invite the reader to explore and discover the truth about ten animals whose true selves are often quite surprising. Ben Hodson’s beautiful, lifelike illustrations depict the true nature of each featured creature, while his hilarious cartoons exaggerate the behavioral misconceptions. Such as pigs are indeed clean creatures; they prefer sleeping on the highest ground in a pen — away from where any waste might drain.

The Scoop On Poop
by Wayne Lynch

Here’s a novel way to learn about animals! Award-winning author and photographer Wayne Lynch takes a fun and scientific look at poop in the animal world. Children will be fascinated to find out that some wild animals eat their dung, others use it to send messages or mark their territory, and some even squirt it on themselves to cool off. Filled with amazing facts, animal stories, and colour photographs, The Scoop on Poop will change the way you look at droppings forever.

Wild Animals in Captivity
by Rob Laidlaw
2008

Wild Animals in Captivity is a powerful, dramatically presented book that focuses on the life of wild animals living in captivity around the world. This eye-opening look at the lives of captive wild animals shows the best that captivity has to offer, as well as some of the worst. The lessons it contains will set children on the path to compassion and advocacy, so that they can make the world a better place for all animals, both captive and wild.

The Tale of Pale Male
by Jeanette Winter
2007

This is the incredible true story of a Red-tailed Hawk that makes himself at home in the most unlikely of places-atop a high-rise apartment building in New York City. Named Pale Male by his many fans, this majestic bird not only endures in this urban environment, he thrives. But when the residents have Pale Male’s nest removed from their building, a historic battle–and triumph–ensues, uniting bird lovers everywhere. To see pictures of this legendary bird visit the Pale Male website.

Give a Dog your Heart
by Aubrey Fine
2011

An uplifting story about a boy named Corey and his childhood dog, Hart, his best friend. Their friendship spans over a decade and ends with Corey learning one of the hardest lessons in his young life: understanding and coping with death. This book provides children with a passionate story of love and hope and a message of how they can always cherish their loving relationship.

City Critters: Wildlife in the Urban Jungle

Nicholas Read
2012

When we think of wild animals, we don’t immediately associate them with the cities we live in. But a closer look soon reveals that we share our urban environment with a great many untamed creatures. This book examines how and why so many wild animals choose to live in the same place that we do! The book also looks at what responsibilities we have in ensuring that these animals can continue to share our city lives.

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