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Our books for the very youngest animal lovers, Zoobies, are aimed at kids three and under. Children that young might not be reading yet, but a love of reading and learning can be fostered early. Plus, sitting on a parent’s lap and spending time together with a book is a great bonding experience as well as a great learning experience.
Our latest book, Zoobies Turtles, takes a fun look at these slow-moving reptiles. You can find ways to engage your child with Zoobies by reading to them and even trying to act out some movements associated with turtles. Can you crawl slowly like a turtle? Stretch out your neck like a turtle poking its head out from its shell? There are lots of fun ways to make these books come to life!
Photo by Nicholas Petrone.
Zootles is a great way for your kids to build their vocabulary and draw connections about the natural world. For instance, turtles can live in land or water, but even though they have different habitats, they’re all cold-blooded, meaning that they rely on the environment to keep their bodies warm. Instead of staying at one ideal body temperature like us, turtles need to move back and forth between warm sunlight and cool shade to keep their bodies at the right temperature.
But in addition to learning new words and bridging ideas, kids can have fun with reading by learning new fun facts. For example, turtles have no teeth—instead, they use their hard beaks to chomp down on foods like plants, fish, insects, and even snails. What are some fun facts about animals that your family loves?
Photo source: Wikimedia Commons
In the newest issue of Zootles, you can meet all kinds of amazing turtles and tortoises. What’s the difference? Turtles live part or all of their lives in the water, while tortoises live only on dry land. They come in all shapes and sizes, and this issue is full of fun facts, engaging activities, and gorgeous photos for you and your child to enjoy and learn from.
Lots of things that you might have assumed about turtles turn out to be not entirely true. For example, despite their reputation for being slow, some turtles are among fastest-moving reptiles. Though they’re not very quick on land, leatherback sea turtles can swim at speeds over 20 miles per hour. And while you might think that all turtles can pull their necks into their shells, sea turtles can’t—though freshwater-dwelling box turtles have hinged shells that help them fit their heads, legs, and tails inside!
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
Here are some of the winners from this month’s Kids Zooworks contest, featured in Zoobooks Turtles. Our readers certainly did a great job using their imaginations and what they know about turtles to draw these creative pictures. We can see they have some truly inspiring talent, which made it hard to pick a favorite from all of these submissions. How about you? Do you have a favorite?
Not only does the Fort Worth Zoo offer complete instructions for the best origami turtle ever, but they also provide a lot of turtle fun facts so you can give your creation some personality. And if you live in Texas, there’s even more family fun: help them out by becoming a Texas Turtle Watcher.
The future of turtles once seemed secure. For millions of years, their shells were the only protection they needed. Today, they also need the protection of people. Turtles face many of the same problems that other wild animals face. Some have been overhunted, while others are threatened by pollution, habitat destruction, and the loss of important food sources.
People can make a difference in the lives of wild animals—for good or for bad. Thousands of people work in conservation programs as professionals or volunteers in order to save sea turtles. Much of the work takes place on the nesting beaches, where turtles are monitored, measured, and tagged. There are others who help hatchling sea turtles find their way to the sea. Check out the Fort Worth Zoo online to learn more about what you can do to help.
The Wild World of Zoobooks 