All About Animals Picture Book List for Primary Kids

Almost all kids love animals. It just seems to be a given fact. From friendly cats and dogs to fish in the aquarium to the bigger, fiercer animals at the zoo- kids just seem to love animals.

If you're looking to do an animal unit study, preparing for a trip to the zoo, or just looking for some fun animal-themed books to share with the kids, this booklist can get you started. These picture books are fun for primary aged kids (K-2nd grade). I've also listed a roundup of sites with animal-themed resources for young kids.

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Animal Picture Books

National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Animals by Catherine D. Hughes

The View at the Zoo by Kathleen Long Bostrom

My Visit to the Zoo by Aliki

National Geographic Readers- Animals

First 100 Animals by Roger Priddy

Animal Ark: Celebrating our Wild World in Poetry and Pictures (National Geographic Kids) by Kwame Alexander,  Mary Rand Hess,  Deanna Nikaido,  Joel Sartore

First Animal Encyclopedia (DK)

Dear Zoo: A Lift-the-Flap Book by Rod Campbell

Peep Inside the Zoo by Booby Brown

The Usborne Big Book of Big Animals by Hazel Maskell

Other Animal-Themed Resources

~ First School has tons of free animal-themed lesson plans, coloring sheets, crafts, and printable activities for preschool and kindergarten. There are resources for all different animal types as well as resources listed by animal in alphabetical order. You could very easily create an entire animals unit study with these free resources.

~ This PBS page has many free animal-themed videos for grades PreK-2.

~ Gayle's Preschool Rainbow has a variety of zoo-themed ideas. Some links go to a subscription site, but there are many free ones here as well.

~ National Geographic Kids has some great animal pages with information, pictures, and videos.

~ The National Wildlife Federation has a Ranger Rick interactive web page for kids that contains animal information, games, and educator resources.

~ Homeschool Share has quite a few free, animal-themed unit studies/lapbooks.

~ A Journey Through Learning has a great Zoo Animals lapbook for early learners. (This one isn't free.)


Enjoy learning about animals with your young kids with these resources. If you want more information- and a free printable- about creating your own unit study, this post has some good information.

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