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National Geographic Animal Encyclopedia (National Geographic Children's Books, 2000)

Ages 6-10

Ostriches, elephants - they're so 20th century. Today's kids want something different, and these books deliver. Whether you've got a budding zoologist or a kid who needs an animal for a research project, these are great books to have around the house.

With over 1,000 animals, National Geographic Animal Encyclopedia excels in sheer quantity. Animals are organized by category - for example, "Pigs, Peccaries, and Hippopotamuses" includes the warthog, the wild boar, collared peccary, pygmy hippopotamus, hippopotamus, and bearded pig. The encyclopedia covers all the major animal groups - fish, insects, birds, etc. Each entry has a drawing of the animal, a one-paragraph description of habitat, habits, and food, plus a vital statistics box with size, range, and scientific name. You can't do a report from this book, but you can get good ideas and learn about an amazing diversity of species.

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