Children's books and activities

Homes and Habitats

Do you know any kids who are curious about the amazing homes that animals build in their natural environment? Or how we design and build our own houses? We've gathered up a great collection of books, activities, apps, and websites for learning all about homes and habitats.

Try pairing fiction with nonfiction books and exploring different genres (like poetry and biographies) and formats (like graphic novels and audio books). You'll be creating your own "text sets" — collections of texts focused on a specific topic, such as homes and habitats. Reading widely in this way helps children build background knowledge, vocabulary, and comprehension skills.

Homes and Habitats

Great Fiction & Nonfiction Books

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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Birds Make Nests

By: Michael Garland

Age Level: 3-6 years old

Nonfiction

Birds make many kinds of nests in many kinds of places, to keep their eggs safe and to raise...

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Fleabag

By: Helen Stephens

Age Level: 3-6 years old

A dog with no name and no home meets a boy with a ball but no dog. Boy and dog play in the park...

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Home

By: Carson Ellis

Age Level: 3-6 years old

Nonfiction

Travel through time, imagination, literature, and more for a unique look at "home" in any number...

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Home, Sweet Home: What Makes a House a Home?

By: Moira Butterfield

Age Level: 3-6 years old

Nonfiction

The world is full of different homes, from tents and huts to bobbing boats, and apartments high...

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How a House Is Built

By: Gail Gibbons

Age Level: 3-6 years old

As readers quickly comprehend, building a house is a complex project requiring the cooperative...

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In the Small, Small Pond

By: Denise Fleming

Age Level: 3-6 years old

A child (and a small green frog) witness the change of seasons in a small, critter-filled pond....

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Jump into Science: Coral Reefs

By: Sylvia Earle

Age Level: 3-6 years old

Readers explore a coral reef with a snorkeling young swimmer and see what the swimmer sees as...

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Looking Closely Along the Shore

By: Frank Serafini

Age Level: 3-6 years old

A full-color, close-up framed by black and a repeated text focuses the reader's eye. Look closely....

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Looking Closely Around the Pond

By: Frank Serafini

Age Level: 3-6 years old

Look very closely. What do you see? It may be something familiar or quite out of the ordinary....

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Nesting

By: Henry Cole

Age Level: 3-6 years old

Nonfiction

Follow two robins as they build a nest with twigs and grass. Then mother robin lays four...

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On the Way to the Beach

By: Henry Cole

Age Level: 3-6 years old

Young readers are invited to look and listen as they join a girl on a summer morning walk to the...

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Out on the Prairie

By: Donna Bateman

Age Level: 3-6 years old

The prairie is home to lush and unique plants and animals. Here they are introduced in the cadence...

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Trout Are Made of Trees

By: April Sayre

Age Level: 3-6 years old

Nonfiction

As two children and their fathers explore a stream and its natural riches, a straightforward text...

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Age Level: 6-9 years old

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A Beach for the Birds

By: Bruce McMillan

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Nonfiction

Ever noticed sea birds at the beach? There's a quiet place on a Maine beach especially for least...

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A City Through Time

By: Philip Steele

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Follow the progress of an imaginary city through six key periods of time, each captured by a...

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A House Is a House for Me

By: Mary Ann Hoberman

Age Level: 6-9 years old

A lively rhyming cadence introduces many different houses for various residents. From spiders to...

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A Place for Fish

By: Melissa Stewart

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Full color illustrations and clear language present a range of fish in different ecosystems in...

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Along the Tapajós

By: Fernando Vilela

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Fiction

Cauã and Inaê are a brother and sister who live in a small community along the Tapajós River in...

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Birds, Nests and Eggs

By: Mel Boring

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Nonfiction

A fun, informative take-along guide that will help children identify 15 birds. Kid will learn...

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Even an Ostrich Needs a Nest

By: Irene Kelly

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Birds live all over the world, but their nests come in many sizes, shapes, and some even borrow...

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Home

By: Jeannie Baker

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Fiction

Little by little, baby Tracy grows. She and her neighbors begin to rescue their street. Together...

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Home for a Penquin, Home for a Whale book cover showing swimming penquins and sea creatures underwater

Home for a Penguin, Home for a Whale

By: Brenda Williams

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Nonfiction

With lyrical rhymes, readers explore a dazzling underwater menagerie. Each rhyming couplet gives...

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If You Lived Here: Houses of the World

By: Giles Laroche

Age Level: 6-9 years old

People all around have homes in which to live, but not all of them look alike. Dwellings old and...

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Leaving the Nest

By: Mordicai Gerstein

Age Level: 6-9 years old

A baby jay, a small stripped kitten and a little girl with a bike come together in an unexpected...

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Nat Geo Wild Animal Atlas: Earth's Astonishing Animals and Where They Live

By: National Geographic Kids

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Dramatic photographs, attention-grabbing facts, and clear maps introduce a world of animals and...

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Roberto: The Insect Architect

By: Nina Laden

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Ever since he was a wee mite (a termite, that is), Roberto has wanted to be an architect....

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Seabird in the Forest: The Mystery of the Marbled Murrelet

By: Joan Dunning

Age Level: 6-9 years old

The mystery of why a Pacific seabird nests inland has only recently been solved. Lyrical...

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illustrated cover of Seashells, More Than a Home with several different shells laid out on the sand.

Seashells: More Than a Home

By: Melissa Stewart

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Nonfiction

Young naturalists discover thirteen seashells in this elegant introduction to the remarkable...

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The Barn Owls

By: Tony Johnston

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Nonfiction

A poetic tribute to the common barn owl, who doze "in the scent of wheat" and leave "the barn...

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When the Wolves Returned: Restoring Nature's Balance in Yellowstone

By: Dorothy Hinshaw Patent

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Stunning photographs combine with a clear text to show how early use of Yellowstone, changed it...

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Where Once There Was a Wood

By: Denise Fleming

Age Level: 6-9 years old

This book is a good introduction to the effects people can have on the environment. The simple...

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Age Level: 9-12 years old

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Encantado: Pink Dolphin of the Amazon

By: Sy Montgomery

Age Level: 9-12 years old

The author joins several field scientists to find the mysterious encantado, the pink dolphins of...

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Take Shelter: At Home Around the World

By: Nikki Tate

Age Level: 9-12 years old

A roof, a door, some windows, a floor. All houses have them, but not all houses are alike. Some...

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The Quest for the Tree Kangaroo: An Expedition to the Cloud Forest of New Guinea

By: Sy Montgomery

Age Level: 9-12 years old

The author and photographer Nic Bishop join biologist Lisa Dabek and other scientists and...

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