Usborne Animal Books
There is something fascinating about animals. We all love them (well, most of us), but children seem to be especially enamored with fuzzy, little faces. Perhaps they like them because so many of them are the same size as they are, and perhaps because animals are so interestingly different. I really can't explain it, but I do know that the fascination is real. For the longest time my daughter's favorite Usborne books have been ones that have featured animals and stories about them. Usborne animal books were all she wanted to read for a long time, and they are still her favorite.
Her first animal books were simple picture books. She didn't care about having a story, she just wanted to look at the different animals and talk about where they live and what they can do. Though her most favorite animal books were the ones about animals that she could see every day, I have found that she is now more interested in the ones that we don't see. She wants to go to Australia and hold a koala bear. She often like to pretend she is a koala, and when you ask her what her favorite animal is she might say a baby kangaroo, which she will tell you is called a joey.
As she got older she began to enjoy animal books that come with a story. Perhaps it is easier for her to use her imagination when it comes to animals as apposed to people. I'm really not sure. This might be why stories like Winnie the Pooh are so popular from generation to generation. When they are naturally drawn to animals they are empathizing with someone or something else. These animal books often portray animals in a very human way, and this might be a great way to learn about human interaction in a way that fascinates them.
No matter how old your child might be, they will probably love any animal books you give them. As they get older the Usborne books need to be more than story books, of course, but there is something about animals that people of all ages love. You don't have to buy them animal books that have an educational value, but there is certainly no harm in doing so. The more they read and know about animals the more they are going to learn about their world, and the more respect they are going to give animals and people in the future.