A Kid's Guide to Backyard Animals

Packed with captivating facts about the most common animals in North America, this brightly illustrated guide is perfect for young nature lovers.

A Kid's Guide to Backyard Animals contains easily digestible information and captivating facts--about the most common animals kids see most often--that will help children discover how to be expert nature explorers and why protecting them is important for the planet, no matter their age!

Learn all about the amazing animals right outside your door in A Kid's Guide to Backyard Animals--a handy, easy-to-carry guidebook for explorers ages 6 to 8 that shows you how to identify 40 animals that are commonly found in the United States. The book covers five animal types: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates, and includes chapters on bats, bears, bobcats, chipmunks, coyotes, deer, elk, foxes, mice, opossums, prairie dogs, rabbits, raccoons, skunks, squirrels, voles, Canada geese, cardinals, ducks, hawks, hummingbirds, owls, pigeons, robins, woodpeckers, lizards, snakes, turtles, frogs, toads, salamanders, ants, bumblebees, butterflies, dragonflies, grasshoppers, ladybugs, roly poly bugs (pill bugs), snails, spiders, and worms.

Kids learn all about these amazing creatures with fascinating facts, how to identify each animal (what it looks like and size), what it eats, whether it's nocturnal or diurnal, and its habitat and range (including maps). Check the glossary for animal-related terms you might not know, keep track of the animals you've seen in a handy log, and try out a fun DIY project that helps you invite frogs to your backyard by building a comfortable frog pond.

With A Kid's Guide to Backyard Animals, children can become expert nature explorers.

Also available in the series:

• A Kid's Guide to Backyard Bugs
• A Kid's Guide to Backyard Birds
• A Kid's Guide to Backyard Trees

Author: Eliza Berkowitz
Publisher: Gibbs Smith
Published: 03/03/2026
Pages: 96
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.40lbs
Size: 7.10h x 5.00w x 0.50d
ISBN: 9781423668862
Audience: Ages 4-8


Review Citation(s):
School Library Journal 02/01/2026 pg. 68

About the Author
Eliza Berkowitz is a writer and editor who has worked on a wide variety of books in her 20-plus years in publishing. In her free time, she loves exploring the natural wonders of Redding, Connecticut, where she lives with her husband, daughter, and dog.

Nicole LaRue, a graphic designer and illustrator, believes every person--no matter their size, age, color, or status--can help create positive social change. Called upon at the eleventh hour to create the official logo for the 2017 Women's March on Washington, she is no stranger to mighty work. Her clients include Chronicle Books, Abram's Books, Oxford University Press, Compendium Inc., Madison Park Greetings, Johnson & Johnson, Chat Books, Tiny Prints, DC Shoes, American Eagle, and more. See her work at www.smallmadegoods.com. Nicole resides in Salt Lake City, Utah.