Today's read... The Nocturnals Nighttime Animals by Tracey Hecht

 I'm always on the look-out for fun nonfiction reads. One of my son, literally, had his bed piled high with these types of books for years (now, he realized how uncomfortable that is to sleep on). Today's series shoots off of an already enjoyed fiction one and is all about nonfiction. It heads into the world of nighttime animals and should hit upon more than a few, new creatures. 

THE NOCTURNALS

(2 new books)

Nighttime Animals

&

Unique Adaptations of Nighttime Animals

by Tracey Hecht

Fabled Films Press

Middle Grade Nonfiction

ages 6 to 10

NIGHTTIME ANIMALS: 

Connect kids to the science in The Nocturnals Grow & Read fiction series! Discover nocturnal animal features and fun facts. Explore awesome athletic abilities, sensational senses, powerful protections, and more! The book includes over 60 full-color photographs of animals.

Using fun facts and a narrative from the adventurous Nocturnals characters—Dawn the fox, Tobin the pangolin, and Bismark the sugar glider—this companion book introduces readers to the nighttime animals and their natural habitats that inspired Tracey Hecht’s Grow & Read early reader book series. 

Inside You’ll Find: 
Awesome animals: sugar gliders, kinkajous, foxes, bats, snakes, possums, wombats, chinchillas, and pangolins Animal Glossary with full-color photos Word Glossary to build STEM vocabulary At-Home Science Resources
Educational Leveling: 
Lexile: 740L
Fountas & Pinnell: R

GOODREADS  /    AMAZON

EXPLORE UNIQUE ADAPTATIONS OF NIGHTTIME ANIMALS:

Connect kids to the science in The Nocturnals middle grade fiction series by Tracey Hecht! Discover the special adaptations that help nocturnal animals succeed in the dark and investigate conservation efforts for these incredible species. The book includes over 150 full-color photographs of animals.

Using fun facts and a narrative from the adventurous Nocturnals characters—Dawn the fox, Tobin the pangolin, and Bismark the sugar glider—this companion nonfiction book takes the reader around the world and investigates the adaptations of nighttime animals to their natural habitats. 

Inside You’ll Find: 
Animals from around the world: red foxes, pangolins, sugar gliders, wombats, woylies, bandicoots, owls, crocodiles, kiwis, tuataras, aye-ayes, jerboas, bats, vipers, coyotes, and more! Night Notes & Fun Facts Nocturnal Feature Icon Key Animal Glossary with full-color photos Word Glossary to build STEM vocabulary At-Home Science Resources
Educational Leveling: 
Lexile: 930L
Fountas & Pinnell: S

GOODREADS   /   AMAZON

Perfect for the school, classroom, or library! The world of The Nocturnals goes beyond the books: our website features fun printable activities for parents  or caregivers and their children as well as Common Core Language Arts and Next Generation Science guides for teachers and librarians to support the book program.

MY TIDBITS

These books present a wide variety of animals found across the planet and center on those, who are most active between dusk and dawn. And there are many of them. From sugar gliders to pangolins to bats and more, young readers will discover animals they already know a little about to ones they've never heard of or seen before.

This nonfiction series taps into an already existing fiction series. I have not visited any of these before but noticed that the fiction side does includes quite a few titles and a few reading levels. These new, nonfiction reads head toward the middle grade audience with the The Nocturnals Nighttime Animals aimed at a slightly lower reading level than The Nocturnals Explore Unique Adaptations of Nighttime Animals. These nonfiction reads, while concentrating on presenting quite a bit of information concerning a broad array of animals, do weave in the characters of the fiction series. This ensures that the entire series can be used in homeschooling or classroom environments to help work toward fulfilling some aspects of the Language Arts and Science common core requirements.

The writing is smooth, easy to understand, and does introduce new vocabulary without bogging down. There is a glossary at the end to assist with these words. While there are quite a few facts, these are brought across in an easy-to-read manner with a very natural and engaging flow. 

The Nocturnals Nighttime Animals, which is aimed at the slightly younger audience, explores interesting aspects of animals and divides into chapters to highlight things such as senses, body adaptations and such. It gives a pretty general overview and slides from one animal to the next with a short description, explanation, and lovely photo. There are extra bits of information sprinkled in word bubbles for more fun. Also, the characters from the fiction series help narrate through the information and give everything a nice, lighter atmosphere.

The Nocturnals Explore Unique Adaptations of Nighttime Animals holds quite a bit of information and offers a more in-depth look into a variety of nighttime creatures. Each animal receives a chapter, so that the various aspects can be explored (habitat, abilities, food sources, etc.). These are accompanied by well-done photos, extra tidbits of information, and some fact fun. The more difficult vocabulary is highlighted and defined in a glossary at the end of the book. The characters from the fiction series appear between chapters, mostly, with just a short dialogue to act as a quick transition. These were cute, some working well than others. 

For those wanting to learn more about nighttime animals, this is a broad-reaching series with bright photos and well-delivered, basic information. There are a couple resources at the end of each book to assist with further learning. The added, fictive characters give the entire thing a lighter touch, which will make it easier on more reluctant learners. Classrooms, homeschoolers, and even animal-curious readers will find some interesting and useable information in these books...and enjoy consuming every page.

And here she is...

Tracey is a writer and entrepreneur who has written, directed and produced for film. Tracey currently splits her time between New York City and Oquossoc, Maine, with her husband and four children.

https://nocturnalsworld.com/