Especially in the younger years I find that any way you can make a learning experience hands-on is usually a good one. Teaching about the Animal Kingdom using Heron Books Animal Kingdom book and cards is a great way to do that!

{Disclosure: I received this product for free and was compensated for my time in writing this review. All my opinions are my own, honest thoughts and I was not required to post a positive review. Your experience may vary. Please see my full Disclosure Policy for more details.}

Stay tuned at the end for a 40% OFF discount code!!

Animal Kingdom for Young Scientists from Heron Books

This Animal Kingdom book introduces the concept of grouping animals into classes, including birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians mammals, insects and arachnids, including the important ways that animals in these classes are alike. Children also learn that animals can be warm-blooded or cold-blooded and vertebrate or invertebrate. 

There are also 93 Animal Kingdom cards. They are beautifully illustrated, colorful cards that feature a gorgeous illustration of an animal on one side of the glossy 5 by 6 card, and the reverse side features fun facts such as the animal’s class, whether it is vertebrate or invertebrate and warm-blooded or cold-blooded.

What I Like About Using Animal Kingdom from Heron Books

1. Encourages Independent Learning

Because the book and cards are bold and beautiful and because they are at a reading level my 8 year old grandson can manage, Heron Books makes it possible for him to learn all on his own.

We first go through each chapter of the book together. That allows him to ask any questions and for me to be sure he can read and pronounce all the words correctly. Then he gets to work on the activities for that chapter. Things like drawing in his sketchbook, going out and looking for animals, and other little hands-on tasks (like looking through picture books or magazines to find 10 birds) related to the topic of the chapter.

Then he will pick a theme, like invertebrates vs. invertebrate and work with sorting/matching the animal cards for that specific topic.

2. No Lesson Plans Required

While there is a printable activity checklist (as seen in the photo above), there are no real lesson plans required. Heron Books makes teaching super open and go!

3. Hands-On

Animal Kingdom from Heron Books is a super hands-on and thus highly engaging learning format. The reading is short and to the point with clear pictures and diagrams to illustrate the concept.

Then the use of fun activities and the animal cards really helps bring all the information together!

Heron Books Provide Secular Materials

Here is how Heron Books describes their religious affiliation in terms of the products they produce:

“Heron Books operates independently of any church, religious organization or group. It exists to provide effective non-religious educational materials to schools, homeschoolers, families and students of all (or no) religious persuasions.”

In answer to the question about their relationship with L. Ron Hubbard (1911-1986) who is well-known as the founder of the Church of Scientology: “He also wrote about many non-religious topics, including study, education, ethics and management. We are proud to offer several books based on these writings, all of which are clearly presented as “based on the works of L. Ron Hubbard.” 

“We strive to be inclusive in all our materials, and we consider it important to our brand to have no “agenda” whether that be left vs. right, secular vs. religious, evolutionist vs. creationist.”

Discount on Animal Kingdom from Heron Books

Get 40% off the Animal Kingdom Book and Cards with this Discount Code: StartsAtEight40 from now through August 31st, 2022.