15-Minute Animals

Sea dragons are very strange sea animals. They look like sea plants with a snout. They have a long nose at the front of their head. But that is about the only part that looks like an animal. Their body is round and lumpy, and sticking out from everywhere are growths. These growths make the sea dragon look like it is covered with leaves or twigs. Find out more about this strange plant-like animal.

Sea stars are strange animals. They crawl along the sea floor on their spiny arms. Sea stars used to be called starfish. But they are not fish. That is why their name has now been changed to sea stars. A lot of people think sea stars only have five arms. Lots of them do. But they can have as few as four arms and as many as 18. Find out more about these strange sea creatures in this fun book.

A barnacle is an animal that lives in the sea. Many people don't think of a barnacle as an animal. That's because they never see it. The animal is hidden inside a shell. A barnacle has a round body. It also has six pairs of legs. That's twelve legs! But it doesn't use its legs for walking. It uses them to eat with. Barnacles actually live upside down! Their heads are at the bottom and their legs!

How would you like to eat part of your house for food during the winter? Well that's just what beavers do. Beavers are animals that live in the water. They spend most of their time there, even though they are mammals. That means they breathe air, so part of the time they are also on land. Beavers live in the water because it is safer for them. They can't run very fast, but they swim great.

A reindeer is a fur covered animal. Reindeer look like the animals that are said to pull Santa’s sleigh, but they don’t have shiny noses, and they can’t fly! Reindeer are often called caribou. In some parts of the world they are called reindeer. In other parts they are called caribou. Find out more about the reindeer in this fun book!

Giraffes are the tallest animal alive today. A male giraffe can grow to be over 18 feet (5.5 m.) tall. That's taller than a two-story house! Giraffes look like a horse with a stretched out neck and stretched out legs. They have long skinny legs and a very long neck. Their front legs are longer than their back legs. That is why their backs slope down toward their rump. Find out more in this book!

How would you like to live your life in a suit of armor? That is what an armadillo does. An armadillo is covered in armor. It has bony plates around its body to protect it. The plates are hard, like a turtle's shell. The armadillo looks a bit like an anteater. They have a long nose that they use to sniff for food. Find out more about the armadillo in this fun, favt-filled book.

The Komodo dragon is the biggest lizard in the world. In fact, a Komodo dragon can grow to be 10 feet (3 metres) long. If a full-grown man laid down next to a Komodo dragon, the dragon would be a lot bigger than the man! The Komodo dragon can weigh up to 360 pounds (163 kilograms). That is as much as two average men weigh! Find out more about thses strange and wonderful animals in this book!

Elephant seals are huge animals that live part of their life on land. When I say they are huge, I mean huge. The male elephant seal can grow to be up to 16 feet (4.9 metres) long. They can weigh 6,600 pounds (3000 kilograms)! An average car weighs about 3,000 pounds (1360 kilograms). That means a male elephant seal can weigh more than two cars! That is big! Find out more about elephant seals!

A badger is an animal. It looks like a cross between a skunk and a dog. It has a long nose. They use it to stick into holes they have dug. This lets them reach the insects they find underground. Badgers have a funny looking face. It is mostly black, but has white stripes. That helps them to hide in the nighttime shadows. Learn more about this amazing animal and learn the answers to these questions

Elephants are the largest animal that lives on land. They are HUGE! A male elephant can stand 12 feet (3.75 metres) tall at the shoulders. It can weigh up to 26,000 pounds (12,000 kg). That means one elephant can weigh as much as 13 small trucks! Elephants have four very strong legs. Their legs are like posts. Find out more about these huge animals in this 15-minute book!

What animal sees with its ears and flies with its hands? Bats do. They also do many other strange things. Bats don’t see very well with their eyes. Instead, they “see” with their ears. Use sonar to find their way, and to find things in the dark. Find out more about this amazing animal in this 15-minute book? Our 15-Minute Books give children fun choices for practicing reading 15 minutes per day.

You have seen them on your thanksgiving table, but what do you know about turkeys? Turkeys might surprise you, especially the wild ones. Let me tell you about them. There are two main kinds of turkeys, wild turkeys and tame turkeys. There are many differences between the two kinds of turkeys. Learn about this amazing bird in this short, fact-filled book.

There are many different kinds of horses in the world. Some are short. Some are huge. Some come in one color, and some come in many colors. But they are all beautiful. All horses have long, thin legs and a big round body. They have a long, curved neck and a big head with large eyes. Read this book to find out what a horse is, what it eats, where it lives, who are its enemies, how babies are born.

Giant pandas are animals that live in China. For many years, people couldn't decide if a panda was part of the bear family or part of the raccoon family. Now they know that they are really bears. They look like a huge, cuddly bear. They have four legs and a short, stubby tail. Find out what a panda is, where it lives, what it eats, who are its enemies, and how babies are raised. For ages 7 to 10.

An alligator is an animal that looks a lot like a huge lizard. Alligators have thick, hard skin across the entire top of their body. This skin is greenish brown in color. It is covered with bony plates called scutes. These scutes help protect the alligator just like a turtle's shell protects the turtle. The skin on an alligator's belly is much softer and thinner. Find out more about the alligator!

Frogs are amphibians. An amphibian is an animal that spends part of its life in water and part of it on land. There are two main kinds of frogs. They are frogs and toads. Some people say that frogs have smooth skin and toads have bumpy skin. But there are some frogs with bumpy skin and some toads with smooth skin. Find out all about frogs and toads in this fun, 15-Minute book for young readers.

A chameleon is a lizard, but it is a very strange lizard. They don't look like other lizards. Most lizards have long, round, skinny bodies. Chameleons have bodies that are a little flatter. They also stick up into the air. Many chameleons also have horns or bumps that stick up around their head. Some of them have small bumps and some of them have big ones. Find out more in this fun 15-minute book!

The emu is Australia’s biggest native bird. It is the second biggest bird in the world. The biggest is the ostrich. The emu belongs to the family known as ratites. Ratites are birds that don’t fly and have small wings and flat breastbones. Even though emus can’t fly they can run very fast. They run up to 31 miles per hour (50 kilometres per hour). Find out more about this extraordinary animal!

The kangaroo is a marsupial. A marsupial is an animal that lives in its mother’s pouch after being born. Kangaroos are often called roos for short. The kangaroo has two large back feet. It uses these feet to hop or jump around. The kangaroo also has two smaller front feet. It uses these feet much like we use our hands and arms. Learn more about this amazing animal in this fun, fact-filled book.

Echidnas have spiny hairs all over their body. This makes them look like a porcupine. Echidnas are also covered in fur. Depending on where they live, some are furrier than others. They can vary in color from very light brown to red-brown and right through to black. Did you know that the spines are really hairs? They are just very large and strong hairs. Find out more about the amazing echidna!

The koala is a small animal that lives in trees. It is a native animal of Australia. The adult male Koala is called a buck. The adult female is called a doe. A young koala is a joey. There are two types of koalas. This book will tell you what a koala is, where it lives, what it eats, who are its enemies, how babies are born and raised, and some fun facts. For early readers.

An alligator is an animal that looks like a huge lizard. Alligators have thick, hard skin across the entire top of their body. This skin is greenish brown in color. It is covered with bony plates called scutes. These scutes help protect the alligator just like a turtle's shell protects the turtle. The skin on an alligator's belly is much softer and thinner. Educational Vers. have CCSS activities

How would you like to live your life in a suit of armor? That is what an armadillo does. An armadillo is an animal that is covered in armor. It has bony plates around its body to protect it. The plates are hard, like a turtle's shell. The armadillo looks a bit like an anteater. That’s because it is a cousin of the anteater. Armadillos have very long noses. Educational Versions have CCSS activities

A badger is an animal. It looks like a cross between a skunk and a dog. They have a long nose. They use it to stick into holes they have dug. This lets them reach the insects they find underground. Badgers have a funny looking face. It is mostly black, but has white stripes. That helps them to hide in the nighttime shadows. Educational Versions have CCSS activities.