A nocturnal animal unit can be used at any time of year, although I especially love it in the fall when animals such as owls and bats are often featured. Here are some of my favorite books from our nocturnal animal theme. Most are nonfiction while a couple are hilarious fiction books with a few unforgettable nocturnal animal facts!
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Just choose books based on your child’s age and what you think will engage your child’s interest. I recommend checking out the “Look Inside the Book” feature on Amazon and reading reviews there. Another place to learn about a book is on YouTube. You can typically see the entire book there. If you live outside the U.S., be sure to check out Book Depository for great prices and free worldwide delivery.
Montessori-friendly books use photos or realistic illustrations. They don’t have talking animals or a lot of fantasy. But many books that have fantasy and talking animals are wonderful books, and I love sharing them with children who understand the difference between fantasy and reality.
I usually have a majority of Montessori-friendly books for a theme, but I include a variety of books that might not be Montessori-style books but that are simply lots of fun or are classic books that I consider an important part of cultural literacy. For toddlers and preschoolers, about ¾ of the books I use are typically Montessori friendly.
Favorite Books for a Nocturnal Animal Theme
I’m featuring some books here that are about animals in general and mainly books about nocturnal animals.
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Books for a Nocturnal Animal Theme
Forward-Facing Book Display (similar style)
Nocturnal Animal Books (or General Reference Books with Good Information About Nocturnal Animals) We’re Using:
Top Shelf of Forward -Facing Display:
- First Animal Encyclopedia: A First Reference Guide to the Animals of the World (Helpful information on specific animals in the book that are nocturnal.)
- The Animal Book: A Visual Encyclopedia of Life on Earth (Again, helpful information on specific animals in the book that are nocturnal.)
- Nocturnal Animals
2nd Shelf:
- The Little Book of Night-Time Animal Sounds and all the other books in the series are some of my grandkids’ very favorite books!
- Where Are the Night Animals? (an easy-to-understand book with many nocturnal animal facts)
- Owls by Gail Gibbons
3rd Shelf:
- Nighttime Animals (DK Readers Pre-Level 1)
- After Dark: Poems About Nocturnal Animals
- Daytime Nighttime, All Through the Year
4th Shelf:
- Night Animals (This book and Night Animals Need Sleep Too are hilarious! My grandkids all love these two books and have requested them a number of times.)
- Night Animals Need Sleep Too
Bottom Shelf
- Forest Bright, Forest Night is a fun book because you have to turn it over to read about the animals from the opposite time of day (or night). The diurnal and nocturnal animal sort in our main nocturnal animal post was designed to go with the book
- Moonlight Animals (This is a fun book because of the “flashlight” effect. “Move the magic light beam to find the hidden animals.”)
- The Tasty Treat: The Nocturnals Grow & Read Early Reader, Level 1 (There’s a boxed set and whole series at different reading levels of The Nocturnals.)
More books we used to find pages about specific nocturnal animals:
- “Animals after dark” pages from DK’s My Encyclopedia of Very Important Things
- The Big Book of Beasts
- Nature Anatomy: The Curious Parts and Pieces of the Natural World
- DK’s Animal Atlas
You can also see lots of nocturnal animal books I’ve used and new books as they’re published here.
More Nocturnal Animal Resources
Free Nocturnal Animal Printables and Montessori-Inspired Nocturnal Animal Activities
Montessori-Inspired Nocturnal Animal Pack for DIY Cards and Counters, Number or Letter Matching, Number or Letter Basket, Bead Bar Work, Hands-on Math Operations, Number or Letter Salt/Sand Writing Tray, Letter Tracing, DIY Movable Alphabet, and Creative Writing (subscriber freebie, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password – or check your inbox if you’re already a subscriber).
Free Woodland Animals and Montessori-Inspired Woodland Printables (Not all woodland animals are nocturnal, but this includes some that are, such as the fox and hedgehog.)
Montessori-Inspired Owl Unit with Free Printables and Activities
Free Raccoon Printables and Montessori-Inspired Raccoon Activities
Free Bat Printables and Montessori-Inspired Bat Activities
HELPFUL ANIMAL CLASSIFICATION POSTS
- Living and Non-Living
- Plant and Animal Sorting
- Montessori Animal Classification
- Free Zoo Printables and Montessori-Inspired Zoo Activities
- Montessori-Inspired Animal Units
Learn more about my eBook Montessori at Home or School: How to. Teach Grace and Courtesy!
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