Zoo Animal Series Now Digital

These six books in my Zoo Animals series were published by Carolrhoda (Lerner) in 1999 but have been out of print for some time.  I am always sad when my books go out of print so I am thrilled to have this series available again, now in a digital format.  The new versions, published by StarWalk KidsMedia, can be downloaded from Amazon for your Kindle.  They are also in the StarWalk KidsMedia catalogue available for school and library and home subscription.  They are perfect as read-alouds for young children and to be read alone by children in the primary grades.

The books in this series are illustrated with wonderful photographs by Richard Hewett.  We spent many hours together at zoos watching animals and waiting for just the right moment to take a picture. It is important to have LOTS of patience when photographing animals. You can't ask an elephant to "just turn a little more this way, please!" Even though the photos look as if we were close to the animals, we were always safely on the other side of a fence or inside a vehicle. Richard used a telephoto lens to make the animals seem close-up. While he took pictures, I watched and listened to the animals and took notes that later helped me to write the books.

Click on the links below for the Amazon pages for these books.

•  Playtime for Zoo Animals  
• Mealtime for Zoo Animals
• Splashtime for Zoo Animals
• Noisytime for Zoo Animals
• Sleepytime for Zoo Animals
• Mother and Baby Zoo Animals

You can go also directly to Amazon from the book pages at StarWalk KidsMedia or you can find the links to the books on my website www.carolinearnold.com .

New Life for OP Books at StarWalk Kids Media

At StarWalk Reader, the child can choose the reading mode--Read to Me, Let Me Read, or Auto Play

I was delighted by the launch of StarWalk Kids Media Digital Library last week and to see many of my out-of-print books getting a new life. Nine of my books are currently in the catalog and more will be added in the coming year. The books have been redesigned with a contemporary look for today's readers and can be used in a variety of ways–to read alone, to listen to, or on auto-play.

All of the StarWalk Kids titles will also available on Amazon as Kindle books.  You can search by title on Amazon or link directly from the StarWalk Kids catalog.

StarWalk Kids Media was co-founded by children's science author Seymour Simon and Liz Nealon, the former Creative Director of Sesame Street.  I have known Seymour for many years, since the days when we both published at Morrow Junior Books. The catalog of StarWalk Kids includes books by Seymour Simon as well as by David Adler, Stephanie Calmenson, Joanna Cole, Doug Cushman, Diane deGroat, Johanna Hurwitz, Kathryn Lasky, Stan Mack, Doreen Rappaport, Hudson Talbott, Laura Vaccaro Seeger and more.  Read more about StarWalk Kids Media in this excellent article in School Library Journal.

The books are available via the browser-based StarWalk Reader, which works on most devices, including desktop and laptop computers, tablets, smartphones, and interactive whiteboards. It’s anytime access—students with an account can log in from home or anywhere they have an Internet connection. And multiple users, whole classes, can read the same title simultaneously.

Designed for classroom use, the books accommodate note taking and highlighting. Educators can search for books by author, title, keyword, subject, Lexile level, alphabetic reading level, and Common Core (CC) State Standards links. An especially handy feature for younger users is the ability to navigate by thumbnail images of each page, which appear along the bottom of the Reader. “Teaching Links” match each title to relevant CC standards and provide suggested activities.

Caroline Arnold titles now available at StarWalk Kids:

• Sun Fun
• Playtime for Zoo Animals
• Mealtime for Zoo Animals
• Splashtime for Zoo Animals
• Noisytime for Zoo Animals
• Sleepytime for Zoo Animals
• Mother and Baby Zoo Animal
• Wild Goat
• Tule Elk