My
Animal
Alphabet
by Nora Jones
Boutique Books
This book is
dedicated to my
dear readers. I hope
it inspires a love of
reading and also a
love of our precious
animals.
Nora Jones
Important words you will need to know.
Carnivorous.
Meat eater, flesh-eating. A wolf is a carnivorous
animal.
Lagoon. An area of shallow water separated from the sea by low
sandy dunes.
Mammal. Mammals are warm-blooded creatures nourished by
their mothers' milk.
Marsupial.
A type of mammal. The female has a pouch to carry
their young.
Nocturnal creature. An animal that is only active at night.
Prey. An animal that is hunted or killed by another for food.
The paper used in this book comes from farmed trees.
Illustrations courtesy of Microsoft Clip Art.
Thanks for reading.
I hope you enjoyed it.
I have more stories in the
pipeline. Here are my details:
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.kidswrite.biz
Phone: 0418 402 150
Nora Jones
Boutique Books
Did you know?
Here are some weird and wonderful animal
facts. Are they all true? It’s up to you to
find out.
The loudest animal of all is the blue whale.
The fear of animals is called zoophobia.
Elephants aren’t really scared of mice. Elephants
are so big, they wouldn’t even know if a mouse was
around.
The largest frog in the world is called the Goliath
frog.
There are more than 50 different kinds of
kangaroos.
A lion roars but a cheetah purrs like a cat.
No two zebras have the exact same stripes.
A mother horse, or mare, is pregnant for 11
months. This is also called being ‘in foal’.
My Animal Alphabet
B
is for alligator. This animal has
short legs and a long body. Oh, and I
almost forgot, very
powerful jaws.
C
is for bear. Bears are
large, furry creatures like your teddy
but you wouldn’t want to cuddle a grizzly.
D
is for cat, usually found purring
on the mat in front of the
fireplace. Mmmm, sounds like
a good idea.
!
E
is for dog, usually seen
chasing sticks and balls in the
park. What fun!
! ! F
is for elephant,
large, mighty and proud but
don’t let one tread on you.
G
is for flamingo. Flamingos
live in lagoons and lakes. A full
grown flamingo can be as tall
as your dad.
H
!
is for giraffe, the tallest
of them all. Don’t get a sore neck
visiting the giraffes at the zoo.
I
is for horse. Horses
!
Happy
Birthday
Horses
Happy
Birthday
Horses
come in all shapes and sizes
and belong to the equus family.
Did you know that all horses
have their birthday on the
same day? There is a huge
party in the paddock every August 1st.
J
!
!
!
is for iguana, a member
of the lizard family.
Some types of iguana can run as fast as
33 kilometres per hour. Would you challenge
Iggy Iguana to a race?
!
K
is for jaguar, one of the
few cats who enjoy swimming.
Anyone for a dip?
!
L
is for koala. A koala is
not a bear but a marsupial that
carries its young in a pouch.
Koalas have sharp claws for tree climbing.
Watch for those claws next time you get a
big koala hug.
M
is for lion, the King
of the Jungle. Leo chases
prey at very high speeds. I hope his crown
doesn’t fall off during the chase!
N
!
!
is for monkey,
so cheeky and playful.
The monkey is one of our closest relatives.
Will you see Chimpy at the next family
reunion?
!
!
!
O
is for numbat, a
small marsupial that eats
termites with a long, sticky tongue.
Doesn’t sound very nice, does it?
P
!
is for owl. Owls are
nocturnal birds of prey that like
to live alone and make hooting noises.
Q. What do you call an owl with a sore
throat? A. A bird that doesn't give a hoot.
!
Q
is for pelican, a
large, heavy bird who has a
huge bill for storing fish.
A bit greedy if you ask me.
!
R
!
is for quokka.
Quokkas live on Rottnest Island which means
‘rat nest’ in Dutch. This is because the Dutch
explorers mistook them for rats.
Not very kind, was it?
S
is for rhinoceros,
a very large animal with a
small brain and a large horn. A charging rhino
is a scary sight. A bit like the canteen
stampede at recess.
T
!
is for snake who has
a long, limbless body and
slithers along the ground. Snakes swallow
their prey whole. Their table manners aren’t
the best!
!
U
!
!
is for tiger, a large
cat with excellent eyesight The tiger comes
from the same family as the family kitty.
Tiggy is just a little bigger!
V
!
W
!
is for unicorn, a magical
and mythical creature from
ancient times.
Do you believe in unicorns?
is for!vampire bat.
These small mammals feed on the blood of
other animals to survive. Don’t worry, you are
safely tucked into your bed during their
dinner time.
X
!
is for whale.
Whales are mammals that live
in the sea.
The most musical whale is the Humpback.
Haven’t you ever heard of a singing whale?
!
Y
is for xenopus, a
carnivorous frog that lives
in Africa.
What’s next? Let’s hop to it.
!
!
!
!
Z
!
is for yak, an animal
that roams the Himalayas.
Anyone for a cup of yak’s
milk?!
Can you guess the last animal in
your alphabet? Drum roll, please..
And finally...
[
is for zebra which is
the horse’s wild and striped
African cousin.
Mmmm... I wonder when the zebra’s
birthday is.
See you on safari!
Male, Female and Groups
Like us, male and female animals have
separate names, like girl and boy. Let’s take
a look at what some of the girls and boys
are called in the animal kingdom. Also, like
us, most animals hang around with their
friends and families. Let’s take a look at
what these groups are called.
Animal
Female
Male
Group
alligator
cow
bull
congregation
bear
sow
boar
sleuth, sloth
elephant
cow
bull
herd, parade
giraffe
doe
bull
herd, tower
horse
mare
stallion
stable, herd
lion
lioness
lion
pride
monkey
female
male
troop, cartload
rhinoceros
cow
bull
crash
tiger
tigress
tiger
ambush, streak
vampire bat
female
male
colony
whale
cow
bull
pod, school, herd
yak
cow
bull
herd
zebra
mare
stallion
herd, crossing
Baby Animal Names
Now that we have met the parents, let’s
meet their babies.
Parent
Baby
Parent
Baby
cat
kitten
owl
owlet
dog
pup
pelican
chick
elephant
calf
quokka
joey
flamingo
chick
rhinoceros
calf
giraffe
calf
snake
snakelet
horse
foal,
tiger
cub
foal?
colt (male),
filly (female)
iguana
hatchling
unicorn
koala
joey
vampire bat pup
jaguar
cub
whale
calf
lion
cub
yak
calf
monkey
infant
xenopus
tadpole
numbat
joey
zebra
foal
Lastly, let’s hope we can work together to save our
animals for the future. They are too precious to lose.