Reference Material

[Karen]

I am hoping someone has some ideas about this...I am looking for a resource to go to, on-line or in print, when my 3yo dd has questions about animals. If we are talking about elephants and she asks "Do elephants hurt people?" (That is her favorite line of questioning at this time 8o ) or something else about the animal's behavior, I'd like to be able to look it up somewhere and read about elephants. When I was young we had World Book Encyclopedia we could go to. What do people use now for reference books in the home? Are there any good websites with this information?

TIA, Karen

[KarlaB]

A friend ordered Zoobooks for her dd - I see the commercials for them on tv....maybe try their website and see if they give info there without having to buy their magazine. www.zoobooks.com Good luck!! :)

[imamama]

Here's the world book site http://www2.worldbook.com/
you can order the print version or subscribe online for $49.95/year 8o . I was thinking there was a CD-rom you could buy, too. There may be and I just missed it.
Good luck. Let us know what you go with. I've been wondering the same thing... we also had the set growing up... but I don't think I want to pay that much... plus, if you get a CD-rom, you may be able to get updates to it? Not sure...
Anyway, good luck!

[reesie80]

Reference materials is my specialty!! I am a children's librarian, and it seems that all I do is answer these sort of questions. I love the idea about zoobooks; they have been around for years and are an excellent source of information and sometimes activities. If you don't want to purchase the books or magazine, check your local library.

In addition to the world book website that was mentioned, there is also encylopedia britanica's website, which is http://www.britanica.com and will offer limited access free of charge, and then full access with membership. Keep in mind that many of the larger libraries subscribe to these web-based encyclopedias for their patrons.

If you are looking for books at your public library, all of the animal books are in the call number 590 through 599.99, starting with animals in general then moving through the sea creatures to reptiles/amphibians, and mammals at about call number 595. This holds true as long as your public library uses the dewey decimal system. Check out the childrens non-fiction section and see what you can find. Good luck with your inquiring mind!!

Jeez, I think I've been at the library way too long! :\

[Karen]

You guys are awesome. Thank you so much. All three sites are wonderful and have at least some info available free on-line. I was able to pull up relevant information on the World Book site, so I may stay with that for awhile, just accessing it on-line. I think I should wait until she's a little older to put out the $$$ for a full set or subscription. We do get "Your Big Backyard", a publication of NWF http://www.nwf.org/kids/
The Zoonotes look very good too. I'm definitely going to look at the library, since I am trying to fight my tendency to subscribe to everything!!

And, reesie80, we found our Mammal book exactly where you said it would be! Thanks.