Believe it or not, non-fiction books actually work well. Quite well actually. I use them in storytimes primarily with Kindergarten. Some kids like learning facts more than a fictional story. One doesn't need to worry about reading a non-fiction cover to cover (I rarely do)--pull out some of your favorite animals or pages or whatever your criteria is and do those!

"Cuddly Critters for Little Geniuses" has a lot of unique animals in it. For instance, I have never heard of a Potoo before. However, the illustrations are more animated in nature. They are engaging, yes, but sloths aren't purple. Kids prefer to see actual representation of an animal. For this reason, I gave the book a lower rating.

I was planning on using this book in a storytime. But I found others I did like better. ( )