Nocturnal Animal Read Alouds

Are you looking for a few nocturnal animal read alouds? These are some of the best books I have come across to introduce night animals.

Night Animals

Night Animals has to be one of our ALL-TIME favorite read-alouds. While we are learning about nocturnal animals it is one of the first books introduced. It is a quick read, so I am more than happy to read it every day during storytime and it is always requested. In this story, the night animals, are hiding from night animals until they realize they are night animals! The expressions on the animals’ faces and the pure silliness that ensues make this a joy to read and a must-have book for your library!

Owl Babies

Three Owl Babies, Sarah, Percy, and Bill find themselves alone in their tree while Mama is gone. They wait nervously for her to return. By the end of the book, we get to know the three owl babies’ personalities. This is another fairly quick read and the illustrations are beautiful.

While the World is Sleeping

While the World is Sleeping is a story of an owl who takes a young boy on a nighttime adventure to see what the night animals are doing. The simple rhyming text makes this an easy read-aloud for preschoolers and the night animals are beautifully illustrated.

Little Owl’s Night

In Little Owl’s Night, Little Owl takes us on an adventure to see all of the wonderful things happening around him at night. The text is simple, the illustrations are big and colorful, and we get a glimpse at a few of the different forest habitats.

Stellaluna

When Stellaluna is a baby her mother is flying to find them food and is attacked by another bird. She drops Stellaluna and her new wings are not yet ready to fly. She lands in a nest of baby birds. The mother bird insists that Stellaluna behaves like a good bird, she cannot hang by her feet, she has to eat insects and must sleep during the night. I love the way this book talks about the differences between birds and bats.

Where Are the Night Animals

The non-fiction book Where Are the Night Animals? has simple easy text. Each page describes what different animals are doing during the night. We get a glimpse of what coyotes, opossums, raccoons, skunks, owls, and bats are doing.

Nightsong

Nightsong is the one read-aloud that I feel is for a bit of an older class, but it is not to be missed. The book simplifies how bats see at night and how they use their sense to navigate the darkness. It tells the story of a young bat going out into the night for the first time. The illustrations are amazing.

Grab a few of these nocturnal animal read-alouds for your classroom library. Purchase through my Amazon affiliate links or check them out at your local library!