Prairie Dogs
Prairie dogs are an unusual animal seen in Mexico and the southwestern United States. A storytime offers a great opportunity to include factual books that make great readalouds. For a craft project, make these pop-up prairie dogs: Prairie Projects: Prairie Dogs and Compass Plants – Kindernature.
Baylor, Byrd. Amigo. Desperate for a pet, Amigo captures and tries to train a prairie dog.
Eggers, Dave. Abner & Ian Get Right-Side Up. A duck and a prairie dog are stuck in a book sideways, so they ask the reader to shake the book until their feet are on the ground.
Marino, Gianna. The Outside. Earl warns the other prairie dogs that it is not safe to play outside because of the coyotes.
Martinez, Claudia Guadalupe. Not a Dog. This simple, factual book describes prairie dogs while also showing various shapes and some Spanish vocabulary.
Redmond, Shirley-Raye. Pup’s Prairie Home. What to do when a prairie dog decides he doesn’t way to live in a hole anymore?
Roth, Susan L. Prairie Dog Song: The Key to Saving North America’s Grasslands. Using a cumulative text similar to the song “The Green Grass Grows All Around,” this shows how important prairie dogs are to the environment.
Stevens, Janet. The Great Fuzz Frenzy. A tennis ball drops into a prairie dog hole, which makes the prairie dogs compete to get some of that fuzz off the ball.
Penny Peck, San Jose State University iSchool