Connect Reading & Science with 12 Fun Learning Activities from The Nocturnals Book Series.
Turnkey Activities STEM and Makerspace Activities
• Hold a Book Club with Discussion Questions. • Discover the Truth about a Mythical • Fill in the Story & Create Your Own Adventure! Dinosaur. • Write a Rap or Give a Cheer for Your • Draw Your Own Images of Favorite Nocturnal! The Nocturnals Animals to Create • Discover New Words with Ominous Eye Trading Cards. Vocabulary Word Search. • Create Nocturnal Brigade Masks! • Learn How to Draw Bismark. • Use Nocturnal Animal Bingo & Learn • Perform The Nocturnals Reader’s Theater. Wacky Animal Facts! • Improve Emerging Reader Skills with Four • Play the Endangered Animal Sight Word Games. Matching Game!
Middle Grade Books Grow & Read Early Readers
Fountas and Pinnell Range S–T | Lexile Level Range 530L–630L Fountas and Pinnell Range L–P | Lexile Level Range 380L–520L AR Quiz Available for The Mysterious Abductions (ATOS 4.2) and The Ominous Eye (ATOS 4.4)
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Middle Grade Books Ages 7-12 Trim: 5 ½'' x 8 ¼'' • Hardcover $15.99 • Paperback $8.99 • ebooks available for all titles Bonus paperback content includes animal glossary, author Q&A, and more
Book 1 Book 2 Book 3 Book 4 The Mysterious Abductions The Ominous Eye The Fallen Star The Hidden Kingdom AR Quiz – ATOS 4.2 AR Quiz – ATOS 4.4 Lexile Ranking: 630L Lexile Ranking: 630L Lexile Ranking: 530L Lexile Ranking: 580L Fountas & Pinnell Level S Fountas & Pinnell Level T Fountas & Pinnell Level S Fountas & Pinnell Level T 208 pages | Over 23 four-color illus. 208 pages | Over 50 four-color illus. 232 pages | Over 34 four-color illus. 208 pages | Over 27 four-color illus. HC ISBN: 978-1-944020-05-7 HC ISBN: 978-1-944020-11-8 HC ISBN: 978-1-944020-00-2 HC ISBN: 978-1-944020-03-3 PB ISBN: 978-1-944020-07-1 PB ISBN: 978-1-944020-13-2 PB ISBN: 978-1-944020-02-6 PB ISBN: 978-1-944020-10-1
Grow & Read Early Reader Books Ages 5-7 Trim: 6'' x 9'' • Paper Over Board $12.99 • Paperback $5.99 Four-color illustrations throughout Bonus Nocturnals Fun Facts in each book!
The Tasty Treat The Moonlight Meeting The Slithery Shakedown The Peculiar Possum The Chestnut Challenge The Kooky Kinkajou Lexile Ranking 380L Lexile Ranking: 480L Lexile Ranking: 440L Lexile Ranking: 470L Lexile Ranking 520L Lexile Ranking 500L Fountas & Pinnell L Fountas & Pinnell Level L Fountas & Pinnell Level M Fountas & Pinnell Level P Fountas & Pinnell N Fountas & Pinnell L HC ISBN: HC ISBN: HC ISBN: HC ISBN: HC ISBN: HC ISBN: 978-1-944020-29-3 978-1-944020-15-6 978-1-944020-17-0 978-1-944020-19-4 978-1-944020-22-4 978-1-944020-25-5 PB ISBN: PB ISBN: PB ISBN: PB ISBN: PB ISBN: PB ISBN: 978-1-944020-30-9 978-1-944020-14-9 978-1-944020-16-3 978-1-944020-20-0 978-1-944020-23-1 978-1-944020-24-8
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Product Sheet.indd 1 2/21/20 4:20 PM THE MYSTERIOUS ABDUCTIONS BOOK CLUB QUESTIONS
1. Dawn, Bismark, and To- 6. Dawn is the leader of the Brigade. What does she do to bin make up a team, the bring the animals together as a team? What does she do when Nocturnal Brigade. How she meets Ciro, the coyote? How does she talk to Boris, the did the Brigade meet? What crocodile when she meets him? Do the animals respect her? qualities do each of those three characters possess 7. When Tobin first meets Cora, the wombat, Cora is afraid that help make them work to speak. How does Tobin try to coax her out of her shyness? so well together? Do they What things could you reveal about yourself that might make have qualities that might someone in your life feel less shy around you? hurt the team? 8. Why don’t Dawn and Bismark trust Jerry, the jerboa? What does he do to the Brigade that makes them worry 2. The book takes place at night and all of the characters are about his character? Does he redeem himself in the book? nocturnal. Can you think of reasons it might be good for ani- mals to be awake at night? Can you think of characteristics 9. Bismark speaks many languages, as do the bats. What lan- in Dawn, the fox, Bismark, the sugar glider and Tobin, the guages are in the book? Are you able to give examples of pangolin that are important to their nighttime survival? phrases in any of these languages? Can you come up with some new phrases that Bismark might say? Can you come up 3. If you were to pick one character from The Mysterious with some that the bats might say? Abductions who is the most like you, who would it be and why? Who is the most unlike you and why? Which 10. Explain the rules of NOC HOC. Which animals are used character from the book would you most want as your as equipment in the game? Discuss the actions of the offense friend and why? and defense.
4. What are your favorite locations in the book and why? If 11. What happens to Boris in the final scenes of The Mysteri- you could visit the world of The Nocturnal Brigade, which ous Abductions? What are the other characters’ responses to things from the book would you most want to see? Where his actions? How would you have handled Boris? do you think these animals might live in the real world? 12. What things in the book would you have done like the 5. Bismark is an outspoken character. He boasts about his Brigade? What things would you have done differently? own superior qualities and his affections for Dawn. Do you think Bismark is actually a confident character? If so, why? 13.Discuss the meaning of poaching and endangered species If no, why not? in the wild. Are any of the animals endangered species? Why is poaching wrong? How do both affect the environment?
The Mysterious Abductions PB ISBN 978-1-944020-02-6 AR Quiz – 4.2 ATOS | Lexile 530L www.fabledfilms.com Fountas & Pinnell S www.nocturnalsworld.com
The Mysterious Abductions_Book Club Questions Flyer.indd 1 2/21/20 3:59 PM THE OMINOUS EYE BOOK CLUB QUESTIONS
1. Define the word “omi- 6. How is Dawn the voice of reason within the Brigade? nous” and discuss the How does the “beast” almost destroy these qualities in her? qualities of mystery, horror Does the dangerous situation strengthen or weaken Dawn as and adventure. Does The a leader throughout the story? How so? Ominous Eye fit in these genres? What other genres 7. Who is the real source of the destruction and mayhem would the novel fit? What in the valley? What clues help you discover that there is no genres would it not fit? “beast”? How does Dawn discover the real source? How does Dawn deal with Polyphema? 2. Tobin thinks the outline of the animal at the bottom 8. Discuss the concept of fear and what role it plays in the sto- of the crater is a dragon, ry. What do the animals learn about fear from Polyphema’s a creature he has heard about in myths. Dawn thinks that false story? What does Polyphema learn from the Brigade? dragons are an “invention of storytellers.” Use books in the Can you think of other animal fables with similar lessons? library or sites on the internet to find a dragon myth and dis- cuss the roles dragons play in mythology. 9. If you were to pick one character from the book who is the most like you, who would it be and why? Who is the most 3. Polyphema gains control over the animals. How is she unlike you and why? Which character from the book would able to do this? Why does she do it? How does each member you most want as your friend and why? of the Brigade respond differently to Polyphema’s control? 10. The Nocturnal Brigade wears capes when they set out to 4. Polyphema is named after one of the most well-known solve a mystery. What is the purpose of the capes? Do you cyclopes in Greek mythology, Polyphemus. He and his think it makes the Brigade more courageous and brave? Can fellow cyclopes are described in Bulfinch’s Mythology as you think of other examples of stories where the characters giants who have one round eye in the middle of the forehead. wear special garments to help them feel brave? In Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, Polyphemus is blinded by the hero, Ulysses. Knowing this background information, 11. What things in the book would you have done like the do you think this is a good namesake for Polyphema? Why Brigade? What things would you have done differently? or why not? Use books in the library or sites on the internet to support your disuccusion. 12. Discuss the role humor plays in The Ominous Eye, both for you as the reader and for the characters. What characters 5. How does Polyphema use Otto, the owl, to create fur- do you find the most humorous? What part did you find the ther panic? Does her plan work? What role does Otto play most humorous? How would the book be different without in helping the Brigade discover the truth? humor?
The Ominous Eye PB ISBN 978-1-944020-10-1 AR Quiz – 4.4 ATOS | Lexile 580L www.fabledfilms.com Fountas & Pinnell T www.nocturnalsworld.com
Ominous Eye_Book Club Questions Flyer.indd 1 2/21/20 3:59 PM Tuatara: A Living Fossil Interview with Polyphema
Act as if you are interviewing Polyphema the Tuatara. Use the information and resources in the following article to help with Polyphema’s responses.
1. I understand you are usually awake at night. I appreciate you staying up to help me with my interview. First, can you introduce yourself and share how old you are?
2. I think it’s cool you have a third eye! What do you use it for?
3. How did you get your name? How is it significant in the book The Ominous Eye?
4. Could you describe what you like to eat at meals?
5. Where are you from? What does your home look like?
6. What do you do to keep busy during the night?
7. How can we, as humans, help so that you are not an endangered species?
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Educator Science Guide 2020.indd 1 2/21/20 3:43 PM Tuatara: A Living Fossil Interview with Polyphema
What does a Tuatara look like? Where do tuataras live? A tuatara is a reptile that can range in color They can only be found in New Zealand. Tua- from olive-green to gray, blackish-brown, or taras were once found across the New Zealand pinkish. Tuataras are marked with pale speckles mainland, but now they can only be located on its on their bodies and have a crest of spiky scales, offshore islands. They live in coastal called spines, which runs down the center of forest areas where there is low scrub and crumbly their back and tail. Tuatara is a native Maori soil into which they can burrow. Tuataras will word meaning “peaks on back,” which is how either build their own burrows or will move into these creatures received their name. Tuataras one of a nesting seabird. have a large head, a stout body, sharp claws, and a thick tail. Male tuataras are larger than females and have more prominent spines that they can fan out to attract females. On average, a tuatara grows to fifty to eighty centimeters long and weighs between .45 and 1.3 kilograms. What do tuataras have to do with mythology? How old can tuataras live to be? An extraordinary characteristic of tuataras is These incredible animals are believed to have life their “third eye” on top of their head. Although spans of up to one hundred years in the wild. it has a retina, lens, and nerve endings, this eye They grow slowly and don’t stop growing until is not used for seeing. It is called a parietal eye, they are approximately thirty years old. Tuataras which is sensitive to light and helps the tuatara reach maturity when they are between thirteen judge what time of day or what season it is. and twenty years old.
Because of her “third eye,” Polyphema the Tua- tara is named after one of the most well-known How do tuataras prepare cyclopes in Greek mythology, Polyphemus. He and his fellow cyclopes are described in Bulfinch’s nests for their eggs? Mythology as giants who have one round eye Females dig a shallow nest chamber in sunny, in the middle of the forehead. Polyphemus is a open patches of soil or gravel. Nests are fitting namesake as tuataras can’t actually see out approximately eight to ten centimeters wide and of the eye on their forehead, and in Homer’s epic ten centimeters or less in depth. Nesting occurs poem The Odyssey, the cyclops Polyphemus is between early October and mid-December. Every blinded by the hero Ulysses. two to five years, female tuataras lay one to nine-
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Educator Science Guide 2020.indd 2 2/21/20 3:43 PM teen white, soft-shelled Global climate change is also having an effect on Tuatara: A Living Fossil eggs in nesting burrows. the tuatara population. Temperatures have been This egg clutch is usu- increasing leading to a low genetic diversity. More Interview with Polyphema ally covered with leaves males are being born than females. and grass and left alone to incubate. Twelve to fifteen months later, the Is the tuatara a lizard? eggs will hatch. The tem- Although the tuatara looks like a lizard, it is a perature of each egg dur- reptile. Tuataras are quite different from lizards ing incubation determines in that they have no external ears, they like cooler if the hatchling will be male or female. Warmer weather, and they are nocturnal. temperatures tend to produce males, and cooler temperatures tend to produce females. Why do people call tuataras What do tuataras eat? “living fossils”? Tuataras have two rows of teeth on their upper Tuataras are one of the most unique animals in the jaw and one row on their lower jaw, and these world. Their closest relatives are an extinct group teeth are used for eating. They primarily eat of reptiles that lived around the time of the insects, especially beetles, but have been known dinosaurs, 200 million years ago. to eat lizards, birds, and bird eggs. Tuataras will come out of their burrow during the day to bask in the sun but are more active at night when their food is more readily available. However, young tuataras will hunt during the day to avoid being eaten by the adults. What dangers to tuataras face? The most serious threat to tuataras is rats. Two specific types of rats introduced to New Zealand have become the tuataras’ main predators. Kiore rats are nest robbers and Helpful Resources will take eggs and small hatchlings. Norway San Diego Zoo – Tuatara: http://animals.sandi- rats will eat and destroy whatever is available. egozoo.org/animals/tuatara Because of their length of incubation, eggs and hatchlings are more vulnerable to New Zealand Department of Conservation: predators. Tuatara populations dwindle when http://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/ rat populations are high. reptiles-and-frogs/tuatara/
Another threat to the tuatara is habitat Wildscreen Archive – Tuatara: http://www.doc.govt. destruction. People are constantly building and nz/nature/native-animals/reptiles-and-frogs/tuatara/ expanding. With the building of structures such as lighthouses, the tuataras’ habitat is decreasing. Bulfinch’s Mythology by Thomas Bulfinch
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Educator Science Guide 2020.indd 3 2/21/20 3:43 PM reveals the characteristics expressed by Bismark. Write and perform a rap about the Nocturnal Brigade that View a picture of Bismark doing something silly. WRITE A RAP FOR BISMARK be—” (p. 13 adventure… we can be brave in challenge… we can Bismark says to Tobin, “We can be bold in
RAP The Mysterious Abductions & CHEER www.nocturnalsworld.com ) and write a cheer for each team to use in the final showdown. Use information from the text about players of NOC HOC View a picture of the animals at game. OR THE CROCODILES! GIVE A CHEER FOR THE NOCTURNALS www.fabledfilms.com
excitement.” (p. 191 “The bleachers were boiling with anticipation and The Mysterious Abductions )
PB 5 FILL IN THE STORY GAME
Directions: Take turns choosing a word How to Become a Member of for each part of the speech to help the The Nocturnal Brigade Nocturnal Brigade fill in the story. If you’re playing alone, fold along the Do you want to join the Nocturnal Brigade? Great! You will dotted lines to hide the story. ADJECTIVE be with Dawn the fox, Tobin the pangolin, Bismark Adjective: VERB ENDING IN ING aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa the sugar glider and a very brave . Verb ending in ing: NAME OF SOMEONE IN THE ROOM ANIMAL Name of someone in the room:
The Nocturnals follow these guidelines in our daily adventures. Animal: ADJECTIVE Adjective: 1. Members always meet at night in front of the big when the NOUN Noun: moon is and the stars are . ADJECTIVE ADJECTIVE Adjective:
Adjective: 2. The group a cape made from snakeskin PAST TENSE VERB ADJECTIVE Past tense verbs: that Bismark took from one of our who at- ADVERB PLURAL NOUN Adjective: tacked him in the forest. ADJECTIVE Adverb:
3. We like to eat pomelos, a/an fruit that Plural noun: ADJECTIVE ADJECTIVE Adjective: looks like a and tastes like a . NOUN NOUN Adjective:
4. We help other animals when they are in trouble in the Adjective: ADJECTIVE forest that is filled with many . Noun: ADJECTIVE PLURAL NOUN Noun:
So, if you think you can by these guidelines Adjective: VERB then you can be a member of the Nocturnal Brigade! Adjective:
Plural noun:
Verb:
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Nocturnals Fill in Story Flyer.indd 1 2/21/20 4:23 PM Endangered Animals Matching Game!
Where in the world would you find these endangered animals? Draw a line and match the endangered animals to their geographic location. Then read on to discover how you can help save these unique creatures!
Sunda Pgoli New Z alnd
Aye- Southeas Ai
Woylie Northen Af ica & s
Jerboa Australi
Tuatr Madgscr
Check the answer key to see how many animals you matched correctly. Don’t worry if you got less than a perfect score; now you can tell your friends about these unusual endangered animals. Interested in learning more? READ THE FOLLOWING RESOURCES!
www.earthday.org/ • www.worldwildlife.org/initiatives • www.pangolins.org/ • www.nwf.org/
Pangolin – Southeast Asia; Aye-Aye – Madagascar; Woylie – Australia; Jerboa – Northern Africa and Asia; Tuatara – New Zealand Zealand New – Tuatara Asia; and Africa Northern – Jerboa Australia; – Woylie Madagascar; – Aye-Aye Asia; Southeast – Pangolin — ANSWER KEY — KEY ANSWER —
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F03_FF_Noc_Book2_jacket_EB.indd 4 color process TRACEY HECHT
BOOK 2 “Neither fire nor fumes, crest Praise for The Nocturnals Series nor crater, fortress nor foe TRACEY HECHT shall ever come between us!” is a writer and entrepreneur who has “The characters are delightful and the nighttime landscape written, directed and produced for film. is captivating. It was just as I expected—because the best stories always take place in the dark!” She splits her time between Oquossoc, — R.L. Stine The Ominous Eye When a violent jolt fractures the earth, the Maine and New York City. Nocturnal Brigade sets out to investigate its source. Along their journey, Dawn, Bismark, “The Nocturnals is an appealing page-turner for middle-school readers, and Tobin meet an unfamiliar reptile—a combining a likable cadre of unusual animal characters with fast-paced, KATE LIEBMAN clever dialogue and, of course, plenty of suspense.” tuatara named Polyphema—who reveals — BookPage is an artist who lives and works in that a giant beast caused the destruction and
New York City. She graduated from The Ominous Eye will soon strike again. Polyphema with her Yale University, contributes to the special insights, is the only one who can help Brooklyn Rail, and has shown her them stop this fearsome predator… but can work at multiple galleries. She grew she be trusted? up in Santa Monica, California. In The Ominous Eye, the second book in the critically acclaimed middle grade series, the adventures of three unlikely friends—Dawn, a serious fox, Tobin, a sweet pangolin, and Bismark, a loud-mouthed sugar glider—continue with teamwork, friendship, and humor. HECHT The Ominous Eye Word Search
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Jacket design by SJI Associates, Inc. Printed in China
ANGULAR CHIDED MESMERIZED SILHOUETTES ANTICS CONVULSED MUSTERING STALKED ASCENT DISTRAUGHT NIMBLE STAMPEDE BEREAVED ELITE PERFECTIONISM TAWNY BEWILDERMENT ERUPTED PUNCTUATED WARY BULBOUS FIEND QUAKE CAMARADERIE GUTTURAL RECOIL CATAPULTED INSTITUTED RETCH CELEBRATORY INTIMIDATING SHARDS
For More Information: www.nocturnalsworld.com Dawn the Fox Mask Materials & Instructions: 1. Cut out eye holes and face with scissors. 2. Color mask with crayons. 3. Tape a wood craft stick to the back of side.
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nocturnalsworld.com fabledfilms.com #nocturnalsworld Bismark the Sugar Glider Mask Materials & Instructions: 1. Cut out eye holes and face with scissors. 2. Color mask with crayons. 3. Tape a wood craft stick to the back of side.
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nocturnalsworld.com fabledfilms.com #nocturnalsworld Tobin the Pangolin Mask Materials & Instructions: 1. Cut out eye holes and face with scissors. 2. Color mask with crayons. 3. Tape a wood craft stick to the back of side.
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nocturnalsworld.com fabledfilms.com #nocturnalsworld GROW & READ SIGHT WORD GAMES
What Are Sight Words? Sight words are high-frequency words that can be difficult to “sound out.” By learning to recognize sight words, new readers can focus on decoding more complex sentences.
The Nocturnals Sight Word Cards are broken into sets so you can grow the deck as your emerging reader’s confidence grows. All the words appear in The Nocturnals Grow & Read titles and are based on the Fry and Dolch lists—the two sight word lists most widely used in early literacy instruction. Use these cards to play the games below, boosting literacy practice and family fun at the same time!
SILLY VOICES MEMORY Each player draws a card and reads Place the cards facedown. A player the word aloud in a different silly voice, turns over two cards and reads the taking turns until the pile is finished. words aloud.
Read words as Dawn, Tobin, Bismark, or If they match, the player keeps them. another animal. Read with different emotions. If not, the player turns them over and repeats Try reading as a pirate or while holding with different cards, using memory to locate your tongue. the pairs.
GO FISH NOCTURNAL Deal five cards to each player and BRIGADE place the remaining in a “pond” pile. Add one Nocturnal Brigade card to the deck. Players read aloud from one of their cards Shuffle and deal all the cards. and ask another player if he or she has a card with the same word. If so, the player must Each player identifies the pairs he or she has, give over the card; if not, he or she has to “go reading off the words and discarding the pairs. Each fish,” drawing another card from the pond. player takes turns taking a card from the player to the left, reading and discarding pairs as they form. Continue until the pond is empty. The player with the most pairs wins. Continue until all cards are matched and one player has the Nocturnal Brigade card.
www.fabledfilms.com www.nocturnalsworld.com #nocturnalsworld Sight Words Set #1 Sight Words Set #2 was my mean all not it the up
at big out of
Nocturnal Brigade yes you but
Print x 2 Cut out cards NOCTURNALS BINGO BOARDS
www.fabledfilms.com www.nocturnalsworld.com NOCTURNALS BINGO CALL CARDS
www.fabledfilms.com www.nocturnalsworld.com Wacky Animal Facts for
Wacky Animal Facts for The Nocturnals Bingo Game!
Welcome to The Nocturnals Bingo! Get ready to play games with some furry, and not-so-furry, friends. This bingo game is extra special because instead of having letters and numbers, each square has the name of an animal featured in The Nocturnals book series. The game features the three main characters: Dawn, a red fox; Bismark, a sugar glider; and Tobin, a pangolin. It also has all kinds of other creatures—bats, coyotes, crocodiles, and more—on the cards. We’ll call out the name of each animal along with a fun fact about that species, and you can mark it on your board. Fill five squares in a row, and you’re the winner!
Wacky Animal Facts
Pangolin Sugar Glider Red Fox Crocodile • Pangolins are cov- • Unlike humans, sugar • Red foxes are the • Dogs aren’t the only ered in scales that gliders don’t need largest species of fox, animals that use look like armor, and flashlights to see in but they’re still barking to commu- while that may look the dark. Because quick on their feet. nicate—crocodiles strange, they’re actu- their eyes are posi- They can run up make a similar noise. ally made of some- tioned on the side of to thirty-five miles They use different thing called keratin. their heads, they have per hour and can barks to commu- Take a look at your excellent night vision. even climb onto the nicate all kinds of fingernails. Your nails branches of trees as things, including a are made of keratin, • While playing in the long as they’re not special bark to warn too, just like Tobin’s mud might sound fun too high up. other crocodiles scales! to you, sugar glid- about danger. ers hate being dirty. • Have you ever seen a • Just like skunks, pan- They’re constantly dog bury a bone and • Sometimes all that golins spray some- cleaning their fur and come back to it later? swimming can make thing smelly when polishing it using a Red foxes like to do a crocodile cold. they feel threatened special substance that this, too. They often Instead of grabbing or scared. This keeps comes out of their hoard and store large a towel to warm up, predators from get- eyes. amounts of food in they like to lie in the ting too close. different locations sun on flat rocks near to find when they’re the water. hungry again.
www.nocturnalsworld.com www.fabledfilms.com Nocturnals Bingo Wacky Animal Facts Nocturnals Bingo Wacky Animal Facts
Tuatara Aye-Aye Kiwi Tarantula • A tuatara might look • Aye-ayes are known • Kiwis can’t see as well (spider) like an ordinary for their gigantic tails, as humans and have • Scared of a tarantula’s reptile from far away, which are often more very poor eyesight. bite? Don’t be! A but if you look a little than double the size To identify their sur- tarantula’s main form closer, you can see of the rest of their roundings, they use of attack is shooting that the tuatara has body. their keen sense of the tiny barbed hairs something that sets smell and little whis- on its body at attack- it apart from other • Aye-ayes might look kers on the base of ers. reptiles—a third eye like rodents at first, their bill, which allow on the top of its head. but they’re actu- them to feel around. • Tarantulas might ally primates, which look a little scary, but • The name “tuatara” means that they’re • Unlike some social they’re mostly harm- means “peaks on the related to chimpan- animals, kiwis are less. A bite from a back.” These reptiles zees, apes, and even very shy and solitary. tarantula might hurt a have small spikes humans. They travel in groups little, like being stung running from the top of six to twelve but by a bee, but it’s not of their necks to the like to seek shelter in poisonous. end of their tails. their own burrows and will usually hide from other animals.
Blue-Bellied Bat Scorpion Coyote Snake • If you snacked like a • Missing your night- • While coyotes are • These snakes might bat, you’d eat your light? Scorpions glow known for being fast look a little scary, but weight in insects blue underneath UV on land—they can they’re not mean. every day. An average light because of fluo- run up to forty miles Blue-bellied snakes bat can eat more than rescent chemicals in per hour—they’re are naturally shy and a thousand insects their exoskeletons. also great swimmers! won’t bite unless per hour. That’s a lot They’ve even colo- they’re threatened. of bugs! • Hungry? Scorpions nized islands! can go six to twelve • You won’t find a • Some people think of months without • Coyotes have a hard Blue-bellied snake bats as being related eating. They’ll eat time being quiet. in your backyard or to vampires because one huge meal and They’re known for garden. Blue-bellied they feed on blood, store it and burn it their loud calls and snakes are native to but most bats subsist slowly over time. make over eleven Australia and can be on fruit and insects. different noises with found in inland areas distinctive meanings. in the Southeast. Nocturnals Bingo Wacky Animal Facts Nocturnals Bingo Wacky Animal Facts
Jerboa Wombat Falcon Owl • Don’t let size fool • Like many other • Falcons aren’t picky • If you try to do you! While the jerboa nocturnal mam- about where they something sneaky may only be a few mals, wombats could live. You can find behind an owl’s back, inches tall, it can benefit from a pair them in forests, des- chances are it’ll catch jump up to ten feet! of glasses. They have erts, tundras, moun- you. Owls can ro- poor eyesight but tains, and just about tate their heads 270 • Jerboas have excel- make up for it with everywhere else. degrees, almost all the lent hearing and use great hearing and a way around, so they sounds and even keen sense of smell. • A little-known fact don’t miss a thing. vibrations to about falcons is that understand their • Wombats love be- they’re excellent sing- • Owls are known surroundings and ing underground. ers. Pairs of falcons for swallowing their to communicate. They’re known for are known for singing prey whole and then constructing elabo- duets before sunrise spitting up the bones rate tunnel systems in as a way to let other later. Yuck! the deep sand. falcons know where their territory is.
Sloth Tasmanian Boar Crab • Sloths aren’t exactly Devil • You wouldn’t want • A lot of crabs walk full of energy. They • Tasmanian devils are to give a piggyback sideways, which can sleep about fifteen known for making ride to a boar. They look a little strange. hours a day. loud shrieks and calls can weigh over 600 However, some can that can sound a little pounds! walk forward and • If you ever gave a scary, which is partly backward, and some sloth a lollipop to why they’re called • Wild boars like to crabs are great swim- lick, it might be gone “devils” in the first live in large groups of mers! pretty quickly, since place. six to twenty, called sloths can extend sounders. Females are • A crab would make their tongues a full • Tasmanian devils like more likely to stick to an excellent band foot out of their to sleep under rocks the pack and protect member since crabs mouths. or in caves, logs, and their babies, while mostly communicate burrows. They can males tend to leave the through drumming. only be found in sounder and venture They also snap and Tasmania, an island in out on their own. wave their pincers. Australia. Nocturnals Bingo Wacky Animal Facts
Wolf Fish Milk Snake Honey Badger Flock • The wolf fish is not • Milk snakes are on • Honey badgers have • A flock of owls is your average sea the larger side, grow- long claws on each called a parliament, creature. Some spe- ing up to sixty inches of their four feet. but you won’t see cies of wolf fish can long. That’s one big These claws help one very often. Owls be up to four feet reptile! them run quickly, are usually solitary long and way up to scoop out fruit, and creatures, preferring eighty-eight pounds. • These creatures are grab prey. to spend time alone called “milk” snakes rather than in a flock. • A dentist would have because they’re • These creatures are a hard time with a commonly found called honey bad- • The term for a flock wolf fish since they near barns, so farm- gers because they’re of vultures changes have large fangs ers used to think known for preying depending on what flanked by three rows they drank cows’ on beehives and eat- they’re doing. Vultures of teeth on each jaw. milk. ing the bee eggs and in flight are called a honey inside. kettle, those in trees are called a committee, and those that are eat- ing are called a wake.
References and Helpful Links for More Information IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (http://www.iucnredlist.org/), the University of Michigan’s Museum of Zoology Ani- mal Diversity Web (http://animaldiversity.org/), Science Kids (www.sciencekids.co.nz/), Animal Planet (www.animalplanet. com), Animal Corner (http://animalcorner.co.uk/), Live Science (www.livescience.com), the World Wildlife Fund (www. worldwildlife.org), and National Geographic (www.nationalgeographic.com/).
www.nocturnalsworld.com www.fabledfilms.com Cut out activity card DrawCut-out the activity animal cards SUGAR GLIDER PANGOLIN
Petaurus breviceps Manis javanica
Sugar glider Malayan pangolin
WOMBAT FOX
Lasiorhinus krefftii Vulpes vulpes
Northern hairy-nosed wombat Red fox
www.fabledfilms.com ANIMAL TRADING CARDS www.nocturnalsworld.com Cut out activity card DrawCut-out the activity animal cards PANGOLIN SUGER GLIDER
Pangolins are covered from just above their nostrils to the tips Sugar gliders are very small creatures with their head and body of their tails by rows of hard, overlapping, movable sharp- measuring 12-33cm and their tail somewhere between 15-48mm. tipped scales. They are between 79 and 88 cm, including their They have a gliding membrane from the outer side of their tails which are prenhensile (or capable of grasping.) These very forefoot to their ankle of the rear foot, enabling them to glide up rare animals are mainly solitary and very timid. Pangolins move to 45 meters. One of a sugar glider’s most distinguishable traits quickly when threatened and are strong diggers and climbers. is the stripe down their back to the end of their nose and on the sides of their faces.
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FOX WOMBAT
Red foxes are not always red; their coats range in color from a Wombats have thick stocky bodies about 1 m long. These pale yellowish to a deep brown with white or ashy undersides. large headed creatures have small eyes, pointed ears, and long Red foxes are 45-90cm long with tails 30-55cm long. Their whiskers. Wombat’s eat grass with their continuously growing graceful frames can run up to 48km/h and jump up to 2m high. molars. Their bad eyesight and good sense of hearing and smell Foxes often live in dens that have been abandoned by other leads this animal to burry tunnel systems in deep sands. animals
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