What Lives in a Shell? »

Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld's books include Did Dinosaurs Have Feathers?, Terrible Tyrannosaurs, and Dinosaur Babies, which School Library Journal said "will be welcomed with deserved delight by young dinophiles." She has also written Dinosaur Parents, Dinosaur Young, an ALA Notable Book. Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld lives in Berkeley, California.

What makes a shell like a house?

A house is a home for you, a nest is a home for a bird, and a cave is a home for a bear. But for some animals a shell is a home. Snails and turtles and crabs and clams all have shells that act as their homes and protect them from harm. In this book you'll learn all about these and other crustaceous creatures, for whom a shell is just the right sort of home.

Science Books and Films

Using interesting and accurate illustrations and just the right words, this book first introduces the idea of a home for an animal and then covers shells as the home of snails, turtles, crabs, clams, and oysters. Included are issues such as shell growth, locomotion with a bulky shell, and the shell as a protective device. The science here is good, and the explanations should cause young readers to want to learn more.