City Critters
Series of 10 titles
From pigeons perching in parks to squirrels scurrying across streets, cities are full of critters! In this fun series, beginning readers will learn how common urban animals find food, make homes, and get along with humans in their downtown homes. Features list the species commonly found in cities, highlight favorite foods, and call out places they use for homes. Young students will love this fact-filled introduction to the cosmopolitan creatures found just down the block!
| Interest Level | Kindergarten - Grade 3 |
|---|---|
| Reading Level | Grade 1 |
| Category | Leveled Readers, Nonfiction |
| Subject | Animals |
| Copyright | 2025 |
| Publisher | Bellwether Media by FlutterBee |
| Imprint | Blastoff! Readers |
| Blastoff! Readers Level | 1 |
| Language | English |
| Number of Pages | 24 |
| Publication Date | 2025-01-01 |
| BISACS | JNF051150 |
|---|---|
| Dewey | 598.8/64-636.5/97 |
| Graphics | Full-color photographs |
| Dimensions | 6.5 x 9 |
| Lexile | 350-470 |
| ATOS Reading Level | 1.2-1.6 |
| Accelerated Reader® Points | 0.5 |
Reviews
Educator Review of City Critters
In this series, the reader learns about specific animals in each book that exist within cities. Each book begins with describing the physical traits of the animal and the types of food the animal eats in the city. The books describe the life of the specific animal in a city habitat, including places the animal lives and where the animal gets food. Each book shows that the animals living in the cities are appreciated by some people and are considered a nuisance by other people.
As a teacher, these books are a dream for students doing research projects because the books are all aligned in the same format. Therefore, a teacher can work on non-fiction text features with students and use different books from the same series. This makes research projects more cohesive and easier to navigate for the young researchers.
These non-fiction books include numerous non-fiction text features to support the reader in understanding the important facts in the book. Some non-fiction text features included in each book are engaging photographs, a table of contents, labels, headings, bold-faced words, a picture glossary, and an index. The real photographs of the animals are engaging to readers of all ages. Make sure you check out these books to learn more about city critters that may live by you!
SLJ Review of City Critters
Urban-dwelling animal lovers will enjoy this series. With usually only two sentences per page, reading is comfortably paced. Some “crit-ters”—pigeons, squirrels, and rats in some locations—are more ubiquitous in cities than others, e.g., rabbits, raccoons, and foxes.
However, city expansion and population growth have led to increased habitat encroachment by humans, resulting in animal populations once more commonly seen in suburban and rural areas. The animal’s appearance, home, habits, body parts and their advantages, and diet are well-described. High-quality, full-page color photos amplify texts and occasionally include small informational charts.
Appealing covers display title animals against a city backdrop. New vocabulary is boldfaced in black type and defined in the glossary. Back matter in each volume includes a picture glossary, a brief bibliography, a link to the publisher’s website to find more information, and an index.
VERDICT: A serviceable series with very simple, basic information. Recommended for schools and public collections.