Steve Jenkins and Robin Page are a husband / wife author and illustrator pair. They are our March authors for the 2021 Author Study Challenge. Jenkins and Page have published a truly unbelievable number of books both separately and together.
This author study is best if you have a little fan of animals in your life. The vast majority of their books are nonfiction books about animals. Get ready! This is a long and amazing list.
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Learn More about the
2021 Author Study Challenge
Meet Steve Jenkins & Robin Page
Steve Jenkins
If your kid loves animals then Steve Jenkins is a name you need to know. His nonfiction books about animals span everything from odd to quirky to icky to adorable and every single one is fascinating. Check out his website (http://www.stevejenkinsbooks.com/) for more information. I particularly love this section on where he gets his ideas.
Robin Page
Robin Page is an artist, author and illustrator. She has collaborated on many books with her husband, Steve Jenkins but she also does some of her own work. Her website, http://robinpagebooks.com/index.html, has some interesting information about her, but my favorite part is when she walks you through creating her book about chickens.
Learn more:
- Student Interview on YouTube
- Author Visit on YouTube
You May Also Like: 50 Children’s Book Authors You Should Know
Books by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page
This is a bit of an overwhelming booklist to create. Steve Jenkin has written and illustrated books. Steve Jenkins and Robin Page have created books together. Robin Page has created books on her own. AND Steve Jenkins has illustrated books written by others.
Together they have: about the number of books they have written.
Below I have only included our favorites for different ages – which is still a LOT of books. I decided to divide these by age group to help you zero in on the right books for your kids. When I make lists like this I put books in the category for the youngest kid they would be appropriate for based primarily on text length and subject matter, but this doesn’t mean a preschooler can’t read a toddler book or a school aged kid might not love a preschool picture book. Go with your gut.
Shop Steve Jenkins & Robin Page Books at Bookshop
Books for Babies & Toddlers
My First Day: What Animals Do on Day One
by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page
The most adorable deer illustration I have ever seen graces the cover of this book and I’m not too whatever to admit that it is absolutely why I picked it up. Why I’m adding it here, however, is because the inside pages hold such fun facts. The vast differences between what some babies manage in their first day or even moments to other more helpless newborns is astounding and fascinating.
Hello Baby
written by Mem Fox
illustrated by Steve Jenkins
I haven’t included too many not written by Robin Page or Steve Jenkins on this list, but this is one of our all time favorite books from when my kids were tiny. Mem Fox is amazing and in this case, Steve Jenkins has captured her story and brought the animals to life with his trademark, textured style. Find Online
An Animal Guessing Game: Who Am I?
by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page
I think this might be my favorite book by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page. It’s a guessing game that’s perfect for older toddlers or younger preschoolers. Each page has clues with illustrations and then the page turn reveals the animal that has been hinted at. It’s super cute. Find Online
Books for Preschoolers & Up
Mama Built a Little Nest
by Jennifer Ward
illustrated by Steve Jenkins
Nests are as diverse as the birds who make them. Cacti and grass, holes and trees. This book takes a much deeper look at how birds protect their young in many creative and different ways. Illustrated with clear, colorful images by the amazing Steve Jenkins and filled with fascinating information, this is wonderful for anyone curious about birds and their babies. Order Online
Move!
by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page
MOVE! works as a read aloud book. It focuses on the different ways animals move. It has great action words and just a couple of sentences per page. White pages with brightly illustrated animals burst onto each spread.
Stinkiest: 20 Smelly Animals
by Steve Jenkins
I mean, I don’t even know what to say about this book. The table of contents is one of the best I’ve ever seen. A book full of the smelliest animals in the world. It is equal parts disgusting and fascinating – classic Steve Jenkins animals genius. Find Online
I See a Kookaburra! by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page
This book surprised me. Based on the title I was expecting it to be about Australian animals, but had I paid more attention to the subheading I would have realized it is animal habitats all around the world. I love the great variety of interesting animals in this book and how the brilliant illustrations encouraged us to look closely as we read. Find Online
Actual Size
by Steve Jenkins
This is a super cool book about the size of things. It really brings to life the amazing size of animals in a way that just reading the stats can’t possibly do justice. Find Online
Time for a Bath
by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page
Part of a series of “time for a” books about animal care routines, this one borders between preschool and elementary school. It is interesting, offering information on how a wide range of animals bath. It’s not great for reading aloud to a group, but for sharing with a animal lover or two it’s a fun, sweet book. Find Online
Flying Frogs and Walking Fish
by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page
Frogs jump, bunnies hop, fish swim. We teach kids that animals move in basic ways. This book pushes that knowledge. Frogs can in fact also fly. Elephants can swim. spiders can roll. Pair this with the wonderful read aloud MOVE! Find Online
Never Smile at a Monkey
by Steve Jenkins
This is a fun book about some of the lesser known dangers in the natural world. For the right kid, this look at the unexpectedly hazardous behaviors of animals will be fascinating. From puffer fish to African buffalo to tang fish, this is full of interesting, less talked about ways to endanger your life around animals. Find Online
Books for Elementary Schoolers
Book of Infographics: Insects by the Numbers
by Steve Jenkins
This is a collection of books that uses infographics, so diagrams, maps and timelines, to explain different nonfiction topics. So far in the series there is a book about insects (this one) as well as dinosaurs, the earth, and the solar system. I think these are fascinating. They are the size of an easy reader, but I would caution you that they aren’t for beginner readers. The way they are written with diagrams and such the text is broken up into little chunks that feel more manageable to new readers but this is more of second grade and up level, when kids are a little more confident and willing to figure out words they don’t already know. They’re fantastic little books though. Find Online
Animals by the Numbers: A Book of Animal Infographics
by Steve Jenkins
If your kids like the smaller infographics books then this is a must read. It’s a full picture book sized book that holds charts and graphs and other illustrations to depict concepts and compare animals in unlikely ways. I absolutely love this book. I think the graphics explain tricky concepts and hard to comprehend ideas so well. Also – don’t miss the pie chart below the about the author paragraph that uses a pie chart to show how he spent his time while making this book. Find Online
How to Swallow a Pig
by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page
Each page in this book has step-by-step advice on how to do different animal behaviors. How do humpback whales trap fish? How do octopuses disguise themselves? How to build a spider web? There is a section on how to Woo a Ewe Like a Mountain Goat which is scandalous or anything, but I can see some have an issue with potentially explaining what “wooing” means to their kid. Otherwise, this is an interesting and varied book that is a little lengthy in text, but still highly readable. Find Online
Dogs and Cats / Cats and Dogs
by Steve Jenkins
This book has two books – one about dogs and then you flip it over and it’s a book about cats. Either is a thorough look at the animal from history to types to special skills and other facts. Find Online
The Animal Book
by Steve Jenkins
The subtitle for this books is “a collection of the fastest, fiercest, toughest, cleverest, shyest and most surprising animals on earth.” It is a thick, collection of some 300 animals from around the world. It has facts, illustrations, graphics for the animals lovers and budding scientists. This is the kind of books that an animal lover (I have two) pours over day after day.
Find Online
Sisters & Brothers: Sibling Relationships in the Animal World
by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page
Perhaps an unlikely book for this list, but if you have a kid who loves animals as much as my daughter – this is for you. A unique look at sibling relationships in the animal world. Steve Jenkins and Robin Page are such a dream pair in the nonfiction world and this one is full of their interesting well researched facts and gorgeous illustrations. Find Online
Almost Gone: The World’s Rarest Animals
by Steve Jenkins
A compilation of animals that endangered and extinct from around the world. Each page has an animals with a paragraph of information. At the back is a map that shows where they are all located. Find Online
Living Color by Steve Jenkins
Each and every one of Steve Jenkins’ books could be on this list. They are all informative, fascinating, and beautifully illustrated. LIVING COLOR is about the various ways that color communicate things in the animal world. Red can communicate poison or what you ate for lunch. Blue can distract you or help someone blend into their environment. An amazing look at the diversity of colors and animals in our world. Order Online
The Shark Book
by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page
THE SHARK BOOK is a thorough look at the world of sharks from nonfiction masters. I don’t know that it includes any information not found in other shark books, but it is thoughtfully composed, clearly written, and gorgeously illustrated with eye popping torn and cut paper collage. Our favorite page is the look at shark egg cases which are so uniquely fascinating. This is an excellent summary of shark types and information with excellent use of white space, thorough yet clear descriptions and even includes my son’s favorite – the epaulette – which is more rare in shark books for children. I always expect excellence from Jenkins and Page and they delivered well with THE SHARK BOOK.
SLEEPY: Surprising Ways Animals Snooze
by Jennifer Ward
illustrated by Robin Page
published by Beach Lane
Rhyming text, well crafted page turns and beautiful illustrations create a fantastic read aloud nonfiction for kids. From hummingbirds that cling to branches in a deep sleep, sea otters who float while they nap, or nurse sharks cuddled on the ocean floor, this book takes you around the globe to pop in on interesting animals and their sleepy habits. The text has two layers. One is highly read aloud-able with rhyming words and a few lines that quickly share interesting information about the unusual ways different kinds of animals sleep. There is an additional paragraph of text on each page for kids who want to learn more about each animal and the way they sleep. Highly read able and informative, this is great nonfiction for animal fans.
Shop Steve Jenkins & Robin Page Books at Bookshop
Activity Ideas Inspired by Their Books
Animal Learning Activities
- How to Use Picture Books with STEM Learning
- 20+ Unit Ideas for Kids Who Love Animals from Bambini Travel
- Bird Unit for Early Elementary School from Bambini Travel
- 20+ Ocean Unit Activity Ideas for Kindergarten and First Grade from Bambini Travel
- Vet Unit Field Trip and Unit Ideas for Kindergarten and First Grade from Bambini Travel
- Z is for Zoo Animals: Learning Activities for All Ages from Bambini Travel
Exploring Steve Jenkins’ Illustration Style
- Steve Jenkins’ illustrations are create with collages of cut and torn paper.
- Create a Collage with Steve Jenkins – video on YouTube
Writing Your Own NonFiction
- Brainstorm a list of questions you have about your favorite animal. Then pick one to research more about. Watch a video on YouTube, find some books at the library about your animal and see if you can find the answer, ask an expert like a zookeeper or veterinarian.
Click Here to Get the Preschool Author Study Pack
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