natgeolittlekids.

com • MAY / JUNE 2022

LOOK INSIDE:
ANIMAL CARDS!

Caw,
Caw
Macaw!
 Why?
ANIMALS

Why do prairie dogs

dig long tunnels?

TUNNEL

© INGO ARNDT / NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY (SINGLE)

Prairie dogs live in tunnels they dig.

© JEFF FOOTT / MINDEN PICTURES (GROUP);

They sleep, eat, and raise their babies

inside. The tunnels hide them from
coyotes and other hungry animals.
2 M AY / J U N E 2 0 2 2
 SORTING

What Is Different?
Look at each picture in the top row.
Find the differences between it and the one below.
© PHOTOWITCH / DREAMSTIME (FROG); © DANI92026 / DREAMSTIME
(HOT-AIR BALLOONS); BEATA BECLA / SHUTTERSTOCK (FLOWERS)

Find one Find two Find three

difference. differences. differences.
N AT I O N A L G E O G R A P H I C 3
 NATURE
That’s Cool!
Meet the shoebill.

The shoebill
is a bird that can
stand still for
hours. It waits to
catch a bird or
a fish.

Its big
beak is shaped
sort of like a
wooden shoe.
That is how it got
its name!

© ERIC BACCEGA / NPL / MINDEN PICTURES (BEAK)

MARTIN HARVEY / GETTY IMAGES (STANDING);

BEAK

A shoebill
is as tall
as you!

4 M AY / J U N E 2 0 2 2
 TOP ROW (LEFT TO RIGHT): DIONISVERA / SHUTTERSTOCK; TIM UR / SHUTTERSTOCK; ANDREY EREMIN / SHUTTERSTOCK.
MIDDLE ROW (LEFT TO RIGHT): TIM UR / SHUTTERSTOCK; JAMAKOSY / SHUTTERSTOCK; BRAND X PICTURES / GETTY IMAGES.
BOTTOM ROW (LEFT TO RIGHT): BERGAMONT / SHUTTERSTOCK; ANAT CHANT / SHUTTERSTOCK; TADEUSZ WEJKSZO / SHUTTERSTOCK.

—PPLE

—INEAPPLE
—LUEBERRY
NAMING

—IWI
—RANGE

—ANANA

Name some other fruits.

—EAR

—LACKBERRY
—ATERMELON

N AT I O N A L G E O G R A P H I C
5
What in the World Are These?
ANIMALS

FRANS LANTING / NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IM

(GROUP); © EDWIN GIESBERS / NATURE
6 M AY / J U N E 2 0 2 2 (EATING); © STEVE GETTLE / MINDEN P
 A BIRD
FINDS FOOD
Scarlet macaws live
in trees in forests.
They f ly to find
nuts, seeds, and
fruit to eat. These birds
can fly as fast as
a car drives in
your town.

MAGE COLLECTION
PICTURE LIBRARY
PICTURES (FLYING) N AT I O N A L G E O G R A P H I C 7
 The bird grabs
food from trees
with its beak.
Its foot can hold
the food while
it eats, too.

Macaws climb
through trees
using their beaks
BEAK
like a hand.

FOOT

Crack! The macaw breaks open

hard nuts with its strong beak.
The beak bites into fruit, too.
CHARLIE HAMILTON JAMES / NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGE COLLECTION (TWO BIRDS);
8 M AY / J U N E 2 0 2 2 © NIALL BENVIE / NPL / MINDEN PICTURES (ONE BIRD); © M. WATSON / ARDEA (CLAY)
 CLAY
Macaws hang
out and sleep
in big groups in
the treetops.

Many macaws also eat clay. This

protects their tummies when they eat
foods that can make them sick. Yum!
N AT I O N A L G E O G R A P H I C 9
IDENTIFYING

TELL THE
Animals use their tails in many different ways.
Use the clues to say how the animals in the
pictures use their tails.
• My tail shoos flies.
• My tail shakes and rattles to keep you away.
• My tail wraps around me like a blanket
to keep me warm.
• My tail lets me hang around.
• My tail helps me swim, jump, and splash.

If you
had a tail,
how would
you use it?

BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN

© DAVID TYRER / ALAMY (ZEBRA); © DESIGN PICS / ALAMY (MONKEY);

10 M AY / J U N E 2 0 2 2 © ALEX MUSTARD / MINDEN PICTURES (DOLPHINS);
TAIL HOWLER
MONKEY

ZEBRA

RATTLESNAKE

RED FOX

© STEVE GETTLE / MINDEN PICTURES (SNAKE);

© NICK GARBUTT / NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY (FOX) N AT I O N A L G E O G R A P H I C 11
 ANIMALS

LIFE IN
A PAC K

About
14 dholes live
in a pack.

NATURESMOMENTSUK / SHUTTERSTOCK (GROUP);

12 M AY / J U N E 2 0 2 2 CHINTAN MEHTA / SHUTTERSTOCK (WHISTLING)
Dholes live in the forest in
groups called packs. They
work as team to hunt for food.
SAY MY NAME: DOHL

WHISTLING
What is that
noise? A dhole
whistles to gather
the pack and get
ready to hunt.
Let’s play first! PLAYING
Now the dholes
are excited to
hunt.
The pack chases its
prey. They help each
other catch the food.

Dholes
hunt deer
and wild
pigs.

The dholes bring back

the meal to hungry
pups. Now they are
ready to eat!
14 M AY / J U N E 2 0 2 2
 MORE
CANIDS
Dholes are dog-
like animals called
canids. Meet some
other canids. BLACK-BACKED
JACKAL

RACCOON
DOG

BAT-EARED
FOX

ETHIOPIAN
WOLF

© MARY MCDONALD / NPL /

MINDEN PICTURES (PLAYING);
© MIC CLARK PHOTOGRAPHY /
ALAMY (HUNTING); © ZSSD /
MINDEN PICTURES (PUPS); JAMIE
LAMB / GETTY IMAGES (JACKAL);
ADRIA PHOTOGRAPHY / GETTY
IMAGES (FOX); PRILL / ISTOCK /
GETTY IMAGES (RACCOON DOG);
© IGNACIO YUFERA / FLPA /
MINDEN PICTURES (WOLF) 15
LETTERS AND NUMBERS

FLOWER FEAST
Butterflies and bumblebees eat a food called
nectar. Nectar comes from flowers. Help
these insects find their flowers.

START

Help the butterfly

by following the
letters from A to J.
Now help the
bumblebee by
moving along
the numbers from
1 to 10.

START

JEFF MCCURRY / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES (BUTTERFLY); © MICHAEL

16 M AY / J U N E 2 0 2 2 DURHAM / MINDEN PICTURES (BEE); © LUCIANO CANDISANI / MINDEN
PICTURES (SUNFLOWER); © CLINT FARLINGER / ALAMY (MILKWEED)
SUNFLOWER

MILKWEED

N AT I O N A L G E O G R A P H I C 17
 NATURE

A SEA TURTLE
A female green sea turtle lays her eggs
in a nest she digs on the beach. She
swishes the sand away with her flippers.

EGGS

The nest holds

about 115 to
135 eggs! Each
one is about
the size of a
Ping-Pong
DIGGING ball.
© TUI DE ROY / MINDEN PICTURES (1); © OCEANPHOTO / FLPA / MINDEN
18 M AY / J U N E 2 0 2 2 PICTURES (2); © YUSUKE YOSHINO / NATURE PRODUCTION /
 HATCHES
In about two
months, it is time
for the eggs to
hatch. A baby
sea turtle pokes
its beak through
the soft shell.
3

HATCHING

4
The sea turtles dig out from the nest
and race to the ocean. There they will
swim and eat and grow big like Mom.
MINDEN PICTURES (3); BLUEPLANETARCHIVE / ROGER MUNNS / SCUBAZOO (4);
© WILLEM KOLVOORT / NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY (SWIMMING) N AT I O N A L G E O G R A P H I C 19
SPACE

THE SUN
The sun is a star. It is
the closest star to Earth,
the planet you live on.
The sun is very hot. It gives
Earth warmth and light.
The sun, planets,
and moons are
all part of our SIZE
OF SUN

solar system.
The sun is huge.
More than a SIZE
million Earths OF EARTH
could fit inside it.

DAVID AGUILAR (BIG ILLUSTRATION);

20 M AY / J U N E 2 0 2 2 ESA NASA / SOHO (EARTH AND SUN)
 This blast
from the surface
of the sun is
called a solar
flare.

The sun is
at the center
of our solar
system.

N AT I O N A L G E O G R A P H I C 21
 FINDING

PRETTY
PINWHEELS
A pattern is a color or shape that
repeats over and over. Find all the
pinwheel patterns using the clues below.

Find the pinwheel Clap three times

with white stripes. when you see the
flowered pinwheel.

Dance Pat your

when you heart when
find the you see
one with one with
puzzle polka dot
pieces. shapes.

Stomp your feet

when you find the
checkered pinwheel.

22
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Kids and Family, Magazines and Digital
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Production Sean Philpotts, Manager
Digital Laura Goertzel, Senior Manager

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N AT I O N A L G E O G R A P H I C 23
wild cards

POLAR BEAR

COPYRIGHT © 2022 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PARTNERS, LLC

 polar bear
FUN FACTs
Polar bear mothers usually
give birth to twins. The cubs
are born in dens that are
dug into the snow.

ALASKA STOCK IMAGES / NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGE

wild cards

DROMEDARY CAMEL
 dromedary
camel
FUN FACTs
The dromedary camel lives in the
desert. It has a hump on its back
that stores fat. The more a camel
eats, the bigger its hump grows.

© HANNE & JENS ERIKSEN / MINDEN PICTURES

wild cards

RED-EYED TREE FROG

 red-eyed
tree frog
FUN FACTs
This colorful frog lives
in tropical rainforests. Its big
red eyes might help it scare
away enemies.

FRANS LANTING / NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGE COL

wild cards

CHRISTMAS ISLAND RED CRAB

 Christmas
Island red crab
FUN FACTs
Christmas Island red crabs live
on an island in the ocean.
Big groups crawl to the coast,
where the females lay eggs.

© STEPHEN BELCHER / MINDEN PICTURES

wild cards

EUROPEAN HEDGEHOG
 European
hedgehog
FUN FACTs
Hedgehogs have sharp
spines on their bodies. The
spines help protect them
from hungry animals.

KARL VAN GINDERDEUREN / BUITEN-BEELD / MINDEN PICTURES

wild cards

LILAC-BREASTED ROLLER
lilac-breasted
roller
FUN FACTs
These birds perch in trees
while they watch for food on the
ground. They eat insects, lizards,
and other small animals.

ANDREW SPROULE / GETTY IMAGES

 OBSERVATION

Critter Corner
What do you think this lizard is doing?

A. flying B. running C. talking © BENCE MATE / NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY

Answer: B

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