Extraordinary Animal Heroes: Notable Lives from History is a fun and engaging reader for students or anyone with a love for animal heroes. Explore the lives and accomplishments of 10 remarkable animals from history. These fascinating stories incorporate well for students in grades 6-8 in many areas of study including history, language arts, vocabulary words and definitions, and cultural insights.
Meet unforgettable people and animals in the What a Character! Notable Lives from History series as you enjoy 10 real stories within each book!
Designed to be fun and engaging for students or anyone with a love for history, these readers include a fascinating focus on important, influential, and visionary people, along with heroic animal escapades! From scientists to famous women to war heroes and more, there is something of interest for everyone in this exciting series!
This volume, Extraordinary Animal Heroes, is recommended for Grade 6 and up and includes:
Seargeant Stubby, the dog
Murphy, the donkey
Balto, the dog
Cher Ami, the pigeon
Tipperary Beauty, the dog
Wojtek, the bear
Judy, the dog
Sergeat Reckless, the horse
Chips, the dog
Smoky, the dog
Each book can be read in any order and includes colorful and fun images. Definitions are included to help readers learn the new words they will discover. Read for enjoyment or as an extension of your history, science, or language arts curriculum.
Table of Contents
World War I
1. Murphy, the Donkey Who Carried the Wounded
2. Sergeant Stubby, the Dog Who Caught a German Spy
3. Cher Ami, the Pigeon Who Saved the Lost Battalion
The Alaskan Black Death
4. Balto — The Dog Who Saved Nome
World War II
5. Tipperary Beauty, the Dog Who Rescued Pets
6. Judy, the Dog Who Became a Prisoner
7. Chips, the Dog Who Disabled a Machine Gun Nest
8. Smoky, the Dog Who Strung Telephone Wires
9. Wojtek, the Bear Who Went to War
The Korean War
10. Sergeant Reckless, the Horse Who Carried Ammo and the Wounded
Glossary
Corresponding Curriculum
Endnotes
Customer Reviews
5
Love this Series!!
Review bySarahT
The What a Character series is a hit at our home and this book is no exception! My kids love reading about the different animal heroes, and having the audiobook has allowed them to be independent in the reading of their favorite books.
5
Wonderful Stories
Review byKathleen C
This book was written by Marilyn Boyer who is deeply patriotic and passionate about America’s Christian history.
The audio book is narrated by Will Stauff who speaks clearly and is at a good pace.
This book tells ten stories of animal heroes: Sergeant Stubby the dog, Murphy the donkey, Balto the dog, Cher Ami the pigeon, Tipperary Beauty the dog, Wojtek the bear, Judy the dog, Sergeant Reckless the horse, Chips the dog, and Smoky the dog. The stories are engaging, and great to keep a young reader's interest.
This is part of the What a Character Series of books. This is great to read as a stand-alone or to accompany your history books.
5
Awesome!
Review bySantina
William Stauff’s narration of Extraordinary Animal Heroes is clear and engaging. It is a great resource to listen to in the car or to follow along as a read aloud (allowing parents to follow along with their child or to have their child listen to independently).
5
Educational and Engaging
Review byCaitlin
My family loves listening to audiobooks on the go and during meal times. We have learned so much from the What A Character! Notable Lives from History series. This book is specifically engaging for my animal lovers. The narration is easy to listen to and keeps you listening for more. This is an easy way to incorporate history in your day and is a great supplemental book to our regular history curriculum. We've listened to it several times and this is the one my kids keep coming back to. I'm impressed by the conversations we've been able to have based on historical animals.
5
Amazing animal stories!
Review byJoyfulMommy
These are fascinating stories that bring history to life from a new perspective! I had never heard about the bear who helped to fight a battle by carrying heavy boxes of ammunition, or the Dogs for Defense program in WWII, or most of the many animals featured in this book that truly did perform incredible acts of courage and service!
While we really like the physical book for actually reading, having it available in audio format makes it more frequently accessible for our entire family. We’ve been enjoying it this summer in the car and while doing quiet craft activities, and it complements other history courses nicely.
5
Great audio
Review byLacee C
I'm not a huge fan of audiobooks, never have been, but I've been enjoying listening to these. And I appreciate that we can listen to stories one at a time throughout the book as well (easier to navigate on my computer vs my phone, I've noticed). We love the readers and the stories within from each of the books. This Animal Heroes book is a personal favorite as we love learning about animals and their stories.
5
Amazing Resource!
Review byBecky V.
Extraordinary Animal Heroes is an excellent book for every animal lover and I love that it is now in audiobook format! My kids love all things history, and they love being able to listen to some of their favorite stories on the go now.
The book contains stories of animal heroes during World War I, the Alaskan Black Death, World War II, and the Korean War. A total of 10 stories are included. We use this as a supplement to America’s Story. My kids also love listening to the audiobooks on their own. I love that I can offer them resources that are screen-free and educational, AND they love them!
5
Fun and Educational Listening
Review byDawn
This audio book is an amazing resource. It features ten different stories about animals that performed amazing acts. Each story stands alone and is about ten to fifteen minutes long. It could be used as a part of your curriculum for a family read-aloud, or as independent listening. Many of the stories involve important events in history and are a great way to engage animal lovers in history.
5
Exciting Stories
Review byLaurie
This audiobook is so exciting to listen to. These stories combine unique and extraordinary historical events. This is my children's favorite of the four What a Character Book/Audio Stories we have. We chose the audio download, which is over two hours long. For the price, this is a fantastic value.
5
Fun series!
Review byDustie
What a special book! We have a family full of animal lovers, so this book is a great fit for us. It is filled with moving stories of animals who performed heroic actions during the worst imaginable situations. I love that the author sets the backdrop of the events during which the animal lived (particular wars, disease outbreaks, etc.). I think it really helps kids to understand the context and significance.
This book is great for independent reading, as it is fun and has definitions for words that may be unfamiliar or difficult for younger readers to understand. It would make a great read-aloud or morning basket addition. These stories would also be really fun to include with corresponding history lessons, and there’s even a list in the back of the book that notes potential books to pair each chapter with.
Overall, I highly recommend this entire series of books for every homeschool library. They’re such a fun way to learn bits of history.