What Lives in a Shell?

Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science, Stage 1

by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld, Helen K. Davie (Illustrator)

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.

Genres: Science, Picture Books, Nonfiction, Nature, Childrens, Animals, Summer

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld is the award-winning author of more than sixty books for children, including DINOSAUR TRACKS, "a great choice for even the most discriminating dinophiles" (School Library Journal); DID DINOSAURS HAVE FEATHERS?, a Children's Book of the Month Club selection, described as "fascinating" by Kirkus Reviews; and DINOSAURS BIG AND SMALL, a 2003 Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Best Book Award winner.

When she's not reading, researching, writing, or editing, Kathleen loves to spend her free time exploring, doing fieldwork, and preparing fossils for her local natural history museums.

Reviews

[Jessica Blonder · Rating 4 out of 5]

What Lives in a Shell?
By Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld
Awards: None
Grades 1- 4
Summary: The book goes over what defines a shell, different types of shells, and what lives in a shell.
Review: I really like how the author uses prior knowledge to explain what a shell is. The illustrations are very detailed and colorful. The only thing I didn't like is that the cover shows a scene of shells at the beach and I thought the book was going to specifically about ocean life with shells, however, the book goes over turtles and snails as well. I used to have teach about local ocean life and I was very excited for a book specifically about oysters, scallops, clams, and crabs.
Activities in the classroom
Have the students brain storm specific local species that have a shells. Show them the small differences between species.
Make a chart listing the different uses for a shell and group the animals by uses of their shells
Use a large piece of cardboard or a cardboard box to create personal shells. Have straps to make it easier for the student to carry them around and use their hands at the same time. Take the time to decorate them (But remind them about camouflage!)

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and learned from it, even though it is written for early elementary grades. I had no idea that land snails had feet and will never look at them the same way again. I think this book is perfect for early elementary school students to practice reading about science on their own.

Three suggestions I would make for reprints are 1) why does the book feature only U.S. shells? I'm sure plenty of people are using this book all around the world. There's no need for the field guides at the end to instantly make an overseas child feel this book is not written for them. I would redo that part.

My second request is to eliminate the book's suggestion that children take shells home. Why do they need to do that? Leave nature as it is. Let's teach that. Leave nature as it is.

Thirdly, I wonder how these animals are impacted by the ongoing sixth extinction? Could future editions gently prepare children for the loss of these animals if they are impacted animals in our great biodiversity loss?

Congratulations to author Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld on this debut book. Congratulations also to Helen K. Davis for the illustrations. I found them delightful.

[Lauri Meyers · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Read and Find Out Science" series for Kindergarten aged children.
Illustrated nonfiction about shells.
The story starts with how snails grow their shells, snail body parts, snails are slow, and snails use their shells for protection. It compares a snail's home to a child's or bear's or ant's. Turtles live in shells, their shells grow with them, and turtles can hide in their shells. At the sea shore, different kinds of shells, how hermit crabs take shells, bivalves have a hinged shell, and locomotion of shelled animals.

[Aidalys Nazario · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book because it is a fun way of learning factual scientific things for young children. I think this book is perfect for older preschoolers and kindergarteners. It is a little on the long side. It has lots of information about different animals that live in shells and what happen to them when they are not in a shell. It also explains why their shells are important. There is a lot of details in this book. The pictures are fun but realistic. This book can lead to classroom projects and open the mind to do creative things with children.

[Selina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This informational storybook talks about how snails, turtles, crabs, clams, and oysters use shells as their home. It also discusses issues in shell growth, locomotion, and how animals use their shell as a protective device. This would be a great book to incorporate with children learning about the ocean.

[Allison Ster · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is able to show kids all the different types of sea life that can live in a shell. It even covers crabs, which I think a lot of people tend to forget. At the end, it even reminds us to look in shells and ask the right people if we can take them home.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although copyrighted in 1994 the information contained in this title while for a beginning look at what lives in shells is extremely valid today. From the part of comparing shells to a child’s house to explaining if a shell is empty the animal has left the shell behind.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Educational. Info I didn't know. 5yo enjoyed it.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

We really enjoy the entire "Let's Read and Find Out" series.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear information about land and water "shelled" animals

[Set · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative book with some examples of different shells and where to find them.

[Vanessa Becerra]

Shell's are certain animals like a snail or sea animals home. This girl goes around looking into different shells and seeing what animals are are inside the shell. They can read this book and write what they learned or the differences of shells.

[Julie Graham 47150 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book a lot. We learn about many different habitats in first grade (desert, rain forest, caves, ocean, etc.). One week we read fictional stories about hermit crabs and non-fiction books about many kinds of animals that live in shells. In our science station they get to look at a tub of shells with magnifying glasses and try to find the names of those shells by looking at several books aboout shells. One of my favorites is "The Shell Book" by Barbara Hirsch Lember because it has such beautiful illustrations. My students never want me to take these things out of the science station after this "unit" - so I don't. Long after we learn about this habitat, they are sorting and classifying those shells. In fact, last week, two of my students asked me to come to the station to go through the "Shell Museum" they had created.
In addition to learning about the animals that live in shells, we also learn how to use descriptive words to make our writing more interesting. Using words like smooth, rough, shiny, colorful, fancy, and plain to describe our shells helps us write and speak using more adjectives.

[Zoe Lampman · Rating 3 out of 5]

What Lives in a Shell? by Kathleen Weider Zoehfeld, is a non-fiction book about animals that live in shells, such as land snails, turtles, hermit crabs, clams, and scallops. The book explains that an animal's shell is like it's home in that it lives in it and it protects their soft bodies. It describes how some animal's shells grow along with them and how others leave their shells and move into larger, empty ones. Crab shells are likened to strong armor. Scallops use their shells to swim by opening and closing the shell quickly. The book ends by warning children to make sure that no animals are living in the shells they find at the beach before taking them home.

This book is meant for students in Kindergarten through second grade. It would be a great book to read aloud to kindergarteners or first graders in a unit about sea life. Second graders could most likely read the book independently during a similar unit or animal study. The illustrations of animals and their shells are fascinating and could be an inspiration for art projects.

[Chelsea Bucci · Rating 2 out of 5]

For any students, that are curious what a shell is, this is a great resource. The story discusses different types of shells and its characteristics. An animal makes a shell to use as its home. Students can relate to this because they have homes as well. Other animals have different homes such as tunnels, nests, and caves. Snails live in shells and they take these homes with them. As the snail grows, the shell grows with it. The purpose of some shells is to keep the animal safe. The author then discusses other animals that live in shells such as turtles, crabs, oysters, and clams. When a shell is too tight, the animal crawls out and makes a new one. This story is good to read with a small group rather than a large group. Its hard for students to relate to if they have never been to a beach or seen shells in real life.

[Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

After I came back from my brother's wedding from Costa Rica to my land-locked classroom, I handed out shells to my students that I collected on the beach. Most of them had never see the ocean before; yet, they wanted to learn more about it. So, we read What Live in a Shell? and discovered, together, creatures who use shells for homes. I used the doc cam so that my students were able to more clearly see the illustrations which generated more discussion around what the students wanted to learn more about. It was great to see how student generated a nonfiction lesson could be!

[Brigid Keely · Rating 4 out of 5]

"What Lives In A Shell" is a book about shells and the animals that live in them. Some live on land, some live on water. Some are large, some are small. This early science book, designed for pre-k and kindergarteners, is a nice introduction to shelled animals. The text, and sentences, are short and engaging and the illustrations are clear and attractive. The book stands up well to repeat reads. It's a great introduction to science book. I'm very pleased with this series.

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book does a great job at describing that a shell is where some animals live as a home for protection. I like how it showed a diagram of a snail to illustrate each body part a snail has. Not only does this book talk about snails, but it also informs us of turtles and crabs. Another thing I really liked about this book is that it listed the different types of shells with their names. I think any student who loves to go to the beach would enjoy reading this book.

[Beyond the Pages with Eva K · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was such a sensational tool. I used it for an educational unit with my kids, and it was received very, very well. The content was just right for young minds. The details were interesting and the accompanying pictures were excellent. I loved this and could easily see myself referring to it again.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a gorgeous book, both in illustrations and the science lesson that is cleverly presented. Different shells are shown and described, such as a land snail, a turtle, clams, oysters, hermit crabs, and more.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Expertly written. Engaging. Beautiful illustrations. Intelligently evolving. Excellent science book turned "picture book".

[Stephanie Ung · Rating 3 out of 5]

Students can learn about the different shelters and environment other living creatures live in.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this and all the "read and find out science" books

[Andrea Retana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be a significant book to read aloud when teaching a science lesson about marine life and shells. It has a variety of vocabulary and beautiful illustration. Grade K-2.

[Karley]

This text would be a fun read aloud when studying marine life and shells. Great use of vocabulary, and vibrant illustrations throughout. There are great diagrams and labels too.

[Deborah Harris]

AR Quiz No. 41751 EN Nonfiction
Accelerated Reader Quiz Information IL: LG - BL: 2.8 - AR Pts: 0.5
Accelerated Reader Quiz Type Information AR Quiz Types: RP

[Linda Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kids liked it

[Mellanie C · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book that covered parts of marine life that are often overlooked. I'm donating it to the book nook at my school.

[Eliza · Rating 1 out of 5]

i did not like it

[Gina Starling · Rating 4 out of 5]

PK-1

Give a lesson on animals that carry their own house with them. Turtles, Snails, and others.