Recycling encyclopedias Call your local library and ask if you may donate your set to be sold. Put it up for giveaway on freecycle.org. If they’re really old — say, more than 100 years — call a rare bookseller and ask if they’re worth anything. Find out if a local recycler takes them.

If you’re looking for a more purposeful use for your old encyclopedias, try local schools and libraries. Schools can use the encyclopedias in classrooms or in their library, and local libraries sometimes use donated books to stock shelves.

Best Animal Encyclopedias & Reference Books For Kids

• National Geographic Animal Encyclopedia: 2,500 Animals with Photos, Maps, and More!
• The Animal Book.
• The Encyclopedia of Animals.
• Animal: The Definitive Visual Guide Hardcover by DK.
• The Encyclopedia of Animals: A Complete Visual Guide by Fred Cooke and Hugh Dingle.

The best books about animals for adults

• Winter World by Bernd Heinrich.
• Beyond Words by Carl Safina.
• Wild Justice by Marc Bekoff & Jessica Pierce.
• Animals in Translation by Temple Grandin & Cathrine Johnson.
• Unlikely Friendships by Jennifer S.
• National Geographic Animal Encyclopedia by Lucy Spelman.

But the complete set should consist of seven beautiful binders and roughly 1,188 fact file cards.

16 Unique Facts About 16 Unique Animals

• The heart of a shrimp is located in its head.
• A snail can sleep for three years.
• The fingerprints of a koala are so indistinguishable from humans that they have on occasion been confused at a crime scene.
• Slugs have four noses.
• Elephants are the only animal that can’t jump.

50 of the best fun & random facts about animals

• Gorillas can catch human colds and other illnesses.
• A newborn Chinese water deer is so small it can almost be held in the palm of the hand.
• Ostriches can run faster than horses, and the males can roar like lions.