Archive for Nature

The Tree: An Environmental Fable

Written and Illustrated by Neal Layton

A tree is a home. A home for birds in their nest. A home for squirrels in their nest. A home for owls in their hollow. A home for rabbits in their burrow under the roots. Told in very simple language, the story is one that a first grader can easily read on their own. Of course, teachers and parents will want to read it with the kids the first time just to discuss all the implications.

Two humans decide to build a home at the location of a tree, not realizing that their plans would seriously disrupt or destroy the lives of many other creatures. When they come to that realization, they are able to find a way for everyone to live in harmony.

The Tree makes the idea of environmental responsibility personal. The humans in the story realize that the animals need their homes and might have emotions too. They do their best to fulfill their own needs while helping the animals and the tree itself. Sharing is the key, and kids can understand this.

This is heartwarming and beautiful book.  

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  • Title: The Tree: An Environmental Fable
  • Author/Illustrator: Neal Layton
  • Published: Candlewick Publishing, 2017
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Format: Hardcover, 40 pages
  • Grade Level: PreK to 1
  • Genre: Picture book, Nature, Creative nonfiction
  • ISBN: 978-0-7636-8952-0

Baby on Board: How Animals Carry Their Young

Written by Marianne Berkes
Illustrated by Cathy Morrison

“Pick me up, pick me up,” our children say. Then as they get a bit older, they begin to carry around their own stuffed animals, dolls, or action figures. This leads in well to a discussion of animals and their babies. Teachers, parents and librarians can use this beautifully illustrated book of how animal babies are carried to introduce or supplement any animal unit of study. Close-ups of each animal pair make it easy to see how the baby is transported from one place to another. Young children will enjoy this immensely.

Short rhyming lines introduce each animal pair followed by a slightly more in-depth description. A glossary gives even more detail.

Following the narration, a matching game is provided as a culmination of the story. For teachers, there are several suggestions for cross-curricular activities in language arts, math, engineering and movement. There are also web links to provide additional activities.

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  • Baby on Board.jpgTitle:  Baby on Board: How Animals Carry Their Young
  • Author:  Marianne Berkes
  • Illustrator:  Cathy Morrison
  • Publisher:  Dawn Publications, 2017
  • Reviewer: Elizabeth Swartz
  • Format:  Paperback, 32 pages
  • Genre: nonfiction, science
  • Grade level: PreK to 3
  • ISBN:  978-1-58469-593-6
  • Extras: Teacher guidelines for use in language arts, math, engineering, movement and math. An extensive glossary, extended reading lists and web links. It also contains a matching game for young readers to complete after reading the book.

Fantastic Flowers

Written and Illustrated by Susan Stockdale

In most things we observe, it’s natural to compare the unfamiliar with the familiar. So it’s no surprise that flowers are often given names relating to other objects they resemble.  Beautiful illustrations point out these similarities with skill and humor. From ballerinas to hats to pocketbooks, the flowers come in all shapes. Dutchman’s breeches do in fact look like a pair of pants. The monkey orchid looks a lot like a monkey’s face. The red spider flower looks like a group of spiders. And the bumblebee orchid looks like a bumblebee. Stockdale uses lilting, rhyming language sure to draw in youngsters seeking to learn about the natural world. The Afterword further discusses the patterns and how they may help the plants survive, often to attract a pollinator. A photo of each flower shows how close the illustrations are to the real world. This unique and playful look at flowers will have kids looking for patterns in all sorts of other places.

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  • Title: Fantastic Flowers          
  • Author/Illustrator: Susan Stockdale
  • Published: Peachtree Publishers, 2017
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Format: Hardcover, 32 pages
  • Grade Level: PreK to 2
  • Genre: Nature
  • ISBN: 978-1-56145-952-0

Octopus Escapes Again!

Written and Illustrated by Laurie Ellen Angus

How talented is an octopus? As talented as it needs to be to survive all the predators that would love to eat it. In this informative picture book, the author follows an unnamed octopus as she works to find a meal of her own. First, her quest for shrimp is interrupted by a sea turtle. She hides inside an empty shell. When she spots some small fish, an eel is on the prowl. She escapes due to her ink. Next, a shark closes in, and she shoots away quickly. A large fish grabs one arm. The arm breaks off, and the octopus escapes again. The arm will grow back. A gull tries to get her. She uses her natural camouflage. Finally, she catches some clams for dinner.

The many animals highlighted in this tale are discussed in much more detail in the Explore More sections. In addition, the author suggests several interesting activities where kids can learn more – both about the octopus and the other animals present. Some great online videos are also mentioned.

The writing is fun and the illustrations give the “being there” feel for underwater adventures. Recommended as the focus for a stand-alone unit or as further exploration related to food chains or sea creatures.

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  • octopus-escapes-againTitle: Octopus Escapes Again!
  • Author/Illustrator: Laurie Ellen Angus
  • Publisher: Dawn Publishers, 2016
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Format: Paperback, 32 pages
  • Grade Level: K to 3
  • Genre: Nature, Animals
  • ISBN: 978-1-58469-578-3
  • Extras: Explore More – For Kids, Explore More – For Teachers and Parents

Every Day Birds

Written by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater
Illustrated by Dylan Metrano

Glorious cut paper illustrations of common birds jump from the pages of this delightful new poetic nonfiction book. The text is simple, with large, bold type. Birds illustrated are correctly portrayed to fit the text as well as their own habitat.

Youngsters hearing it read aloud will love the rhythm and rhyme of the poem. They will quickly learn to identify the birds and will be repeating the poem before long.

This book will be an asset to science teachers in the elementary grades and will fulfill many core curriculum standards for teachers and librarians in the areas of literacy as well as science. The art teacher or classroom teacher might well use this as an example of excellent cut paper art. Children will love making cut art of their own in school or at home to put in books or greeting cards.

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  • Everyday BirdsTitle: Every Day Birds
  • Author: Amy Ludwig VanDerwater
  • Illustrator: Dylan Metrano
  • Publisher: Orchard Books, Imprint of Scholastic, 2016
  • Reviewer: Elizabeth Swartz
  • Format: Hardcover, 32 pages
  • ISBN: 978-0-545-69980-8
  • Genre: Nonfiction Picture Book
  • Grade level: PreK to 3
  • Extras: Back pages provide in-depth information about what each type of bird eats, where it lives, how it looks, or what sounds it makes. The poem is also provided in its entirety on a double paged spread at the back of the book.

Spectacular Spots

Written and Illustrated by Susan Stockdale

Beautiful yet sparse language, both rhythmic and rhyming tells the story of how spots on the outside of some animals helps to protect them.

In the area of creative nonfiction, this book is an excellent example. First grade readers will enjoy hearing or reading this book repeatedly because of the musical quality of the poetry like text. The font is large and dark making it stand out from the beautiful illustrations. Her choice of words also helps hint at additional attributes, such as the “gliding snail”, and the “clinging frogs”.

Well-designed back matter increases the ability for this book to fulfill common core standards in science, for animal study, camouflage, biology and how animals adapt to the environment. Librarians and teachers will also use the book for literacy skills such as rhyming and use of descriptive language.

Children will be on the look-out for animals with spots after reading this book and when they find them, it won’t be any mystery why those spots are so important. It’s got nothing to do with fashion!

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  • Spectacular SpotsTitle: Spectacular Spots
  • Author/Illustrator: Susan Stockdale
  • Publisher: Peachtree Publishers, 2015
  • Reviewer: Elizabeth Swartz
  • Format: Hardcover, 32 pages
  • ISBN: 978-1-56145-817-2
  • Genre: Nonfiction, Animals, Camouflage, Biology
  • Grade level: PreK to 3
  • Extras: In the back are two pages with small squares showing each of the patterned spots for children to enjoy matching with the appropriate animal in the front of the book. There are also two pages that show mini-pictures of each animal accompanied by an explanation of how the spots protect those animals. The particular class that each animals belongs to and where to find it in the world are provided.

Beneath the Sun

Written by Melissa Stewart
Illustrated by Constance R. Bergum

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When a summer day is very hot, few people think about what wild creatures are doing to endure the extreme temperature. This clever book shows how animals are able to survive without the sunscreen and lemonade available to humans. Woodchucks in fields spend the heat of the day in cool underground dens, and earthworms do the same while slowing their metabolisms. The author moves on to the desert, where she follows a ringtail family as they nap in their den, a golden eagle as it cools itself by soaring through the air, a turkey vulture spraying itself, a jackrabbit who cools through its ears, and a horned lizard in the deep shade. In a wetland, osprey chicks cool down with the help of their father’s wet feathers. Tadpoles, crayfish, and salamanders stay in the water and mud. At the seashore, a herring gull shades its chicks. Anemones pull in their tentacles, sea stars hide in the shade, and fiddler crabs have specialized shells that reflect the sun. The realistic, detailed, and beautiful illustrations in this book show exactly how each animal survives.

 

The author’s website, www.melissa-stewart.com, provides a wealth of information for first graders and up. She provides ideas for many reading activities plus curriculum guides. This book would be good as a read aloud, allowing for discussion of each animal and the environment in which it lives.

  • Beneath the SunTitle: Beneath the Sun
  • Author: Melissa Stewart
  • Illustrator: Constance R. Bergum
  • Publisher: Peachtree Publishers, 2014
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Format: Hardcover, 32 pages
  • Genre: Nonfiction, nature
  • ISBN: 978-1-56145-733-7

Dolphins

Written by Penelope Arlon and Tory Gordon-Harris

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While there are many books about dolphins on the market, this one was designed and written with the beginning reader in mind. It features heavy, glossy pages that will withstand multiple readings. It uses varying degrees of font size and shading to help the young reader focus on one set of text at a time. Each item of information is only one sentence long, and thus easy for the student to grasp. Each item is also illustrated directly below or beside the text with clear photographs.

This marvelous introduction to dolphins compares their needs to the needs children will understand. It compares the blowhole to breathing through the mouth, and tells children that a dolphin can be a sleepyhead, but not really sleep. A dolphin can “stand” by flipping its tail back and forth really fast.

Readers learn how dolphins: touch, eat, play and get along with one another. At the very end of the book, one page talks about how dolphins interact with people. The book concludes with a student friendly glossary and index.

Literacy skills are prominent in the design of this book that is also a perfect match for core curriculum standards in science and marine life. It will be a wonderful addition to any library, classroom or home collection and is part of the Scholastic series discover more.

 

  • DolphinsTitle: Dolphins
  • Author: Penelope Arlon and Tory Gordon-Harris
  • Illustrator: (Live Photography)
  • Publisher: Scholastic, 2014
  • Reviewer: Elizabeth Swartz
  • Format: Hardcover, 32 pages
  • ISBN:  978-0-545-62738-2
  • Genre: Nonfiction, Animals, Dolphins
  • Grade Level 1 and 2 (Beginning Readers)
  • Extras: Free digital book with code from hardcover book, glossary, index

Stripes of All Types / Rayas de todas las tallas

Written and Illustrated by Susan Stockdale

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Where can you find striped animals?

Prowling the prairie / rondando por las praderas
Perched on a peak / y encaramadas en altas cumbers.
Crawling on cactus / Caminando sobre el cactus
And camped by a creek / y echadas junto al arroyo.

This English/Spanish bilingual edition is the latest offering from the author. Using minimal text, the book covers a variety of striped mammals, insects, and aquatic creatures posing in their natural habitat. We see ring-tailed lemurs drink from rivers, poison frogs propped on logs, zebra moray eels twist in the sand, and a tabby cat curled in a child’s arms. Stockdale never names the animals, but their identity is revealed in the back pages along with the answers to why animals have stripes (one or two sentences of information are provided for each animal). Readers will also enjoy guessing which stripe belongs to which animal in a memory matching game.

In the classroom, this informational book could be used in both science and literature lessons. It’s a great introduction to patterns, animal markings, and camouflage, while the short rhyming text uses alliteration to enhance the literary skills of young readers. Stockdale’s illustrations are sure to mesmerize a first grade audience. Using bold colors and thick lines, her acrylic artwork really pops off the page.

Visit the authors website for more information and other nature titles: www.susanstockdale.com.

  •  Stripes of all typesTitle: Stripes of All Types / Rayas de todas las tallas
  • Author/Illustrator: Susan Stockdale
  • Publisher: Peachtree Publishers, 2014
  • Reviewer: Lauren Abbey Greenberg
  • Format: Hardcover, 32 pages
  • ISBN: 978-1-56145-793-9
  • Genre: Picture Book, Nature, Science

About Birds: A Guide for Children

Written by Cathryn Sill
Illustrated by John Sill

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This beautiful little book packs a lot into a very few words and pictures. It allows first graders and older to see common birds (cardinal, American robin) up close and to learn about birds in other parts of the world (common murre, magnificent hummingbird). It is a valuable introduction to the English/Spanish bilingual world. And it contains a wealth of information for those who want to know more. As a read aloud or for independent study, this volume of the “About” series provides a solid basis for comprehension of nature and conservation plus a boost to literacy skills.

It is presented as a picture book with a short sentence for each bird, translated into Spanish. e.g., “Some birds build nests on the ground. / Algunos párajos hacen sus nido en la tierra.” is followed by a realistic painting of an ovenbird and its nest. The afterword has longer explanations of each picture, a glossary, and bibliography with books and websites.

Detailed and realistic illustrations make the reader feel like they have actually seen the birds. As birds move fast and are shy of humans, it helps children to recognize our feathered friends.

  • About BirdsTitle: About Birds: A Guide for Children
  • Author: Cathryn Sill
  • Illustrator: John Sill
  • Publisher: Peachtree  Publishers, 2014
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Format: Paperback, unpaged
  • Genre: Nonfiction, nature, bilingual
  • ISBN: 978-1-56145-783-0
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