Together with its companion, strong additions to a series sure to find its way to classroom and school libraries.
Mammals—a perennial early-elementary topic—are presented in a new light in this latest entry in the Compare and Contrast series.
Yes, Hall does hit on all the characteristics that make an animal a mammal, but these facts are presented in a way that allows children to compare and contrast various mammal species: a silverback gorilla breathes through its nose, whereas an Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin breathes through a blowhole, and while a grizzly’s hair is apparent, a manatee has sparse hair that is barely noticeable. The enormous variety within the class makes the coverage necessarily superficial. Backmatter encourages readers to use the provided dichotomous key to identify eight species according to type of animal, gives facts about three “different” mammals—the platypus, the echidna, and bats—and encourages children to keep a nature journal of evidence of animals’ presence. Companion title Sharks and Dolphins, by Kevin Kurtz, is a more successful compare-and-contrast exercise, as these animals look very similar but are actually quite different. Topics addressed include where they are found, types of each, fish versus mammal, body characteristics, and what and how they eat. Backmatter instructs readers on reading and making a Venn diagram and asks them to put a food web in the proper order and identify shark and dolphin body parts. Both books rely on well-chosen stock photos, but those in Sharks are labeled and more dynamic and interesting.
Together with its companion, strong additions to a series sure to find its way to classroom and school libraries. (Nonfiction. 4-7)Pub Date: March 10, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-62855-7299
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Arbordale Publishing
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2016
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.
The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers.
Echoing the meter of “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” Ward uses catchy original rhymes to describe the variety of nests birds create.
Each sweet stanza is complemented by a factual, engaging description of the nesting habits of each bird. Some of the notes are intriguing, such as the fact that the hummingbird uses flexible spider web to construct its cup-shaped nest so the nest will stretch as the chicks grow. An especially endearing nesting behavior is that of the emperor penguin, who, with unbelievable patience, incubates the egg between his tummy and his feet for up to 60 days. The author clearly feels a mission to impart her extensive knowledge of birds and bird behavior to the very young, and she’s found an appealing and attractive way to accomplish this. The simple rhymes on the left page of each spread, written from the young bird’s perspective, will appeal to younger children, and the notes on the right-hand page of each spread provide more complex factual information that will help parents answer further questions and satisfy the curiosity of older children. Jenkins’ accomplished collage illustrations of common bird species—woodpecker, hummingbird, cowbird, emperor penguin, eagle, owl, wren—as well as exotics, such as flamingoes and hornbills, are characteristically naturalistic and accurate in detail.
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers. (author’s note, further resources) (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-2116-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
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