Hawaiian locals and visitors always enjoy spotting endangered Hawaiian monk seals, but Honey Girl is an extra special case. She has raised seven pups, and scientists call her Super Mom. After Honey Girl is injured by a fishhook, she gets very sick. Scientists and veterinarians work to save Honey Girl so she can be released back to the ocean. This true story will have readers captivated to learn more about this endangered species.
Come spend A Day on the Mountain, the follow up to Kevin Kurtz's award-winning first book, A Day in the Salt Marsh. Rhyming verse and vibrant illustrations take readers up a mountain, from the forested bottom to the snow-covered top. While climbing, they witness the changing habitats and meet the plants and animals that live there. Learn about Black bears, Great Gray Owls, Garter snakes, Clark's nutcrackers, Bighorn sheep, Hummingbirds, Yellow-bellied marmots, Mountain goats, Salamanders, and Snow fleas.
Chicken Little may have thought the sky was falling but Peter Pika is sure the glaciers are melting and is off to talk to the Mountain Monarch about it. Joined along the way by friends Tammy Ptarmigan, Sally Squirrel, Mandy Marmot, and Harry Hare, they all wonder what will happen to them if the glaciers melt. Where will they live, how will they survive? When Wiley Wolverine tries to trick them, can the Mountain Monarch save them? More importantly, can the Mountain Monarch stop the glaciers from melting?
This book is a rare find, well deserving of the prestigious Picture Book of the Year award from CBC-NSTA. The science about dragonflies is perfectly integrated into a story in which the remarkable metamorphosis of a dragonfly from a mucky nymph ("Eeeewww," says Eliza) to a beautiful winged creature ("Magnificent!" says Aunt Doris) is a metaphor for the magic of how Eliza, too, is growing up. Teachers will find it useful primarily in an elementary science unit on insects, life cycles and habitats, but also in for language arts lessons in theme, symbolism, and metaphor. The watercolor illustrations are rich, whimsical, and fun. There are two pages of additional science in the back. This is an exceptional example of creative non-fiction writing.
Teachers! This book is like a whole unit on migration wrapped in a winning combination of easy verse, factual language, and beautiful illustrations. For animals, migration is a powerful compulsion to travel, sometimes over long distances, often skipping many meals. Sometimes, as in the case of the monarch butterfly, a round-trip takes several generations. Why do they do it? How do they succeed? The ten featured species offer a broad representation of migration: loggerhead turtles, monarch butterflies, manatees, ruby-throated hummingbirds, Pacific salmon, Canada geese, California gray whales, caribou, Arctic tern, and emperor penguin. The book is loaded with additional tips for teachers. Once again Marianne Berkes combines her teaching, writing, and theatrical skills to combine entertainment with education--creative non-fiction at its best.
Here is the ideal introduction for preschoolers and early elementary children to insects that are not only amazing but also critically important to humans. Inside-the-hive views of a wild colony of honey bees offer close-ups of the queen, the cells, even bee eggs. Simple verse will engage a young child, while sidebars with fascinating information satisfy the somewhat older child. Parents, teachers, and interested children will enjoy much more information about both wild and domestic hives in the back of the book. The detailed art shimmers with life, highlighting each hair or grain of pollen on the bees. A wild hive in a tree in her own backyard served as a model for the artist!
Teachers! Here is another field trip between covers from Tony Fredericks, a funny but very astute professor. Here he visits wetlands inhabited by leaping frogs and zip-zipping dragonflies. Teachers will appreciate the accurate science and great illustrations. Kids will appreciate the humor and cadence of the text, while learning how the wetland creatures interact in their community. Two pages of Field Notes and fun facts at the back of the book offer intriguing information on these creatures.
