Fur and Feathers <small>by Janet Halfmann <br/> Laurie Allen Klein (Illustrator)</small>

What a great read and learning experience for the little ones this work is! Fur and Feathers is targeted for the 4-8 age groups which is just about right. It is quite satisfying to find a children's book that will truly entertain while at the same time teach. This is one of those books.

There is a howling windstorm outside and little Sophia is being read to by her mother. The book is about animals; all kinds of animals from bears to ducks to snakes. As most children will, Sophia falls asleep while being read to. And the dream begins!

The wind swirls and blows, round and round and as it goes faster all of the animals are caught up in the whipping storm. Alas! As the wind blows off go their coats. Fur, shells, feathers, scales and such go flying away leaving the poor animals quite unclothed. Sophia of course wants to help and goes to her closet and finds every piece of clothing she owns and dresses the animals. But this will not do at all! A pig in a jogging outfit, a seal in a suit, a penguin in a tutu! No, it will not do at all.

Our little Sophia is a creative little thing though and pulls out grandma's huge sewing basket. It is full of furs, feathers, sequins and such. Sophia goes to work. Measuring, cutting, stitching and sewing she works throughout the night. Of course by morning the creative little girl has all of the animals "dressed" as they should be dressed; in their natural cover!

Of course the first thing this book teaches is the art of being creative. The author and artist have taken the brick-a-brack found in the sewing boxes of all grandmothers and shown just what can be done with a bit if imagination and ingenuity. (Hey, remember that this is a dream).

Secondly, very sophisticated lessons are being taught as the fantasy is being played out. Those lessons include a very good look at animal classification. What is the difference between mammals, fish, reptiles, gastropods, birds, amphibians and insects? We get a very basic but good summation of the breakdown between kingdom, phylum, family, class, genus, order and species. The author takes a close look at what animals are truly covered with, i.e. hair, hard casing, scales or plates, feathers, wet scales, shells and skin.

All these little lessons are presented in a very subtle way and the child is actually learning much without being truly aware of it. This is truly a fun book to read!

The last four pages of the book are an addition for the adult reader or teacher and cover the subjects of animal classification and coverings quite well and present quite a number of facts and projects for the child and the teacher.

The text is quite well done and very, very readable. This is complimented by some very skillful art work by Laurie Allen Klein. The text and illustrations go perfectly.

As with all of the Sylvan Dell Publications, this work is ideal for the individual child, the class room and would be great for home-schoolers. The book I am reviewing is soft cover and is quite well made...very stout and attractive. I am quite familiar with the hardcover versions this company produces and whether it be soft or hardcover, it is a quality product.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

Fur and Feathers