AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES : A Compare and Contrast Book

AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES is a fun, kid-friendly book with interesting photos on every page.  Written at the 3rd Grade Reading level it talks about Herpetologists, the scientists who study Amphibians and Reptiles, and about how the two groups of animals are different. 

In addition children will learn that there are 3 sub-types of amphibians and 4 sub-types of reptiles. 

I like the above photo and the smaller ones on next page.  It's like a call to action for kids to head out and see what they can discover.

 

Most pages have only a few words like:

Most amphibians have moist, smooth skin.

But there may be more:

When amphibians hatch, they live in the water as tadpoles. As they grow, their bodies change form in a process called "metamorphosis".

WHAT I LIKE about this book

-- The information is clearly presented.

-- The images. Color runs from page edge to page edge, and each photograph is interesting.  Things that are slimy, look slimy.  And things that are dry and scaly look true to form.

-- There is a section at the back of the book that I really like titled "For Creative Minds".  It is a way for adults to engage with children and this material.  It's here that children will be introduced to more sophisticated material.  The author introduces them to 'taxonomy' and the fact that scientists divide all living creatures into vertebrates and invertebrates and from there into classes.

-- There's a page with 9 animals and a fun challenge for children to decide based on what they learned whether the critters are reptiles or amphibians. 

-- At the end there's also an information dense page which talks about Herpetologists and what they do, with notes and hints and safety tips on how children can go out and do their own fieldwork.

FOR TEACHERS there are online resources.

-- The 'For Creative Minds' material is available there so that instructors can share that URL with others or print it out for children to take home.

-- There are also a variety of quizzes that are available: ones for Reading, for the Creative Minds material, and one for Math.

-- Activity suggestions, website info and more.... Look under Educational Resources on the Arbordale Publication page.

SUMMARY

AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES is a visually appealing book that should appeal to a fairly wide age range.  Younger children will enjoy the photos and listening to you reading the text.  Having only 220 words makes this a good book for reluctant readers who are curious about animals.

For more precocious students there is the material in the FCM section.  And in general this book would make a good one to use to reinforce the principles taught in a curriculum about Amphibians and Reptiles.

Pam~


AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES:
A Compare and Contrast Book
(Arbordale Publishing)
by Katharine Hall

Reading Information:
Word Count: 221
Page Count:  32
Accelerated Reader: 3.4 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 174708
~ review copy

Review: SWAN, The Life and Dance of Anna Pavlova (Laurel Snyder)

4.59 STARS from 87 GoodReaders

SWAN is a lovely book about the famous ballerina, Anna Pavlova.  The artwork by Julie Morstad is gorgeous; so touching and sweet.  And Laurel Syder's verse makes for a very good read-aloud, as well as a good introduction to the Pavlova's story. 

Born in Czarist Russia, Pavlova was the daughter of a laundress and miraculously she managed to rise to become a prima ballerina. Pavlova was a woman who transformed ballet, and who brought this beautiful art to the masses, and yet her story is not an entirely happy one.

SWAN is a book that I would share with girls .AND. boys, and it's a book I suggest you approach bass-ackwards.  By which I mean that I think everyone will get more out of the book if they start with the Author's Note at the end. 

That brief note sums up aspects of Pavlova's life that readers are going to recognize in the verse and images... and if they are like me and mine they are going to enjoy the book more if approached in this order. 

Snyder, for example, tells us how Pavlova faced rejection because her body was slim at a time when Russian ballerina's were strong and muscular.  She also had weak feet and struggled all her life to persevere against the pain.

**This would be a perfect time to introduce Misty Copeland, another prima ballerina from today's headlines.  Misty faced a similar struggle for acceptance, and ironically because she was athletic and in some ways the the physical opposite of ethereal standard of beauty that Pavlova made popular.

**You could also use this book as a lead in to a discussion about how sometimes we need to ignore 'the experts' and do what we love.  As well as a discussion of the definition of beauty and how it changes over time. 

I really think this author's note is worth reading.

WHAT I REALLY THINK:  This is a beautiful book that is a good read-aloud.  The story follows the circle of Pavlova's life and so ends sadly with her death.  I LOVE being able to talk about Pavlova's mission to spread a love of ballet to all people, and her heroism in ignoring 'the experts' as well as the pain which others might have let stop them from performing.

A good book to share and to add to classroom shelves.

Pam~


SWAN, The Life and Dance of Anna Pavlova
ISBN:  1452118906
by Laurel Snyder
Julie Morstad (illustrator)

Reading Information:
Page Count: 52
no AR reading information currently available 
Lexile: AD380L