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: TINY GOES BACK TO SCHOOL (Carl Meister)

TINY GOES BACK TO SCHOOL is a cute little book at the Kindergarten Reading level. It has  just 99 words and sentences like the following:

Tiny is a good dog.

He does what I say.

Watch.

The Story: Tiny's boy is proud of him and how obedient Tiny is. Only problem is that Tiny isn't obedient, so his boy decides to take him to The Happy Dog School.

At first it's doggy chaos with the dogs chasing each other and having fun. That is until the dog-master brings out dog treats.  TREATS grab Tiny's attention and it isn't long until he is showing the other dogs how it's done.

WHAT I REALLY THINK:   It's a practice reader -- not a great work of fiction.  A book worth having in a teacher's book basket but not for the home shelves unless you plan on more children or to pass it on.   Kids who love dogs are going to like this one.  Particularly as we can all identify with loving treats.

Pam~


TINY GOES BACK TO SCHOOL
by Carl Meister

Reading Information:
Word Count: 99
Page Count: 32
Accelerated Reading level: 0.6 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 171596
--other reviews available
~ library find

You might also be interested in:
------------------------------------------------------------------
 Topic: SCHOOL at the Kindergarten reading level
 Topic: THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL - books at the Kindergarten reading level
 Topic: SCHOOL at the 1st Grade reading level

 Review: SCHOOL (Emily Arnold McCully) 
------------------------------------------------------------------

Review: DOTTIE DOLPHIN PLAYS HIDE-AND-SEEK (Maurice Pledger)

My entire family is pretty animal crazy and this boardbook from Maurice Pledger would have found shelf space in any of my siblings homes.

THE STORY:  Dottie Dolphin is swimming around the reef looking for her siblings.  And all sorts of beautiful reef creatures like a Lionfish and turtle give her clues or tell her that they aren't dolphins.

WHAT I LOVE about this book are the brilliant colors and all the animals and objects that there are to point-at and name.  There are sponges, seaweed, and coral; also seahorses, lionfish, turtles, a giant clam, seagulls, frigate birds, and a clownfish and so much more.  In fact, I don't know the names of all the critters.

CONSTRUCTION
-- The pages and cover and sturdy.
-- The front cover has a patch of silky, but textured, fabric where little ones will be able to 'pet' Dottie Dolphin.
-- Not every page has a pull-down tab.  There are four in total.  Plus the last page has fold out which makes it 3 panels wide.
-- The tabs are not the thick cardboard kind, but the heavily plasticized sort.  In fact, all of the pages are very shiny and I would think be water resistant.


WHAT I REALLY THINK:  This would be an excellent book to share with little ones after they are past the 'animal basics'.  (You know, once they know dog/cat/horse/chicken).

Children who have seen the Nemo movie will like finding the clownfish.  And Adults will be able to point at the animals and help children exercise their memories in recalling during subsequent readings what they've been taught. 

This is just a great little boardbook. 

Pam~


DOTTIE DOLPHIN PLAYS HIDE-AND-SEEK
by Maurice Pledger

Reading Information:
Page Count:  16
no reading information available
--other reviews available
-- amazon
~review copy

You might also want to check out these boardbooks:
----------------------------------------------------------------
Review: PING-PING PANDA'S BAMBOO JOURNEY
Review: BUNNIES NEAR AND FAR
Review: POTS AND PANS
Review: DOG NUMBER 1, DOG NUMBER 10
----------------------------------------------------------------

Review: PING-PING PANDA'S BAMBOO JOURNEY (Maurice Pledger)

A follow up book to PING-PING PANDA (ISBN13: 9781571455789), this boardbook, BAMBOO JOURNEY, is adorable.

THE STORY is about the search for the next meal.  Ping-Ping just finishes with her delicious bamboo snack when she discovers that she is still hungry.  Because all of the bamboo is gone where she is she sets out on a journey that leads her see many animal friends.

WHAT I LOVE about this book are the brilliant colors and the appealing way that the animals are drawn.  In addition, there is the opportunity to point-at and name creatures that aren't normally in boardbooks.

Besides Ping-Ping there is a cute red panda named Rusty. There's also Becky Bluebird, Polly Pika, Katie Kingfisher and Hanna Hummingbird who join the search. Other animals include a variety of butterflies, dragon flies, beetles and birds. 

Adults like me will have lots to talk about, and children will love the bright colors and animals.

CONSTRUCTION
-- The pages and cover and sturdy.
-- The front cover has a patch of fur where little ones will be able to 'pet' Ping-Ping.
-- Not every page has a pull-down tab. There are four in total. Plus the last page has fold out which makes it 3 panels wide.
-- The tabs have a cut-out to help lift the edge but the first time through adults may have to get the tabs started.

Pam~


PING-PING PANDA'S BAMBOO JOURNEY
by Maurice Pledger

Reading Information:
Page Count:  16
no reading information available
--other reviews available
-- amazon
~review copy

You might also want to check out these boardbooks:
----------------------------------------------------------------
Review: DOTTIE DOLPHIN PLAYS HIDE-AND-SEEK
Review: BUNNIES NEAR AND FAR
Review: POTS AND PANS
Review: DOG NUMBER 1, DOG NUMBER 10
----------------------------------------------------------------

Review: BIG BEAR, LITTLE CHAIR (Lizi Boyd)

Coming Soon  October 6, 2015

Love this book.  It's cute, educational and just plain pretty.  Done in black/white/gray tones and a spunky orangey-red, the artwork of Lizi Boyd pops.

And the tall thin shape of the book makes the reading experience fun and kid-friendly.

As you might guess from the title BIG BEAR, LITTLE CHAIR is about the contrast between BIG things versus little things.

EDU-TAINMENT~
There are many books for young children that I like, but to find a way to this blog they have to be multi-purpose.  Not only be charming, but full of something to talk about.  Something that will bring out questions and conversation. Or else something to teach.  (I mean, how much conversation can you have with a 9 month old :)

BBLC has that quality.  First, there are lots of things to point at and name. Everything from a cocoon to an umbrella. There are animals such as the bear, also a zebra, butterfly, bird, owl, and salamander, to name a few.

I REALLY like that the creatures in the book aren't just the usual ones. Little ones can certainly understand creatures such as salamanders, seals and penguins once they've tackled your standard cat/dog/bird.

I also like that in the second part of the book that Lizi takes the comparisons one step further, showing not only Big and Little, but Big, Little and even smaller, Tiny.

BIG BEAR, LITTLE CHAIR would make a great gift for new or newer parents. It's pretty, even frameable artwork is appealing and it's nice that the content has many teachable moments.

The edu-tainment value that would make this book a good choice for book baskets at school or home.

Pam~


BIG BEAR, LITTLE CHAIR
(ISBN13: 9781452144474)
by Lizi Boyd 

Reading Information:
Page Count: 36
no reading information currently available
~review copy provided

UNTAMED: THE WILD LIFE OF JANE GOODALL

Anita Silvey's biography of Jane Goodall is brilliant.  Anita manages to produce a solid, sensible study of a life without digging so far into the nitty-gritty details that it's overwhelming.  I've read --or began reading -- a few biographies of Goodall's life and frankly and mysteriously the other authors made it boring.

To give you an example, one thing that comes off brilliantly is the continuity of Goodall's love of animals.  The photos and the stories from her childhood make her later research seem an unavoidable track.  We see a huge photo of little Jane with her little sister and their stuffed animals.  Jane's beloved is a large chimp named Jubilee.

This 'connection' is supported by the other kid friendly stories that Silvey gathers.  One example would be how even at age 5 Jane was focused enough that she made a long study of a chicken and it's egg laying process.  And in another situation where Jane was ill for some time, the young girl coaxed a Robin to visit her in her room and build a nest in her bookcase.

I think UNTAMED would be an excellent book to share with younger readers.   Or it would be an excellent addition to school shelves, classroom or library, or the home shelves of Goodall fans.

The message is upbeat but informative.  Goodall herself encourages readers to get involved.  That even though they are far away from Africa that there are things they can do to make their concerns heard.  And, of course, her example of being a self-taught scientists is an important one.  Especially for girls.

Some of the animals of Gombe

Highly recommend. This book is fabulous.  The format is readable and accessible.  There plenty of fascinating photographs and a colorful reader-friendly (kids and adults) color and side boxes.

Pam~


UNTAMED: THE WILD LIFE OF JANE GOODALL
(National Geo Kids!)
by Anita Silvey

Reading Information:
Word Count: 14,073
Page Count: 96
Accelerated Reader: 7.4 / points: 2.0
AR quiz: 175511
Lexile: 1100L
~ review copy provided for review
--sample e-chapters available

Here's what the boards look like
w/o the jacket. Beautiful.

Review: MAX THE BRAVE (Ed Vera)

4.09  STARS by 165 GoodReaders

MAX is a cute kitten.  A kitten who would chase mice if he only knew what they looked like.

There is a tiny element of 'Are You My Mother' here as Max explores his world and seeks out these elusive mice.  He keeps inquiring of birds and fish if they are mice and of course they aren't.

**SPOILER** 

THE TWIST here is that when Max finally meets the mouse, the mouse tells him that a monster is a mouse.

Max is surprised that 'the mouse' is so large but that doesn't stop him from trying to wake and engage the creature.  After being swallowed and sneezed out Max wisely decides to chase the tiny 'monster' instead.  (that's the mouse!)

--one thing to note is that some small children might not like the idea of Max, or anybody for that matter, being swallowed.

**END of SPOILERS**

THE ART

Ed Vera's world and critters are simply drawn.  As you can see from the images Max is black and white with a cute little blue nose.  Most of the other animals, except for the monster, are similarly drawn. 

This simplicity works really well because of the striking background colors.  Sunny yellows, striking oranges, greens and blues... make MAX THE BRAVE a bright attractive book that is very kid-friendly.

TEACHABLES

Point-and-Name: There are a number of beasties that you can name: kitten, of course. Also, a fly, fish, birds, elephant, and the elusive mouse.

For older children who are beginning to read or who are at the pretend-read stage there's a game you can play with the words that are bold print. You can challenge them to read those words; which include: not, mice, must, you, mouse and BIG.  Even if they aren't actually reading they can practice by memorizing what the word should be.

MAX THE BRAVE is for the 5 and under crowd. I think they will enjoy the story because... well, it's got kittens and monsters!

Pam~


MAX THE BRAVE

ISBN13: 9780723286691
by Ed Vere  

Reading Information:
Page Count: 32
no reading information currently available 
--review copy
--amazon link
--available now in the international edition at Amazon

Review: LOLA GOES TO THE DOCTOR

I love this book. It just has so much to offer.

First though, before I talk about the content, let me say that just about everything about LOLA GOES TO THE DOCTOR has kid appeal.  Lola the Yorkie is adorable, and the photos are bright and colorful and filled with dogs, pigs, a human baby, a chicken, older kids, and toys!  Even the end-papers show a little dog playing doctor. 

Point-and-Name: The first way to use this book is as an advanced point-and-name resource. Stethoscope, Yorkshire Terrier, Pig, Veterinarian, chicken, scale, are some samples of words you can teach little ones.

Doctor Fears: Many little ones have concerns about doctor visits.  This book with a doggy that is even smaller than they are, might help to alleviate some of those fears.  Lola talks about what she is afraid of and then she sets a good example.  

And for children facing their first visit for school, Ms. Goldman's book can serve to familiarize them with the doctor's office and what to expect.

If you have a child who is fearful of doctor visits --either for themselves or for their pets-- give LOLA GOES TO THE DOCTOR a try.  Everything is handled in a calm and affirming manner.  And the gentle humor that is thrown in doesn't hurt.

Pam~


LOLA GOES TO THE DOCTOR
by Marcia Goldman

Reading Information:
Page Count:  32
no reading information currently available 
--review copy

Review: POLAR BEAR'S UNDERWEAR (Tupera Tupera)

3.79 Stars from 43 GoodReaders

Underwear? Really? To be honest with you I wasn't sure at first that this book was going to be a winner.  But after 2 pages it absolutely grew on me and the little ones loved it from the start.  It's so goofy and fun and they loved shouting out their guesses as to whom the undies belonged to.

The story is about Polar Bear and how he's lost his undies. Perplexed, he and his good friend Mouse begin a search.

What you get are big bright pages in sets. The first page of the set has Mouse and Polar Bear talking about whether what they spy on the next page could be PB's underwear. What children see is a page with a cut out and a bright 'mystery' pattern. One pattern, for example, has different kinds of food; while another has 'I Love Mice'. When you turn the page you get to see who it is.

I particularly like the itty-bitty cutout for the itty-bitty underwear, but kids will have their own favorites.

Besides the fun you can use this book to teach about patterns and to name animals like Pig, Mouse, Cat, Zebra....

A delightful and sturdy book made with thick paper.

Pam~


POLAR BEAR'S UNDERWEAR
by Tupera Tupera  

Reading Information:
Page Count: 32
no reading information currently available
--amazon
--review copy

Review: WALK ON THE WILD SIDE (Nicholas Oldland)

3.88 Stars from 60 GoodReaders

Adorable. At my house we've long been fans of Nicholas Oldland's art and this book doesn't let us down. Moose, Bear, and Beaver are cute and funny and just generally appealing.

Review: THE TORTOISE & THE HARE by Jerry Pinkney
Review: That’s Why We’re all so Glad He Came with the Couch . . .
Review: The Boy, The Bear, The Baron, The Bard
Review: MR. TIGER GOES WILD 

In this book the three animals are buddies out for a day of fun. They set off and somewhere along the line they decide to make the trip 'more exciting'. And so they set off in a hurry only to run into some mishaps because... well, when you rush you can't be as careful.

So they slow down and discover what many of us already know.  That you can find a different sort of excitement at a slower pace: dinosaurs bones and spooky caves!

Kids are going to like the art and adventure; and adults are going to be able to point out that you have to sometimes slow down to smell the roses.

Pam~


WALK ON THE WILD SIDE
(Kids Can Press)
by Nicholas Oldland

Reading Information:
Page Count: 32
no reading information currently available
--sample pages available
--received as free review copy

Review: PAT THE CAT by Colin and Jacqui Hawkins

PAT THE CAT is all about the -at.  Cat, fat, mat, hat, bat, rat, sat, Nat, Pat.

What I like about the book --besides the big orange cat-- is the format.  All of the story pages are shorter except the last which has an a big -AT on it. (The -at is part of the word Pat). Which means that when the pages are turned that children see the first letters change and the --at remain the same.  I think that helps to set in their mind how words are formed.

Sorry about the scanning quality. This is an old, well-loved library book.

one mom objected to making fun of fat cat Pat

Surprisingly this book has no Lexile or Accelerated Reader numbers.  But it can certainly be shared with little ones who are beginning to read. Adults can read the text if the child cannot, and the child can shout out the Big Words.  In the above sample pages that would be CAT and FAT.

sample sentence - one of the longest
Pat is too fat to get Nat out of his hat.

I am still a HUGE fan of the LeapFrog Letter Factory and the the Talking Word Factory videos. To me and thousands of other adults they provide the best foundation for reading --basically effortlessly.  (That's why they have Star Ratings of 4.9 and 4.8 respectively.)  But little fun books like this are great for providing some laptime support.

See if your library has this one.

Pam~


PAT THE CAT
by Colin and Jacqui Hawkins

Reading Information:
Page Count: 20
no reading information currently available
--sample pages and reviews available

Review: ORANGE TRIANGLE FOX by Sarah Jones

ORANGE TRIANGLE FOX is a cute and intelligent little boardbook.

It features animals and shapes and colors so you can get a lot entertainment and education possibilities.

Animals covered are: hedgehog, owl, fox, frog, turtle, bird (Bluejay), bug.

Colors featured are: brown, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple.

Shapes are: circle, square, triangle, star, semicircle, rectangle, heart.

Recommend because the artwork is sweet and there is so much to share.

Pam~


ORANGE TRIANGLE FOX
by Sarah Jones

Reading Information:
Page Count: 14
no reading information currently available 

✓ Check out these boardbooks too:

• BUNNIES NEAR AND FAR
• SPRINGTIME BABY
• I SAY, YOU SAY COLORS!
  

Review: BUNNIES NEAR AND FAR by Sarah Jones

1 bunny near
2 bunnies far
3 bunnies take a walk
4 in a car

BUNNIES NEAR AND FAR is a wonderful little boardbook. It has thick shiny pages that are rounded, and the text is large and simple. The artwork consists of cute bunnies in muted, calming tones.

These numbers are big enough for little fingers to trace. And please note
that the black at the edges is from my scanner.

There's humor in this book --in both the art and lyrics-- BUT what I really love is that Sarah Jones (author/artist) gives adults so many things to point out and discuss with little ones.

BUNNIES NEAR AND FAR can be read to older babies just for entertainment for the rhyme and cadence. But with Toddlers you can spend more time on the numbers; both counting the cute bunnies, and identifying the numeric symbols.  If you want to take it a step further, you can have your child trace the large numbers with their index finger --a practice used by some teachers to prepare children to write.

In addition, there are Contrasts in every set of pages.  Some like near-and-far, walk-and-ride, and up-and-down may be familiar.  But there are also those that are less common, like country-and-town, and sing (a song) and play (an instrument).

If you've ever read any of my reviews of boardbooks, or books for really young children before, you'll know that I love books that are multipurpose. They need to be entertaining, but if they also teach some science or numbers or morals, they're going to be the kind of book that would end up on my own home shelves, and they are going to be books that I recommend.

In this regard I thought BUNNIES NEAR AND FAR was a very useful book. It's the first book that I've read from publisher Blue Manatee, and I have to say that I'm impressed by how much information they've managed to include in so few pages.

Consider this book Recommended.

Thank you Blue Manatee for the chance to find out about Sarah Jones.   I absolutely loved this book and ORANGE TRIANGLE FOX.

Pam~


BUNNIES NEAR AND FAR
by Sarah Jones

Reading Information:
Page Count: 14
no reading information currently available
--sample pages and reviews available

✓ Check out these boardbooks too:

• ORANGE TRIANGLE FOX
• POTS AND PANS
• SPRINGTIME BABY
• I SAY, YOU SAY COLORS!
  

Review: BABY PANDAS by Bethany Olson

The BABY PANDAS book is a part of the Super Cute! series which features baby animals.  My library carries three of the titles, and out of the three this one is my favorite.

Besides having super cute pictures of pandas! BABY PANDAS actually has some words many children won't visually recognize, like groom, bond, bleat, and nurse.  And each of these really good vocabulary words gives adults like us a chance to discuss what they mean. 

all together now... ahhhhh :)

A Large font. Super simple sentences and pictures of pandas makes BABY PANDAS a book worth sharing.

The cub nurses
when it is young.
Later it eats
bamboo.

Pam~


BABY PANDAS
(Blastoff Readers: Super Cute)
by Bethany Olson

Reading Information:
Word Count: 104
Page Count:  24
Accelerated Reader: 1.2 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 162350
Lexile: 330L

The BABY CATS and BABY DOGS post has the reading levels for the entire series.  Find it here.