Review: SMITHSONIAN: DISCOVER EARTH

SMITHSONIAN: DISCOVER EARTH is a fun resource from the Smithsonian folks and Dorothea DePreisco.  Filled with fascinating photos and hands on activities it would make a good addition to classroom or home shelves.

The book is 64 pages long and divided into 3 sections.

Section 1 lists the characteristics of our blue planet, like average temperature, highest and lowest elevation, etc.  The book then goes on to describe earth's place in the solar system, it's seasons, and natural wonders and landscapes.  Kids will look deep into the earth structure and also learn that there are 7 continents.

The hands-on project for this section is a 3-D globe.  If you look below you see some of the assembly instructions.  Glue and perhaps some adult help required.

Section 2 is titled THE BLUE PLANET and is all about everything water.  The earth's oceans, streams, and lakes, as well as tides, what makes oceans salty, how water cycles, and even how water creates underground caverns.

The hands-on fun in this section is flash cards.  I'll show you a sample page --front and back-- below.

The 3rd section focuses on weather and natural disasters.  The book shares information on the hottest and coldest places as well as info on volcanic eruptions, tidal waves, drought and floods.  There's a great two sided map included that is suitable for display.  

On one side of the map you have the United States, while on the opposite side the entire world.  The world side is color coded with biomes and shows some of the animals that live in those habitats.

The map side which shows the U.S. has the states labelled and indicates what sorts of disasters typically strike those areas.  Oklahoma, for example, has a box with a picture of a tornado pointing to it.

Note the sturdy thick cover

WHAT I REALLY THINK:  It's odd perhaps to mention sturdiness, but when it comes to materials that might be used in a classroom it's a feature that comes to my mind.  If you look up at the picture immediately above and below this paragraph you'll see a sturdy hardback cover and a spiral binder that looks like it will stand the test of time.

Note the page binding with multiple spirals

The globe of the earth is cool but it's a one time construction project.  The flashcards and map though can be used over and over and I think kids are going to find them interesting.

Overall the book is eye candy and it covers so much that I think it's a nice introduction to a variety of topics... or the book can stand as a supporting member of Team Science; by which I mean that it will reinforce what children have already been exposed to. A good addition to classroom shelves.

Pam~


SMITHSONIAN: DISCOVER EARTH

Reading Information:
Page Count: 64
no reading information currently available
~ MustReadKidLit received a copy of this book for review purposes.

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

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.

DIRTMEISTER'S NITTY GRITTY PLANET EARTH (National Geographic Kids)

Yeah!  Science is Fun!!!

HOW IT'S MADE, COSMOS, DIRTY JOBS, BILL NYE, MYTHBUSTERS and... the DIRTMEISTER!  There is just so much cool science that is available now for kids (and adults). And it's NOT just science and math, but edu-tainment.

What I love about edu-tainment is how easy it makes it for kids (and moms) to absorb information.  By making it fun and colorful you get science in easy to understand and digest nuggets.  

In this book readers will flip their way through all kinds of earthly questions and answers. They'll find out about Earthquakes, Minerals, Volcanoes, Fossils and more. The format is colorful and like a sophisticated comic book with plenty of action and information. Even the paper is pleasant to touch with it's heavy slick feel.

I LOVED:: the bright colorful format and the titles of the different sections. The section on carbon dating, for example, is called 'The Clocks in the Rocks'. It's a cleverness kids and adults can appreciate.

OTHER CONDENSED NOTES
--I don't having reading numbers on this book yet. They just aren't out.

--If your reader is young you might have to sit down with them for a moment and go over the format. In places the 'dialog' and flow of the story is split on the same pages. For example, in Chapter 3 in the top half of the pages show the DirtMeister is talking to his buddy, Digger, and they are setting up probes along a fault line. The bottom half of the pages has a dialog between the Meister and a girl from Japan that wants to find out what causes earthquakes. The backgrounds of the two storylines are different so that you don't get confused, but a new reader might need to be shown this.

--the science comes in levels. To stick with our Earthquake example, kids can keep to the simple stuff, or they can learn about S-waves and P-waves. There's even an experiment to use to help lock-down understand of the differences.

RECOMMEND. This would be a good book for the home or classroom shelves. Libraries, of course.

Pam~

DIRTMEISTER'S NITTY GRITTY PLANET EARTH

Reading Information:

Page Count: 128

no reading information currently available 

--review copy

 **do check out national geo's videos
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/videos/

Review: DK Readers BUGS AND US by Patricia J. Murphy

BUGS AND US is one of DK's (Dorling Kindersley) Beginning To Read books.

I like the approach that DK and Patricia Murphy takes with this material. The book begins by admitting that bugs do bug us.  It then goes on to show though that our lives are dependent upon bugs.  That they not only make honey and silk, but they pollinate our crops, and actually provide pest control by eating even peskier bugs.  Not to mention that they can be food for people.

CONTENTS
Buzz! Swat! Scratch!
Who needs insects?
Pollinators
Honeybees
Pest controllers
Ladybugs
Ants
Spiders
Watch and listen
Silkworm moths
Recyclers
Helping science
Tasty insects
Let bugs live
Glossary

The above two page spread identifies the basic parts of bugs; while the page below shows a typical photograph and sample text.

Here's one more sample paragraph of text from another page:

Dragonflies eat 300 to 400 mosquitoes a day.
Praying mantises and green lacewings feast
on insects, large and small.  But, soon, other
animals will eat them!

Pam~


BUGS AND US
(DK Readers)
by Patricia J. Murphy

Reading Information:
Word Count: 504
Page Count: 32
Accelerated Reader:  2.9 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 155683
--sample pages available
--note that one reviewer said it was not a good Kindle purchase because the photos don't display well

THE SLIMY BOOK OF SPIT by Connie Colwell Miller

 

Launch a loogie.  Drool on your 

pillow.  Wipe slobber on your sleeve.  

It seems like you can do a million gross 

things with your spit.  But did you know 

that spit also helps your body do some 

pretty important stuff?

Thus begins THE SLIMY BOOK OF SPIT.  A kid-friendly book that gives readers the low-down on mouth moisture.

Ms. Miller talks about the history of spit and how different cultures view spit.  Also, how saliva aids in digestion, and how spit can even be used to test for diabetes and cancer. 

There's also some attention paid to dog and baby drool.

Truly, all things 'spit' are here.  And besides being entertaining, readers will find out some pretty cool facts about our Amazingly Gross Bodies.

Good book for classroom shelves.   Moms should get it at the library.

Pam~


THE SLIMY BOOK OF SPIT
by Connie Colwell Miller

Reading Information:
Word Count: 1,782
Page Count:  32
Accelerated Reading level: 4.6 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 131116
Lexile: 770L

Table Of Contents
Nothing To Spit At
The Scoop On Spit
How Spit Happens
A Nasty Habit

 

Glossary
Read More
Internet Sites
Index

You might also be interested in:

DISGUSTING JOBS!

DEADLIEST JOBS ON EARTH

DISGUSTING PLANTS

DISGUSTING ANIMALS!

Fall and The Science of Fall Leaves! Great Books to Choose From

In I Can Read About Fall we introduced the 3 easiest books on Fall. In this post the focus is on books at a higher reading level with a particular focus on Fall Leaves. Some are casual reads that evoke the season, while others, like Ellen Rene's Investigating Why Leaves Change Their Color get down to the interesting nitty-gritty science that explains exactly why Fall leaves obtain those beautiful, striking colors.

It's Fall!
by Linda Glaser
Susan Swan (illus.)

The text in this one describes the colors and smells and happenings of fall, but I'm going to guess that it will be Susan Swan's fun cut-paper, mixed media, artwork that will grab everyone's attention.

It's Fall! has a boy pointing out that besides cooler weather, crunchy leaves and nighttime coming earlier, that animals change their habits. That geese are flying south, ladybugs and earthworms are starting to prepare for hibernation, and raccoons and other animals are storing away food.

It's fall! I help rake a big, big pile of leaves.
Whee! I jump in and sink deep, deep, deep.
I hide inside. It smells sharp and sweet.
Leaves prickle and tickle all over me.
i wat and wait. Then...

We hear the wild honking of migrating geese
as they fly way up overhead in V's.
A hawk soars up in a sweeping glide.
And there go some monarch butterflies!

They're all heading south where it's warm,
because colder days are coming soon.

In addition, Glaser also has a paragraph or two about plants. How some are scattering seeds, and how cooler weather is a good time to plant some bulbs like crocuses and tulips.

At the end there is a long list of Nature Activities for children, including Picking Apples/Pumpkins, Leaf Rubbings, Making a Seed Mosaic, and more.

(click to magnify)

Reading Information
Word Count: 875
Paperback: 32 pages
Accelerated Reading level: 3.1 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 57474

• Publisher: Millbrook Press
• ISBN-10: 0761313427
  
• amazon (look inside available)
  

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf
by Lois Ehlert

**American Bookseller Pick of the List**
Reading Rainbow Book!

For us this book is all about the artwork. To be honest the children and I didn't enjoy the text of "Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf" as much as Lois Ehlert's other books. But that might just be us.

The artwork is very appealing. There are leaf cutouts where the color is provided from the page behind. And the rich, bright colors run from page-edge to page-edge.



The text is huge and appropriate for younger children. The topic covered is the life cycle of trees. At the end of the book there are four pages of more detailed information, but it is more for adults than children. The text is small and discusses Leaves, Buds, Roots and Sap, Seeds, Bark, Tree Flowers, and how to select and plant a tree.

Seeds the squirrels
didn't find lay sleeping
among the leaves
until they
were covered
with snow.

When spring sun warmed
the seeds, they sprouted
and sent roots
down into the soil.
Tiny leaves
unfolded on
their stems.

Oddly there's a mention about the seedling being gathered in the woods. I'd be shocked to find that nurseries still do that. And I'd point this out to children and finish our discussion of the book by asking why national parks now forbid people from 'taking home samples' and why nurseries no longer gather their seeds and seedlings in this way. (Answer: to many people doing this would strip the wilderness of it's next generation of plants.)

Reading Information:
Word Count: 286
Hardcover: 40 pages
Accelerated Reader: reading level: 2.6 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 6137

• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books
• ISBN-10: 0152661972
• amazon (look inside available)
  

Investigating Why Leaves Change Their Color
(Science Detectives)
by Ellen Rene

I really like this book. The layout is not the best -- paragraph breaks are hard to distinguish -- but the text is large and the content is detailed and chatty.

Table of Contents
Out of Thin Air
What is Photosynthesis?
Chlorophyll and Sunlight
What Makes Leaf Colors?
Sun Catchers
How Do Plants Move Food Around?
Hidden Color
Shutting Down
Nature's Big Show
Leaf Detectives

Glossary Index Websites

One of the things I love about the book is that it's not afraid to use big words. Ellen Rene writes about anthocyanins (yes, there's a pronunciation guide at the end of the book), carotenoids and photosynthesis. And she explains these pigments and processes in a manner that children and adults can understand.

An excellent choice for home and/or the classroom. This book can be used as a read-aloud, or as a practice reader. Students will learn not only about trees, leaves and fall, but light, and why leaves appear red or green.

Reading Information:
Word Count: 1,378
Library Binding: 24 pages
Accelerated Reading level: 3.7 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 126040

• Publisher: PowerKids Press
• ISBN-10: 1404244859
• amazon
  

Why Do Leaves Change Color?
by Betsy Maestro
Loretta Krupinski, Illus.

The artwork in this book is very nice. There are drawings of the insides of a leaf and also many different leaf shapes.

The text however, isn't as strong and in my opinion it fails to follow through with information suitable for children reading at this level. You get sentences like, "Leaves are very important to the tree" and "When the leaves die, they will fall from the tree." This would be fine as a read-aloud for very young children, but by the 3rd Grade, most children have already had a year or more of plant basics, what their roots and leaves are used for, and they are ready for a book with more science -- like Ellen Rene's "Investigating Why Leaves Change Their Color" which I reviewed previously.

The tree begins to get ready for it's winter rest. It needs very little food now, and the leaves stop their work. The life of the leaves is almost at an end. The tree no longer needs them.

When the leaves die, they will fall from the tree. This will happen slowly over a number of weeks. As the leaves begin to separate from the tree, they get less water. Without water, the leaves cannot make new chlorophyll. The old chlorophyll begins to fade. The green color starts to disappear.

This would be an okay, basic introduction to the 'science of fall leaves' but it won't be enough for children who are ready to understand the workings of chlorophyll, photosynthesis and carotenoids. To my mind it dealt too generally with the processes.

Reading Information:
Word Count: 969
Paperback: 32 pages
Accelerated Reading level: 3.7 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 13840

• Publisher: Collins
• ISBN-10: 0064451267
• amazon (look inside available)
  

The Stranger
by Chris Van Allsburg

Another brilliant book by Chris Van Allsburg, The Stranger is a mystery story that involves a stranger who has lost his memory after an accident. It might not be particularly important except that now Winter won't come.

We read this story every year. It doesn't get old because of Allsburg wonderful artwork and great storytelling.

Reading Information:
Word Count: 927
Hardcover: 32 pages
Accelerated Reading level: 3.7 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 69065

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
  
• ISBN-10: 0395423317
• amazon (look inside available)
  

compiled by Pam


One Fall project we particularly liked was making a 'leaf journal'. This project is simple and consists of pasting fall leaves of different colors and shapes on the paper of choice. You can also do leaf rubbings and add sparkles for that special touch.

Just One Bite by Lola Schaefer, Geoff Waring, Illus.

A Bear.
a Komodo dragon.
an Octopus
a Parrot
a Sperm Whale
a Butterfly
a Rabbit
a Frog
an Elephant
a Worm

It's not just a question of what they eat, but how much!

Curious kids are going to like this one. Just One Bite opens up the world of animals one mouth at a time. With minimal text and bright, colorful artwork they are going to be able see exactly how a giraffe eats, and what. My own personal favorite was the worm. I was surprised at how much they could eat at one time. Who knew?

THE SKINNY:::

Just One Bite is an interesting early-science book that introduces children to the habits and habitats of 11 animals. The animals range from a tiny worm to a giant whale with creatures that inhabit land, sea and air.

I really like the information provided, and the fact that the book is very large and colorful and could easily be used with more than one child.

I could also see homeschoolers and teachers using it as the basis of a science unit where you could expand upon the notion of habitat and food chain.

Our one complaint came from my 8-year old son who wanted more 'exact' artwork, and who had a little trouble interpreting the pictures.

Everyone loved the pages that folded out so that the artwork sprawled over 4 pages!

Just One Bite

• Accelerated Reading level : Generic 2
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (September 1, 2010)
• ISBN-10: 0811864731
• 

THE TECHNICAL BITS:::

Reading Level: generic 2

Interest Level: 4-8

Appellations:
*Starred* review from Kirkus

Related reviews:
Life-Size Sharks and Other Underwater Creatures

Green Philanthropy For Families: 160 Simple Earth Honoring Gifts, Actions, Activities and Projects

DO Your Family a Favor... NO, Do All of US a Favor and Add This to Your Family Library... And Use It!

What a unique and useful book this is! The authors have laid before us some very workable projects. At first glance, this work is an accumulation of very good ideas as to what each of us can do to improve our lives and the earth we live on; more about this later.

When you first glance though this work the message, purpose and goals appear to be quite simple and forward; more about this later. But make no mistake; this is a very sophisticated bit of work which strives for multiple ends, and I must say, has all the elements present to allow it to be quite successful in what the authors are trying to accomplish. Let's start with the first...

As the subtitle tells us, this is a collection of 160 simple earth honoring gifts, action, activities and projects for the entire family. And indeed this book is all that! These ideas are well presented, professionally written and are extremely clear. Having actually read these "ideas" I was unable to find one that did not appeal to me, I could not find one that was undoable, and I did not find one that was not only logical, but also helpful to both our environment and to the individual, family or group performing the task...if task you want to call it. (Actually, most of these project look rather fun).

The book is broken down into various, easy to follow sections beginning with one entitled "Five Things to Think about Doing." This provides an overview of how to get organized; extremely important. The book then goes on to several chapters of actual projects, which is further broken down into areas such as Simplifying Living, Food, Water, Urban Habitats, Wild Places and Things, Ecoliteracy, Community Service and so forth.

Life-Size Sharks and Other Underwater Creatures by Daniel Gilpin, Illus. by Martin Knowelden

Wow! What can I say. This book generated more OH WOWs from the back seat of our car than any other book I've ever left there for my kids to find.

My children --boy and girl; just turning 8 and 10 this month-- just thought this was a fabulous book. And it does have a lot going for it.

For one thing, there are Martin Knowelden's wonderful drawings. They are huge and colorful and fill the pages of this oversized book. ( 13.9 x 10.7 x 0.6 inches)

For another, there are the fold out pages. My two had a blast folding out the 4 pages that make up the "Life Size" drawing of a Great White's mouth (or at least part of it). Don't tell our librarians, but they stood in their socking feet in the sharks mouth. And wow! it really drives home how BIG that mouth is.

After they finish oogling over the pictures, there's quite a big to learn. Daniel Gilpin describes all sorts of sea animals and their environments. Here is the Table of Contents so you can get an idea of what is covered.

What lives underwater?
Under the ice
Ocean giants
Jaws of death
Other ways to kill prey
The twilight zone
Into the abyss
Coral reefs
Ocean voyagers
Real-life sea monsters
Beach invaders
Life in fresh water
Index

Talking Points:::
What this book accomplishes that other books about the great deep don't, is demonstrate and show the real size of critters, or parts of critters. There's a huge shark tooth, for example, which showed me how big some of those teeth get. Plus, there's illustrations of Sea Horses and other animals.

Life-Size Sharks would be a good gift for young animal lovers. The only downside I could find was that the language might be too advanced for little people to read themselves. I looked for a Reading Level designation, but could not find one. You might be guided though, by knowing that most of Mr. Gilpin's other books were at the 6th grade level.

Pam
Somewhere in the X-burbs

Life-Size Sharks and Other Underwater Creatures

Accelerated Reading level : unknown

• Hardcover: 28 pages
• Publisher: Sterling (August 1, 2005)
• ISBN-10: 140272537X

• Google has page samples
  

Other books on sharks:

also: SHARKS!!! THE Easiest Easy Readers (a list of books)

Ladybugology (Backyard Buddies)by Michael Elsohn Ross

We've been reading about bugs this summer. We have covered lice, dabbled in fireflies, and are now touching on ladybugs. Most of the books were good. They generally had interesting photos and they listed the essential information about whatever critter was being discussed; but none of them really stood out from the pack in the sense of format or style. That was until we ran across this Backyard Buddies series, and Ladybugology by Michael Elsohn Ross. With this book we discovered a whole new approach to bug studies.

Unlike the other books, the approach of Ladybugology is very much hands-on. Ross still covers the usual bug information. He discusses their life cycle, body parts, what they eat, and what eats them, but only at the end of the book. Before that he focuses on trying to get children to make their own observations. In essence to be kid-scientists!

"Aware Dare" is one of the games he uses to get kids thinking. It starts when a ladybug is placed inside a clear container. Kids then take turns making observations as the subject(s) flies and crawls around. They jot down the results, until no one can't think of anything new to say. The winner is the last one to make an observation!

While this game might seem simple, it actually brings together quite a few activities. Besides practice in taking turns, it helps children to exercise their powers of observation -- a principal task of a scientist-- and then it gives them a fun reason to practice writing.

Other projects involve arts and crafts, measurement and simple math. Everything from making a gym for the ladybugs, to designing costumes. Really, for being so small, this book is full of ideas.

Give This One a Try!!!

Finally, a bug book that's more than just a list of bug attributes. In this one there are lots of hints and ways to expand the experience: ranging from how to make a ladybug hotel to games.

Considerations:
The Accelerated Reading (ATOS) designation for Ladybugology is 5.7 which means that it is a book for the average 5th Grader in the 7th month of school. It may be read, of course, to children of any age. I have used the activities with a 6 year old, and they can probably be used, with supervision, with even younger children.

Kindness and Consideration -- the book emphasizes gentle handling of these small creatures, and releasing them after a day or so.

Reproduction - The topic of reproduction is handled well. On the one page where it is addressed, the author writes: "It is a common sight to see one ladybug on the back of another. ...But examination through a microscope will show that the ladybug getting a piggyback ride is a male.

"Like other male insects, the male ladybug has a special organ, called an aedeagus... through which he delivers sperm to the eggs of the female."

Review: MONSTER BUGS!

I'm always on the look-out for books that do double-duty. You know, cool practice readers that also educate. "Snowshoe Thompson" falls into this category, and so does MONSTER BUGS.

Here's a sample of what you will find:
(This sentence breaks follow what is in the book.)

The heaviest bug
is the goliath beetle of Africa.
How heavy is it?
Get two eggs
out of the fridge.
Hold them together
in your hand.
That's how heavy
one goliath beetle is.

As you can see the text is very kid-friendly. The author knows to give concrete examples – two eggs – that children can relate to, and the artist knows to show the bugs UP CLOSE.

The critters that the book discusses are: the goliath beetle, giant stag beetle, bombardier beetle, giant waterbug, stinkbug, walking sticks, pray mantises, army ants, ant lion, black widow, raft spider, tarantula, tarantula hawk, killer bees, assassin bugs, horseflies, atlas moth, sphinx moth, Madagascar hissing roach, and millipedes. Plenty of variation and plenty of information as children are exposed to various forms of bug 'attack' and bug 'defense'. There is everything from camouflage to boiling hot gases extruded from thoraxes.

For a STEP INTO READING book this one is fairly long at approximately 46 pages. I wouldn't expect most children to read it from beginning to end in one sitting, but they will certainly look at the drawings, and eventually get through the text as they try to figure out who does what.

This is a Very Good Non-Fiction book for elementary aged children. Written with First thru Third graders in mind, "Monster Bugs" delivers interesting text and great drawings that make kids WANT to read. The only consideration in purchasing this one is the grossness factor; it might not be right ever child if they are sensitive to one critter killing and eating another.

Pam~


MONSTER BUGS!
(Step-Into-Reading, Step 3)
by Lucille Recht Penner
Pamela Johnson (Illustrator)

Word Count: 961
Page Count: 48
Accelerated Reader: 3.2 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 14634
Lexile: 640L