Book Description

Among the most popular subjects in preschool curriculum, animals and nature come to life in this sturdy board book that allows even 2-year-olds to ³look ­it-up.²With die-cut pictorial tabs along the right-hand margin, children can point to the picture of an animal or object of interest to them, then turn to that spread and find out interesting facts through easy-to-understand captions and stunning, photo-realistic paintings. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Excellent beginner book
This sturdy and attractive board book bills itself as "a first reference book for toddlers and preschoolers." Although most people don't think of board books as a format for reference, this is exactly what Scholastic has done here. The book is divided into flaps that depict images of animals. A child can easily choose a picture and turn directly to that particular entry. Each section lists a verb, such as "crawl", "run", "swim", etc., and gives examples of three animals that the verb is applied to. The lifelike illustrations match the text beautifully. Recommended for ages 2-6. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

great for educational or pleasure purposes
We used this book for educational purposes in teaching a unit on taxonomy, vertebrates, and mammals. The kids loved it. It does not have a "dry" textbook approach but was interesting to the kids and held their attention. It is well organized and presents information in an easy to follow manner. Although it is rated at a 4-8 y/o reading level here on Amazon, I feel the information content is above that level and was very appropriate for the 9-11 y/o group I taught. At first I checked this out from the library. Now, I need to have my own copy to use again in the future. ... Read more

Book Description

A Stellar sea lion pup recognizes its mother's call, even with thousands of other noisy sea lions about. A vervet monkey shouts "ha-ha-ha" to warn of an eagle passing overhead. A peacock fans its colorful tail feathers in a silent but impressive display to entice a peahen. Whether it's to attract a mate, warn of predators or mark their territory, animals share information in some extraordinary ways. Includes fun and informative activities.

DID YOU KNOW?
€ howler monkeys have a bony box in their throat that makes their voices extra-loud
€ hippos, whales and elephants communicate with sound so low that humans can't hear it
€ honeybees perform different dances to signal how far away food is
€ flashlight fish use light made by bacteria on their faces to greet each other ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Winner of Animal Behavior Society Children's Book Award 2003
Animal Talk is the most recent contribution to an excellent series of animal behavior and ecology books by Etta Kaner and is the recipient of the Animal Behavior Society's 2003 Outstanding Children's Book Award. The book presents animal communication by dividing communication up by context, including "Saying it with Sound," "Saying it with Smell," and "Body language." In each section, Greg Douglas' outstanding illustrations are paired with descriptions of appropriate examples, often including the method of communication (e.g. woodpeckers hammering on hollow logs to send sound over 1 km) and the possible functions of the behavior (e.g. calling for a mate or defending its territory). Also present in each section are two clever and engaging approaches: hands-on experiments that demonstrate a particular point (e.g. waving a paper towel near perfume to demonstrate why ring-tailed lemurs wave their tails during fights) and a "If you were a (animal species)" box, in which more facts are given for a particular species (e.g. "If you were a howler monkey, you'd live in the tropical rainforests of South America..."). Animal Talk does a nice job of including both familiar animals, such as tigers and dolphins, as well as less familiar animals, such as California ground squirrels and water striders. Each section has enough examples to effectively illustrate the point but not so many as to make it difficult to read. However, this book does include lots of information and for younger readers it may be best tackled one section at a time. Children readers consistently commented that they liked the pictures, the amount of information, and the experiments that they could try. ... Read more

Book Description

Wild Science profiles ten world-renowned animal scientists, revealing how they decided to become researchers, the stories behind their fascinating jobs, and scientific information about the animals they study. Containing beautiful full-color photos and black-and-white line drawings, Wild Science engages both reluctant young readers and enthusiastic young scientists with its tales of adventure from wildlife experts. The animals featured include endangered Vancouver Island marmots, grizzly bears, manatees, polar bears, and sea otters, among others. Through these pages the reader can spend a night tracking bats on a narrow ridge high in the Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona, trek along the beaches of Costa Rica in the footsteps of huge and powerful leatherback turtles, and free stranded whales on the beaches of coastal Newfoundland. The settings range from the farthest regions of eastern Canada to Vancouver Island, from the Arctic to Arizona, and from Florida to California. A glossary and a list of resources covering books, websites, and more are included. ... Read more

Book Description

In this classic bedtime book by Charlotte Zolotow, sleep has never seemed more inviting. Simple, lyrical language reveals a world peacefully asleep--from bears in their dark caves to caterpillars in their silky cocoons, to dogs lying near someone they love. Stefano Vitale's luminous illustrations evoke the serenity of that moment when "the night comes and the wind whispers gently in the trees and the stars sparkle and shine."

Reviews (3)

Great!
Both my five year old and three year old love this book. There are some familiar sleepy animals like bears, horses and dogs, but there are also a few that we don't think about very often like moths, cranes and even crickets. The children find it so interesting to see how other animals sleep and then compare it to how little boys and girls sleep. My kids have a hard time "winding down" at night so this is a good transition for them. They also get to see that EVERYBODY sleeps. Also worth noting is that the images are truly beautiful. And I like the fact that while this book reads like a poem, it doesn't rhyme.

It's Time For Bed.....
Every living being sleeps, from the bear in his dark cave, fish among the water ferns, and horses standing up switching their tails, to the snowy crane who sleeps standing on just one leg, turtles inside their shells, seals with their flippers against blocks of ice, and of course little boys and girls. Originally published in 1958, Charlotte Zolotow's Sleepy Book is as fresh and wonderful today as it was over 40 years ago. Her simple, gentle text is full of imagery and magic, and complemented by brand new, evocative illustrations. Artist, Stefano Vitale, has really captured the essence of Ms Zolotow's poetry with engaging pictures of sleeping animals in quiet, subdued tones. Together, word and art create a soothing and comforting bedtime story that will lull little ones off to dreamland. "...but little boys/ and girls,/ when the night/ comes/ and the wind/ whispers gently/ in the trees/ and the stars/ sparkle and shine,/ sleep/ warm under/ their blankets/ in their/ beds."

Best book ever for children,parents and grandparents.
This is one of the best books I have ever read for children of all ages. I read it to my children and now I would like to read it to my grandchildren. My children adored this book and it always put them to sleep at night and made bedtime enjoyable! ... Read more

Book Description

In Spiders and Their Webs biologist-photographer Darlyne Murawski shares her fascination with web-spinning spiders with young readers. They will learn that not all spiders weave webs, but those that do not only create an incredible variety of designs but also have different ways of using their webs to catch their prey. Readers will meet some familiar spiders, such as the argiope and the comb-footed spider, that they might find in their backyards or in their basements. But they will also meet spiders that live in tropical rain forests, underwater, and in tunnels underground.Readers will discover that some spiders make patterns in their webs that mimic flowers. When a bee comes too near, instead of getting a sip of nectar, it finds itself trapped in a sticky mess. The ogre-faced spider hangs from a silk thread and holds its web between its front feet while it waits for a caterpillar or some other prey to come along. Then it traps its victim by casting its web on top of it like a net. The Hawaiian happy-faced spider uses a sticky strand of silk like a lasso to rope a meal and bring it back to its web. The European water spider gathers bubbles of air then dives underwater and releases the air into its web.Eventually the web balloons up to look like a diving bell. The spider swims out to catch food with its feet and then drags it inside the bubble web to eat. Readers will learn that not all web masters are solitary hunters. Some live in colonies of hundreds of thousands of tiny spiders and make webs that are big enough to cover a garbage truck! By working together they can catch prey that is many times larger than they are.The author's easy-to-read text explains all the action captured in her eye-catching, full-color photographs of the spiders and their webs. The book is enhanced by fact boxes that list scientific names, common names, food, habitat, and body size, playful illustrations that highlight interesting behavior, and fun trivia. Readers also get some insight into other ways spiders use their silk. The author shares experiences from the field, such as how she makes spider webs visible to photograph them (kids can do it too). Also included are a glossary of terms, a list of Web sites, and books for further reading. ... Read more