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Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Nature's Stunning Adaptations


   Thanks to Alyson Beecher's Non-Fiction Picture Book Challenge at her blog, Kidlit Frenzy.   
      Come read to discover everyone's recent non-fiction picture books.
       Tweet - #NFPB15
            Nature in two different habitats shows stunning adaptations in the books I share today.
             Some of you have reviewed these before, and I am so glad to have finally read them.


Frozen Wild: How Animals Survive In The Coldest Places On Earth - written and illustrated by Jim Arnosky
             Part of a terrific series with other titles like Wild Tracks! and Slither and Crawl, this beautifully illustrated book tells of those animals who live in the coldest places, like the Arctic and the Antarctic and northern forests. There is an introduction to each part, then double-paged spreads with pictures of the groups of animals and small bits of information about each. The illustrations are realistic, and done well enough for a young researcher to understand what each really looks like, including double-page spreads.  Information includes the animals’ place in a life cycle, identifying main predators, sources of food, how they keep warm, size, etc. It didn’t seem long, but it is packed with information and beautiful to see. The backmatter includes a letter from the author about his process, additional sources for learning more about animals in winter

Tree of Wonder: The Many Marvelous Lives of a Rainforest Tree - written by Kate Messner and illustrated by Simona Mulazzani
         According to this book, over 1000 different living things depend on the huge and complex almendro tree that grows in Latin American rainforests. The story of this tree is told by showing some of those creatures, how they use, and sometimes help, the trees, where they live, what they eat, how they keep away from enemies. The information given is simply told for younger readers, and the pictures are lovely, but unrealistic, only hinting at the real look of the tree. Each page also has a number, which doubles on the next page and the next, showing the vast numbers of these animals in these forests.There is additional information with sites that help save these forests, and a section titled Rainforest Math, with some math problems. It is a good book that can begin research into the importance of this habitat and its inhabitants.

Excited to Participate!


10 comments:

  1. Good morning, Linda! Those are wonderful books you featured. I've read them both and like them for different reasons. I'm still figuring out how I want to use Kate's new one.
    Are you going to (or did I already miss a post) about PiBoIdMo? I'd love to hear how you work on it!

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    1. I started PiBoIdMo last year, then had to stop when I took over that class. I have signed up this year, & plan to create the ideas in a file on Evernote. Will you be doing it, Michele? I agree, both of these books are treasures for early research, so wonderful to read about all the animals! Thanks!

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    2. No... not something I'm ready for yet. I'd like to dabble one day, mostly so I can use what I do to help students with their process. Writing fiction is hard for me. I keep thinking summer is when I'll find time to devote to it....

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    3. Funny, it's one of the reasons I joined next year, to share the process. Remember I was working only part-time when I signed up! Then I took the class right after Halloween. There are some wonderful picture books available now to use as mentor texts.

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  2. These books looking really interesting for modeling research and such interesting topics for students. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. They are very good for that, Mandy. Hope you can find and check them out! Thanks!

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  3. Linda - We will have to encourage one another with PiBoIdMo. I am trying to figure out how to organize my ideas for this and I want to introduce some classes to it as well.

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    1. Terrific, I'll look for you, Alyson! And yes, ask each other how we're doing!

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  4. Tree of Wonder was fascinating. I really enjoyed the word problems section. Good luck on PiBoiDMo!

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    1. Thanks, Earl, I'll look for you! Best to you, too.

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