Oh, Those Amazing Animals 2

Their cleverness is astounding.  So is their adaptability.  These two, ingenuity and versatility, have been and continue to be the key to their survival in an ever-and-fast-changing environment.  Humans have failed repeatedly in their stewardship of our planet, but animals continue to prevail.  Their lives move to rhythms we don't fully comprehend.

The more we do understand, the more we appreciate the marvelous animals inhabiting this world.  In North & South: A Tale Of Two Hemispheres (Candlewick Press, July 6, 2021) written and illustrated by New Zealand author illustrator Sandra Morris, we journey through the months of the year.  Each month a special characteristic is examined and compared in the two hemispheres.  Let us begin this enlightening exploration.

INTRODUCTION

Earth is divided into the Northern Hemisphere and the

Southern Hemisphere by an imaginary line called the equator.

One of the most important differences between the two hemispheres is the timing of

seasons.

In the introduction we find that the four seasons, winter, spring, summer, and autumn as well as the dry season and wet season in each hemisphere are being affected by climate change.  This along with other human recklessness is putting animals in danger.  

It is estimated that sixty percent of mammal, bird, fish, and reptile populations have been wiped out since 1970.

We are further informed as to which months fall within each of the seasons.

Two pages are devoted to each month.  These sections are titled, and a single sentence defines those titles. Information about an animal in the northern and the southern hemisphere is placed in columns on the left and right sides.  Depending on where readers reside, the animals are familiar or new, but the facts are appealing, nonetheless.

Japanese macaques stay cozy by sitting in the local hot springs.  Their counterparts in Tanzania, Africa feed their chicks "red milk." Can you guess the kind of bird?  If those living in the northern hemisphere have never seen a dam built by an American beaver, make it a goal.  Hoatzins build nests over the water on platforms.  That must be a sight to see around the Amazon River.

Birds in both hemispheres dance to attract mates different times of the year.  Others have forms of armor for protection.  Who knew a kind of beetle and turtle shared something in common?  In September, we discover the truth about Portuguese man-of-war and springbok pronking.  Some animal residents on this planet are moving annually in order to survive in a more favorable climate or to travel to breeding grounds.  The thousands of miles they travel is astonishing.

In anticipation of a slowing down of life or possible shortages, animals in the north and south use skills to hibernate and act as vessels for food.  Honeypot ants, found in Central Asia, eat more than the average amount of nectar . . . 

their bellies swell up like balloons.

Animals around the world are usually on the move in their search for food.  Sometimes they move from high country to low country as the seasons change.  Did you know elephants will travel sixty miles in their search for food?  Animals, individually or as a collective whole, are remarkable, season to season, year after year.

Through the words of Sandra Morris, we move from north to south, above and below the equator, across countries and continents learning about the range of animals residing there.  After her enriching introduction, each month supplies us with knowledge about birds, mammals, reptiles, insects, and fish.  Fascinating physical characteristics, eating habits, homes, breeding, and the care and raising of the young are presented.  Every page turn will leave readers amazed.  Here is a title, the companion sentence, a statement about an animal in the southern hemisphere, and a portion of the longer discussion.

ARMORED ANIMALS

Many creatures require tough exoskeletons, shells, or carapaces to protect

them from predators, battles with rivals, or even their environment.

Female leatherback turtles come ashore

on special nights to lay their eggs on

sandy beaches in Papua New Guinea, the

Solomon Islands, and the Florida coast.

LEATHERBACK

TURTLE

(Pacific, Atlantic & Indian Oceans)

Leatherback turtles are protected by a

bony plate under their skin, hence the

name "leatherback."  They live in many 

oceans, as far north as Alaska and as 

far south as the Cape of Good Hope, 

and spend most of their lives at sea,

eating mainly jellyfish.

On the open and matching dust jacket and book case, readers gain a preview of the animals' lives examined within the pages of the book.  The main title text placed in the large compass is a stunning display enhanced by the colorful wildlife circling it.  The blue canvas, perhaps representing the oceans of the world, crosses the spine to the back, left, of the jacket and case.  There, another compass holds a single sentence blurb of the book.  Silhouettes of all twenty-four animals encircle this compass.  Flora and fauna frame the ISBN at the bottom.

In turquoise and cream on the opening and closing endpapers, we find a world map providing us with views of the continents and oceans.  A compass is placed in the lower left-hand corner.  Silhouettes of the animals, in several distinct hues, are presented with a dotted line drawn from them to their country of residence.  In a beautiful design with black and gray on cream, the title text and compass stand alone on the title page.  On the verso, dedication, and contents pages, we are treated to more artistic depictions of creatures.

These illustrations by Sandra Morris rendered

in watercolor and salt 

are realistic, many of them highly animated.  We are brought close to the featured creatures.  The canvases on which they are placed blend from one hemisphere to the other hemisphere.  Beneath the larger columns of facts on the left and right sides are small world maps with a red dot indicating the place where the animals are found.  We are also shown their conservation status.  

One of my many favorite illustrations is for the month of February titled:

EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS.

These illustrations for all the months extend from two-thirds of a page on the left to two-thirds of a page on the right.  In this image, the banner citing Northern Hemisphere---Southern Hemisphere shifts in shades of blue to hues of pink.  It divides the page in half horizontally with a slight rise in the center.  On the top half is a group of four Japanese macaques.  We only see portions of their top halves and faces.  Their eyes are closed as they savor the warmth in a thermal pool.  In the bottom half are three adult flamingoes.  Surrounding their feet is a large group of chicks.  They are all enjoying a lake in Tanzania.

This book, North & South: A Tale Of Two Hemispheres written and illustrated by Sandra Morris, allows readers to expand their world view through the portrayed animals.  They journey beyond their particular community to other places through the seasons and months.  This title has applications in the study of times during the year, animal adaptations, and how to protect animals.  At the close of the book is a two-page glossary, index, and extra information on further reading and how you can help.  I highly recommend this title for both your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Sandra Morris, please visit the site linked to her name.  Sandra Morris has an account on Instagram.  Sandra Morris, a resident of New Zealand, is interviewed at The Sapling The Mahy Questionaire: Sandra Morris.  

Today, a contractor, working on bringing the roof of my recently acquired pergola to code, removed a large robin's nest.  He set it down on the edge of the fireplace.  Completely intact, it has weathered multiple torrential rains and howling high winds.  Carefully molded to hold eggs and the adult bodies, it is feat of design and development.  In Animal Architects (Beach Lane Books, September 7, 2021) written by Amy Cherrix with illustrations by Chris Sasaki, through astounding information and striking images, we learn of other feats of design and development by our animal companions on this planet.

Did you know the natural

world is a construction zone?

Whether they are large or small,

in the ocean or on land, animals

are amazing architects!

Four pages are devoted to each of eleven captivating and innovative structures.  What will these tell us about the animals who made them?  What can we learn from them?

Beneath the waters of the Coral Sea, small beings have been working for thousands of years to form the Great Barrier Reef.  Can you imagine a size so big; it can be seen in outer space?  Back on land, another tiny being fashions a trap out of silk.  Unsuspecting insects become meals.

There is a male bird who builds a home, then decorates it to attract a mate.  There are birds living in Antarctica who as a pair gather pebbles annually to assemble something special.  Wow!  You'll never guess how many prairie dogs lived in the largest recorded prairie dog town.  

Brick-forming termites, brick by brick, build towers which due to their unique shape are nature's own specialized HVAC systems.  Clever carrier snails use their specifically created type of glue to fool predators by building a body shield.  In mere minutes, a beaver can fell a tree used in construction of a dam.  The next time you are strolling through a field, the object you see is not a tennis ball among the grass, but a carefully constructed suspended home.  Phenomenal minds and phenomenal bodies have built the best.

For each of these eleven beings, author Amy Cherrix creates a conversational, two-part revelation.  Her first few sentences end with an unfinished sentence, a pause.  After the page turn, we discover what the animals have built, or what they intend to do.  It is an enticing cadence.  To heighten the appeal, descriptive adjectives and alliteration supply an added rhythm.  Within each of these two parts, Amy Cherrix includes facts certain to astound readers.    Here are three sentences after the page turn about ants.

Deep in their underground home, the ants dig

a roller-coaster network of tunnels and trails.

Together, these industrious insects can remove

2,205 pounds of earth per year.

That's a ton of dirt!

In a visually stunning array, the matching and open dust jacket and book case feature two themes, one of architectural blueprints and vibrant portraits of flora and fauna on a crisp white canvas.  On both the front, right, and back, left, the text is framed as it would be on a blueprint with stylized lettering.  The animals on the back and front are different and represent six of those showcased in the book.  On the spine a tiny honeybee separates the last name of the author and the illustrator.  On the back the ISBN is placed inside a tree stump.

On the opening and closing endpapers, the blueprint theme is continued, but it is almost like a naturalist's notebook, holding what has been seen or collected.  There we see grasses. seaweed, leaves, flowers, mushrooms, shells, an acorn, a tree ring, and some animals.  On the closing endpapers, part of the arrangement, on the left, is replaced with backmatter text.  Opposite the verso, in blueprint paper, is the title page.  This canvas is white with blue lettering.  Ants are the highlighted individuals, moving among mushrooms, grasses, and twigs.

These images by Chris Sasaki are destined to have readers stopping at page turns.  Rendered digitally, they are full of texture and gorgeous hues on a matte-finished paper.  When he takes us underwater, it is as if we are swimming among the fish.  On land, we wait with the trapdoor spider in darkness.  We feel the deep chill of the Antarctic habitat and the impressive achievement of the beaver.

Chris Sasaki alters his perspectives to draw us deeper into each animal's lives.  He brings us close when necessary or pulls back to give us greater meaning.  Sometimes we are looking down on a scene or given a cross-section.  He, too, switches from double-page pictures to two horizontal panels, top and bottom with text in the middle to emphasize the narrative.  Or perhaps, a single-page illustration might better serve the text.

One of my many favorite illustrations is the double-page picture of a close-up of ants at work.  A pale green background highlights a row of bright flowers and mushrooms stretching from left to right.  Short grass grows along the top of the ground.  Along the bottom, Chris Sasaki gives us an underground view of the roots.  On the right he brings us close to an ant hill with ants carrying dirt up the slope and down into the ground.  We are also shown a cutaway of the ant hill.

Readers will find themselves pausing either for the interesting information or eye-catching images or for both as they read Animal Architects written by Amy Cherrix with illustrations by Chris Sasaki.  At the close of the book is a list of selected sources, books and other media.  You'll want to add this title to both your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Amy Cherrix and Chris Sasaki and their other work, please access their websites by following the link attached to their names.  Amy Cherrix has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  Chris Sasaki has accounts on Instagram and Twitter.  At the publisher's website you can view interior images and the complete jacket and case.

A Place To Reside

With the passing of the summer solstice, trees are filled with leaves and fields are brimming with tall grasses and wildflowers.  Abundant rainfall has given Mother Nature a palette of variegated greens everywhere you look.  For their benefit, it's not as easy to spot the residences of local wildlife, unless they happen to be living underneath your back porch.  Based on the symphony of birdsong in the early hours of the day, you hope to see a nesting place, but they remain hidden.  Only the most careful observers will notice large areas of flattened grass in the morning; evidence of sleeping whitetail deer the previous night.

If we had the eyes to see the sanctuaries of the wildlife in our surrounding area, where would they be?  In other parts of the world, what is a safe space for animals' abodes?  Homes in the Wild: Where Baby Animals and Their Parents Live (Roaring Brook Press, June 18, 2019) written and illustrated by Lita Judge presents answers to readers, further increasing our admiration of all living things sharing this planet with us.

Every animal needs a home.

For some a tree is the perfect home supplying food and safety.  High among tree branches animals can sleep without fear of enemies, they can find special food or easily camouflage themselves.  For others multiple entrances and exits to an underground city of connected burrows and pathways represents the best place to live.  Did you know some warrens of the European rabbit have more than two thousand entrances and exits?

Some homes are tucked away out of sight.  A den nestled among roots, a rocky nook, or a hollow log keep babies safe when parents need to be away.  Baby animals can be more easily protected when they are nestled below ground level.  For nine-banded armadillos it keeps them cool, too.

For other animals a large area is home.  Their territories are marked by scent from urine, scat and their bodies.  Some leave scratch marks on trees and the ground, saying this space is taken.  Carefully crafted nests can present a secure place.  Some are among tree branches, in old tree trunk hollows, or under a fallen tree.  A bushy-tailed woodrat might build a nest

nine feet wide!

Homes are cleverly designed by marvelous builders.  Mountain gorillas and orangutans build new beds every day, fashioning together branches and leaves.  Beavers construct lodges from felled trees and a dam to protect the lodge.  An underwater entrance ensures the well-being of the young.

Homes can house thousands of inhabitants.  Mothers return to the place where they were raised.  Mothers can find their child among others by sound and smell.  The advantage to living in over-crowded conditions is assurance of survival.  Can you name an animal who does not hesitate to make a home in another's home?

Every animal needs a home.


The research, commitment and passion Lita Judge has for the animal community is evident in every word she writes.  In this book a single sentence introduces a type of or place for a home followed by three conversational, fact-filled paragraphs highlighting three animals.  With this approach she creates expectations, interest and a welcoming rhythm.  She enriches our understanding.  Here is a sample paragraph.

A home can
cover many
miles of 
open country.

A bonded pair of dik-dik antelopes works
constantly to mark the boundaries of their home
range.  Together, they deposit urine and dung
piles and rub their scent on twigs and blades
of grass.  Their fawn will stay safely
hidden until she is old enough to roam
with her parents.  The family establishes
a maze of trails, called runways,
through the thick brush that they use
to escape predators.


Although the spine separates the front and the back of the open and matching dust jacket and book case, readers can easily imagine the tree supporting the sleeping koala adult and child, and (to the lefty, on the back) the hollow housing three eager eastern gray squirrel babies as one and the same tree.  These two paintings appearing as one image demonstrate profoundly and beautifully how not only every animal needs a home, but how they work to make this happen.  This dust jacket and book case are an invitation to look through a wondrous window into a world Lita Judge comprehends and appreciates.

A golden orange hue covers the opening and closing endpapers.  Two young raccoons clinging to a branch are featured on the initial title page.  A lovely illustration of an orangutan and child spans from the left and across the gutter on the formal title page.  Leaves in green hues frame the duo.

Two-page pictures introduce each of the nine sections.  They are highly detailed and animated in their vivid portraits of the animals.  These same animals appear again in a different setting on one of the next two pages.  These three illustrations frame the text naturally.  Each group of animals is depicted in their habitats engaged in their everyday activities.  It's as if we've become invisible and are able to step right into their lives and observe them freely.

One of my many, many favorite illustrations is the two-page picture for

A home can be borrowed.

Page edge to page edge is the siding of an old barn.  A crevice in the siding in the center (nearly half of the page) begins on the left and narrows to barely a crack on the right.  Peeking through that opening are four baby raccoons.  We see less and less of their faces moving from left to right.  Lita Judge has completely captured their essence.  Three pairs of eyes look at readers.  The raccoon on the far left is looking at its siblings.


This book, Homes in the Wild: Where Baby Animals and Their Parents Live written and illustrated by Lita Judge, is a title to be read anytime, anywhere.  You'll want to use it for an animal theme, for a habitat unit, how animal parents care for their children and for the sheer joy of learning about those who need our protection.  At the close of the book, Lita Judge includes thumbnail paintings of all the animals and more information about each one on five pages.  She has a glossary, sources and good websites for more information on animal homes.  You might want to pair this book with Lita Judge's previous title, Born in the Wild or A Place To Start A Family: Poems About Creatures That Build or A Nest Is Noisy.

To learn more about Lita Judge and her other work, please visit her website by following the link attached to her name.  Lita Judge has accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  At the publisher's website you can view several interior images.  I know you'll enjoy both videos.





Please take a few moments to visit Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher to view the titles selected this week by others participating in the 2019 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.

Ingenious Animal Architects

It can happen in any season but more often than not, it escalates in the spring.  There is a flurry of activity in the animal kingdom.  Designs honed after decades of trial and error, most the key to their survival, are seen in all kinds of habitats.  Each of them serves a specific purpose.

The structures constructed by one or many individuals reveal the marvels of their skills.  In A Place To Start A Family: Poems About Creatures That Build (Charlesbridge, January 16, 2018) written by David L. Harrison with illustrations by Giles Laroche tribute is given to those abilities. These accomplishments are astounding.

Creatures That Build
For thousands of years people have built shelters to live in and protect their families. We use wood, cloth, brick, concrete, steel, glass, and more to create safe and unique homes.  Many animals are builders, too.

Twelve poems grouped by location begin with those that shape homes underground.  Several feet below the surface black-tailed prairie dogs tunnel entire towns.  A special chamber is dedicated to the nursery.  Another critter known for tunnels uses its nose to find the perfect dry spot for its children although it prefers a more moist setting for other activities.  A wily spider hides beneath a cleverly conceived door which springs open to snare prey.

One of the deadliest reptiles is the only one to make a nest, without benefit of arms or legs, for its eggs.  For a queen who can lay eggs by the thousands per day, workers build a tower for protection.  Even the smallest when working with others can erect a castle fit for royalty.  Another arachnid weaves a web, a snare for unlucky others, in order to eat.

A hopeful male under the ocean fashions a tunnel from plant life to attract a female to lay her eggs within its walls.  Another does the same in creating a large artistic motif on the sandy floor.  One of these males wins the dad of the year award and the other abandons the young as soon as the eggs hatch.  Another of the builders in water cuts trees and constructs dams.  Mounded sticks provide safe homes for the young inside.

Winged wonders of the air work tirelessly to form homes round and rare.  Babies are tucked tight inside and out of sight.  Did you know the nests of white storks are sometimes used for generations?  Paper hides a busy queen and her buzzing family. A surprise awaits those who turn the final page. 


Each carefully worded poem by David L. Harrison employs a different poetic style.  Of four lines, the final three may end with rhyming words, or perhaps every other line will rhyme.  Sometimes three rhyming lines are framed above and below by other rhyming words.  Each one supplies a rhythm in keeping with the creature.  A concrete verse creates a slithering body.  Repeated phrases will have readers and listeners tapping their toes and snapping their fingers.  Here are the first five lines from Yellow Garden Spider.

You throw a line of silken thread
   and let it flutter where it will,
   to catch on limb or windowsill,
   then use your ancient weaver's skill
to make it hold you when you tread.


A marvelous image spanning flap edge to flap edge covers the matching dust jacket and book case.  Artist Giles Laroche extends the sky, homes and wall.  On the back, to the left, a stork is flying with twigs toward another standing on a nest.  Two other nests are perched on chimneys.  There is an animated symmetry to this first illustration.  It asks us to open the book.  The title letters in red are varnished and raised.

A golden orange-yellow covers the opening and closing endpapers.  A European paper wasp nest is placed on a sky blue canvas.  The insects work around the letters of the text on the title page.  The verso and introduction pages show two red ovenbirds constructing their nest on a leafy branch.

For each poem Giles Laroche designs and builds a two-page picture.  His cut-paper relief illustrations on a variety of hand-painted papers are realistically detailed.  There is texture and three-dimensionality to this type of artwork which will have readers reaching to touch the pages.  On several of the visuals we are given cross-section views of the homes. Some of the pictures are a more panoramic view and others bring us close to the animals.

One of my many favorite pictures is for the white-spotted pufferfish.  The male fish forms a unique pattern in the sand which can be forty times his size, sometimes using shells. In this picture several shades of sand in concentric circles spread out from the gutter as a center.  They reach to the left and right edges and to the bottom of the two pages.  A male and female pufferfish glide over the pattern, waiting.


Wonderful as a read aloud to a group or for sharing one-on-one, A Place To Start A Family: Poems About Creatures That Build written by David L. Harrison with illustrations by Giles Laroche is an excellent choice.  Each poem is a study in writing style as well as providing information.  Readers will be captivated by the painstaking, piece-by-piece images.  You will want to add this gem to your professional and personal collections.  At the close of the book, before the surprise, more facts about each creature are given in separate paragraphs with additional reading suggestions.

To learn more about David L. Harrison and Giles Laroche and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.  David L. Harrison has a blog.  At this publisher's website (Penguin Random House) you can view an excerpt.


Be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher to view the other choices selected by those participating in the 2018 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.

Boisterous Abodes

It snowed last night.  It's April not November so the local flora and fauna are in a bit of shock.  Early this morning the robins were in a vocal tizzy, probably calling for a riot against Mother Nature.  It's easy to imagine those coming forth from winter homes snuggling back in for a few more weeks.  Those intent on the arrival of spring babies are renewing efforts to make proper residences.

On this Earth Day 2015 I am happy to celebrate the fifth book in a series by author Dianna Hutts Aston with illustrations by Sylvia Long.  Their last collaboration, A Rock Is Lively, left readers ready for more of their outstanding observations about our world.  A Nest Is Noisy (Chronicle Books, April 14, 2015) is a fascinating examination of spaces made for newborns.

A nest is noisy.
It is a nursery of chirp-chirping...
buzzing...
squeaking...
peep-peeping...
bubbling babies.

A beginning speaks of how bird nests are constructed but also points out orangutans build similar structures high in rain forest tree tops.  It's comforting to know leaves are used to provide a rain-proof roof.  Comparisons are made in size; the largest at three feet long and up to sixteen feet high of a dusky scrubfowl and the smallest nest of a bee hummingbird.  Two inches is tiny.

Nests can be constructed within cactus for protection, of wood fibers chewed to make paste and of pebbles on a streambed.  The ingenuity of a foamy nest in trees and a nest formed of bubbles on water, each lasting only long enough to protect the eggs and babies, is completely captivating.  Heat figures in the formation of some nests acting as a kiln.  In others the temperature causes the babies to be either male or female.

Not all nests are above ground.  Some are tucked into the sand on beaches, tunneled along streams or burrowed into desert meadows.  Bivouacs are living nests created by the insects themselves; they, millions of them, are the nest.  Those army ants know how to work as a team.

Birds known for their pink feathers and long legs lay only one egg.  It is placed on top of a mound of mud, grass and stones. Another brave bird, the buff-breasted paradise kingfisher, is willing to sacrifice its life, to break a hole in a termite nest so eggs can be laid in a created tunnel. Whether it's noisy or quiet, large or small, sharp, soft or hard, squishy or crumbly, warm or hot, hanging, above or below ground or silent, these nests are a testament to the marvelous adaptability within the animal kingdom.


With the skill of a naturalist and poet, Dianna Hutts Aston takes readers on a tour around the world giving us a peek at animal parenthood.  Each statement of a nest is presents readers with supporting information in detail.  Aston, through research, is able to provide those captivating details which enlarge our respect for those beings inhabiting our planet.  They, by instinct and resourcefulness, create the best possible place for their young.  Here is another sample selection.

Cave swiftlets concoct a nest made entirely of saliva.  Swinging its head from side to side, the male spits long, pearly strands onto the wall of a cave that harden into a lacy bowl when exposed to air. ...


The intricate full-color pictures rendered in watercolor by Sylvia Long are breathtaking.  When you open the matching dust jacket and book case the illustration spans to the left; the back including the nest of a bald-faced hornet at the top, a black-tailed prairie dog, tunneled underground, in the center and an American alligator at the bottom.  The details on the leaves, flowers, branches, and animals are nearly photographic but softened by the medium.  The opening and closing endpapers are a close-up of a bird's nest, woven materials swirling and intertwined.

On the next set of two pages, Long pictures twenty-four nests on a crisp white canvas, which is used splendidly throughout the book with most of her images. (Prior to the closing endpapers we see the twenty-four animals which left those nests showcased on two pages.)  The verso and title page feature the tree and top of an orangutan nest.  All of the following visuals are either edge to edge on two pages or a masterful blend of one page into another.  Each nest displayed is flawlessly connected to the next.  We are up-close and personal with these illustrations.  All of the text is hand-lettered labeling each nest and inhabitants.

One of my favorite pictures is after the title page. The background is a pale golden yellow.  A moss-covered branch extends from the left across the gutter.  In the center on the right is the nest of a ruby-throated hummingbird.  Two babies with beaks open are waiting for the adult to place a bug in their mouths.  Leaves and vines of a trumpet flower are placed in the upper right-hand corner and along the left side.


This newest volume, A Nest Is Noisy, in a stunning series written by Dianna Hutts Aston with illustrations by Sylvia Long is a must-have for your personal and professional shelves.  It's a tribute to the creativity and cleverness of our animal partners.  Readers of all ages will leave a reading of this title enlightened in the best possible way.

Please take a moment to learn more about Dianna Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long when visiting their websites by following the links attached to their names.  The publisher has provided a teacher's guide.


I am happy to participate in the 2015 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge each week at Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher.  Please stop by to read about the other featured titles.