Daylight Starlight Wild Life (by Wendell Minor)

Title: Daylight Starlight Wild Life

Author:  Wendell Minor

Illustrator:  Wendell Minor

Target Ages: 3-7

First Lines:  “The sun shines on Earth, bringing the light and warmth of day.  Do you know these daylight visitors?  Then Earth spins away from the sun, bringing darkness and cool of night.  Do you know these starlight visitors?”

Publisher Summary:  “In amazing lifelike, luminous paintings, Wendell Minor, one of America’s finest wildlife and landscape painters, reveals the variety of wildlife that surrounds us when we are sleeping and when we are awake.  He invites readers to experience the movements, sounds, colors, and texture of diurnal and nocturnal creatures.”

Evaluation and Learning Activities:

The first 2-page spread previews all the animals that will be covered in this day/night comparison.  Children get a visual of the two types of animals—diurnal and nocturnal—grouped together.  Parents and educators can begin by teaching or reviewing the animals.  Then, see how many the children can identify as you read together.

The scope of the pictures varies. Two-page spreads with a single animal like the red tailed hawk and wide-eyed owl give readers a feeling of the wide expanse as well as the majesty of the creatures and nature.  Then, there are also landscape split screens with different animals, such as woodchucks in the day (top) and skunks at night (bottom), which prompt a sense of movement and connectedness.  Many of the others give a side-by-side comparison of similar animals, such as white-tailed deer—red fox, chipmunk—deer mouse, and tiger swallowtail butterfly—Luna moth.  The illustrations in all their forms are fantastic!  Worth the trip to the bookstore or library to see!

The text is straightforward, just one descriptive line per animal.  Adult readers can point out the key ideas in the words and pictures.  For instance, the cottontail rabbit and opossum are on facing pages.  Both have a trio of young.  Discuss the difference in how the two species travel and interact with their environments.  The opossum “plods” through the field and forages with her babies on her back.  However, the rabbit is more cautious as her babies follow her lead.  Similarly, the grey squirrel and flying squirrel are contrasted.  Discuss similarities and difference in how they look and act.

For older children, introduce animal classification—mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians, and insects.  The author includes some additional “Fun Facts” on each animal.  Copy the pages.  Cut the pictures out. May also want to paste on to small notecards or halved index cards for durability. Work together to classify between nocturnal and diurnal categories or based on the aforementioned animal classifications.

After reading, parents can accompany children on a walk during the day and at dusk/night in a place where animals are likely to be spotted. See how many of the creatures from the book you can find together as well as others not mentioned.  Classroom teachers are not likely to be able to take kids on an evening walk, but they can encourage children to do one with their families. Students can share their experiences during circle or other group time.  Make a chart with the name and/or picture of each animal.  As a child shares an experience seeing one, add a check mark.  Af the close of the unit, complete math problems with the data.  

Daylight Starlight Wild Life is an outstanding introduction to animal habits and classification.  Readers of all age will love the amazing illustrations and enjoy the insightful journey the book takes you on. 

Other Book Connections:

I also recommend Divya Srinivasan’s Little Owl’s Day. A noisy squirrel wakes up Little Owl.  Fascinated by the sun and the creatures moving around during the day, he explores the woods in a new light.  Traveling around he meets butterflies flittering, dragonflies skimming, wolf pups playing, and many other daytime animals.  As the day comes to a close, he observes the diurnal animals settling down and the nocturnal ones waking up.  The adorable cartoon animals and dynamic illustrations are ideal for the 2-5 age group. 

X Why Z Animals (by Mark Shulman & James Buckley Jr.)

Summary of X WhyZ Animals (by Mark Shulman & James Buckley Jr.)

X Why Z Animals is written for inquiring young minds.  This non-fiction book is broken into 8 sections, each a different class of animals—mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects, arachnids, sea animals, birds, and dinosaurs.  The sections begin with a brief description of each class, including a description of characteristics unique to them.  Then, there are questions that kids commonly ask like:

Why do chameleons change color?

Why do snakes stick out their tongues?

Why do baby deer have spots?

Why do roosters crow in the morning?

Why do dolphins make clicking sounds?

Why do fish swim in schools?

The questions have a short explanation in child-friendly language.  There are also “X Why Z Facts” interspersed throughout, which are fun tidbits about animals.  Colorful photographs compliment each page of this “Time for Kids” book. 

Evaluation

The book is oversized with big print and vivid photographs.  The information is laid out well and the questions are engaging.  It is ideal for sitting with young children and reading out loud.

X Why Z Animals could be used in a classroom to accompany units on different classes of animals.  The only downside is that each animal class is not dealt with equally.  For instance, there are 20 pages devoted to mammals, but only 2 for amphibians. Granted it, children may be more interested in mammals because of their interaction with them at home, on farms, and in the woods.  However, I feel the coverage could be a bit more equal. 

Overall, I enjoyed this book.  I recommend it for kids ages 3-8.  They will enjoy the pictures and dialogue about some of their favorite animals. 

The X Why Z series includes books on space, the human body, and general questions.

Picture Book (Science): Prairie Storms (by Darcy Pattison)

Summary of Prairie Storms (by Darcy Pattison):  

The prairie grasslands are explored in this ecosystem adventure.   Month by month the various seasonal storms and other weather conditions are depicted and accompanied by expressive lines.  Here is an excerpt: 

"Rain and rain and rain and--it's a flashflood!  Walls of water crash through the prairie dog town.  Deep in the muddy burrows, prairie dog families hunker, safe in pockets of air--until the waters go down."

Readers get a glimpse of the lives of a number of prairie animals, such as prairie chickens, ground hogs, prairie dogs, red foxes, cougars, bald eagles, bison, burrowing owls, and lesser earless lizards.  This celebration of the American grassland habitat is sure to leave an impression. 

Evaluation:

As with all of Sylvan Dell’s amazing titles, Prairie Storms incorporates a mixture of science and language enrichment opportunities.  The striking illustrations (by Kathleen Rietz) are spring boards for discussing the attributes of both the seasons and the diverse weather portrayals.  Each two-page spread is labeled with the month for opportunities to discuss the spelling, which season it belongs to, and typical weather during that time.  There is a nice mix of more commonly known animals with lesser known ones, allowing vocabulary and visual recognition skills to be expanded.  The lyrical lines are well-written and appealing.  I recommend this book for ages 4-8.  

Teaching Opportunities:

Sylvan Dell has developed a FREE 52-page across the curriculum teaching guide to help you with some of teaching ideas above and many more in areas like geography, science, language-arts, and math.  The book page also includes various quizzes and other resources. 

Picture Book: Dog Wants to Play (by Christine McDonnell)

Summary of Dog Wants to Play:  

An enthusiastic brown and white dog wants to play.  With great vigor and glee, he approaches each of the animals on the picturesque farm.   The text follows this pattern:

Dog wants to play.

When?

Today!

The animals make excuses.  The first one says:

“Oh, no,” says the kitten.

“I might get bitten.” 

Another one answers:

“I don’t dare,” says the hare.

“I’m too easy to scare.” 

Each encounter ends with the phrase, “Poor Dog.”  The adorable canine also invites a lamb, a chick, a pig, and a calf to play.  They all turn him down in a similar manner.  Finally, he meets a boy and receives the response he is longing for:

“Yes,” says the child.

“I love to be wild.

I’ll play…ALL DAY!”

In the final picture, the dog is ecstatically licking the smiling boy. 

Evaluation: 

I picked up Dog Wants to Play because of the cover art, featuring the smiling protagonist holding a ball.  Jeff Mack’s illustrations are charming and animated.  He captures the enthusiasm and playfulness of the dog as he approaches each character.  In all the pictures, the pup has a ball.  Sometimes it is balancing on his head or feet while other times he has it on his back or paw.  He is clearly ready to play ball.  The illustrations also reveal his temporary disappointment when he is turned away—sad look in his eyes, low posture.  Every page is a delight to look at! 

I also chose this book for the story structure by Christine McDonnell.  Its enthusiasm and disappointment stimulates voice inflection and liveliness.  The patterned text will quickly become familiar to young children.  The repetitive phrases invite youngsters to become involved in the reading process which is essential in creating life-long readers.   I urge parents and teachers of children ages birth to 7 to add Dog Wants to Play to their libraries. 

Teaching Opportunities;

• Rhyme—Identify the rhyming words and brainstorm other words with the same ending
• Character—Discuss how the dog is disappointed but he is also determined; he does not give up until he finds a playmate
• Unit Study—Add to a unit study on farm animals or dogs
• Punctuation—Point out the different punctuation marks highlighted in the first three sentences—period, question mark, and exclamation point; discuss how they help the reader understand and read the story
• Types of Sentences—Older students can learn about the three types of sentences—declarative, interrogative, and exclamatory
• Journaling—Ask the students to finish this sentence, “If I were the main character, I would want to play ________.”  Then, allow them to draw a picture of the activity.
• Reading—Rotate this story into your reading time regularly; encourage your children to “read” along with you
• Choral Reading—Teach small or class groups to read the repetitive parts in unison

For other books with repetition or choral reading, click HERE and HERE.

Picture Book (Science): Ocean Seasons by Ron Hirschi

Summary of Ocean Seasons:  

Similar to the seasonal changes in plant and animal life on land, there are ones in the ocean as well.  The ocean bursts with color in the spring as sea plants stretch and multiple their foliage.  Like on the land, baby animals are born in the spring and summer when there is abundant food and optimal weather.  Plankton sparkles in the sunlight.  Marine life grows bigger and stronger in preparation for the colder months ahead.  As the autumn winds blow across the ocean, plankton begin to die.  Salmon trek back toward the fresh water where they swim upstream, driving many animals to their migration to hunt them. The winter prompts the humpback whale to swim to warmer waters until the spring weather returns.  Ocean Seasons is set in the Pacific Ocean, but it reflect comparable changes in oceans around the world. 

Evaluation:

Using a distinctive, seasonal format, author and biologist Ron Hirschi brings to light the habits and changes in the ocean, providing an excellent teaching occasion to draw parallels to seasonal changes on land. The dynamic, meticulous illustrations (by Kirsten Carlson) offer a glimpse into this mysterious underwater world from the salmon swimming upstream to the humpback whales leaping through the air.  Many other fascinating marine creatures and plants are introduced, such as puffins, urchins, plankton, and orcas.  In a natural, narrative approach marine food chains and habitats are also revealed.  The food web cards provided in the book allow children the chance to recreate the food chains to demonstrate and to increase their knowledge.  Ocean Seasons is ideal for children ages 4-8. 

Teaching Opportunities: 

Sylvan Dell has created a 24-page across the curriculum teaching guide as well as quizzes and other resources at their website. 

This post is part of the Non-Fiction Monday blog hop hosted by L.L. Owens.  Check out other non-fiction titles at her website. 

Picture Books: The Rainforest

Children’s imaginations are sure to soar as they discover and explore the rainforest. We’re Roaming in the Rainforest: An Amazon Adventure and The Rainforest Grew All Around are two remarkable picture books to use in your study of this extraordinary habitat.  

We’re Roaming in the Rainforest: An Amazon Adventure (ages 4-10) by Laurie Krebs 

As the sun rises, three children trek through the colorful and lively rainforest, discovering amazing creatures of all kinds.  Written in playful poetic verse, rainforest animal habitats and behaviors are revealed.  For example:

“Fly,” squawk the parrots,

from branches and twigs.

“We’ll swoop down to breakfast

on ripe, juicy figs.” 

The illustrations (by Anne Wilson) are vivid and energetic.  Butterflies are fluttering in search of nectar.   Leaf-cutter ants are on parade.  Monkeys swing in the branches.  Other pictures depict a quieter side of the rainforest.  Sloths are yawning and dozing on trees.  A jaguar stalks its prey.  Otters cuddle together as they fall asleep.  As the day comes to a close, the children leave the lulling sounds of the night.  We’re Roaming in the Rainforest offers a sweeping look at a day in this mysterious and irreplaceable habitat.  Children will become familiar with many of the creatures that dwell there which include birds, insects, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians.  The concluding pages include a wealth of information about the Amazon Rainforest, the native people, conservation, and creatures. 

The Rainforest Grew All Around (ages 4-9) by Susan K. Mitchell 

Using a clever adaption of the song “The Green Grass Grows All Around,” children learn about the rainforest from the floor to the canopy.  It begins with a seed of a Kapok tree which grows to become an essential habitat for many creatures—jaguar, emerald tree snake, leaf-cutter ants, sloth, poison dart frogs, toucans, bats, and many insects.  The poetic song is cumulative with a repeating stanza for choral reading: 

And by the snake

there crawled an ant…

the busiest ant

that you ever did see.

the ant by the snake,

and the snake by the vine,

and the vine near the cat,

and the cat in the tree,

and the tree from the seed,

and the seed in the ground,

and the rainforest grew

all around, all around;

the rainforest grew all around.

The wondrous world of the rainforest is depicted in the brilliant illustrations (by Connie McLennan).  Each page spread also has a side bar with fascinating facts about the plants, animals, and insects highlighted in the book.  The end pages provide activities, including a cookie recipe with many ingredients that come from the rainforest.  As always, Sylvan Dell provides an extensive across-the-curriculum teaching guide and other resources at their website to accompany your study and assist you in your lesson planning. 

Picture Book: Sneaky Sheep by Chris Monroe

Summary of Sneaky Sheep: 

Rocky and Blossom live in a picturesque meadow on a mountain with 147 other sheep and Murphy, the sheep dog. High above them, there is another meadow that looks plush and green.  Rocky and Blossom incessantly ask Murphy if they can go there. The wise sheep dog is well aware of the twosome’s past poor choices (illustrated in the book).  He also knows about the dangers on the mountain.  As a result, they are prohibited from going to the other meadow.   Unfortunately, Rocky and Blossom cannot stop thinking about that meadow!  Each time they attempt to sneak off, watchful Murphy catches them and brings them back to the fold.  One day while Murphy is busy assisting an injured sheep, the determined duo escapes into the forest.  Much pleased with themselves for their independence and stealth, they rest a while.  They are startled when a wolf appears. The situation looks bleak, but Murphy tracks them down before any real harm is done.  Blossom and Rocky are relieved and thankful.  They obediently stay with the other sheep…at least for a while.

Evaluation:

My ten year old picked out another good one!  Sneaky Sheep illustrates some core human conflicts and struggles in a natural and entertaining manner.  Blossom and Rocky represent children (and adults) who think the grass is greener on the other side.  They allow temptation to lure them away from safety and sense.  I love how wise and protective the sheep dog is, much like parents and teachers.  He tries to keep them on the path and away from hazards, but they are determined to do things their own way, resulting in a brush with serious danger.  It is much like children who ignore caution and instruction. The story is a great object lesson in the importance of obedience.  On a higher level, the sheep dog parallels how God tries to keep his people out of harm’s way.  In the Bible, the Lord is often depicted as a shepherd.  Unfortunately, after a while the sheep forget about their near death experience.  They begin to long for the meadow again.  Similarly, some people keep repeating their mistakes.   I love when a picture book speaks on many levels.  People of all ages can learn from some of the best of them.   Sneaky Sheep has a fantastic story, entertaining pictures, and a meaningful theme. 

Teaching Opportunities:

• Journaling/Writing—If I were Murphy, I would…
• Social Studies—Learn about sheep, shepherding, and sheep dogs as well as cultures that this profession is still pivotal
• Bible—Read Psalm 23 and other passages that depict the Lord as a shepherd; connect it to Murphy as a shepherd
• Math—Brainstorm all the way you can group items to make 147 or the number of ways to make $1.47 with coins
• Art—Create sheep using pillow stuffing, tissue paper, or other supplies
• Pretend Play---Using costumes, puppets, or action figures, students can act out the adventures of Blossom and Rocky or create new ones
• Character Education—Discuss good choices vs. poor choices; give age appropriate scenarios and devise way to deal with them wisely