Nonfiction: Log Life (Amy Hevron)

Title: Log Life

Author: Amy Hevron

Illustrator: Amy Hevron

Target Ages: 5 and up

Genre:  Nonfiction Science Picture Book

Publisher Summary: 

“A fallen log

is full of life.

Peek inside this tiny habitat

and meet the plants

and the creatures

that call it home.”

First Lines: “Once there stood a giant fir tree that stretched to the sun. One stormy day, a great gust came.  The tree creaked…and cracked…and collapsed.”

Memorable Moments: 

EVERYTHING

Evaluation: 

This book is an ideal introduction for young readers learning about habitats.  However, older readers could use it as a springboard for research or projects.

The narrative shows how a “dead” tree gets a second life as a nurse log. It begins in the spring of first year. The child-friendly multimedia illustrations show how different organisms quickly make their home in the nurse log.  Fungi, lichens, liverwort, and much more join in the lively party in their new habitat. Then, the insects and animals are introduced that make this place to call home or to find food. Cute dialogue boxes for the different organisms keep this potentially dense topic lively and child-centered.  

The story skips ahead 10 years and moves to the summer season.  Now, lots of new organisms inhabit the log–from frogs who find a cool den in the hollowed parts to salamanders who slither in the hollows to hide.  

It jumps three more times–to autumn in 100 years, winter in 500 years, and spring again in 1000 years. As a result, readers get a glimpse of the life cycle of a nurse tree in all the different seasons and through many centuries.  

The narrative is a story of cause and effect.  Because one group moves in, it attracts others.  As the nurse log changes, so do the creatures and organisms that make a temporary or permanent home there.  (Ideal crossover skill)

With so much ground being covered, it may seem like this book too comprehensive for children. Not to worry, Hevron does an excellent job keeping the log’s narrative light and readable. Everything from the pictures to the text are age appropriate. 

Log Life is an amazing science picture book!  It is geared for the elementary level, but it is so accessible, fascinating, and informative, readers of all ages will enjoy getting a look into this little known world.  

Activities and Extension Ideas for Lesson Plans:

• Comparison:  Create a Venn diagram comparing/contrasting this habitat with another habitat. 

• Causal: Use a graphic organizer to plot one or more causal relationships or a causal chain that occurs in this habitat.  

• Creative Writing:  Write about log life from the perspective of one of the animals or organisms. 

• Research: Students can pick one of the creatures who make a nurse log home.  Then, write a paper, fill in a graphic organizer, or create a SlideShow with the new information they found.

• Art:  Use a medium like a shoebox or small poster board to create a 3-dimensional or multi-media replica of one of the stages of the nurse log.

• Reading: Also, read A Log's Life by Wendy Pfeffer. Compare and contrast the different depictions of this habitat. This paid TPT resource has 19 activities could accompany either or both books.

For more Perfect Picture Book suggestions visit Susanna Leonard Hill's blog.

Now You See Them, Now You Don’t: Poems About Creatures That Hide (David L. Harrison)

Title:  Now You See Them, Now You Don’t:  Poems About Creatures That Hide 

Author: David L. Harrison

Illustrator:  Giles Laroche

Target Ages:  5 and up

Genre:  Nonfiction Poetry

Publisher Summary:

Some animals hide to hunt for food, and others hide to avoid becoming dinner.  It’s easy to see why a disappearing act is important for many animals. 

From the octopus to the polar bear, and from the praying mantis to the hawk, discover how and why many animals cleverly camouflage. 

Sample Poems:  Click on illustrations to make larger and to read the poems.

Evaluation:

What initially drew me to this collection were the illustrations after I saw some samples in an online review.  Fortunately, the vivid colors, varied textures, multi-dimensional artwork are even more stunning in person. Each two-page spread brilliantly illustrates the theme of the book from the flounder blending into the sand on the ocean floor to the copperhead snake hidden between layers of leaves to the American Alligator floating at the edge of the river waters.  Adults and children will enjoy looking at the pictures over and over. 

The nineteen poems in the collection blend science and art seamlessly.  A wide variety of creatures from the octopus to the owl to the walking stick to the American bullfrog are highlighted.  The rhythm, rhyme, and alliteration create a lovely read-aloud experience.  Lines like “The octopus is slyly shy./It’s hard to spot it lurking by” and “Without a scent,/the slightest trace,/to give away/its hiding place” are smooth and pleasant to the ear. 

I highly recommend Now You See Them, Now You Don’t:  Poems About Creatures That Hide.   The interconnectedness of illustrations and text as well as the perfect blend of science and art make it a memorable and beautiful collection.

Activities and Extension Ideas for Lesson Plans:

• Predicting:  Show an illustration.  Allow children to discuss their observations.  Then, encourage them to predict which animal it will be about (if more than one on the page) and to guess how the animal uses camouflage.  
• Science:  Use poems as a springboard to teach about animals, their habitats, and habits (especially use of camouflage). 
• Animal Classes:  Introduce children to animal classes.  Older ones can learn about the characteristics of each one and identify other animals in the same class.  Use this book with a unit on mammals, reptiles, amphibians, sea life, insects, or birds.
• Animal Food Chains:  Identify and draw the parts of one or more animal food chains represented. 
• Classify:  Classify animals based on their use of camouflage (to catch prey, to avoid prey, or both) or if they are hunters or prey. 
• Language:  The poems use ample rhyme and alliteration.  They would be perfect for a lesson—formal or informal—on either topic.
• Context Clues:  Write a poem on the board or on paper without the title.  Read it together.  Then, allow the students to use context clues to guess which animal the poem is describing.   (If the name of the animal is in the poem, cover it or leave a blank.) 
• Poetry Models:  Use one or more poems as models to create original poems with students (or they can work independently).  “Ghost Crab” is written using a list of words to describe what he “knows” like “scurry, hide, dig, hole.”  In addition, “Copperhead” is a letter written in poetic form from the perspective of the snake.  Write poems about what another animal “knows” or from different animal’s point of view in the form of a letter.

Visit Teach Dance for Poetry Friday!

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Poetry Friday Round Up: Dear Wandering Wildebeest

Welcome to the Poetry Friday Weekly Round Up.  Join in by adding your link at the bottom of this post. To begin with, enjoy a couple poems from this collection:

Title:  Dear Wandering Wildebeest: And Other Poems from the Water Hole

Author:  Irene Latham

Illustrator:  Anna Wadham

Target Ages:  6 and up

Genre:  Poetry Collection

Publisher Summary:

“Spend a day at a water hole on the African grasslands.  From dawn to nightfall, animals come and go.  Giraffes gulp, wildebeests graze, impalas leap, vultures squabble, and elephants wallow. “

Sample Poems:

“The Watchman’s Song”

Call me sentry,

Call me guard.

I round the mounds

in the yard.

I stand up tall.

I scan the dirt.

I watch the town,

ears alert.

I sing my song:

peep peep peep,

It means, we’re safe!

Forage! Sleep!

But, if Jackal stalks

and closes in,

or if Hawk circles

yet again –

I’ll whistle-shrill.

That means: Duck!

Grrrr-bark-rrrrr-bark.

Don’t push luck!

Call me sentry,

Call me guard.

I round the mounds

in the yard.

“Tree for All”

Giraffes feast on my leafy crown;

my buffet never closes.

Rhinos doze beneath my broad branches;

my umbrella shelters and shades.

Baboons scramble up and down my trunk;

my playground delights all ages.

Owls nest in my hidden knothole;

my cradle cozies brand new wings.

Skinks sleep in my think spotted bark;

my camouflage keeps them safe.

Safari ants trail along my roots;

my roadways help build a city.

No grassland beasts can resist my charms;

I am a wild brush willow tree.

Evaluation:

Latham plays with words and poetic forms.  For instance, her titles are colorful and fun.  “Lifestyles of the Sleek and Sinuous” describes how the Black mamba snake lives while “Calling Carcass Control” explains the feeding habits of various animals. Many of the poems follow a traditional format with set stanzas and rhyme. Others are more creative. “Oxpecker Cleaning Service” is written as an advertisement while informing readers about this animal’s important role.  To highlight the difficulty giraffes have to get a drink, a free verse poem is written in outline form. 

While the poems can be enjoyed for their diversity and delightful imagery, this collection has educational value as well. It can supplement units on Africa, habitats, and animals in the science curriculum.  Sounds devices like rhyme and alliteration are plentiful.  These poems can be used to study diverse voices and personification.

The poems themselves are educational on their own. However, a short paragraph corresponds to each one providing additional background information for young readers to better understand the habitat and animals. 

This format can be an inspiration for poetry writing in the classroom or at home.  First, provide an informative prose paragraph on an interesting topic or assign students to pick their own. Then, allow students to write poems using the information. Encourage them to play with literary devices like personification and point of view as well as sound devices. This activity is also an opportunity to teach the difference between poetry and prose. While prose just “gives the facts,” poetry allows readers to experience the facts through vivid imagery and different points of view.

Anna Wadham’s illustrations are fantastic.  The soft colors and beautiful drawings give little glimpses into life on the African grasslands. 

Overall, Dear Wandering Wildebeest is a celebration of nature and diversity.  It is a must-read!  

If You Were a Dog (Jamie A. Swenson)

Title:  If You Were a Dog

Author:  Jamie A. Swenson

Illustrator:  Chris Raschka

Target Ages:  1-6

First Lines:  

“If you were a dog, would you be speedy quick, lickety-sloppidy, scavenge-the-garbage, Frisbee-catching, hot-dog-stealing, pillow-hogging, best-friend-ever sort of dog?  Would you howl at the moon?  ARRRROOOOOOOOOO!  Some dogs do."

Publisher Summary: 

“If you could be any kind of animal, what would you be?  Would you be a dog that goes ARRRROOOOOOO?  Or maybe you would be a sharp-toothed dinosaur that can CHOMP, STOMP, ROAR! Perhaps you might want to to be a hopping frog that goes BOING, BOING, RIBBET! But maybe you would want to be the best kind of animal of all.  Can you guess what that is?”

Evaluation:

From Swenson’s creative language and recurring structure to Raschka’s vivid and colorful impressionist illustrations, If You Were a Dog is a perfect read a loud for story time.

Dogs, cats, fish, birds, bugs, frogs, and dinosaurs are depicted in various activities, opening children up to aspects of their habitats and habits.  In the “fish” section, one is hiding in the coral, another jumping in the waves, and still another is chasing a smaller fish while in the bird spread, one is eating berries, another is snatching up trout, and still another is gliding in the mountains.   Also, a variety of many of the general creatures is shown.  For instance, under “bugs,” there is a butterfly, a bee, a caterpillar, a cricket, and a water bug.  Children can build on their understanding of types within the animal kingdom. Adult readers have many opportunities for teachable moments on habitats, animal habits, and types.

Also, I love the lively onomatopoeia, such as “swish, swish, shish” and “crik, crik, crik.”  Children can be encouraged to predict the sounds and join in saying them.  The questions like “Would you sing the whole night through?” and “Would you splash in the surf? also invite listener interaction.

The conclusion is that the children are not dogs, cats, fish, and so forth.  However, they can make the noises of each one.  Ultimately, they are “the very best sort of thing to be.“

This imaginative romp into the animal world is sure to stimulate an interactive reading experience with your little ones.  I have no doubt it will be one they will clamor for over and over again.

Activities and Extension Ideas for Lesson Plans:

• Imaginative Play:  Chose an animal.  Read the descriptions and act them out together.  Soar through the air like a bird, stomp like a dinosaur, or swim like a fish. 
• Writing:  Pick a favorite animal not included.  Create together a layout for it using the model in the book with creative descriptive words.  Then, allow the child(ren) to illustrate it. 
• Science:  Categorize each animal based on habitat.  Ask:  Which animals live in or near the water?  Which ones are pets?  Which animals live in the trees and air?  Which live outside in the grass and flowers?
• Animal Sounds:  Practice identifying the sounds of animals, either from this book or others.  Say a sound.  Ask what animal makes it.  Then switch.  Have the child give you the sound and you answer what animal makes it.