Elem./MG – How to Know a Crow: Biography of a Brainy Bird

Posted on October 24, 2024 by pslamediaselectionreview

Savage, Candace. How to Know a Crow: The Biography of a Brainy Bird. Illustrated by Rachel Hudson. Greystone Kids, 2024. 978-1-771-64916-2. 105 p. $21.95. Grades 4-7.

In this narrative nonfiction title, readers have the opportunity to follow the entire life cycle of a crow, Oki, as he hatches and grows into a mature adult. Along the way, Savage uses this linear narration to incorporate a huge amount of knowledge about the American Crow, including its evolutionary origins, its communal behaviors, and its deadly viral enemies (a big cause of death being the influx of West Nile Virus into North America).

THOUGHTS: Don’t let the picture-book landscape orientation fool you: this is the most in-depth book on crows (and crows’ close relatives) that a reader could ever want! While the cover might lean ‘young’ and looks like it belongs solely on the shelves of an elementary school library, middle school readers who love animals, birds, and nature will be intrigued by the content. Advanced terminology and a high level of detail make this book more appropriate for any advanced, interested middle grade reader than a lower elementary school student. The book is written in a mix of narrative and factual, informative style. The pages contain inviting and educational illustrations. The language, at points, is poetic and filled with imagery. The final pages include an index, resource list, and a detailed glossary making this title a great nonfiction resource for students.

598.8 Perching Birds

Elem. – Worm and Caterpillar are Friends

Posted on February 5, 2024 by pslamediaselectionreview

Windness, Kaz. Worm and Caterpillar are Friends. Simon & Schuster Book for Young Readers. 2023. 978-16659-2001-8. $17.99. Gr. K-3.

Worm and Caterpillar are similar but different. Even though they are different, they are best friends! Caterpillar is about to go through a big change and is concerned about their friendship. Can two different animals survive such a big change? Will their friendship survive this change?

THOUGHTS: A fun Ready-to-Read graphic novel for beginning readers. Although change happens in life, friendship can last throughout it!

Graphic Novel

Elem. – Transforming Animals (Series NF)

Posted on February 28, 2023 by pslamediaselectionreview

Gieseke, Tyler. Transforming Animals. Abdo, 2022. $21.95 ea. $131.70 set of 6. 24 p. Gr. K-2.

Turning into a Butterfly. 978-1-098-24114-8.
Turning into a Dragonfly. 978-1-098-24115-5.
Turning into a Fish. 978-1-098-24116-2.
Turning into a Frog. 978-1-098-24117-9.
Turning into a Jellyfish. 978-1-098-24118-6.
Turning into a Newt. 978-1-098-24119-3.

The ability of animals to transform and grow has been a source of fascination to people of all ages for centuries. The Transforming Animals series explores the life cycle processes of six common creatures. This reviewer had the opportunity to examine the Turning into a Butterfly volume. The text takes readers on a journey of the life cycle of the butterfly–from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis to adult butterfly. Each spread includes high-quality close-up photos of each stage of the butterfly’s life cycle. QR codes within the book allow readers to access a video, additional information, useful links and activities. Back matter includes a Making Connections page and a glossary.

THOUGHTS: This series would be a worthwhile addition to any library serving primary age students. The life cycle of each animal is clearly and simply explained. Characteristics of each animal are also identified and explained. The supplemental material available via QR code is high-quality, and the activities easily could be incorporated into classroom science lessons. Highly recommended.

570s; 590s Insects, Animals Elizabeth Henry, Lampeter-Strasburg SD

The Longest Journey: An Arctic Tern’s Migration

Posted on January 9, 2023 by pslamediaselectionreview

Hevron, Amy. The Longest Journey: An Arctic Tern’s Migration. Neal Porter Books, 2022. Unpaged. $18.99 978-0-8234-4700-8 Grades K-5.

The migration of any animal is amazing, and the arctic tern’s migration is no exception. Hevron’s picture book follows a fictional tern on its first journey from Greenland to the South Pole. Scientists have tracked terns’ migratory patterns and have found that they fly nearly 60,000 miles annually. This tern is shown on that journey as we learn what she eats, how she dives, what predators lurk, and more as she travels south through Tenerife, Morocco, Liberia, Namibia, the South Atlantic Ocean, the southern Indian Ocean, Crozet Islands to the Weddell Sea in the Antarctic region. We could say that the terns follow the sun, for they leave summer weather in Greenland for summer weather in Antarctica, before returning to Greenland for the next cycle. The book closes with more facts about Arctic Terns, including where to see them during the year.

THOUGHTS: This is an excellent first look at migration which highlights the difficulties of the journey and the beauty of the tern and its world.

Picture Book Melissa Scott, Shenango Area SD
598.3 Arctic Tern

Elem. – Mr. Watson’s Chickens

Posted on January 14, 2022 by pslamediaselectionreview

Dapier, Jarrett, and Andrea Tsurumi, illustrator. Mr. Watson’s Chickens. Chronicle Books, 2021. 9781452177144. Unpaged. $17.99. Grades K-2.

Mr. Watson and Mr. Nelson live in a big house with a small yard that’s home to two dogs, three cats, and a handful of chickens. Mr. Watson loves his chickens, but when their numbers grow to 456 even he must admit that things are getting out of hand. One, Aunt Agnes, even has her own song and warbles it nonstop! The pair packs up and heads for the county fair to find loving homes for their chicks, but not before further hijinks ensue. One action-packed illustration offers a fun Where’s Waldo vibe as readers hunt for Aunt Agnes on the fair’s bandstand.

THOUGHTS: This wonderfully inclusive picture book will delight young readers with the chickens’ escapades and bright colors! Mr. Watson’s Chickens also could serve as a gentle introduction to a life cycle or animal care unit.

Picture Book Amy V. Pickett, Ridley SD

Elem. – Wingmaker

Posted on October 18, 2021 by pslamediaselectionreview

Cameron, Dave. Wingmaker. Illustrated by David Huyck. Kids Can Press, 2021. Unpaged. 978-1-525-30237-4 $17.99 Grades K-2.

Leaf and Leo are two ants who have daily work in their anthill home, but they find time to visit caterpillar “Gramma Tinker,” so named for her clever inventions made to help her friends. On this visit, they find her building a pillow-like contraption she calls the Wingmaker 77 (77 for the number of days she’s been alive). “Why do you need it?” they ask. “All I know for sure is that I’m preparing for a new adventure.” Gramma Tinker knows that when it’s finished, she will rest inside it for two weeks, and wake up changed. Leaf and Leo return the next day to find Gramma asking questions of various flying creatures, noting such important ideas as weight, wingspan, wing speed, direction, taking off, landing, and gliding. Then she says goodbye to Leaf and Leo and tells them to return in two weeks. The two friends wait, working in the anthill and wondering what will happen next. In two weeks, they return and find that Gramma Tinker the caterpillar has changed into a moth! A final page in the book explains the metamorphosis of eastern tent caterpillars into (nocturnal) lappet moths, and urges readers to keep a light on at night to attract and observe these moths.

THOUGHTS: This is a creative way to interest readers in this enormous creature change. Some readers may guess what is coming. This would make a good addition to instruction about metamorphosis.

Picture Book Melissa Scott, Shenango Area SD

Elem. – My Tiny Life by Ruby T. Hummingbird

Posted on September 27, 2021 by pslamediaselectionreview

Meisel, Paul. My Tiny Life by Ruby T. Hummingbird. Holiday House, 2021. 978-0-823-44322-2. 36 p. Grades K-2. $17.99.

This charming picture book is told from the point of view of a hummingbird called Ruby. Written in a diary format, the humorous narrative follows the bird’s life cycle. The story begins with Ruby exiting his tiny egg and looking forward to a tasty meal of insects and nectar delivered by his mother. Soon the small bird begins to fly and finds his own source of food. Ruby needs to learn to defend himself from the other hummingbirds, who also enjoy eating at the flower-shaped feeder. With the arrival of fall, this tiny creature flies to Mexico and makes an exhausting return trip by flying 500 miles nonstop over the Gulf of Mexico. In the spring, Ruby turns his thoughts to finding a mate. The text is sparse, with one or two sentences per page, which allows the pictures to take center stage. Meisel uses watercolors, acrylics, and gouache to create his colorful large scale full bleed illustrations. He does an excellent job showing the motion of the hummingbird’s fast beating wings and its amazing aviation skills, as the birds go up, down, backwards and even upside down. The author includes facts about these feathered friends on the front endpapers and in the back matter and gives helpful comparisons to allow readers to imagine their actual size.

THOUGHTS: Children will enjoy poring over the drawings as they read about this interesting animal. They may want to check out other books in Meisel’s “A Nature Diary” series to learn about the praying mantis, the bluebird and the always popular stink bug. This book is a worthwhile addition to elementary collections as a good resource for science units, as a mentor text for point of view, and creative nonfiction and for just plain enjoyment.

598.764, Hummingbirds Denise Medwick, Retired, PSLA Member

Elem. – In a Garden

Posted on February 10, 2021 by pslamediaselectionreview

McCanna, Tim. In a Garden. Ill. Aimée Sicuro. Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2020. 978-1-5344-1797-7. Unpaged. $17.99. Grades PreK-2.

Through rhyming verses and vivid watercolor illustrations, In a Garden explores how things grow. From seeds being planted to sunlight and rain nurturing the plants, readers see all of the various aspects of natural growth both in a garden and in those who nurture and care for the garden. McCanna identifies a variety of flowers and vegetables that grow in gardens, while also describing the duties of the various insects that help the garden grow. The four seasons establish how things grow unseen, and also establish the life cycle with insects laying eggs and a woman, pregnant in the beginning, holding a baby when spring returns after winter.

THOUGHTS: This is a gorgeous picture book. Sicuro’s watercolors represent each aspect of the natural world beautifully, while McCanna’s words are playful and representative of the life cycle. Many readers will see themselves in this text because the garden is in a city, and the humans are representative of the diversity in a city. This picture book is a great introduction to the life cycle, gardening, and caring for the natural world. It would pair well with growing a school garden or just planting a seed that students can take home and grow.

Picture Book Erin Bechdel, Beaver Area SD

Elem. – Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera

Posted on October 20, 2020 by pslamediaselectionreview

Fleming, Candace, and Eric Rohmann. Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera. Neal Porter Books, 2020. 978-0-8234-4285-0. Unpaged. $18.99. Grades K-2.

On a summer morning, a new life begins, a new honeybee emerges from her cell. With characteristically flawless prose, Fleming guides the reader day by day through the short life cycle of the honeybee. The new worker bee immediately begins tasks about the hive, from cleaning, to feeding larva, to tending the queen. At approximately four weeks, the worker transitions to a forager, seeking nectar and communicating its location to other foragers. This job will consume the honeybee for the rest of her days. Fleming’s text is gently poetic, imbuing grace and beauty to the life of the bee and the hive. Caldecott winner Rohmann’s eye-catching artwork adds another layer to the experience and is not for the faint-of-heart. Illustrations of the bee are enormous, covering entire pages. Some young readers will thrill to the extreme closeups of eyes and antenni, but other, more bug-phobic, children (and adults) may find the pictures terrifying.

THOUGHTS: This is a lovely, lyrical peek inside the hive and the life of the honeybee, but know your audience before using it as a read-aloud.

Picture Book Nancy Nadig, Penn Manor SD

Literature Review

Part of the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association (PSLA)

Tag Archives: Life Cycle