Category: Learning Outdoors (Page 1 of 62)

#Nonfiction Monday #kidlit: Swoop and Soar

After decades of declining numbers, ospreys are on the rise again. Discover more about how people are helping ospreys recover with the new picture book,  Swoop and Soar: How Science Rescued Two Osprey Orphans and Found Them A New Family In The Wild by Deborah Lee Rose and Jane Veltkamp.

In the first part of the book, we hold our breaths following the perilous journey of two newly-hatched osprey chicks. One night a storm destroys  Swoop and Soar’s nest and the chicks fall to the ground. Nearby, another osprey family has lost their offspring, but still come back to their nest. With a little help from Jane, will the new family adopt the homeless chicks?

What comes after is not so much back matter as a second fascinating book about ospreys and how biologist Jane Veltkamp works hard to rescue them.

The illustrations are glorious full color photographs. The text matches the illustrations perfectly. Some of the photographs will make you ask, “How did they get that?”

With Swoop and Soar, get hooked by the nail-biting story of the chicks, then stick around for some amazing information about ospreys. Highly recommended!

Related activities:

Visit Deborah Lee Rose’s author website for a free educational guide.

Birds of Prey Northwest has additional information about Swoop and Soar and other raptors.

Activity: Check the status of ospreys where you live.

Growing up in western New York state, we  rarely saw ospreys even though we had ponds and lakes everywhere.  Now, a few decades later,  it is common to find the huge osprey nests atop utility poles. It is wonderful that the birds are on the rebound.

Check with your local Audubon Society or bird watching organization to find out whether ospreys are found in your area. Take a trip to look for them.

See our previous post about eagles and ospreys for information on how to identify both birds.

Looking for more children’s books about birds? Check our growing list at Science Books for Kids.

Reading age ‏ : ‎ 5 – 13 years
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Persnickety Press (September 5, 2022)
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1943978565
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1943978564

Disclosure: An e-ARC of this book was provided by the publisher for review purposes. Also, I am an affiliate with Amazon so I can provide you with cover images and links to more information about books and products. As you probably are aware, if you click through the highlighted title link and purchase a product, I will receive a very small commission, at no extra cost to you. Any proceeds help defray the costs of hosting and maintaining this website.

 


Love children’s nonfiction books? Try the Nonfiction Monday blog.

STEM Friday #Kidlit Stretch to the Sun

Let’s celebrate nature with the picture book Stretch to the Sun: From a Tiny Sprout to the Tallest Tree on Earth by Carrie A. Pearson and illustrated by  Susan Swan.

How do you start a story about the tallest tree in the world? If you’re Carrie Pearson, you start it with a bang!

Creak! Crack! Kaboom!
A giant tree falls, broken,
and the forest floor trembles.

And with that dramatic event comes the opening needed for another tree to be born, one that will live over 1200 years and grow to about 380 feet tall. That’s about as tall as a 35 story building. Amazing!

Susan Swan’s illustrations are equally amazing. She used Adobe Photoshop to create collages of found objects and hand painted papers that are enthralling. The trees are the central characters, of course, but she also features many animals of the Redwood National Park, giving young readers hidden treasures to search for on every page.

Other highlights include a surprise single gate-fold spread that helps emphasize the height of this magnificent tree.

The back matter shines as well. Besides an Author’s Note that explains how the book came about, there are many remarkable facts about coast redwoods, a bibliography, as well as information about where you can learn more and what you can do to help preserve redwoods.

Stretch to the Sun is a one-of-a-kind book about a one-of-a-kind tree. It will thrill young nature lovers. Get lost in a copy today!

Activity Suggestions:

1. Visit Carrie Pearson’s website for resources including an activity and discussion guide, NGSS standards, and a fun trailer for the book.

2.  Learn how to measure the height of a tree in the second activity from this previous post (scroll down.)

3. Visit our tree category here at the blog for many more posts.

4. Want to read more? Try our growing list of children’s books about trees at Science Books for Kids.

 

 

 

 

Reading age ‏ : ‎ 5 – 8 years
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Charlesbridge; Illustrated edition (October 9, 2018)
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1580897711
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1580897716

 

Disclosure: This book was provided by the publisher. Also, I am an affiliate with Amazon so I can provide you with cover images and links to more information about books and products. As you probably are aware, if you click through the highlighted title link and purchase a product, I will receive a very small commission, at no extra cost to you. Any proceeds help defray the costs of hosting and maintaining this website.

Come visit the STEM Friday blog each week to find more great Science, Technology, Engineering and Math books.

Night Creatures #kidlit Soars and Slinks

Today we are featuring the first in a series of fabulous STEAM picture books that are coming out this month, Night Creatures: Animals That Swoop, Crawl, and Creep While You Sleep by Rebecca E. Hirsch and illustrated by Sonia Possentini.

Even though we don’t see them as often, about half of the animals on the planet are nocturnal (active after dark). This book is a wonderful introduction.

The book starts in a soft, lyrical settling-down-to-bedtime voice.

A cool night breeze
blows softly on your face
As night creatures wake…

Soon, your heart begins to race as bobcats leap, owls pounce, and rabbits run away.  No worries, however, because the quiet descends again as night turns into day.

Young readers will enjoy Sonia Possentini’s marvelous illustrations. Possentini uses a pallet of blues, greens and black tree silhouettes to reflect nighttime, but also capture the warm hues of a bobcat’s coat or an owl’s feathers.

In the concise and informative back matter, learn more details about the featured animals.

Night Creatures is a celebration of animals that are active when many people are sleeping. Slip into a copy and discover what you have been missing.

Related Science Activities:

Check out the incredible free activity guide to download. Seriously! Perfect for any unit on nocturnal animals. Rebecca has instructions for taking a night hike, as well as activities that reflect how your senses change in the dark. What might you touch and feel? How might your color vision change? What might you hear? What might you smell?

In this video, listen to some of the sounds you might expect to hear at night. Note:  The video is silent except for the parts with the animal sound recordings.

 

Consider having a moth ball, which is a nighttime moth watching party (previous post).

See our growing list of children’s books about nocturnal animals at Science Books for Kids.

Reading age ‏ : ‎ 5 – 10 years
Publisher:  ‎ Millbrook Press ™ (September 7, 2021)
ISBN-10 : ‎ 1541581296
ISBN-13 : ‎ 978-1541581296

Disclosure: This book was provided electronically by the publisher for review purposes. Also, I am an affiliate with Amazon so I can provide you with cover images and links to more information about books and products. As you probably are aware, if you click through the highlighted title link and purchase a product, I will receive a very small commission, at no extra cost to you. Any proceeds help defray the costs of hosting and maintaining this website.

 


Looking for more children’s nonfiction books? Try the Nonfiction Monday blog.

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