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!
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.
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.
When a honey bee colony gets too crowded, a portion of the bees split off to find a new place to live, which is called “swarming”. Sometimes the bees of the swarm set up their new nest in an inconvenient place, like inside a house. Find out how bee rescuer Mr. Jon Nelson safely captures wild honey bees and moves them into a hive box for relocation. It’s a fascinating process!
Photographs are detailed and close-up, so the reader feels like they are standing right next to the bee rescuer.
The most amazing part is that Mr. Nelson doesn’t wear fancy protective clothing. That because he lives in a place where the honey bees are relatively gentle and because he knows exactly how to act around bees to keep them calm.
Honeybee Rescue would be perfect, of course, for budding beekeepers and entomologists. However, it might also be important to share with young readers who are scared of honey bees. Reading about things that frighten us often lessens those fears.
In any case, sweeten your week with a copy of this heartwarming book!
Disclosure: 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.
On September 4, 1893, a 27-year-old woman with thick brown hair and bright blue eyes penned a letter to a friend’s sick child. To cheer him up, she wrote a story and decorated it with pen and ink drawings of a family of rabbits. It was not unusual for her to do this; she was always writing letters to children that contained stories and drawings. What was special about this particular letter was several years later she would turn the story into her first book for children, The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Beatrix Potter went on to write more than 20 books. Many are still available and popular today, even though they were written over 100 years ago.
Author Amy M. O’Quinn reveals Beatrix Potter’s life from her early childhood in a privileged but highly-restricted household, to her later years as a farmer and conservationist. The journey of this beloved children’s book author and illustrator is fascinating, full of hardships and disappointments as well as successes.
Beatrix continued to write even after she could no longer see to draw. Her last book, Wag-by-wall (illustrated by J.J. Lankes), was published after her death.
Becoming Beatrix is smaller in size, 5.5 by 8.5 inches, which echoes Beatrix Potter’s own ideas about book size.
“She’d loved Anna Barbauld’s tiny child-sized book when she was young and was inspired to create something similar that would easily fit into small hands.”
The illustrations are mostly historical photographs, giving a sense of the times and places Beatrix lived. It also has design touches that celebrate Potter’s illustrations, including rabbits in the beginning of chapters and carrots between sections.
The back matter includes “Notes” to references, a bibliography and a very useful index.
Becoming Beatrix Potter is perfect for young fans of Beatrix Potter and those interested in women’s history. The book would be wonderful to accompany a trip to Hill Top Farm. Get lost in a copy today!
Related Activity Suggestions
Why choose this title for gardening week? In her later years Beatrix Potter purchased Hill Top Farm and spent a great deal of time working on the gardens, which were also used as background for some of her books. You can get a glimpse of them here:
You can use Beatrix Potter’s most famous book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, for inspiration and grow your very own storybook theme garden.
A storybook garden celebrates the fruits and vegetables named in a favorite book. For The Tale of Peter Rabbit, you might choose to grow the vegetables that Peter ate, such as lettuces, french beans, radishes, and parsley. Or you might want to grow all the fruits and vegetables mentioned in book.
Planning
First, find a place to grow your garden. Consider whether the area gets at least six to eight hours of sunshine per day (vegetables need a lot of sun to grow properly) and whether it is close to a reliable source of water.
If you don’t have a plot of ground, don’t give up. Can you grow vegetables in pots or containers? Many vegetables will grow in large pots on a patio or balcony if there is enough sunlight. If not, see if your town or city has a community garden where you can rent or share a garden plot.
Write down the fruits and vegetables you want to grow.
All the edible plants mentioned in the book:
Lettuces
French beans (green or string beans in the U.S.)
Radishes
Parsley
Cucumber
Cabbages
Potatoes
Gooseberry (old-fashioned fruit that grows on a bush)
Check to make sure the plants will grow where you live and what varieties are available. For example, you might not be able to grow blackcurrants where it is too warm.
Design a garden to fit the space based on what you learn. You may only be able to add one or two plants of a given vegetable if you are using pots or if your space is limited. Smaller is better if this is your first garden.
Prepare the soil
Gardeners have many different methods of preparing the soil and it will vary from place to place. Usually you will need to clear weeds and debris from the area you have chosen, then dig up and turn over the soil. Vegetables grow best in soil that contains some compost. Check with local gardening resources to find out what is recommended for your climate and soil type.
Planting
When it comes to planting a garden, timing is everything. Find out when the best time to plant is for your growing zone (USDA plant hardiness map). Some vegetables, such as peas, can withstand a bit of cold weather. Others, like tomatoes, are killed by a frost. Plan accordingly.
Taking Care of Your Garden
A vegetable garden will need tending throughout the growing season. You will need to learn about weeds and pull them out so you vegetables have plenty of room to grow. Make sure to water the plants as needed.
Will you have to worry about animals eating the vegetables, like Peter Rabbit did? Will you need to keep your dog from running through? Then you might need a fence like the one from the book.
Keep Notes
Keep records of what you do. Write regularly in a gardening journal and take photographs. That way you can remember what worked, what didn’t, what varieties grew well, etc.
Let us know how it goes!
We have a previous post with more ideas for theme gardens.
See our previous review of Amy M. O’Quinn‘s bookMarie Curie for Kids: Her Life and Scientific Discoveries, with 21 Activities and Experiments.
Reading age : 8 – 12 years
Publisher : Chicago Review Press (March 22, 2022)
ISBN-10 : 1641604409
ISBN-13 : 978-1641604406
Disclosure: 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.
All the edible plants mentioned in the book:
