Animals – Page 33 – Unleashing Readers

Seymour Simon’s Extreme Oceans and Extreme Earth Records

December 18, 2013 by Kellee

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday is hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy and was started to help promote the reading of nonfiction texts. Most Wednesdays, we will be participating and will review a nonfiction text (though it may not always be a picture book).
Be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy and see what other nonfiction books are shared this week!

Extreme Oceans and Extreme Earth Records
Author: Seymour Simon
Published April 2nd, 2013 and August 29th, 2012 by Chronicle Books

Extreme Oceans Goodreads Summary: Join Seymour Simon, the “dean” of children’s science nonfiction, as he investigates the most extreme environments, animals, plants, and weather in the ocean. Imagine exploring the most extreme parts of our amazing oceans—riding the tallest waves, diving to the darkest depths, and encountering the largest and most dangerous sea creatures on Earth. These mind-bending facts and stunning photographs make for an exciting, and sometimes unbelievable, underwater expedition!

Extreme Earth Records Goodreads Summary: Imagine exploring the most extreme parts of our amazing planet—trekking though the driest desert, climbing the snowiest mountaintops, and diving to the deepest regions of the ocean floor. Seymour Simon, the dean of children’s science nonfiction, investigates Earth’s biggest, smallest, deepest, and coldest environments, animals, plants, and most severe weather. These mind-bending facts and photographs invite readers on an exciting, and sometimes unbelievable, scientific expedition of Earth’s most amazing records!

My Review: These books take the other Seymour Simon books I read and just pushes them to the extreme (pun intended). Both books take on different topics and gives the readers extreme facts and information about the topics. Topics range from “Big Waves and Giant Tides”, “Dangerous Sea Animals”, and “Climate Change” in Extreme Oceans and “The Coldest Place on Earth”, “The Biggest Earthquake on Earth”, and “The Largest Volcanic Eruption on Earth” in Extreme Earth Records. In each section, there are bits of information, photographs, sidebars, and text boxes all which add to the topic. All of the information is fascinating and by the end of each section definitely gives insight into the topic. Also, the photographs in these books are just breathtaking!

Teacher’s Tools For Navigation: Like other Simon books, students will definitely love to just read these as they include some fascinating information. Teachers can use them in a couple of different ways: as supplemental materials when teaching a topic, as a research source, or to discuss text features (and I’m sure a bunch of other different ways that I have not even thought of).

Discussion Questions: Would you rather live in the coldest or hottest place on Earth?; Which of the most dangerous ocean animals scares you the most? Why?; Many other discussion questions based on the topics

We Flagged: “Stormy Seas: Imagine being caught at sea in a small ship in the middle of a monster storm that stretches for hundreds of miles in all directions. That’s what happened to a fishing ship, the Andrea Gail, on October 30, 1991. The storm was so big that there was no way to get out. Huge waves and howling winds sampled and sank the boat. It was called the ‘perfect storm’ because all the different factors that can make up a huge storm came together at one time and one place.” (Extreme Oceans p. 25)

“The Largest Volcanic Eruption on Earth: As you read this book, somewhere around the world there are approximately twenty volcanoes erupting. Three-quarters of volcanic eruptions occur unseen beneath the oceans, and no one knows when they happen.” (Extreme Earth Records p. 49)

Read This If You Loved: National Geographic Kids Weird But True, Dangerous Animals of the Sea by Samantha Flores, Pompeii by Mary Pope Osborne, Discovery Channel’s Top 10 Deadliest Sharks, 50 Climate Questions by Peter Christie, Giant Squid by Mary M. Cerullo, The Top of the World by Steve Jenkins

Recommended For:

Seymour Simon: Animal books

December 11, 2013 by Kellee

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday

Various Animals including Gorillas, Penguins, and Cats
Author: Seymour Simon
Published: Varies

Gorillas Goodreads Summary: Classic movies show giant gorillas scaling tall buildings and swatting planes from the sky, but actual gorillas are gentle social animals that live together in family groups like humans. In fact, gorillas are one of the closest genetic matches to people. And just like humans, gorillas can shriek, chuckle, hiccup, and even burp!

Award-winning science writer Seymour Simon has teamed up with the Smithsonian Institution to bring you an updated edition of his classic full-color photographic introduction to these fascinating animals.

Penguins Goodreads Summary: Did you know that: Penguins are champion swimmers. They spend 75 percent of their lives in water. They are birds, but they can’t fly. Penguins are classified as birds because they have feathers.

Now you can explore a penguin’s world by finding out how they can swim so fast, what they eat, and why people need to protect their habitats. Acclaimed science writer Seymour Simon has teamed up with the Smithsonian Institution to take you on a journey to the Antarctic region for a close-up look at one of nature’s most beloved and sociable animals.

Cats Goodreads Summary: Cats are fascinating, complex creatures. Since cats were first tamed about 5,000 years ago, they have enchanted people with their elegant beauty and mysterious manner. But cats can also be playful and cuddly pets, death-defying acrobats, or ruthless hunters. Come along as celebrated science writer Seymour Simon explores the many faces of this beloved animal with striking full-color photographs and engaging prose.

My Reviews and Teacher’s Tools For Navigation: Seymour Simon’s books have been a hit in my classroom (I even put them on my Top Books for Struggling and Reluctant Readers list); however, I, hypocritically, had never read any of his books. I decided a couple of weeks ago that I needed to remedy this and you will see that I did based on my next couple of weeks of Wednesday reviews.

After reading the three animal books pictured/mentioned above, I can see why Simon is a favorite informational nonfiction author. His books are friendly to read yet include essential information about the animals that they are about. The books are easy to navigate and the photographs that are included are beautiful. These books are written to engage and educate the reader.

There are such a plethora of ways to use Simon’s books in the classroom. They will find love in the classroom library, they can be used in conjunction with science or social studies to get more information about a topic, or they can be used in a lit circle type environment where each group has a different Simon book and then they come together to share what they learned. They can also be used for researching as well as academic vocabulary (and even just vocabulary) instruction. Simons books are made to be used in classes and to be in students’ hands.

Discussion Questions: What was the most interesting fact you learned about _____’s habitat? Diet? Parenting? Behavior? Types?

We Flagged: “Penguins are champion swimmers and divers. But they are not fish and they are not aquatic mammals such as dolphins. Penguins are birds because they have feathers, and only birds have feathers. Like birds, they lay their eggs and raise their chicks on land. But they don’t look or fly like most other birds. Instead they seem to fly through the water, and they spend much of their lives at sea.” (Penguins p. 5)

“All cats are hunting animals. They use claws and teeth to seize their prey. When you watch a cat play with a ball or piece of yarn, it is almost like watching a tiger or a leopard stalk its prey in the wild. Even well-fed pet cats will try to catch mice or birds or insects.” (Cats p. 5)

“Gorillas are sometimes called anthropoid (manlike) apes. A gorilla has two arms and two legs, and a head and body much like a human’s head and body. A gorilla has five fingers and five toes, and thirty-two teeth. You have all of those too, and twenty-eight teeth, in about the same positions. Of course, gorillas are much harrier than people. An adult gorilla has hair all over its body except its face, its chest, and the palms of its hands and soles of its feet.” (Gorillas p. 5)

Read This If You Loved: Any informational nonfiction about animals

Recommended For:

Bogart and Vinnie by Audrey Vernick

November 30, 2013 by Kellee

Bogart and Vinnie: A Completely Made-Up Story of True Friendship
Author: Audrewy Vernick
Illustrator: Henry Cole
Published June 18th, 2013 by Walkers Children

Goodreads Summary: When Vinnie, a crazy-happy dog, gets lost while visiting a nature preserve with his family, he finds comfort in the company of Bogart, a big, lazy rhinoceros. Vinnie loves his new friend, but Bogart would rather just take a nap. A friendship soon blossoms-even if Vinnie’s definition of “friendship” is very different from Bogart’s-and when word of their unique situation spreads, Bogart and Vinnie are a worldwide sensation! But as soon as their fifteen seconds of fame ends, what’s left is a bond even Bogart can’t ignore.

Pairing picture-book veteran, Henry Cole, with up-and-coming author, Audrey Vernick, this clever spoof of the unendingly popular interspecies animal-friendship story is full of heart and humor.

My Review: I love Vinnie! He is one of the happiest, joyful characters in a picture book every. Just seeing him makes me smile. I mean, how could Bogart not want to be his friend. But the funniest part of the friendship is the opposite attracts aspect. Bogart is not happy and joyful. He is content with standing on his hill eating grass, but then here comes Vinnie to change his life. Vernick cleverly plays off of the unlikely friendship hype (which is so adorable!), but without making fun of it.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: This book would be so much fun to read after introducing say Owen and Mzee or other unlikely friendships (always an easy compare and contrast activity), but then what would take it to a whole new level is to ask kids to write their own stories about two animals that are unlikely friends—I think some hilariousness would come out of these stories.

Discussion Questions: What makes Bogart and Vinnie unlikely friends?

We Flagged: “Way in back, rarely visited, stood Bogart, a square-lipped rhinoceros. He breathed in the grassy peace of the rhino range—his alone. He cherished the quiet, his tail curled with happiness.

Vinnie raced straight toward Bogart as though reuniting with an old friend.
“I love you! I’m Vinnie! Hi!”
Nobody knew what attracted Vinnie to Bogart. Was it his color? His shape? His horn? His other horn? THe way he completely ignored Vinnie?” (p. 6-7)

Read This If You Loved: Owen and Mzee by Craig Hatkoff, Elephant and Piggie (series) by Mo Willems, Penguin on Vacation by Salina Yoon, You Will Be My Friend by Peter Brown

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Julie at Bloomsbury for providing a copy for review!!**

Millie and the Big Rescue by Alexander Steffensmeier

November 29, 2013 by Kellee

Millie and the Big Rescue
Author and Illustrator: Alexander Steffensmeier
Published August 13th, 2013 by Walker Childrens

Goodreads Summary: A game of hide and seek on the farm goes awry when Millie gets stuck in her hiding place at the top of a tree. But when the farmer and all the other animals try to help, they get stuck as well. Who will rescue Millie and her friends?

Millie’s charming comedy of errors is back in full effect, guaranteeing this new installment in the series will be a hit among young readers as it introduces essential members of the community: firefighters!

My Review and Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: The farm is full of animals that just want to have fun, but one interesting choice by Millie causes havoc. This book would be great for a read aloud. Students will have so much fun predicting what is going to happen next and guessing the effects of the different events.

Discussion Questions: Why was the tree a bad hiding place for Millie? Where else could she have hidden?; If you could have a picnic anywhere, where would you choose?

We Flagged: “Millie loved to play hide-and-see. So did her friends on the farm. even when all the good hiding places were taken, Millie somehow managed to find the best spot. Ready or not, here come the chickens. Millie was nowhere to be found.” (p. 2-3)

Read This If You Loved: The Night Horses by Anaka Jones, Fire Fuego! Brave Bomberos by Susan Middleton, Chicken Dance by Tammi Sauer, Click Clack Moo by Doreen Cronin

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Julie at Bloomsbury for providing a copy for review!!**

If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

July 27, 2015November 28, 2013 by Ricki

If You Find Me
Author: Emily Murdoch
Published: March 26th, 2013 by St. Martin’s Griffin

GoodReads Summary: There are some things you can’t leave behind…

A broken-down camper hidden deep in a national forest is the only home fifteen year-old Carey can remember. The trees keep guard over her threadbare existence, with the one bright spot being Carey’s younger sister, Jenessa, who depends on Carey for her very survival. All they have is each other, as their mentally ill mother comes and goes with greater frequency. Until that one fateful day their mother disappears for good, and two strangers arrive. Suddenly, the girls are taken from the woods and thrust into a bright and perplexing new world of high school, clothes and boys.

Now, Carey must face the truth of why her mother abducted her ten years ago, while haunted by a past that won’t let her go… a dark past that hides many a secret, including the reason Jenessa hasn’t spoken a word in over a year. Carey knows she must keep her sister close, and her secrets even closer, or risk watching her new life come crashing down.

Review: It has been a while since I couldn’t put a book down. This gut-wrenching tale captivated me from the very beginning. When authors try to portray emotions, they can feel superficial for readers. But Murdoch’s writing feels effortless. I connected with Carey in a way that reminded me of how I understood Melinda in Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. My hands shook with anger in response to her pain, and as she felt overwhelmed and scared, I cried along with her. The backwoodsy dialect made the story feel real and authentic. It constantly reminded me of where Carey was coming from. Murdoch expertly unfolds the plot for readers, which adds a level of complexity but also makes readers feel as if they are coming to terms with Carey’s life right along with her. This is a beautiful, compelling story that I won’t forget.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: One of the strengths of this book is the special bond between the siblings. Carey’s love for her 6-year-old sister, Jenessa, fills the reader with comfort and sureness. It would be interesting for students to consider this bond and what holds these two sisters together. I could also see students researching more about child abuse and neglect. Carey and Jenessa have to make a dramatic adjustment to life on the outside, and I imagine that students will want to learn more about this struggle and its potential difficulties.

Discussion Questions: Why does Carey keep secrets? Do you agree with her decisions?; Why does Carey have difficulty forming a relationship with her father? Do you think she has been brainwashed?; What are the long-term effects of abuse? What kinds of abuse are there? Will Carey ever heal?

We Flagged:

“I answer her with my silence, understanding the full power of it for the first time. Words are weapons. Weapons are powerful. So are unsaid words. So are unused weapons” (p. 24).

“We make attachments to what’s familiar. We find the beauty, even in the lack. That’s human. We make the best of what we’re given” (p. 169).

Read This If You Loved: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Room by Emma Donoghue, A Child Called “It” by Dave Pelzer, The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey (for the sibling bond and the woodsy setting), Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison, White Oleander by Janet Fitch, Stolen: A Letter to My Captor by Lucy Christopher

Recommended For:

Dolphin Sky by Ginny Rorby

November 24, 2013 by Kellee

This week I am celebrating with my friend and author Ginny Rorby as she receives her award from the Florida Association for Media in Education (FAME) for winning the Sunshine State Young Readers Award (as voted by 6-8 grade students in Florida) for Lost in the River of Grass. To celebrate, I will be reviewing all of her books this week:

Dolphin Sky
Author: Ginny Rorby
Published July 29th, 2013 (first published 1996)

Goodreads Summary: When the captive dolphins that she has befriended are threatened, Buddy risks her father’s condemnation and the law to save their lives in this powerful story about a dyslexic child, trapped by the limitations of her learning disability, who discovers that real freedom comes from being true to your heart.

My Review: I know you have heard this from me all week, but Ginny Rorby just has a way of sucking me in and pulling on my heart strings. Dolphin Sky is Ginny’s first book which she has rereleased as an ebook, so I grabbed it as soon as she let me know. Once again, I cried, I cheered, I laughed. I loved every second of the book.

Ginny knows how to intertwine human issues and animal issues into a seemlessly touching story. Buddy, our young protagonist, is bullied at school and has a very tough time keeping up. A specific bully is relentless making her feel stupid specifically when she has to read outloud and cannot. The only time Buddy feels like she can be herself is around her grandfather, The Admiral, who, after an accident, is in a wheelchair. Even her father is very distant and her mother is dead. Buddy also finds relief when she is around nature and she specifically loves dolphins, so when she befriends Annie, a captive dolphin at a small roadside attraction, she knows she has found a friend for life.

One of the things that Ginny does so well is voice- unique per book, but also consistent between. Though this book is in 3rd person, the narrator has a specific voice throughout and they are different between every book (though I can always tell it is Ginny writing). She has a style to her descriptions and prose that is perfect for the books she writes. In this book, specifically the setting comes alive because of Ginny’s writing.

The other thing I think Ginny does well in all of her books is characterization of not only the human characters, but the animals as well. Annie the dolphin is as much a character as anyone else in this book. So is Osceola, the crab, who ended up being one of my favorite characters.

Lastly, again, Ginny pays homage to good teachers who can make a difference. Miss Conroy, the doctorate student who meets and mentors Buddy, as well as Miss Daniels, Buddy’s teacher, are great advocates for Buddy and really show how a good teacher or mentor can make a difference.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: Especially for those of us in Florida, there are many different sections of this book that would be great for read alouds to discuss some tough topics; however, it will find its home in students’ hands.

Discussion Questions: (Writing) Just as Buddy’s teacher assigns, research an animal native to your area and determine how humans are affecting its population and what we can do to help.

We Flagged: “She puts out her hand and Annie comes slowly toward her, but sinks away before Buddy touches her. The dolphin circles, and Buddy feels her pass, feels the pressure that the movement of her tail makes in the water. She turns, trying to keep track of where Annie is… Buddy lets herself bob to the surface, takes a breath, then dangles face down, making a slow circle, trying to find the dolphin. From directly beneath her, Annie looms up out of the murky water. That monstrous form moving slowly toward her floods Buddy with the same fear she felt when she first fell into the water. Panic wells in her, flattening her lungs against her ribs until her breath leaves her in a gasp. But she doesn’t move or scream and, in that moment, realizes that her fear exploded on the surface in that bubble of air. The emptiness in her chest fills with love.” (Location 1598-1591, 1608-1612)

Read This If You Loved: Carl Hiaasen novels Hoot, Scat, Chomp, and Flush; Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell

Recommended For:

The Outside of a Horse by Ginny Rorby

November 23, 2013 by Kellee

The Outside of a Horse
Author: Ginny Rorby
Published May 13th, 2010 by Dial

Goodreads Summary: Hannah Gale starts volunteering at a horse stable because she needs a place to escape. Her father has returned from the Iraq war as an amputee with posttraumatic stress disorder, and his nightmares rock the household. At the stable, Hannah comes to love Jack, Super Dee, and Indy; helps bring a rescued mare back from the brink; and witnesses the birth of the filly who steals her heart. Hannah learns more than she ever imagined about horse training, abuse, and rescues, as well as her own capacity for hope. Physical therapy with horses could be the answer to her fatherÕs prayers, if only she can get him to try.

My Review: Ginny Rorby writes books about animal-human relationships and the healing power of these animals. This is animal fiction that falls into a completely different realm than others. She breathlessly intertwines human problems with animals. Her previous book, Hurt Go Happy, dealt with Joey, a deaf young girl, her mother’s inability to deal with her disability, and how Sukari, a young chimpanzee, helps Joey and her mother accept their life. Her newest book, The Outside of a Horse, deals with Hannah. Hannah Gale feels so alone. Her mother passed away from cancer a few years ago, her father is fighting in Iraq, her stepmother doesn’t really connect with her, and her brother, Jeffy, is just too young to be there for her. The only comfort to Hannah is when her school bus drives by the stables and she gets to see the horses. It is through these horses that Hannah finds comfort during this difficult time in her life that just keeps getting worse and worse.

It is through Ginny Rorby’s believable characters and realistic situations that the reader feels so connected to the animals and humans of her novels. Both The Outside of a Horse and Hurt Go Happy deal with not only a human issue, but an animal issue as well. The Outside of a Horse shows the reader the truth behind horse racing. What makes Rorby’s books different, though, is that she teaches about an animal issue, but does not preach. She lets you take in the truth and decide for yourself if it is an injustice or not.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: Outside of a Horse deals with some hard issues and is a book that many students won’t grab right away; however, read a couple of chapters to your classes and there will be a waiting list for it.

Discussion Questions: The Outside of a Horse shares an injustice with us that many people do not realize and is ignored. What is something that you believe is wrong that others enjoy?

Read This If You Loved: BADD by Tim Tharp, Another Kind of Cowboy by Susan Juby, Gabriel’s Horses by Alison Hart, Faithful Elephants by Yukio Tsuchiya

Recommended For: