You Nest Here With Me

You Nest Here With Me
by Jane Yolen & Heidi Stemple; illus. by Melissa Sweet
32 pages; ages 4-8
Boyds Mills Press, 2015

theme: bedtime, family, home, nature




Pigeons nest on concrete ledges,
Catbirds nest in greening hedges,
Tiny wrens, in shoreline sedges.
You nest here with me.

From grackles to eagles, plovers to killdeer, Yolen and Stemple describe different places that birds nest in spot-on rhyme. They end each stanza: "You nest here with me". Combine that with Sweet's gorgeous illustrations and you've got a book that you'll want to read every night.

What I like LOVE about this book: let me count the ways:

• The birds ~ such a diversity of species and nest types
• Introduction of new words: tor
• Diversity of habitat
• Unlovely birds ~ cowbirds, for example
• Repetition ~ You nest here with me
• A feeling of safety 
• Spot-on illustrations
• Texture~ you can almost feel the twigs
• Vibrant color
• Collage
• Back matter! (everyone knows I love back matter)

Beyond the book activities: Build a bird nest. Go outside and gather materials that you think a bird might use in making a nest. You might find twigs,dead grass, fur or feathers, mosses, lichens, pine needles, and mud. Now try constructing a nest. How does it compare to the real thing? Find out by...

... going outside on a nest hunt. Take your journal and a camera along, because you might want to take some photos of how birds have built their nests - and jot notes about what you discover. This time of year you're likely to find old nests, unless you live where birds have already started their spring construction projects. Take a good look at where the nests are placed. Will they be well-hidden when leaves cover the trees? How high are they from the ground? And are the birds using all natural materials? Or have they incorporated bits of man-made stuff?

Help your backyard and neighborhood birds out. Give them some nesting materials - but choose things that are natural and degrade (not plastic or foil). Drape bits of string, thread, yarn, or natural fiber fabric over trees and shrubs. Or loosely fill a suet cage with strips of newspaper, broom bristles, mop strings and other natural things that could be used for a nest. Then hang it where birds will find it.


Today's review is part of the STEM Friday roundup. Drop by STEM Friday blog for more science books and resources. We're also joining PPBF (perfect picture book Friday), an event in which bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's site. She keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books.  Review copy from the publisher.

Water Can Be...

Water Can Be...
by Laura Purdie Salas; illus. by Violeta Dabija
32 pages; ages 5-8
Millbrook Press, 2014

This is a book you can fall in love with just by the cover. Really- who can resist frogs lazing about on lily pads?

Though Water Can Be starts out with spring, it's a perfect read-aloud for a rainy fall day. Because, halfway through - after all the cool things that water can be in spring and summer, we get to this:

Water is water-
it's fog, frost, and sea.
When autumn comes chasing,
water can be a... 
                      cloud fluffer
                      fire snuffer.....

From waterways for salmon migration to snowflakes for winter decoration, Salas explores different ways water can be - and different states: liquid and solid (at least in colder weather)

At the back she includes notes that explain a bit more about the things water can be, as well as a glossary and some suggested reading for curious kids who want to know more.


In my garden water can be: a magnifying lens (drop of water hanging from a leaf-tip); bee drinking fountain (water collecting in depressions), mushroom sprouters, soil soakers, seed-feeders.

What can water be in your neighborhood?  Drop by STEM Friday to see what other science books and resources bloggers are sharing. Review copy provided by publisher.

Beneath the Sun - blog tour!

Beneath the Sun

by Melissa Stewart; illustrated by Constance R. Bergum

32 pages; ages 4-8

Peachtree Publishers, 2014

When it gets hot outside, what do you do? Go inside? Sit in the shade? Turn on a fan? Drink cold lemonade? We have lots of different ways of beating the heat – but what do animals do?

In Beneath the Sun, author Melissa Stewart takes readers into four different habitats for a look at how different animals cool off on hot days. We learn about earthworm loops and horned toad hangouts, cool rocky dens and tide pools. The text is full of vivid verbs, and Constance Bergum’s illustrations beg for closer inspection.

Melissa has written tons of books for kids – more than 150 – and she’s busy on her next project. But she had time to answer Three Questions about Beneath the Sun.

Sally: What inspired this book? Being outside in July?

Melissa: I have my editor, Vicky Holifield at Peachtree Publishers, to thank for the idea behind this book. When it was clear that my previous book Under the Snow was very popular, Vicky suggested that we present “the other side of the story.” She was right. Surviving in summer isn’t easy for some animals, so they’ve come up with all kinds of amazing adaptations for enduring hot, dry weather.

Sally: I like the way you move from animals that could be in your neighborhood to more distant locations, like the desert. How did you decide what habitats – and animals – to focus on?

Melissa: Because Beneath the Sun is meant to be a companion to Under the Snow and When Rain Falls, I initially intended to focus on the same habitats as those books. In When Rain Falls, which came first, the four habitats I wrote about were a field, a forest, a desert, and a wetland. Since it doesn’t snow in deserts, for Under the Snow, I focused on animals living in fields, forests, ponds, and wetlands.

For Beneath the Sun, I could include the desert, but not forests. Because forests are dark and shady, the animals there don’t have too much trouble surviving in summer. That meant I had to search for a new habitat. Seashores were the perfect choice because they really heat up under the sizzling sun.

For all three books, I tried to include a wide variety of animals—some familiar and some that might be new to young children. I searched high and low for interesting adaptations, such as vultures that keep cool by spraying their legs with urine. I knew children would find that fascinating.

Sally: Do you have any learning activities that teachers and parents can use with Beneath the Sun ?

Melissa: I created a video mini-lesson that explains how I changed the text, adding vivid verbs to the manuscript during the revision process. It also offers tips to help students strengthen the verbs in their own writing. (Sally: and there’s a cool worksheet you can download). I also have a

Teacher’s Guide, Readers Theater script, and some activity sheets that go with the book.

Thanks Melissa! Today is the last day of the blog tour. If you missed any stops, here’s the tour schedule for earlier in the week:

Monday, April 14- Jean Little Library and Blue Owl

Tuesday, April 15  – Geo Librarian

Wednesday, April 16 - Kid Lit Reviews

Thursday, April 17- Tolivers to Texas and Chat with Vera 

Remember to drop by STEM Friday to see what other science books and resources bloggers are sharing.Review copy provided by publisher.

Nature's Patchwork Quilt

Nature's Patchwork Quilt
Understanding Habitats
by Mary Miche; illus by Consie Powell
32 pages, ages 4-10
Dawn Publications, 2012

Look into nature and you will see a patchwork of beauty and mystery.

topic: ecology and habitats

 Just as a patchwork quilt has many pieces that fit together to make one larger blanket, so nature has many habitats pieced together to create one planet. This book explores key concepts of ecology by looking at different habitats. Mary Miche introduces children to interdependence, niche, and food chains. She shows how animals use camouflage, explains biodiversity and touches on species extinction. Miche devotes a page to the ecologists who clean up rivers, plant trees, write books, study science, make movies and organize others to speak for the plants and animals.

Each two-page spread is a quilt of plants and animals that make up a particular habitat: forest, desert, ocean, prairie. The illustrations are rich with color and detail that invite you to look closer.

what I like: each page is designed like a quilt, with patches of animals and plants that, together, create a whole.  I like that, at the end Miche goes back to the concept of interdependence, pulling readers into the web. It is easy to understand why this book was selected as one of National Science Teachers Association's Outstanding Science Trade Book.

beyond the book:

Create your own nature quilt with photos snipped from wildlife magazines and old National Geographics.

Go out on a "nature quilt" walk and look for animals and plants that live in your habitat. How do they fit together into the larger pattern?

There are tons of activities in the back of the book; some are downloadable at Dawn Publication's website (scroll down to find the book). This post is part of STEM Friday round-up. It's also part of PPBF (perfect picture book Friday), an event in which bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's site. She keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books. Review copy provided by publisher.

Stripes of All Types ~ blog tour & more

Stripes of All Types

Written & illustrated by Susan Stockdale

32 pages, ages 2 – 6

Peachtree, 2013

How can you pass up a book with a cover this bold?  Or one that begins: “Stripes found in water/ sliding through weeds/ Drinking from rivers/ and darting through reeds”?

Like Susan Stockdale’s other books, Stripes of All Types has bouncy, alliterative rhyme that is great fun to read aloud. The illustrations are sharp, bright, and authentic. And, like her earlier books, this one embraces environmental themes – in particular: patterns in nature; animal diversity; beauty. It’s got to have beauty, she says.

Fortunately, I was able to talk to Susan a couple weeks ago and asked her three questions which she so graciously answered.

Sally’s Bookshelf: Talk about how you use art to encourage children’s connections to their environment.

Susan: I got inspired to write the book while visiting an exhibit of colorful frogs at the American Museum of Natural History. There were so many striped frogs that I thought it would be neat to do a whole book about stripes. Once I started looking at pictures of striped animals, I realized there are many that children might see in a park, zoo, or even their back yard.

Though my books are about animals, I intentionally include children interacting with them on the last page. For example, in Fabulous Fishes, I show a girl snorkeling among tropical fish. In Bring On the Birds, I feature a boy and girl gazing at a robin’s nest. And in Stripes of All Types, I end the book with children cuddling striped cats. This is one way I try to connect children to nature.

SB: Your text is so lively, with natural rhyme and flow. It’s clear you love to play with words. How do you know when you have an idea that will fly?

Susan: Usually a line or two will jump out, and I’ll play around with them. They may not end up in the book, but they help me get going. Then I start playing around with ideas. With Stripes I tried three approaches: looking at stripes as animal parts (like stripes on a tail); looking at stripes through how animals move (leaping stripes, creeping stripes); and looking at stripes on animals in different habitats. I settled on the habitats because it gave me a chance to highlight where animals live, plus a chance to use cool verbs. (Animals sprint and scale and drink and crawl….)

The text is spare- it takes kids on a word ride. At the back I include descriptions of the animals – that’s where I work with scientists to make sure that the information is accurate.

SB: Your illustrations add information to the story. I’m thinking of the ring-tailed lemur drinking from a river; you have a baby on her back. What sort of research do you do for illustrations?

Susan: Lots! (she laughs) I start by collecting images of as many striped animals as I can – from photos, books, magazines… A photo of a zebra swallowtail butterfly makes me wonder: what other striped insects (or spiders) could be on a leaf? I try to come up with many candidates for each habitat, and think about what I can say about them, and how I can show their beauty.

Then, as I work on the illustrations, I get feedback from scientists. My original jellyfish sketch had stripes too close together. I even ask botanists about the plant life in the animal’s habitat – for every picture I paint, I make sure it would occur in nature. I paint with acrylics because I love the sharp colors and lines I can get – and because I can paint over mistakes, which you can’t do with watercolors. And I make plenty of mistakes…

Beyond the Book: Susan mentioned that she focused on verbs in this book. If you’re looking for a way to explore language, act out the movements in the book.

Explore science by going on a “Stripe Hike”. You might find garter snakes, woodpeckers, turkeys or monarch caterpillars in your neighborhood. Or visit a zoo or aviary and look for stripes.

Explore art by painting pictures of animals with stripes, or taking photos of striped critters in your neighborhood.

Play a game: Susan pointed out that stripes can camouflage animals or make them easier to see. Look at the environment outside. Then paint some 4-inch paper plates with stripe patterns and colors that might camouflage them or advertise them in that “habitat”. Head outside and put the plates around the habitat and then challenge your friends to find them.

You can check in on the rest of the blog tour at the Peachtree blog. In addition to the blog tour, this post is part of STEM Friday round-up. It's also part of PPBF (perfect picture book Friday), an event in which bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's site. She keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books. Review copy provided by publisher.

About Oceans

About Habitats: Oceans

by Cathryn Sill; illustrated by John Sill

32 pages, ages 4- 8

Peachtree Publishers 2012

Once again Cathryn and John Sills team up to introduce children to ecological diversity. This time it’s a field trip into the oceans of the world. Oceans, they explain, cover most of the earth’s surface. And all those oceans are joined together. While Cathryn describes the variety of ocean bottom surfaces – flat and sandy, deep valleys, tall mountains – John illustrates the animals that live in those places: stingrays, scalloped hammerhead sharks, dolphins.

The simple text is accompanied by detailed illustrations. For older readers the Sills have included six fact-filled pages at the back. That’s where you learn that Wandering Albatrosses have 11-foot wingspans, why Beluga Whales are called “sea canaries”, and that Giant Kelp can grow 24 inches in a single day. About Oceans is part of a series that explores deserts, wetlands and other habitats.

Check out other books that celebrate nonfiction at Nonfiction Monday, hosted this week by Prose & Kahn. Review copy provided by the publishers.