Wordless Wednesday

Butterfly Counting

Butterfly Counting
by Jerry Pallotta; illus by Shennen Bersani
32 pages; ages 3-7
Charlesbridge, 2015

theme: counting, butterflies

Opening: "Zero. This Emperor penguin has never seen a butterfly." That's because there are no butterflies on Antarctica.

From one to twenty-five we count butterflies, beginning with one red Zarinda and two Holly Blue butterflies. If you're a fan of Jerry Pallotta bug alphabet books, then you'll have a lot of fun with this one.

What I like love about this book: Each page features a different kind of butterfly PLUS a cool butterfly fact. So by the time you get to the end you know about butterfly mouths and antennae that smell and feet that taste and what the word for butterfly poop is. It's "frass" in case you are wondering.

Pallotta also includes a whole bunch of names for butterflies in foreign languages, like parpar (Hebrew) and kelebek (Turkish). I love it when Pallotta surprises us with different life stages of the butterfly: on one page we're counting eggs, on another we're counting caterpillars, and yet another we're counting chrysalises.

The illustrations are marvelous, giving us so much to see on each page - especially the page filled with caterpillars of all types. And there are even some practical jokes tossed in: a page of moths, a grasshopper, and that penguin.

Beyond the book activities: Grab some colored pencils and a sketchpad and go find some butterflies. Draw as many different kinds of butterflies as you can see - including caterpillars. Make sure you write down the date and where you find them.

Look for butterfly eggs ~  butterflies usually attach their eggs to the underside of leaves, so you'll need to look closely. You might need a handlens because butterfly eggs are tiny. Here are some photos to help you out.

Make Butterflies Foot Prints. You'll need some paint, white cardstock, paint brushes, maybe a plastic tablecloth for the floor, and bare feet. Yours. Here's how to do it.

Make a butterfly you can eat. Out of a pear and some other yummy things. It's a healthy snack, and no butterflies are harmed. Here's how.

Learn how to sign "butterfly" here.

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.

Wordless Wednesday

Climate Change (just in time for Earth Day)

Climate Change: discover how it impacts spaceship Earth, with 25 projects
by Joshua Sneideman & Erin Twamley; illus. by Mike Crosier
122 pages; ages 9-12
Nomad Press, 2015

Released just in time for Earth Day (which is Wednesday) - this newest book on Climate Change. Like others in the "Build it yourself" series, this one comes packed with hands-on activities to explore the concepts being discussed. For example: a balance board to help illustrate the idea that keeping gases in Earth's atmosphere balanced is harder to do than to say.

Readers will learn about burps, farts, and other greenhouse gases, why ice cores and paleontology are important, and read about cool biofuels like algae. Throughout the book there are lots of short introductions to scientists who did research in energy, oceanography, geology, climate science and more. Plus there are those 25 hands-on, do-it-yourself activities that require the sorts of things you might find in the kitchen cupboards or at the drug store. Who knows ~ maybe you'll be inspired to build something useful and simple, like the solar powered water purifying system invented by a high school student, or the water-filled plastic bottle "light bulbs".

To help make information easier to find (especially for browsers) the book has:

• "words to know" sidebars
• cool concepts (like atmospheric pressure on other planets)
• essential questions
• primary source icon with QR code link for smartphones or tablets
• index, glossary, and page of resources at the back

  Today's review is part of the STEM Friday roundup. Drop by STEM Friday blog for more science books and resources. Review copy provided by publisher.

Wordless Wednesday

Dirty Rats?

Dirty Rats?
by Darrin Lunde; illus. by Adam Gustavson
32 pages; ages 3-7
Charlesbridge, 2015

Rats are dirty, right? They scurry about in the night, eating garbage. Plus there's the naked tail and beady eyes thing they've got going on.... it's enough to make you grab a broom and give 'em a swat.

But wait.... writes Lunde. Not all rats eat garbage. Long-tailed marmoset rats living in Thailand eat bamboo flowers. Some rats hop, and other rats have bushy tails. Linde introduces readers to rat-diversity, including "lab rats" used by medical researchers. We learn how rats fit into the ecosystem (food for carnivores) and, near the end, he includes a chart of different kinds of rats. There are pack rats and sand rats, wooly rats and pouched rats, and even crested rats that look as though they had a bad hair day.

Regardless of what you think about rats, this book will have you looking at them with new eyes.

 Today's review is part of the STEM Friday roundup. Drop by STEM Friday blog for more science books and resources. Review copy provided by publisher.

Wordless Wednesday: How did the Spider Cross the Road?

I've had enough of this ice and snow...

I'll go see what's on the other side of this tire track...

Whew! Dry land at last!

Salamander Season

Salamander Season
by Jennifer Keats Curtis & J. Adam Frederick; illus. by Shennen Bersani
32 pages; ages 4-8
Arbordale, 2015

theme: animals, nature

"Errr, screech the brakes. There! In front of the car, little blue animals wriggle across the road..."

This is a story about salamanders from the perspective of a girl who goes into the woods with her dad. They find a vernal pool and check out the salamanders marching from the woods to the water. Later, she finds eggs ("small mushy cases... as big as softballs and as firm as Jell-o"). When the salamanders hatch, her dad takes two back to his lab to study. He's an environmental scientist, so he knows how to keep baby salamanders safe.

What I like about this book: It gives a real up-close-and-personal view of salamander life. We see hungry predators and the young salamanders taking action to avoid becoming salamander snacks. The book is laid out like a journal, with entries describing what happens throughout the salamander season. It's illustrated with a combination of child-like drawings and photos ... very much like what you'd find in your kid's nature journal.

Beyond the Book: Go find your mud boots and a flashlight. It's time to head outside for a nighttime salamander hike. It helps if you know where people have found salamanders in your area, so ask a local nature center where to go. Remember to be a good guest when you visit your salamander friends. Take nothing but pictures; leave nothing but muddy footprints.

Help build a salamander/ amphibian crossing. There are some places where salamanders (and frogs and turtles) cross roads year after year. If you know of such a place, find out if they need crossing guards during rainy nights. Or whether they need help building a safe place for amphibians to cross.

Make a Salamander Armband. Use a cardboard tube to make a salamander you can wear on your sleeve. Directions at National Wildlife Federation. 

Keep a Salamander journal. Draw the kinds of salamanders you see. Over the summer, keep track of them. Draw their eggs, and the baby salamanders. Check a field guide to see what sorts of salamanders live in your region.

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.

Wordless Wednesday