by Claire Saxby; illus. by Julie Vivas
32 pages; ages 4-8
Candlewick Press, 2017
theme: animal families, nonfiction, growing up
In a high tree fork, a gray ball unfurls. Tall as a toddler, a sleepy young koala sniffs at leaves.
He's hungry and it's dinnertime. Climb, koala! Because up there - that's where the yummy leaves are. Koala wants to snuggle with mom, but it's time for him to find his own way. It's time to find his own sleeping branch - even his own tree.
What I like: this is a wonderful story of growing up, leaving home, and learning to be independent. Koala faces challenges, but he finds a place of his own. I also like the different sizes of text on the page. Large, simple text is easier for younger readers, while more dense text meant for older readers provides more details about how koalas live and behave.
by Jennifer Szymanski
24 pages; ages 2-5
National Geographic Children's Books, 2017
Climb, koala! Koalas can climb high.
Using simple language, Jennifer Szymanski introduces the youngest beginning readers to koalas.
What I like: The text is in large font, and each page is illustrated with photos that complement the text. So when kids are reading about claws, they get a close-up look at the sharp koala claws. I like the "Vocabulary tree" at the beginning, a word classification which divides featured words into things the koalas have (claws, fur) and what they do (climb, eat). There's a matching game on the last page, too.
Beyond-the-book
Learn more about koalas at the Australia Zoo page.
Check out this video of environmentalists in Australia working for a National Koala Act to help protect the koala. National Geographic video.
Koalas are marsupials. Meet other marsupials on the Live Science website. Are there any marsupials living in your area? If so, learn a bit about them.
Today we're joining the STEM Friday roundup - and we're also joining others over at 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 copies from the publisher.
They are such cuddly looking animals! Thanks for the fun review.
ReplyDeleteYou share the best books. I have a great grandson that would love the first book. He's going on 4.
ReplyDeleteKoala's are cute. I held one a few years ago. There claws are hard and they need to be handled like a baby as they can easily fall. Great books for kids to learn about these little cuties.
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