Amphibians!

It's spring. Tree frogs are peeping and quacking. Soon toads will be trilling. So it's a perfect time to dive into books about frogs! I know, I started the year off with a book about amphibian science, but one can never have too many books about frogs, toads, newts...  So here's one more to add to your "Got Frogs?" reading list:

Amphibian Acrobats
by Leslie Bulion; illus by Robert Meganck
60 pages; ages 8 - 12 years
Peachtree Publishing, 2020


We’re amphibians! We breathe through our skin,
We drink the same way: we soak water in….

Leslie Bulion, who has penned poetic descriptions of leaf litter critters and birds, now turns her attention to amphibians. She introduces us to Olympic jumpers – Fiji frogs that can twist in midair and land backwards to escape predators. She shares the secrets of deep-freeze artists, salamander wrestlers, and marathon walkers that migrate to their puddle home to lay eggs every spring.

What I like about this book: Let me count the ways! First, the science – on each page Bulion introduces one or two amphibians and their amazing behavior. She accompanies each poem with science notes about the frogs, salamanders, caecilians ... and Robert Meganck teams up with scientifically accurate illustrations.

Back matter includes poetry notes. For each poem, Bulion includes notes about the poetic structure and rhymes – a terrific resource for anyone who wants to experiment with different styles of writing.

But what I really like is that she invites readers to help protect amphibians. Her final poem focuses on the importance of protecting habitat. She adds notes in the back matter with specific steps kids – and their adults – can take to help conserve our amphibian neighbors.

Animal Skins
by Mary Holland
32 pages; ages 5-9
Arbordale, 2019

I’m including Animal Skins because Mary Holland provides more information about the skins of frogs, toads, and red efts (newts). She details how frogs shed their skin and why some amphibians have poisonous skins. And she clarifies that, though toads will make some animals sick if eaten, they will not give you warts. And that’s just the amphibians. Holland also shows how feathers and scales protect creatures and provides activities at the back.

Thanks for dropping by today. On Monday we'll be hanging out at Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with other  bloggers. It's over at Greg Pattridge's blog, Always in the Middle, so hop over to see what other people are reading. Review copies provided by the publishers.