Books Celebrating Frogs and other Living Creatures

I love frogs almost as much as I love bugs. One time I even tried to learn the languages of our local frogs. Peeper, American toad, Wood frog - I got the basics. But never enough to ask them the important questions. Here are some recent books celebrating the lives of frogs - and other animals, too.

themes: frogs, animals, conservation

The Frog Book
by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page
40 pages; ages 6-9
HMH, 2019

Frogs are creatures of two worlds - they spend part of their lives in the water and part on land.

Spread by spread we meet frogs that hop, frogs that fly, frogs bigger than your hand, and frogs smaller than your thumb. Frogs have lived on earth for millions of year. "In fact," the authors write," a frog could have been stepped on by one of the first dinosaurs."

What I like love about this book: I love that each page features a particular froggy feature, from "what is a frog?" to frog adaptations. We discover what frogs eat (and it's not all flies), frog defenses, and life in the trees. Unfortunately, one-third of all frog species are in danger of extinction due to habitat loss, climate change, pollution, and disease. Back matter includes quick facts about every frog featured in the book: size, diet, home range.

I also love the torn- and cut-paper illustrations. The detail is amazing! And I really love the end papers! They are a luscious mix of bubbly pond shades of blues and greens. If you can't wait for spring to bring frogs, this book may tide you over the next few weeks.

Readers: Tadpole to Frog
by Shira Evans
48 pages; ages 2-5
National Geographic Children's Books, 2018

Subtitled "Animals Grow Up", this book is a co-reader. The text on one side of a spread, labeled You Read,  is meant for an older reader to read aloud. The text on the other side (I Read) is meant for the beginning reader. For example, chapter one introduces the concept that babies grow up. The text for older reader is in smaller font with three lines about animals and their babies. The "I read" text is larger, and contains a single idea:  Babies change as they grow.

This book has a table of contents, so you can find frogs or butterflies. The photos are amazing. And at the end of every chapter is an activity for a child and their reading partner to do together. It could be a matching game or a challenge to act out some life cycle phases.

Little Kids First Big Book of the Rain Forest
by Moira Rose Donohue
128 pages; ages 4-8
National Geographic Children's Books, 2018

Frogs abound in the rain forest. But they aren't the only animals living there. This book contains a diversity of animals - and plants - found in the rain forest. From the ground, to the understory, and on up to the canopy, this book introduces the birds, reptiles, and mammals that inhabit the rain forest. And yes, there are frogs! Blue poison dart frogs live on the forest floor, while red-eyed tree frogs live in the canopy.

Back matter includes "10 Cool Things to remember about Rain Forests" and a spread filled with tips for how parents can extend their child's experience beyond the book.

Beyond the Books:

Learn to speak frog. One way is to listen to the frogs that live in your neighborhood. But if snow and ice are covering the ground, head over here for some frog recordings.

Sing a silly frog song. Here's a link to Five Little Speckled Frogs (still one of my all time faves).

Visit a zoo that has a rain forest exhibit. How does the air feel on your skin? Look at the animals and plants on the forest floor. Can you see what's living in the understory and canopy? While there, visit the exhibit with frogs.

Can you jump like a frog? Try it. Some frogs jump 20 times the length of their body. How far would you have to jump to be that kind of frog?

Today we're joining other book bloggers over at STEM Friday, where you can discover other cool STEM books. And we're joining Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website . Review copies provided by the publishers.

Wednesday Explorers Club ~ Drumming in the Spring

photo by Ken Thomas, Wikimedia Commons

Listen!
Can you hear the season changing? There.... drumming, from the far side of the field. A woodpecker tapping out secret codes to anyone with the right decoder ring.

This week, find a dry place to sit outside. Close your eyes and just listen. You might hear woodpeckers drumming on dead trees (and anything else that gives them a resonant sound). You might hear birds calling. A few days ago a couple of mourning doves filled the early evening air with gentle coos. Are there other birds calling out?

Check out the woodpecker drumming on this short BirdNotes recording.

Let's talk about Climate Change

This past winter, when the polar vortex edged south and daily temperatures almost, but not quite, edged up to zero degrees (F) some folks joked that we could use some global warming. Even elected leaders seem not to understand the difference between weather and climate, and are downplaying or outright denying the emergency of our changing climate.

So I am relieved when I find books for kids that are grounded in climate science. Searchlight Books (Lerner) recently published a series on climate change. The books are each 32 pages long, and aimed for students in 3rd -5th grade.

Climate Change and Energy Technology, written by Rebecca E. Hirsch, is divided into four chapters. In the first she clarifies what climate change is. It is not the weather, which changes from day to day. Climate is the "usual weather for a place", but as we have been learning, what is "usual" has been changing over the past decade. And the warming climate has contributes to more extreme storms, including blizzards.

Hirsch devotes a chapter to energy: fossil fuels, wind, sun, geothermal, and hydro. She examines inventions that increase energy efficiency as well as create new ways to capture, store, and use energy. Think about the increasing number of electric vehicles on the road and the emerging need for quick-charging stations.

Her last chapter explores how we will energize out future. How can we build better batteries? Are there untapped renewable energy sources that we could harness?

"STEM in Depth" sidebars explain how solar panels work and how tidal power is captured. The book ends with four things anyone of any age can do to help reduce their carbon footprint. There's also a glossary and resources for further investigation.

There are five other books in the series:
Climate Change and Air Quality
Climate Change and Extreme Storms
Climate Change and Life on Earth
Climate Change and Rising Sea Levels
Climate Change and Rising Temperatures

So what can you do about Climate Change?
Here's a video that answers that very question.
Head over to the Museum of Natural History to learn more.
Head over to NASA's Climate Kids site to learn how you can help.

Today we're joining other book bloggers over at STEM Friday, where you can discover other cool STEM books. Review copy provided by publisher.