Animal Life

Fish do the Strangest Things

Book cover: 'Fish do the Strangest Things'
Author(s): 
Leonora and Arthur Hornblow
Number of pages: 
60 pages
Copyright: 
1966
Publisher: 
Random House Step-Up Books
Binding: 
Sewn Hardcover
Subject(s): 
Grade / Age level: 
Review: 
An informative and enjoyable collection of stories about some very interesting and remarkable fish - such as the Deep Sea Angler, the Archer Fish, the Lungfish, the Puffer Fish and the Mud-Skipper. Although the illustrations aren't fabulous, this book and others in the series have been real favorites with my children. The stories are engaging, fairly short (two to three pages with rather large type) and the content is very appealing. We discovered this book when my daughter was five and for her it became a starting point for a real interest in Sea-Life in particular and Science in general.
Reviewed by: 
First reviewed: 
12-2-99

Handbook of Nature Study

Book cover: 'Handbook of Nature Study'
Author(s): 
Anna Botsford Comstock
Number of pages: 
887 pages
Copyright: 
1939
Publisher: 
Comstock Publishing Associates
Binding: 
Softcover
Grade / Age level: 
Resource Type: 
Review: 
This is a very informative handbook on a large portion of nature, originally written for elementary school teachers. It covers wildlife, insects, farm animals, birds, fish, trees, flowers, weeds, vegetables, rocks, minerals, soil, climate, weather, magnets, the sun, moon, planets of our solar system and much more. According to the 1986 foreword, most of the living things described are common in the northeastern states of the U.S. but it covers a lot of material that would be helpful in other parts of the country as well. I've hardly begun to use this resource, but it looks like an excellent reference for all of those questions children want to know about the world around them. It can also be used as a teaching tool and studied more systematically as there are simple lessons designed to be used with children included with each subject. As the lessons are designed to work with real observation of the plants, they are particularly appropriate for a home school. The book is profusely illustrated with black and white photos. I would guess that there's an average of two photos per page. The language is a little archaic and some of the words would be a little difficult for younger children.
Additional notes: 

Copyrights 1911/1939

Reviewed by: 
First reviewed: 
1999

How Do Bees Make Honey?

Book cover: 'How Do Bees Make Honey?'
Author(s): 
Anna Claybourne
Number of pages: 
24 pages
Copyright: 
1994
Publisher: 
Usborne
Binding: 
Softcover
Grade / Age level: 
Review: 
A small, inexpensive book filled with pictures and lots of other information picture about bees and other insects. You'll learn how to tell bees apart from other insects, how bees live together in colonies and all about their beehives, how bees communicate with each other (my children have really enjoyed trying to re-enact the bee's dances) and of course how bees make honey. The one thing I didn't like is that the material is so disjointed because it jumps around between different kinds of insects.
Reviewed by: 
First reviewed: 
1999

How do Birds Find Their Way?

Book cover: 'How do Birds Find Their Way?'
Author(s): 
Roma Gans
Number of pages: 
32 pages
Copyright: 
1996
Publisher: 
HarperTrophy
Binding: 
Softcover
Subject(s): 
Grade / Age level: 
Review: 
A nicely illustrated and interesting look at the amazing phenomenon of bird migration, what we know about how migration works and some various theories about details that are still being studied. Includes a chart of how high various birds fly.
Reviewed by: 
First reviewed: 
4-4-01

Insects do the Strangest Things

Author(s): 
Leonora and Arthur Hornblow
Number of pages: 
60 pages
Copyright: 
1968
Publisher: 
Random House Step-Up Books
Binding: 
Sewn Hardcover
Grade / Age level: 
Review: 
Interesting and informative stories of the strange but fascinating behavior of various types of insects. The pictures are of the somewhat cheezy 60s variety, but the text is quite good and written at approximately a second grade level.
Reviewed by: 
First reviewed: 
4-4-01

Sharks

Book cover: 'Sharks'
Number of pages: 
32 pages
Copyright: 
1995
Publisher: 
Harper Collins
Binding: 
Sewn Hardcover
Subject(s): 
Grade / Age level: 
Review: 
Seymour Simon is well-known for his numerous photo-essay-type of picture books for elementary-aged students. Most of his books center around one specific well-defined topic and are illustrated with full-page photographs of the subject. This book is no exception. Sharks is an unpaginated, 32-page picture book, with approximately half of those pages containing full-color photographs of sharks.

The text begins by reassuring the young reader that shark attacks on humans are relatively uncommon and continues with a comparison between sharks and other types of fish. Several pages describe the characteristics of different kinds of sharks, leaving the reader with a sense of how varied these fish truly are. There are also two pages that describe the different types of shark reproduction; for my young non-readers, I skipped the paragraphs that described "external fertilization" and "internal fertilization". The book closes by reminding the children that sharks do not attack people very often, despite what they may have heard, and gives several suggestions for staying safe whilst swimming.

As usual for Seymour Simon's books, the photographs are of high quality and are truly the highlight of the book. Two of the photographs show the teeth and jaws of sharks up close, and my sensitive 5-year-old was horrified. Even so, my 3-year-old was fascinated. One photograph shows the birth of a lemon shark, which is born live as are human babies; my little readers didn't understand this and breezed right by it. The most popular picture of all was that of a hammerhead shark. The children were incredulous that any living creature could look so odd. Weeks later, they still talk about the hammerhead and are anxious to see one at an aquarium.

Reviewed by: 
First reviewed: 
4-18-01

The Insect World of J. Henri Fabre

Book cover: 'The Insect World of J. Henri Fabre'
Number of pages: 
333 pages
Copyright: 
1977
Publisher: 
Beacon Press
Binding: 
Softcover
Grade / Age level: 
Review: 
Jean-Henri Fabre (1823-1915) was a French naturalist who penned many writings about his beloved insects. These essay/stories describe, in great detail, his encounters with some interesting insects - how he worked with them and what he discovered about them. For instance The material is informative and even humorous at times, but rather dense (definitely not dry!). Here is a sample (from "The Pine Processionary")...

"You voracious little creatures, if I let you have your way, I should soon be robbed of the murmur of my once so leafy pines! Today I will seek compensation for all the trouble I have taken. Let us make a compact. You have a story to tell. Tell it me; and for a year, for two years or longer, until I know more or less all about it, I shall leave you undisturbed, even at the cost of lamentable suffering to the pines."

Although it might be suitable for high school students and could possibly be read aloud to younger students, it constitutes a portion of the Freshman Lab studies at Thomas Aquinas College. J. Henri Fabre is listed as one of the authors recommended in Catholic Authors: 4-Sight Edition.

A compilation of some of these stories, titled Fabre's Book of Insects is available from Emmanuel Books.
Additional notes: 

Copyrights 1949/1977

Reviewed by: 
First reviewed: 
4-4-01

What Lives in a Shell?

Book cover: 'What Lives in a Shell?'
Author(s): 
Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld
Number of pages: 
32 pages
Copyright: 
1994
Publisher: 
Harper Collins
Binding: 
Softcover
Subject(s): 
Grade / Age level: 
Review: 
This beautifully illustrated book, designed for preschool and kindergarten, explains different kinds of shells and the creatures that inhabit them. The shells are compared to the shelter occupied by people and by other animals. We learn that some shells do grow larger along with certain animals while other animals must shed their out-grown shell in favor of a new one. Many shells are beautifully depicted and identified and the story-format of the text is very easy and interesting for young children to follow.
Reviewed by: 
First reviewed: 
11-17-99

Who Eats What? Food Chains and Food Webs

Book cover: 'Who Eats What? Food Chains and Food Webs'
Author(s): 
Patricia Lauber
Number of pages: 
32 pages
Copyright: 
1995
Publisher: 
Harper Collins
Binding: 
Softcover
Subject(s): 
Grade / Age level: 
Review: 
This book explores the notion of various plants and animals that are linked together based on "who eats what." Children will learn about some simple food chains such as - leaf, caterpillar, wren and hawk. They also see how one plant or animal can belong to several food chains and that members or these related food chains (food webs) have a certain amount of dependence on each other. The text goes on to explain, through an example of a problem with over-hunted otters around the turn of the century, that when part of a food chain is disturbed, the other members will also be affected. There are some mild "environmental" messages in this text which our family used as an opportunity to discuss good stewardship of what God has given us.
Reviewed by: 
First reviewed: 
1999

Wild Animals Coloring Book

Book cover: 'Wild Animals Coloring Book'
Author(s): 
John Green
Number of pages: 
48 pages
Copyright: 
1987
Publisher: 
Dover
Binding: 
Stapled Softcover
Subject(s): 
Grade / Age level: 
Review: 
A very nice, detailed and academic-oriented coloring book for learning about wild animals. In addition to beautiful drawings of each animal, the text provides common and scientific names and details about appearance, location, habits, size, etc. The index covers common and scientific names as well. Illustrations are copyright free (within certain conditions) and may be copied for use within your family.
Reviewed by: 
First reviewed: 
4-4-01

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