Oh boy, bok choy! Rah, Rah, Radishes: a Vegetable Chant is out in stores. (Go, Go, Grapes: a Fruit Chant will follow in May 2012.) My thanks to all of you who encouraged me to keep pursuing a home for the veggie book.  I hope it encourages kids to taste delicious vegetable words and the vegetables, too.

Are you feeling hoppy?  Hop hop hop. Like a rabbit? Or a kangaroo? Or a frog? If the answer is YES, this book will make you HAPPY. IF the answer is NO, this book will make you HOPPY and Happy!  Feb 22, 2011 release. Publisher website: Greenwillow

This book was inspired by our observations of howler monkeys in Panama.  To hear howler monkeys I recorded in Panama, click on the calls below. You can also hear toucans grinding their bills, parrots flying, hummingbirds clicking. Howler call edited Howler call begins edited Howler

Back by popular demand! This book is back in print and better than ever, with expanded main text, more endmatter about various species of sea turtles, and new illustrations. It was named as one of the best children’s books of the year by the Bank Street College.  It was recently featured as a book of the week at the wonderful CCBC, Cooperature Children’s Book Center. Hurray! It was also reviewed on the terrific resource site, Planet Esme

Honk, Honk, Goose: Canada Geese Start a Family debuts April 14, 2009.

How can a leaf become a fish? Join two young children and two adults to find out, as they observe life in and around a stream. Energetic collage art and simple, lyrical text depict the ways plants and animals are connected in the food web. Back matter provides information about the trout life cycle as well as conservation efforts that kids can do themselves. It’s a natural choice for Earth Day.

Kate Endle has done a great job of illustrating this book with a bright, rich collage of paper and fabric. It reminds me of beautiful quilt art. I think Kirkus Reviews best understood the art. They said, “The illustrations, done in mixed-media collage, are a testament to the fact that wondrous new things can be created out of the pieces of other things, and thus, they reinforce the theme of interconnectedness…”

This book would be a great tie-in to Trout, Trout, Trout, a Fish Chant. See below for instructions on entering the contest related to this book.

See standards here.

Vulture View, a Theodor Geisel Honor Book, American Library Association. I am so excited about this book! It explores the life of vultures, surely some of the most underappreciated cleaners in the world. It also teaches kids about warm air rising and cooling air sinking. Steve Jenkins has created gorgeous art for this book. The text is young, lyrical, with a push, pull, and refrain that kids will love. It works for surprisingly advanced audiences. Older kids seem to like the gritty facts of a vulture’s life.

Personal note:  I have had plenty of interactions with turkey vultures. When I was in high school I worked at Pete Conroy’s raptor rehabilitation center at Furman University in Greenville, SC. We took care of a young, rather clueless turkey vulture. I learned then just how shy and retiring these birds are in comparison with hawks and owls. I also learned how to gather roadkill. Yes, whenever I saw a dead opossum, I would pull my little blue King Cab to the side of the road and go pick up the carcass. This involved grabbing its long pinkish tail and swinging the thing into the back of the cab. This was dinner for the turkey vulture. When you are taking care of animals, you do whatever is necessary. Actually, it’s not a messy job, at all, thanks to that sturdy opossum tail. Jeff and I have also seen turkey vultures migrating through Panama. I will try to post some photos of those turkey vulture kettles another day. We saw them swirling by the hundreds and thousands. Now when I see turkey vultures I think of the words of the book. I think of the lovely illustrations by Steve Jenkins. Wait until you see the vulture faces! Why, they are positively attractive! It is amazing what art and some cut paper can do.

Curriculum Standards can be found here.

Hush Little Puppy is a fictional bedtime picture book illustrated by Susan Winter.

Standards are here.

Bird, Bird, Bird is follow-up to the wildly popular Trout, Trout, Trout: A Fish Chant celebrates American birds and bird diversity in general through a wild chant of their common names. This nonfiction text—illustrated whimsically by Gary Locke, an extraordinary illustrator—will make you laugh. Backmatter includes fun facts about each kind of bird featured.

For English/Language Arts and Science Standards see the standards page.

This nonfiction book weaves together stars, sunsets, comets, meteors, dust, dinosaurs, daily activities and even, in a small way, Martin Luther King. Read this book and think big about very small things. Learn how bits of all of us and all that we do help create the colors of the sunset.

Find standards here.

A native bee, the bumblebee. takes a starring role in this nonfiction picture book about the bumblebee’s life cycle and natural history. Learn how a queen bumblebee digs out of the ground and starts her year all alone yet builds a colony by summer’s end.

Patricia is a highly skilled scientific illustrator. This book has been a big hit for elementary read alouds. Young children enjoy learning about small creatures such as the fuzzy bumblebees. Educators particularly like the tidbits of information in the small sidebars on each page.

Standards are here.  

This follow-up to the wildly popular TROUT, TROUT, TROUT: THE FISH CHANT celebrates American insects and insect diversity in general through a wild chant of their common names. Backmatter includes fun facts about each kind of insect featured. Trip Park’s illustrations are zanier than ever as he tackles the insect world.  

For English/Language Arts and Science standards met by this book, check the standards page.

A photo-illustrated, older elementary/middle science book, published by Houghton Mifflin as part of their “Scientists in the Field” series.  Available in paperback as well.

A wildly popular gift for fishermen young and old, this fish chant is a celebration of North American freshwater fish. Rhyme, rhythm, repetition, voice, and wacky illustrations bring this book to life. The backmatter is full of facts about each fish. If you’re studying rivers, streams, lakes, fish, or just how to have fun with words, this book is a great resource, not to mention plain ol’ fun.For standards, see standards page.

Snail Worksheets

Indiana math standards fulfilled by this book

This brief paperback book is for young readers, reading on their own. It is level 3, ages 7 and 8. It is often featured as part of Scholastic Book Club offerings.

A photo-illustrated introduction to climate and landscape for grades 1-4.   

These books have been a huge hit with teachers. No other books on continents offer simple, read-aloud text for the youngest children along with additional, smaller-text facts to spark the curiosity of older readers.

 
For older students, see April’s continent series “The Seven Continents” for grades 5-8.