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WHEN MORNING COMES

Naturalist and wildlife watcher Hirschi (Dance With Me, 1995, etc.) celebrates the coming of day in a brief poetic text, with accompanying full-color photographs by Mangelsen. The team, which explored the seasons in previous collaborations: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter, here describes the activities of animals in the early morning; and in a companion volume When Night Comes (ISBN: 1-56397-766-4), many of the same animals are presented as night falls. In each title the author shows the different ways similar animals adapt to their environment. For example, at daybreak some birds, like the heron and the hawk, hunt for food, while other night-hunting birds, like the owl, settle down to rest until dark. Butterflies, turtles, frogs, and other cold-blooded creatures begin to stir as the sun warms them, while warm-blooded animals, like bears and beavers, head for their dens to take a nap and avoid the heat of the day. The handsome photographs, placed on a glossy white background, show wildlife in natural settings in summer and winter. Night is especially appealing, with many photographs capturing the amber light of nightfall and impressive views of sunset turning sky and water a fiery-red orange. In a brief afterward, the author concludes with a brief afterward with advice for animal-watching. Children will enjoy this glimpse of the wild with foxes, martins, otters, owls, eagles, and bears. (Nonfiction. 5-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2000

ISBN: 1-56397-767-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Boyds Mills

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2000

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WHERE DO FROGS COME FROM?

The lifecycle of the frog is succinctly summarized in this easy reader for children reading at the late first-grade level. In just one or two sentences per page, Vern details the amazing metamorphosis of the frog from egg to tadpole to adult, even injecting a little humor despite the tight word count. (“Watch out fly! Mmmm!) Large, full-color photographs on white backgrounds clearly illustrate each phase of development. Without any mention of laying eggs or fertilization, the title might be a bit misleading, but the development from black dot egg to full-grown frog is fascinating. A simple chart of the three main lifecycle steps is also included. Lifecycles are part of the standard curriculum in the early elementary grades, and this will be a welcome addition to school and public libraries, both for its informational value and as an easy reader. (Nonfiction/easy reader. 5-7)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2001

ISBN: 0-15-216304-2

Page Count: 20

Publisher: Green Light/Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2001

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FLY GUY PRESENTS: SHARKS

From the Fly Guy series

A first-rate sharkfest, unusually nutritious for all its brevity.

Buzz and his buzzy buddy open a spinoff series of nonfiction early readers with an aquarium visit.

Buzz: “Like other fish, sharks breathe through gills.” Fly Guy: “GILLZZ.” Thus do the two pop-eyed cartoon tour guides squire readers past a plethora of cramped but carefully labeled color photos depicting dozens of kinds of sharks in watery settings, along with close-ups of skin, teeth and other anatomical features. In the bite-sized blocks of narrative text, challenging vocabulary words like “carnivores” and “luminescence” come with pronunciation guides and lucid in-context definitions. Despite all the flashes of dentifrice and references to prey and smelling blood in the water, there is no actual gore or chowing down on display. Sharks are “so cool!” proclaims Buzz at last, striding out of the gift shop. “I can’t wait for our next field trip!” (That will be Fly Guy Presents: Space, scheduled for September 2013.)

A first-rate sharkfest, unusually nutritious for all its brevity. (Informational easy reader. 5-7)

Pub Date: May 1, 2013

ISBN: 978-0-545-50771-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013

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