Peggy Hock

Peggy Hock wrote the book Our Earth Saving Water. Hock has a Ph.D. and a B.S. in Psychology from several different universities. Hock lives in California near San Francisco. She enjoys backpacking near a reservoir. The book Our Earth Saving Water begins by introducing several words relating to water. The book discusses the importance of water to the earth. The book also gives helpful information pertaining to how much we as humans use daily and the different ways we use it. At the end of the book there is a dictionary that has definition to new words that students may not know already.
I liked that the book stresses the importance of water in order for people to live. Teaching students where water comes from throughout the house can help reduce the wasting of water. The book is very good at helping people conserve water. There are helpful tips such as not watering the garden when it is going to rain. The pictures in the book are real life images which makes it easy for students to relate to.… (mehr)

The book, Clean Energy, by Peggy Hock is a well written book about a science concept, energy. She not only has written books about energy but over helping out around the earth, saving water and helping to keep litter off the earth. This book about energy specifically talks about what energy is and how it can be produced using natural resources. There is a brief part of the book that talks about how when we do not use natural resources to make energy we can harm the air with pollution.
There really is not a specific genre to the book. It is an informational book that teaches an idea without using a storyline or any type of plot. I think that this can be a good way to teach through a book or a not so good way. I believe that it depends on the idea that is trying to be taught. It can be a good thing because it makes the book more interesting to read and sometimes a child will read the book and learn even when they do not think they are. I look at having a storyline to be disadvantage because depending on the story and topic, the idea being taught could easily get lost. A child may or not be easily more focused on the story and not what it is trying to be taught to them. Science can sometimes be a difficult subject for several students to get a feel for. I think that I would prefer to read a book with a story to it if I were to be learning about science. However after I went through the book and read it I realized that this could be an exception. The book does a very good job at spelling out the main ideas and points of energy without going into major detail and making it seem complicated.
What I did like about the book was in the beginning of the book there are a couple pages dedicated to the main words that will help understand energy. This helps children to stay on track and get a feel for what they may be learning before they read the book. At the end of the book there is a glossary. This I think is very good review if the glossary is shorter. Some children after reading a book are not quite sure what they were suppose to get from the book. Going through the miniature glossary may help them get a better idea of this.… (mehr)