Fran HodgkinsRezensionen

Whether they are splashing, rolling, or flickering, animals have all kinds of ways to communicate without words.

Fabulously illustrated guide to ways animals communicate, from the rub of the cat to the rattle of the rattlesnake. Delightful to read and to look at!½

This is a informational book talking about different eggs, how they hatch, what they look and feel like, and where to find eggs and much more appropriate for ages 3-5years. Found at university place library

Did you know that scientists believe that whales were once land creatures? I didn't either!!! This book is amazing and great for a research project or if you're just interested in learning about the history of whales.

The information is factual, my only concern is that it was published in 2007 and it is possible that some information may no longer be true.
The book mentions many different nations and countries and would work well in a geography class or history class as well science.

Good book!

There are many reasons why I like this book! I think that it’s hard to find an interesting informational book. Since informational books state facts, sometimes they can be boring. This book did not just state boring facts! The book was very engaging for me, the reader. For example, the book pulled me in when the first page asked me a question. The introduction was “When you see a bird flying, do you dream about flying too? Do you run with your arms out, imagining that you’re souring among the clouds? Do you like kites? If you do, you aren’t alone. For thousands of years, people have dreams of being able to fly.” In my opinion, the introduction is very engaging and gets the reader’s attention quickly. I like how the introduction tries to relate to the reader. Another reason I liked this book was because of the language. The language was very explicit and descriptive when describing flying. The book was constantly giving definitions and explaining words that the reader is most likely confused about. For example, the book stated, “They learned about gravity. Gravity is the force that keeps everything on Earth’s surface. Because of gravity, things have weight. If there were no gravity, people, dogs, cats, and everything else would go floating off into space.” I loved how descriptive the author was with his language, he told me what gravity was, how it works, and gave an example. All of those techniques helped me fully understand. Another reason why I like this book is because the pictures are very colorful and engaging. The pictures take up the entire page and fit the written text. For example, on the page where the author is explaining gravity, there’s a picture of things floating in space. I think the picture is funny. On the page where they talk about wings, the picture shows a person trying to fly with his own handmade wings. On the page where it talks about different machines that people tried, it shows pictures of the different machines and people falling on the ground with their failed attempts. It was interesting to see the machines that people built compares to airplanes that we have today. Another reason why I liked this book was because it was very organized as the facts were told consecutively. The events were in order and made sense. For example, the text began with people watching birds. Then, people began designing machines, figuring out gravity and air, using kites, using wings, gliders and engines. People used all of their mistakes and eventually invented an airplane! I also like this book because there are interesting facts throughout the book. For example, on the page with the man trying to fly with his hand-made wings, there’s a fact in the corner that says, “In England, Monk Elimer broke his legs in A.D. 1010 after a 15-second flight.” There’s also a list of facts at the end of the book, one fact being “O Orville and Wilbur Wright were the first men to build and fly an airplane successfully. In 1903 their Wright Flyer rose into the air at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.” The last reason why I liked this book was because the ending relates to real life and gives an activity for the reader. There’s a flight activity in the back of the book showing the reader how to make a paper airplane. The activity includes steps and pictures to guide the reader. This way, the reader has a hand on example on how flying works. The last page of the book says “Today, thousands and thousands of people travel in airplanes every day, people really have learned how to fly!” This page brings me to the overall message of the book. I think the overall message of the book was to inform readers about how we learned to fly- it’s a process and failing is good because you learn more from your mistakes.

This book starts out by explaining how people have wanted to learn to fly for thousands of years. It goes on to explain about how gravity keeps us on the ground, even when we want to fly. Next, the book explains how people learned about air and how molecules push against you even when you don't realize it. It goes on to explain drag, lift, gliders, engines, cargo and finally goes into the Wright Brothers.

This book goes through the history and science of humanity's quest to fly. It starts with early civilizations dreams and stories of people and animals that can fly, and discusses the forces of lift, drag, and gravity that all pertain to flight. It also touches on modern-day flight and how far technology has come in the past hundred years. This book even contains an interactive, "Flight School," paper airplane-building page in the back.

This book is about young animals who are loved by their mothers in the forest.

This book is about the Milky Way galaxy and offers facts about stars. This book is a good example of an informational text because it offers facts about the galaxy.

The Whale Scientists: Solving the Mystery of Whale Strandings presents an overview of the evolution of whales as they transitioned from land to ocean mammals and then goes on to discuss the research scientists are conducting in order to better understand whale strandings. The story is organized in an enumerative or topical structure and is divided into four chapters, or topics which are then further divided into more specific subtopics. In the first chapter, the author begins by introducing the evolution of whale species as they became better suited for life in the ocean. She then goes on to discuss the evolution of the relationship between whales and humans. The author discusses humans first encounters with whales as well as our species' dependence on whales over the years, including the overexploitation of whaling for profit to the current conservation movement to protect endangered whale species. The author uses historical photographs that illustrate the interdependent relationship between humans and whales over the years. She then goes on to discuss the possible reasons for whale strandings in the following chapter, and the next chapter discusses the research that scientists are able to conduct on whales that have been found stranded. The final chapter is organized in a slightly different manner than the other chapters. It is presented in more of a narrative structure and tells the story of a pilot whale strandings and the successful rehabilitation of two pilot whales that were stranded, taken to the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut where they were able to recover, and were eventually released back into the wild. Although the author, Fran Hodgkins, is a children's book author and not an expert in marine biology, her bibliography shows the extensive research that she conducted in order to write this story.½

A book about the milky way. Great details and fact about the milky way in an easy way that students understand. Can be used for a unit on space - March! Will use this in my classroom.

I really enjoy the personification and the riddle factor of this book! It would be fun to read with a very small introduction and have the kids make guesses about what they think it could be. This would be a great intro to any discussion about stars, galaxies, even our planets! This book could even be read up through middle school. It has info on the sides that give a little more detail about what the book is saying.

This book, told by the perspective of the milky way, is filled with pages filled with beautiful images of starry night skies and artist renditions of the milky way. The narrative section of the book (as told by the Milky Way), gives facts and information in a easy to understand way, and then each page has a more scientific description of what is being told. In a classroom, this could be used during a unit on space. It could even be used in an integrated literacy lesson to illustrate personification.

The Secret Galaxy is an amazing informational book because it tells us what a galaxy is, which is a system of stars, earth, moon, sun and other plants and they are one arm of the Milky Way galaxy. The photograph illustrations are so pretty and can really attract readers. Each page is a colorful star that can give students a good imagination of galaxy.
Usage: I will use this book for 3-5 grade students, and give them a great introduction of galaxy and let them have interest to explore it.

Genre: Informational Picture Book
Media: Photo
Summary: It is an interesting informational picture book. The book is written is person telling people what is galaxy and components of it. It is like a self-introduction.
What's more, it also has the scientific introduction of them.
It is a good informational picture book about science. Because they used actual pictures which can be convincing. And it can also arise students' interests to learn something more about astronomy.
Usage: It is the best choice to use this book in a science where something about astronomy and galaxy will be introduced.
But students may get confused with the galaxy which is a cell phone from SAMSUNG!½

Summary:
This informational book introduces the mysterious galaxy of our universe. It shows us secrets about stars, the milky way, and black hole, etc. It also lets young readers to look at our galaxy clearly with sound and interesting descriptions and photos.
Genre: Informational book
Use in teaching: 1. Use this book in Science class and read it out loud.
2. Let each student find a secret about galaxy from the book that they didn't know before.
Media: Photography

This science book about flying explains the very basics of how flying came to be while asking questions to keep children engaged. I loved that it was in such simple terms yet I learned a thing or two!

The scientists in the field series showcases scientist and other people trying to solve problems. It is an informative series telling how scientists work. The series is targeting young readers from ages 8-12. This book starts with a description of how whales evolved from land based animals. "Whales underwent the most dramatic and complete transformation of any mammals". There is an excellent chart showing their classification. The book then goes on to discuss how in the early days the whales were filled for profit, until humans starting understanding these creatures. "Seeing (in Marine studios), reading about and hearing whales helped people understand these creatures". Organizations like Greenpeace drew public attention to the plight of these mammals. However the main puzzle that the author is trying to solve is "Why do whales strand?" there are multiple reasons for this strange phenomenon like hearing damage that whales might have due to human activities, Earth's magnetic field, weather, illness or injury or toxins in the water. The book also discusses ways in which scientists are trying to find an answer to this mystery. They do necropsy on dead and stranded whales, study their DNA and even examine their ear and head in search of an answer.
The book was filled with information that can be used in middle school to introduce the concept of evolution or endangered animals. The pictures and narration is fascinating and keeps the reader involved in the storyline. The expansive glossary at the end is also helpful.

This story is about whales who come ashore from different climate change or natural causes. The book starts off by talking about the first whale who ever came ashore. We learn how and why whales are dying. Also we learn how we can prevent this from happening. The pictures were great. I think this story was very informative and gave plenty of information on whales that I never knew. I would present this story to a middle school science class.

I enjoyed this book. I like that the author conveys different types of messages throughout the book; not just information about learning to fly. For example, she gives a mini lesson about gravity and how, "gravity keeps us on the ground, even if we would rather be flying." I really like how she draws other information into the text. I also like the illustrations throughout the book. They're a little less detailed then I would have imagined, but they get the message across none the less. The author used great text features to explain how a propeller works and where the propeller is placed on a plane. This really helps the reader understand the importance of propellers and how a real airplane works. The overall goal of this book was to inform the audience about the evolution and science behind flying.

I learned new facts about seashore life from this nonfiction picture book. "Out of the water, the nudibranch looks like a ibt of unappetizing goo. Under water, this amazing little creature reveals its exotic looks, including two sense organs called rhinophores, and a tuft of gills." The language is rich and does not talk down to kids (or adults!). The repeating phrase - "If you lived where the sea was ... and then wasn't, you could ..." - emphasizes how the tides affect the marine creatures that live within its bounds. The author's sense of humor makes the learning fun. For example, with an illustration of a crab, she writes: "If you lived where the sea was and then wasn't, you could ... Run for it." Crabs are mobile enough "to catch up with the retreating tide." The "Story Behind the Story" at the end explains the tides in more detail. A wonderful book for budding marine biologists.

This book was about solving the mystery of why whales become stranded. The scientists observe the whales and try to come up with conclusions. There are so many possiblities about why these whales become stranded. I thought this was an interesting book to read. I learned things about whales that I did not know. I think this would be a good book to read in a science class.

“How People Learned to Fly” tells the story of how airplanes came about, in a way that children will understand. Instead of just placing a bunch of facts on the pages, this book tells a story to its readers. With the use of beautiful artwork, the text provides children with knowledge while also keeping them engaged with the book. While asking questions all along, it gives readers a chance to learn. For example, on pages 25 and 26 it says “But to carry more than just a passenger or two, an aircraft needs a lot more lift. The question is: How do you create more lift? An engine is the answer!” This gives students a chance to think about the answer before turning the page. Books that get children thinking are important to incorporate into a classroom.

This early reader is a Level 1 installment of the We Both Read series and meant to be read back and forth between an adult and child. The readers are taken through all of the different animals that lay eggs from the obvious birds, all the way to the extinct dinosaurs. For illustrations the book uses both photographs of the animals and realistic illustrations that show the more conceptual ideas like a turtle laying its eggs or the different life cycle stages of a bee. The text on the left is meant for the adult and explains the animal’s eggs or egg laying process. The child’s text, on the right, adds a final point and wraps up those two pages. Higher level words and phrases found in both the adult and child’s text are bolded to help create discussion and improve the child’s vocabulary as explained by the parent’s introduction at the start of the book. Alicia Goode from the California Academy of Sciences is thanked on the copyright page for her help with the book giving legitimacy to the science in the book. It is the perfect book for beginning readers interested in animals and science. Recommended.

This is an interesting story. I remember watching a movie about this seal, but this book is obviously much truer to the actual life of Andre. I appreciated it for its honest portrayal of Andre and Harry Goodridge, the harbor master that cared for him. It was a very nice book.