Children’s / Teenage general interest: Wildlife and habitats

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Book SynopsisFrom beautiful butterflies to dirty dung beetles, there is so much to know about insects. This book will engage newly confident readers who are ready to learn independently with fun facts and provides learners a chance to test their knowledge. These books also feature full-color photos, a table of contents, a glossary, and an index.

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Book SynopsisFrom small garter snakes to huge anacondas, there is so much to know about snakes. This book will engage newly confident readers who are ready to learn independently with fun facts and provides learners a chance to test their knowledge. These books also feature full-color photos, a table of contents, a glossary, and an index.

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Book SynopsisAnimals and nature add wonder to daily life. First Steps, First Snow connects young readers to nature, nocturnal animals, and fosters mindfulness. Whether it's changing seasons, changing scenes, or observing wildlife, nature adds wonder to our lives. First Steps, First Snow (based on a true story) describes a magical walk in the woods on a winter night. The poem guides readers on the walk and encourages the observation of nature. Watercolor illustrations show nocturnal animals that live in forests. At the end, the two children and the animals are all snug and sound asleep — a perfect bedtime story for readers of all ages.Trade ReviewAbout Grief Doodling: Bringing Back Your Smiles : " Grief Doodling is a wonderfully powerful and well thought out resources." Glen Lord, the co-founder of www.thegrieftoolbox.com"This book opens yet another door. . . showcasing doodling's greater ability to ease our passage from grief back to joy." Sunny Brown, author of The Doodle Revolution"Putting pen to paper is a meaningful, healing way to process difficult emotions like grief." Joanne Fink, founder of Zenspirations"Hodgson has created a magnificent tool that every person experiencing loss should have at their fingertips. I love this book!" Sandy Goodman, author Love Never Dies"Hodgson's gentle, fact-based approach is evident in the doodling prompts. This is a wonderful kid's book - a creative outlet for children to process their grief." Dr. Heidi Horsley, Executive Director of the Open to Hope Foundation

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisThis story of the madrone and its animal neighbors will both comfort and enchant children as they come to understand the timelessness of nature’s cycles. If ever a tree deserved a love letter, it is the Pacific madrone. Barbara Herkert’s poetic story charts the life swirling around this luminous tree, from eagles to elk to hummingbirds to fungi, as it patiently stands sentinel through the seasons of the Pacific Northwest. Marlo Garnsworthy’s gorgeous paintings bring the tree’s scarlet berries, spangles of white flowers, and curls of russet and green bark to life. The book includes: a map of madrone distribution an animal identification guide further information for parents/teachers free, downloadable curriculum on publisher’s website Trade Review"This gorgeous picture book featuring the Pacific Madrone tree is not to be missed! Told lyrically, this book takes readers through the natural territories and seasons alongside the powerful and elegant madrone tree. Throughout rain, snow, flora, fauna and the ever-changing world, the madrone is there, watching. Interacting with the fungi in her roots, providing shade for animals, watching waterfowl migrate-she is there. This book is an absolute must for elementary classrooms and libraries. The poetic prose draws readers in immediately to the madrone’s world, while providing nonfiction information. The watercolor artwork is visually stunning and pairs perfectly with the text. Additionally, the book has identifying field guides on the front and back covers, which readers will love using to find plants and animals in the book itself. There are additional resources available from the publisher. An about madrone trees and a map discussing locations of trees throughout the west can be found in the back of the book. Downloadable activities can be found on the publisher’s website to further students’ learning. This book will delight readers and is a wonderful read for younger to mid-elementary children."—Children's Literature“The madrone tree, a strong centerpiece of the Pacific Northwest ecosystem, receives admiration and inspires wonder in Barbara Herkert’s This Old Madrone Tree. As readers follow a lone madrone tree through the various seasons and storms of the Northwest, they also learn about how its bark, berries, and flowers provide food, shelter, and life to other animals and plants in the region. The colorful, fluid, and brightly painted illustrations pair well with the elegant and poetic text, providing readers with a sense of awe, love, and enchantment of this powerful Pacific madrone. Further information on the madrone, including a map of its distribution in the region and an animal identification guide, are also provided as reference material.”—Butler's Pantry"'This old madrone tree has stood above the ocean for a long, long time.' On an island in the middle of the ocean a madrone tree stands tall and proud. In the summer she welcomes herons, gulls, and eagles. In the fall her branches are ripe with berries for robins, flickers, and crows. In the winter she beckons for the animals to take cover from the wind and rain. In the spring she welcomes geese and other birds as her bark glows in the morning light. Deep in the ground her network of roots welcome fungi. As her branches produce flowers bees and butterflies come to feast. Through the seasons and weather and visitors the mighty madrone stands tall and proud through it all. A beautifully told and illustrated story about the wonder of nature and the cycle of life. (Ages 4-8)" —KidsBookshelf“Fun, memorable, thoroughly 'kid friendly' from first page to last, This Old Madrone Tree will have a special appeal for children with an interest in the relationship of a tree to animals, birds, and other forms of life. This Old Madrone Tree is a singularly impressive, creatively original, and unreservedly recommended addition to family, elementary school, and community library picture book collections for children.”—Midwest Book Review“At the edge of the shore, an old madrone tree stood tall. She gladly received numerous guests and travelers by providing them a safe haven and wonderful fruits. Every season brought new visitors, which she relished. Herons, eagles, hummingbirds, geese, and her everyday resident, the fungus, all enjoyed her company. The book is the author’s ode to the madrone tree, elegantly seizing the essence of their optimism while delicately discussing its sacrifice. The illustrations are whimsical and capture the mood of the plot. This Old Madrone Tree by Barbara Herkert, gorgeously illustrated by Marlo Garnsworthy, can help children understand and cherish the beauty of trees and have a greater appreciation of nature.”—Nothing But Picture Books Reviews

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Book SynopsisDid you know that beaver ponds provide habitat for hundreds if not thousands of life forms?Using their extremely strong teeth, beavers chop down trees to build a dam. The dam creates a pond that is habitat for everything from algae to giant moose. After creating the pond, the beavers build a lodge. The lodge is sometimes used by other animals besides beavers. Muskrats may live inside the lodge either with or without the beavers, or geese may build their nest atop the lodge. The dam itself is used as a bridge to cross the water by deer, ducks or any other number of creatures. The pond is home to numerous life forms. Lily pads grow in the pond and frogs sit on lily pads to catch flies.Learn about the pivotal role beavers play in making all of this life possible. Gorgeous photos and inviting text make AT HOME WITH THE BEAVER: THE STORY OF A KEYSTONE SPECIES a must have for young naturalists hoping to learn more about the interconnectedness of life.Other Books in the Series: AT HOME WITH THE GOPHER TORTOISE: THE STORY OF A KEYSTONE SPECIES, AT HOME WITH THE PRAIRIE DOG: THE STORY OF A KEYSTONE SPECIESTrade ReviewNamed one of "The Best Children's Books of the Year" by the Children's Book Committee and the Bank Street College of Education“By cutting down trees to make a dam across a creek, a pair of beavers create a pond. In its center, they build their lodge, a home where they can raise their young. Meanwhile, the beavers’ two construction projects have changed their environment, creating a new network of small and large organisms within the pond and beyond it, where water seeps through the soil to support grasses and other plants that now have more sunlight, since the beavers have felled a number of trees. Because of its enormous impact in forming and supporting a diverse ecosystem, the beaver is knows as a keystone species. A zoologist who has written many fine science books for children, Patent explains the concept clearly, presents an overview of the pond, and introduces some of the wildlife in and around it. Whether showing a broad view of the pond or focusing on a particular bird, Runtz’s color photos illustrate the text well. With a sense of immediacy and crisp clarity, each picture invites viewers to look closely at the animals and their surroundings. An enlightening companion book to Madeleine Dunphy’s 'At Home with the Gopher Tortoise: The Story of a Keystone Species' (2010) and an informative addition to library collections.” starred review—Booklist"Up-close and personal with a critically essential wetlands animal. Beavers are known as a "keystone species" because the dams they build from logs, sticks, and mud create ecosystems—ponds—that provide habitats and sustenance for a vast variety of life forms that dwell in and around the ponds, including plants, insects, fish, snakes, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and other mammals. These sturdy rodents' gifts keep on giving even beyond the ponds: Pond water irrigates surrounding vegetation, and the spaces left by trees beavers cut down with their strong, sharp teeth allow for more sunlight to pour down on the greenery. How important are beavers? This biodiversity likely wouldn't exist without their hard labor. The author offers up these and other fascinating facts in clear, pithy, accessible prose, expressed in a conversational tone, including the tidbit that other animals may help themselves to beavers' own lodges—sometimes even when the beavers are still living in them. The well-written, economic text, presented on the recto of double-page spreads, is handsomely supported by excellent, high-quality color photos on facing pages; these feature close-ups of some of the plants and wildlife that inhabit a pond and its idyllic surrounding landscape. A fine browse for young animal lovers and a good, basic choice for report writers." (author's note, websites) (Informational picture book. 6-9)—Kirkus Reviews"'At Home with the Beaver: The Story of a Keystone Species' is a nonfiction children's picturebook about much more than beavers. 'At Home with the Beaver' examines how the beaver's dam creates a pond habitat that a multitude of other plants and animals depend on for survival, especially those that need still water instead of rapidly flowing water. From frogs to ducks to plants, fish, snakes, and even fierce predators, all sorts of different living things are connected through the "keystone", dam-building beaver. Captivating, full-color photography of wildlife in its natural habitat distinguishes this treasure for school and public library picturebook collections."—Midwest Book Review “While most kids know beavers are builders, they probably don’t realize the enormous impact this busy animal has on the environment. But beavers create a place for 'thousands of living things of all sizes, shapes, and colors' to live, nest, and find food. That is why beavers are considered a keystone species. When beavers cut down trees to build their lodges and dams, the increase in water and sunlight changes the environment. The diminished forest and the newly created pond allows plants to grow, which, in turn, provides food and shelter to animals. Photographs illustrate for young readers the plethora of living organisms the beaver pond invites, as well as the interconnections between plants and animals. For example, the joe-pye weed is food for monarch butterflies, the cattails provide a nesting place for red-winged blackbirds, and the water-lily pads hold green frogs. Likewise, dragonflies lay eggs on plant stems, turtles sun on fallen logs, and salamanders lay their eggs in the water. Bigger animals, such as moose, foxes and raccoons are drawn to drink and hunt, and a variety of birds frequent the beaver pond in search of insects, as well. Even the beaver lodge itself can be a home to wildlife, such as muskrats and Canada geese. Finally, readers will see how micro-organisms beneath the surface of the water are part of a food chain that begins with these tiny organisms. From green algae to water flea to backswimmer to bass to kingfisher, each organism eats and gets eaten. The labeled photographs and clear text allow children to fully grasp the interconnections in this unique environment and the “crucial role of beavers in the ecosystem.” Backmatter offers additional information about beavers and details the efforts being made to recognize and protect this important keystone species.”—Children's Literature“Beavers make ponds that thousands of species depend on and zoologist Dorothy Hinshaw Patent has written this book to teach us all about it. By building a dam and lodge, this keystone species provides a wet, sun-filled habitat for plants, insects, and other animals. Many of these living things are included in exquisite photographs that fill the pages. The author mentions well-known water-loving creatures like ducks and frogs, but also species less commonly discussed like water fleas, damselflies, and jewelweed. While not specifically intended as a pond species identification guide, this book has labeled photographs that can certainly help children, their parents, and their teachers better notice and name living things in their neighborhood ponds. From food webs to shelter, the concepts in this book are useful for getting readers to think about connections among species and the roles beavers play.”—Green Teacher

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Book SynopsisAn injured red-tailed hawk can no longer fly free, but her instinct to become a mother is so strong that she adopts and raises two abandoned red-shouldered hawks in this true and heartwarming story of interspecies friendship.When someone cuts down a tree containing a nest, two hawk eggs are in desperate need of help. Sunshine the hawk mother to the rescue! Sunshine is a red-tailed hawk who can no longer fly. Her mothering instinct is so strong that she once successfully raised two chicken eggs to adulthood. She seems like the perfect choice to adopt these eggs. But there is a problem: The eggs are red-shouldered hawks, not red-tailed hawks, and one of them has already hatched.  Will Sunshine accept an egg and newly hatched chick of a competing hawk species? Will Sunshine be a mother again?  Find out in this uplifting sequel about interspecies adoption and the deep trust and un

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Book SynopsisOg heads to summer camp in the third book in the middle grade companion series to Humphrey--now in paperback!Og didn''t know where he would end up when school was over, but it turns out Camp Happy Hollow is just about the best place ever. Lovely nature is all around, friends from Room 26 are there--including Humphrey!--and camp days are full of exciting activities. Og has lots of new responsibilities, like watching out for Humphrey, helping his fellow campers adjust to being away from home, and encouraging everyone to always try their best. But when one camper lets Og loose at the lake, he is in a tough spot. The lake sure does feel like home, but so does his tank. Plus his human friends need him--and so does Humphrey. Good thing Og has experience in the wild because--BING-BANG-BOING!--this is going to be one hopping summer! Og''s frog''s-eye view of summer camp is silly, caring, and adventurous--the perfect companion to Summer According to Humphrey.

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