Thursday, December 18, 2014

Animals Teachers by Janet Halfmann

Animals Teachers
by Janet Halfmann
illustrated by Katy Hudson

Published: September 2, 2014
Publisher: Blue Apple Books 

Pages: 36
Format: Ebook (I have purchased a hardback now too)
Genre: Nonfiction Picture book
Age range: 4 - 8 years
Source: Digital book provided by Publisher for Cybils consideration and I have now purchased a hardback.

From Blue Apple Books:

How Do Animals Learn To Swim, Fish, Box, Or Build?

In the forest, in the pond, in caves, prairies, and jungles, in all the world's outdoor "classrooms," baby animals are...learning! They are taking lessons on how to be an expert swimmer, alarm-sounder, racer-chaser, or hide-and-seeker. They don't have books, or desks, or computers. But they do have teachers!
With clear, graceful prose and striking illustrations, Animal Teachers showcases the teacher-student dynamic between adult and young animals as they are taught crucial skills needed to handle daily challenges.
An entertaining combination of science and storytelling, this instructive title presents skills that a dozen different young animals have to learn.

First off - the illustrations absolutely blew me away. They are breathtakingly lovely. When I read the digital copy with my daughter, she wouldn't let me turn the pages until she finished drinking in the images - including the end pages. Just gorgeous. I have ordered the hardback and can't wait to see what the illustrations look like in person.


Each two page spread talks about a lesson - swimming lessons, boxing lessons, shouting lessons - and then talks about how baby animals learn that skill. Then there is also a question, like - "Who taught you what's good to eat? Do you ever try to bite your toes ?"  This answer-question style makes it a great candidate for read alouds to younger readers, providing opportunities for audience participation.


Animal Teachers is a gentle, lovely introduction to animals that provides younger children a different perspective than your typical "what sound do chickens make?" style of thing. It should also prove a good informational text for kindergarten or 1st grade students and work as a jump off point for projects. Two thumbs up!


1 comment:

  1. Thanks so much for your "two-thumbs-up" review of my book Animal Teachers. Happy Reading to All!

    ReplyDelete

Hi! I do read all of the comments and want to let you know that I really appreciate your stopping by and taking the time to leave a note. Work has fallen in on me and I have not had enough time to reply coherently lately so I apologize preemptively but still want to assure you that your comments are valued. I am using comment moderation to avoid using more annoying spam avoidance. Thanks for your patience.