This is a gorgeous book. I've been looking at several books about nocturnal and bioluminescent animals and this is exactly what I've been looking for.
The deep black pages are illuminated by glowing animals and bright, white text. After a few simple sentences of introduction, explaining bioluminescence, each page features a single sentence explaining why animals glow - to hide, to find food, to attract a mate. Smaller type identifies the animals and offers a fact about each one. Back matter explains the difficulty of photographing bioluminescent creatures, especially those deep in the ocean, and offers thumbnail sketches of each animal along with their common and scientific name, size, and habitat. There is also a brief bibliography.
I did feel that some of the larger sentences were pushing or repeating the different functions somewhat - there were multiple pictures featuring animals hunting with different words including hunt, trick, and invite although really they're all the same thing. However, this is a minor quibble - this is a great book to introduce kids of many ages to the fascinating world of bioluminescent animals and get them interested in learning more about these strange, wonderful creatures.
Verdict: Some of the pictures are a little creepy, so I would be careful about using this in storytime if you have sensitive toddlers or preschoolers (or parents!) but it's a perfect choice for an outreach storytime with preschool or kindergarten, especially if you can tie it in with some glow in the dark activities!
ISBN: 9780544416666; Published 2015 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Borrowed from another library in my consortium; Purchased for the library
The deep black pages are illuminated by glowing animals and bright, white text. After a few simple sentences of introduction, explaining bioluminescence, each page features a single sentence explaining why animals glow - to hide, to find food, to attract a mate. Smaller type identifies the animals and offers a fact about each one. Back matter explains the difficulty of photographing bioluminescent creatures, especially those deep in the ocean, and offers thumbnail sketches of each animal along with their common and scientific name, size, and habitat. There is also a brief bibliography.
I did feel that some of the larger sentences were pushing or repeating the different functions somewhat - there were multiple pictures featuring animals hunting with different words including hunt, trick, and invite although really they're all the same thing. However, this is a minor quibble - this is a great book to introduce kids of many ages to the fascinating world of bioluminescent animals and get them interested in learning more about these strange, wonderful creatures.
Verdict: Some of the pictures are a little creepy, so I would be careful about using this in storytime if you have sensitive toddlers or preschoolers (or parents!) but it's a perfect choice for an outreach storytime with preschool or kindergarten, especially if you can tie it in with some glow in the dark activities!
1 comment:
Love this cover! As a writer, I appreciate your thoughtful analysis of the text, too.
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