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Science Verse by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Lane Smith

Source: Public Library
Hardcover, 40 pgs.
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Science Verse by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Lane Smith, is a delightful children’s book that meshes poetry and science.  Although some of these concepts may be tough for kids in kindergarten to understand, kids will enjoy the delightful illustrations and the fun verses that poke fun of critters and teachers.  My daughter particularly liked that the teachers are the reason dinosaurs died — of boredom, naturally — and not meteors.  She doesn’t really understand that dinosaurs are gone over in several grades or that they died because of meteors, etc., but she like the idea of the dinosaurs falling dead at the feet of teachers with their tongues hanging out.

My favorites were about the water cycle and amoebas, as well as the poems about evolution from apes and black holes.  Scieszka is creative and his verse is witty.  The rhymes make it easy for younger kids to follow along, and parents have something to work with when explaining the science concepts to younger children.

Science Verse by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Lane Smith, is delightful and fun for kids and adults.  It’s a great way to introduce kids to science concepts from evolution to the water cycle.  Now all it needs is some experiments to get kids interacting, something parents could look into as supplements to the text.

RATING: Cinquain

About the Author:

Jon Scieszka is a writer and teacher. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife and two children. Occasionally he has been known to howl at the full moon. –from the dust jacket of “The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs”

Jon Scieszka is also the author of the best-selling ALA Notable Book, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, as well as Knights of the Kitchen Table, and The Not-So-Jolly Roger. He teaches as The Day School in Manhattan where he is known as Mr. Scieszka. He lives with his wife, and two children in Brooklyn where he is known as Dad. –from the dust jacket of “The Frog Prince Continued”.

About the Illustrator:

Smith was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but moved to Corona, California at a young age. He spent summers in Tulsa, however, and cites experiences there as inspirations for his work, saying that “[o]nce you’ve seen a 100-foot cement buffalo on top of a donut-stand (sic) in the middle of nowhere, you’re never the same.”

He studied art in college at the encouragement of his high school art teacher, helping to pay for it by working as a janitor at Disneyland. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in illustration, and moved to New York City, where he was hired to do illustrations for various publications including Time, Mother Jones, and Ms..

Smith is married to Molly Leach, who is a book designer and designed the Smith/Scieszka collaboration.

 

 

 

 

 

Little Owl’s Day by Divya Srinivasan

Source: Public Library
Hardcover, 32 pgs.
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Little Owl’s Day by Divya Srinivasan is a continuation of the previous owl story, only this time, he’s woken up during the day by a squirrel eating nuts.  The owl cannot get back to sleep, so he decides to explore the woods in the daytime.  While his mother tells him to go back to sleep, of course, he ignores her and head out on his own.  He soon finds in the day that things are very busy and very different than they are at night.

He mistakes butterflies for moths and he notices that the flowers are open, the opposite of how they are at night.  She liked the dragonflies, some of which flew backward, and she liked the turtle when he was sunbathing.  When he sees the bear is awake, they talk about how the bear is never able to show the owl a rainbow and the owl is never able to show the bear the moon.

Little Owl’s Day by Divya Srinivasan is a great sequel to the little owl, and it would be great to see him grow up in a bigger and bigger owl.  While there is little to no conflict in these books, they provide kids with a good sense of how the animal kingdom works during the day and at night.

Rating: Quatrain

About the Author:

Check out Divya Srinivasan‘s website.

Little Owl’s Night by Divya Srinivasan

Source: Public Library
Hardcover, 32 pgs.
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Little Owl’s Night by Divya Srinivasan is an adorably illustrated book about the forest at night and all of the animals in it.  As many kids are scared of the dark, this book could be a great teaching tool about what animals are active at night.  Little owl is awake and he goes exploring and saying hello to his fellow night animals.  From bunnies to foxes and hedgehogs, Owl is friendly to everyone as he soars above them.

My daughter liked this book because he followed the animals to find out what they were doing, like the possums.  She didn’t like the skunk much, but we did count the fireflies around the turtle and other animals.  Her favorite pages are where the bunny is sleeping to hide from the fox, and she loved the bats.

Little Owl’s Night by Divya Srinivasan is vibrant and dark at the same time, the darker backgrounds make the animals come alive.  Owl is very friendly, even to animals we consider predators.

Rating: Quatrain

About the Author:

Check out Divya Srinivasan‘s website.