Sunday, July 22, 2007

Slippery, Slimy Baby Frogs by Sandra Markle




Slippery, Slimy Baby Frogs by Sandra Markle (32 pages; 1 book) #19

Markle, Sandra (2006). Slippery, Slimy Baby Frogs. New York, NY: Walker Publishing Company, Inc.

Awards: Elgible for Children’s Choice Award 2006, Outstanding Science Trade Book 2006
Grade Level: K-4 grades

Author Credibility: Markle is an award winning author. To make her frog book, she would talk to frog experts around the world. She went out of her way to find these experts, including talking to one via satellite while he was in the Peruvian rain forest. She also met with several wildlife photographers to get the best shots for her book.

Summary/Response: This is a photo essay about frogs. Its amazing photographs complement the well written text regarding frogs around the world. The book contains the life cycle of various frogs. It also discusses the parents choice to raise or abandon their frogs after laying their eggs. In some species it’s the father who places the tadpoles in pouches in his leg or his vocal sac. He keeps them safe in these pouches until they hatch and are ready to go out on their own. However, in other species the mother keeps the eggs in a pouch located on her back where the eggs can stay moist until they are ready to hatch. The book goes on to tell how some tadpoles avoid their enemies by attaching itself to rocks using their mouth as a suction cup while other use camouflage.
This is an interesting book on the different lives of frogs. It also contains a map showing where are the frogs are located that are mentioned in the book.

National Standards: Language: Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
Science: The characteristics of organisms, Life cycles of organisms, Organisms and environments


Illustrations: Brilliant colored photographs.

Access Features: Where in the World Are These Forgs?, Raise Your Own Baby Frogs

Related Texts: Frog Rescue: Changing the Future for Endangered Wildlife by Garry Hamilton, Animals Asleep by Sneed B. Collard III- another look at wildlife behaviors

Classroom Use: This could be used during my egg laying animals thematic unit. This could also be used to discuss life cycles and the adaptations of frogs around the world.

3 comments:

Allison Fielder said...

Fun! This sounds like a wonderful resource for a science classroom. The boys would love it!

Tassie said...

I did not know about pouches on frogs! This sounds like a book that I need to read!

I love nonfiction said...

Sandra Markle writes a series in which all the books have in the title "Inside Outside. . ." Inside Outside Birds would also be related to your egg laying unit. They also are illustrated with color photos and include fascinating information about the inside of animals, which we often do not know much about.