Trees to Paper by Inez Snyder

Trees to Paper by Inez Snyder (24 pages; 1 book) #28

Snyder, Inez (2003). Trees to Paper. Danbury, CT: Children’s Press.

Awards: No awards given.

Grade Level: K-3 grades

Author Credibility: I could not find any information on Inez Snyder.

Summary/Response: This is a very short photographic essay. Trees are cut into small pieces and taken to a place where chemicals are added to the wood. The mixture called pulp is then sent through several machines where it is dried into paper. The paper is then sent to another machine which cuts it into the desired length. The paper that is made is used for a lot of things such as writing.

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: Properties and changes of properties in matter

Illustrations: Full page color photographs.

Access Features: Table of Contents, New Words, To Find Out More, Index, About the Author, Reading Consultants

Related Texts: Wax to Crayons by Inez Snyder, Apples to Applesauce by Inez Snyder, Sap to Syrup by Inez Snyder, Grapes to Raisins by Inez Snyder, Milk to Ice Cream by Inez Snyder

Classroom Use: This is a good look at physics with changes in properties for the lower grades.

Grrr! A Book About Big Cats by Melvin & Gilda Berger

Grrr! A Book About Big Cats by Melvin & Gilda Berger (32 pages; 1 book) #27

Berger, Melvin and Gilda Berger (2003). A Book About Big Cats. New York: NY: Scholastic, Inc.

Awards: No awards given.

Grade Level: K-5 grades

Author Credibility: This husband and wife team researches each topic before writing a book. There are no details on how they do their research or how they choose their topics. It is a beautifully written photographic essay.

Summary/Response: This book is divided into chapters, but no table of context. There are five groups of big cats. These groups include lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, and jaguars. The lion is the loudest of the big cats. Most lions live in Africa and they are the only big cat that lives in a group called a pride. Tigers are the biggest of the big cats. They only live in Asia and are not afraid of water unlike most cats. Tigers will often swim for pleasure. Leopards are excellent climbers. After killing its prey, a leopard will drag it up into a tree to keep other animals from stealing it. Cheetahs are the fastest of the big cats. They can run as fast as 70 mph. The one difference between a cheetah and other cats is a cheetah cannot pull its claws in. Jaguars are the strongest of the big cats. It is said that nothing will fight a jaguar. It is slightly larger than a leopard. It has spots that are rings with black dots in them.

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: Structure and function in living systems, Reproduction and heredity, Regulation and behavior, Populations and ecosystems, Diversity and adaptations of organisms
Illustrations: Beautiful color photographs, some that were full page or two-page spread.

Access Features: Index

Related Texts: Amazing Tigers by Sarah L. Thompson, Jaguars (Animals of the Rainforest) by Pat Lalley, Cheetahs by Luke Hunter

Classroom Use: I would use this in my science library.

Snap by Melvin & Gilda Berger

Snap by Melvin & Gilda Berger (32 pages; 1 book) #26

Berger, Melvin and Gilda Berger (2003). Snap. New York: NY: Scholastic, Inc.

Awards: No awards given.

Grade Level: K-4 grades

Author Credibility: This husband and wife team researches each topic before writing a book. There are no details on how they do their research or how they choose their topics. It is a beautifully written photographic essay.

Summary/Response: Alligators and crocodiles belong to the crocodilian family. They look a lot alike, but there are two major ways to differentiate between the two. First the alligators’ snout is shaped like a v. The second way is by the fourth tooth back. The alligator's tooth is not visible when the mouth is closed and the crocodile's is. Alligators live only in America and China. The American alligator is much longer than its Chinese cousin. The China gator is also smaller in numbers. Crocodiles are found worldwide and are larger than gators. The Nile crocodile is responsible for more human deaths than lions. Alligators and crocodiles are really amazing animals.

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: Structure and function in living systems, Reproduction and heredity, Regulation and behavior, Populations and ecosystems, Diversity and adaptations of organisms

Illustrations: Amazing colorful, close-up photographs

Access Features: Fluency Fun

Related Texts: Dive! A Book of Deep Sea Creatures by Mel Berger, Crocodiles and Alligators by Seymour Simon

Classroom Use: This book is a good addition to a science classroom. I can use it for my egg laying literacy unit. It is good in learning the life cycle of an alligator and use as a compare/contrast model for other animals.

Fantastic Farm Machines by Cris Peterson

Fantastic Farm Machines by Cris Peterson (32 pages; 1 book) #25

Peterson, Cris (2006). Fantastic Farm Machines. Honesdale, PN: Boyds Mills Press, Inc.

Awards: Eligible for Children’s Choice Award 2006

Grade Level: K-4 grades

Author Credibility: Peterson wanted to portray agriculture and farming accurately. She wants people to know the impact that farming had in American History. In addition she was named 2002 “Woman of the Year” by American Women in Agriculture. She lives on a five-hundred-cow dairy farm on a thousand acres.

Summary/Response: Farm equipment is used to do many jobs around the farm. In a large farm the equipments that are used range from a small skid steer to clean barns to huge eight wheel tractors for planting. They even use computers to tell how much seed it takes to plant an area and regulate the chemicals it takes to spray the crops. It is interesting how they use cow manure to fertilize the soil then use the hay grown on the farm to feed the cows…talk about recycling!

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: Abilities of technological design, Understandings about science and technology
Illustrations: Color and Black and White Photographs

Access Features: None

Related Texts: Harvest Year by Cris Peterson, Century Farm: One Hundred Years on A Family Farm by Cris Peterson, Milk: From Cow to Carton by Aliki

Classroom Use: This would be good to use with a farm unit and also a machine unit. It is also a good book for a compare/contrast on farming in the past to farming now.

Calamity Jane by Stephen Krensky

Calamity Jane by Stephen Krensky (48 pages; 1 book) #24

Krensky, Stephen (2006). Calamity Jane. Minneapolis, MN: Millbrook Press, Inc.

Awards: Eligible for Children’s Choice Award 2006

Grade Level: K-5 grades

Author Credibility: Stephen Krensky reads and researches books on what he wants to write in his nonfiction line. However, he does mention that Calamity Jane has a lot of folklore that followed her throughout her life.

Summary/Response: This book is listed and cataloged as juvenile literature and Krensky states that so many legends followed her throughout her life which leads to some accounts being exaggerated. But overall another western book that shows how women contributed to the founding of the Wild West. Calamity Jane was born Martha Jane Canary in Missouri. She learned to ride and shoot at a young age. Her family moved to Montana in search of a better life. On the trip, Martha would go out and hunt with the men in the group. Once they knew how good of a hunter she was, they carried her hunting with them. Martha Jane found herself in the mining town of Virginia City, Montana which was full of mean gold miners. She got the name Calamity Jane from an army captain she pulled to safety during a battle. Once she was grown she moved to Deadwood, North Dakota. There she met Wild Bill Hickok. They became friends and traded adventures. She later went to work for riding for the pony express. Later when the whole town came down with smallpox, Jane was the only one to nurse them back to health. She left the town later due to the lack of adventure that came with progress.

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.
Social Studies: Understands how the industrial revolution, increasing immigration, the rapid expansion of slavery, and the westward movement changed the lives of Americans and led toward regional tensions

Illustrations: I could not find any information on the illustration. It looks like chalk or watercolor paintings.

Access Features: Calamity Jane: A Folklore Legend

Related Texts: Davey Crocket: A Life on the Frontier by Stephen Krensky, Cowboys of the Wild West by Russell Freeman, Black Frontier: A History of African American Heroes in the Old West by Lillian Schlissel, Children of the West by Russell Freeman

Classroom Use: This would be a wonderful addition to Social Studies. I teach Early U.S. History and this would be a great book to show how much women influenced the west.

Read About Annie Oakley by Stephen Feinstein

Read About Annie Oakley by Stephen Feinstein (24 pages; 1 book) #23

Feinstein, Stephen (2006). Read About Annie Oakley. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, Inc.

Awards: Eligible for Children’s Choice Award 2006

Grade Level: K-4 grades

Author Credibility: I could not find any information on Stephen Feinstein on how he prepares to write his biographies. However, I did find numerous biographies he has written along with the fact that he is a Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Wisconsin.

Summary/Response: This book is laid out in easy to read chapters with full page sepia photographs. The light green glossy pages set the tone for the time period. Annie Oakley was born Phoebe Ann Mosey in Ohio on August 13, 1860. She grew up hunting with her father where she learned to shoot. After her father’s death, Annie had to hunt for food to help feed the family. Annie entered a shooting contest and won. The person she defeated would soon become her husband. Annie and her husband Frank put together a traveling shooting act called Butler and Oakley. Later she joined Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. She traveled all over the world and became famous for her skills with a rifle. Annie later gave shooting lessons and continued to help people until her death in 1926.

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.
Social Studies: Understands how the industrial revolution, increasing immigration, the rapid expansion of slavery, and the westward movement changed the lives of Americans and led toward regional tensions.

Illustrations: Sepia colored photographs, black and white photographs and drawings, primary source documents

Access Features: Words to Know, Table of Contents, Timeline, Learn More, Index

Related Texts: Read About Crazy Horse by Stephen Feinstein, Read About Abraham Lincoln by Stephen Feinstein- both of these lived in the time of Early U.S. History.

Classroom Use: This would be a wonderful addition to Social Studies. I teach Early U.S. History and this would be a great book to show how much women influenced the west.

Crabs by Mary Jo Rhodes and David Hall

Crabs by Mary Jo Rhodes and David Hall (48 pages; 1 book) #22

Rhodes, Mary Jo and David Hall (2006). Crabs. New York, NY: Children’s Press.

Awards: Eligible for Children’s Choice Award 2006

Grade Level: K-6 grades

Author Credibility: Mary Jo Rhodes travels around researching the animals she is going to write about. She goes to aquariums, studies them in their natural environment, and consulted with marine biologists. She grew up around the beach and enjoyed exploring the seashore. David Hall has a degree in zoology and medicine. He helps write books, illustrates, and works as a physician.

Summary/Response: Crabs is a well organized book and very inviting to read with crab facts at the bottom of some pages. It also has beautiful photographs with descriptions of what is going on in the pictures. The table of contents is listed in different colors which emphasize the beautiful colors crabs come in. Crabs are arthropods that along with lobsters and shrimps belong to a group known as crustaceans. There are true and false crabs. True crabs have a very short abdomen and use four pairs of legs for walking. Crabs have compound eyes to help find prey and spot enemies. Crabs live in many different places. Some live in old shells and one kind ever live in trees. Crabs have multiple defenses but their main defense is their powerful claws. When a crab outgrows its exoskeleton, it must molt or shed this covering and grow a new one.

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: Structure and function in living systems, Reproduction and heredity, Regulation and behavior, Populations and ecosystems, Diversity and adaptations of organisms

Illustrations: Brilliant color photographs.

Access Features: Table of Contents, Glossary, Learn More About Crabs, Index, About the Authors, About the Consultant

Related Texts: Crabs (Welcome Books) by Lloyd G. Douglas, Hermit Crabs: Complete Pet Owners Manual by Sue Fox, Seashells, Crabs, and Sea Turtles by Christiane Kump Tibbitts, Sea Turtles by Mary Jo Rhodes, Sea Horses and Sea Dragons by Mary Jo Rhodes

Classroom Use: I would use this when studying life sciences. A lot of children like to get hermit crabs as pets, so the section on hermit crabs can be useful in how to take care of their pets.