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Four New Books Celebrate Earth!
Four new books to teach kids about Earth! Just in time for Earth Day 2000, Education World reviews four new -- and very different -- books about Earth and the role of humans in the natural world.
In celebration of Earth Day, Education World looks this week at four new books that can enhance the study of nature. From nature guide to Earth science reference, these books have something different to offer young students.
MY NATURE JOURNAL
Written and illustrated by Adrienne Olmstead, My Nature Journal: A Personal Guide for Young People is full of fun, thought-provoking nature activities for children ages eight and up. The book is divided into five sections -- Woodlands, Meadows, Ponds & Streams, Seashore, and Twilight. Within each section, readers will find three types of activities:
- Discovery activities encourage the reader to actively seek out and explore different facets of the natural world;
- Understanding nature activities introduce interesting facts and ecological principles; and
- Reflective activities allow children to write about their own thoughts, feelings, and experiences with nature.
My Nature Journal is not a book to be studied from beginning to end, but rather an invitation to study and appreciate nature through personal observation and exploration. Each section functions as an independent unit within which readers can skip around among the various activities, depending on the seasons and individual interests.
A list of simple and affordable supplies -- such as colored pencils, hand-held magnifiers, and measuring tapes -- helps the beginning naturalist complete the journal activities. The activities draw upon different skills, including observing, sketching, and creative writing.
Information presented throughout the book under such headings as "What Is a Mammal?" and "Amphibians -- Animals of Land & Water" is direct and meant to enhance the child's own observations rather than to replace them. The reflective activities typically start with a simple question or idea for the readers to use as a starting point for their own personal thoughts, as in the activity "If I Were a Tree":
"Have you ever wondered how it would feel to be a tree? You would be anchored in the ground your whole life. Birds would nest in your branches. Squirrels would scamper up your trunk. You would eat sunlight, carbon dioxide and water. You would grow tall and bend in the wind. How would it feel to be a tree?"
Olmstead's illustrations are detailed black-and-white renderings of the different creatures and plants discussed in the text. All the journal pages contain spaces to record the date and location and many include small illustrations. Even the spiral binding, which makes the book sit flat while the naturalist writes and draws, aids in making the beginning of the study of nature easy and enriching for any child. Although it might not be practical to supply a copy of My Nature Journal for each child in a classroom, this book would be a wonderful addition any child's home library and would provide a variety of nature activities for a family to enjoy together.
Adrienne Olmstead has a bachelor's degree in environmental studies. She has taught children in outdoor schools for several years. This book is her first, as well as the first book for Pa'jaro (which Spanish for "bird"), a company that specializes in products that help people appreciate the natural world.
THE BLUE & GREEN ARK
For a beautifully illustrated love poem to planet Earth, don't miss The Blue & Green Ark: An Alphabet for Planet Earth (Scholastic Press), by Brian Patten with pictures by various illustrators. Starting with A, which stands for "the blue and green Ark adrift in the dark," as Earth is described, the book is filled with rich, evocative imagery of our world and all its various inhabitants. A lot of ground is covered in what at first appears to be a simple alphabet book: from the beginning of the world to the remembrance of extinct species; from the taste of jelly beans to a warning about "… the nothing we will become unless we cherish / The blue and green Ark adrift in the dark." For the letter T, Patten writes
T is for Time,
For the twenty billion years that have melted and gone
Since our Solar System began.
It is for the thistledown blown by a child counting the hours.
It is for the tick of a watch.
It is for the tabby-cat and the tortoise
Asleep in the shade of the tulip tree.
The illustrations, each done by one of 11 artists, are stunning. The glossary provides the name of the artist for each spread and the medium the artist used in creating the illustration. The glossary also defines many of the animals, plants, and other concepts touched upon in the poem.
Because of the wide-ranging material covered and the types of questions that the text is likely to provoke, this is not a simple ABC book for preschoolers or beginning readers. However, it can be used as a departure point for discussions on any number of topics, including creation, evolution, history, art, and poetry.
HOW COME? PLANET EARTH
How Come? Planet Earth (Workman Publishing) employs the familiar question-and-answer format as it addresses real children's questions about the natural world.
This book, the second that Kathy Wollard has written based on her "How Come?" column (distributed worldwide by the Los Angeles Times Syndicate), is filled with information that young readers really want to know. The book is divided informally into four sections covering Earth science, Earth's creatures, the human body, and human invention and industry.
It answers in a straightforward fashion such queries as "How is glass made?" "How does blood stop flowing out of a cut?" and "What is perfume made of? And where do they come up with the fragrance names?" Clever black-and-white illustrations and tongue-in-cheek cartoons by Debra Solomon add to the sense of fun.
How Come? Planet Earth is effective in the classroom as an adjunct to traditional science textbooks. A teacher might have each student choose from a hat a piece of paper with one of the science questions on it. The students can use other resources to research the answer to their questions and then check their answers against those given in the book.
THE KINGFISHER YOUNG PEOPLE'S BOOK OF PLANET EARTH
The Kingfisher Young People's Book of Planet Earth, by Martin Redfern, is an Earth science reference book intended for upper elementary and middle school students. The first chapter, "Dynamic Planet," starts with an explanation of the beginning of the solar system and continues with descriptions of Earth's core, continent, and seas. Subsequent chapters discuss volcanoes, earthquakes, weather, and water, followed by the chapter "Life Story," which covers such topics as evolution, the study of fossils, and extinction. The book closes with a chapter on the historical interactions between human beings and Earth, both good and bad. Throughout, colorful photographs, art, charts, and graphs dramatically enhance the text.
This is the latest installment in Kingfisher's award-winning Young People's book series. Author Martin Redfern, a former geology student at University College in London, England, is a journalist who writes extensively about science.
The books highlighted this week are available in most bookstores. If you are unable to locate the book you're looking for, ask your bookseller to order it for you or contact the publisher directly.
- My Nature Journal: A Personal Nature Guide for Young People is published by Pa'jaro, 3343 Las Huertas Road, Lafayette, CA 94549. It may also be available in nature stores.
- The Blue & Green Ark: An Alphabet for Planet Earth is published by Scholastic Press. Call 1-800- SCHOLASTIC.
- How Come? Planet Earth is published by Workman Publishing, 708 Broadway, New York, NY 10003-9555.
- The Kingfisher Young People's Book of Planet Earth is published by Larousse Kingfisher Chambers, Inc., 95 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016.
Article by Lauren P. Gattilia
Education World®
Copyright © 2000 Education World
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