The Extinct Files: My Science Project by Wallce Edwards

Wally uses the scientific method to prove to his science teacher that dinosaurs are not really extinct. Claiming that the illustrators drawings are "actual photographs," he makes astute observations about these non-extinct creatures. He shares information about habitat, diet, grooming, movement, etc.

This is a very creative way to present scientific method, using lots of humor (Glamorousaurus shows us grooming, "Tea Wrecks" hangs out at the coffee shop). The language used in the observations is very heavy in description and sticks to factual information.

It gets a little silly with its conclusion but all-in-all, a fun way to present some science themes creatively. Definately a picture book for middle school.

A Place Called Kindergarten

A Place Called Kindergarten by Jessica Harper; pictures by G. Brian Karas

Tommy comes to the barn early every morning to bring an apple for the horse, a biscuit for the sheep, corn for the hen and dandelions for the cow. Then one morning he doesn't come and animals are curious why. The dog comes by and says Tommy left on a yellow bus and has gone to someplace called kindergarten. The animals anxiously wait the rest of the day for Tommy to stop by. After school he returns to tell the animals what he learned in kindergarten: a is for apple, b is for biscuit...
A great introduction for kindergarten and a celebration for the start of school

Owen & Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship, by Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff, & Dr. Paula Kahumbu

The tsunami of 2004 left a young hippo stranded and motherless in the village of Malindi on the coast of Kenya. The people rallied to rescue the hippo who they named Owen and transported the young animal to Haller Park, an animal sanctuary near Mombasa. Placed in an enclosure with Mzee, a giant 130 year-old tortoise, Owen immediately took to the tortoise and soon the two were inseparable friends. The book realistically portrays the animal relationship without sentimentality yet still the reader is left with a sense of mystery of belonging and friendship.

All ages.

Oh, Rats! The Story of Rats and People, by Albert Marrin

Illus. by D. B. Mordan.

Remembering an incident with a rat at age seven, the author offers a personal introduction to a fascinating exploration of the science and history of rats that revolves around their mostly irreputable relationship to humans along with their uses as a food source, detecting land mines and tuberculosis, and as lab rats for scientific research. Many fascinating facts are highlighted in sidebars and the black and white illustrations accented with red are just right.

Grades 4-7

Move! by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page

Each doublespread in this book features an action word, presented in a large font along with one or two animals created with collages of cut and torn paper and a sentence with the animal and the action word. The page turns are action packed themselves. For example an armadillo swims and then quickly leaps on the next page to avoid a crocodile. I plan to use this for a lesson on action words in the context of a first grade unit on motion. Notes about the animals and how they move follow the body of the text.

Grades 1-4