nature

Nonfiction Monday – Life in the Boreal Forest

| Tasha

Life in the Boreal Forest by Brenda Z. Guiberson, illustrations by Gennady Spirin.

Released on September 29, 2009.

This book so clearly captures the beauty and life in the boreal forest that one can almost hear the birds and smell the freshness of the air.  The great northern forest stretches from Alaska and Canada to Scandinavia and Russia Showing the brevity of the northern summer, the activity of the stark winter months, and the glory of the spring and the return of warmth will bring readers face-to-face with nature and its drama.  Spirin’s illustrations show delicate detail, dazzling vistas, and many many animals.  This is a book to sink into, explore and learn.

Guiberson’s text is filled with sounds, from bird calls to wolves howling to smaller noises like hares hopping on snow.  Each sound and its explanation brings this unique ecosystem to life.  Her words create an understanding through the small details of the importance of this forest for all of us.  Spirin excels as capturing animals with their small details and yet showing the forest itself as more than a background, as a living thing.  Her art is large and breathtaking even while the details are shown.

Highly recommended, this book is a great nature book for children.  For children in the north, this book is like coming home.  For everyone it is important to see forests celebrated in this way.  Appropriate for ages 6-9.

Reviewed from copy received from Henry Holt.

Pond Circle

| Tasha

Pond Circle by Betsy Franco, illustrated by Stefano Vitale

Follow the life cycle in a small pond as this story builds one layer on the next in a traditional folktale style.  The book starts with the “deep, still water” and moves from one plant to creature growing and growing.  This is a simple story that culminates in a young girl looking out from her window over the pond and seeing all of the creatures and plants mentioned.  By tying humans into the story, we are connected and reminded of the world around us in a subtle way.  I also appreciated as the repetition got to get lengthy that the phrasing changed slightly and was refreshed. 

The writing is excellent with small touches that make it very special.  I appreciate the descriptive language of “jade green algae” for instance.  What takes this book to a higher level is the art.  Painted on wood, the art incorporates the swirls of the wood grain into watery waves, sunset-lit clouds, and even wallpaper.  Ingeniously selected and painted to great effect, the paintings are stylish, colorful and reflect that traditional but modern feel of the entire book.

Highly recommended for units on life cycles, this book will work well with very small children who will enjoy the repetition but also with older children who will appreciate the science and style.  Appropriate for ages 2-7.