Booklist - Gillian Engberg
"From rats to snails, this title in the Horrible Habitats series examines animal life in unsavory sports, such as sewers, gutters, and dirty puddles. The text, printed in large type, is brief and straightforward and includes a few useful definitions: "A habitat is a place where plants and animals can find what they need to live." Aimed at young readers, who like a gross-out experience, the book’s layout, which includes headings printed against backgrounds that resemble oozing slime, makes the most of sharp color photos, starting with an opening spread that contrasts an aerial shot of a pristine enclave of McMansions with a larger-than-life picture of rats snacking near a sewer grate. Other stomach-turning scenes focus on roaches: "Lots of poo can be found in sewers. This cockroach is eating some." There isn’t enough here to support reports, but the clearly presented, simple facts and memorable images will draw new readers seeking a less cozy take on the animal world. A glossary, list of suggested reading, and an interactive activity ("Follow a Slug") conclude. Recommended– Gillian Engberg<i>Booklist</i>April 2010
November 14, 2011NSTA Recommends - David Tumbarello
Heinemann-Raintree adds to its Read Me collection with a book series that investigates common, but often uncovered, close-to-home habitats. The Horrible Habitats series includes seven primary grade–level books that explore compost heaps, rotten logs and forest floors, streets and alleys, caves and crevices, marshes and pools, garbage cans and landfills, and this volume. Students of all ages will be intrigued and pleasantly disgusted by the 30 or more pages of text and illustrations about each habitat. In Sewers and Gutters, readers will discover page after page of images and descriptions of rats, roaches, snails, and even small alligators. Each book in the series contains topics that span one or two pages, with highlighted key words and plenty of descriptive, captioned, color photography. Many sections contain "Fun Facts," which complement the text with vivid facts about the habitat dweller and may cause a roar in the classroom. "Fun Facts" in the various books tell students that giant leeches can be as long as your arm, female seagulls vomit food into the beaks of their baby chicks, and scorpions have little claws that come out of their mouths to pull at their prey. The "Fun Facts" are sure to bring a chorus of "ooh’s and ahh’s" from young students. Each book ends with four sections—an activity related to the habitat, a glossary, a bibliography entitled "Find Out More" that can be used for enrichment, and a child-friendly index. The bibliography lists websites that can be used for enrichment. Teachers should take time to discuss with students the difference between peer-reviewed scholarship and websites created for entertainment. With informative text, highlighted key words, vivid illustrations, Fun Facts, activities, glossaries, bibliographies, and indexes, this series provides the structure of informative texts that students will encounter in upper grades and beyond. - Reviewed by David Tumbarello, Fourth grade teacher <i> NSTA Recommends</i> Posted on website 11/1/2010
November 1, 2010Library Media Connection - Suzanne Libra
While not good reading material during mealtime, these books will have high interest appeal. If you want to know what goes on in your compost pile or sewer, these books will tell you in some detail. Each book in the series opens with a "What is a habitat?" two-page spread. Although the text is almost identical in each book, the illustrations are different. After the introductory spread, the books go into the specifics of each habitat, discussing the animals, insects, and microbes that exist in the different environments. Each two-page spread has illustrations, captions, text, and often sidebars. Each book also includes a hands-on activity, glossary, further reading list, and website links. Although these books are short, they pack in a lot of useful scientific information in a student-friendly format. My second grader browsed them, and my middle school students read them. This would be a good set to have in the room during a unit on habitats or adaptation. Recommended.–Suzanne Libra, Teacher Librarian, Silver Hills Middle School, Westminster, Colorado [Editor’s Note: Also available in paperback.]<i>Library Media Connection</i> May/June 2010
November 14, 2011
