NSTA - David Tumbarello
Heinemann-Raintree adds to its Read Me collection with this book series that investigates common, but often-uncovered, close-to-home habitats. The Horrible Habitats series includes seven primary grade-level books entitled Sewers & Gutters; Rotten Logs & Forest Floors; Streets & Alleys; The Compost Heap; Marshes & Pools; Garbage Cans & Landfills; and this volume, Caves & Crevices. Students of all ages will be intrigued and pleasantly disgusted by the 30 or more pages of text and illustrations about each habitat. In Caves and Crevices, readers will discover page after page of images and descriptions of daddy long legs, scorpions, vultures, vampire bats, and many more mysterious cave dwellers. Each book contains topics that span one or two pages, with highlighted key words and plenty of descriptive and captioned color photography. Many sections contain "Fun Facts," which complement the text with a vivid fact about the habitat dweller and may cause a roar in the classroom. With "Fun Facts," students will learn that giant leeches can be as long as your arm, that female seagulls vomit food into the beaks of their baby chicks, and that 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 "oh’s and ahh’s" from young students. Each book ends with 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 use this as an opportunity 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, a glossary, a bibliography, and an index, this series provides the structure of informative text books that students will encounter in upper grades and beyond. - David Tumbarello <i>NSTA</i> Website 9/29/2010
November 14, 2011Library 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
