Red Wolves.

Gregory, Josh.  Red Wolves.  Scholastic/Childrens Press     2014  48p  $25.20  ISBN 978-0-531-21227-1 elem series: Nature's Children  Nonfiction VG-BNS     

Elementary students who love red wolves will enjoy this new title.  Beautifully illustrated with glossy color photographs and illustrations, it will provide students with a better understanding of these amazing mammals.  Organized and written in five easy-to-comprehend chapters, it will acquaint readers with these beautiful rare breed animals.  Students learn many different things about red wolves including their physical characteristics, diet, habits, habitats, and where they can be found.   The author touches upon what they hunt, how they survive,  and how these powerful predators are becoming endangered.  Students learn how red wolves live in groups called packs within home ranges or territories, along with information about their mating and how they communicate with each other.  Since red wolves are carnivores, their diet is primarily meat, but they also eat berries and insects.  The author touches upon conservation groups and captive breeding programs to help save red wolves from extinction.

The title includes beautiful color photographs, a fact file on the red wolf, interesting fun-fact boxes, words to know, a habitat map, recommended books and web sites, and a comprehensive index. 

For schools that use Accelerated Reader, a test has already been created, AR Quiz #164721.

As of this review, 57 titles have been published to help readers discover how fascinating creatures survive in the wild, how they raise their young, and how they are related to other species.  Each title also raises important ideas about conservation by examining the animal's current status and explaining the ways humans have affected it throughout the years.     

Summary: “An introduction to the red wolf, covering survival in the wild, raising of young, relationships to other species, and protection and conservation issues.” 

Red wolf                                        --Charleen Forba-Mayer

Gregory, Josh. Wolf Spiders.

Gregory, Josh.  Wolf Spiders.  Scholastic/Childrens Press  2014  48p    $28.00  ISBN 978-0-531-23363-4  series: Nature’s Children  elem/ms  Nonfiction  VG-BNes   

     

Wolf spiders and some other species that are similar to them (nursery web spiders and tarantulas) are described in detail for young readers, with chapters on their physical appearance, their internal organs, their behavior and their history.  There are nearly 2,400 species of wolf spiders, and many of the features that distinguish them from web-spinning spiders are described, such as the fact that pregnant female spiders carry their egg sacs around with them on their spinnerets.  The photographs are excellent, the glossary is fairly good (although defining “organs” as simply “parts of the body” seems inadequate to this reviewer), the chapters are well organized and easy to navigate, there is a good habitat map, and there is a short list of references for further research and a good index.  This book will also appeal to reluctant readers at the middle-school level.

Summary: There are nearly 2,400 species of wolf spiders.  In this informative book for young children, they are described in some detail, with facts about their appearance, their internal organs, their behavior and their history.

Wolf spiders                                                --Carol Kennedy

Orr, Tamara B. Polar Bears.

Orr, Tamara B.  Polar Bears.  Scholastic/Childrens Press   2013  48p   $28.00  ISBN 978-0-531-20980-6      elem series: Nature's Children       E-BN 

From polar bears’ environment to how they raise their cubs, this book is nonstop interesting! Nature’s Children as a series has been around for many years. The quality continues to be outstanding, from the photos of animals in their natural environments to the fluency of their text.  Most striking is the book’s attention to providing measurements that relate to concepts that a child can understand: stating that a baby polar bear weighs around two pounds and then comparing the size to that of a squirrel makes a visual impression that leads to true understanding of the size of a cub, so small when compared to the adult female and male polar bears.  Including a chart with a male polar-bear outline compared to that of a grown human male really puts the enormous size of the polar bear into perspective.  The map of polar bears’ habitats that also shows the puzzling imbedding between grizzlies and polar bears provides scientific “thinkable” moments.  Also of importance are the effects of hunting and global warming that threaten the livelihood of the polar bear.  The information on the ability of bears to swim and survive in the cold are well written and entertaining as well as thought-provoking.  Fun facts, a glossary of highlighted terms, a list for further reading, and an index just add to this outstanding book.      Nature’s Children contains numerous titles about a wide range of animals. Each book contains crisp, colorful photos and the text flows easily, with fascinating facts about each animal. Perfect for report writers in grades 2-5.    

Polar bears                                                       --Lois McNicol

Franchino, Vicky. Tigers.

Franchino, Vicky.  Tigers.               Scholastic/Grolier            48p         19.65     978-0-531-26839-1   2013            elem  VG-Bnes    series: Nature's Children    Nonfiction

Elementary students who love tigers will appreciate this new title.  Beautifully illustrated with glossy color photographs and illustrations, students gain a better understanding of these amazing mammals.  The book is organized into five easy-to-comprehend chapters, and readers will become acquainted with and fall head-over-heels in love with these beautiful tigers.  Students learn many different things about the tigers’ physical characteristics, as well as diet, habits, habitats, and where tigers can be found.  Tigers spend much of their time alone, as they do not live in packs or among other tigers, except that they often share their territory with one tiger of the opposite sex.  The author touches upon tiger cubs and how cubs survive in the wild.  Students gain a better understanding of tigers of the past and present.  While there are six types of tigers, all are considered endangered and most of them live in Asia, if they are not captured and living in a zoo. 

The title includes beautiful color photographs, a fact file on tigers, interesting fun fact boxes, words to know, a habitat map, a list of recommended books and web sites, and a comprehensive index.      

Tigers                                                                                                                                                                                         --Charleen Forba-Mayer