National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry is a large keepsake book full of gorgeous animal photography, and includes poems about animals from many well-known poets such as Robert Frost, Ogden Nash, Hilaire Belloc, Mary Ann Hoberman, and many more.

I really had no idea there were so many child-friendly poems about so many different kinds of animals. The book is organized into sections which start off with some well-known animals such as "the big ones" and "the winged ones" but goes on to include categories like "the strange ones" and "the noisy ones." 

We're reading through this book this year and my kids and I are enjoying it. Some poems are funny, most are short, most are also straightforward, though some are more abstract, but the photography helps anchor the subject matter. This would be a great book for any home with children -- but also for adults who love animals and poetry too!

Scrounged From: Amazon

Format: Hardcover
Author: Various -- edited by J. Patrick Lewis
Pages: 192
Content Advisory: None

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At first I wasn't sure whether The Honeybee might be a little too cartoonish for my tastes, and it's true that the bees are depicted in a whimsical way, but I ended up really enjoying this book for several reasons:

1. Isabelle Arsenault's illustrations. I'm not the only one who's now on a quest to read all of her books, but after this and You Belong Here, I adore the way she portrays nature, especially here with the lovely balance of colors, and the bright shades of gold which are vibrant without being garish. 

2. While the bees are given faces and look a bit cutesy, this book still aims to be accurate in its depiction of how bees spend their lives, from foraging to making honey to dancing, and more. This book would work great for a science unit on bees, perhaps along with Charlotte Milner's more fact-laden The Bee Book.

3. The text is poetic rather than straight narrative, but it also retains enough structure (such as rhyme) and focus to tell the story of bees in a linear, engaging way. There are so many action words here that even the text itself seems buzzing with the exuberance and busyness of the bees. 

Scrounged From: Our local library

Format: Hardcover
Author: Kirsten Hall
Illustrator: Isabelle Arsenault
Pages: 48
Content Advisory: None

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I really enjoyed Charlotte Milner's The Bee Book (see my review here), and even based a homeschool summer science unit around it. So I was happy for the chance to review The Sea Book, another installment (rhyming, even!) from the same author/illustrator. 

Like the previous book, this one features clear designs and colorful illustrations (with lots of blue, of course), and begins with the big picture of the oceans on our planet, and then "zooms in" to look at specific areas and ecosystems (such as coral reefs, kelp forests, and the arctic), as well many examples of the types of sea creatures that inhabit them. The blocks of text are fairly short and concise, but there are enough pages here that this would probably be best read in multiple sittings, at least if read to young children.

The last few pages focus on the problem of plastic trash in the ocean, and give some ideas for how we can help keep our planet clean. There is also a tutorial for how to make a reusable shopping bag out of an old T-shirt! I like how this section seems to flow in a straightforward manner from the rest of the book and takes the problem seriously without coming across as heavy-handed.

I think this one will be a great addition to our homeschool library as well.

(Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.)

Scrounged From: NetGalley.com

Format: Kindle
Author/Illustrator: Charlotte Milner
Pages: 48
Content Advisory: None

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Counting Birds starts off as the story of a man named Frank Chapman, who decided to do something to combat what was a Christmas tradition in some places 100+ years ago: shooting birds for fun. 

His idea of an annual "bird count" has since developed into a massive citizen science project organized by the Audubon Society. This book celebrates the joy of discovery and conservation of our feathered friends, in a way that reminds me of The Sky Painter, which features another bird lover who also decided to find a way to depict birds without shooting them (see my review here).

That spirit of conservation is present here, displaying an attitude of enjoyment and appreciation of wild birds, and portraying the thrill of the "hunt" as well as the benefit this participation can be to science.

The last few pages give some more information on how the bird count works, and how the average citizen can participate. This is definitely something I'd like to be involved in someday, and would make a great homeschool project.

Oh, and, plot twist! When I read the page about calling owls, I couldn't help but think of Jane Yolen's Owl Moon. Turns out the author of this book is actually her daughter, who is the girl who goes owl calling with her father in Owl Moon. Nifty!

(Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.)

Scrounged From: NetGalley

Format: Kindle
Author: Heidi E. Y. Stemple
Illustrator: Clover Robin
Pages: 32
Content Advisory: One scene shows a bunch of dead birds lying on the ground, but it's from a distance and not graphic.

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I enjoyed this book about Robert Bateman, Canadian painter, naturalist, and conservationist, even though I'd never heard of him before reading it. The best part is the artwork -- the book includes several of his paintings of animals, natural sights, and people exploring, and they're beautifully realistic. Some of them I could hardly believe weren't photographs at first glance.

The text is fairly spare and straightforward, and focuses on his observations and growth as a painter -- in many cases it simply names different things that he painted, so this book would work well for young children with short attention spans, though the artwork should appeal to all ages. At the end there's a longer biography of Bateman's life and work.

(Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.)

Scrounged From: NetGalley

Format: Kindle
Author: Margriet Ruurs
Illustrator: Robert Bateman
Pages: 40
Content Advisory: None

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