Marion Dane Bauer

A readers series about Natural places in America: one sentence facts about the length, animals, and number of hikers are set out to inform the reader about the Appalachian Trail. The illustrations include some people of color. Watercolor illustrations accompany the explanation of the Appalachian Trail.
Since it is a level one reader, the typeface is large, and there are short sections of text on each or every other page. More difficult words are spelled out phonetically. The last page includes interesting facts about the trail for an advanced reader. This series could entice those interested in the natural beauty of America in 2nd grade.
Written
Pre Kindergarten through 1st grade
AD+… (altro)

Alright. I have mixed feelings on this book.

I loved the illustrations. They are impactful and vibrant--full of life and vitality. They look like paint splotches that create the pictures mentioned in the text. Or they look like milk paint (look it up. It's a fun science experiment!) I also love that there are "hard" words, hard adverbs, in the book. Increasing a child's vocabulary is vital!

But why then did I give it a 3 star review? For me, it's because I don't believe in the Big Bang....and that's what this is about. =/ Or it has that premise. I can appreciate the book for all the beauty in it and I can see where most will LOVE this. But sometimes, on topics of my worldview, I can struggle. I think there are a lot of redeeming qualities in "The Stuff of Stars" that makes this book worth reading. But it isn't one I must add to my bookshelf at home.… (altro)

Have you ever looked up at the night sky and wondered about that big bright light in the sky? Then this book is for you as it describes the basics of the moon.

This Level One Ready-to-Read serves as a very basic science primer. It begins with a glossary, which I found to be an interesting but useful choice. I also thought how the pronunciations in the parentheses being preceded by the description “say” was a helpful tool for young readers.

As this is designed for children beginning to read on their own, the text is kept simple with a relatively limited vocabulary (beyond some scientific terms necessary to explain the moon). This also means it could be a good tool for read-alouds for teachers of even very young children.

The illustrations aren’t really my style – a little more wispy than realistic – but they seem likely to be enjoyed by the target audience of young readers and have a bedtime-story quality to them that is fitting for a book about the moon.

Because it is a fairly slim book, there were a couple of times when I thought it could use a little more explanation. For instance, one page spread talks about how the moon has been used for ages accompanied by an illustration of a sailing ship similar to the days of the explorers. However, it does not go on to state how the moon was used for navigational purposes but leaves this for readers to assume (or not understand).

The final page includes some "interesting facts" about the moon but unlike many nonfiction titles, there are no sources listed for either a bibliography or where to go for more information.… (altro)