The Beavers' Busy Year

July 1, 2014
Illustrated with full-double-spread color photographs (some unfortunately hampered by the gutter), this is a lively exploration of beaver life. Holland reveals a wealth of information about these animals and the ways in which they are well-adapted to their unusual lives: e.g., their "see-through eyelids that serve as goggles" and hind-foot toenails used to "remove splinters from between their teeth." Denser additional information is appended.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

May 1, 2014

K-Gr 4-These three books each take a different look at the animal world. Animal Helpers looks at the many individuals that are needed to keep an aquarium running: aquarists, biologists, curators, and veterinarians. Clear, crisp photographs show the peace of the underwater world. Busy Year gives a description of beaver activities through the seasons. It has more text than the first book and includes multiple facts, making it ideal for reports for the upper end of the grade range. It has a lot of full-color photographic close-ups of beaver life, perfect for browsing. In a rhyming text, Summer Tail takes a more lighthearted look at what animals do to keep cool in the summer. Each animal baby asks its mother if humans do whatever that animal does to stay cool. For instance, squirrels lick themselves to make heat disappear from their skin. Large paintings depict the animals enacting their summer routines, while a smaller pen-and-ink sketch shows a human trying to do the same. The best thing about these books are the "For Creative Minds" sections in the back. They have a range of activities that include additional facts, matching games, and links to even more activities on the Internet.-Susan E. Murray, formerly at Glendale Public Library, AZ

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2014
Grades K-3 Naturalist Holland's latest is part nonfictional photo-essay and part endearing narrative about some of earth's most unusual mammals. The story follows a group of beavers over the course of a year as they break the last of winter's ice, eat spring shoots, birth and rear their young, improve their dams, and winter in sturdy lodges. Much focus is placed on their unmatched ability to engineer their own habitats, but other topics are also explored, such as their social behaviors, diet, and life cycle. The text is rich in facts and is perfectly complemented with full-page color photographs of beavers on the move. A reproducible creative minds section in the back matter poses higher-order critical inquiries based on extra factual text and photographic clues. As a learning resource, the book is standards-aligned and ready-made for cross-curricular studies. Proof positive that nonfiction for emergent readers can be equal parts attractive, informative, and entertaining.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)