After reading Linda Joy Singleton’s newest picture book Cash Kat we think she is the coolest grandma in the world! This book was inspired by a game with her grandson where he learned to count money by helping out and then buying rewards with the money he earned.
Cash Kat starts out with Gram Hatter and Kat setting off on a treasure hunt. This crafty grandma folds many hats as the pair encounter new challenges volunteering for the park clean up day. Throughout the day Kat has her eye on the ultimate prize, ice cream; but in the end she must choose between her favorite treat or donating her findings to the park.
In celebration of the launch of Cash Kat here is a pattern to make your own paper hat and set out on your own adventure!
Meet the author and illustrator of Cash Kat by visiting the book’s homepage. Where there are many more activities including the “For Creative Minds” section.
Enter to win your very own copy of Cash Kat in our Goodreads giveaway!
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A Cool Summer Tail
by Carrie A. Pearson
illustrated by Christine Wald
Arbordale Publishing 3/01/2014
978-1-62855-205-8
Age 3 to 5 32 pages
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“When summer heats up, animals find ways to stay cool. In A Cool Summer Tail animals wonder how humans stay cool too. Do they dig under the dirt, grow special summer hair, or only come out at night? This companion to the award-winning A Warm Winter Tail features many of [the] same animals but this time, with their summer adaptations, offering an important ‘compare and contrast’ opportunity.”
Opening
“How do humans stay cool in the summer, Mama?
Do they hang out their tongues,
like a spring that’s been sprung,
breathing fast in and out like this?”
Review
The cute fox baby continues on panting, as example for its mama, but she tells it no, humans sweat through their skin. Each animal wonders if humans stay cool the same way they stay cool in the summer. I like this for a reason the author may not have intended. I like that these animals assume we might cool down as they do, because we humans have a tendency to think others behave as we do and this can help kids learn not to make those assumptions. For example, a new kid at school may have different holidays or customs and kids should not assume that child celebrates as they do, or knows the same playground games, or even have the same after school activities.
Back on track to the meaning of A Cool Summer Tail, the animals all want to know how humans stay cool in the summer. In the process, kids will learn about the ways various animals stay cool, from panting, as in the example above, or as in “sliding into a pond” as turtles do, to “hang from their hive,” as bees do to stay cool (flapping its wings to cool the Queen Bee) That one I did not know. In each scenario, the Mama animals tell their children no, and then explains why humans would not stay cool as they stay cool.
Interestingly, with the bees as an example, instead of explaining that humans do not live in a hive, or that they do not have wings to flap, (or even that humans do not cater to a Queen Human), the mama tells her babies that humans would not “bee” willing to hang by their toes (from a hive). That example, in particular, will have children laughing and laughing children will remain interested in the story. Each four-line question on the left page and three-line answer on the right page rhymes two lines. The flow is easy to read and the change in line size in the first and fourth lines from the second and third keeps the question verses interesting to both read and hear.
The very last animal may surprise you. Young children enjoy learning about animals, especially how they compare to themselves. A Cool Summer Tail does this with creative and fun verses that will entertain as well as teach young children. The illustrations are accurate renditions of the animals in each verse, using lots of color in the natural habitat. Interestingly, and often humorous, is a small black and white child cooling off as the baby animal has described. This too will have children laughing and more than one or two trying to imitate this drawing. The entire book is aid out nicely from the fox babies to the very last animal, which might just surprise you. As might this: The author is from Michigan and the illustrator Ohio yet they cooperated on this second book without any Buckeye-Wol . . . wof . . . whatever the other is called, rivalry.
A Cool Summer Tail makes a good story time book, and though written for ages three to five, could be used in kindergarten and first grades, satisfying a science common core. The book is also available as a bilingual (English-Spanish) interactive eBook, with flip-pages and audio. After the text, is a section Arbordale Publishing (formerly Sylvan-Dell Publishing), calls For Creative Minds. This section includes fun facts, comparing the story’s animals from summer to winter, and a matching activity that will check retentive skills as kids match the animal to a method of cooling off in the summer, as learned in the text.
A COOL SUMMER TAIL. Text copyright © 2014 by Carrie A. Pearson. Illustrations copyright © 2014 by Christina Wald. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Arbordale Publishing, Mount Pleasant, SC.
Purchase A cool Summer Tail a Amazon—B&N—Book Depository—iTunes—Arbordale Publishing—at your favorite bookstore.
Learn more about A Cool Summer Tail and find additional activities HERE.
Meet the author, Carrie A. Pearson, at her website: www.carriepearsonbooks.com
Meet the illustrator, Christina Wald, at her website: www.christinawald.com
Find more non-fiction at Arbordale Publishing’s website: http://www.arbordalepublishing.com/
Sylvan Dell Publishing is now Arbordale Publishing.
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Also by Carrie A. Pearson with Christina Wald
A Warm Winter Tail
Un invierno muy abrigador (Spanish Edition)
Also by Christina Wald
Animal Atlas
Macarooned on a Dessert Island
The Fort on Fourth Street: A Story About the Six Simple Machines
Read Review HERE.
When Crabs Cross the Sand: The Christmas Island Crab Migration 2015
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copyright © 2014 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews
Filed under:
4stars,
Children's Books,
Library Donated Books,
NonFiction,
Picture Book,
Series Tagged:
animals,
Arbordale Publishing,
Carrie A. Pearson,
children's book reviews,
Christina Wald,
cooling mechanisms of wild animals versus humans,
nonfiction picture book,
SylvanDell Publishing 
Reviewed by Amy M. O’Quinn for the National Writing for Children Center
Title: Henry The Impatient Heron
Author: Donna Love
Illustrator:Christina Wald
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Sylvan Dell Publishing (February, 2009)
ISBN-13:978-1934359907
ISBN-10: 1934359904
Henry just cannot be still! He’s here, there, and everywhere, driving his parents and siblings crazy. And while other Great Blue Herons can stand still for hours, then strike out and catch a fish or salamander, Henry can only itch, twitch, scratch and flap. There’s just too much to do and too much to see to be still—at least until his tummy starts to grumble and rumble and he finds himself separated from his family and on his own. Then he quickly realizes that he must feed himself.
Henry has no luck as he wades, darts, twists, and bobs, frightening the fish away. Next, he tries to catch a salamander, then a frog, with comical results as he runs smack into a log. Poor Henry! Feeding himself is no easy task. However, the “log” he ran into is not a log at all. In fact, it’s the leg of The Great Blue Heron, the heron of all herons, and the true King of Camouflage.
Before he flies away, the kind older bird reveals to Henry his secret for staying still. The Great Blue Heron’s advice? The trick is to look like a stick! A fish is afraid of a heron, but not a stick. If Henry can stand very still, the fish will think his legs are sticks and he will have a chance to snag a meal.
Henry decides to give The Great Blue Heron’s suggestion a try. He finds an inlet and thinks to himself, I must think like a fish. I must look like a stick. Even though it’s getting dark and he’s cold and tired, he stands very still. And finally, just before daylight fades, a fish swims by. Quick as a flash, Henry strikes and catches his supper! Full, content, and proud of himself, he settles down to sleep. The impatient heron has learned a valuable life lesson. Sometimes we have to be patient and disciplined to get the result we desire!
Small children are wiggle worms as well! They are always on the move, and the word “patience” has yet to be added to their vocabulary. So they will certainly be able to identify with and be delighted by this wonderful tale about Henry, the Impatient Heron. And parents and teachers will also appreciate all the great educational information that is seamlessly interwoven into the captivating story—a trademark of all Sylvan Dell titles. Readers are exposed to interesting facts about herons and their habitats, yet entertained by the charming story in the process.
And as always, there is a section in the back of the book called ‘For Creative Minds’ that provides optional educational activities, facts, and information. The illustrations by Christina Wald are exceptional and add lots of interest to the book. Learning at its best!
About the Author:
Donna Love is an award-winning author who lives in Montana with her ranger husband in the Lolo National Forest. They have three children. Her book, Awesome Ospreys, became a Skipping Stones Press Honor Award Winner in 2006 for promoting ecological understanding and cooperation around the world. In addition to the gift of writing, Donna has a background in art education and enjoys substitute teaching at the elementary and high school level.
About the Illustrator:
Christina Wald has illustrated for a wide variety of toys, games, books, and magazines. She enjoys research, and she says each new book is a fascinating new learning experience. In addition to illustrating, she enjoys movies, travel and reading. She and her husband live in Cincinnati. Henry the Impatient Heron is Christina’s first book with Sylvan Dell.
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Visit Amy at amyoquinn.com or www.homeschoolblogger.com/picketfencemom.
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