Carmen BredesonReseñas

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Science
An introduction to the planets and other celestial bodies such as asteroids, meteorites, comets, and moons

At the onset itself, Bredeson introduces this book with terms like chameleon, gecko, hatchling, etc., with pronounciation methods which should be helpful not only for the regular students but for also 504 accommodated students. The book highlights various topics and sub-topics about like habits and habitats of the creatures, provides a comparative understanding of the biggest and the smallest lizards, feeding habits, methods and styles of predation, amongst others. One of the most interesting parts is where the author explains how some lizards fool their enemies(p13). This topic elaborates on the theory of coloration and mimicry suitably for grades 6 to 9. Bredeson's book is one of educational biology with several illustrations on life cycles of lizards such as on frilled lizard and desert Agama, etc. Once the students get an opportunity to read aloud and view the pictures, they would most definitely be engaged in discussion with their peers and learn through the inquiry-based lesson.

Informative book about the different kinds of rocks you might find out in nature. It's premise is that you should be aware because there are all types of rocks around us and they are all different and have different uses.

Age 3-8
Source ECE Pierce College Library

This book talks about different types of rocks, their shape, color and makeup.
Pierce College Library

This book would be good for early readers or to maybe jump start a lesson for students. The weird facts would be a great way to spark student interest in learning about the human body.

Good and informational to know about the astronauts, space shuttle and space suit. Even this book is for adults not only for kids.

Response - I want to go back in time. I loved the story and the photos of the Toll House Inn. How fun it would be to be at one of the holiday parties.

Curricular connections - unit on biographies or inventions; informational text for reading groups

Poison Dart Frogs are one of my favorite animals. This is a great introduction to the world of Poison Dart Frogs. With brief text, just enough to get the point across and colorful up-close pictures that draw readers eyes in and promote interest in this amazing animal.

Where the frogs live, how they are poisonous, how they get around and how they reproduce are established. This book will be sure to stimulate interest in learning more about Poison Dart frogs.

This book was provided for free in return for an honest review.

Photographs, low-level readability, high interest

Through engaging text, photographs, and personal accounts, this book shares the true story of Douglas Mawson's 1911-1914 expedition to Antarctica. In addition to dramatic episodes of danger and harsh conditions, the text provides insights into everyday life at the time, such as a list of rations for one day on the trail (p.32). Published and produced by National Geographic, this book is well-researched and contains lots of historical photographs and images. Although the photos are all black and white, they are high-quality, richly detailed, and quite large.

For readers living in the Northwest, with its legacy of the Klondike expeditions and early settlers, this book could easily complement a unit of Northwest history.

Lots of pictures of different sea shells. one picture per page with definition and description.
preschool

Last week we had a school wide unit study on Louisiana, concluding with "Louisiana Day" on Friday wherein students rotated to four centers around campus. We had Zydeco music with square dancing, second-line handkerchief decorating, a scavenger hunt with fun facts about LA, and our very own Jackson Square complete with caricature drawings of classmates. In Jackson Square each grade level was responsible for a table display and Kindergarten had Louisiana wildlife. We made a life-size diorama out of our water/sand table by filling it with mud to make a swamp. The boys created animals to place inside the swamp and we studied these animals all week.

In preparation for Louisiana Day, I went to our school library to check-out our nonfiction collection. The first book I chose was Fun Facts About Alligators by Carmen Bredeson. This book is a nice little elementary level book that provides facts about alligators for young readers. Each page contains a question with an explanation following. My favorite pages explored the difference between a crocodile and an alligator, and provided a great compare/contrast discussion for our class. The photographs throughout the book were excellent and my boys commented on them. I was excited when one student asked me to check the back of the book to see who took the pictures since it wasn't provided on the cover. Another exciting aspect was that most of the boys are reading on this level or higher, so I have been able to call guest readers to come up and read the page for us. They love doing this, and this book was perfect for such an activity.

Grades 4-6

Students who enjoy a high degree of yuck will love this series. Life in the Middle Ages was a dirty business, and this title doesn't pull any punches when it comes to describing poop in the streets, filthy water, leprosy, leeches, and plagues. As kids get plenty of the "EWWWW" factor, they'll be picking up a surprising amount of information about why diseases were so rampant, which treatments worked and which made patients worse, and how the plague actually helped peasants demand better conditions. And of course, learning about the barber's role as doctor and amputator (from the book: the red and white striped poles we see today are a carryover from barber surgeons advertising their work by wrapping bloody rags around a pole). Who knew?

Regardless of where one lives in the country, it's probable that at least several of these beautifully photographed birds will look familiar - House Sparrow, Robin, Cardinal and Crow are just a few of the nine featured birds. A photograph of each bird is on the left side, with a simple, one page "chapter," on the facing page,

"Barn Swallow
These birds zip through the air.
They catch bugs while they fly.
Barn swallows have long tails.
Their tails look like the letter V."


That's it! Short and simple - all that a young one needs to know.

Each concludes with "Read More," "Web Sites," "Index," as well as the book's Guided Reading Level and word count.

I don't think these are the perfect books for sharing with a large group, but I would definitely have wanted them at home when my children were small. At approximately 7"x 6", these simple nonfiction books are perfect for little hands and invite backyard and neighborhood discovery.

This series should inspire budding naturalists (and their parents!) to get outside and discover.
(http://shelf-employed.blogspot.com)

awesome.

Describes the discovery, exploration, atmosphere, geography and moons of Neptune.

This book was really interesting. I think that this is a great book for older children to read, especially if they want to learn more about explorers or the Antartica expeditions. This is a great book to use for research reports, especially for children just starting out researching topics. This book was really intense, a book definitely directed towards older audiences, even adults. The story started with a brief history of Douglas Mawson's life, then focused on his near-fatal expedition. The story was truly amazing.

This is a very good book for young children, ages 3 to 5, that teaches them about space and opens up their curiosity for it.

Fun facts, interesting vocabulary and vivid pictures help bring the text to life!