This book is a great introductory piece to citizen science. The author addresses citizen science chronologically using the seasons. I would definitely introduce my students to this book because they may be able to find citizen science projects to take part in. ( )

This book includes four main sections based on the seasons and an focus for each. It also includes information on including science and nature in our everyday lives and caring for the environment. This is supported by a glossary, quizes, and references to additional resources.

****Please note that I won this book as part of the Goodreads First Reads Giveaway program****

Originally posted on Melissa's Midnight Musings: http://midnight-orchids.blogspot.com/2012/07/review-citizen-scientists-be-part-o...


I have to say right off the bat that this is a great book. It's informative, well written, and most important of all, fun.

The first thing that caught my eye was the author's definition of citizen science. It's a very basic definition but still important. Burns defines citizen science as: "The study of our world by the people who live in it."

This resonated for me in particular because having my degree in Sociology, I can really relate to that. Granted, Sociology is more narrowly defined, being that it's the scientific study of society and the way it works, but broadly, the two are very similar.

Although the book is meant for children, to help foster their love for learning and studying animals, I really think adults can learn a lot from it too.

The language is easily broken down and well illustrated by lots of pictures and examples of the activity that the author is describing. The author also really promotes getting outside, and doing these different tasks in order to help the various species and the research efforts for each one.

I really enjoyed the structure of the book. It's divided into four sections, one for each of the four seasons, with each season highlighting a different animal. Fall is dedicated to butterflies, Winter to birds, Spring to frogs, and Summer to ladybugs. There are also quizzes at the end of each section. Plus there's an extensive list of resources and an excellent glossary at the back of the book as well.

I believe that this book is geared toward ages 10-12 but I really think that any age child can enjoy it, even if it just means looking at the photos. The photos, by the way are beautiful and varied.

I'd recommend this to anyone who has a curious youngster (or who may just be curious themselves) who wants to learn about these animals.
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review: This book does a good job of giving a lot of information on all different kind of animals and insects but it ties each animal in by also pairing it with a time during the year like fall or winter. I thought that gave it a fun spin and also helps students categorize some of the animals and when they are active. I think the overall look of this science book is attractive and screams science. The diagrams the pictures and all the other text feature are definitely all there to help engage students This book does have a ton of reading and would definitely be for higher grades but at the same time the reading is easy. IT also has a cool quick quiz at the end of each chapter which is fun and would help with student comprehension or at least keep them focused while reading the book.

Summary: Well there are multiple chapters so depending on what animal each chapter is little different but the information that they give for each one is similar and all go through the same process. The first chapter is about butterflies and how you catch them and tag then so that we can get more information on the monarch butterfly. It gives us tons of facts about the butterflies and how long we have been studying them. Talking about their journey from Texas to southern Canada. Answer questions like how many butterfly survive that journey and what happen to those who don't? This book goes through the different seasons for example fall butterfly, winter birding, Spring Frogging Summer lady bugging. A book that tells you how to catch them and all about the discovery. ( )

Great book! I love the way this book invites the reader to be citizen scientist too. There are facts about butterflies, frogs, birds, and ladybugs. There is a lot of information in this book yet it doesn't feel overwhelming. I loved all of the photography as well. I would absolutely read this book a chapter a day in a classroom setting to peak their interest in science throughout the lesson. ( )