University of Chicago Press
www.press.uchicago.edu/ 1427 E. 60th Street
Chicago, IL 60637
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These books are paperbacks of about 30 pages each with gorgeous
illustrations. In the back of each book is some information about
the subject of the story that will supplement the child's study
of the animal.
A Caribou Journey tells about this Arctic animal and
its migration patterns, the food it eats, its physical characteristics,
its behaviors, and even the origin of its name. The story is interesting
to children because it is about a mother caribou and her calf.
This is a compelling theme to young children as we have observed
in the movie Bambi. Young children are all about their mothers
and enjoy stories dealing with mothers and their offspring. My
five-year-old granddaughter was entranced by the activities of
this caribou calf and its mother.
A Wooly Mammoth Journey tells the story of the now-extinct
wooly mammoth. It begins with a tusk being found in the present
day and then tells the story of a wooly mammoth family group. Interestingly,
mammoths are not the only creatures pictured in the pages of this
book. One page shows some Indians, and another page shows some
wolves. The information page in the back of the book points out
that mammoths died out much more recently than dinosaurs. Then
there is some conjecture about the "millions of years / age of
the earth" theory which you may want to skip. Another "date" is
mentioned on the first page of the story (the one about the tusk
being found). The rest of the story is devoid of these types of
conjectures.
These are great for supplemental reading when studying animals
in science or geography. My granddaughters enjoy learning about
animals and devour this type of book. I know these books will be
a much used part of our library. I recommend both books for homeschoolers
with the exception of the first and last pages of the wooly mammoth
book.
Product review by Christine Hindle, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine,
LLC, November 2010
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