About Crustaceans: A Guide for Children

by Cathryn Sill, John Sill (Illustrator)

Overview

Any young seashore visitor or beachcomber will enjoy this beginner's guide to crustaceans from Cathryn and John Sill, creators of the celebrated About... series.

In this volume from the series, educator and author Cathryn Sill uses simple, easy-to-understand language to teach children what crustaceans are, how they look, how they protect themselves, what they eat, and where they live.

With beautifully detailed, realistic paintings, noted wildlife illustrator John Sill introduces readers to the diversity of the crustacean population, from the sand fiddler crab to the California rock lobster. An afterword provides more details about the species featured.

This books is ideal for casual explorations into nature as well as for early childhood and elementary science units on animals.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781561454051
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	03/06/2007
Series:	About. . . , #8
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 8.47(h) x 0.12(d)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Cathryn Sill, a graduate of Western Carolina University, was an elementary school teacher for thirty years. She is the author of more than twenty-five prize-winning nonfiction picture books about animals and habitats. She has created three nature series especially for pre-K and kindergarten students. She lives in North Carolina.

John Sill holds a BS in wildlife biology from North Carolina State University. Combining his knowledge of wildlife and artistic skill, John has achieved an impressive reputation as a wildlife artist and received many awards. He has illustrated more than twenty-five books in the About... and About Habitats series. He lives in North Carolina.

Editorial Reviews

PreS-Gr 2-Full-page, realistic paintings face white pages with simple sentences. A basic description of what makes an animal a crustacean is followed by explanations of how these invertebrates use their senses, move around, protect themselves, find food, and fit into our world. Done in bright watercolors, the illustrations give a sense of these creatures' different habitats, and captions identify all of the species shown by their common names. An afterword reprints each painting in a small black-and-white version and provides more facts about the specific animals and processes depicted. This is an excellent example of easy nonfiction, perfect for beginning readers or for sharing aloud with budding naturalists.-Susan Oliver, Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library System, FL Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

A young naturalist's guide to the hard-bodied creatures often spotted at the seashore introduces crustaceans as animals that have a hard shell protecting their soft bodies. Children will especially enjoy the cooler facts that are included-crustaceans shed their shells when they get too small, some have eyes on stalks, and some can even regenerate a lost limb. Sill explains the difference between a scavenger and a predator, as well as the fact that crustaceans are also an important part of the food chain. The text features simple language and short sentences and defines vocabulary within the sentence, making it easy for children to learn new words. Marvelous paintings evoke the seashore, with all its color and fluidity. Each plate is numbered and labeled with the crustacean's name, along with the names of other animals in the scene. An afterword gives more details about the animals featured, but would be more appealing to young readers if it were opposite the full-color illustrations instead of at the back of the book and in black and white. An excellent first resource book for young children. (Picture book/nonfiction. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews

"The clarity of layout, text, and illustration gives this book an accessible look, while the quality of the presentation makes it well worth sharing in the classroom." —Booklist

"Marvelous paintings evoke the seashore, with all its color and fluidity. . . An excellent first resource book for young children." —Kirkus Reviews

"This is an excellent example of easy nonfiction, perfect for beginning readers or for sharing aloud with budding naturalists." —School Library Journal

From the Publisher