Animals in Winter (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 1 Series)

by Henrietta Bancroft, Richard G. Van Gelder, Helen K. Davie

Overview

While watching winter's snows blanket the Earth, what child hasn't wondered, 'What will the rabbits do? Or the birds?' This wonderfully simple Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science book explains the many ways animals have of coping with harsh weather. Helen K. Davie's elegant illustrations perfectly evoke the season.

Author Biography: Henrietta Bancroft taught nature study and elementary science at the Walden School in New York.

Richard G. Van Gelder was the chairman of the Mammology Department at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

Helen K. Davie has illustrated many books for children, including What Lives in a Shell? by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld, and Echoes for the Eye: Poems to Celebrate Patterns in Nature by Barbara Juster Esbensen. Ms. Davie lives in San Jose, CA.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780780772137
Publisher:	Harpercollins Childrens Books
Publication date:	01/28/1997
Series:	Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science Series: Level 1
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.25(d)
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Henrietta Bancroft taught nature study and elementary science at the Walden School in New York.

Richard G. Van Gelder was the chairman of the Mammology Department at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

Helen K. Davie has illustrated many books for children, including What Lives in a Shell? by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld, and Echoes for the Eye: Poems to Celebrate Patterns in Nature by Barbara Juster Esbensen. Ms. Davie lives in San Jose, CA.

Helen K. Davie's lovely watercolors have appeared in many children's books, including What Lives in a Shell? by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfield, and Animals in Winter by Henrietta Bancroft and Richard G. Van Gelder. She lives in Templeton, CA.

Editorial Reviews

Winter is a wonderful time if you are in a heated house in front of a warm fireplace. It can be a challenging and difficult time if you are living outside as wild animals do. Strategies for surviving the winter are quite varied. Some animals hibernate. Some migrate. Some store food. Some hunt for food, even though little is available. This book looks at these fairly familiar approaches as well as less familiar techniques such as animals that actually preserve food. Pikas, a rabbit-like animal that lives in the high mountains, cut more summer grass than they can eat. They then spread the grass on flat stones where the sun dries it. By the end of a summer, a pika may have gathered fifty pounds of preserved grass that it then hides under rocks (where it stays dry). This "Let's-Read-And-Find-Out Science Book" has full-page drawings of the animals and includes suggestions on ways we can help wild animals get through the winter.

Children's Literature - Dia L. Michels

PreS-Gr 1Originally published in 1963, this revised and updated series title adds even more allure to its nature lesson with a new full-color format and the inclusion of suggestions for easy ways to feed animals in winter. Davie's brightly colored paintings bring the revised text to life through the realistic portrayal of animals, birds, and butterflies in their natural habitats. In addition, the diagrams of the woodchuck's underground tunnels and illustrations showing a pika and bats asleep in their winter burrow and cave provide concrete examples of the term "hibernation." The rural neighborhood setting featuring houses, gardens, and two children on the first and last pages adds a note of familiarity. This brief, simple introduction to animal survival in winter contains just enough facts to satisfy youngsters' curiosity, and the attractive format makes learning fun.Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH

School Library Journal

Winter is coming, and the animals are preparing: Some birds, bats, and butterflies migrate; other animals hibernate. The squirrel and pika gather food and store it; mice, deer, rabbits, and the handsome red fox on the dust jacket forage and hunt all winter long. The concluding pages show ways to help animals during the season: leaving seeds, suet, and fruit for the birds; dried corn for the squirrels; and shrubs with berries for foragers. A surprising amount of information appears in the short sentences and brief text of this Let's-Read-and-Find-Out title. Most of the animals, appearing without their scientific names, are familiar, with the exception of the pika. The illustrations are unusually attractive, swept clean of extraneous detail, and using a limited palette to heighten the drama: One effective spread shows brown deer and white snow against a stormy green-black sky. An informative volume.

Kirkus Reviews