On the Move: Mass Migrations

by Scotti Cohn Narrated by Helen German

Overview

Imagine seeing hundreds of the same type of animal gathered at the same place at the same time!

Right here in North America, many animals gather in huge numbers at predictable times and locations. Not all migrations are tied to seasonal food changes ¿ some are tied to life cycles. Certain birds, reptiles, mammals, amphibians, fish, and even insects migrate during spring, summer, fall, or winter.

Travel along with them as you learn about what puts these animals On the Move.

©2013 Scotti Cohn (P)2015 Arbordale Publishing

Editorial Reviews

Children's Literature - Amy S. Hansen

Animals move through this fun, brightly painted book that describes the migration patterns of salamanders, sand hill cranes, caribou, polar bears, and others. The animals are not personified, but their needs and hungers are explained plainly, making their travels a bit more understandable. Cohn writes that animals gather in large groups "to find food, or give birth in a warm, safe place." Overall, the writing is satisfactory—it is the illustrations that draw the reader in and give the animals a sense of being. I can imagine young readers paging through, not yet ready to decode every word, but wanting to see these lovely creatures. After the brief introduction, each double-page spread covers a different animal, so students who love whales, or fish, or the wonderful elephant seals, will find "their" animal's highlighted. The book will be a favorite of animal enthusiasts. My only complaint, and it is minor, is the layout is not consistent with how the paragraphs are defined. Some pages have indentations and others do not. As this is a book for a young reader who is just learning to understand the concept of the paragraph, I wish the designer had been consistent. Back matter includes a section titled "For Creative Minds." This provides more detailed information about each of the animals mentioned as well as study questions that could be used in classes or at home. Reviewer: Amy S. Hansen

Kirkus Reviews

Animal migrations offer an opportunity to see hundreds or thousands of the same species gathered in one place. Spread by spread, in short paragraphs of straightforward exposition set on illustrations showing the animals in their habitats, Cohn describes when, where and why a sampling of North American mammals, reptiles, fish, birds, amphibians and even invertebrates come together and move. Some migrations are familiar--monarch butterflies and sandhill cranes--and others may be surprising in this context, like the nightly movement of bats from a cave or the gathering of snakes in their winter dens. Species linked on the food chain may be described together: the horseshoe crabs and red knots who feed on their eggs; salmon and bald eagles. The author makes an effort to enliven these descriptions with interesting verbs. Salamanders "squiggle across fields." Chimney swifts "chitter and chatter." But sometimes word choice trumps facts. Because horseshoe crabs aren't really crabs, they don't "scuttle out of the bay." They crawl, very slowly. Combined with the extra facts in the backmatter curiously labeled as "For Creative Minds," these informational bits may help young learners broaden their understanding of animal migration, but they won't deepen it. For that, teachers will want to turn to titles about specific species or the Seymour Simon and Elsa Warnick series that includes They Swim the Seas (1998). An additional resource only. (Nonfiction. 5-9)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171372163
Publisher:	EIGHTBALL
Publication date:	11/15/2019
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

Related Subjects

• Kids
• Animals - Kids
• Animals - General & Miscellaneous - Kids

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