Young Children - May 2008 - (Page 59) window just as Prunella is finally about to present one of her bugs for show-andtell. Will her moment in the spotlight be lost? Of course not, because a classroom full of bees is a classroom in need of a quick-thinking insect expert, and Prunella is just that. This book teaches real science lessons in the context of a fun story that will remind readers of all the times they were told, “Not now.” We also appreciate that Gran isn’t afraid to depart from bug-lover stereotypes and casts a girl as this book’s main character. Up, Down, and Around, by Katherine Ayres. Illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott. 2007. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick. 28 pp. ISBN 9780763623784. Ages 3 to 7. With modern life more and more disconnected from the farm, readers will enjoy this Copyright © 2008 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. See celebratory title that might UAAA-0707-017 AD Permissions and Reprints online at Page 1 8/17/07 8:45 AM www.journal.naeyc.org/about/permissions.asp. just clear up a few misconceptions while providing entertainment. Upbeat, colorful illustrations portray a father and two children planting, tending, and then harvesting their garden. With rhythm and rhyme, the book highlights the distinction between foods that grow up (cornstalks, red pepper plants, and broccoli), foods that grow down (carrots, potatoes, and beets), and the vegetable vines that twist around and around (pumpkins, tomatoes, and cucumbers). Illustrations showing a cross secInfluence the mind of a child tion of root vegetables growing and you can change their life forever. underground lend a scientific feel to this decidedly playful title, and the Whether it’s a new direction or a lifetime goal, earning your B.A. or M.A. combination is winning. Westcott can move you faster, farther. With decades of history helping busy adults makes sure to include plenty of helpachieve their goal, our experience becomes your advantage: ful insects in her pictures too. FROM CONTENT TO DELIVERY– WE HAVE PROVEN RESULTS. ONLINE | ACCELERATED | FULLY ACCREDITED Child Development • Parent and Family Life Education Differentiated Instruction • Early Childhood Education PREPARE TO SUCCEED WWW.CSP.EDU 1.800.333.4705 UAAA-0707-017 hazards and point out passageways in the water. Lightships are becoming obsolete—offshore towers take their place—and their stories are the stuff of legend for young readers. Floca describes in spare but powerful poetic language a lightship’s duty to anchor itself to one spot in all kinds of weather, especially the worst weather, when passing boats need guidance most. Lightship sailors live for months at sea, with a blaring foghorn constantly in the backdrop, always at risk of being pummeled by a large passing vessel. So, what is it about Floca’s remarkable writing and watercolor illustrations that evokes a sense of security as readers learn about one lightship’s captain and crew? The unflagging commitment with which they perform their work is what makes this book transcendent. It reminds us of Virginia Lee Burton’s Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, Katy and the Big Snow, and The Little House. Readers will gain a boatload of new vocabulary. Ship lovers will rejoice! Lightship, by Brian Floca. 2007. New York: Atheneum. 38 pp. ISBN 9781416924364. Ages 4 to 8. Just as boats have relied on lighthouses to identify location and nearby land, they have relied on lightships anchored at sea to warn of Young Children • May 2008 59 http://www.journal.naeyc.org/about/permissions.asp
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