How Can We Be Kind?

 

We tell children to be kind, but do they know what that means? Janet Halfmann's new picture book for ages 3-7 and released by Frances Lincoln Children’s Books/Quarto this week, shows the way! A hint is in the subtitle "Wisdom from the Animal Kingdom." As she has in other books, Janet turns to nature to find the answer to her title question. She says, "I was inspired to write this story to add positive ways to look at the world. Since nature can be so calming and restoring, I spotlighted the positive ways animals react to one another as examples for all of us to follow."

The book features caring European badgers, welcoming capybaras, sharing jackdaws, teamworking ants and bees, patient African elephants, selfless prairie dogs, laughing orangutans, encouraging blue manakins, and other animals and their traits. interspersed with the refrain, "How can we be kind?". Through the words and friendly, accurate animal drawings by Darla Okada, children will see the many ways they, too, can be kind. 

Readers of all ages can learn more about the animals in this book, some of which are not usually found in books for the very young.  Okada bookends the text with spot drawings of diverse humans showing kindness. Backmatter uses text and animal photographs to give more information.

Janet's approach is fun and effective.  I can imagine sharing it with children and referring to it with them later, reminding them to be like a zebra and stick up for their friends, for instance. Thank you, Janet, for showing us that being like an animal can be a good thing!

Janet Halfmann's New Picture Books Share Nature Stories and Facts

 

Janet Halfmann knows how to write a good children's story and add in some fun facts, too. She's had a big year promoting three new picture books! If you have young people in your life, you will want to consider these.

Who Is Singing? written by Janet Halfmann and illustrated by Chrissy Chabot was released in July by Pen It! Publications. When I open the door in the morning, I love to hear the birds sing. I can identify some of their songs, but not all. Janet has "translated" the bird songs into words or syllables, asking with each one, "Who is singing?" The answers begin with, "Take a bow" and identify the bird. Robins, cardinals, blue jays, chickadees, and other common birds are featured. Readers and their young audiences will have fun imitating the various bird sounds, and maybe making up their own bird calls. Kids' nature walks will have more meaning when they can recognize the sounds they hear. Chabot's simple, colorful illustrations also help with bird recognition. The last page of the book includes fun facts and a suggested activity. 

Yay for Big Brothers! by Janet Halfmann and illustrated by Shennen Bersani was published by Arbordale Publishing in November. This book is perfect for a family that includes a big brother, but also works for big sisters and animal lovers, too. Big brothers are often heroes to their younger siblings, and Janet and Shennen show that the same is true in the animal kingdom. Readers will see how animal big brothers near and far--African wild dogs, beavers, chimpanzees, crows, dolphins, hoary

marmots, kangaroos, meerkats, naked mole rats, tamarins, and wolves--help their families. For example, Big Brother Crow helps feed his younger siblings. Big Brother Tamarin carries his younger siblings through the trees. Shennen's expertise in science illustration for young people gives accurate illustrations of each animal family. Each spread asks a question relating readers to the topic. For example, for the tamarinds, the question is "How does your little one get around?" "For Creative Minds" at the end of the book includes a glossary and interesting facts, and more facts and activities are found on the publisher's website. This book gives readers and their young audiences a chance to learn and marvel at nature together! 

Caterpillar's Surprise by Janet Halfmann and illustrated by Emily Krueger will be released by Black Rose Writing in early December. Gentle humor, embedded poems, characters to root for, and a compelling story centered around an animal masquerade ball make this tale a winner. Emily's detailed illustrations set the scene and show creatures' emotions and transformations. What a fun way to see the different stages of animal development and the value of friendship!

I received a free digital copy of each of these books in exchange for an honest review.

International Book Lovers Day: Travel with ResQ!

You may be one of many disappointed people who had to cancel travel plans this year, but we can still travel via books. And what better book to celebrate International Book Lovers Day than with Eva J. Pell's middle grade novel, ResQ Takes on the Takhi, released this June by Tumblehome Books, which specializes in STEM books for kids?  Pell's extensive science background, including her position as Under Secretary for Science at the Smithsonian Insitute, informs her writing. 

Where are we going with the ResQ crew? Mongolia! ResQ is formally comprised of eleven-year-old inventor, Wheaton and his cousin, twelve-year-old naturalist, Stowe. They are accompanied on this adventure by their photographer grandmother, Ariella, who has contacts in Mongolia.

Batar from Mongolia calls to ask ResQ to help round up a stray band of takhi, Mongolian wild horses, and bring them back into the national park where they belong. Wheaton's inventions, Stowe's knowledge of nature, Ariella's wisdom and familiarity with the culture, and the help of their Mongolian hosts give readers an imaginative adventure. 

In joining ResQ's search for the takhi, readers learn Mongolian culture, language, climate, and geography. But Pell isn't writing a textbook. She vividly describes each scene, so that readers feel that they are part of the adventure. Wheaton and Stowe apply critical thinking, Wheaton's inventions, and what's at hand to conduct their mission. Pell amps up the suspense by making this mission time-sensitive. With a blizzard swirling around them, Wheaton and Stowe get separated from their Mongolian guide. How will they survive? Will they get reunited? Will they bring the takhi back to the park? Drawings by Alexa Lindauer enhance the text and show, among other things, what a Mongolian blizzard might be like.

I won't give any spoilers, but I will tell you this--I'd love to have a Dynochute, one of Wheaton's inventions, and I thank Eva J. Pell for an advanced reader copy of this book.

If Mongolia and the takhi don't interest you, maybe you'd like to try ResQ's first adventure--ResQ and the Baby Orangutan, which will take you to Borneo. 

With books, you can go anywhere!

Those Incredible Animals

The next time you're tempted to call someone a birdbrain, realize it may not be an insult! The March 2008 National Geographic has a fascinating feature on animal cognition.

Western Scrub Jays, often maligned where I live, can recall the past and plan for the future. They move their food caches if they realize another jay has seen them, and they store more food than they need in case of scarcity later.

The African gray parrot featured knew colors, shapes, and size. It was able to point out which of several items was different. It even invented its own word for "apple"--"ban-erry"--as the apple tasted like a combination of apples and cherries to the bird.

Other animals also display amazing intelligence, such as the border collie with a toddler's vocabulary, sheep that can recognize and remember faces (human and animal), and octopus that may show emotion by changing color.

And we think we're so smart!

See the photo gallery, video, and feature article at:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/03/animal-minds/musi-photography