Looking Closely Around the Pond by Frank Serafini

This week, I'll be featuring some great nonfiction books that would make excellent classroom resources. The first is nature photographer Frank Serafini's Looking Closely around the Pond. This is a great interactive choice for preschoolers and early elementary kids.

Readers see a close-up photograph of some sort of plant or animal found near ponds and asked to guess what it is. When they flip the page, they find out what is it as well as a couple of paragraphs about it. A box turtle, dragonfly, water lily, and green algae are just a few of the plants and animals featured.

Kids will enjoy trying to guess what's in each picture, and the facts presented are just enough for a young learner to get an overview of the featured plant or animal. Teachers, parents, and caregivers could present this before an excursion to a local pond, and young learners could try to find some of the plants and animals. Kids could even find different plants and animals and research information about them to create their own books with either hand-drawn pictures or photographs they or their teachers/parents take during the excursion to the pond.

This is a great book to introduce kids to the pond ecosystem as well as peak their curiosity and appreciation for nature. It would make an excellent resource for a home or classroom library.

Reading level: Ages 4-8 | Publisher: Kids Can Press, Ltd. (February 1, 2010) | ISBN-13: 978-1553373957 | Source: Review copy received

The Amazon.com links in this post are affiliate links. With every purchase you make through clicking on these links, you are helping support The Well-Read Child.