Koala, by Claire Saxby; illus. by Julie Vivas
32 pages; ages 4-8. Candlewick Press, 2017
In a high tree fork, a gray ball unfurls. Tall as a toddler, a sleepy young koala sniffs at leaves.
He’s hungry and it’s dinnertime. Climb, koala! Because up there – that’s where the yummy leaves are. Koala wants to snuggle with mom, but it’s time for him to find his own way. It’s time to find his own sleeping branch – even his own tree.
This is a wonderful story of growing up, leaving home, and learning to be independent. Koala faces challenges, but he finds a place of his own. I also like the different sizes of text on the page. Large, simple text is easier for younger readers, while more dense text meant for older readers provides more details about how koalas live and behave.
Climb, Koala! (NGK Readers series), by Jennifer Szymanski
24 pages; ages 2-5. National Geographic Children’s Books, 2017
Climb, koala! Koalas can climb high.
What I like about this book is the text – it’s in large font, and each page is illustrated with photos that complement the text. So when kids are reading about claws, they get a close-up look at the sharp koala claws. There’s a “Vocabulary tree” at the beginning – a word classification which divides featured words into things the koalas have (claws, fur) and what they do (climb, eat). There’s a matching game on the last page, too.
Head over to Archimedes Notebook for some beyond-the-book activities.
It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)
STEM Friday 