How Animals Move. (Kids Can Read). Pamela Hickman. Illustrated by Pat Stephens. Toronto, ON: Kids Can Press, 2007. 32 pp., pbk. & cl., $5.95 (pbk.), $14.95 (cl.). ISBN 978-1-55453-030-4 (pbk.), ISBN 978-1-55453-029-8 (cl.). Subject Heading: Animal locomotion-Juvenile literature. Grades 1-3 / Ages 6-8. Review by Jeannette Timmerman. *** /4

excerpt:

If you could jump as well as a grasshopper can, you would be able to travel the length of a football field in just three jumps!

Pamela Hickman is noted for her nonfiction children's books about flora and fauna. According to information on the Web, she has an Honours Bachelor of Environmental Studies and Biology from the University of Waterloo. How Animals Move is a revised edition of an earlier book on animal movement by Hickman.

     The book is intended for young readers who can read alone. The print is large, and the lines are double spaced. As well there is a lot of white space on each page. Only the first word of each heading has a capital letter. There is a table of contents but no index. The book has an introductory page but ends abruptly with no concluding page. An index and a concluding page would have been welcome additions.

      The book is organized into six sections: Swimmers and floaters, Fliers and gliders, Runners and walkers, Hoppers and jumpers, Slippers and sliders, and Climbers and swingers. In each section, four to six animals are used as examples of the movement being discussed. For instance, in "Runners and walker" the animals are the cheetah, camel, ruffed grouse, jacana, and water strider. The first animal is also highlighted with boxed information beginning with "If you were..." followed by a listing of two to four facts.

      Pat Stephens' illustrations are realistic and visually appealing. They are labeled and show the movement of the animal or the particular part of the animal's physical makeup that allows the movement to occur. The first animal illustration in each section spreads over two pages.

      This book's informative text and clear illustrations should appeal to children ages 5 to 8. How Animals Move would be usable in science and language arts curricula. In addition to its use by young, independent readers, a teacher might select it to read and discuss with small groups or a class. It can be used also for beginning research where only a few sentences are required in the completed product.

Recommended.

Jeannette Timmerman is a former teacher, consultant and administrator in the Winnipeg (MB) School Division.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

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Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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