Ruth Belov Gross

There are two reasons that I enjoyed the story A Book About Pandas by Ruth Belov Gross. The pictures in the book add to the readers experience. The author shares that all of the photos taken in the book were taken at different zoos that have giant pandas. The photos are laid out an intriguing way. For example, on some pages there are collages of pictures, while on others the picture is the background and on some of the pages the pictures are close ups of the panda body features, like a show more panda's hand. The pictures also show what the page is describing. This can be seen when the author described how pandas sleep. She included five pictures of pandas sleeping in different positions. The depth of the information shared is appropriate for the desired audience. The author shares a lot of detail about pandas but keeps the wording very simple and to the point. This makes it easy for students to understand. For example, the author describes what a panda does when they are not eating or sleeping, the author writes "They turn somersaults. They stand on their heads. They climb ladders. And they just fool around." Even with a few words the author still described exactly what pandas do when they play. This story provides readers with a range of information about pandas as well as pictures and facts that help the reader grow their understanding on pandas. show less

This book is another genuinely fun read. The pictures are whimsical, the content is informative and interesting, and everything is presented in an uncluttered and easy to follow manner. Gross takes the reader on a cross-cultural overview of non-verbal communication. Native American signs, American homeless codes, informal body language, and ASL are all spoken to – and more. This book would be ideal for an elementary school social studies class, but I don’t think it would be totally out show more of place in a middle school library either. In particular, this book would be good in classes with hearing impaired students. I don’t know that this book necessarily has a place in my prospective high school classroom, but I certainly would highly recommend it to any colleague looking for suggestions. show less

I chose to read an informational text for this set of book reviews since it corresponds to my other class discussions. I liked reading this book for many reasons. First, the book isn't set up like a normal informational text. For example, the book is written as a story without headings. I found it easier to read. Second, the book has great illustrations. It really helped me understand what the text was about. For example, the book talks about how stiff your bones are and the author drew a show more boy touching his bones. It makes you want to touch your own bones to feel how hard they are. Third, the book includes important information for the reader to look at. For example, the book includes a a chart of the human skeleton at the end of the book labeling each bone with the name and its scientific name. The overall message of this book is to inform the reader about the human skeleton. show less

I spent hours of my childhood reading this book...and listening to it on record. Now that I think about it, I don't know which was more enticing: the book or the record. Either way, I love this story. It's so much fun. Maybe because it has a donkey as the main character (I do love donkeys), but this is a charming tale that has survived throughout the ages! The illustrations are also fabulous as well and really show some great emotion on the animals' faces.