Jess French

love love LOVE books teaching kids how to read cat body language and treat them kindly. so much stereotyping about cats revolves around them being mean or cold and lashing out for no reason; folks forget cats are small and we're so much larger and more intimidating, and just because we're larger doesn't mean we can ignore cat boundaries when they communicate them as best they can. teaching kids how to respect cats helps them learn how to respect other people and their boundaries

"How to Help a Hare and Protect a Polar Bear" by Dr. Jess French is a valuable addition to any classroom library's non-fiction section. The book starts strong with a well-written introduction that clearly states the problem in a way that children can easily understand. It effectively explains what a habitat is and provides clear definitions of the different kinds of habitats, making complex concepts accessible to young readers.

One of the book's standout features is how each habitat is show more expanded upon with examples of wildlife that live there. By including lesser-known species in forests, deserts, swamps, and freshwater environments, the book broadens students' exposure and knowledge, fostering a deeper appreciation for biodiversity. The brief facts provided for each wildlife sample are a great way to introduce key information in a digestible format, keeping readers engaged and informed.

Furthermore, the book excels in delivering a vast amount of information in bite-sized readings, making it easy for children to absorb and retain knowledge about various habitats and the animals that inhabit them. This approach not only educates young readers but also sparks curiosity and encourages further exploration of the natural world.

Overall, "How to Help a Hare and Protect a Polar Bear" is a well-crafted educational resource that combines engaging storytelling with valuable insights into wildlife conservation. Dr. Jess French's book is sure to captivate young minds and inspire a sense of wonder and responsibility toward protecting our planet's diverse habitats and inhabitants show less

This book provides an overview of climate change, pollution, recycling, endangered animals, etc. As it covers a pretty broad patch of information, most of it is quick facts and not deep dives into all the details. These vary from information about ocean garbage patches to sewage sanitation.

Full color illustrations -- a mix of photographs and fun, almost cartoony pictures -- are visually appealing. Although, as is often the case with me and DK books, I found it a bit difficult to decide show more where to start on each page spread with so much information and so many illustrations to look at bombarding me all at once. Some pages were inverted from horizontal spreads to vertical ones, which didn't do much other than be different.

Throughout the emphasis is on ways everyday people can help combat the issues, although there are mentions of how giant corporations are often the biggest offenders. I get that we want to give child readers some optimism and feeling like they can control the situation to some degree, but I also dislike burdening people with feeling like it's a huge problem if they don't recycle one bottle once while a big company is out there dumping tons of waste into the ocean with no consequence to their bottomline. Granted, we need to fix both but ...

All in all though, this is a good overview that is perfect for Earth Day lessons, but it also should be shared throughout the year in classrooms or households. show less

Dr Jess French is a vet, zoologist, naturalist and entomologist and has drawn on her experience and love of animals to produce this children's picture book, How To Be A Vet and Other Animal Jobs.

Beautifully illustrated by Sol Linero, Dr French provides a wide range of jobs that involve looking after animals. I think kids will really enjoy learning about the different types of vet (as I did) and the subjects you need to study at school if you'd like to become a vet.

The recommended reading age show more for this book is 6-9 year old readers, however I worry that a 6 year old might find a few of the themes in this book upsetting. How To Be A Vet addresses the fact that some vets have to do very upsetting jobs, including post-mortem examinations and visiting slaughterhouses where animals are killed for meat to check that the animals are treated well. One of the animal jobs is an RSPCA inspector who investigates cases of animal cruelty. While I know kids at that age are aware of where their food comes from and the importance of looking after animals, these jobs in particular caught me off guard amongst the delightfully colourful illustrations and gave me pause.

Having said that, Dr French really delivers on the sheer variety of jobs available for people who love looking after animals, ranging from lab technicians, animal trainers, groomers, wildlife rehabilitators, scientists, rangers and plenty more!

How to Be a Vet and Other Animal Jobs by Dr Jess French and Sol Linero is educational and recommended for more mature young readers who might like to work with animals when they grow up.

* Copy courtesy of Allen & Unwin * show less