Illa Podendorf (1903–1983)

I enjoyed reading this book for a couple of reasons. This is an informational children's book that incorporated many important features of any informational text. For example, there were many kid-friendly technical illustrations, like the one labeling the parts of a tree. The illustration is colorful and the font of the labels are in a cute curly-q font to appeal to children. This is an inviting informational book that shares important concepts about nature. This book also covers a wider show more range of information about trees, like the history of some trees and the purposes of trees for humans and animals. In the text is says, "Trees give us fruit. Trees give us nuts. Trees give us turpentine. Trees give us maple syrup. Without trees, many animals would have no homes." Something that I found interesting and admirable is the bigger message of this book encouraging and advising people to protect trees. show less

Summary:
This book is about all the different animals, and how they developed. It gives information on which animals have a mother to take care of them, and which animals are on their own. It talks about how long some animals stay in the eggs or the cell of the mother. The setting of this story takes place all over the world, showing what habits the animals’ lives.

Personal Reactions:
This book is not a good book for little kids; it is more for 3rd grade and up. This book is every show more informational about the different animals. I have a dog and a bird that are truly dear to my heart. But this book I did not like to read.

Classroom Extensions:
1. I would ask the students to draw a picture of their favorite animals.
2. I would do a show-a-tell ask the students to bring a picture of their own pet or their favorite animal. show less

Trees by Illa Podendorf
Love trees and learning more about them.
This one discusses the different kinds of trees and their attributes.
Parts of the tree and other fun facts about trees.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).