Diana Noonan

Introduces children to the amazing world of small animals. Stunning photography and easy to read text combine to inform and surprise young naturalists with fascinating details about everyday animals.
A garden in a zoo. Go hunting under leaves and on plants. You'll find strange creatures are living right outside your door!

I really liked this book because of the plot and the characters. The story is about a boy named Tim who had a stuffed animal bear named Toby that he loved very much. When Tim learned that his school was going to have a bear competition, he felt embarrassed because of the way Toby looked. For example, Toby was sticky from being fed ice-cream, and his nose was falling off from receiving too many kisses. Tim tried to repair Toby by putting bandages on his ears and nose, giving him a bath and show more cleaning his fur to his best ability. Still it was obvious by the looks of Toby that he was worn out. I liked Tim’s character because I found him to be relatable, and very much like many children. The events in the story are believable because many schools have “show and share” or allow students to bring a special toy into their classroom. Throughout the story Tim’s character grows and changes because he turns from a shy child to a proud and confident young boy. For instance, when the bear competition was being held, Tim’s face began to grow red with embarrassment when his bear was being judged. Also, he brought his bear to school in a paper bag so that none of his classmates could see it. I loved the plot because of the ending of the story. Tim’s bear ended up receiving first place in the competition because of its physical appearance. The judge said “This bear has had the fur hugged off of him, and someone has been feeding him ice-cream.” She ended up awarding Toby first place, for being the best loved bear.
The main idea of this story is to have more confidence. Tim went to school carrying Toby in a paper bag, and ended up leaving school carrying Toby proudly on his shoulders. Physical appearances might not always show the truth. For instance, one could think that Toby looked beaten up because he was played with respectfully. The judge of the contest thought differently, she figured that Toby looked worn out from being given too much love and care. It is important to not care about what other people think, and to always have confidence. show less

This book explores sequences and order of events in planting a strawberry plant. It is great for learning about a process. It encourages readers to ask questions. The process may not be clear for example adding olld newspaper to the soil, so a reader may do further research.

This was a quality realistic fiction book, the main character was a cat, trying to find his family after an earthquake. This allows the reader to be aware of a real event that happened in history. It emphasizes the importance of family, and has a happy ending, despite the negativity of the event. The illustrations are well done as well, making this book an overall success. The cat starts off at the beginning of the story alone after the earthquake happens. He ttys to find his family, and in show more the end he succeeds, and is very happy to be back with the people who love him. show less