Darlene R. Stille

Plant cells present a plethora of interesting photographs of the small structures of plants that few ever see. I fear that the mindless presentation is reminiscent of the pathetic textbooks that are churned out every year to please everyone, but pleasing no one and solely functioning to keep students entertained instead of encouraging them to explore their world. The photos and diagrams are fine. However, the information and 'know how' in examining these small structures is not is not show more imparted to the audience. I hoped it would at least detail the various stains in viewing plant cells. If so, it could function as an enticing collection of photos to gather a younger generation to appreciate these things. Not many appreciate plants these days for any reason other than what the plants do for them. Botanists are becoming more rare. Perhaps the author felt that such content would not be appreciated by the audience, but I disagree. There are those among us who look for things in the smallest of places, on an earth that has been well explored save for the darkest caves and deepest oceans.

In the end, I really can't recommend this book. We can draw students into science by presenting science in a manner tantamount to exploration of the new world long ago. No, really , we can. This book does not do that. Pretty pictures are great, but they need more context and barbed hooks to draw the reader in. We want them to take their own pictures and to search for more pictures where no one else has looked. show less

This book introduces the concept of movement, speed, force, inertia. It also does a great job introducing students to the concepts of science and STEM. I loved reading through this book because the author did a great job break things down into the basics as well as embedding fun facts to deepen and broaden the understanding. Even though this book introduces big topics, the author does a wonderful job breaking them down into kid friendly language and concepts. I would read this book to 1st show more grade probably to introduce the same concepts and conduct motion experiments in class. An experiment that would be possible to do and understand would be falling paper or testing friction. show less

This book was a great literacy lesson on glossaries and indexes. This book also has a more descriptive notes at the bottom. For a book about force this book could actually make sense to younger students. It brings everyday examples of riding busses and swinging as a way of explaining force and motion. I loved this book and I think students would too. It made hard ideas simpler to understand with examples.

While 'I Am a Seal' is a nonfiction written for younger readers, it may not be the most effective way to clarify the genre. Younger readers often assume that hand-drawn illustrations are relegated to fiction. While the illustrations in the book are charming and cute they do not include much scientific detail that distinguish them from drawings in the fiction category. The soft, fuzzy depiction does not call to mind nonfiction. While this may not seem like a major detriment, when coupled with show more less than accurate text, the quibble becomes more notable.
The title "I Am a Seal" is an example of how pandering to a cuteness factor muddies the credibility of the book. The seal narrates the book, telling it from first person perspective. In a classroom, one way to distinguish fiction from non is reality. Seal do not speak English. This narration is compounded by the attributions of human feelings, "When I was a month old, my mother left. She knew it was time for me to start growing up." The conversational, informative tone also detracts from imbibing the information as fact. While there are boxes containing additional facts, there are no labels, charts or other aids that would give the book a nonfiction appearance.
The positive aspects of the is the interesting language that helps the reader integrate into the world of the elephant seal, "It's dark and quiet down here in the deep water. I use my big eyes and good ears to hunt...Hear comes a squid. YUM!" As shown in the quote, the book also uses onomatopoeia frequently. The text also defines some vocabulary in a non-invasive manner. "The beach is where we were all born. It's called a rookery," and "In summer, I come here to molt. That's when all my fur rubs off."
After the text there is an illustration of an elephant seal and it is labeled. Why not place it in the front of the book in order to establish legitimacy and serve as a sort of prereading diagram. There are also fun facts and a small glossary consisting of four words. There are web links, one of which did not work. The others were sparse and aimed at adults. It is a discouraging trend to read a children's book that directs the reader to a non-specific site that can just as easily be found via Google. show less