Rebecca E. HirschReviews

AURA IB Box 3 - 73
Library Binding ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1728431778 ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1728431772
QL 676 .H57 2022 AURA

great tree read aloud. arbor day

This book does a nice job of teaching about Antarctica, showing real pictures. It talks about the people who study the continent and the animals who live there.
Ages 3-6
Source Pierce County Library

Just which are the tallest trees? Where do they live? Just how old is old for a tree? How do these trees compare to things like the Statue of Liberty or even each other? What makes them grow?
This book answers these questions and a lot more! I want one!
The illustrations by Mia Posada are lovely, look like they're made with real bark, and fun!
Well suited for reading WITH someone of any age including ESL, and great for gifting to anyone, but especially to a school or your public library!
I requested and received a free temporary e-book on Adobe Digital Editions from Lerner Publishing Group/Millbrook Press ™ via NetGalley. Thank you!

children's nonfiction (4th-7th grade)

having just finished a book about the decline in insect populations, I could hazard a guess as to why the birds would also be in trouble, but in short:
* window strikes are a problem (particularly in tall buildings along migration routes but family homes can be dangerous for birds too--these are largely preventable but take some $ and urban policy changes to fix);
* pesticides and chemical pollution (as applied to agricultural seed that they eat and in the resulting scarcer insect food supply that results, as well as in the pollution run off that ends up in the water)--organic farming practices are recommended here;
* climate change (affecting the number of insects to eat but also ocean acidification, other foodsources that birds get from the ocean and disruption of the food chain);
* outdoor pet cats and feral cats (technically would qualify to be an "invasive species" as there are many more of them than there would be in a natural ecosystem, and they kill a LOT of animals)--keeping cats fixed/neutered and indoors is preferable but a noisy bell collar or brightly colored vest can help prevent cats from successfully stalking neighborhood birds;
* disappearing habitat--not as many bird-friendly trees (try to buy shade-grown coffee and organics when possible and plant native trees and plants to support more caterpillars and insect food for the birds to feed their chicks).

It was somewhat brief on the benefits of birds (other than that people like to watch them, and that unnamed animals might depend on them for food--hawks I'm guessing and maybe some of the few remaining wildcats?) and I thought it could have mentioned bird poop as a natural fertilizer (probably?) but I think the author just didn't want to mention anything deemed "unpleasant" or that would potentially offend parents (though the description of the thousands of dead and maimed birds from skyscraper window strikes, I would argue, is certainly unpleasant). But expounding a little more on these points, as well as how they help balance the insect populations, would round out that section better.

I'm a big fan of science books with story. In the classroom, this would be a great book for students to peruse themselves, or to read a chapter or two to the class for different biology subjects. It would even be a great lead in to the scientific process, because there are quite a few experiments documented in here for students to look at to understand the plants better. If you could manage to get your hands on some of these plants (like the vampire vine), it would be a fascinating experiment for class.

Nice book about all the ways plants move around. Very educational while being a fun read. The illustrations were nice, along with the way the writing was presented.

Great children’s collection of lasagna recipes, it’s based upon the comic strip from Jim Davis. The last section of recipes are companions to lasagna that children might enjoy and there’s some Garfield comics in it as well!

Well, this was just freakin' fascinating. But don't read it or listen to the audio when you're eating or if you're feeling squeamish, because some of this plants are downright vichyssoisse! (What I call vicious.)

The most fascinating to me is kudzu, which I didn't know much about before this book. I only knew it was invasive but I had no idea it could grow so fast, overtake cars or be made into a delicious jelly! Who knew?!

This book is suitable for adults and young scientists looking to learn more. I especially appreciate the author's note at the end. about how to be a respectful and conscientious plant person.

Note: Listened to via Netgalley's recent audiobook feature, with much gratitude.

The book "The Monarchs are Missing" by Rebecca Hirsch is about Monarch butterflies and their migration patterns. It dives into the significance of monarch butterflies and what they do for our earth. It touches on the fact that monarch butterflies are becoming extinct! These butterflies are essential to their ecosystems and the food webs. Their extinction is due to human factors like cutting down the trees that they call home. Yet it is possible to revive the monarch population with help from scientists and research. I liked this book, I think it was very informative. I would use it in a classroom for a lesson on ecosystems, food webs or migration!. I think it would be a great introduction to a unit.

This book tells about how plants move around all the time even though most people think of plants as stationary. It describes how their roots grow underground, how they grow up walls, how their seeds travel, how they catch bugs and so on. I like this book because it shares informational facts about how plants move and grow without being too wordy. The words the book does use are lushious words which makes the growth and movement of plants very exciting. I can imagine using this book in class perhaps if we were learning about how plants grow and maybe if we were growing our own plants in class.

Author Rebecca E. Hirsch and illustrator Mia Posada explore the movement of plant life in this engaging work of picture-book natural history. From roots growing down into the soil to stems and leave growing up toward the sun, from flowers that bloom at night to those that bloom during the day, from seeds which fly on the wind to those which use other species to migrate, plants are alive, and they simply can't sit still...

I initially decided to track down Plants Can't Sit Still because I so enjoyed the artwork of Mia Posada, in her own Summer Green to Autumn Gold: Uncovering Leaves' Hidden Colors, and wanted to see more of it. The title reminded me of the many excellent picture-books from Dianna Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long - A Seed Is Sleepy, A Rock Is Lively, etc. - that I have read, and sure enough, A Seed Is Sleepy is in the list of further reading here. I liked the idea of this book, to explore plant movement, and I liked the execution. Rebecca E. Hirsch's main narrative is descriptive, and fairly simple from a textual perspective, while her afterword discusses the specifics of each plant depicted. The accompanying artwork from Posada is just lovely, with a gorgeous color palette, and beautiful plant figures throughout. Recommended to all young would-be botanists and nature lovers, and to anyone who enjoys beautiful picture-book art.

00014517

When Plants Attack
Strange and Terrifying Plants
by Rebecca E. Hirsch
This was a fiendishly good listen that will keep anyone entertained, especially kids! I liked the stinging tree that is so powerful in its punch that it made a soldier shoot himself after he wiped his bottom with the stinging leaves! Ouch! That had to be painful! Nature is tough! She doesn't meds around! I thank NetGalley for the chance to gain insights into Mother Nature's creepy plants! Very interesting!
Great narration!

Oh my goodness! I absolutely love this cookbook, as one of my favorite characters ever brings the recipes to you along with his crew! The biggest lover of lasagna, Garfield brings the history of lasagna, a variety of lasagna recipes, side dishes, desserts, and of course a Garfield comic strip. Jon and Odie make appearances, also. This is such a fun, feel good cookbook that will bring smiles as you try out recipes ranging from pizza lasagna, berry lasagna, very veggie lasagna, chocolate lasagna, lasagna rolls, and many more! Love it! #NetGalley #garfieldsguidetolasagna #hottingerhighlights #cookbook #childreninthekitchen

This book is alll about the things plants do! Plants can hitchhike, face the sun, hide, and some plants can even eat bugs!
The illustrations in this book were beautiful and it would be a great way to introduce a unit on plants to students.½

Great read about technology & inventions starring Garfield the cat!

Garfield takes readers on a journey to discover how Engineering has evolved over the years. Readers are introduced to the time of the pyramids, through facts about the International Space Station that might one day be able to be a vacation destination spot. There are funny comments throughout that children will enjoy. The text includes an index, glossary and table of contents to help readers with research. I would recommend this for collections looking for introductory books about Engineering that makes the information fun.½

This book is a "chapter book" but it is deceivingly not quite so. It has different chapters inside it, but it does not look like your usual chapter book. It definitely looks like a picture book from the outside. There are pictures in the book, however, it is much heavier on the text. This book talks about the history of monarchs, and the struggles that they've gone through as a species. This book talks about how they migrate, when they went "missing", etc.

Great Garfield book about technology! Be sure to check out his thoughts on the various pieces of technology.

When I first saw this, I immediately thought of Rebecca Johnson's 2014 title, When lunch fights back. That title focused primarily on animals, but with a similar layout, and finished with a brief mention of how some plants seem to use a kind of thought process to fight back against creatures trying to eat them. This book starts where Lunch left off with the many clever defenses of plants.

Of course there's the traditionally carnivorous plants, pitcher plants, Venus fly traps, and so forth, but Hirsch goes beyond this with the horrifically painful and sometimes deadly stinging tree, the clever defense of the thorn acacia, which protects itself from elephants by attracting stinging ants, or the apparently inadvertent killer, the Pisonia grandis, which sticks its seeds to seabirds in such numbers that it kills many of them, littering the ground about with corpses and skeletons.

Hirsch goes beyond anecdotes and dramatic tales of deadly plants to question how and why plants developed these defenses, how they use them, and what it means for considering how plants react, behave, or even think. Extensive back matter includes an author's note, source notes, glossary, bibliography, further reading, websites, and videos, and an index.

Verdict: The dramatic cover and introduction will draw in reluctant readers who will find themselves learning quite a bit about plants - and scientific research - as they devour the gruesome stories of plant defenses and survival tricks. Recommended.

ISBN: 9781541526709; Published January 2019 by Milbrook; Borrowed from another library in my consortium

In clear, concise language, this book describes the life cycle, migration patterns, and problems affecting monarch butterflies. Beautiful, full-color illustrations accompany the text.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and learned some new information as well. For example, I knew that monarchs migrate to Southern California and Mexico for the winter but I did not know that this was based on the Rockies; those butterflies born west of the Rockies go to California and those born to the east of that mountain range fly to Mexico.

Throughout the book, there is detailed information, including statistics, about much of the science behind the monarchs and why their numbers have dwindled. Talk about the role of citizen science makes it clear that readers can take steps to further the research and help monarchs.

My only quibble with this book is its format. The physical size and shape of the book make it seem like a picture book for very young readers. However, once you open its pages, it's clear from the amount of text per page that it's for an older audience. I worry that older readers may pass it over thinking it is for younger kids while those little ones will be frustrated by how wordy it is.½