French, V. (1993). Caterpillar Butterfly. London, UK: Walker Books.
ISBN: 9781406312775
Pages: 32
Age Level: Early Childhood 0-6 / Middle Childhood 7-12
Genre: Non-fiction
Rating: 4 stars
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Caterpillar Butterfly is part of Walker Books Nature Storybooks collection. Although this and Big Blue Whale (from yesterday's review) have been around for quite a while, they are still a great example of non-fiction narrative books for our younger readers, and provide relevant information on their chosen topic.
Vivian French tells us the story of when she was a young girl and she and her grandfather watched a family of caterpillars turn into butterflies. It clearly describes what the different stages are that she is observing, and is presented in a way that younger children can understand.
The book is told in two parts - Vivian's story which is the main text, and lots of facts about the life-cycle of a butterfly, how to tell the difference between them, and the types of food the caterpillars like to eat.
Voake's illustrations are done in muted tones, predominantly green and yellow, on a pale yellow washed background. The text fits in and around the images of Vivian, her grandpa and the plants that the caterpillars are living on.
My only disappointment is that the text used for the facts is quite hard to read. Students will struggle to decipher it if they are reading it on their own. The main body of text has been presented nice & clearly, using double-line spacing and with a language that children will understand.
There is also a simple index at the back, which has been presented on a page of different butterflies and their common names.
A lovely read-aloud for pleasure with your child or to explain about the life-cycle of a butterfly. It is also a brilliant teaching tool for use with non-fiction narrative, and descriptive text, particularly for the teachers of our year 3 & 4 students.
I got my copy of Caterpillar Butterfly from the Taradale Primary School library where I work.
Oops, I couldn't find a copy at Napier Libraries.
Davies, N. (1997). Big Blue Whale. London, UK: Walker Books.
ISBN: 9781406312577
Pages: 32
Age Level: Early Childhood 0-6 / Middle Childhood 7-12
Genre: Non Fiction
Rating: 5 stars
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Big Blue Whale is part of Walker Books Nature Storybooks collection.
Nicola Davies uses a non-fiction narrative style to tell the story of the Big Blue Whale,using language that younger children can understand. She also includes little snippets of facts (in bold and a different font to stand out) within most of the pages that add to the story unfolding.
Like any good non-fiction book it includes an index at the back. This has been presented in a way for children learning about non-fiction book layout to understand, and includes a reminder to look at both kinds of words within the book - the story and the facts.
Nick Malland's illustrations have been done in a background of muted tones with the main image being in black ink using a variety of fill techniques. They are simple and yet quite stunning.
The images of a young boy and girl (the narrators?) have been used throughout the book to give an indication of size, and shows just how big the Blue Whale is.
This book is perfect as a read-aloud for pleasure with your child or to explain about the largest whale around. It is also a brilliant teaching tool for use with non-fiction narrative, and descriptive text. I have been asked to purchase a selection of this Nature Storybooks series as they are particularly useful to the teachers of our year 3 & 4 students.
I got my copy of Big Blue Whale from the Taradale Primary School library where I work.
You can find a copy at Napier Libraries.
