Sy Montgomery's Brilliant Animal Books for Children

Quite casually, a few months ago, the seven-year-old and I were researching flightless birds of the world, trying to get past the well-known large birds like ostrich and emu and penguin and cassowary and kiwi. That's when we came across Kakapo, a nocturnal ground-dwelling parrot endemic to New Zealand.

Naturally, we wanted to learn more and so when I came across Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World’s Strangest Parrot by Sy Montogomery and Nic Bishop, at the library, I brought it home, hoping to read it with the younger child in installments whenever he is ready.

I was not ready for the wild enthusiasm he showed for this book! I can see why the book was so well-received, though. Sy Montgomery's books have the right balance of information, real-life drama, engaging storytelling, and intrinsic beauty.

Fewer than 90, yes nine-zero-ninety, of these gorgeous, friendly birds remain in the wild on the remote Codfish Island off New Zealand's south coast. Sy and Nic journeyed there to record the work done, mostly by volunteers, to prevent these sweet birds from going extinct.

The photographs by Nic Bishop, along with an easy-flowing, clear, heartwarming account of her journey of discovery makes this book a huge favorite with me.

The shared experience of reading this to the kiddo and learning about the plight of these birds that were indiscriminately killed when humans took over and settled in its habitat made us so aware of the large impact we have on our environment simply by going somewhere and being there where we were never before.

We ended up reading this book every single night and finished it within a week, coming out of it as if we had traveled to the place ourselves and seen and interacted with the individual birds ourselves. We felt the pain when one of eggs was destroyed, or didn't get fertilized. We couldn't help rooting for these naive and cuddly birds.

[Read an excerpt here]

We were hooked! I borrowed every other book by Sy Montgomery that was available at our library.

In Quest for the Tree Kangaroo, we learnt about this odd-looking creature that resembles a stuffed toy that is determined to stand-out as incongruous: "Impossibly soft, with a rounded face, button eyes, pink nose, upright ears and long, thick, furry tail, the 25-pound animal hops like a kangaroo, carries babies in a pouch like a koala, and climbs trees like a monkey."

In Saving the Ghost of the Mountain, Nic and Sy are on an expedition among Snow Leopards of Mongolia. "Prowling along ridges, slinking below skyline, the snow leopard is as invisible, yet as powerful, as the wind, and as elusive as a ghost." Collaborating with Snow Leopard Trust scientist Tom McCarthy and his team in the Altai Mountains of the Gobi Desert, Sy and Nic try to learn about and save an animal they can’t see—before it becomes a ghost for real.

Among the "Scientists" series of books, the kid loved Octopus Scientists -- no surprise there as Octopus is an all-time favorite for him. From its ability to totally camouflage and blend into its surroundings, its ink, its beak, to its tendency (mama octopus) to starve and die after its eggs hatch, everything about them is curious and intriguing. Sy and Keith Ellenbogan take us along for a wild underwater ride in this book.

One of my personal favorites is The Man-eating Tigers of the Sundarbans by Sy Montgomery. It is poetic and heart-wrenching and fearsome and hopeful all at the same time.

Currently, we are reading Encantado: The Pink Dolphins of the Amazon. One fine day, the kid brought it home from school, checked out from his school library. I sat back knowing my work is done for now.

Next on our list: Snowball the Dancing Cockatoo. Our library does not have it, so, I'll be looking for a used copy to bring home sometime soon.

[image source: Sy Montgomery's website]

Valentine's Day Cards So Far

Thanks to schools adopting the day as "Friendship Day", the older child has always looked forward to Valentine's Day preschool through lower elementary. The younger one, not so much. He could take it or leave it. But, what they both like is an opportunity to create something fun and share with friends.

As the kids started thinking about what sort of card they want to make for their friends this Valentine's Day, we started to casually look back at the ones we have done so far. We were quite happy to visit the memory of how they arrived at the design and how they executed it and how incredibly satisfying it was to them.

While the cards we've made over the years may not all look polished and stylish and sophisticated, the emphasis at home has always been on being creative and enjoying the process without much weight on the end-product's superlative finish and appeal. After all, what is slightly unappealing to my eye could be dazzling in theirs.

The arts and craft supplies are on low-level shelves and cubbies, organized in a way to help them find things and make sure they are returned to the right spot for next use. They each have their own space to create, which is a luxury as I keep reminding them way too often.

Anyway, the younger child's favorites were Prehistoric Splotch Creatures, Shaving Cream Marbling, and Lettuce Stamping.

The older kid preferred the more crafty Valentine gifts like her Salt Dough Heart-In-A-Box and Kisses Mice Envelope Card.

The Hanging Decorations she made a while back are still cherished in our house: Striped Hearts and Plump Hearts.

Of late, the older child has played with PicMonkey to create some custom graphic cards. One of my favorites that I made for the kids using picmonkey is the Valentine Coupons.

Boy were they thrilled to see a coupon that said "One single serve dessert you pick at the bakery"... and another that said "Stay Up Late Till 10 p.m."  Quite a dilemma for the kids to "Save" the coupon for a special day or just go out and splurge and get that dessert eaten right away! 

Of course, being the artful mommy, the coupons came with the restriction: Not Valid on School Days, Limit One Coupon Per Day.

Some art exploration that became Valentine's cards include Watercolor Cling Wrap, Textured Paper Hearts, Oil Pastel Masked hearts, Reverse Stamped Hearts, DIY-Scratch-It Cards.

My favorite in terms of the idea is the younger child's "Flags Valentine" cards, and crosswords. He picked out some interesting flags of countries and designed a simple card with a One-line Joke for each. I like that he tried to match up his friend's roots with the right country flag where possible to personalize the cards.

The older child is not quite gung-ho about Valentine cards and that's okay. No obligation, no pressure. If it seems like fun and she wants to do it, then it's a lot of fun for me to join in. She is still convinced that it has to be something unique that she has made, not store-bought.

For now, the younger child is strongly leaning towards his current obsession and trying to come up with something he thinks is fun to create... We'll see how it shapes up over the next two weeks.

3 Awesome Animal Picture Books

Egg: Nature's Perfect Package 

by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page
published by HMH Books for Young Readers, March  2015


Trademark cut-paper collage on stark white background with crisp, precise nuggets of information make Jenkins's books perfect for animal-non-fiction-loving young readers.

The book is all about eggs as the title suggests: little eggs, big eggs,, where to lay eggs, how many to lay at a time, egg consumers, egg protection, egg packaging, egg carrying, incubation, and getting out of the egg... all are laid out with plenty of animals showcasing their techniques and ideology.

Everything needed to create a new living creature: The Egg.

[image source: HMH Catalog]



How to Swallow a Pig
Step by Step Advice from the Animal Kingdom
by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page
published by  HMH Books for Young Readers, September 2015


A recent top favorite book for the seven year old, he rattles off fascinating facts about animals from this book that surely caught my interest and attention.

Like how a Capuchin monkey smears itself with millipede after rolling the said millipede in its mouth to get it to release its toxins. Why does it do that? Well, that's nature's own insect-repellent right there.

Or, like how smart a crow is that it chooses a stop light and plants its hard-to-crack nut on the road and waits for a car to go by and crush the nut open.

Or, as the title suggests, swallow a whole pig after squeezing it to death as a python does.

The tongue-in-cheek format of the book and the clever presentation is sure to fascinate the curious-minded child, and maybe incite them to imitate these creatures.

[image source: HMH Catalog]


Unusual Creatures
A Mostly Accurate Account of Some of Earth's Strangest Animals

by Michael Hearst
Artwork, Diagrams, and Other Visuals by
Arjen Noordeman, Christie Wright, and Jelmer Noordeman

published by Chronicle Books,  July 2014


"Unusual Creatures is a rich and fantastic book of charming imaginary animals who... what? They're real? I'll be under the bed." -- Lemony Snicket.

That quote on the cover had me chuckling right away.

The book starts out by explaining the biological classification in a kid-friendly way, with the mnemonic:

Kids Place Candles On Foot Gravy Sausage
↠ Kingdom ➢ Phylum ➢ Class ➢ Order ➢ Family ➢ Genus ➢ Species.

I was hooked right on that page, and so was the kiddo.

The book is laid out alphabetically, starting with Axolotl. "Mama, did you know an axolotl can regenerate its body parts, even its heart? We had an axolotl in our classroom last year, remember? They are so cool!" And we learn that the name axolotl comes from the Aztec language, most common translation being "water dog".

Each double-page spread focuses on one animal. The informational text and related diagrams, with K-P-C-O-F-G-S laid out next to the animal's common and scientific name, plus a full page illustration of the animal with a scale to show its size makes it easy to digest the information in small chunks and marvel at nature's creativity.

Turn to any page at random, and you are sure to find a fascinating and rather unusual creature like Barking Spider, or Giraffe-necked Weevil, or Hammerhead Bat, or Long-eared Jerboa, or Magnapinna Squid, or Sea Pig, along with some unique but slightly well-known creatures like Echidna, Honey Badger, Platypus, and Slow Loris.

A must-have for our bookshelf, along with every one of Steve Jenkins's books.

Watch video clippings of featured creatures at unusualcreatures.com

[image source: Chronicle Books]

Rules by Cynthia Lord

Rules 

by Cynthia Lord



Left to herself, my ten year old voracious reader may not reach for this book, because, let's face it, "Rules" are not exciting.

However, having read it myself on a weekend afternoon, I was eager for her to read it as well. I wanted to know if the book resonated with her, if anything touched her, if anything seemed incongruous to her in any way.

So, rather than wait for her to pick it up, I decided to read it aloud to her, a few chapters at a time. I believe that reading aloud is wonderful for any age, even adults. Anyway, thus began this interesting journey of discovery together.

And sure enough, by chapter three, she couldn't put it down and couldn't wait for me to find time to read aloud, and so she finished the book rather fast.

Twelve-year-old Catherine is the main character. The story is all about Catherine and her growing pains, wanting to fit in and be accepted for who she is.

However, Catherine has an autistic brother and so, naturally, her life is inseparably intertwined with his. Add in a pair of well-meaning, well-intentioned parents who are doing the best they can, plus a new neighbor and potential friend, and a non-verbal teen in a wheelchair, the story is bound to get interesting.

Summer vacation has just begun. Catherine goes with her mom for her eight-year-old brother David's weekly Occupational Therapy session. That's where she meets 14-year old Jason. Her growing friendship with Jason confuses and rattles her. Through it all, Jason comes out as independent and strong and in the end Catherine does realize that she truly values his friendship even if she feels quite awkward around him. We follow Catherine through this summer vacation where she discovers a little about herself and learns to accept herself, flaws and all.

Catherine is fiercely protective of her brother; she defends him from insults and taunts by others. It grates her when people stare at David. Her love for her brother is never in question. But, being a "normal" child, Catherine also resents David's special needs. She desperately wants a "normal" brother, one who would know to keep his pants on in public, one who knows not to open cellar doors in other people's houses, one who wouldn't scream or throw a fit if dad is a little late to take him to the video store, in short, one who would not embarrass her so much.

Older sisters with a younger brother, with special needs or otherwise, can easily identify with Catherine being called to 'baby-sit' her brother often when she would much rather do her own thing. Catherine's annoyance leads to her making up a list of "Rules" that David can follow to ensure appropriate behavior. Little brothers can be quite challenging to sensitive older sisters and this is the part that resonated most with the resident ten year old.

As it is written from Catherine's point of view, her parents do come across as a bit one-dimensional, but it is obvious that they are average working parents trying to make the best of each day.

The author states that she has an autistic son, and that her daughter was the inspiration for Catherine. Which makes many of the details realistic, reasonable, and believable.

While the book has two major characters who are disabled, the book is not about disability or disabled persons. How Catherine navigates her world, a world that is complex enough to stress her out, is what the book unfolds.

One objection that usually comes up about this book is that Catherine wishes her brother would be "normal" somehow; whereas, clearly he is who he is and she must accept him as such. David is somehow not humanized as much as Jason is in the story. Catherine finds herself uncomfortable around both of them, but Jason stands out as a well-developed character, whereas all we know about David is what Catherine tells us through her interactions.

However, as my ten year old pointed out, there is nothing wrong with Catherine wishing for her brother to be like who she wants him to be, however she defines "normal"... She just wishes she can connect with him in a deeper way and share sibling love and the joys of growing up together. As it is, she just barely manages her own pre-teen angst and to have to constantly defend and protect David can be draining for her.

The book definitely affected the ten year old, possibly in ways she is not be able to articulate at this time. Lives of all the Davids and Jasons out there is sure to get her thinking deeply about how people learn to live with disabilities in our world, and how the people around them can learn to treat them with empathy, dignity, and respect.

The author does a wonderful job of balancing Catherine's needs and her expectations. Catherine is just a young girl, not a saint; she just has too much to process around her, and that overwhelms her; she is basically a loving, kind, and down-to-earth kid.

[image source: Author Cynthia Lord website]