A Backyard Habitat

Children's Literature - Amy S. Hansen

In a new exciting series called "Introducing Habitats," Kalman and various writing colleagues take on some complicated issues by describing plants and animals that live in various habitats, why they live there, what is special about the place, and of course, what a habitat is. "A habitat is a place in nature," we are told in the first sentence. And later, after introducing the living and non-living things that are there, we learn "Plants and animals need air, water and food to stay alive. Everything they need is in their habitats." Unlike the other books in this series, backyard habitats are not well defined, since backyards vary so dramatically. However, the book serves to point out the close-by natural world and encourages children to go look, offering a series of pictures of animals found in some backyards and then asking, "Which animal is in your backyard?" The writing team also discusses plants and animals in broader terms, explaining photosynthesis and food webs. Each page has fewer than forty words of text. The text refers to the pictures used so no captions are necessary. With the clear writing and wonderful pictures, this book will serve the young informational reader well. Back matter includes a short glossary and an index.