Peachtree Publishers – Epic Virtual Book Tour
Stripes of All Types and A Place for Turtles
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written and illustrated by Susan Stockdale
Peachtree Publishers
5 Stripes
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Book Jacket: What kinds of animals have stripes? And why do they have them? To hide more easily? To recognize one another? To warn enemies to stay away? In this book, you’ll learn that animals have stripes for all these reasons . . . and more!
With lyrical, rhyming text and bright, bold images, award-winning author and illustrator Susan Stockdale introduces young readers to the many ways in which animals around the world wear their stripes.
Striped animals are everywhere. If shown a picture of only stripes, could you identify the animal those stripes belong to? After reading Stripes of All Types, you might be able to do just that. Illustrated with acrylics, Ms. Stockdale’s beautiful specimens are loaded with bright, natural stripes, and other patterns, providing a nice balance. Her text gives the reader a hint, all in alliterative rhyme. The boxed textures, at the end of the book, look like they are from a master in the world of textiles. Using the same animals as in the main text, these squares show only the stripes and ask you, the reader, to figure out which stripes belong to which animal.
Stripe of All Types is for the younger reader, yet an older child could also learn much from the additional information on each animal used in the book. Here’s a great question. Why do zebras have stripes?* Don’t know the answer? Stripe of All Types can explain why zebras have black and white stripes and lots more.
I was unsure what to think when I first started reading the book. I instantly loved the illustrations and the text is easy to read-aloud. Each turn of the page settles on a new habitat and a striped animal that calls it home. There is a total of 19 animals, plus a few extra tropical fish. Once I read it with some gusto, I realized what a fun book this could be.
Toting a shell,
twisting on sand.
Sprawled in a lair,
and sprinting on land.**
There is so much to learn and kids will eat up all the information, unaware they have just devoured a lesson on wild animals. What I really liked is the information packed in after the poetic lesson on striped animals. There is much more information on each, plus a game where children can test what they have learned.
Stripes of All Types is an interactive nonfiction book children will want to read and look at multiple times. Parents can take comfort in the wonderful illustrations and all the great information the author provides. Kids will love the look of the book, learn new things, and have a fun time doing so. Boys and girls will like Stripe of All Types equally. I think every lower grade teacher will enjoy having this book in her classroom library. I look forward to Ms. Stockton’s next creation: a book about spotted animals published by Peachtree in 2015./
*When in a herd, zebras’ stripes make it difficult for a predator to distinguish one zebra from another.
**Florida Tree Snail/Zebra Moray Eel/Tiger/Common Zebra
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Stripes of All Types
by Susan Stockdale website facebook Peachtree Publishers website blog facebook Released April 1, 2013 (This is true – not a prank!) ISBN: 9781561456956 32 pages Ages: 2 to 6 . Copyright © 2013 by Peachtree Publishers, used with permission. Text: Copyright © 2013 by Susan Stockdale Illustrations: Copyright © 2013 by Susan Stockdale
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DONATED TO PUBLIC LIBRARY
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Related articles
- Tigers (maxinedevillefranche.com)
- Animal Attraction: Exploring Animals with Picture Books (teachwithpicturebooks.blogspot.com)
- Protecting the Zebra and other Endangered Animals (guest post) (thelittlegreenplaypen.wordpress.com)
- Helping hands for Olive Ridley hatchlings (thehindu.com)
- Florida Hotspot For Reptiles At Risk Of Extinction (naturalhistorywanderings.com)
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by Melissa Stewart
Higgins Bond, illustrator
Peachtree Publishers
5 Stars
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Inside Jacket: In simple yet informative language, A Place for Turtles introduces young readers to ways human action or inaction can affect turtle populations and opens kids’ minds to a wide range of environmental issues. Describing various examples—from the Alabama red-bellied turtle to the desert tortoise—the text provides an intriguing look at turtles, at the ecosystems that support their survival, and at the efforts to save them. The author includes a list of things readers can do to help protect turtles in their own communities. Artist Higgins Bond’s glorious full-color illustrations vividly and accurately depict the turtles and their surroundings.
First Sentence: Turtles make our world a better place.
A Place for Turtles is a fascinating look at the roles humans have played in the survival of many turtle species. Each spread explains one problem, a turtle species directly affected by the human carelessness, and ways to correct the situation. The Loggerhead Turtle is a sea turtle. At one time fishing nets caught many of these turtles along with the shrimp. The turtles could not escape and would die. In 1988, Congress passed a law requiring all fishing nets have a turtle excluder device, a trap door the turtles can use to escape, but shrimp cannot.
ΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦθθθθθΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦ
I love this book. The information is fascinating (which I might have already mentioned). The author uses a different turtle’s plight for each problem she explains. This gives a small glimpse into the lives of nine turtles and one tortoise. Some problems I had been aware of, but the growth of Las Vegas, for example, having a dire effect on the Desert Tortoise was new information. I think kids will find much of this new and enlightening. A Place for Turtles is a primer on turtles. Kids can use the information on school reports or simply to gain an understanding of this reptile. The turtle shell contains 60 bones according to one of the Terrific Turtle Tidbits in the back of the book. A bibliography and a couple of websites can direct you to the resources Ms. Stewart referred to for accuracy.
The illustrations are tremendous. The details and accuracy make for outstanding reproductions. Ms. Bond’s realistic acrylic on cold pressed illustration board fooled my eyes into thinking it was three-dimensional. The vivid turtles and their surroundings are amazing to look at. The illustrations alone make A Place for Turtles worth the purchase price—not to discount the hard word and incredible amount of vetted information Ms. Stewart wrote.
I think boys will especially appreciate A Place for Turtles, though I would not discount girls. Girls wrote this gem after all. I like the inside cover, back and front, which have the location of each species along with a picture of the turtle. The publisher could have eliminated these color maps. That Peachtree did not shows the value they place on their picture books as a whole.
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A Place for Turtles
by Melissa Stewart website blog blog Higgins Bond, illustrator website Peachtree Publishers website blog facebook Released March 1, 2013 ISBN: 978-1-56145-693-2 32 pages Ages: 6 to 10 . Copyright © 2013 by Peachtree Publishers, used with permission. Text: Copyright © 2013 by Melissa Stewart Illustrations: Copyright © 2013 by Higgins Bond
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.DONATED TO PUBLIC LIBRARY
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Schedule for this Peachtree Epic Virtual Book Tour
Monday 3/18
Letters Numbers and Books
Keep an eye right here on Peachtree’s blog for guest posts by Susan Stockdale and Melissa Stewart!
Kid Lit Reviews
Thursday 3/21
It’s About Time, MaMaw
Thank you, dear readers, for sticking with this unusual double review.
Excellent images to all of the above! Thanks for linking into the Kid Lit Blog Hop!
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Great post. A Place for Turtles looks lovely with beautiful illustrations.
Thanks for the post.
Stopping by on the Kid Lit Blog Hop.
~Cool Mom for
Stanley & Katrina
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Thanks for hopping by. I hope you hop back again soon. The turtle book is full of lush illustrations that are easy to mistake for actual photographs. This artist is amazing.
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Nice! I like the pictures! 😀
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I know you love illustrations. Some are so cool. The ones for the turtle book are paintings. Unbelievable paintings. Plus the information is worthy of a book report or a report on turtles. I did my eighth grade science project on turtles and this book would have come in handy.
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Both of these books look fantastic. I realize there are things I didn’t know about stripes and about turtles, and now I want to read both books. Thanks, Sue.
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The stripes book is interesting. I didn’t think it would be at first glance. Young kids should really like this one. The turtle book has a lot of information about turtles, protecting them, and what (and sometimes who) are the cause of the problems. I like that the atuhor gives solid recommendations for the solutions to the problems. I thought you’d like these.
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We are all about turtles and ocean animals at the moment. Thanks for sharing a great list
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If that is your subject, then A Place for Turtles should be a part of your arsenal. There is much information that is useful and applicable right now. Many suggestions can be done by anyone. If this is a teaching subject, this bbok has tons of useful learning information. I would pick this up soon. Thanks for hopping by.
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Nice reviews! Both of these books look like winners. That stripes book in particular. I really like those illustrations. And most kids Love turtles. Excellent! I’ll have to check these out! Thanks!
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The stripes book is for younger kids, though any age will find it a fun book. The turtle book is a wonderful reference book for older kids and shares so much information that anyone interested in turtles will love this book. Nice to see you again Rhythm!
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Another great post, Sue! Stripes of All Types looks like a winner. Kids are always curious about why certain animals have stripes – what an enjoyable way to learn!
A Place for Turtles has such gorgeous illustrations! I will definitely keep an eye out for both of these books.
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Stripe of All Types will be followed up with Spots of All Types and the same premise will be used. I like books that make me think and Stripes certainly does that on each spread. I missed though.
A Place for Turtles has beautiful illustrations. A fast look and you might thin they are high definition photographs. The artist painted each of these scenes, which I think is amazing. I would buy this book for the illustrations alone. Then the information given by the author is worth buying it, too.
Thanks for hopping by. It is always nice to see your picture and read your comments. Thanks!
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I should be in the book Stripes of All Types. I have so many striped shirts and sweaters, that my closet looks like an optical illusion! Stripes make me happy!
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Stripes sound like a perfect match for you. What about spots? Do you like to wear spots? The next book in this series will be about all things spots. What animals have spots? Some dogs have spots. Maybe they will be included. Get a spotted sweater and maybe the author will use you in her book. If you are interested . . . Sorry you missed out on the stripes book.
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