Animals Work

by Ted Lewin

Overview

Animals herd, carry, pull, and even . . . keep us company! This nonfiction, easy-to-read picture book transports readers from an open field to a desert to a snowy tundra as animals of all kinds perform some very important work. The book ends with an endearing role reversal as a young boy gives milk to his cat, reminding readers that just as animals help people, people in turn can help animals. This book teaches readers about the variety of work animals and depicts the give-and-take of human/animal relationships. A map is included. Guided Reading Level C.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823434541
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	07/01/2015
Series:	I Like to Read Series
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	24
Sales rank:	312,998
Product dimensions:	7.60(w) x 9.70(h) x 0.10(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Ted Lewin grew up in Buffalo, New York, and now lives in New York City. His career as an artist began with illustrations for adventure magazines, but over the last thirty-five years he has devoted all of his time to writing and illustrating children's books.  An avid traveler, many of Ted's books have been inspired by his trips to places such as the Amazon River, the Sahara Desert, Botswana, Egypt, Lapland, and India. His illustrations in Peppe the Lamplighter by Elise Bartone were awarded a Caldecott Honor.  Ted and his wife Betsy Lewin, the illustrator of Click Clack Moo and other titles, live in Brooklyn, New York.

Editorial Reviews

"A handsome animal book for young readers."

Booklist

"A refreshing change from the cartoonlike pictures in most books for beginning readers, Lewin's well-composed naturalistic illustrations have their own appeal . . . A handsome animal book for young readers."—Booklist
 
"Lewin masterfully combines realism with child appeal in his expressive watercolors. His short, declarative sentences with repeating verbs will encourage emerging readers. . . . Inviting."—Kirkus Reviews
 
"The watercolor illustrations of the various locations and the people that inhabit them are stunningly lifelike, and a world map on the final spread shows where Lewin saw the animals. Easy enough for the very earliest readers."—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

08/01/2014
PreS-Gr 1—Simple text, one sentence per spread, identifies the animals and their tasks, while a full-spread illustration shows the animals at work in their environments. "Camels carry" depicts a row of camels standing with loads in an Egyptian desert underneath a washed-out blue sky. A dog herds sheep in a bright green field in New York, a reindeer pulls a sleigh in the deep snow of Norway, and an elephant in India lifts large pieces of wood. Humans fit into many of the scenes, but the animals are front and center, with the exception of the last entry of a young boy and his cat that reads, "And I care for my cat." The watercolor illustrations of the various locations and the people that inhabit them are stunningly lifelike, and a world map on the final spread shows where Lewin saw the animals. Easy enough for the very earliest readers.—Laura Hunter, Mount Laurel Library, NJ

School Library Journal

2014-06-18
Mechanization is not in sight in this look at how animals still help humans at work and at play.Expansive double-page spreads present an international array of animals as they assist humans in a variety of jobs. The book’s opening page portrays a dog herding sheep, and it continues with horses, camels, donkeys, reindeer, oxen, a goat and an elephant all carrying or pulling. Then a spirit of back and forth comes into play as “Sheep mow” and “Llamas keep sheep safe.” Finally, a boy happily holds his cat in his arms and takes very good care of him. Some of the animals, such as the camels, the elephant and the reindeer, are portrayed in their native habitats with the humans who direct them. The goat pulls a cart with a bunny rabbit nestled securely inside, while the sheep and the llamas stand proudly on a carpet of green. Lewin masterfully combines realism with child appeal in his expressive watercolors. His short, declarative sentences with repeating verbs will encourage emerging readers. A map of the world at the end of the book highlights where this globe-trotting author/illustrator saw the animals; helpful indeed.Inviting. (Early reader. 2-6)

Kirkus Reviews