Backyard

by Patricia Wynne, Donald M. Silver

Overview

An exciting journey of science discovery is as near as your own backyard. Just one small square is alive with creepers and crawlers, lifters and leapers, singers, buzzers, climbers, builders, and recyclers. Backyard invites children ages 7 and up to become nature lovers by looking, listening, touching, and smelling the world from the ground up! From the unique One Small Square series of science acitivity books. . .where children can explore exotic and familiar ecosystems in detail, one small square at a time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780070579309
Publisher:	McGraw Hill LLC
Publication date:	03/01/1997
Series:	One Small Square Series
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	1,056,181
Product dimensions:	7.50(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.19(d)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

McGraw-Hill authors represent the leading experts in their fields and are dedicated to improving the lives, careers, and interests of readers worldwide

Donald M. Silver is the author of more than 40 science books for children and teachers alike. In addition to the award-winning One Small Square series, he has written The Animal World, Why Save the Rain Forest?, Extinction Is Forever, and The Dinosaur Activity Book—all illustrated by Patricia J. Wynne. Patricia J. Wynne’s illustrations have also appeared in Scientific American, Natural History, and The New York Times as well as in the highly praised books Hungry, Hungry Sharks, and The Human Body. Both the author and illustrator live in New York City.

Table of Contents

Introduction.The Food Makers.Guests for Dinner.Life Cyclers.Out in the Cold.Making a Living.Definitely Not a Golf Ball.Night Life.Litter &‘grave;Bugs''.Watch Out for Traps! More Than Just Dirt.

Editorial Reviews

Filled with an assortment of the plants, animals and insects found in the Northeast quadrant of the United States, Silver's backyard is a happening place--``alive with creepers and crawlers, lifters and leapers, movers and mixers . . . builders, buriers, and recyclers.'' By advising naturalists to focus on a single square meter of their own yards, the book lends immediate confidence and helps readers to value their own observations, discoveries and conclusions. Silver teaches youngsters to use their senses, along with simple, inexpensive tools, to hunt for tunnels bored in bark, to spy out snow fleas, to measure the distance between bud scales to know how fast a plant grows and to analyze droppings. The book mingles standard field exercises (growing mold, making leaf rubbings, catching animal tracks) with a reach of knowledge extensive enough to allow readers to extract what they need. So much information is provided, in fact, that despite the author's emphasis on experimentation, this book remains more of a reference text than a guide to discovery. Still, the combination of humorous, scientifically grounded text with detailed, realistic drawings will pique the interest of armchair naturalists and active explorers alike. A companion volume, One Small Square: Seashore , also by Silver and Wynne, will be released simultaneously. Ages 7-12. (Aug. )

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly