Living Things and Nonliving Things: A Compare and Contrast Book

by Kevin Kurtz

Overview

Using a wide variety of stunning photographs, author Kevin Kurtz poses thought-provoking questions to help readers determine if things are living or nonliving. For example, if most (but not all) living things can move, can any nonliving things move? As part of the Compare and Contrast series, this is a unique look at determining whether something is living or nonliving. This nonfiction picture book with a cuddle factor includes a 4-page For Creative Minds section in the back of the book and a 30-page cross-curricular Teaching Activity Guide online. Living Things and Nonliving Things is vetted by experts and designed to encourage parental engagement. Its extensive back matter helps teachers with time-saving lesson ideas, provides extensions for science, math, and social studies units, and uses inquiry-based learning to help build critical thinking skills in young readers. The Spanish translation supports ELL and dual-language programs. The interactive ebook reads aloud in both English and Spanish with word highlighting and audio speed control to promote oral language skills, fluency, pronunciation, text engagement, and reading comprehension. Tap animals and other things that make noise to hear their sounds.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781628559866
Publisher:	Arbordale Publishing
Publication date:	09/10/2017
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	188,264
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.20(d)
Lexile:	AD470L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 8 Years

About the Author

Award-winning author Kevin Kurtz holds degrees in English literature and elementary education and started his career by working at a marine biology lab. Since then, he has combined all of these experiences by working as an environmental educator and curriculum writer for organizations such as the South Carolina Aquarium, the Science Factory Children’s Museum, and the Center for Birds of Prey. Kevin has authored A Day in the Deep, A Day on the Mountain, A Day in the Salt Marsh, and Sharks and Dolphins: A Compare and Contrast Book for Arbordale. Kevin also wrote Uncovering Earth’s Secrets after spending eight weeks as the Educator at Sea aboard the marine geology research vessel JOIDES Resolution. Visit his website at www.kevkurtz.com.

Editorial Reviews

"Spectacular photography enriches a simple, thoughtful text. - Kirkus

From the Publisher

08/01/2017
K-Gr 3—This compare and contrast book tackles both the obvious and subtle differences and similarities between what is animate and inanimate. Kurta starts off simply, directing readers to just look at the photos of various animals, objects, etc., before segueing into more complex territory ("Are living things the only things that move?"). The text acknowledges the challenge of the exercise, and the many variations or exceptions that can arise (e.g., fire needs oxygen and something to consume). The photos are all stock images but they are bright, clear, and kid-friendly. An ending "For Creative Minds" section was developed for classroom use. Consider for early STEM collections, to be used in a guided setting.

School Library Journal

2017-07-02
A multitude of photographs accompany bold, simple text, teaching rudimentary ideas of differentiating what's living and what's not—and noting that it's not as simple as it may seem.Every photograph is striking and colorful, sure to keep readers engaged. The first pages show photographs of things unmistakably living—from polar bears to cactuses—or nonliving—from a cresting ocean wave to a sea of automobiles. The heart of the text uses a few simple questions to try to determine what makes something living or nonliving, beginning with, "Are living things the only things that move?" A droll, humorous photomontage shows a droopy-eared basset gazing up at wildly swinging monkeys as a snail crawls nearby. The page turn reveals breathtaking photos of nonliving things that move—clouds, trains, waterfalls—and living things that (arguably) cannot move—coral, a tree, fungi. Growth, change, reproduction, and the needs for food, water, and oxygen are all examined similarly, leading to the conclusion that "Not even scientists have a perfect answer" to the question of what differentiates living from nonliving. A thoughtfully laid-out double-page spread concludes that there are five basic activities which usually guarantee that something is "probably a living thing." Finally, there are four pages of enrichment activities, including colorful checklists that help reassure readers that such things as frogs are living, while robots and amethysts are nonliving. A Spanish-language edition, Seres vivos y no vivos, publishes simultaneously. Spectacular photography enriches a simple, thoughtful text. (glossary, extended research section, checklists) (Informational picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews