Over in the Forest: Come and Take a Peek

by Marianne Berkes, Jill Dubin (Illustrator)

Overview

Learning becomes fun for kids with this counting book about the forest habitat. Amazing artwork will inspire children in classrooms and at home to appreciate the world around us!

Follow the tracks of ten woodland animals but . . . uh-oh . . . watch out for the skunk! Children learn the ways of forest animals to the rhythm of "Over in the Meadow" as they leap like a squirrel, dunk like a raccoon, and pounce like a fox. They will also count the babies and search for ten hidden forest animals. Cut paper illustrations add to the fun in this delightful introduction to a woodland habitat. Once again, Marianne Berkes makes learning fun. Kids will hide, graze, and pounce as they imitate and count the animals. Like Over in Australia, the cut-paper illustrations will inspire many an art project. Plus Marianne provides tons of ideas for activities and curriculum extensions about forest animals, literature, and writing. Teachers and parents, as well as kids, are the winners with these books.

Backmatter Includes:

Further information about the forest and the animals in the book!

Music and song lyrics to "Over in the Forest" sung to the tune "Over in the Meadow".

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781584694601
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	03/01/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	728,484
File size:	27 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 8 Years

About the Author

Marianne Berkes has spent much of her life as a teacher, children's theater director and children's librarian. She knows how much children enjoy "interactive" stories and is the author of many entertaining and educational picture books that make a child's learning relevant. Reading, music, theater, gardening, and cooking have been a constant in Marianne's life. Her books are inspired by her love of nature. Marianne hopes to open kids' eyes to the magic found in our natural world. She now writes full time. An energetic presenter at schools and conferences, Marianne believes that "hands on" learning is fun. Her website is www.MarianneBerkes.com.

Jill Dubin's whimsical art has appeared in over 30 children's books. Her cut paper illustrations reflect her interest in combining color, pattern and texture. She grew up in Yonkers, New York, and graduated from Pratt Institute. She lives with her family in Atlanta, Georgia, including two dogs that do very little but with great enthusiasm.

Editorial Reviews

K-Gr 2—This story follows the rhythm and rhyme scheme of "Over in the Meadow" as mothers teach their babies life skills. "Over in the forest/where the clean waters run/Lived a busy mother beaver/and her little kit one./'Build,' said the mother/'I build,' said the one./So they helped build a lodge/where the clean waters run." All 10 babies are called by their names: "fawns," "joeys," "hatchlings," "poults," and "chicks," which is educational (although several young animals are called "kits"). Beautiful cut-paper collages, embellished with pencil, pastels, and ink, are filled with soothing, woodsy colors and many textures. This book would be a great read-aloud, followed with a call-and-response song-the music is provided at the end. Questions about what is fact and what is fictionalized (e.g., the numbers of babies) in the story, information about the animals, and tips and activities from the author and the illustrator are appended. With its many curricular extensions and wonderful springboard to art classes, this book is a terrific addition to most collections.—Mary Hazelton, Elementary Schools in Union, Washington & Waldoboro, ME

School Library Journal

Having already explored the ocean and jungle, planets, the Arctic and Australia, Berkes this time focuses her "Over in the Meadow"–derived lyrics on a temperate deciduous forest. Readers are treated to a look at a forest habitat and its more familiar denizens, including beaver, turkey, woodpecker and 'possum. As in her previous titles, there is a nice balance between math and the animal information. Berkes introduces children to the names given to baby forest animals, indicating them with italics—fawns, joeys, hatchlings, poults, chicks and kits. The number is set in a different color type, while the numeral is featured prominently at the bottom of the page. Dubin gives readers several opportunities to practice, illustrating both the baby animals and their tracks, both of which can be easily identified and counted. In addition, she hides another forest dweller on each page. Her paper-collage, colored-pencil and pastel artwork is filled with gorgeous textures that echo the natural world of the forest. Berkes rounds out the text with educational backmatter: a list of the hidden animals and a few facts, a section that reveals her artistic license, some forest facts, detailed paragraphs about each of the featured animals, the music and lyrics, notes from both the author and illustrator, activities to extend the book and resources for more information. Formulaic? Perhaps, but none can argue with the educational value, nor the fun—what will she tackle next? (Informational picture book.3-8)

Kirkus Reviews