Nature in the Neighborhood by Gordon Morrison (1 book)

Morrison, Gordon. (2004). Illustrated by Gordon Morrison. Nature in the neighborhood.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. 32 pages. ISBN # 0-618-35215-5

Award: Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12, 2005

Genre: informational picture storybook

Content area: science

Grade level: Pre K- 2nd

Credibility of author:

Summary: This book describes the different plants and animals that are found in a particular neighborhood from early spring through winter.

Standards: Life Science IV (Environment and Ecology)

Illustrations: There is full-color pencil-and-watercolor artwork. Lower on the pages are tiny black-and-white drawings accompanied by more detailed descriptions of the animals. There are two detailed maps of the neighborhood.

Text: standard type, approximately 14-point font

Text structure: descriptive

Tone: narrative (optimistic)

Voice: The author conveys a feeling of wonderment as different plants and animals appear with the changing seasons.

Language: descriptive with alliteration –“…a sure sign of spring…”

Access features: author’s note, inserted information

Use: I would use this book as a read aloud. It would be especially useful for younger children when studying a unit on neighborhoods. The teacher could take the class on a nature walk, compose a group list of what they observed, and then write a story with the students using the Language Experience Approach. Students could also create some nature artwork before or after their story. This book could also be used with an animal or weather unit.

Response: This was a very sweet book that demonstrates to children the importance of observing what’s around them. One doesn’t have to live in the country to see nature. Nature is everywhere.

Related texts:
One Small Place in a Tree by Barbara Bren
Neighborhoods in Nature: The Let’s Take a Field Trip Series by Kathy Furgang