A Day in a Forested Wetland

by Kevin Kurtz, Sherry Neidigh (Illustrator)

Overview

Come along on a journey through the aquatic habitat of a forested wetland. Meet birds and bobcats, along with the beavers and beetles that call the soggy forest home. Kevin Kurtz continues his award-winning “A Day In” series, and once again delights readers with a rhythmic, nonfiction look into a typical day for the animals that live in this wet habitat.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781628559132
Publisher:	Arbordale Publishing
Publication date:	09/10/2018
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.20(w) x 9.80(h) x 0.20(d)
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 a Forested Wetland, A Day in the Deep, A Day on the Mountain, A Day in the Salt Marsh, Sharks and Dolphins and Living Things and Nonliving Things 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.

Sherry Neidigh, a graduate of Ringling School of Art and Design, has been freelance illustrating since 1987. Sherry's love of animals and nature comes through in her bright, colorful art. In addition to illustrating Deep in the Desert, Count Down to Fall, and The Best Nest for Arbordale, Sherry has illustrated several trade and education titles including Who Needs That Nose?, If I Had a Tail, and Black and White. Sherry lives in upstate South Carolina. For more information about Sherry, visit her website: http://www.sherryneidigh.com/

Editorial Reviews

09/01/2018
K-Gr 2—The splendid life of the forested wetland does not unwind—from sunrise to sunset, there are creatures moving about. The woodpecker starts the day by feeding its young high in the trees and the green darner follows suit as it catches mosquitos by the water. At noon, the aquatic insect caddisfly uses rocks and plants to protect its larval body. The rhyming text nimbly provides a glance into the life of a variety of birds, insects, and aquatic and land animals that live in this habitat. The large black text is enclosed in boxes that direct readers' eyes, and contrast nicely with the lush setting of the illustrations. Neidigh leaves no doubt about the swamped vegetation and busy life of the forested wetland; the colorful artwork depicts the vegetation, moisture, and dense fauna of this environment in a visually striking and informative way. VERDICT An easy-to-read informational picture book to complement a biodiversity science unit on wetland habitats for early elementary school classrooms.—Kathia Ibacache, Simi Valley Public Library, CA

School Library Journal

2018-06-11
The A Day In… series expands with these snapshots of animal life throughout an entire day in a forested wetland. Neidigh's incredibly detailed, realistic illustrations, all double-page spreads, are the real draw here, giving kids up-close views of the animals: the delicate wings of a darner as it captures a mosquito, each leg sporting tiny hairs; a fish's individual scales; the brown bat's fearsome-looking teeth. Many of the animals are hunting and/or catching prey; the bobcat carries a rabbit to her kittens. Unfortunately, Kurtz's text is not a good complement. The rhyme and rhythm frequently seem forced and off. "It's sunrise in the wetland. / A woodpecker flies from a tree. / She just brought her children breakfast. / They never stop feeling hungry." A caddisfly's (nonbifurcated) case is referred to as "armored pants" to rhyme with "plants," and peepers' song is compared to the sound of jingle bells. Not all the vocabulary introduced in the text is defined in context ("snag," "larval," "mandible"), but other opportunities are bypassed (it explains echolocation without ever using the word); there is no glossary. Backmatter introduces the concept of a keystone species (here a beaver), compares and contrasts the four types of wetlands, and asks readers to identify animals in an illustration from their descriptions. Answers are right-side-up at page bottoms. A Spanish-language edition publishes simultaneously in paperback.Stellar artwork mismatched with weak rhyming verse. (bibliography) (Informational picture book. 4-9)

Kirkus Reviews