Where Do Polar Bears Live? (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2 Series)

by Sarah L. Thomson, Jason Chin (Illustrator)

Overview

Read and find out about where polar bears live in this colorfully illustrated nonfiction picture book.

The Arctic might be a bit too chilly for humans, but it's the perfect home for polar bears. But the earth is getting warmer and the ice is melting. Where will the polar bears live? How can we help protect their home?

This is a clear and appealing science book for early elementary age kids, both at home and in the classroom. It's a Level 2 Let's-Read-and-Find-Out, which means the book explores more challenging concepts for children in the primary grades. The 100+ titles in this leading nonfiction series are:

• hands-on and visual
• acclaimed and trusted
• great for classrooms

Top 10 reasons to love LRFOs:

• Entertain and educate at the same time
• Have appealing, child-centered topics
• Developmentally appropriate for emerging readers
• Focused; answering questions instead of using survey approach
• Employ engaging picture book quality illustrations
• Use simple charts and graphics to improve visual literacy skills
• Feature hands-on activities to engage young scientists
• Meet national science education standards
• Written/illustrated by award-winning authors/illustrators & vetted by an expert in the field
• Over 130 titles in print, meeting a wide range of kids' scientific interests

Books in this series support the Common Core Learning Standards, Next Generation Science Standards, and the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) standards. Let's-Read-and-Find-Out is the winner of the American Association for the Advancement of Science/Subaru Science Books & Films Prize for Outstanding Science Series.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062184627
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	11/15/2011
Series:	Let's Read and Find Out Science Series: Level 2
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
Lexile:	690L (what's this?)
File size:	7 MB
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Sarah L. Thomson is the author of Stars and Stripes: The Story of the American Flag, a Nebraska Golden Sower Award finalist; all the Wildlife Conservation Society I Can Read Books, including Amazing Tigers!, winner of an Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Seal Award; and What Lincoln Said, written with "admirable simplicity" (ALA Booklist). Sarah lives in Portland, Maine.

Jason Chin is an illustrator and web designer. He has illustrated The Day the World Exploded by Simon Winchester. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 1–4—This beginning science book opens with fascinating facts about baby polar bears that will capture readers' attention. Moving from discussion of the cubs to more challenging information about climate change and how it affects the animal's diet is a clever way to organize this fact-filled book. A page entitled "Why the World Is Getting Warmer" and another called "What Can You Do?" are appended. Charming illustrations done in frosty shades enhance the text. Most of the vocabulary is easy to interpret in context, and Thomson uses interesting comparisons, such as if a grown polar bear "stood on his hind legs, his head would brush the ceiling of your living room." Well-written text and appealing illustrations make this title a solid addition to natural-history collections.—Rachel Artley, Watertown Elementary School, TN

School Library Journal

The latest in the Let's-Read-And-Find-Out Science series, this Stage 2 title follows a mother bear and her cub as they emerge from their winter den in the Arctic and set out for the ice where the mother can catch a seal meal. Along the way, children learn about Arctic temperatures and conditions and the adaptations that allow polar bears to survive there. After about the first 29 pages, however, the style of the text changes from informative to exhortative. A decrease in Arctic ice is a fact that affects polar bears. This series has already addressed global warming, and its heavy presence in this title seems shoehorned in solely to galvanize readers. Backmatter includes more on global warming and ways readers can lessen their impact on the earth. Chin's clean watercolor illustrations introduce the presumed narrator, a bespectacled, cartoon polar-bear scientist and realistically portray both the Arctic habitat and the polar bears. In some instances, though, the bears' facial expressions are anthropomorphized, especially the cub's and in the latter portions. All in all a rather disappointing effort from a solid series. (Informational picture book. 5-9)

Kirkus Reviews

"Follows a mother bear and her cub as they emerge from their winter den in the Arctic and set out for the ice where the mother can catch a seal meal. Along the way, children learn about Arctic temperatures and conditions and the adaptations that allow polar bears to survive there. Backmatter includes more on global warming and ways readers can lessen their impact on the earth." — Kirkus Reviews

"This beginning science book opens with fascinating facts about baby polar bears that will capture readers’ attention. Moving from discussion of the cubs to more challenging information about climate change and how it affects the animal’s diet is a clever way to organize this fact-filled book. Charming illustrations done in frosty shades enhance the text. Most of the vocabulary is easy to interpret in context, and Thomson uses interesting comparisons, such as if a grown polar bear 'stood on his hind legs, his head would brush the ceiling of your living room.' Well-written text and appealing illustrations." — School Library Journal

From the Publisher