Rapping About Bodies of Water. (Rapping About!). Bobbie Kalman. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2012. 24 pp., pbk. & hc., $7.95 (pbk.), $18.36 (RLB.). ISBN 978-0-7787-2802-3 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-2795-8 (RLB). Subject Headings: Bodies of Water-Juvenile literature. Water-Juvenile literature. Kindergarten-grade 3 / Ages 5-8. Review by Sherry Faller. *** /4
	Rapping About the Air Around Us. (Rapping About!). Bobbie Kalman. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2012. 24 pp., pbk. & hc., $7.95 (pbk.), $18.36 (RLB.). ISBN 978-0-7787-2804-7 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-2797-2 (RLB). Subject Heading: Air-Juvenile literature. Kindergarten-grade 3 / Ages 5-8. Review by Sherry Faller. *** /4
	Rapping About What Animals Eat. (Rapping About!). Bobbie Kalman. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2012. 24 pp., pbk. & hc., $7.95 (pbk.), $18.36 (RLB.). ISBN 978-0-7787-2805-4 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-2798-9 (RLB). Subject Heading: Animals-Food-Juvenile literature. Kindergarten-grade 3 / Ages 5-8. Review by Sherry Faller. *** /4
	Rapping About Animal Homes. (Rapping About!). Bobbie Kalman. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2012. 24 pp., pbk. & hc., $7.95 (pbk.), $18.36 (RLB.). ISBN 978-0-7787-2800-9 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-2793-4 (RLB). Subject Heading: Animals-Habitations-Juvenile literature. Kindergarten-grade 3 / Ages 5-8. Review by Sherry Faller. *** /4

excerpt:

Meerkats do not live alone.

They live in groups in their desert home.

When some leave the burrow to eat and play

others stand guard so they won’t become prey.

A squirrel’s home is a nest called a drey. It’s built high in a tree to keep predators away. (From Rapping About Animal Homes.)

What fun! Learn about science by rapping the facts. Kids who love rap music or any kind of rhymes will love reading these books out loud! The six books in this series cover the topics of animal homes, being a girl, bodies of water, directions on earth, air around us and what animals eat – all important topics in elementary school. Written for the younger crowd with a little bit of sass, the scientific facts become cool and easy to learn. Poetry nerds rule!

      The books have the all important index, glossary, and contents. The large font is double spaced and written in rhyming couplets. Even the captions are written with rapping in mind. While some of the rhythm is stretched to include the information, most of it flows and is enjoyable to read. Bolded words are explained in the glossary.

      Beautifully coloured photographs adorn each page, and additional drawings enhance the concepts. An extra challenge to readers is the ‘Match Them Up” section at the back of each book. How much have they learned? Can they match the homes with the animals, or body of water with the description? If not, they can always go back to the pages in the books and rap some more.

      Rapping About Bodies of Water discusses ocean water and the other bodies with salt water, such as a bay, harbor and seashore. Freshwater lakes, ponds and rivers are described as well as the land surrounding them. The water cycle and the importance of water in our lives can initiate some good discussions. Readers will love the photos of the animals found in the various forms of water.

      Rapping About the Air Around Us explains how our bodies use air. While some animals have lungs to breathe, others have gills so they can use the air found in water. Without air, we would have trouble using our senses of taste, smell and hearing. Plants also use air but differently from us. Flags of various countries blow on the wind pages, and the reader can learn about tornados, monsoons, haboobs and hurricanes. Did you know that the argon gas in air has been around since the dinosaurs? Yes! We breathe the same argon gas that those monsters did! Pretty awesome!

      Rapping About What Animals Eat takes the usual herbivore, carnivore, omnivore differentiation a couple steps further. What do you call an animal that eats flowers? A florivore! What about one that eats insects? An insectivore! The photos in this book are particularly descriptive and the ‘Match Them Up’ quiz is very challenging.

     Rapping About Animal Homes takes readers into dens, caves, burrows, underwater and into nests. Hibernation and estivation, or deep sleep, are explained as well.

     Bobby Kalman and her team have produced another excellent kid friendly, information packed series that would make an important addition to any elementary school library.

Recommended.

Sherry Faller is a teacher librarian in Winnipeg, MB.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

Hosted by the University of Manitoba.

 

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