A look inside- an Anthology of Intriguing Animals
I love a good illustrated reference book! This whole series is beautiful from cover to cover…. I find that when a book is inviting, we use it more and this book is very inviting. The cover is a nice textured cloth feel with gorgeous gold printing. There is a ribbon bookmark and the edges of the pages are a matching gold.
One thing I truly appreciate is that besides just the table of contents, there is also a visual glossary in the back that is helpful for young kids to find what they are looking for. That helps to inspire independent use of the book which in turn leads to it being used more! Win, win!
The animal entries are not overwhelming with information or writing making them great for a basic overview of the animals. Even for my fifth grader we do not typically need more information than what is provided. One of the true showstoppers of the book are the pictures. The pictures have such great detail, and the colors are printed very vibrantly.
We use this book in a few different ways. The main way is to research animals in various climates or regions. Right now we are working a geography pretty heavily in our schooling. It is something D is interested in learning and fits in nicely with the state requirements for fifth grade. When learning geography, I like to include the climate and culture in our lessons. When we find an animal that lives in the area, it can be a fun discussion about what people think seeing these interesting creatures in the wild! Living in a suburb, we do not see many wild animals, so it is a fun thing to think about!
We also use this book to inspire Ds drawings. She has told me she wants to learn to draw better because some of her friends are true artists. With the details in these pictures, she is able to see the small elements to incorporate into her drawing. Her drawing has improved since she realized that adding small details creates a better picture! I also love that she came up with this idea on her own. Independent learn for the win!
We have quite a collection of beautiful reference books and I can not wait to show you them and hopefully give you ideas on how to learn with them!
