What Am I? Where Am I? (I Like to Read) (I Like to Read Books) by Ted Lewin (2014) Paperback

I Like to Read

by Ted Lewin

Majestic paintings by a Caldecott Honor-winning artist illustrate a guessing game that fosters an appreciation of both art and science, while introducing the five major biomesgrassland, desert, forest, tundra, and water.

Genres: Animals, Picture Books, Childrens, Nature, 1st Grade, Nonfiction, Storytime

Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Jennifer Heise · Rating 2 out of 5]

Suitable for the preschool set who are just beginning to think about parts of a whole and play with puzzle concepts. Very short.

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the book because you get to guess the animals. There are many different animals.

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun guessing book that teaches some of the animals and where those animals live.

[Aarvik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice one!

[Harry Palacio · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book of hiddenness to be found and sort through who and what and where these ‘objects’ (so as not to reveal too much ) are…

[☼Bookish in Virginia☼ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Ted Lewin book features 5 animals: lion, reindeer, camel, sea otter, and tiger. Plus a single page at the back that shows a boy standing in front of the earth.

Each animal gets 4 pages. The first page has a snippet of the image and the child is asked to guess what the animal is. The second and their pages feature a large image of the critter with a simple sentence giving their name --such as "I am a reindeer"-- and the question, "Where am I?"

The last page features a sentence and an image that shows the animal in it's habitat. The camel is shown, for example, standing with another camel in a barren desert.

The colors for this book vary. The cats are shown in brighter colors, while the poor sea otter and camel are quite drab. Which is one of the things I don't particular like in this book.

WHAT AM I? WHERE AM I? is for older toddlers and preschoolers. At these ages they most of them love guessing games, and this book provides that opportunity. However, at this age they also tend to like a bit more color than this book provides. The sea otter is particular difficult to make out as he's lying in the water.

In any case....

I like the guessing concept. I love having the opportunity to discuss the environment of critters and how they adapt to it.

I also like that because of the repetition of the questions, that this book can be used to 'pretend read'.

What I don't like are some of the muddy images, and the fact that the BOOK IS ONLY 22 PAGES long.

So Recommend Sharing. Don't recommend buying, unless you have a classroom or are planning on sharing this book with a succession of very young children.

[Kenzie Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lewin, T. (2013). What am I? Where am I? . New York, NY: Holiday House.

Core curricular ties: First grade, Science

Explanation of supporting instruction: One of LPS’s objectives for Science is that students will be able to identify plants and animals to their distinct habitat. This book is a great read that will have kids participating by guessing the whole time. Its’ a pattern book that has a small feature of an animal asking, what am I? The next page will say what it is, asking where am I? It will then tell their habitat. The small pictures make it fun for the students to guess each animal they are seeing.

Rationale: I chose this book because it is very simple for students to join along and read. It is also one that student’s wont struggle with if they choose it read it independently.

[Teresa Bateman · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know when you're talking about a Ted Lewin book that the illustrations are going to be extraordinary, and this book is no exception. It's a very simple puzzle book showing a bit of an animal and asking "What am I?, then you turn the page and see the full picture and get your answer. The next question, of course, is "Where am I?" Each of the 5 featured animals is from a different habitat. The book ends with a picture of a boy and the world, showing our habitat. The illustrations are lifelike and lush. The book would be useful for beginning readers with its very simple text. I only wish it featured more animals and more habitats.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ted Lewin's illustrations are fabulous in this interactive picture book. As the reader goes along he first sees a little glimpse of the picture to come (about the size of a baseball) and a question, "What am I?" When the page is turned the full illustration is seen while the first questioned is answered and a second question is asked, "Where am I?" The next turn of the page answers that question both in text and illustration showing the animal in its habitat. This book is a great introduction to various wildlife habitats for young readers. It is always fun to kids to interact with what they are reading and to think about what is coming next.

[Cemeread · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm a fan of the I Like To Read series by Holiday House, but this is the first book in the series I haven't really liked. The small portions of the animal shown to guess who it is are rather difficult, for example, the hairy hump of a camel, which doesn't look like a hump in the small circle, or antlers for reindeer. I'm sure children will guess something in the deer family. The lion and tiger are easier as more of the head is shown. I'm not sure if they will get the otter either. The where am I portion is alright though some may use different words for grassland(savannah) or forest (jungle or rainforest). The rest of the drawings of the animals and their habitats are fine.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's hard to tear your eyes away from the pencil, watercolor, and liquid mask paintings of animals in this book. They are exquisite and offer early readers hints of what lies ahead. Readers see a portion of an illustration and must guess what the animal is and then where it is. Over the course of the book, they will have a close-up view of a lion, a reindeer, a camel, a sea otter, and a tiger. Not only do readers have the chance to practice their reading skills, but they can learn more about the wildlife in the natural world.

[Mother Goose Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This picture book contains several animal previews, beginning with a glimpse of an animal through a circle, asking, "what am I?" Readers can guess, turn the page to see the animal revealed and then readers are asked, "where am I?" Turn the page to reveal the animal in its habitat. Final page ends with a boy who is on our beautiful planet. Younger readers as well as older readers will enjoy playing n animal guessing game.

[Becca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I stand in awe of Ted Lewin. His art work is exquisite. In this nature puzzle book, you first see a small portion of an animal, then turn the page to see the entire creature. The author then asks, "Where am I?" and the reader discovers in which of 5 major biomes the animal lives. The only problem--it was too short!

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

"This easy reader introduces five animals and their habitats. A lion, reindeer, camel, sea lion, and tiger are presented through peekaboolike circles under the heading, "What am I?" A page turn reveals the full creature: "I am a lion. Where am I?" Turn the page again and two lionesses are shown sitting in a grassland. The simple questions repeat for each creature."--School Library Journal.

[Gail Shipley · Rating 2 out of 5]

The picture that is shown for people to guess the animal is too small to see and they are drawings with dull colors making it hard to see the lines of the pictures. This book needed real photographs. The drawings aren't done well enough for anyone to guess.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, simple guessing.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Readers will enjoy trying to guess what animal is next based on the illustrative clue provided. Good basic information about animals and their environments.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very simple text with lovely watercolor pictures.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lewin's watercolor and pencil paintings are exceptional for a "learning to read" book.

[Mrs Mommy Booknerd http://mrsmommybooknerd.blogspot.com · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute early reading questing game of what animal is in the picture and then where is lives...informative and fun with beautiful pictures. 4 stars

[George Poulos]

This book is a non-fiction book about animals. Falls into a genre of animal non-fiction, the book isn't super wordy and only has one sentence per page. It does include bold text, illustrations, and is fairly easy to read. I would recommend this book to any students from 1st grade and up just because each page only has one sentence that isn't longer than 5 words. It's easy to learn from and the illustrations will help students stay interested on what they're reading. My fiction pairing is a book called Wait for Me, Little Tiger! This fiction book is the story of two tigers that go on adventures together, and works well with the non-fiction book. This book works well because the students will like how fun it is after learning about animals in the other book. Both deal with animals, and I would recommend both to students who are interested in animals.