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Physical & Behavioral Adaptation
Anybody At Home?
Polly 'Possum is looking for a new home to raise her expected babies. Along the way, she meets a wide variety of diurnal and nocturnal animals. She learns how they build and live in webs, nests, hives, shells, burrows, lodges, dens, caves, dreys, and even hollows. While those homes are perfect for those animals, they aren't right for her. How does Polly find a home and will she find it in time?
35 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 11, 2013
Book Description:
"Polly 'Possum is looking for a new home to raise her expected babies. Along the way, she meets a wide variety of diurnal and nocturnal animals. She learns how they build and live in webs, nests, hives, shells, burrows, lodges, dens, caves, dreys, and even hollows. While those homes are perfect for those animals, they aren't right for her. How does Polly find a home and will she find it in time?
Animals in this book include: bat, beaver, bee, fox, mole, opossum, robin, spider, squirrel, turtle and woodpecker."
A delightful tale explaining and helping children to understand the purpose of why animals choose certain places and areas in which to make their homes. Polly finally discovers her perfect place to call Home Sweet Home.
This version includes 4 pages of great learning activities for parents and educators to use at home or in the classroom. Included book activities are: explanation of animal homes, name the animal home, diurnal or nocturnal? and Polly's map.
Several online resources are available from the publisher's website. Included are: teaching activities (reading questions, math, language arts and science), interactive quizes (reading comprehension, for creative minds and math word problems), related websites, alignment to standards and author interview.
The second grade classroom I chose to share this book with for read aloud enjoyed the bright, whimsical illustrations. Each page introduces new vocabulary such as predators, drey, burrow, moat, etc. The text and illustrations simply yet effectively convey the meaning and explanations of the new words.
Excellent resource for children in grades K-2.
"Polly 'Possum is looking for a new home to raise her expected babies. Along the way, she meets a wide variety of diurnal and nocturnal animals. She learns how they build and live in webs, nests, hives, shells, burrows, lodges, dens, caves, dreys, and even hollows. While those homes are perfect for those animals, they aren't right for her. How does Polly find a home and will she find it in time?
Animals in this book include: bat, beaver, bee, fox, mole, opossum, robin, spider, squirrel, turtle and woodpecker."
A delightful tale explaining and helping children to understand the purpose of why animals choose certain places and areas in which to make their homes. Polly finally discovers her perfect place to call Home Sweet Home.
This version includes 4 pages of great learning activities for parents and educators to use at home or in the classroom. Included book activities are: explanation of animal homes, name the animal home, diurnal or nocturnal? and Polly's map.
Several online resources are available from the publisher's website. Included are: teaching activities (reading questions, math, language arts and science), interactive quizes (reading comprehension, for creative minds and math word problems), related websites, alignment to standards and author interview.
The second grade classroom I chose to share this book with for read aloud enjoyed the bright, whimsical illustrations. Each page introduces new vocabulary such as predators, drey, burrow, moat, etc. The text and illustrations simply yet effectively convey the meaning and explanations of the new words.
Excellent resource for children in grades K-2.
November 17, 2013
Where do animals live and how do they find or build their homes? This is a question many young readers may ponder. Animals live in lots of varied homes. Some they carry with them, others are on the water and some are made in very peculiar places. Spiders weave webs that become their home. Bats live in caves, foxes live in a den, bees live in a hive and turtles carry their homes wherever they go. Polly Possum is in need of a home. She spends the day asking various animals if there is room for her. Sammy Spider scolds Polly for messing up his web. Robbie Robin shoos her away because the babies are hatching. The bees don't have room in their tiny hive and Polly doesn't want to swim to a home like the beavers. As Polly makes the rounds young readers will enjoy learning about the different animals and the homes they make and thrive in all year round. Parents and teachers will love the Creative Minds section found in the back of the book. Reader will find interesting facts about animals and their homes. Readers can see Polly's map, a cool grid and can also learn about diurnal or nocturnal animals. Cheery illustrations and simple structured sentences will engage young readers for hours.
November 6, 2013
Do you know what the phrase “play ‘possum” means? And do you know why it means that? Polly 'Possum is looking for a new home to raise her expected babies. Along the way, she meets a wide variety of diurnal and nocturnal animals. She learns how they build and live in spider webs, robin nests, bee hives, turtle shells, mole burrows, beaver lodges, fox dens, bat caves, squirrel dreys, and even woodpecker hollows. While those homes are perfect for those animals, they aren't right for her. How does Polly find a home and will she find it in time? And when she senses danger, what does she do?
Anybody Home? is a wonderful complement to a classroom or homeschool science study of animal homes. In this delightfully charming story of Polly `Possum who is searching for a home of her own, author Marianne Berkes describes how Polly `Possum holds on tightly to her little red polka dotted suitcase as she glances up into the branches of an old oak tree. Young children will definitely enjoy accompanying Polly as she hunts for the perfect place to raise her own little family in. The upbeat tale will help children to understand the purpose of why animals choose certain areas in which to make their homes with an emphasis on Habitat and Environment.
The full-page, full-color artwork by illustrator Rebecca Dickinson is bold and bright with a touch of humor and helps tell the story. There is a great deal of information covered in a kid-friendly fashion about how animals use their homes not only to sleep but also to protect themselves from predators, store food, and hide from the bad weather, as well as the concepts of diurnal and nocturnal. In the back of the book are several learning activities including an explanation of animal homes, a name the animal home exercise, diurnal or nocturnal quiz, and Polly's map, and other resources can be downloaded from the publisher's website.
Anybody Home? is a wonderful complement to a classroom or homeschool science study of animal homes. In this delightfully charming story of Polly `Possum who is searching for a home of her own, author Marianne Berkes describes how Polly `Possum holds on tightly to her little red polka dotted suitcase as she glances up into the branches of an old oak tree. Young children will definitely enjoy accompanying Polly as she hunts for the perfect place to raise her own little family in. The upbeat tale will help children to understand the purpose of why animals choose certain areas in which to make their homes with an emphasis on Habitat and Environment.
The full-page, full-color artwork by illustrator Rebecca Dickinson is bold and bright with a touch of humor and helps tell the story. There is a great deal of information covered in a kid-friendly fashion about how animals use their homes not only to sleep but also to protect themselves from predators, store food, and hide from the bad weather, as well as the concepts of diurnal and nocturnal. In the back of the book are several learning activities including an explanation of animal homes, a name the animal home exercise, diurnal or nocturnal quiz, and Polly's map, and other resources can be downloaded from the publisher's website.
November 18, 2013
ANYBODY HOME? is a nice little science oriented book.
The story is quite simple; about Polly Possums search for a home. As is typical of books targeting young children, Polly goes from place to place, talking to various other animals.
What's great about this book is that there is an emphasis on Habitat and Environment. If you sit down and share this book with children they will learn that some animals are nocturnal, while others a diurnal. They'll start to think about all the types of different homes creatures have too. Birds have nests, for example, while foxes have dens, and spiders have their webs.
The animals covered are: Possum, squirrel, spider, robin, bees, turtle, mole, beaver, fox, and bats.
At the end of the book there are activity pages.
--The names of their 'homes' are given. For example, burrow, den, drey, hive....
-- The nature of their homes are discussed. What advantages they might provide. For example, a crevice can protect small animal from a large predator.
-- Diurnal and Nocturnal is discussed.
-- And finally, there is very cool section on maps and directions.
In sum, I really like this little book. The artwork is whimsical and fun, and there's a great deal of information covered in a kid-friendly fashion.
For those who need it, there are quizzes and worksheets available online --in both Spanish and English.
The story is quite simple; about Polly Possums search for a home. As is typical of books targeting young children, Polly goes from place to place, talking to various other animals.
What's great about this book is that there is an emphasis on Habitat and Environment. If you sit down and share this book with children they will learn that some animals are nocturnal, while others a diurnal. They'll start to think about all the types of different homes creatures have too. Birds have nests, for example, while foxes have dens, and spiders have their webs.
The animals covered are: Possum, squirrel, spider, robin, bees, turtle, mole, beaver, fox, and bats.
At the end of the book there are activity pages.
--The names of their 'homes' are given. For example, burrow, den, drey, hive....
-- The nature of their homes are discussed. What advantages they might provide. For example, a crevice can protect small animal from a large predator.
-- Diurnal and Nocturnal is discussed.
-- And finally, there is very cool section on maps and directions.
In sum, I really like this little book. The artwork is whimsical and fun, and there's a great deal of information covered in a kid-friendly fashion.
For those who need it, there are quizzes and worksheets available online --in both Spanish and English.
October 13, 2013
My Review: Polly is a pregnant possum in search of a new home to raise her soon to be born babies. So she goes from place to place asking if anyone has a spare room. She comes across a busy oak tree but there was no room for her as it’s occupied by Sammy the Spider, Robbie the bird whose babies are getting ready to hatch and Becky the Bee. So Polly tried the rock, pond, ground and a cave but they were occupied by other animals.
Finally Polly came across Woody the Woodpecker’s hole in a tree but he wasn’t in, the hole was empty. So Polly moved into the abandoned hollow and had her 12 babies.
It is so interesting to read about how animals use their homes not only to sleep but to protect themselves from predators, store food and hide from the bad weather. Explore the activities in the back of the book. Learn about the Animal Homes, Name the Animal Home, Diurnal or Nocturnal and Polly’s map.
I recommend this book for classroom teaching. The illustrations by Rebecca Dickinson are colorful and helps tell the story.
FTC Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book from Sylvan Dell Publishing in exchange for a fair and honest review. I was not monetarily compensated for my opinion in any way.
Finally Polly came across Woody the Woodpecker’s hole in a tree but he wasn’t in, the hole was empty. So Polly moved into the abandoned hollow and had her 12 babies.
It is so interesting to read about how animals use their homes not only to sleep but to protect themselves from predators, store food and hide from the bad weather. Explore the activities in the back of the book. Learn about the Animal Homes, Name the Animal Home, Diurnal or Nocturnal and Polly’s map.
I recommend this book for classroom teaching. The illustrations by Rebecca Dickinson are colorful and helps tell the story.
FTC Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book from Sylvan Dell Publishing in exchange for a fair and honest review. I was not monetarily compensated for my opinion in any way.
August 27, 2016
This is a cute little story about a possum trying to find a new home so she can have her babies. The story itself is rather sweet, and children will find themselves worrying about Polly and if she will ever find a home. My kids quite enjoyed the book and asked to read it several times. My 3 year old especially liked it.
The only thing I don't like about the story is all the alliterative names. It is a rather large pet peeve of mine. Everyone uses alliterative names in children's books and it's gotten to the point that I groan when I see it.
The illustrations are middle of the road for me, which is weird, because I like the cover. Some of the artwork is pretty good, and some is just okay.
My blog: Books for Kids
The only thing I don't like about the story is all the alliterative names. It is a rather large pet peeve of mine. Everyone uses alliterative names in children's books and it's gotten to the point that I groan when I see it.
The illustrations are middle of the road for me, which is weird, because I like the cover. Some of the artwork is pretty good, and some is just okay.
My blog: Books for Kids
September 15, 2013
As time approaches for her own babies to be born, Polly Possum searches for a safe, warm place. She checks in with a spider and then is warned away by robins who don't want a predator such as her in the next. But everywhere she goes, she is turned down or the space just isn't suitable. Just in time she finds a haven that has been recently vacated by a woodpecker. Young readers will learn quite a lot about the animal kingdom by following Polly on her quest for a home of her own. I found the text engaging and the illustrations to be filled with wonderful colors and expressions.
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September 13, 2018A friend used this book with her second graders and it worked well. I thought the text and art were very good. The "For Creative Minds" section at the back of the book is excellent, too.
To read more about the Pros of this book, go to The Reading Tub®.
To read more about the Pros of this book, go to The Reading Tub®.
June 7, 2014
Very cute book talking about different types of animal homes. My boys (3 & 6) loved it and re-read it often.
March 30, 2021
Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews