Big Cats

by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent, Kendahl Jan Jubb (Illustrator)

Big cats are on the prowl and ready to pounce. From their amazing skill as predators to their incredible strength and grace, big cats are some of the most awe-inspiring animals on Earth. Female lions work as a team to ambush and capture their prey. The more solitary leopard is able to drag an animal much larger than itself up a tree. And the Siberian tiger, the biggest cat of all, can weigh almost seven hundred pounds and measure the length of a compact car. Award-winning science writer Dorothy Hinshaw Patent clearly presents the facts about all big cats, from where they live to what they hunt to how they are threatened by humans. With fine artist Kendahl Jan Jubb's striking watercolors, these perfectly adapted hunting machines leap off the pages.

Genres: Nonfiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published October 14, 2005

About the author

As a child, my favorite activity was exploring nature, especially finding animals like frogs, toads, and lizards. I kept tropical fish, had a dog, and loved riding horses. My love of animals led to a Ph.D. degree from U.C. Berkley in Zoology. In grad school I met and married fellow student Greg Patent. Our two sons, David and Jason, were born before we finished school. I wanted to use my training and my knowledge, but I also wanted to raise my sons and be there for them when they needed me. I decided that writing the kind of books I'd always loved reading was a good solution to my dilemma, and that turned out to be true. One of my favorite things is learning new "stuff," and every time I tackle a new book project I get to indulge myself in that passion. I'm a lucky gal!

Fast forward to the present. Our sons are grown and have their own families. We live in Missoula, MT, where Greg is now a food writer (http://www.thebakingwizard.com) and a radio personality (httpp://www.mtpr.org--look for Food Guys). My writing has expanded to other nonfiction topics, especially ones dealing with the Westward Expansion period of U.S. history. I've taught writing classes in many venues, visited schools in most U.S. states, attended many conferences for teachers and librarians, won a number of awards, and had great travel adventures in pursuit of my subject matter.

Reviews

[Quan Byrd · Rating 5 out of 5]

good book

[Crystal Thibodeaux · Rating 5 out of 5]

Big Cats is an informational text that presents facts about, you guessed it, big cats! The beginning pages of this book goes into great detail about the characteristics of all big cats such as what they look like and how they hunt and hide. After the first few pages, the book then begins to discuss specific big cats such as lions, jaguars, cheetahs, etc. For each big cat described, the author places two small boxes in the corner of the page. These boxes include the length, height, and weight of the cat along with a small map displaying the location of the specific cat’s habitat. Overall, this book includes descriptions of seven different big cats, including tigers, which have five surviving types! The author even includes the scientific names of each big cat. The book also possesses beautifully detailed illustrations that showcases what each animal looks like.

This informational text will be great for 4th grade students that are learning about animals and their habitats. It’s apparent that this book can be used to learn science content, however, you can also relate it to comprehension as well. I am currently using this book to assist me in creating a strategy-focused science unit. Teachers can use this book to teach a comprehension strategy that enables students to learn about animals and their habitats. This book can also serve as a resource for students who may want to do research on big cats. No matter how you decide to use it in the classroom, this book provides great information about the largest, most powerful hunters on Earth that every student should know about.

[Emily Peer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personal Reaction: I thought this book was super cool. It has no real pictures of the cats but the illustrations look very detailed and real. The book is full of information ranging from the size of their teeth to their hunting habits. The book include multiple kinds of cats such as lions, tigers, snow leopards, cheetahs and more!
Read aloud: This would be a great read aloud during a science lesson with 1st or 2nd graders. This book would be good to read aloud when learning about different types of mammals or when learning about African cats and their habitats.
Independent reading: A student that is really interested in animals would love to read this book. The book shows the differences and similarities between all of these cats and could be used for a compare and contrast activity.
Nonfiction conventions: The book includes little blurbs stating where each cat is located and the height and weight of both males and females. The book also includes an index at the back of the book.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Personal Reaction: I really liked this book and I think it would be a good one to have in my future classroom. The illustrations are really great and life-like and I learned some new information about cats from this book.

Purposes: This would be a great read-aloud in the classroom for any grade level. This book would also be a good resource for animal studies in a science unit. Students in 5-6th grade could probably read this on their own for enjoyment and information about big cats, but I think it would especially be good to use as a read-aloud or as a source for a research project for students. There are some great nonfiction conventions in this book such as an index, and the use of tables and graphs are very helpful in learning more about the animals discussed in the book.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This informative book about wild cats is just the perfect size for my 5-year-old. It is full of interesting facts with just enough text to keep a young child interested, but not too much. Because it is illustrated, it doesn't come with photographs which I appreciate in wildlife non-fiction for kids, but the artwork is well done.