Summertime Sleepers: Animals That Estivate

by Melissa Stewart, Sarah Brannen (Illustrator)

A 2022 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book

Everyone knows about animals that hibernate in the winter. But it's time to discover animals that sleep all summer long!

All science classrooms discuss animals that hibernate during winter months, but few know about animals that estivate--a prolonged sleep during hot or dry periods. Dual layers of text awaken readers to the reasons estivating animals become dormant--whether it's because warm weather threatens food supply or to avoid increased body temperatures. From the ladybug to the salamander, from the lungfish to the desert hedgehog, twelve estivating animals and their habits--both when sleeping and awake--are explained through clear text and elegant watercolor illustrations that create a scrapbook feel.

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Animals, Science, Nature, Summer, Childrens

40 pages, Hardcover

Published April 27, 2021

About the author

Melissa Stewart is the award-winning author of more than 180 science and nature books for children. She offers a wide range of programs for schools, libraries, nature centers, and conferences. www.melissa-stewart.com"

Reviews

[MissBecka Gee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prior to this book I was unfamiliar with the term estivate.
This is a really cute way to teach kids (and adults alike) about Summer Sleepers.
Nice illustrations and small descriptions on why they estivate on each animal.
There is more information in the back, including a comparison of hibernation vs estivation.
The author then includes other titles to help explore further into seasonal slumbering animals.
Definitely something I would include with all tiny human reading rotations.
Much love to NetGalley & Charlesbridge for my DRC.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

fun, my youngest wanted to read this twice, too. As usual with Melissa Stewart's non-fiction, it's engaging and informative. It isn't ultra-detailed but for this age group it does a good job of conveying how different animals (from reptiles to amphibians to mammals) estivate (some briefly, some for extended periods) during the hot summer months. A variety of creatures from different parts of the world are shown and there's further back matter about each, along with a nice Bibliography and suggestions for further reading. It's neat that the author points out that scientists are just now starting to understand and study estivation (whereas hibernation is well-known) so children today can study and learn right along with the experts with ever-emerging information.

[Natalie all_books_great_and_small · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Summertime sleepers is a delightful children's book about animals who estivate in the warm months of the year. This is the first book I have come across about estivationas the usual books I have come across are always about hibernation.
Each page is about a different animal or creature, and has a fact file about the animal and a page of information about how they estivate. I really enjoyed reading this and know the children I work with will find it fascinating!

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh wow, this short kids' book, with its careful illustrations, is absolutely fascinating. I had no idea! Lots of rich back matter, including an enlightening essay from the illustrator, make this a 'must-buy' resource for all libraries that serve young children and families.

I suppose it will be surpassed, in time, by an even better book. After all, as a note in the back says, scientists are only now beginning to study summertime sleepers. What a wonderful line of inquiry for a young researcher to pursue... and then, eventually, to write the next book on the subject.

[*Tau* · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a child we all learned about hibernation
But have you ever heard of 'estivation'?

Beautiful illustrations alongside interesting facts will delight young ánd old!
Read about all these animals who - during summer - put their lives on hold


***********************************************

Interesting phenomenon

Everyone knows animals who sleep their way through wintertime.
But can you name some who sleep during summer?
Have you ever even heard of this phenomenon which is called 'estivation'?
Most of us haven't.

Neither did Melissa Stewart .
Until a hot June day in 2011, when she was scanning the shelves in the natural history section of her town library and stumbled on a 250-page tome on hibernation. It contained only a single paragraph on estivation.
But that was enough to spark her curiosity and to get her searching for more info in science journals and their reference sections.
Thanks to her perseverance to present her gained knowledge in an attractive picture book, more people will now be able to learn about this less known phenomenon.

The beautiful illustrations are made by Sarah S. Brannen .
She has clearly put a lot of thought in the way of presentation of the animals. As she also explains in an afterword, she had to show animals in sleeping positions. But how could she avoid a too sleepy feeling or too static images?
An original idea occured to her: she would show the animals both sleeping and wide-awake.
To make a clear distinction, she made warm watercolors of the animals when they are resting. These main illustrations reveal how and where each animal estivates.
Alongside these watercolors there are also black-and-white sketchbook pages picturing the animals when they're awake. On these drawn sketches Melissa was able to share more of the scientific information she gathered, like the size of the animals, in which part of the world to find them and some other interesting facts.
And it must be said: this concept turned out brilliantly!
To get an idea of how it looks like, you can take a look at the animated movie here.


A book that grows along

At the end of the book there are three pages of text in which a bit of additional info is given about the discussed animals.
Some readers believe that it would've been better if all the info about each animal was bundled in one place instead of a part being presented along with the pictures and another part at the end of the book.
But you could also consider this structure as an asset, because it makes this book very well suited for different kinds of public and thus can 'grow along' with the (increasing interest of) children.

Young children can simply go through the book without going into the details and just be amazed by the colorful pictures and all these special animals.
Children who are a bit older can read the extra information at the end of the book which creates more depth and allows them to dive deeper into the subject of estivation (if they wish to do so).
For all the curiosity seekers (and especially adults) there's also the mentioning of extra source material which form excellent starting points if you wish to learn more about this fascinating subject.


STEM

More and more children's books fall under the category of STEM-books.
For those who don't know what STEM means, it's the abbreviation for four closely connected areas of study: science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

One thing's for sure: this is an absolute topper in the genre!
Firstly, it's based upon a lesser known subject which makes it interesting for both young ánd old.
Secondly, this book can be used to teach various STEM-subjects. Because not only does it bring biology to life, but geography as well. Let children search on a world map where the animals live, let them search for extra information on the internet, …
Actually there are so many teaching options thinkable, not only at home but also (and maybe foremost) at school. If you're short of ideas, make sure to take a look at the book extensions on Melissa's website! In the right column you'll find a Teacher's guide, Read aloud guide, Readers theater, Revision decisions (interactive teaching tool) and a video Rockin' Research.


Warning

This book can have serious side effects. The most reported one is that it makes you really want to know even more about estivation.
(For your information: Aestivation has a total different meaning when you talk about flowers instead of animals! It then refers to the mode of arrangement of sepals or petals in a flower bud with respect to one another)

Out of curiosity I looked around on the internet.
Although there isn't that much material available, I found some really interesting footage.
If you want, you can head over to my blog World of Tau to view some short movies.

The website of author Melissa Stewart can be found here.
The website of illustrator Sarah S. Brannen can be found here.


*Thanks to NetGalley and Charlesbridge for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Sunday · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating. Stewart draws comparisons on how different animals estivate. For example, ladybugs snooze in large groups but the mourning cloak butterfly snoozes by itself.

Brannen's illustrations reveal how animals estivate and there are sidebars with interesting sketches of the animals when they are active and additional details like size and location.

DON'T SKIP THE BACK MATTER. LOVE Stewart and Brannen's discussion of how they made the decisions they did - for topic, content, layout, design, etc.

PAIR THIS TEXT WITH other titles by this great duo - Seashells: More Than a Home and Feathers: Not Just for Flying. The three titles reveal different ways of thinking about animal behaviors, habitats, and physical features. Great mentors for research beyond "favorite animal" and as mentors for writing.

[Moonkiszt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Featured in a grandma reads session.

Summertime Sleepers: Animals That Estivate provided our group an opportunity to check in on those earthly creatures whose habits are the opposite of those who hibernate. We had actually never thought there was an opposite group, so this was news to us!

After going over the list and seeing the places were the Estivaters nap, we've decided to keep it down when we are in their environments. Who knew? (Clearly somebody knew, we just were people-centric, like usual.) Widening our horizons, all.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book talks about Estivation. Its the Hibernation that happens in the summer. This book does a great job at talking about numerous different animals that do this. Each animal had a page that talked about how they hibernate, for how long, and then there are pictures drawn to show how the animal does it. I would recommend this book to any classroom that talks about hibernation. It would be an added helpfulness to the topic.

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book that sits in a bit of a niche perhaps too far to the side of the general primary school curriculum, but one that should be considered for school libraries certainly. Estivation, being the summertime sleeping of animals that need to avoid droughts, the heat or lack of food, is a worthy subject, and we get twelve strong examples of animals that use it here. I just wasn't perfectly on board with how they were introduced. You can get one of two feelings from the text as presented here – either that we have a short snappy introduction, scattered across all the pages, that discuss the either/or contrasts the author's research has led to, and lots of box-out styled captions that interrupt that, or a scientific look at many different critters interrupted by the on-going text that forms the titles of each spread. Either way things get interrupted – and when we turn to a concluding section to see yet more bumf about each critter you wish you had got all the data in one go for every animal in turn, and not the disjointed, ever-self-interrupting, in-two-parts approach that has been taken. The author's footnotes suggest she was aware of the issue, but to my personal mind she came down on the wrong side of that particular fence. Still, the scarcity of interest in the subject from other books for this age range, and the sterling watercoloured artworks, do mean this remains a success. Four stars, then, grudgingly given.

[Deborah]

Have you ever heard of estivation? Well, I hadn't before I read this book! Melissa Stewart is a master of writing fascinating and lyrical nonfiction texts, with information layered in a way to appeal to a wide range of readers. Sarah Brannen's watercolors and drawings are both educating and beautiful. Extensive back-matter adds to the text, and I especially love the author's and illustrator's notes about their process — for kid-readers, of course, but also anyone interested in writing nonfiction for kids.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nonfiction picture book that looks at animals who take a sleep break when it gets too hot, the water dries up, or the food becomes too scarce in summer.

I highly recommend reading the author's note. Not only is it a helpful look into the writing and revising process, but it tells you how estivation is a relatively new topic in science and the research into it is ongoing and just in the beginning stages. I really appreciated the global selection of animals included in this book and also the variety of different types of animals (amphibians, arthropods - both insects and crabs, reptiles, mammals, gastropods, and fish are all included), and the further information in the back of the book about each animal (noting that some of these critters both estivate and hibernate). The text is just the right length for curious lower grade readers and animal lovers. And the illustrations are charming. Highly deserving of the Sibert honor it received.

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't seen to many books on estivation, but this one is much needed and a real delight! Loved the animals showcased in this book. I had no idea what killifish were before this book but was astounded that they could flip themselves into logs and shut themselves down until the rains came! Who knew fish could do that? Nature is amazing. I think that this book would make a fine edition addition to a science collection ,or a wonderful gift for a child who enjoys nature! I liked the illustrations; nice details!
I received a Kindle arc from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating look at animals that hunker down for the summer, when either it is too hot for them to be out in the heat, or there is not enough food available to eat. The author's main text is simple enough for preschool children and is presented in fairly large font. But she also includes additional information in a smaller font. There are even more details on each animal in the back matter. On each page, the illustrator presented a watercolor painting of the sleeping animal, and smaller black and white sketches of the animal awake. A wide variety of animals are included: insects, fish, crabs, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals. The book concludes with author's and illustrator's notes, and a list of websites and books.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! My first reaction was why haven’t I heard of this before? But it is a relatively new area of study. So I hope a lot of librarians purchased it to hand to teachers wanting books on hibernation. This is the same thing, but protection from the heat instead of the cold. I suspect eventually the two types will be presented together in a subcategory of creatures who take long sleeps. It was a bit too long but if they had subtracted one or two of these fascinating creatures, it would have been the perfect length. Definitely recommend. 2022 Siebert Honor Award

[Heather Montgomery · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun book! Everyone knows about hibernation, but who's heard of the complementary (and equally important) behavior: estivation? In addition to bi-level text that provides examples of how animals rest during the heat (snails slow heart rates, crabs climb into mud, killifish leap on land and wedge themselves into damp logs!) the charming illustrations include realistic sketch pages which are ideal models for student science notebooks! Sure to please young readers and educators, alike.

[Emilee (emileereadsbooks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley and Charlesbridge for a free digital copy for my review.

A book about the little know animals that estivate vs hibernate. I think this book is wonderfully illustrated and very informative for young and old readers alike!

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summertime Sleepers: Animals that Estivate, written by Mellissa Stewart and illustrated by Sarah S. Brannen, is an engaging and informative children’s book. The text is simple and plain (for the most part), making it easy to follow for young readers/listeners. Every now and then I’d say a word falls a bit flat or awkward, but for the most part the text flows smoothly.
It’s not particularly lyrical, but does make nice use of some poetic techniques, such as alliteration and assonance, as per the following examples:
• “warm weather”
• “searches for shelter”
• “snug spots and sink into summertime sleep”
• “snooze in groups”

Despite the brevity required of a picture book, Stewart does a nice job of conveying the factual part clearly as well as concisely. Animals covered include the mourning cloak butterfly, lungfish, the California tiger salamander, pixie frogs, and desert hedgehogs. There’s also a separate paragraph for each animal in the back matter giving 2-3 lines of more information about them, an explanation of the difference between estivation and hibernation, a further reading bibliography, and a brief personal note from the author and one from the illustrator.

As for the illustrations, the animal sections present several types. One is the animal in its estivating setting—these are warmly colorful and nicely uncluttered. Each also has an included inset illustration down in black on an off-white background showing a more fact-based/scientific illustration of the animal, with its full name, its scientific name, its size, and drawings of it in actual size if possible or to a given scale, and also enlarged.

Lucid, smooth flowing, good read-aloud text and colorful, simple drawings all combine to make a very good non-fiction book for young children.

[Alex D · Rating 3 out of 5]

This informational book, Summertime Sleepers: Animals that Estivate, teaches readers about animals that sleep for the entirety of summer. The book begins with animals at the end of the year who are hibernating and then discusses examples of animals that are estivating, like land snails, salamanders, and desert hedgehogs. The author compares and contrasts examples of animals that sleep in the summer. For example, the author writes, “Some hard-shelled creatures climb up high for a nap…while others doze underground.” Each page also includes a sidebar, which provides additional information about the animals being explained. At the end of the book, it becomes Fall and animals stop estivating and another group of animals starts hibernating. It makes the book feel complete. The author’s use of repetition also provides a feeling of comprehensiveness because the opening spread and the ending spread contain the same sentence: “Yawn, stretch, blink!”

The pages contain watercolor illustrations and the use of color gives readers a sense of habitat. For example, colors such as yellow, green, and blue are used to show above-ground habitats while brown and gray show underground habitats. The pages reminds me of a collage because they have the main illustration but also an illustration of a sketchpad in the sidebar to present facts. The sketchpad contains sketches of animals in black and white and details like the name of the animal and special facts.

This book was located on the National Teaching Association Website provided by the course’s Wakelet. It was a winning title for “Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students in 2022 (Published in 2021)”. I read the book format at my local public library.

It is a good book to explore in the classroom. Many students are familiar with or exposed to conversations about animals that hibernate. So, this places attention on a new study of focus. The simple text in this book makes it an appropriate read for students in kindergarten to third grade. As a hook, I would take the class outside. We would sit in the sun for a few minutes and then transition into the shade. We could use our senses to describe the experience. Then, I would introduce the book and ask the group why some animals might prefer to be in the shade in the summer. Since the author uses compare and contrast, this would be a good activity for students post-reading. Students can select two animals and create a Venn Diagram to show what they learned about how the animals keep safe in the warmth. There is a Teacher’s Guide for this book.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of people know about animals that hibernate, but what about animals that estivate? These are critters that sleep in the summer, whether for a few days or the whole season! These animals vary in species all across the board, from ladybugs, to crabs, turtles, and even hedgehogs! Wonderful realistic illustrations accompany these fascinating facts on creatures that prefer to keep it cool.

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book about animals that sleep or become inactive during the summer due to heat, drying up of ponds/water or lack of food. A fairly new field. Wonderful what can be learned in children's books.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was curious about estivation, which scientists are just beginning to learn about in comparison with the much better known activity of the opposite season, winter hibernation. This picture book, written by Melissa Stewart and illustrated by Sarah S. Brannen in a beautiful, naturalistic style, describes several members of the animal kingdom who sleep during the summer, either because of a lack of food supply or an aversion to extreme heat. From pixie frogs to yellow-bellied marmots to African lungfish to my favorite illustration, the mourning cloak butterfly, the book is a lovely and fascinating introduction to an amazing variety of fauna, and it includes black and white sketches of each along with their Latin names, locales, and a brief description. There is also a nice glossary of the animals in the back for further reading, as well as a reading list, selected online resources, and author's and illustrator's notes. Very comprehensive and informative.

[Pattie Babbitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so interesting. Hibernation is such a talked about subject, but it was so fun learning something new in Science...Estivation. This book can lead to so many great library lessons...I cannot wait to use it.

[Karen Arendt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have long enjoyed Melissa Stewart’s books. The concept of summer animals taking a break was new to me and would intrigue children accustomed to learn
Ning about hibernation. The illustrations are detailed, visually appealing, and worth pausing over.

[Elizabeth C · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Robert F. Sibert Honor Book is about animals that estivate, or rest during the summer months. The book sis organized as a list of that discusses when, how, and why different animals estivate. Examples cover all corners of the animal world, including species of ladybug, butterfly, lizards, hedgehogs, marmots, and frogs. One of the more interesting facts I learned is that the pixie frog of Botswana digs itself a hole and creates a cocoon for itself. Once it is done estivating, it eats its own cocoon!

Along with all the fascinating information are beautifully done watercolors and black-and-white sketches. The watercolors show the animals as they are estivating and the sketches show different aspects of the animals while they are awake and in motion. One such example is the mangrove killifish that flips itself end over end to get into a hollow log to estivate! The end matter includes several pages with more information about animals that estivate, resources to continue exploring estivation, and notes from the author and illustrator. My only note is that I read this as an ebook rather than as a physical book. While the illustrations were great as an ebook, I think I missed out on really enjoying the beauty of the two-page spreads.

This was a fascinating read and one that students grades 1-5 would enjoy. Besides reading for the sheer pleasure of learning so many facts, teachers could use this book to track metacognition, such as noting new information, asking questions, and making connections. Teachers could also use this book to compare and contrast animals, identify cause and effect, or as a starting point for students to conduct their own research into a particular animal species or animal behavior. A very interesting and fun read!

[AnneLibrarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal, Honor Book 2022

Wonderful nonfiction book and great topic. Most children know about hibernation but not estivation. I love books that get young readers excited about the natural world and that give them glimpses of wildlife they may not see in their own environments.

[Donna Maguire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to be added to Amazon UK and US on 27th April 2021 - publication day!

I really like this book and the illustrations were lovely!

The book focussed on Estivation and animals that sleep all through the summer – most children will have heard of hibernation – but how many have heard of Estivation?

The book is well written and easy to follow and understand. The book focused on a great mix of different species too so there is also plenty to learn and it is a fun book too.

It is 5 stars from me for this one – a great idea that was well developed and is very highly recommended!

[Maria Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

With a triple-layered text - a sparsely worded main text introduces where the animals estivate, animal facts and a black and white sketch are on a scientist's 'journal page,' and a more explanatory side bar - this book introduces readers to twelve animals (fish, amphibians, reptiles and mammals) who sleep through the summer. The stunning, life-like illustrations make it so much fun to learn about all these unusual critters - like a pixie frog that sleeps in a cocoon - and the "More About Animals that Estivate" offers additional information. It's an excellent STEM book.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an electronic ARC from Charlesbridge through SLJ Day of Dialogue.
So many books have been written about hibernation, and it's refreshing to read one on the opposite cycle. Stewart shows examples of these animals and explains where/how/when they estivate. The realistic illustrations and guide book drawings allow readers to see the animals in their habitats. Simple to follow text provides the information needed. Further informative text is provided at the end of the book.

[Kassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting!

[Carly Shark · Rating 5 out of 5]

While searching on Epic, a digital reading platform, for hibernation books to use in my nonfiction bear unit, Summertime Sleepers: Animals that Estivate appeared in the results. I also came across reviews for this title on the Booklist website and the Shelf Awareness blog. Up until now, I had not heard of the term “estivate,” but it’s very comparable to what it means to hibernate. Melissa Stewart addresses readers’ curiosity (and possible confusion) within the first two pages by writing, “But soon another group of animals searches for shelter. They settle into cool, snug spots and sink into a summertime sleep called estivation.” Then the author begins to group animals that estivate, writing “Some insects snooze in groups…” (Convergent lady beetles) “…but other rest all alone” ( a mourning cloak butterfly). She continues by naming two specific types of hard-shelled creatures, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals who spend their summer estivating. The book ends similarly to how it began: Stewart explains how estivating animals are awake enjoying the cooler temperatures in autumn. “Meanwhile, another group of animals searches for shelter” as they prepare for hibernation.

I visited the author’s website and discovered a list of nearly fifteen honors and awards that she has received for Summertime Sleepers: Animals that Estivate, including the National Science Teaching Association Outstanding Science Trade Book, Robert F. Sibert Informational Honor Book, American Library Association Notable, and Junior Library Guild Selection. By using a digital version of this title, I was able to enjoy the ease of flipping through the pages, an up close, clear view of the text and illustrations, and benefit of finding related titles through the Epic library. I learned that Stewart has written more than 200 award-winning science books for children and does a ton of firsthand research to gather information for her writing. She writes what Children’s Books in Children’s Hands calls factual nonfiction, which is “marked by its straightforward presentation of known facts.” On each double-page spread readers will find a short two- to three-sentence paragraph located in one of the corners describing exactly what the focus animal does when estivating. For instance, “As the days heat up, a California tiger salamander scouts out an empty rodent hole and falls asleep. The cool, comfy burrow is the perfect place to spend summer.” Although Stewart’s work does not include the organizational and support tools that the class textbook discusses (table of contents, index, glossary, etc.), she does provide readers with additional information about the animals featured in the book. Sarah Brannen’s realistic watercolor drawings compliment the text they are paired with and after reading the illustrator’s note, I had more of an appreciation for the black-and-white little sketchbooks she decided to include in her illustrations. She explains, “My main illustrations reveal how and where each animal estivates. At the same time, the overlaid sketchbook pages include further visual details about each animal when it is awake.” According to Children’s Books in Children’s Hands these extra visuals “[…] can help clarify abstract concepts, [and] they can convey specific facts […]” such as how the pixie frog eats its own cocoon. The sketchbook images include the animal’s name, scientific name, size, drawings of them in action, and where they live. Readers will have fun finding out that these creatures are from places outside of the U.S. like Germany, Australia, and Pakistan!

Students from ages 5 to 9 will be the most engaged reading Summertime Sleepers: Animals that Estivate, but it could be used for any grade level learning about animal hibernation and estivation. I would suggest teachers use this informational picture book to compare what different animals do to survive in the summer versus the winter. Older students could use a Ven diagram to compare two of the animals described in the book by thinking about their size, habitat, animal classification, etc. The illustrator’s sketchbooks create an opportunity for teachers to connect science to math in the form of measurement. Students can draw the animals according to scale and the class can discuss how this affects their ability to estivate. Of course, learners can also further their knowledge of the topic by researching one of the animals found in Summertime Sleepers: Animals that Estivate too.