Mountains: A Picture Book About Stunning Natural Wonders with Full-Color Photographs for Kids

by Seymour Simon

Join award-winning science writer Seymour Simon as he explores some of the world’s largest marvels: mountains! With clear, simple text and stunning full-color photographs, readers will learn all about these amazing natural structures in this informative picture book! From the snowy Alps to the Appalachians’ worn peaks, mountains are a dramatic reminder of the ages past and ages to come. People have lived on and around mountains for thousands of years, yet it is only recently that we have been able to understand how these natural monuments were formed. Now, anyone can explore these ancient and colossal natural wonders. Perfect for young scientists’ school reports, this book supports the Common Core State Standards. Check out these other Seymour Simon books about the Natural World:

Genres: Nonfiction, Science

32 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1994

About the author

Seymour Simon, whom the NY Times called "the dean of [children's science:] writers," is the author of more than 250 highly acclaimed science books (many of which have been named Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children by the National Science Teachers Association).

Seymour Simon uses his website, SeymourSimon.com, to provide free downloads of a wealth of materials for educators, homeschoolers and parents to use with his books, including 4-page Teacher Guides for all 26 of his Collins/Smithsonian photo essay books. The site provides multiple resources for kids writing book reports or wanting to explore the online Science Dictionary, and also features the Seymour Science blog highlighting current science news. Educators and families are encouraged to sign up to receive the monthly newsletter from SeymourSimon.com to stay abreast of the latest materials that Seymour Simon is introducing to enrich the reading experience.

He taught science and creative writing in elementary and secondary schools and was chair of the science department at a junior high school in the New York City public school system before leaving to become a full-time writer. "I haven't really given up teaching," he says, "and I suppose I never will, not as long as I keep writing and talking to kids around the country and the world."

Seymour Simon is also a creator and the author of a series of 3D books and a series of Glow-in-the-Dark Books for Scholastic Book Clubs, a series of leveled SEEMORE READERS for Chronicle Books, and the EINSTEIN ANDERSON, SCIENCE DETECTIVE series of fiction books. His books encourage children to enjoy the world around them through learning and discovery, and by making science fun. He has introduced tens of millions of children to a staggering array of subjects; one prominent science education specialist described Simon's books as "extraordinary examples of expository prose."

Seymour Simon has been honored with many awards for his work, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science/Subaru Lifetime Achievement Award for his lasting contribution to children's science literature; the New York State Knickerbocker Award for Juvenile Literature; the Hope S. Dean Memorial Award from the Boston Public Library for his contribution to children's science literature; The Washington Post/Children's Book Guild Award for Non-fiction; the Jeremiah Ludington Award for his outstanding contribution to children's nonfiction; the Empire State Award for excellence in literature for young people; and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Forum on Children's Science Books.

In a recent interview Simon was asked if he ever thinks of retiring. "I seem to be working faster and harder than ever. I absolutely don't feel any urge to sit back and look at what I've done. The only things that I'm thinking about are things I'd like to do in the future. I'm planning and doing and continuing to write. It's what I love to do. I remember a story about an anthropologist going to talk to a tribe and he asked them what was their word for "work." Their response was they have no word for work. Everybody does the things that they do in their life. I love that response. I don't differentiate between work and play. Everything I do is something that I enjoy doing - the writing, the research and everything else."

Seymour Simon writes and photographs nature from his hilltop home in Columbia County in upstate New York, where he lives with his wife Liz Nealon.

You can follow Seymour on Facebook and on Twitter, as well as on his website, which offers free, downloadable Teacher Guides to his books for educators, parents and homeschoolers, as well as the popular Seymour Science Daily Blo

Reviews

[Margaux Collier · Rating 2 out of 5]

“Mountains” is a book written by Seymour Simon. This book mostly talks about how mountains are made out of, and all the different types of mountains there are in this world. The book states the Himalayan Mountains, which is one of the biggest mountains. It is has over fourteen peaks that are over 26,000 feet. It is about 29,028 feet tall! One of the type of mountains that I learned about was Dome Mountains, which are formed by the same kind of molten rock as the volcanic mountains. However, some do not act or even look like volcanoes. In Dome Mountains the magma does not come to the surface. On example was a Dome Mountain was the Yosemite’s Half Dome. Mountains actually change shape, but slowly. Mountains have an immense effect on weather and climate. If you were to climb a mountain above 9,000 feet tall, than you would probably start feeling dizzy or short breathing? This is because high up, the air contains less oxygen than on sea level. But, there is a person that work, live, and farm high up there. Because those people have developed more red bloods cells and this helps them get more air oxygen, since their bodies has adjusted to living in a high place. Not a lot of people live in the mountains, but they are important to all of us because, they create rain forests and deserts. Thus, Mountains written by Seymour Simon, is a great book, explaining to us all about mountains.

I think my friend would be interested in reading this book, because she really likes to learn new things whenever she had an opportunity. She also really likes knowing more about mountains when ever she would have a chance. So, yes I think that one of my friends would really love reading about this book. This is another title I could give to this book, which is “All about Mountains”. I would call it like this because, this book talks mostly about how mountains are made personally. My favorite photograph is the picture of the Himalayan because the picture is so neatly taken, and the photograph did a great job! Thus, these were the three questions I used.

I would recommend this book to anyone who would like to read about mountains. I personally didn’t like the book, but it would depend on any other general. This book would mostly be for the 7-10 graders. Thus, I would recommend this book to anyone, even though I didn’t really like it.

[Kaitlynkearns · Rating 4 out of 5]

This beautiful informational text by award winning author Seymour Simon would be a great read aloud for fourth graders. This book discusses various aspects of mountains, such as what is required to be considered a mountain, how tall the tallest mountains are, and how long a mountain takes to form. This book is full of information for students about mountains.

Not only is this text informative, but it includes colorful photos sure to excite students as they learn. This book is written in a story-like format so that students don't become bored or disinterested while listening. This text would be great to read when your class is learning about different land formations.

Students will enjoy reading this book and will learn so much from it. Seymour Simon is definitely an author to return to when looking for informational texts for your classroom. I would highly recommend this book and author for informational texts.

[MountainAshleah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful photos. I'll admit I picked up this book for simplified information on mountain formation after trying to make it through more complicated "adult" texts.

[Sparrows at Home · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent photographs and very informative. I used this book with my 7-year-old. The beginning of the book was good for her, but once the book began talking about the types of mountains it was a little over her level of understanding. If she were a year or two older, she would have gotten more out of the second part of the book. I thought the book was very thorough.