About Rodents: A Guide for Children

About... A Guide for Children

by Cathryn Sill, John Sill (Illustrator)

Explore the fascinating world of rats, squirrels, guinea pigs, and more in this primer from the creators of the award-winning About… and About Habitats series. “A fine entry in the Sills’s series…quality nonfiction about a resilient family that is so much more than mice and rats.” ― School Library Journal This acclaimed beginner’s guide offers a first glimpse into the natural world of rodents―everything from porcupines and deer mice to squirrels, hamsters, and more. Former educator and author Cathryn Sill uses simple, easy-to-understand language to teach children what rodents are, how they look, how they move, what they eat, and where they live. Noted wildlife illustrator John Sill offers beautifully detailed, realistic paintings to depict a variety of rodents, from the tiny Eurasian Harvest Mouse to the hefty Capybara of South America. An afterword provides more details. About Rodents is part of the award-winning About… series. Ideal for casual exploration as well as for early childhood and elementary science units on animals. Best Children’s Books of the Year ―Bank Street College of Education
Kansas State Reading Circle Recommended Reading List (Primary) ―Kansas National Education Association
North Carolina Author Awards (Nominee, AAUW Award for Juvenile Literature) ―North Carolina Literary and Historical Association

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

48 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2008

About the author

Cathryn Sill, a graduate of Western Carolina University, was an elementary school teacher for thirty years. She lives in North Carolina.

When she was an elementary school teacher who loves nature. When she had trouble finding good natural history books for her kindergarten class, she decided to write them.

With her husband John as the illustrator, she has created two series of nonfiction books for children.

The ABOUT series is about different groups of animals and includes 16 books. She has just completed the eighth books in a series about habitats.

Reviews

[Katt Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This just needs to be said: Capybaras are just plain weird.

A good book about rodents. A few things that made me stop and think, which is pretty good given what a high overview of the topic this is meant to be. I'm a huge fan of this team of writer / illustrator, and so I know I've been singing their praises for awhile. But the fact that my kids will pick up these books and look at them, even though I'm not making them do so, means a lot to me. For a homeschool add-on these books are winners.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although rodents tend to be short-lived, they make up more than 40 percent of the mammals in the world. They have a high birthrate, and this nonfiction title introduces budding naturalists to rodents. The author uses simple vocabulary that explains all about rodents for me where they live and some of their behavior. Readers will be enchanted by the 18 watercolor plates that have been painted by John Sill and marvel at the huge Capybaras, the largest rodents, and the adorable long-tailed Chinchillas with their beautiful fur. As always with this excellent creative team, they go to great pains to provide interesting, accurate details about this particular species, but they also acknowledge the importance of the environment, and John Sill paints his rodents in their habitats, whether it be a mountain slope or a grassland. Because the main portion of the text is so easy to read, elementary teachers can easily add this book and others in the series to their classroom science libraries. There are thumbnail sketches of the plates alongside additional information about the rodents.

[Queen · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 6YO has always loved non-fiction. She brought this home from the school library. Now I have the rest of the About... books by Cathryn Sill on hold at our local library.

This book had beautiful, cute illustrations drawn by Cathryn's husband. The text conveys just the right of information, as some non-fiction can become too loaded.

Since my 6YO loves non-fiction so much, I need to start looking for more that she'll enjoy. Luckily, there are quite a few About... books for us to get through.

[Shenice Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Awards: None

Grade Level: Preschool - 2

Summary:
This book gives a run down of what a rodent is and what it looks like. The book talks about its sizes, habitats, and life span which is very short. Rodents have many children to take their place when they die.

Review:
I thought this book was interesting. However, children might not find it as interesting. I thought it was okay.

Uses:
This could be used as a part of a themed lesson on animals.
Students could read this book for fun during independent reading.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who would've thought---this was a big hit with the kids! Simple, 1-2 sentence text on each page with colorful full page illustration. Afterword contains more detailed information on each pictured rodent.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This nonfiction book with simple text and beautiful illustrations identifies the most basic characteristics which make an animal rodent. This would be especially useful with younger learners or English learners.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very simple and awesome non-fiction book with gorgeous illustrations!