River Beds: Sleeping in the World's Rivers

Aquatic Animals & Habitats: Fresh Water

by Gail Langer Karwoski, Connie McLennan (Illustrator)

This sequel to the award-winning Water Sleeping in the Ocean (2007 Teacher’s Choice & 2005 Mom’s Choice) takes readers on an around-the-world boat ride to learn how mammals sleep in or around nine major rivers of the world on all continents except Antarctica. Row down the Mississippi and watch two river otters slip into a hollow tree or look to the bank of the Brisbane River as a platypus pops into a hole and disappears into a narrow tunnel. Told in a soothing style, this book serves as a bedtime/naptime story for younger children or an animal geography book for older children. Adults may learn something, too! The “For Creative Minds” education section features a “World Map.”

Genres: Nonfiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published August 10, 2008

About the author

Gail Langer Karwoski writes historical novels and nonfiction for kids in grades 3-9, as well as “green” picture books. Curiosity inspires her choice of topics and research helps her books grow. Her titles have won lots of awards and are enjoyed in classrooms and libraries around the country.

Recently, she has added books for grownups to her bibliography. She wrote a memoir for two remarkable gay friends, who succeeded, against the odds, in getting married in 1971, decades before gay marriage was legal in the U.S. It’s called The Wedding Heard ‘Round the World; America’s First Gay Marriage.

She is now at work on a cozy mystery series that features a group of funny and energetic older women who paint watercolors. Book One of the Watercolor Mysteries is A Brush With Murder. Book two is Skeleton in the Art Closet. Reading them is like going on an adventure with delightful, quirky friends.

When she isn’t clicking away on her keyboard, you can find this former teacher visiting schools and libraries. Gail’s lively programs inspire kids to read, discover, and write. She often talks with book clubs and about her lighthearted mysteries. She lives near Athens, Georgia, with her university-professor husband and extroverted cat. Gail has 2 grownup daughters and the cutest grandchildren on Planet Earth.

Reviews

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book describes a number of mammals that sleep in or near rivers around the world. Animals included are Asian short-clawed otter, platypus, beaver, river otter, boto dolphin, Indus River dolphin, capybara, hippo, mink and water vole. The text is interesting. The end of the book includes a page where children can match photos of the animal to descriptions of it, maps of where the animals live, and some suggestions for mapping activities children can do. My children really enjoyed this book.