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Rachel Raccoon and Sammy Skunk
Rachel and Sammy Learn about Trees
"Rachel and Sammy Learn About Trees" is the third book in the Rachel Raccoon and Sammy Skunk Series. Rachel and Sammy, along with their classmates, teacher, and Doc Opossum, take a field trip to the forest, where they discover all kinds of interesting tree facts. This beautifully illustrated book will help children learn more about tree identification, parts of trees, importance of trees, photosynthesis, and much more! This fun story teaches children tree information and features 14 realistic illustrations and 41 colorful photographs. The photos were taken by the author and will help readers learn more about the wonderful world of trees. Join Rachel, Sammy, and their friends, as they hike through the woods, learning as they go!
- GenresChildrens
42 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2012
3 people are currently reading
17 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 11, 2012
Rachel and Sammy Learn About Trees by Jannifer Powelson is a wonderfully written entertaining and educational story that teaches children all about trees.
Rachel and Sammy are going on a class field trip. Their tour guide Doc Opossum will lead them on a nature filled adventure while helping them uncover interesting facts about trees. The students discover the different types of trees and also learn the purpose of leaves, bark and roots. Doc Opossum also reminds the students that trees produce many products that we use each day such as fruit and nuts as well as paper and building material. Trees are also vital in the production of oxygen which we need to breath and are home to many animals. At the end of the field trip the students use what they learn to identify a tree and if you pay close attention to the facts you can too!
One of my favorite aspects of the story are the actual photos taken by Jannifer Powelson which she uses throughout the book. This unique approach aides in providing a better understanding of the many kinds of trees that inhabit our world.
Kalpart does a fabulous job providing detailed illustrations that enhance the story.
I highly recommend Rachel and Sammy Learn About Trees. It is an excellent teaching tool and can be used in conjunction with Jannifer Powelson's other Rachel and Sammy stories for an entire nature lesson children will love.
Rachel and Sammy are going on a class field trip. Their tour guide Doc Opossum will lead them on a nature filled adventure while helping them uncover interesting facts about trees. The students discover the different types of trees and also learn the purpose of leaves, bark and roots. Doc Opossum also reminds the students that trees produce many products that we use each day such as fruit and nuts as well as paper and building material. Trees are also vital in the production of oxygen which we need to breath and are home to many animals. At the end of the field trip the students use what they learn to identify a tree and if you pay close attention to the facts you can too!
One of my favorite aspects of the story are the actual photos taken by Jannifer Powelson which she uses throughout the book. This unique approach aides in providing a better understanding of the many kinds of trees that inhabit our world.
Kalpart does a fabulous job providing detailed illustrations that enhance the story.
I highly recommend Rachel and Sammy Learn About Trees. It is an excellent teaching tool and can be used in conjunction with Jannifer Powelson's other Rachel and Sammy stories for an entire nature lesson children will love.
August 16, 2012
This review consists of two parts: 1. My daughter's review (she's 9) and 2. My review (the Mom). For more reviews visit us at http://MotherDaughterBookReviews.com
DAUGHTER SAYS:
What I liked and disliked about it:
I liked that the book teaches you about trees. I liked that there were drawings and real life photos. I learned that you can identify trees by the bark and the leaves. I was able to identify a paper birch tree by the bark and the leaves in a forest when we went house-boating this summer. I learned that deciduous trees are trees that have leaves that turn different colours in autumn and fall off. Conifers stay green all year and their leaves don't fall off.
I feel a bit old when there are talking animals in cartoon in books. Although, the book was the right length for a kid my age.
My bottom line: I really liked this book and I would recommend it to kids 6 and up.
MOM SAYS:
What I liked and disliked about it:
This fantastic children's book provides the right combination of kid-friendly characters, beautiful illustrations and photography, and educational material to be a sure hit with both children and their parents. As mentioned above in the summary, Rachel and Sammy Learn About Trees is the third book in Jannifer Powelson's Rachel and Sammy educational nature series exploring plants, grasses, flowers, and trees. We read them all in order three nights in a row because the kids (and I!) were absolutely fascinated by them!
The most striking feature of these books is the ingenious use of illustrations alongside photography. Thus, the cartoon animal characters are seen exploring various plants and trees rendered as illustrations as well as colour photographs. In this way, the reader can see what the vegetation looks like in real life. This worked brilliantly as, shortly after we read these books, we went on a houseboat camping trip in the Interior of British Columbia and the kids were able to identify some of the trees and flowers they had seen in the books!
The other thing I really enjoyed about all three books is the high educational value. Each book is jam-packed with information about plants from the prairies (Rachel and Sammy Visit the Prairie), spring woodland wildflowers in the forest (Rachel and Sammy Visit the Forest), and trees (Rachel and Sammy Learn About Trees). For example, in Rachel and Sammy Learn About Trees,the reader learns about the identification of trees, the parts of the tree, the process of photosynthesis, tree products, and the life cycle of trees. The information provided is detailed and complex enough for an older child, but not so advanced as to lose the interest of younger readers. Powelson seems to have found the right balance. The proof is in the pudding: BOTH my kids, despite their age difference (5 and 9) really enjoyed all three books.
There is one issue I would be remiss in overlooking. While not as significant an issue in the last book, Rachel and Sammy Learn About Trees, the books are relevant to specific geographical areas. For example, in Rachel and Sammy Visit the Prairie, the grasses, flowers, and plants discussed and photographed are specific to the North American Prairies. Being a Canadian Prairie girl myself, I recognized many of the plants and flowers in the book so it was very interesting to me. If someone wanted to learn about the vegetation in a specific region perhaps different than their own, than these books more than deliver. I just know that my kids really enjoyed being able to apply their new knowledge in their own setting. So, I wouldn't say that geographic specificity is a weakness, but rather it would be interesting for the author to branch out and discuss and photograph vegetation in other regions that are completely different from the first three books. I just think the books would then have broader appeal.
My bottom line:
Overall, my kids and I really, really enjoyed all three books. The third book, Rachel and Sammy Learn About Trees, was our favorite because it contained the most generic and broadly applicable information about trees. I highly recommend these books, and the third one in particular, to children 5 years and older.
** Rachel and Sammy Learn About Trees, Rachel and Sammy Visit the Prairies, and Rachel and Sammy Visit the Forest were all provided to us free-of-charge by the author. **
DAUGHTER SAYS:
What I liked and disliked about it:
I liked that the book teaches you about trees. I liked that there were drawings and real life photos. I learned that you can identify trees by the bark and the leaves. I was able to identify a paper birch tree by the bark and the leaves in a forest when we went house-boating this summer. I learned that deciduous trees are trees that have leaves that turn different colours in autumn and fall off. Conifers stay green all year and their leaves don't fall off.
I feel a bit old when there are talking animals in cartoon in books. Although, the book was the right length for a kid my age.
My bottom line: I really liked this book and I would recommend it to kids 6 and up.
MOM SAYS:
What I liked and disliked about it:
This fantastic children's book provides the right combination of kid-friendly characters, beautiful illustrations and photography, and educational material to be a sure hit with both children and their parents. As mentioned above in the summary, Rachel and Sammy Learn About Trees is the third book in Jannifer Powelson's Rachel and Sammy educational nature series exploring plants, grasses, flowers, and trees. We read them all in order three nights in a row because the kids (and I!) were absolutely fascinated by them!
The most striking feature of these books is the ingenious use of illustrations alongside photography. Thus, the cartoon animal characters are seen exploring various plants and trees rendered as illustrations as well as colour photographs. In this way, the reader can see what the vegetation looks like in real life. This worked brilliantly as, shortly after we read these books, we went on a houseboat camping trip in the Interior of British Columbia and the kids were able to identify some of the trees and flowers they had seen in the books!
The other thing I really enjoyed about all three books is the high educational value. Each book is jam-packed with information about plants from the prairies (Rachel and Sammy Visit the Prairie), spring woodland wildflowers in the forest (Rachel and Sammy Visit the Forest), and trees (Rachel and Sammy Learn About Trees). For example, in Rachel and Sammy Learn About Trees,the reader learns about the identification of trees, the parts of the tree, the process of photosynthesis, tree products, and the life cycle of trees. The information provided is detailed and complex enough for an older child, but not so advanced as to lose the interest of younger readers. Powelson seems to have found the right balance. The proof is in the pudding: BOTH my kids, despite their age difference (5 and 9) really enjoyed all three books.
There is one issue I would be remiss in overlooking. While not as significant an issue in the last book, Rachel and Sammy Learn About Trees, the books are relevant to specific geographical areas. For example, in Rachel and Sammy Visit the Prairie, the grasses, flowers, and plants discussed and photographed are specific to the North American Prairies. Being a Canadian Prairie girl myself, I recognized many of the plants and flowers in the book so it was very interesting to me. If someone wanted to learn about the vegetation in a specific region perhaps different than their own, than these books more than deliver. I just know that my kids really enjoyed being able to apply their new knowledge in their own setting. So, I wouldn't say that geographic specificity is a weakness, but rather it would be interesting for the author to branch out and discuss and photograph vegetation in other regions that are completely different from the first three books. I just think the books would then have broader appeal.
My bottom line:
Overall, my kids and I really, really enjoyed all three books. The third book, Rachel and Sammy Learn About Trees, was our favorite because it contained the most generic and broadly applicable information about trees. I highly recommend these books, and the third one in particular, to children 5 years and older.
** Rachel and Sammy Learn About Trees, Rachel and Sammy Visit the Prairies, and Rachel and Sammy Visit the Forest were all provided to us free-of-charge by the author. **
February 21, 2015
Rachel and Sammy Learn About Trees by Jannifer Powelson is one of the amazing children's books from Rachel Racoon and Sammy Skunk Series. Rachel, Sammy and their classmates go to an exciting field trip to learn about trees. In her book, Jannifer, who has a Master's degree in Biology, gives a clear and simple definition of a tree and provides lots of information about trees! Reading this book, children will learn everything about trees and why they are so important for nature and people.
The book is accompanied by awesome photos made by the author, and amazing illustrations by Kalpart. When you look at these amazing photos, you can understand that only a person involved in nature can make such beautiful photos! Right from first pages I understood that this book could be a perfect introductory tutorial on Biology for children. I think Jannifer Powelson did a great job of teaching children to love and respect nature. It is very important because it is our future. It is a future of our children.
I would highly recommend this amazing book for children of preschool and school ages. The book was also very interesting for me because I learned new things I didn`t know about trees before! Rachel and Sammy Learn About Trees by Jannifer Powelson gives an important knowledge of biology to children, it teaches them everything about trees and why they are so important; and of course, it teaches to love and respect the nature. Highly recommended!
Leyla Atke, author of
Charm: An Amazing Story of a Little Black Cat
The book is accompanied by awesome photos made by the author, and amazing illustrations by Kalpart. When you look at these amazing photos, you can understand that only a person involved in nature can make such beautiful photos! Right from first pages I understood that this book could be a perfect introductory tutorial on Biology for children. I think Jannifer Powelson did a great job of teaching children to love and respect nature. It is very important because it is our future. It is a future of our children.
I would highly recommend this amazing book for children of preschool and school ages. The book was also very interesting for me because I learned new things I didn`t know about trees before! Rachel and Sammy Learn About Trees by Jannifer Powelson gives an important knowledge of biology to children, it teaches them everything about trees and why they are so important; and of course, it teaches to love and respect the nature. Highly recommended!
Leyla Atke, author of
Charm: An Amazing Story of a Little Black Cat
August 7, 2012
Rachel Raccoon and Sammy Skunk are excited because they are going on a school field trip to learn about trees. Rachel and Sammy love learning about nature. Doc Opossum takes the class through a nature trail. The students learn that trees are a perennial woody plant and can grow at least fifteen feet tall. The students also learn that pine trees are coniferous because they have needle or scale-like leaves that stay on the tree all year long. Young readers will learn about many different types of trees. Photos tree facts and tree products can be found throughout to make learning about trees interesting and fun.
Powelson does an excellent job of creating an environment will kids will love learning about nature and trees. Young readers will be engaged while learning true facts and viewing the wonderful photography. Kids will be able to go outside in their own yards and surrounding parks to get first hand experience by looking for trees they learned about with Rachel and Sammy. Parents and teachers will enjoy sharing, teaching and learning about trees right along with young readers.
Powelson does an excellent job of creating an environment will kids will love learning about nature and trees. Young readers will be engaged while learning true facts and viewing the wonderful photography. Kids will be able to go outside in their own yards and surrounding parks to get first hand experience by looking for trees they learned about with Rachel and Sammy. Parents and teachers will enjoy sharing, teaching and learning about trees right along with young readers.
June 23, 2012
Jannifer Powelson brings us another delightful Rachel and Sammy book. This is the third in her series that teaches the young about nature. Rachel and Sammy Learn About Trees is a well written and lovely read. Rachel and Sammy teach us all we need to know about trees. Its lovely illustrations and photographs help to guide us in our quest to understand trees, their uses, the different types, and their uses to humans, and how they grow.
It is not only instructional, but a fun way to learn. It is a must read for the young and should be in every science classroom, as a mother I wish the Rachel and Sammy books had been around for my children. Rachel and Sammy make delightful students and teachers.
Jannifer Powelson is a master at writing instructional books for the young. Highly recommended.
It is not only instructional, but a fun way to learn. It is a must read for the young and should be in every science classroom, as a mother I wish the Rachel and Sammy books had been around for my children. Rachel and Sammy make delightful students and teachers.
Jannifer Powelson is a master at writing instructional books for the young. Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews