Prairie Storms

November 1, 2011

K-Gr 4-Pattison depicts a year of alternately harsh and glorious life in a prairie biome. Beginning with January, each month highlights a different animal and weather pattern. The vocabulary-rich text is in large type with three to five sentences to describe each; e.g., "One night, thunder echoes and autumn winds wail." Small bits of factual information are provided. In January, "The prairie chicken claws into a drift, digging a winter roost." Large, realistic watercolor illustrations convey the seasons with bright colors for May and drab gray-brown in November. Borders are cleverly used to further the mood for the month with illustrations extending into them. This book can be integrated into units on American grasslands, weather, seasons, and language. The text for each month could be used as a story-starter for creative writing. Extension activities found in the back matter and online provide lessons that educators would find useful and appropriate.-Nancy Baumann, University of Missouri-Columbia

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 15, 2011

A passel of prairie wildlife weathers a year of storms.

In February, "The hibernating ground hog stirs, awakes. It unplugs the door to its den and peers out. Soft billows of fog blot / out the sun." June sees "Puffy morning clouds build and build all afternoon until thunder clouds tower high. Flash! Boom! The white tailed doe and fawn both flee, helter-skelter toward a tree." Skunks endure dust storms. A cougar shelters from hail. A prairie chicken digs for roots after a blizzard. Each double-page spread presents a different prairie beast and a different weather event for each month. Pattison's text is descriptive and refrains from anthropomorphizing; however, it ends abruptly, giving this more of the feel of a list than a cohesive tale. Rietz's watercolors of realistic animals in various areas of the grassland habitat are a good match. Six pages of activities and quizzes on animals, weather, habitats and seasons follow December's spread.

Best for classrooms or school libraries looking to plump their science collections. (Informational picture book. 6-10)

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