A Few Tales to Enjoy Before the End of Summer

Although the end of summer is approaching, here are a few tales to carry along in a beach bag or in the car, to soak up at a leisurely pace before we welcome the start of a new season.

Coral Reefs
     The wonders of science and nature have fascinated award-winning author Seymour Simon for most of his life.  A graduate of the prestigious Bronx High School of Science, and became a science teacher.  After teaching for 23 years, Simon began writing stories for children during the 1960s.  And, although he has retired from teaching, he hasn't completely left the classroom behind, as he is a frequent visitor to schools across the country.  Simon explains that he hasn't, "really given up teaching, and I suppose that I never will, not as long as I keep writing."  It is this focus on gearing his work for young students that has made Seymour Simon one of the most prolific writers of science/nature books for school-aged children, publishing an astonishing 250 books. 
    

     Simon's latest, Coral Reefs is filled with stunning photography throughout the over 30 page book. Cruising through the coral reefs around the world,  one cannot help to feel like they are a part of the adventure, swimming and snorkeling along under the sea while reading this story.  Simon gently explains to his young readers how they should marvel over the sea's beautiful reefs, plant and wildlife, while at the same time, emphasizing the importance of working together to save and retain this wondrous natural habitat.  I appreciated the fact that Simon included an informative glossary at the back of the book, so little budding naturalists will be able to have a greater understanding of what specific terms mean, and educators can utilize to reinforce a lesson on oceanography.

Coral Reefs
Written by Seymour Simon
Publisher:  Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Website:  www.harpercollinschildrens.com
ISBN: 978-0-06-191495-9
For ages: 6 to 10
Retails for: $17.99

At the Beach
     As I read through this delightful tale by author Elizabeth Spurr, I was taken back to my childhood growing up on the shores of the Long Island Sound.  The little boy in this story is enjoying a day by the water, and as I read the story and was charmed by Spurr's simple rhyming text, greatly enhanced by the charming illustrations by artist Manelle Oliphant, I quickly remembered the strong smell of the salt in the air drifting off of the waves; the feel of the warm sand through my toes as I dug deeper and deeper in the sand around me on a search for sea shells.  This sweet, short tale provides its readers with an abundance of opportunities to read the story with emotion and many ways to help their little ones focus in on the sounds of the words, to promote early literacy skills.

At the Beach
Written by Elizabeth Spurr & Illustrated by Manelle Oliphant
Publisher:  Peachtree Publishers (2013)
Website:  www.peachtree-online.com
ISBN:  978-1-56145-583-6
Retails for: $6.95
For ages: 2 and up

Water Water Everywhere

   We are surrounded by water everywhere around us, as the little boy in this short tale quickly learns.  Clouds are, "water that floats up high" while a small raindrop that brings a drink to his thirsty flower bed is, "water that falls from the sky".  Accentuated with sweetly simple illustrations by artist Kenneth Pollack, author Hal Schmid takes his young budding scientists in the making on a short yet insightful journey into the wonders of water, and ends it on a funny note, reminding us that sometimes, after quenching our thirst after all this talk of water, you just have to go! :)

Water Water Everywhere
Written by Hal Schmid & Illustrated by Kenneth Pollock
Publisher:  Richard C. Owen Publishers, Inc.
Website:  www.RCOwen.com
ISBN: 1-57274-527-4
Retails for $3.62
For ages 4 and up
For ages: