Beneath the Sun by Melissa Stewart

     Having lived in a southern climate for well-over a decade, my family and I have learned how to adapt to the regularly hot and humid weather.  But, when my son was a little, he couldn't quite grasp the concept of why the backyard squirrels would drop their acorns and run away every time he would play with the backyard hose while cooling off in his small, ocean-themed plastic pool.  "But mommy, don't they want to feel cool, too?" he would ask, always with a hint of forlorn.

     Little ones, just like my son, often wonder how the animals and insects who live among us, are able to adapt to sweltering temperatures.  After all, just as award-winning author Melissa Stewart states in her latest book, Beneath the Sun, while it's so easy for us to, "... put on sunscreen and spend your afternoons zigzagging under a sprinkler and sipping lemonade," this is hardly the case for the animals and insects around us, as, "..many animals struggle to survive beneath the burning sun."

     The clearness and sweet simplicity of Stewart's text affords children with a down-to-earth introduction of how a woodchuck (who makes sure to eat all they can in the early morning, because they will head underground to escape the heat), a family of adorable wide-eyed ringtails (who snooze the day away inside a cool underground den) earthworms (who manage to loop their tail into a ball under the dirt)  and the majestic eagle (who, "..soars through the cool air high above the desert.  Its thick feathers shield its skin from the sun's hot rays.")  to name a few, manage to adapt to their surroundings.  Artist Constance R. Gergum's watercolor illustrations provide a realistic balance to Stewart's tale which takes children on a journey through many different types of ecosystems and the animals who call them home.
     I look forward to introducing my reading intervention students to Beneath the Sun, during our upcoming school year!

Beneath the Sun
Written by Melissa Stewart & Illustrated by Constance R. Bergum
Publisher:  Peachtree Publishers (2014)
Website:   www.peachtree-online.com
For ages 4 to 8
ISBN: 978-1-56145-733-5
Retails for $16.95

***Momma's Tip:  Please check out author Melissa Stewart's informative science website, Melissa Stewart's Science Clubhouse for many interesting educational activities and insights.