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CM . . . . Volume XVI Number 33. . . .April 30, 2010. 
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Everglades National Park. (Introducing Habitats).
Bobbie Kalman.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2010.
32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (RLB.).
ISBN 978-0-7787-2988-4 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-2960-0 (RLB.).
Subject Heading:
Wetland ecology-Florida-Everglades National Park-Juvenile literature.
National history-Florida-Everglades National Park-Juvenile literature.
Grades 2-4 / Ages 7-9.
Review by Clancy Pryde.
*½/4
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Yellowstone National Park. (Introducing Habitats).
Bobbie Kalman.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2010.
32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (RLB.).
ISBN 978-0-7787-2989-1 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-2961-7 (RLB.).
Subject Heading:
Habitat (Ecology)-Yellowstone National Park-Juvenile literature.
National history-Yellowstone National Park-Juvenile literature.
Grades 2-4 / Ages 7-9.
Review by Clancy Pryde.
*½/4
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excerpt:
Everglades National Park is a large area that is made up of different kinds of habitats. Habitats are the natural homes of plants and animals. There are living things in habitats. Plants and animals are living things. There are non-living things in habitats. Sunshine, air, rocks, soil and water are non-living things. (From Everglades National Park.)
In these two books from the “Introducing Habitats” series, author Bobbie Kalman offers a very general overview of two American national parks and the habitats of the living things that the parks contain. Each volume has 14 two-page chapters as well as a table of contents, a glossary for new words that are bolded in the text and an index. Both books also contain similar basic definitions of habitats, food chains, photosynthesis and ecosystems.
Everglades National Park introduces readers in a simplistic manner to wetlands and the plants and animals that live there, from brackish mangrove swamps and manatees to sawgrass marshes and pink flamingos. It also compares the wet summer Everglades to the dry winter Everglades.
Yellowstone National Park features many different habitats and animals, including elk of the pine forests, tiny pikas of the mountains, bison of the grasslands and trumpeter swans of the wetlands. This book also has four pages about the wonders of Yellowstone, such as the geysers, hot springs and waterfalls.
Both books cover their subjects with such broad strokes that a student looking for information for a project would probably need to look elsewhere. For example, the sentences, “Swamps are wetlands with trees. The picture below shows a swamp,” is unlikely to offer enough detail to satisfy a young researcher.
While these books are intended for library or classroom shelves, it is difficult to classify them in an age category. On many pages, the sentences are brief and abrupt, as would be found in a text for an emerging reader where there might be one sentence per page. But an emerging reader would be quickly overwhelmed by these books which have whole paragraphs of short, sharp sentences. A more experienced reader who could handle the density of the text, however, would be unlikely to have the patience for the simplistic writing and sparse details.
When comparing these two books to other recent publications, another weakness becomes apparent. The photos used to illustrate the subjects, while abundant, already look dated and washed-out. And instead of clearly defined edges, photos and text boxes fade into a soft-focus fuzz that is distracting to the eye of the reader.
Overall, there is little that would compel a young researcher to take either of these titles from the shelf. Neither is enjoyable to read or pleasant to look at, and the cursory information contained is not enough of a reward for struggling through.
Not recommended.
Clancy Pryde is a teacher in Toronto, ON.
To comment on this title or this review, send mail to
cm@umanitoba.ca.
Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.
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