time to sleep written by steve jenkins & robin page and illustrated by steve jenkins

Jenkins, Steve, and Robin Page. Time to Sleep. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011. ISBN: 9780547250403

Plot Summary:

     Time to Sleep comprises of the sleeping habits of fifteen different animals found throughout the world. Each description details varying aspects unique to each animal's sleeping habits. From the different habitats to the lengths of sleep that each animal gets, the descriptions result in providing readers with new insight on how different animals sleep. 

Critical Analysis:

     Time to Sleep is a form of conceptual nonfiction created through the collaboration of author Steve Jenkins and illustrator Robin Page. This married duo have provided readers with insight answering why and how animals sleep by organizing Robin's vibrant illustrations and Jenkins' details and descriptions in a manner displaying clear sequence. The concept of this book originated from their own children who would ask many questions regarding animals' sleeping habits. 

     Jenkins introduces this book with a narrative explaining that animals need sleep just like people. From this point, Jenkins explores the sleeping habits of fifteen different animals in a manner that is comprehensible to an audience of children through the usage of an age appropriate vocabulary. Each description of an individual animal's sleeping habit is paired with an illustration of that particular animal. Robin Page's usage of cut and torn paper collage to depict and illustrate the animal described through the author's words captivates readers' attention. Page's illustrative style clearly depicts the animal and how it sleeps by the display of vibrant colors and details of each animal with the help of Jenkins' written content. 

Awards Won:

Outstanding Science Trade Books, ALA Notable Children's Books (2000), Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for nonfiction (1998), Caldecott Medal (2014)

Review Excerpts:

"As companion to their books on bathing and eating, Jenkins and Page here discuss how and where seventeen different creatures sleep. In a smaller size than their usual books, they offer brief information and illustrations on single or double pages, usually accompanied by a humorous comment. Included are the giraffe, the hairy armadillo, the red fox, bee-eaters, the basilisk, the flamingo, the parrotfish, the warthog, the green sea turtle, the white stork, the European hedgehog, the wood frog, long-horned bees, the koala, the walrus, the bottlenose dolphin, and gorillas. Somehow the sleepy basilisk and equally drowsy koala can balance in trees. The wood frog and hedgehog need a longer rest and find places to hibernate. All the characters, sometimes with their resting places, are beautifully and naturalistically recreated from torn-and cut-paper collage." - Children's Literature

"Jenkins and Page introduce an array of creatures, showcasing how they bathe and sleep. Both titles conclude with an appendix detailing further information about the featured animals. The illustrations are rendered in torn- and cut-paper collage, with each animal is set against a white background. The brief text floats nearby, resulting in a pleasant balance that focuses on the creature in question. In Bath, readers are informed that animals bathe for different reasons: to clean themselves, to cool off, to warm up, and to dissuade parasites. A "vulture takes a sunbath. The sun's warmth feels good, and the sunlight helps kill bacteria." The gecko, lacking eyelids, keeps its eyeballs dirt-free by licking them with "its long, flexible tongue." Sleep introduces animals from the familiar red fox to the lesser-known basilisk. Fascinating behaviors are detailed with explanations, such as the "white stork sleeps in flight…by taking a series of naps that last just a few seconds each." Among the myriad curiosities is the bottlenose dolphin: "one half of its brain stays awake to tell the dolphin when it's time to surface and take a breath." Readers will be captivated." - School Library Journal

Connections:

More nonfiction titles written by Steve Jenkins include: Time to Eat, Time for a Bath, and Never Smile at a Monkey. 

Interactivity:

• As each animal's sleeping method is described, have children demonstrate what was described.
• Ask children how long they sleep and what their bedtimes are.
• Educate children the importance of sleep and why we sleep. 

quest for the tree kangaroo text by sy montgomery and photographs by nic bishop

Montgomery, Sy. Quest for the Tree Kangaroo: An Expedition to the Cloud Forest of New Guinea, Photographs by Nic Bishop. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006. ISBN: 9780547248929

Plot Summary:

     Lisa Debek, a scientist, embarks on a journey to the forest of Papua New Guinea in search of the tree kangaroo with the help of a veterinarian, medical doctor, graduate student, two field scientists, an artist, a photographer, and an author. As they search for the tree kangaroo, they come across a plethora of plants, animals, villagers, and other exciting encounters on the island of New Guinea. Through each encounter, they are one step closer to finding the tree kangaroo and learning more about the conservation of their habitat and this species. 

     

Critical Analysis:

     Quest for the Tree Kangaroo is an informational book that utilizes the fundamentals of nonfiction. The author, Sy Montgomery, plays an important role in the accuracy of this informational book whose credentials include a background as a naturalist, documentary scriptwriter, and radio commentator that was present for this quest. Not only does she possess these impressive credentials, but she also was awarded with three Honorary Doctorates of Humane Letters from three different universities. Her insight, experience, and credentials assist is strengthening the accuracy of the information provided within this nonfictional title. The photographer, Nic Bishop, also strengthens this title by his acquisition of a doctorate in the biological sciences, which directly correlates to the quest and content matter of this book. 

     Sy Montgomery delivers her content in a manner that is easy to follow as she details her exploration from beginning to end. On every page, the author and photographer provide readers with an array of beautiful photographs that correlate with the informational content. Not only does this artful appearance captivate the attention of readers, but it displays a cohesive collaboration between the author and photographer. Both, Sy Montgomery and Nic Bishop, incorporate their unique styles that captivate readers to continue to delve in this work of nonfiction. Their delivery encompasses a story line that follows a journey into an island full of life, plants, and animals indigenous to the island of New Guinea. 

Awards Won:

NCTE Orbis Pictus Award (2007), Robert F. Sibert Award (2007), American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Henry Bergh Children's Book Award (2006), Julia Ward Howe Finalist Award (2007)

Review Excerpts:

"The writer and photographer of this exemplary description of science field work accompanied researcher Lisa Dabek on an expedition high in New Guinea's mountains to study tree kangaroos and promote the conservation of this elusive and endangered species. With early references to Dr. Seuss and hobbits, Montgomery connects the world of the young reader to this beautiful, distant place. She paces her narrative well, alternating focus on people and place, keeping the reader engaged and concerned about the expedition's success. As in other books in the series, she describes how local schoolchildren are involved. Her detailed account highlights scientific work habits, including extensive planning, necessary patience, careful observations and recording and the contiunal questions that arise. One unfortunately flipped picture notwithstanding, Bishop's photographs, shots of the expedition members, strinking close-ups of flora and fauna including the sought-for kangaroo and lush, green cloud forest scenes, are beautifully reproduced. From the maps in front to the concluding suggestions for young enthusiasts, information about the language, and index, this is another commendable title from an experienced team." - Publishers Weekly

"Another beautifully illustrated entry in the Scientists in the field series... Montgomery gives a chronological, sometimes moment-by-moment account of the challenging climb into the remote cloud forest...[giving] an unusually strong, visceral sense of the work and cooperation fieldwork entails and the scope and uniqueness of theis particular mission...As usual, Bishop's color photographs are exemplary and extend the excitement in close-ups of creatures and of the team at work." - Booklist

Connections:

Customers who purchased this title also bought the following nonfiction titles: Horses, Oh Rats!, and The Snake Scientist. 

Interactivity:

• Before reading the book to children, have them draw and describe what they think a tree kangaroo is.
• Show children where New Guinea is on a map.
• At the end of the book, there are some words from the dialect of Tok Pisin; go through these words and phrases with children.