Monday, May 24, 2010

Nonfiction Monday - Are you a Dragonfly?

Are you a Dragonfly? by Judy Allen and Tudor Humphries is part of a Backyard Books series written for our youngest readers and writers. This book is packed with facts telling the reader all about dragonflies. It begins with a dragonfly's mother laying eggs and follows it through adulthood. The author writes to the reader, placing you as a dragonfly yourself. For example, "If you are, your mother laid her eggs in the stems of water plants." I can really see my young students connecting to the text and acting out growth as they become dragonflies. After learning all about dragonflies the author compares how you, don't look or act like a dragonfly, "you can't breathe underwater." Then the book concludes with one of my favorite nonfiction feature, a Did you Know section with four additional facts. The illustrations in this text should not go unnoticed. They are possibly done with colored pencils or watercolors, it is not noted but they have warm subtle shades with beautiful detailed.
You may find these insects with their own books as part of the series; ant, bee, butterfly, grasshopper, ladybug, snail and spider.


Nonfiction Monday is being held at 100 Scopes Notes, which encouraged bloggers to write their post in an unusual style than their own but I didn't see that suggestion until after I wrote this.

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