Staub, Frank (2003). America's mountains. Mondo. New York.
Summary:
Frank Staub uses this book to point out all the different types of mountains and the ways they are formed. In this short chapter book, Staub describes the stages of mountain life and the levels at which the various climates occur. He also discusses the plant and wildlife that exist at the different altitudes. Staub adds a few graphic representations and sidebars throughout the book for extra information to aide in the understanding of America's mountains.
Author: Frank Staub
Illustrator: Frank Staub
Illustrations: Photographs of different mountain ranges in America and the different phenomenons that occur at the different altitudes.
Access Features: Table of Contents, Glossary, Index, Introduction
Grade Level: 3-5
Book Design: This book is tall and wide to represent a mountain and has a stretch of a mountain range on the cover. End pages are light blue to represent the color of the sky at the top of the mountains. Each chapter ends with a small leaf print that signifies the end of that chapter.
Writing Style: I think Staub does a wonderful job of using all the technical terms and defining them. He also puts the pronunciation for each of those terms right after them. This seems to stress the importance of knowing the term, what it means, and how to pronounce it correctly. It's a great way for children to practice sound combinations as well. Most of the books uses easily understood language to describe the more simplistic aspects of mountains.
Curriculum: Science, Social Studies
Classroom Use: This book would be a wonderful resource to use to aide in comprehension of the processes in which mountains are formed and the many different habitats that exist within one mountain range.
Standards: Science-Physical Science, Earth Science; Social Studies-Standard 8: Science, Technology, and Society
Awards: Notable Social Studies Trade Book 2004
Author Credibility: Staub thanks his consultant on the project who is a professor of Geoscience at the University of Nevada. This man is probably an expert on the subject and the author does not make not of any other sources used.
Related Texts: Wonders of the World-Grand Canyon by: P.M. Boekhoff and Stuart A. Kallen; Earth and You: A Closer View: Nature's Features by: J. Patrick Lewis and Christoper Canyon
Response:
This book was very interesting and easy to read. I really enjoyed all the pronunciation keys available throughout the book as well as the definitions of terms right with the word. It is a book that would be easy to read to a class and the class could use it to start a discussion with. I would be really interested to see how a class would respond to the sidebars and the information printed there. It is definitely one of those books that you look at and don't think you'll enjoy and it end up proving you wrong.
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2 comments:
Allison, I think this would be a good book to use when teaching landforms in your classroom. Too often, we just give the students terms to define without giving them content and quality literature to expand their learning!
This sounds like a wonderful book to add to a classroom library. Students would definitely enjoy reading it and learning about the different mountains in the U.S.
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