Are you getting ready to share books for kids for National Poetry Month? Animal Ark: Celebrating our Wild World in Poetry and Pictures (National Geographic Kids) by Kwame Alexander, with Mary Rand Hess, Deanna Nikaido, and photographs by Joel Sartore should be at the top of your list.
listen to the rumble
giant stomping feet
calling brothers … sisters
This isn’t old rehashed material, either. Alexander is is referring to the fact elephants communicate through vibrations, which scientists discovered in 1997.
Not only does he reveal interesting facts about animals, but also the importance of conservation.
Listen. We are unique. We share a story. A beginning, a middle, and if we are not careful… an end.
Wow! The sound of the words hang in the air.
The words aren’t all that make this a powerful book. The photographs are incredible, too. Every detail stands out crisp against simple black or white backgrounds. How do you fit over 100 gorgeous photographs into one children’s book? The secret is fold out pages. In the back, a fold shows the name of each animal in the book, as well as its IUCN status.
Animal Ark is so moving, it just might leave you breathless. Perfect to share the main pages for story time with a class, or cuddle up with at bedtime with kids and go through the fold outs. At the very least, expect children to want to go back to it again and again.
You can watch Kwame Alexander talking about the book in this shouldn’t-be-missed book trailer:
Related Activity Suggestions:
- Engineering the Perfect Poem by Using the Vocabulary of STEM lesson at ReadWriteThink
- How to write STEM haiku at STEM Friday blog
- Children’s poetry resources at Poetry Foundation
- Check out our growing list of Science Poetry Books at Science Books for Kids.
Age Range: 4 – 8 years
Publisher: National Geographic Children’s Books (February 14, 2017)
ISBN-10: 1426327676
ISBN-13: 978-1426327674
Disclosure: This book was supplied by the publisher for review purposes. Also, I am an affiliate with Amazon so I can provide you with cover images and links to more information about books and products. As you probably are aware, if you click through the highlighted title link and purchase a product, I will receive a very small commission, at no extra cost to you. Any proceeds help defray the costs of hosting and maintaining this website.
Looking for more children’s nonfiction books? Try the Nonfiction Monday blog.
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