What's So Special About Planet Earth? by Robert Wells
32 pages, ages 7-9
Albert Whitman & Company (2009)
Reviewed by Heidi Bee Roemer
Book Source: This book was borrowed from the Orland Park Public Library for review.
Is planet Earth really the best place to live? Let’s find out! Please board the spacecraft to tour the other seven planets in our solar system. On this imaginary trip you’ll be accompanied by two children and their dog as they try to determine what other planet might comfortably support human life. The first stop is Mercury. But its lack of oxygen and extreme temperatures rule it out as a possible home for humans. Air on Venus is poisonous. Mars has little water, and it is frozen deep under the surface. Cartoonish, acrylic-and-pen images combine with simple text to reveal that Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are also quickly eliminated for various reasons. As your space tour ends, you and the characters in this story will have gained a new perspective of our solar system. The message is clear: only one planet has the perfect balance of an abundant water supply, oxygenated air, and temperate climates. Can you guess which one?
Humorous illustrations partnered with intriguing facts make for fun, yet educational read. A brief sidebar accompanies each featured planet, noting the planet’s size, its distance from the sun, orbit time in Earth years, and number of moons. The final pages of the book zero in on planet Earth, its marvelous water cycle and the many ways man has polluted Earth. Happily, the book offers many simple actions that even young children can do to help take care of our planet and keep it healthy. An excellent resource for science studies, What's So Special about Planet Earth? is listed on Publishers Weekly’s Best Children’s Books of 2009.
Humorous illustrations partnered with intriguing facts make for fun, yet educational read. A brief sidebar accompanies each featured planet, noting the planet’s size, its distance from the sun, orbit time in Earth years, and number of moons. The final pages of the book zero in on planet Earth, its marvelous water cycle and the many ways man has polluted Earth. Happily, the book offers many simple actions that even young children can do to help take care of our planet and keep it healthy. An excellent resource for science studies, What's So Special about Planet Earth? is listed on Publishers Weekly’s Best Children’s Books of 2009.
This post is part of the Nonfiction Monday Round-Up hosted this week by Picture Book of the Day blog.
This sounds like a book we'd really enjoy in our home. Glad to have found you via non fiction Monday. Now off to explore the rest of your blog!
ReplyDeleteSound like you're a family that likes to read! If you have read any great nature books you think are a good fit for us, please don't hesitate to give us the title. We'll check it out! --Heidi
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the idea for your blog. Bookmarking it!!! I've think I've checked out Robert Wells last year during Earth Day. Have not yet had the pleasure to read him. Great review!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, thanks for visiting my blog (A Quiet Spot). Second, I love the theme of your blog! Definitely bookmarking as I am always looking for good books to share with my children that will inspire their appreciation for nature. Third, I'm going to hunt down the book you reviewed -- sounds great!
ReplyDeleteI found your blog via MotherReader's comment challenge, and I am glad I did. Nonfiction is my particular passion, and I always enjoy hearing about the nonfiction that other readers enjoy most.
ReplyDeleteAll best,
Loree Griffin Burns