Keller, Holly Books

From Tadpole to Frog (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 1)

Wendy Pfeffer

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Did You Know Bullfrog Tadpole's Hibernate? - a review of "From Tadpole to Frog" 4 out of 5 stars.
9 of 9 people found this review helpful.

This is a nice book with attractive artwork that describes the two-year life cycle of the American Bullfrog. As a Stage One book "From Tadpole to Frog" uses simple sentences and concepts that are appropriate for toddlers, preschoolers, and young children up to about 8 or 9 years of age.

Besides a description of the Bullfrog lifecycle, and the 'where Bullfrogs can be found' map, there are pictures with brief descriptions of 5 other frogs, including the Leopard, Pickerel, Wood, Spring Peeper, and Gray Tree frogs.

Four Stars. Good artwork on every page. The color runs from edge to edge. Okay Read-aloud. The Bullfrog is interesting as even the tadpoles hibernate for one year. Nothing objectionable in my opinion; although I should note above that there is a brief mention of reproduction. [I mention this as some parents have concerns and have told me they appreciate such notes.] The book, in any case, says the following about frog reproduction:

At night you hear "Ba-ra-rooom... ba-ra-
room... ba-ra-rooom...". The males are calling
to their mates.

The female hear the call.
The male hugs his mate. He fertilizes her eggs as
she lays them in the water. Thousands of soft
jelly-covered eggs cling together in the cool water.

The artwork shows the frogs hugging, and neither art nor wordage was inappropriate or graphic, in my opinion. Certainly my children didn't think anything of it.

The AR reading level is given as 1.6 which means this is a book for a child in the second half of the first grade. While professionally assessed, this mom thinks quite a few first graders will need some help because of the vocabulary. More difficult words include: hibernate, thousands, whistle, creatures, stretching, fertilizes, speckled, and capture. Words they might not be familiar with are: mate, female, male, breathe, gills, and cling.

Editorial Review:

Wendy Pfeffer describes the amazing metamorphosis from tiny, jellylike egg, to little fishy tadpole, to great big bullfrog. Holly Keller has created the archetypal frog pond and we see it through the seasons as the tadpoles grow legs and lungs and eventually hop onto land: bullfrogs at last. "Well-designed ink drawings washed with soft-toned watercolors stretch across the double-page spreads, showing the action above and below water level. . . .an attractive, general introduction."—BL.

1994 "Pick of the Lists" (ABA)
Best Children's Science Books, 1994 (Science Books and Films)

Let's Go Rock Collecting (Let'S-Read-And-Find-Out Science. Stage 2)

Roma Gans

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Top Grade! 5 out of 5 stars.
12 of 12 people found this review helpful.

Let's Go Rock Collecting is an excellent book in the Let's Read and Find Out Science Series. My son started with this book when he was 4 (he's now 5). It has great illustrations that capture a child's attention and actual photos of the various rocks described so that the child (and parent) can identify a few basic rocks.

One thing that is really great about this book is the simple illustrations to educate the reader about the Earth's Crust and Solid Rock Layer. There are simple diagrams of:

1. The components of a Volcano
2. Moh's Scale of hardness
3. The formation of sedimentary rocks
4. Metamorphic rock process

The book also ends with a practical suggestion that kids will love and that's how to begin your own rock collection and start to identify the rocks you have.

NOTE: Depending on your view of the age of the earth, you may like to know that this book utilizes millions of years in its descriptions.

Editorial Review:

Holly Keller has created vivacious new paintings for this favorite Reading Rainbow title about geology. Readers follow two enthusiastic rock hounds around the globe as they add to their collection. Along the way they will learn how sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks are formed. From the Egyptian pyramids to Roman roads, from the diamond ring on your finger to the pebbles under your feet'rocks are everywhere!

Snow Is Falling (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science, Stage 1)

Franklyn M. Branley

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

General Introduction to Snow 4 out of 5 stars.
10 of 11 people found this review helpful.

Rather than go into the science of how snow is formed, this book discusses the effects of snow... Snow protects plants and hibernating animals from wind and cold and, in the spring, melted snow waters the new plants. The book also discussed the dangerous conditions snow can cause. The colorful illustrations and subject of the text make it a good book for a pre-kindergarten curriculum.

What Good Is Snow? 4 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

Rather than attempting to explain how snow is made, this book discusses the good and bad things about snow. For instance, snow protects plants and animals from harsh winds and can keep things warm. However, snow can also bury food for animals and cause floods in the spring. This book is fairly easy for pre-schoolers to understand though there are a few difficult words they have trouble understanding at first (thermometer and temperature). The illustrations that accompany the text are colorful, yet not overpowering. A great science book to use for preschoolers when talking about winter.

Editorial Review:

Snow is falling. Snow is wonderful - for sledding, for skiing, and for building snowmen. But did you know that snow can actually keep things warm? Find out how snow helpf plants, animals, and people to survive. But when a blizzard blows, watch out! The snow that is so useful can be dangerous too.

Franklyn M. Branley and Holly Keller team up for a fun and colorful exploration of the world of snow, including experiments and activities for cold winter days. A Let's Read and Find Out Science book, for Stage 1.

What's It Like to Be a Fish? (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 1)

Wendy Pfeffer

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Great science book for young kids! 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 6 people found this review helpful.

Wendy Pfeffer has a talent for making difficult science concepts understandable to young children. This is a lively and very kid-friendly book with cheerful illustrations that kids will enjoy and learn from.

A must-have for elementary science teachers 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This is an excellent book to introducing the levels of classification for living things. This book explored the physiology of fish in language that young children can understand. The facts are presented in a way that is not overwhelming to children. The illustrations are great and they really show what its like to be a fish. I have used this book with my preschoolers and they love it.

Editorial Review:

How can fish live in water? Why don't they drown? The answer to this fishy question and more can be found in this latest addition to the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science series. The book clearly explains how a fish's body is perfectly suited to life underwater, just as our bodies are suited for life on land.

1996 `Pick of the Lists' (ABA)
Best Children's Science Books 1995 (Science Books and Film)

Hear Your Heart (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2)

Paul Showers

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Can you hear your heart? 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

An introduction into how the heart works along with feeling your pulse and listening to a hearts beat with amusing illustrations reader can imitate and view diagrams of the heart.

My son frequently will tell me he can hear his heart once he rests after playing around. I figured he would enjoy exploring the activities among the last two pages in Hear Your Heart like How to Measure Your Heart Rate and How to Make a Stethoscope.

There are several kids, adults and babies illustrated among the thirty-three pages of Hear Your Heart in various settings as well as illustrations of the heart in pink, red and black colors. The areas are identified to which is a vein and artery with other illustrations showing arrows in how the heart actually beats.

Hear Your Heart begins with a girl at the Doctor's office showing a real stethoscope that is cold and making the girl shiver. She much prefers her homemade stethoscope made out of a cardboard tube. There are a few pages showing the girl and her sister listening to each other's heart and then other kids doing the same thing.

Hear Your Heart is easy to follow written in a way that kids can understand and comprehend based on the detailed illustrations. The style Hear Your Heart is written in offers all the answers that my child has along the way. This encourages my son to watch the second hand while he counts how many times his heart beats in one minute. There are times we learn like when exercising that the pace will be faster. Also noted is the ninety times a minute for an eight-year old. This is now a figure my son is striving to reach. A man's will be in the area of seventy-two while an infant is around one hundred twenty times a minute.

My son is much more aware of his heart and pulse rate and wants to check everyone that he comes in contact with, including his teddy bear. The activities enhance the book so it becomes more than just a reading tool but an overall learning experience. These books focus on the grades from one to three within the age group of six to nine.

Editorial Review:

Let's-read-and-find-out about

Your Heart

Night and day, whether you're asleep or awake, your heart is always beating. Read and find out how your heart works and how to keep it healthy.

Pearl's New Skates

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Pride and Prejudice, Bunny Style 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

When Pearl receives a pair of grown-up single blade skates for her birthday, she can hardly wait for the ice to form on the nearby lake. The cheerful, optimistic bunny puts on a red skating skirt that Grandma made her, and practices twirls and jumps on the floor. There's a big, confident look on her face-she's very proud of herself!

Pearl's pride turns into snobbery, however, when the lake finally freezes over. She turns down her good friend Thistle's invitation to skate, because Thistle is wearing plain skates with double blades. Pearl, also refuses her Uncle Jack's gentle offer to help her: "'No thank you,' said Pearl. `I don't need any help.'" But Pearl is soon skating on thin ice because she counted her eggs before they hatched (a doubly mixed metaphor), so to speak... Twirling on imaginary blades is one thing, but skating is entirely different.

But instead of going forward,
Pearl lost her balance.
She swayed back and forth.
Her arms went around like pinwheels.
Her bottom hit the ice with a thump...

Dejected, Pearl goes home, not listening to her Mom's words that becoming an ice ballerina takes time. And the next day, Pearl doesn't want to skate...or read, or draw. Her Uncle Jack suggests that they practice together the next morning, before anyone else is there. At first she refuses, but her uncle has such a nice smile that she decides to go, warning that she "might not stay very long." Her mom also makes a thermos of hot chocolate for them to share. . Pearl shows perseverance (one of the key words under which this book is catalogued), but it's really Uncle Jack who doesn't give up, and eventually Pearl joyously feels the wind rushing past her ears as she moves on her single-bladed skates against a beautifully drawn blur of green trees. With the soft green trees and blue sky about them, she and Uncle Jack sit down and enjoy some hot chocolate. When she gets home, Pearl calls her friend Thistle and they skate hand in hand together the next day.

Holly Keller's wonderful book is emotionally honest, showing the real highs and lows that Pearl experiences. Pearl is likeable and ebullient, but she isn't always nice, and Keller doesn't sugarcoat it (nor does she paint her as a "bad" person). One of the many highlights of this book is the way the entire family supports Pearl, including her Grandmother and her Uncle Jack. Jack is especially well drawn: His facial expressions and his entire body language suggest patient, good-natured acceptance. The soft, interesting colors and patterns, done in watercolors and black line add to the visual interest. Another winning book from Keller and her publisher, Greenwillow!

Editorial Review:

Pearl has new skates.
They are real skates
(not double runners),
and she can't wait to try them.

Pearl inches out onto the frozen pond.
But instead of twirling,
she topples.
Instead of spinning,
she falls -- splaaat!

Pearl has new skates.
They are shiny white
with red tassels,
and she loves them.

Will Pearl ever skate in real life the way she skates in her dreams?

Who Eats What? Food Chains and Food Webs (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science, Stage 2)

Patricia Lauber

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Food Chains and Food Webs 3 out of 5 stars.
3 of 6 people found this review helpful.

Detailed examples of food chains and food webs, but hard to follow the arrows in the illustrations in food chains.

My son would prefer just reading about the types of meals each animal species eats and how they kill it as opposed to the food chain process. There are several pages that have arrows pointing from one item to another and it gets confusing trying to sort it all out.

We begin with seeing a caterpillar eating a leaf on an apple tree until he becomes the dinner of the arriving wren. When a hawk comes around he eats the wren. In this example the food chain begins with the leaf and ends with the hawk. It is described how the animal at the top of the food chain is the last eater because it is the one no one else will eat.

There are other short chains like when you eat an apple off a tree or drink milk in a glass. The cow eats the grass and the milk comes from the cow. There is a detailed diagram with a girl eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, an apple and a glass of milk. Food keeps us alive and animals need to catch the food they need to survive. First we begin with green plants, as they are the only living things that can make their own food and do not need to eat something else. Animals depend on green plants as well.

During the summer months Antartica comes alive with tiny green plants that are eaten by krill. The squid will in turn eat the krill, which looks like shrimp. The killer whale can eat a sperm whale or a blue whale.

When you change your eating patterns you are changing the food chain as well. Fishermen kill krill but they cannot kill them all since this is what happened when they almost wiped out the sea otters in the Pacific Sea. It is important to take care of the earth so all living things have something to eat and in turn we help them and ourselves in the process.

Editorial Review:

An award-winning author and artist explain how every link in a food chain is important because each living thing depends on others for survival. "Clear, simple drawings illustrate the clear, simple text. Informative and intriguing, this basic science book leads children to think about the complex and interdependent web of life on Earth."'BL.

Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children 1996 (NSTA/CBC)

An Octopus Is Amazing (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science, Stage 2)

Patricia Lauber

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

some amazing facts, but visually dull. 3 out of 5 stars.
5 of 7 people found this review helpful.

Lauber's _An Octopus is Amazing_ is a decent introductory book on the topic, probably best suited to children aged 4-8. There are no photographs. The book is illustrated on each page with color drawings. The drawing on the book cover is indicative of the quality of the drawings throughout. It's a bit cartoonish.

There is little organization to the subject matter. Instead, the author just presents one (probably "amazing") fact after another, such as: octopuses change color, octopuses can lay 200,000 eggs, etc.

I think most children, if given the opportunity to pick another book on the subject, might not choose this one, simply because there are no color photographs. Still, it's a decent guide to the subject for young readers and the even younger read-to children. The amazing facts in this book just might prompt them to seek out other octopus books. That wouldn't be so very amazing.

Editorial Review:

"[Here is] a charming introduction to the truly amazing octopus [from its intelligence to its ability to change colors to the camouflaging black ink it squirts to escape predators]. Lauber's chatty, fact-filled text makes the book a good read-aloud, and Keller's amusing and colorful drawings enhance it—a perfect match of text and illustration." —SLJ.

Children's Books of 1990 (Library of Congress)

Help!: A Story of Friendship

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Can friendships survive gossip? 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Holly Keller's HELP: A STORY OF FRIENDSHIP tells of Mouse and his very different friends who get along well - until Mouse hears from a mutual friend that his snake friend may be dangerous. Can friendships survive gossip? When Mouse is indeed endangered, danger - and rescue - come from unexpected places in this gentle story.

Help! book 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book is age appropriate, eye catching, and has a wonderful moral! As a teacher, I would say this is a must-buy!

kids loved it! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I'm a second grade teacher and luckily I found this book to talk about trust, gossiping and friendship with my children. amazing effect! They even wanted to create a role play based on the book!! We have analyzed it and take it to our personal situations. Great choice. Kids read it once and again. Five stars!!!

Editorial Review:

Mouse, Hedgehog, Rabbit, Squirrel, and Snake are friends. But one day Mouse hears from Skunk (who heard it from Fox) that snakes are dangerous, especially to mice.

Oh, dear!

Can friendship survive gossip? Should friends stick together, no matter what? And what do friends do when a friend is in trouble? Or when a friend has hurt feelings?

Do you know the answers? Mouse and Snake need your help!

Farfallina & Marcel

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Love and friendship beautifully recreated 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

Holly Keller's story of growing up and changing is a fantastic story wrapped in beautiful watercolor illustrations. She weaves the story of everlasting friendship that we all long for and cherish in a charming and simple way. Keller's accomplishments include more than 30 books that she has written with "as many illustrated (that were) written by other people." It's easy to see why she has accomplished so much. I love this book.
Keller's story opens with little Farfallina, a caterpillar, munching on a leaf during a gentle spring rain. Her munching disturbs a handsome gosling that quickly befriends the caterpillar. Despite the fact that they make an unlikely pair, they become the warmest of friends. Their friendship is rocked by separation however when one day Farfallina must rest. For weeks she is gone and Marcel realizes that he must grow up without her. A happy reunion finds them still fast friends despite the growth and change each has had to face.
The illustrations in this book are fantastic. Kellers use of watercolors, is alive with bold vibrant colors that capture the attention of any reader. Her pictures are incredibly cute and resemble the sweet friendship Marcel and Farfallina share. Keller's illustrations encourage readers to peruse each page liesurely. I have always loved finding hidden pictures, and although Keller does not necessarily intend this, children can look for Farfallina's cocoon in the tree tops or note the changes in Marcel's feathers. Without the pictures, the story wouldn't be the same.
I look forward to sharing this book with little ones during story time at the public library. Allowing the children the opportunity to visualize the colorful pictures as this heartwarming story is told will truly be a pleasure. I hope that they enjoy the story as much as I have. I've added it to my wish list and look forward to giving a second copy to my nieces.

Editorial Review:

Once there was a caterpillar named Farfallina, whose best friend was a gosling named Marcel. They did everything together -- until one day, everything started to change.

This beautiful and touching story shows that even as life takes different turns, friendship endures.