E-grāmata: Stems

These books discuss the purpose of each featured part, its diversity among various types of plants, and its function as food for humans. Each spread has a clear color photo that covers a strip of the left-hand page as well as the entire right side. The illustrations are particularly interesting because of their varying perspectives, some taken at ground level, other reaching upward to the soaring heights of treetops. The texts consist of two easy sentences per spread. Some of the explanations are unnecessarily simplified, and the science suffers a bit. In Stems, for example, the text misleadingly says Leaves make food out of sunlight, without mentioning water and minerals. As indicated in a note to parents and teachers, these books are designed to provide reading practice as well as subject knowledge and specific vocabulary. * School Library Journal * Told in very simple language and illustrated with beautifully framed, detailed photography that is precise in it's subject matter - no cluttering up the images here, these books are a super introduction to plant life for very young readers. Aimed at Pre-K through second grade, Bodach's simple phrasing and clear descriptions will inspire lots of young gardeners to really understand what's happening when they plant those seeds in the cups and leave them in the classroom window, and the photographs, which are shot from varying vantage points to highlight that page's subject, will no doubt show kids with cameras a different way to look at things. These are beautifully-produced books, and include a glossary and resources for further research both online and off. Other books in this series include FLOWERS, FRUITS, LEAVES, and ROOTS. * Smart Writers Journal *