A Luna Moth's Life (Nature Upclose)

Rating:
Summary: What a Beautiful Book!
Review: John Himmelman weaves his obvious love and knowledge of nature into something far more than just a beautifully illustrated, age appropriate story. His stories and paintings capture the essence of the creatures he portrays, and leaves the reader with intimate understanding and a desire to know more. This is a great book, as are all of Mr. Himmelman's works. I highly recommend this for your budding young naturalists. I commend Mr. Himmelman for setting such high standards in his craft! Keep'm coming.

Rating:
Summary: Ideal for reading at bedtime!
Review: The Nature Upclose Series is an informative and entertaining series consisting of 13 books for young children about various animals (and dandelions) that they're likely to come across. Pill bugs, luna moths, earthworms and slugs are just a few of the interesting creatures featured in these books by author and illustrator John Himmelman. In these books the species' life cycle and some of the roles that they play in nature are briefly looked at.

I particularly like this series because it features several species that our species is either ignorant of or despises. By educating children about the wondrous lives of species that we don't like or don't know much about, we are able to teach our children that all species are important and deserving of our respect.

Himmelman's simple text and full color illustrations will hold a child's attention. At the back of each book there is a "Words You Know" section where simple definitions are given for words found in the book. For example, in the book A House Spider's Life brief definitions are given for: egg sac, house fly, silk, spiderling and yellow jacket. This section can help an adult better explain certain terms to a child and also highlights some words that may need defining or emphasizing during the story.