Shirley Felts

In my opinion, the book "Naturescapes" is a great interactive book for upper elementary readers. Something I really liked about this book was the fact that it gave information in a unique way. The first page shows the different "naturescapes" while the pages following have information on the different types of trees and plants that grow in that environment. The information also corresponds with what is in the illustration so you can find the different trees and plants on both pages. For example, the page for grasslands has an illustration of a grassland on one page and the page that follows has a chart in the upper right corner with number on the different plants from the illustration. These numbers correspond to information on the page about which plants and trees are where. There is a short paragraph about each one like the elder, shining sumac, rough blazing star, and the burr oak which are all found in the grasslands. There is also a section on the side of this page with general information about that particular environment in case the reader is looking for more general information about the environments location, animals, temperature, and seasons or blooming. The most attractive feature about the book is the fact that is it three-dimensional with detailed illustrations that seem to be hand painted and done with bright colors. The dimensional factor makes the book very visually appealing and definitely makes the reader want to learn more about what they are viewing as they turn the pages. The big idea of the book is to teach readers about different environments through visual "naturescapes."… (meer)