How do Animals Move? (The Science of Living Things) - Softcover

Walker, Niki; Kalman, Bobbie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0865059586 ISBN 13: 9780865059580

Publisher: Crabtree Pub Co, 1999

Synopsis

Introduces various methods of animal locomotion, discussing quadrupedal gaits, flight, aquatic movement, and more unconventional variations.

About this title

About the Author

Since earning a B.A. in English Language and Literature, Niki Walker has worked extensively in the field of educational publishing. She has edited more than sixty titles and written several texts for Crabtree Publishing and other respected publishers. Her most recent projects have covered topics related to space, social studies, and human rights, and she is currently working on her first novel. She now lives in Toronto, where she freelances as a writer, editor, and web-content provider.

Reviews

Grade 1-3-The first book examines ways that animals' bodies and/or behavior help them survive in particular habitats. Types of adaptation include camouflage, hibernation, and migration. The second entry looks at the group of animals that includes the kangaroo, koala, and opossum. The last title covers various methods of locomotion such as swimming, flying, and jumping. In all three books, a two-page spread is devoted to a particular topic. Though none of the information is oversimplified, it is rather generalized. For example, in Marsupial, only one page is devoted to the opossum and it includes a discussion of varieties found in other countries as well as the North American species. A combination of color photographs and drawings adequately illustrate the texts. Though the information provided is simple, the language is a bit too difficult for the newly independent readers whom Kalman seems to be targeting. Many of the scientific terms are boldfaced and defined in the text and/or in the glossary, but there isn't much consistency as to which ones are defined where. Of the three books, Marsupials is the most successful, mainly because it has the narrowest scope. However, none of these offerings is in-depth enough to serve as a primary source for reports. All three are best suited to youngsters looking for brief answers to satisfy their curiosity and casual browsers who are animal enthusiasts.
Arwen Marshall, formerly at New York Public Library
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Animals move in an incredible variety of ways. Some fly. Some swim. Others swing from tree branches. This book looks at more than a dozen ways in which animals get around, and it shows how the body of each animal is equipped for its own form of travel. We see amazing adaptations, from the hairy bristles on the legs of a water beetle (which make the legs more effective as oars when the insect rows through the water), to the patagium, or flap of skin, on each side of a flying squirrel's body (which enables the animal to glide from tree to tree). Readers are bound to learn something new from this book, whether or not they are familiar with all the animals in it. (They probably aren't--do you know what a basilisk is?) For example, both frogs and kangaroos have strong hind legs that are longer than their front ones, and both animals use those long hind legs to hop. But frogs land on their front legs, so they have to stop between leaps; kangaroos land on their hind legs, and so they don't have to pause. The book would benefit from a more extensive glossary, but even so, it is a welcome addition to the Science of Living Things series. Don't be surprised when your little readers start to hop, squirm and wriggle around the house, trying out new forms of locomotion.

Joan Silberlicht Epstein

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

How do animals move? Non-movers Some sea creatures such as anemones and corals move only while they are very young. They swim in search of a good place to live and anchor themselves in one spot. Once they are anchored, they do not move again. Instead, they catch their food as it floats by.

Edition details

• Publisher: Crabtree Pub Co
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0865059586
• ISBN 13: 9780865059580
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 32