Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #547649 in Books
• Published on: 2005-11-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 32 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780822559931
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From School Library Journal

Gr 1-3-Heinz explores the life in a pond from dawn to dusk. Turtles nip at mallard ducklings, hawks hunt woodchucks, and herons eat pumpkinseed fish. The cycle of life is evident. The informative, matter-of-fact narrative descriptions are almost scientific, as are the pictures, done in watercolor. The individual animals are illustrated with great attention to detail, and the close-ups of many of them are excellent. The pastel landscapes help soften the book, and are more impressionistic. The quiet text and appropriately serene or active artwork pair up to present a realistic look at this habitat.-JoAnn Jonas, Carlsbad City Library, San Diego, CA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Gr. 2-4, younger for reading aloud. It's daybreak at Butternut Hollow Pond. It looks peaceful, but there is much going on. Bluegills dart out to feed on insects; a dragonfly snaps up mosquitoes, and then is snapped up himself by a tree swallow. At midmorning, five mallard ducklings narrowly escape the powerful jaws of a snapping turtle; a woodchuck also has luck on his side, when he scampers into his burrow just ahead of a marsh hawk. Sunset finds a largemouth bass on the end of a hook as a young boy reels him in from his canoe. Nighttime is the busiest of all; bats and nighthawks feast on bugs, crayfish search for night crawlers, and raccoons look for crayfish. Two concepts are beautifully demonstrated in this picture book for older readers: the hunter invariably becomes the hunted, and all living things are players in a complex cycle of interdependence that is much more than a simple food chain. Heinz fills this nature drama with action and sensory-loaded language that pulls children in as no science textbook can, and Marstall's realistic watercolor illustrations offer a lovely window to observe the diverse ecosystem. An excellent resource for the science curriculum. Lauren Peterson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Realistic wildlife illustrations enhance the day's journey
Although the facts presented here are nonfiction, the plot reads like fiction, blending an ecological study of a pond's life with descriptions of different animals' lives. Bob Marstall's realistic wildlife illustrations enhance the day's journey on Butternut Hollow Pond.

Understanding the interdependence of animal life
When teaching science lessons on food webs or food chains, this would be an excellent addition to the lesson. The story of how each animal depends on other to survive is well told and beautifully illustrated. I especially liked the panorama view of the pond when you open the book's cover and back.
Butternut Hollow Pond (Millbrook Picture Books)

An Informational Science Book
Heinz, Brian J., author. Marstall, Bob, illustrator. Butter Nut Hollow Pond (2000).
An Informational Science Picture Book.

Telling the cycle of life through pictures and words, Butter Nut Hollow Pond, informs readers about ecological study. It details the life of turtles, hawks, woodchucks, and pumpkinseed fish. Using humans to unveil the story in a peaceful setting, it is filled with drama throughout, enticing youngsters into the story.

The author has been an elementary school science teacher for twenty-three years (author page, unnumbered). He accurately gives information on his topic, engaging readers as he writes. The information is accurate and the wording is easy for young students to understand. For example:
As the bass circles back, kerploosh! Something hits the water above him and dangling legs seem to struggle and twitch. The bass strikes as another meal. But not this time. The object is hard. It pulls violently at the fish's jaw and is dragged forward. Moments later, a young boy hauls him in on rod and reel (pages, unnumbered).
Reading or listening to the words, young minds are given easy instruction on the circle of life as well as how the human aspect enters in.