Sylvan Dell Publishing-- five new books

I fell in love with Sylvan Dell Publishing a few months ago, and the books described here are no exception! As you read about the five books below, keep in mind that besides great stories, each of these books from Sylvan Dell Publishing has a rich wealth of resources in the back of the book with a variety of activities relating to the topics mentioned in the story. I love these, both for using in a school setting and at home! As if the resources in the books weren’t enough, readers can also go online to the Sylvan Dell Publishing website to find additional resources for teachers and parents.  

Home in the Cave

By Janet Halfmann

Illustrated by Shennen Bersani

In Home in the Cave Baby Bat lives with his mother on a ceiling deep within a cave. While other baby bats are excited about stretching their wings to get ready for the day when they can go hunting outside of the cave with their moms, Baby Bat is afraid. He wants to stay in the cave forever. One night he decides to try to fly, just once. When he does, he falls onto the floor of the cave and meets a packrat named Pluribus. Pluribus takes Baby Bat around the floor of the cave to see all of the animals that never leave the cave and live on the bat guano. When Baby Bat realizes that so many other animals depend on him and the other bats, he decides he might be ready to leave the cave after all.

I wish I had had books like these when I was younger. The way the author weaves scientific facts into a fun story about a baby bat show clearly that she did her research before writing. The dialogue between Baby Bat and Pluribus does at times feel a little stilted, jam-packed as it is with facts, but overall the facts compliment the story, rather than hindering it. The illustrations are soft, yet accurate, educational as well as entertaining! All of Bersani’s traveling to different caves around the U.S. paid off, as is evident in these illustrations! I can imagine any child wanting to read and re-read the story of Baby Bat.

The Penguin Lady

By Carol A. Cole

Illustrated by Sherry Rogers

Penelope loves to wear black and white. Soon, friends and family start to send her penguins. First, her brother sends her one penguin from the Galapagos Islands, then her sister gives her two Rockhopper penguins from Argentina, then she receives three Chinstrap penguins from Antarctica. And her penguin family continues to grow! Children will learn on multiple levels while reading this book. Simple counting is reinforced, and children will learn the names and origins of a number of penguin species. Children will also be reminded that there can be too much of a good thing! I appreciated how fun and yet simple this story is. I hope that we have a chance to use it in our library programs in the future. This book would also be great for reading one-on-one with a child!

Gopher to the Rescue! A Volcano Recovery Story

By Terry Catasús Jennings

Illustrated by Laurie O’Keefe

Gopher lives on a mountain with other animals. One day they begin to feel rumblings deep in the earth. A volcano explodes! When it does, many animals are killed, but not Gopher. Gopher is safe and comfortable in his burrow. When gopher emerges from his burrow, he sees a land hot and dry, covered in ash. Very few other animals have survived the blast. Bit by bit, by digging, gopher helps the soil recover. Plants slowly begin to grow. Animals return: first insects, then birds, and then larger animals like elk. Months, years, and then decades pass, and the mountain becomes a lush place for animals to live again.

The slow recovery of a habitat after a volcanic eruption is a difficult subject for young children to grasp and one not often attempted in picture books. However, this author/illustrator team does an excellent job of bringing the topic down to where a child will be interested and able to understand. I appreciate the unique way in which this book shows the recovery of the mountain literally from the ground up. Children will be riveted by these beautifully crafted illustrations, and they will begin to grasp the order in which life returns to an area following a volcanic blast.

Three Little Beavers

By Jean Heilprin Diehl

Illustrated by Cathy Morrison

Bevan, Beverly, and Beatrix are beavers who live in a creek. When Beatrix swims up the creek by herself, she finds a meadow outside of Beaver Inn. Suddenly, a trap shuts around her! Thankfully, this trap is one that doesn’t hurt animals. When her siblings come to find her, they are trapped in box traps as well. People find the three beavers the next day and decide they need to move the beavers far away where they won’t hurt the plants by the Inn. A little girl comes up with an idea that allows the Inn to keep its plants safe but also allows the beavers to stay in their home.

This is a lovely little story. The pictures are bright and beautiful, and little tidbits of beaver facts are sprinkled throughout. Children will enjoy this simple story but learn some important truths as well. I especially appreciated how the story reminds readers that removing animals is not the only option when animals are perceived as pesky. Sometimes a little creativity is all it takes to allow animals and people to live together successfully.

The Great Divide

By Suzanne Slade

Illustrated by Erin E. Hunter

Did you know that a group of foxes is called a skulk? Or that a group of squirrels is called a dray? Readers will learn the unexpected names for groups of all kinds of animals in this book, as well as get a chance to practice simple division. Because readers need to be able to count the animals on the page (unless they already know simple division problems by memory), this book will not work well to read to large groups, but it is an excellent choice for one-on-one reading. I enjoyed the beautiful illustrations on each page and the rhyming verses that shared the math challenge and the name for the group of animals pictured. Overall, this book will make math fun for reluctant young mathematicians and reinforce the value in children who already enjoy math. Definitely a treasure!

If you enjoy these books, check them out at Sylvan Dell Publishing. Keep in mind that you have options for purchasing these delightful books. You can purchase the books in hardcover, paperback, or as eBook downloads. You can also purchase an eBook subscription, which will include Auto-Read and Selectable English and Spanish text and audio.

*These were sent as review copies.*