Aliens from Earth: When Animals and Plants Invade Other Ecosystems [Hardcover]

Mary Batten (Author), Beverly J. Doyle (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2003 | Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

Explores how and why plants and animals enter ecosystems to which they are not native, as well as the consequences of these invasions for other animals, plants, and humans.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-5-This book explains the devastating effects of nonnative plant and animal species on local ecosystems. Batten covers the many different ways that alien invasions can occur, telling the stories of gypsy moths, kudzu, starlings, fire ants, zebra mussels, and many other aggressive invaders. The text ends with steps that readers can take to stop the encroachment of nonnative species. The spreads are beautifully illustrated with animals and plants that almost seem to jump off the pages. Everything depicted is labeled, and a helpful key designates which ones are native, endangered or threatened, alien, or extinct. Because it lacks the navigational tools necessary for locating information such as page numbers or an index, this book will be of limited use to researchers. Visually appealing, it should capture the interest of browsers.
Laurie von Mehren, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Parma, OH
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 3-5. Animal and plant migrations may not seem to be a fascinating subject. But from the book title and first line of text ("Aliens are everywhere") to the information-packed, full-page color illustrations, this overview of ecological missteps is nonstop intriguing. Batten focuses on what happens when animals and plants migrate or are brought to ecosystems different from their own. Her narrative moves quickly and interestingly from topic to topic, covering everything from conquering armies and settlers carrying animals and plants to their new home to accidents and failed experiments that have brought such scourges as fire ants and gypsy moths to wreak damage on crops and forests. She concludes with a list of suggestions to help children avoid carrying invaders with them as they travel. Lively personal-interest reading, this picture book for older children is fast moving, clear, and well detailed. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Peachtree Publishers; 1 edition (March 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156145236X
• ISBN-13: 978-1561452361
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 9.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,712,962 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mary Batten is an award-winning writer for television, film and publishing. Her many writing projects have taken her into tropical rainforests, astronomical observatories, scientific laboratories and medical research centers. She is the author of 15 nature/science books for adults and children, dozens of magazine articles and some 50 television scripts for Time-Life Films, National Geographic, Walt Disney Educational Media and others. She was nominated for an Emmy for her work on the Children's Television Workshop's 3-2-1 CONTACT series. Her books include Sexual Strategies: How Females Choose Their Mates, which The New York Times called "Fun and delightful to read, offering an abundance of fascinating facts." This book led to an appearance on OPRAH. Her children's book, Aliens from Earth: When Animals and Plants Invade Other Ecosystems, won the 2006 Izaak Walton League of America Conservation Book of the Year Award and was adopted by New York City Public Schools in support of the 4th grade science requirement for study of ecosystems. Her children's book, Baby Wolf, was selected by both Scholastic and Troll Book clubs. Her magazine articles have appeared in Cosmopolitan, Ladies' Home Journal, Modern Maturity and others. Her magazine article for Science Digest, "Sexual Choice: The Female's Newly Discovered Role," won The Newswomen's Club of New York's Front Page Award for best feature story. She is married to composer Ed Bland. They have two children: dancer/choreographer Stefanie Batten Bland and writer Robert Bland.

Website: http://www.marybatten.com
Blog: http://thinkaboutwriting.blogspot.com/

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Ecology Work for Children, June 4, 2009

By 

The Czar of Arkansas (Little Rock, AR USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Aliens from Earth: When Animals and Plants Invade Other Ecosystems (Paperback)

The world is replete with books that teach children to love nature, but not so ripe with books that teach children to understand nature and our impacts upon it. Aliens From Earth, I'm happy to say, is one of the latter.

Kids will enjoy the illustrations, which are rich and detailed. The stories on each page that describe invasive species and their impacts will be easy for most children to understand. Each story also describes the many different ways that invasives can enter the environment. I found the story about the starlings especially entertaining.

If you have kids that are early readers, this book has some biological terms and names that may be challenging.

I highly recommend this book for home and classroom reading.