All About Manatees [Paperback]

Jim Arnosky (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2008 | Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up | Series: All About

This all-new title leads Scholastic Nonfiction's relaunch initiative of Jim Arnosky's beloved All About series. All About Manatees is a thorough and colorful introduction to the world of manatees.

All About Manatees is the newest entry in Jim Arnosky's treasured All About series, relaunching in Spring 08 from Scholastic Nonfiction. In All About Manatees, Arnosky shows how manatees grow and live, answering kids' biggest questions about these creatures of the water. Packed with intriguing information and brought to life by Arnosky's vibrant watercolors, this book will fascinate young readers.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 4—This engaging picture-book overview is designed to be shared with prereaders and enjoyed by independent readers alike. The author poses basic questions and invites youngsters into the manatee's underwater world to find out the answers. These large gray marine mammals (10–11 feet long and weighing more than 1000 pounds full grown) are shown in the wild with the fish, plants, and birds common to their habitats. Arnosky's signature watercolors add enormously to the book's appeal and extend the information. He places the creatures in the context of the Sirenia order of animals and then gets down to such specifics as how they use their beaverlike tails to swim, how they poke their nostrils above the surface of the water to breathe, how they eat using their flexible snouts to grab aquatic vegetation, and more. This must-have title is a delight to look at and is packed with interesting and pertinent details.—Frances E. Millhouser, formerly at Chantilly Regional Library, Fairfax County, VA
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From Booklist

The author/illustrator of the picture book Manatee Morning (2000), Arnosky now offers this more informative introductory guide to manatees within his All About series. Artwork, captions, and paragraphs of information work together seamlessly to present the physical characteristics, behaviors, and habitats of manatees living in Florida waters, as well as the threats to their survival. Fluid paintings illustrate points in the text and depict the animals’ lumbering grace. Writing in a friendly yet authoritative manner and occasionally slipping into first person, Arnosky sounds like an unusually well-informed uncle sharing his broad knowledge and experience of manatees with children. Grades K-3. --Carolyn Phelan

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic (May 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439903610
• ISBN-13: 978-0439903615
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.1 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #125,966 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #24 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Animals > Mammals > Nonfiction
  • #45 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Animals > Marine Life > Nonfiction

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars /All About manatees, February 12, 2010

By 

Arlene Ramos "arla" (Thornton, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: All About Manatees (Paperback)

I bought this for my grandson and he loved it. A perfect gift for him.

5.0 out of 5 stars If you love these gentle giants, you'll be thrilled with this wonderful book!, July 10, 2009

By 

D. Fowler "Dragonfly77" (Vermont) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: All About Manatees (Paperback)

Manatees are very special gentle giants. They "neither threaten nor are threatened by any other wildlife," a very unique trait in this world. They live and thrive in warm water and if the water temperature dips below 68 degrees Fahrenheit, they can actually die. Another threat to these gentle creatures are propeller blades from boats. These mammals are distant relatives of elephants and you can easily "see the resemblance in a manatee's thick gray skin." Fully grown they can be quite heavy at a whopping 3,000 pounds or more and can "grow to be 13 feet long."

The manatees we have in the states are known as Florida manatees, but their true name is the West Indian Manatee. In this book you will learn about their population, their habitat, their habits, why they tend to hang around power plants (very interesting), their physical characteristics, their temperament, how they maneuver through the water, what they eat, their breeding habits and how they raise their young. Do manatees sleep? If you want to know the answer to that question, you'll have to read the book.

Jim Arnosky's vivid wildlife illustrations are always stunning and this book is no exception. Many people are used to reading story book renditions of his works, but this nonfiction story about the manatees will not disappoint. If anything, this book would compliment his other works quite nicely. If you love these gentle giants, you'll be thrilled with this wonderful book!