Customer Reviews

America's Wetlands: Guide to Plants and Animals (America's Ecosystems)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you are looking for a book that will be truly informative on wetlands, this is not it. To start with the positive, we have purchased books by this author/illustrator in the past, and have been happy with them - America's Prairies and Grasslands, for example. However, these books seem to be laid out in the same way - by geographic area. That is not necessarily a bad idea; with grasslands, the different types are largely dispersed geographically. But not so much with wetlands. There are marshes all over the U.S.! This kind of book would be much more usable if arranged by type of wetland.

Furthermore, some types of major wetlands are omitted entirely - salt marshes, for example. If you want to know what grows/lives there, you won't find it in this book.

Lastly, a big problem I have with this book is that areas that are not wetlands at all, such as pond or lakes, are heavily included. The author states that she has included them because "many wetland species live alongside or nearby these areas," but they were simply out of place and could be confusing to a child learning about wetlands.

Better choices are Wetlands by Darlene Stille, unfortunately textbookish, but does have some good general information, and Leapfrogging Through Wetlands by Nancy Field (Our daughter really liked this one; I thought it was okay, and it did have an interesting format).

For a youngster this is the perfect introduction to an ecosystem found almost everywhere in the country. (Actually, I'm no youngster and I found the level was just right for me too.)

The illustrations are a delight--and accurate; the text quirky with sound science and bits of fun entertaining trivia.

If you're one of the few who doesn't have a wetland nearby, then you'll find some other books in this series that might cover your area (Prairies, Mountains, Deserts too)

An important subject in an easy to read book that combines art and learning. Good book. Who said learning can't be fun?