Animals and Their Young: How Animals Produce and Care for Their Babies (Animal Behavior) [Paperback]

Pamela Hickman (Author), Pat Stephens (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2003 | Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 2 and up | Series: Animal Behavior

A polar bear mother gives birth while hibernating, then goes back to sleep for another two months. A male seahorse carries a female's eggs in a pouch until they are ready to hatch. Whether by giving birth, protecting their young or teaching them survival skills, animals produce and care for their babies in some extraordinary ways. Containing lots of interesting facts, activities and easy-to-do experiments, this title in the Animal Behavior series takes a resourceful approach to exploring animal life.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4-Hickman speaks directly to readers, first comparing human babies and animals such as an Atlantic puffin chick, branching out to show how creatures that lay eggs are similar and different, and then discussing mammals and marsupials. A boxed list of a particular animal's characteristics appears on the opening spread of each chapter. The text and illustrations work together to introduce such terms as "placental." Some of the animals discussed include the cottontail rabbit, humpback whale, and Norway lemming. How animals are fed and how they play are briefly touched upon, as is when offspring can feed and defend themselves. Detailed drawings with watercolor washes depict seahorses hatching from a male parent's pouch, a male giant water bug with eggs on its back, etc., and are paired with a lively text that will satisfy those who have enjoyed Judy Cutchin's Parenting Papas (Morrow, 1994; o.p.) and Sneed B. Collard's Animal Dads (Houghton, 1997). Similar in format and technique to this team's Animals Eating (Kids Can, 2001), this book will appeal to children.
Nancy Call, Santa Cruz Public Libraries, Aptos, CA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 3-5. Young naturalists will appreciate this picture-book-size take on animals' habits. The clear, colorfully illustrated exposition of animals' reproductive habits includes short chapters on eggs, types of mammals (monotreme, placental, and marsupial), ways different adult animals care for their young, and how babies learn to live on their own. Boxed insets appear periodically, adding facts about what life would be like if "you" were an Atlantic puffin chick (you'd be an only child) or a cottontail kit (you would be blind at birth). Kids will come away with other fascinating facts. A female shark, for example, lays eggs inside her own body; they hatch and she gives birth to live babies. If there's not enough food to go around, adult lions eat and the cubs go hungry. Sophisticated words and concepts are clearly explained and illustrated for the researcher as well as the animal lover. Diane Foote
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Paperback: 40 pages
• Publisher: Kids Can Press (February 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1553370627
• ISBN-13: 978-1553370628
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 5.5 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #942,738 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)