From Publishers Weekly
Filled with an assortment of the plants, animals and insects found in the Northeast quadrant of the United States, Silver's backyard is a happening place--"alive with creepers and crawlers, lifters and leapers, movers and mixers . . . builders, buriers, and recyclers." By advising naturalists to focus on a single square meter of their own yards, the book lends immediate confidence and helps readers to value their own observations, discoveries and conclusions. Silver teaches youngsters to use their senses, along with simple, inexpensive tools, to hunt for tunnels bored in bark, to spy out snow fleas, to measure the distance between bud scales to know how fast a plant grows and to analyze droppings. The book mingles standard field exercises (growing mold, making leaf rubbings, catching animal tracks) with a reach of knowledge extensive enough to allow readers to extract what they need. So much information is provided, in fact, that despite the author's emphasis on experimentation, this book remains more of a reference text than a guide to discovery. Still, the combination of humorous, scientifically grounded text with detailed, realistic drawings will pique the interest of armchair naturalists and active explorers alike. A companion volume, One Small Square: Seashore , also by Silver and Wynne, will be released simultaneously. Ages 7-12.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From the Back Cover
A voyage of scientific discovery is as near as your own backyard. There you'll find a busy hub, full of creepers and crawlers, lifters and leapers, singers, buzzers, climbers, builders, and recyclers. It's a place where children can smell, listen, look, and get a hands-on feel for life--all in one small square of land and air. Backyard is just one of the exciting, vibrantly illustrated volumes in the critically acclaimed ne Small Square series of science and nature books for children ages 7 and up. Each book includes: Stunning full-color illustrations of each habitat and its creatures; Motivating experiments and activities, along with clear, diagrammed instructions and safety tips; A picture field guide to the habitat; a glossary-index and resource list. One Small Square--an eye-opening series orignally published in hardcover--puts the whole world in perspective for children, one small square at a time. Each book is a thrilling, up-close encounter with mammals, insects, plants, birds, fish, amphibians, bacteria, and the ecosystems in which they live. "Science education at its best."--Science Books and Films. Donald M. Silver is the author of more than 40 science books for children and teachers alike. In addition to the award-winning One Small Square series, he has written The Animal World, Why Save the Rain Forest?, Extinction Is Forever, and The Dinosaur Activity Book--all illustrated by Patricia J. Wynne.