A Kid's Spring Ecojournal [Paperback]

Toni Albert (Author), Margaret Brandt (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

There is an EcoJournal for each of the four seasons. A Kid's Spring EcoJournal invites kids to write about nature on pages exquisitely illustrated by Margaret Brandt. The author has included short entries from her nature journals, which express her irrepressible and unflagging delight in the natural world. Kids love to read about Trickle Creek, where deer eat the tulips and baby squirrels peek out of the squirrel house. The Spring EcoJournal is packed with nature activities for exploring spring. Kids can build a mouse house or a mole dome, raise a wild caterpillar or a leggy tadpole, make crafts with pressed wildflowers, make a track trap, build an eco-pond, plant a moonlight garden, observe wildlife from a blind, and enjoy dozens of other spring activities that teach them to love the world of nature. Based on solid science. Grades 3-up.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A Kid's Spring EcoJournal is one of a series of four books by Toni Albert. Packed with hands-on activities to explore the spring season, it makes writing exciting." -- NEA Today, Feb 98

"Invite students to read about, observe, and then write about nature with A Kid's Spring EcoJournal. Author and former teacher Toni Albert has packed 56 pages with nature activities to help students in grades 3 and up explore the spring season." -- Today's Catholic Teacher, Nov/Dec 97

"Loaded with hands-on tips for children on collecting plants and insects, nature writing, tracking animals, wildlife watching, growing, seasons, and threats to ecosystems. Home projects and fun facts keep kids entertained and informed." -- E: The Environmental Magazine, Jan/Feb 98

About the Author

Award-winning author Toni Albert, M.Ed., is the author of thirty-five books, which are used by teachers and students throughout the nation. Many of her books have been about endangered wildlife and endangered wildlands and reflect her deep concern for the environment. Toni Albert is the owner of Trickle Creek Books, which is committed to "teaching kids to care for the earth." She lives with her husband, their cats Bailey and Charlie, and their dog Abercrombie on twenty acres of wooded land near Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. The woods and meadows around their home, the tiny creek that runs through the woods, and a large pond are a perfect laboratory for gathering information and inspiration from nature.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 56 pages
• Publisher: Trickle Creek Books (March 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0964074230
• ISBN-13: 978-0964074231
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.4 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 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: #893,230 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #26 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Nature > General

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars encourages kids to write about nature, includes activities, June 15, 2003

By 

christinemm - The Thinking Mother (Houston Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: A Kid's Spring Ecojournal (Paperback)

This book is meant to be a consumable eco-journal (aka nature notebook; nature journal or discovery journal). There is one half page of blank lines to write in. The concentration here is to write about nature and to do activities related to nature and to document those as well (rather than drawing or painting what is seen). At the bottom of that same page is the author's own dated eco-journal entry. For our inspiration, the author presents what she has written when observing nature in her own 20 acre, wooded backyard located in Pennsylvania. The author suggests that children document what they see, even a short listing such as when a tree first blooms, when an animal such as a deer is spotted, etc. Also suggested are longer descriptions and poetry. There is a whole page of ideas of what to write about from reports about a favorite animal to writing a book report on a nature book that was read.

The book begins with tips and encouragement to observe nature. The author urges us to spend time observing the same place on a regular basis (daily or weekly), so we can see the many changes that occur over short and long periods of time.

In addition to having writing space there are directions for 24 activities. Some of the activities are how to grow tadpoles indoors, making a map of a place in nature that will be visited regularly, pressing flowers and how to construct and maintain a birdhouse. The authors have a desire for children to become conversationalists and discussions of endangered species and how children can help save whales and wildflowers, among other things, is presented. I was confused by the page devoted to collecting birds' nests, as it is still illegal in America to do so, even if one is not being used presently. (Some birds deconstruct nests and use the same materials to build new nests.) A page about caring for wounded wildlife is amongst the activities.

I like this book and appreciate the easy to understand information and activities. However I prefer that a journal have more freedom, to make longer or shorter entries, more entries, and to have blank pages for drawing or sketching. For our family I have decided to use this book as a non-consumable reference book and to use a different type of blank book as an eco-journal.

There seems to be several (or many) books that provide lists and directions for nature activities. The unique thing about this book is the strong urge to have a child be an observer and writer of what is seen. This book provides the seeds to let a child open up to seeing and appreciating our natural world. To treat animals and our environment with respect and admiration is clearly a goal. There are many tips and ideas to prompt journal entries. I would say the main strong point of this book is the emphasis on stimulating a desire to create an eco-journal-the activities are secondary. You don't need to do all the activities, they are separate from the writing, however, doing them may excite the child about nature or be the basis of something to write about.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars encourages kids to write about nature, includes activities, June 15, 2003

By 

christinemm - The Thinking Mother (Houston Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: A Kid's Spring Ecojournal (Paperback)

This book is meant to be a consumable eco-journal (aka nature notebook; nature journal or discovery journal). There is one half page of blank lines to write in. The concentration here is to write about nature and to do activities related to nature and to document those as well (rather than drawing or painting what is seen). At the bottom of that same page is the author's own dated eco-journal entry. For our inspiration, the author presents what she has written when observing nature in her own 20 acre, wooded backyard located in Pennsylvania. The author suggests that children document what they see, even a short listing such as when a tree first blooms, when an animal such as a deer is spotted, etc. Also suggested are longer descriptions and poetry. There is a whole page of ideas of what to write about from reports about a favorite animal to writing a book report on a nature book that was read.

The book begins with tips and encouragement to observe nature. The author urges us to spend time observing the same place on a regular basis (daily or weekly), so we can see the many changes that occur over short and long periods of time.

In addition to having writing space there are directions for 24 activities. Some of the activities are how to grow tadpoles indoors, making a map of a place in nature that will be visited regularly, pressing flowers and how to construct and maintain a birdhouse. The authors have a desire for children to become conversationalists and discussions of endangered species and how children can help save whales and wildflowers, among other things, is presented. I was confused by the page devoted to collecting birds' nests, as it is still illegal in America to do so, even if one is not being used presently. (Some birds deconstruct nests and use the same materials to build new nests.) A page about caring for wounded wildlife is amongst the activities.

I like this book and appreciate the easy to understand information and activities. However I prefer that a journal have more freedom, to make longer or shorter entries, more entries, and to have blank pages for drawing or sketching. For our family I have decided to use this book as a non-consumable reference book and to use a different type of blank book as an eco-journal.

There seems to be several (or many) books that provide lists and directions for nature activities. The unique thing about this book is the strong urge to have a child be an observer and writer of what is seen. This book provides the seeds to let a child open up to seeing and appreciating our natural world. To treat animals and our environment with respect and admiration is clearly a goal. There are many tips and ideas to prompt journal entries. I would say the main strong point of this book is the emphasis on stimulating a desire to create an eco-journal-the activities are secondary. You don't need to do all the activities, they are separate from the writing, however, doing them may excite the child about nature or be the basis of something to write about.