Loon at Northwood Lake (Smithsonian's Backyard) [Hardcover]

Elizabeth Ring (Author), Taylor Oughton (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up | Series: Smithsonian's Backyard

"This charming, yet realistic look at wildlife, perfectly captures the allure of the elusive loon. This extremely well-written, narrated, and illustrated package will have a wide appeal for young listeners." School Library Journal Includes a glossary of key plant and animal terms.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2. This charming, yet realistic look at wildlife perfectly captures the allure of the elusive loon. The story features a male bird, called Loon, and his mate who live for a summer on a sheltered island. The birds arrive from their separate winter homes in the Atlantic Ocean. They hatch two loonlings and must protect them from prey. There is also the subtle threat of people living in a nearby cottage, though the humans respect the birds' need for privacy. the four birds survive the summer and, at season's end, Loon leaves for his winter home. He will reunite with his mate next summer on the same lake, but their now grown loonlings will find other lakes on which to live. The birds are portrayed realistically, both in the text and in the vivid watercolor illustrations. This realism is matched in the accompanying cassette, which contains not only the lyrical voice of Alexi Komisar as narrator, but background noises, such as loon calls and the sounds of wings flapping. These sound effects are perfectly matched to the actions in the book, making this a special treat for listeners. This extremely well-written, narrated, and illustrated package will have a wide appeal for young listeners.?Melissa Hudak, formerly North Suburban District Library, Loves Park, IL
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Review

Charming --School Library Journal

Informative --Booklist

Beautiful colors --Teacher Librarian

Informative --Booklist

Beautiful colors --Teacher Librarian --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Soundprints; Casebound Hardcover Book edition (March 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568993935
• ISBN-13: 978-1568993935
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,704,143 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great story and illustrations, December 1, 2010

By 

C. Cosner (Mountain View, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Loon at Northwood Lake (Smithsonian's Backyard) (Hardcover)

The illustrations are strictly naturalistic and yet expressive. The artist is obviously a birdwatcher and knows how to render these beautiful creatures from any angle. The story is engaging for adults and children. We've read this many times and it is often requested.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hardcover, October 21, 2010

By 

Sharon Heimann - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Loon at Northwood Lake - a Smithsonian's Backyard Book (Mini book) (Hardcover)

What an engaging, well written and beautifully illustrated book. The general summery has been written in the Library Journal Review, what I add to it is how the illustrations and text are so well married you (and your child) will be drawn in to the chilly waters of Northwood Lake on the first page. The text is nice and large, about a 12 or even 14 so early readers don't have to struggle. Vocabulary is simple for early readers but the interest level it higher. The final page has a brief history of the Loon, a short glossary and a very unique "Points of Interest in this Book" which acts as an index. Highly recommended for early readers, natural history buffs, gift book etc., Loved it.

2 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed TWICE, January 17, 2008

By 

K. Geiger "Grandma" (Neenah, WI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Loon at Northwood Lake - a Smithsonian's Backyard Book (Mini book) (Hardcover)

I only gave one star, not for the book but for Amazon. I ordered this book twice I didn't receive the cassette that goes along with the book. Here's whats given in the description," This realism is matched in the accompanying cassette, which contains not only the lyrical voice of Alexi Komisar as narrator, but background noises, such as loon calls and the sounds of wings flapping." I tried calling CS only to get someone who didn't know what a cassette was until I said, "it's what you used to listen to music on before CD's." And then the CS rep continued to call it a " cartridge". The CS rep said they would put a note in my second order to verify there was a "cartridge" before shipping. The second book came and no cartridge. Just tired of trying to get in touch with someone who knew what I was talking about, a book with a cassette so I'm keeping the book....wondering what loon calls and wing flapping sounds like.