River Beds: Sleeping in the World's Rivers [Paperback]

Gail Langer Karwoski (Author), Connie McLennan (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 6 and up | Grade Level: 1 and up

This sequel to the award-winning Water Beds: Sleeping in the Ocean (2007 Teacher s Choice & 2005 Mom s Choice) takes readers on an around-the-world boat ride to learn how mammals sleep in or around ten major rivers of the world on all continents except Antarctica. Row down the Mississippi and watch two river otters slip into a hollow tree or look to the bank of the Brisbane River as a platypus pops into a hole and disappears into a narrow tunnel. Told in a soothing style, this book serves as a bedtime/naptime story for younger children or an animal geography book for older children. Adults may learn something, too! For Creative Minds Section Includes: Animal adaptation matching activity, Asian short-clawed otters, Beavers, Boto Dolphins, Capybaras, Hippos, Indus River Dolphins, Mink, Platypus, River otters, Water Voles, World Map, Where in the world?, Geography questions Thanks to the following animal experts who verified the information in this book: River otters: Kelly Reno, River Otter Aquarist at the SC Aquarium, Rico Walder, Assistant Curator of Forests, Tennessee Aquarium Beavers: Kathryn Dudeck, Wildlife Director at Chattahoochee Nature Center Boto (Amazon) dolphins: Tamara Mcguire PhD, Amazon Researcher with Virtual Explorers Capybaras: Rachael Macy, Zoological Manager/Carnivores at the St. Louis Zoo Water Voles: Rob Strachan, of The Mammal Society (UK) Mink: George Shurvington, Wildlife Biologist, and Karen Armstrong, Conservation Education Consultant at the Missouri Department of Conservation Indus River Dolphins & Boto Dolphins: Frazer McGilvray, Senior Manager at Conservation International Asian short-clawed otter: Lisa Smith, Curator of Large Mammals at Zoo Atlanta. Hippos: Loran Wlodarski, educator at SeaWorld Orlando Platypus: Geoff Williams, Australian Platypus Conservancy

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Some mammals burrow into the earth to sleep, but others takes their rests near or in water. Children follow a boy in a rowboat as he makes his way around the world, visiting animals who “dream by a stream.” The visual device of the boy adds child appeal, but the real stars here are the animals themselves: a beaver in his lodge; a capybara, the world’s largest rodent, asleep on a mat of grass near the Amazon River; a water vole slipping through the underwater entrance to its grassy den. Then there are the mammals that live in the water, such as India’s river dolphin. Softly colored illustrations capture the feel of evening, matching the gentle yet informative tone of the text. Teachers and parents will like the back matter, which includes activities linked to a rivers map and a game that asks readers to link pictures of animals with their descriptions (not always easy to do). Additional activities are available at the publisher’s Web site. Grades 1-3. --Ilene Cooper --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"River Beds: Sleeping in the World's Rivers is entertaining and educational. A must have for family libraries, and teachers should have it also." --Armchair Interviews

"I continue to be a strong advocate for Sylvan Dell books. These consistently impress me with their quality and value…. I fully expect to see teacher and parent awards given to River Beds." --Epinions.com

"Animals that are familiar to youngsters such as otters, dolphins, hippos, and beavers are featured alongside rare mammals like the capybara, the water vole and the platypus. Readers not only learn where the animals sleep, but also how they drift off to sleep. Before drifting off to sleep, readers can also travel to each of the continents and dream peacefully of fellow mammals snuggling in their beds." --ForeWord Magazine

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Sylvan Dell Publishing (June 17, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934359319
• ISBN-13: 978-1934359310
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8.6 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,199,174 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #83 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Issues > Sleep

More About the Author

Gail Langer Karwoski was born in Boston, Massachusetts, has a B.A. from the University of Massachusetts, and an M.A. from the University of Minnesota. She and her husband, Chester, moved to Georgia in 1974 and raised two daughters, Leslie and Geneva, and many bossy cats. Gail taught grades 3-12 in public schools until 1998, and she co-wrote her first book (The Tree that Owns Itself) with a teaching colleague because "we needed some good stories to enrich our Georgia unit." Her books are widely read in schools throughout the country and have appeared on state award lists in Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Mexico, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, and more. She has been named Georgia Author of the Year in Juvenile Literature three times. For more info, visit her website: www.gailkarwoski.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Down by the River, September 1, 2008

By 

Noreen H. Bernstein "Youth Services Director,... (Williamsburg, VA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: River Beds: Sleeping in the World's Rivers (Paperback)

This is a beautiful book with eloquent language by Gail Langer Karwoski and elegant art by Connie McLennan. A bedtime story that transports the reader around the world, visiting famous rivers and the creatures that live in and around them. The illustrations and the text mesh seamlessly making RIVER BEDS: SLEEPING IN THE WORLD'S RIVERS a perfect picture book. The soothing language and twilight palette are perfect for a bedtime journey.
The activities and information at the end of the story will allow parents and teachers to expand the book with interactive projects.
WATER BEDS, a companion book by the same duo, shows us how mammals sleep in the ocean. The two books, together, form a perfect lesson for young children who want to know how these animals live. Both RIVER BEDS and WATER BEDS belong in media centers, public libraries, classrooms, and private collections. Children will want to revisit the stories over and over again discovering more details and relishing the beauty of these books.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stories for Children Magazine 5 Star Review, August 29, 2008

By 

Virginia S. Grenier "Children's Author & Stor... (Ivins, Utah USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: River Beds: Sleeping in the World's Rivers (Hardcover)

Reviewed by: Gayle Jacobson-Huset

Author Gail Karwoski and Illustrator Connie McLennan did a terrific job on this gentle and interesting picture book about nine rivers around the world and the sleeping habits of the animals living by each river. It was a great learning lesson for me - I found out the names of animals I'd never heard of before! This book was written to lull little ones to sleep, but it also serves as a wonderful geography lesson for older children and adults as well. The only continent not represented in this book was Antarctica. Can you guess what nine rivers the author picked? You'll just have to read this book to find out!

As with all Sylvan Dell books, there is a section at the end of the book and also online called For Creative Minds. It contains "Adaptation Matching Activity" (which has all the animals mentioned in the story) as well as a section entitled "River Map Activity" that I found fascinating and fun. This is a great all-around quality Sylvan Dell book that rates a high five from me for its ability to hold my interest from beginning to end.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Bedtime Story Classic from Author Gail Karwoski, August 11, 2008

By 

Donny B. Seagraves "Donny Seagraves, Author" (WINTERVILLE, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: River Beds: Sleeping in the World's Rivers (Hardcover)

Gail Karwoski, a children's book author based in Watkinsville, Georgia, offers another bedtime classic in her new book, River Beds: Sleeping in the World's Rivers, illustrated by Connie McLennan and published by Sylvan Dell Publishing. Karwoski's new book is a sequel to the award-winning Water Beds: Sleeping in the Ocean, which was Learning Magazine's 2007 Teachers' Choice Award winner and also was a 2005 Mom's Choice winner. Karwoski, who remembers being lulled to sleep as a child by bedtime stories, speaks in the perfect voice for this type of story. Reading this book, it is easy even for an adult "kid" to feel drowsy. But there's more to this story than a simple bedtime tale. The author takes readers on an around-the-world boat trip as she tells them about the sleeping habits of mammals who live in or around ten major rivers of the world on all continents except Antarctica. Young readers will learn about otters sleeping inside a hollow tree by the Mississippi River, beaver near the St. Lawrence River and Pink river dolphins called botos in the Amazon River. And then there's my favorite, capybara, the world's biggest rodent, who lives near the Amazon River and clicks its big teeth with contentment as it settles down to sleep. Other animals in this book include a vole along the banks of the Thames River, a mink by the Danube River, river dolphins below the swift, muddy water of the Indus River, Asian short-clawed otters near the mouth of the Mekong River, a herd of hippos bouncing along the Nile River and a wet platypus in a hole in the bank of the Brisbane River. Karwoski tells about these sleeping animals in lyrical language and McLennan illustrates these wet sleeping places and sleepy animals in dreamy, gorgeous colors on every page. Fans of Water Beds: Sleeping in the Ocean will be delighted with this follow up bedtime story. Readers who are new to Karwoski's bedtime storybooks will want to read both.