River Beds: Sleeping in the World's Rivers (Paperback)

~ Gail Langer Karwoski (Author), Connie McLennan (Illustrator) "All over the world, mammals burrow in snug dens or snooze on riverbeds of sand and silt..." (more)

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

"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

"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

"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

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Sylvan Dell Publishing (June 17, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934359319
• ISBN-13: 978-1934359310
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 8.5 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.com Sales Rank: #2,419,813 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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 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	V. S. Grenier "Stories for Children Magazine ... (Ivins, Utah USA) - See all my reviews (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.