A House in the Sky Book Review

 

In this review, we get a chance to check out some animal homes!

Book Review #12, A House in the Sky: And Other Uncommon Animal Homes

1.       Bibliography: Jenkins, Steve. A House in the Sky: And Other Uncommon Animal Homes.  Charlesbridge; 2018. ISBN: 9781580897808.

2.       Plot Summary: This survey style nonfiction book introduces young people to various animal homes. Some of the homes are not the traditional ones that normally come to mind, such as a floating nest of bubbles, a hole, and an empty coconut shell. Each page showcases a different animal and its unique home.

3.       Critical Analysis: This book combines concise, easy text with large, colorful illustrations to teach readers about various homes in the animal world. This book would be easily accessible by any age range of readers, as it lacks intimidation with its easy style. The book is organized so that one home gets covered per page, with some on occasion spanning two pages. The whale gets two pages because he is such a large creature, needing to take up space. This way, the book gets to show a variety of animal home examples, with a small bit of information. Readers can get a basic understanding of the homes this way, which might also lead their curiosity to try and find other books that cover specific homes in more detail. The ending has the text, “Here is a house for you!” and shows a person and dog walking towards an actual house. This helps readers make a connection between themselves and how they live with the animals and their homes. Even if we live differently, we all need a home to snuggle up in. There are also a few pages at the end that give more explanation about the animals mentioned in the books, with more facts about their homes. This was probably to keep the text on the pages short. There are no notes to explain where the author found his information for the book, but it does appear factual, as it’s written in a very explanatory like tone. The page about turtles states, “Here is a house in a shell. Wherever it goes, the box turtle takes its house along. If dangers threatens, the turtle pulls its head, legs, and tail inside its shell, then clamps the shell closed.” There is no emotion attached to the writing or extra savory details. It simply explains how the turtle uses its shell as a house. It might be nice to see how the author researched the book, and where he found the information to include. The illustrations are large, colorful, and realistic, contributing to the easy, approachable style of the book. This book would be a great introduction for children to learn about animal homes.

4.       Review Excerpts:

·         From School Library Journal, “More robust explanations of the different species at the end of the book make it an excellent STEM offering.”

·         From Booklist, “Showing a broad range of animal homes and explaining related behaviors, this book is an effective read-aloud choice in the classroom or at home.”

·         From Kirkus, “A pretty, introductory survey.”

5.       Connections: Use as part of an author study on Steve Jenkins, including the following other books:

·         Actual Size, HMH Books for Young Readers, 2011. ISBN: 9780547512914.

·         Down, Down, Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea. HMH Books for Young Readers, 2016. ISBN: 9780544709515.

·         What do you do with a Tail like This? HMH Books for Young Readers, 2008. ISBN: 9780618997138.

·         Time to Eat. HMH Books for Young Readers, 2011. ISBN: 9780547250328.

Have children compare and contrast the various homes mentioned in the book. This can be done orally or in a piece of writing.

Have children take concepts from several different homes to create a new home that all of those animals can live in together.

Invite a zookeeper or person from a nature center to come in and speak to children about their experience helping animals with their homes.

In in school, students can attend a field trip to a place such as a nature center or Wetlands Institute, which helps preserve animal homes. Students will get a chance to see these homes in person.

 

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