With vivid illustrations by Laurie Allen Klein and a perfectly pitched mix of imagination and science by author Janet Halfmann, Little Skink's Tail
is a fantastic picture book addition for your collection.The publisher’s blurb: “While Little Skink hunts yummy ants for breakfast, she is suddenly attacked by a crow! But she has a trick to escape – she snaps off her tail, and it keeps on wiggling! Little Skink is happy to be alive, but she misses her bright blue tail. Little Skink’s Tail follows Little Skink as she daydreams of having the tails of other animals in the forest. Readers will enjoy pretending with her, trying on tail after tail….”
After reading Little Skink's Tail
I felt ripped off! I’ve been living in South Florida for fifteen years and I’ve never seen a blue-tailed skink! Each afternoon, as I take my dog for a walk, I see all sorts of lizards sunning themselves. The most common is the anole, but I occasionally spy a big green iguana. Why, just last week, this fellow wandered onto my office window:
Though I’m not a picture book expert, I’m especially impressed with Little Skink's Tail
for its appealing illustrations, personified voicing, charming characterization, large text and support materials (see below).Little Skink's Tail
has, rightly, won several awards: Florida Publisher’s Association Presidents book Award, 2009 Teacher’s Choice award from Learning Magazine, 09’ Mom’s Choice Award.Recommended for both classroom and elementary library purchase.
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Genre: Picture Book. Age: 4-8. Pages: 32.
Themes: Determination, Imagination, Science/Nature
Special Thanks to Sylvan Dell Publishing & Janet Halfmann.
Publisher: Sylvan Dell. Date: August 2007.
ISBN-10: 0976882388 / ISBN-13: 978-0976882381
Buy Little Skink's Tail Here
You can preview the book HERE
Though the book includes a couple activities in the back, you can also download teaching activities, quizzes, author/illustrator interviews, standards alignments and related website links on the Sylvan-Dell Publishing Little Skink’s Tail Page: HERE
Other reviews from book bloggers:
Ready Set Read Review
Once Upon A Time
Books Ahoy
Pudgy Penguin Perusals
Lori Calabrese Writes (author interview)
Mayra's Secret Bookcase
In The Pages
A Wrung Sponge
Laura Williams Musings
Janet Halfmann was rasied on a farm in Michigan. She has four children and fourgrandchildren and lives in Wisconsin. You can read more about her here and here.____________________________________________________________
© 2007-2009 Cheryl Vanatti for www.ReadingRumpus.com 
Thanks for the link and for posting a wonderful review! I love this book, too and had a great time interviewing Janet! She certainly deserves all of the success!
ReplyDeleteAll the best,
Lori
www.loricalabrese.com
Thanks from me too for the link! I love your review, and think it's way too cool that you get to see so many cool critters, even if the Blue Tail Skink doesn't happen to be one of them. (That does stink though. LOL)
ReplyDeleteRebekah
Ready Set Read Reviews
My kids and I have had a lot of fun with this book. My kindergarten son actually has a class pet of a Blue Tailed Skink so it's great! Thanks for linking me.
ReplyDeleteI love skinks too, and must look out for this book. As for your iguana, wow!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the wonderful review of my book, Little Skink's Tail, and for all the fun comments about critters. I wish that I saw lizards on my walks, but they are not so common here in Wisconsin. And a blue-tailed skink for a class pet—how amazing! The illustrator of the book lives in Florida, too, and right after she got the assignment she went into her garage and found a blue-tailed skink. Right then, she figured it was fate that she illustrate this book! And I'm glad she did.
ReplyDeleteHI, thanks for linking to my review. Wasn't this just the most enjoyable book? I think I have only seen a skink once since we have been living in FL. He sure looks cute in the book. The illustrator is just amazing and Ms. Halfmann's story is wonderful. I hope she writes many more books.
ReplyDeleteWe just got this book last week and my daughter loved it!!!!! I will be posting my review this week.
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain. Once upon a time I lived in Florida and never once saw one. Lots of other fun critters, but not a skink.