Forest Night Forest Bright
(Dawn Pubns-2005)
By: Jennifer Ward
Illustrated by: Jamichael Henterly
Grade: 2-4
*2009 Giverny Award Winner*
Forest Night Forest Bright is about the different animals who are awake during the day (the first half of the book) and awake at night (the second half of the book). It is written so creatively because you can FLIP THIS BOOK and read about the daytime in the forest then the nighttime. I loved the use of poetry, especially to teach some more higher level vocabulary for elementary students and who doesn't love a rhyme? It is informational as well as interesting.
Theme/Skill Taught: Forest life/Nocturnal vs. Diurnal
About the Author: Jennifer Ward began writing as a child. She spent a lot of time outdoors exploring in nature and wrote stories about what she saw. She wrote for herself and her parents. Growing up, she continued to be amazed by nature and became a teacher. Eventually she decided to write full time for children and is currently the author of several popular children's books. Jennifer Ward's Bio
About the Illustrator: Jamichael Henterly never set out to be a book illustrator. He was in the Army, an infantry medic, a firefighter and a Forest Service fire lookout. His dream was to become a scientist, but loved to draw. He says he stumbled upon the opportunity to illustrate and took it. In order to be a great artist, he researches a lot because he wants to capture the true beauty of nature, which he does in this book. About Jamichael Henterly
Pre-Reading activities: Discuss different forest animals. Are they all awake during the day? What are different ways animals move and act. Have them give a few examples. Then you can show how use of descriptive words really changes the picture you make in your head as you read.
Post Reading Activities: Using the book (or research), students can create a chart showing the nocturnal animals vs. diurnal. This will introduce them to new vocabulary terms as well as get them familiar with different life styles of different animals who live in the same habitat. Also a fun activity would be to draw the animal next to the descriptive word that describes their behavior. For example, take "Strut and wobble...turkeys gobble", draw a turkey and write strut or wobble and have them define it. This will broaden their vocabulary as well.
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