Book Review: A Beginner's Guide to Bear Spotting

A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO BEAR SPOTTING by Michelle Robinson is an adorable picture book adventure.

Robinson’s quirky approach to storytelling is sure to entice young readers. An adorable child narrator carrying a field guide provides readers with useful and sometimes silly information about identifying and interacting with bears in the forest.

David Robert’s use of graph paper, appealing typography, and endearing characters make the book particularly appealing.

Librarians will find a large audience for this outdoor adventure. Pair the book with animal books and field guides for a fun display. The field-note theme has lots of possibilities for science projects and nature connections. Encourage children to write their own story about a favorite animal encounter incorporating both fact and fiction.

To learn more about the author, go to http://michellerobinson.co.uk/.

Published by Bloomsbury on February 9, 2016. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

App Review: Plum's Photo Hunt

PLUM’S PHOTO HUNT is an engaging nature photo app for children from PBS Kids.

Part of the Plumb Landing environmental science PBS program, the app sends youth on missions outdoors to photograph interesting things in nature including weather, plants, and insects.

Aimed at children 6 through 9, app users are presented with three options: photo missions, photobombs, and field journal.

The Photo Missions area begins with instructions that are both text and read aloud. Youth choose from over a dozen missions such as looking for patterns and shadows in nature or seeking out animal habitats or unusual weather. The app activates the device camera allowing youth to take a photo of the requested nature element. Users can choose to save the photos.

The Photobombs section allows users to take photos with one of dozens of characters in the foreground. For instance, for a garden scene a child might select a character holding a watering can or if the student is photographing an insect a character holding a magnifying glass might be used. Youth can share their photos for possible use at the Plum Landing website.

The Field Journal allows children to save photos and text together to create an electronic field journal. Youth use photos they’ve taken within the program and add text. Additional pages can easily be added.

A parent button provides information for adults.

This easy-to-use app would be great for classroom science activities. However, keep in mind that separate user accounts aren’t generated so all the images are stored together on a single device.

To learn more about the PBS program, go to Plum Landing athttp://pbskids.org/plumlanding/.

To see the Plum Landing Picture Sharing areas, go tohttp://pbskids.org/plumlanding/pictures/.

To download the app, go to http://pbskids.org/apps/plums-photo-hunt.html.