Fur, Feather, Fin All of Us Are Kin and Mapping Sam are two science books that are not dull science. While Fur is more traditional science, it is written so it reads as a story. And Sam is a story that has information in it.
Mapping Sam was my favorite out of the two. Joyce Hesselberth creates a story of a cat that puts their family to bed then goes out into the night on their nightly adventures. They explore all sorts of areas, climb their tree, make sure that the town looks right from the construction of the new highest building in town. Along the way, Hesselberth shows you maps: maps of the town, Sam, the earth, the universe and even a dream. The illustrations are simple but have the perfect amount of detail. They are colorful without it becoming overwhelming. They give you a look at Sam’s world that mirrors our own (Sam might have a tail, but the map of the cat allows you to show that we have livers, hearts, lungs, too). At the end there is a round-up of the different maps you see in the book.
The only complaint I have is would Sam really be able to cover all that territory in a few hours and still be able to come home for their own night-bedtime?
Fur, Feather, Fin All of Us are Kin is a little more idealistic in the style. Diane Lang has lovely poetic language that tells of animals and the world and how it is all connected. The illustrations of Stephanie Laberis tie it all together. They show the habitats of the animals simplistically but still detailed enough so you know what to look for outside. Even in the places that you cannot look at, like deep in the ponds and oceans. Perfect colors make this a pleasant read to the eye as well ears. The round-up at the end gives you more science of the animals (such as what class means) as well as more environmental issues and places you can learn more about helping animals.
Both can be used in the classroom or one-on-one reading. As said before, they are not dry-science but reading that makes science fun and relatable. (While my Amazon link is Sam I have linked both titles in the reviews)
