The swirls start on the cover with the largest animal being an obvious swirl, but also the text. Even the information on the title page is written in a swirl. The large print and font choice make it great for reading aloud. The scratchboard illustrations have a lot of texture. Children will be exposed to swirls in animals of all kinds, plants, and natural elements. They'll learn how animals use the parts of their body that make a swirl. The final spread, in smaller print, gives more information about each of the statements about swirls relating to the what was pictured with the statement. For example "... is a strong shape. Land snails can hide safely inside their compact spiral shells." I think children will enjoy looking for the swirls and learning about them. This nonfiction book reveals one specific element of nature: swirls! It is so interesting how the author was able to identify one element and add on to its beauty. I love the poetic feel of the book that truly teaches children about science. This book's illustrations are strong and consistent throughout the book--all relating to the central theme of swirls. It also has parts where the reader has to uncover specific parts of the reading by looking for the text within the illustrations.
Anchor text- animals in nature/ habitats? Mentor text- labels, details, and descriptive language.
—nidhi
Beautiful illustrations, the kids thought the text was fun and asked for another reading.
—tina
Beautiful illustrations. Patterns in nature. Informational book. Lower grades.
—sanya
Interesting!
—Annie
