One cold, rainy, spring night, a young girl and her scientist father participate in “Salamander Night" to follow hundreds of spotted salamanders as they venture into a vernal pool to mate and lay eggs. Together, the father-child team studies the salamanders through their complete amphibian metamorphosis, culminating in the adult salamanders' disappearance into the woods in late summer. In easy-to-understand text, the girl relates the tale through her illustrated, photographic journal.
This fictional story includes a 4-page For Creative Minds section in the back of the book and a 34-page cross-curricular Teaching Activity Guide online. Salamander Season is vetted by experts and designed to encourage parental engagement. Its extensive back matter helps teachers with time-saving lesson ideas, provides extensions for science, math, and social studies units, and uses inquiry-based learning to help build critical thinking skills in young readers. The Spanish translation supports ELL and dual-language programs. The interactive ebook reads aloud in both English and Spanish with word highlighting and audio speed control to promote oral language skills, fluency, pronunciation, text engagement, and reading comprehension.
Written by Jennifer Keats Curtis & J. Adam Frederick, Illustrated by Shennen Bersani
32 pg, 10 x 8.5, Ages 4-8, Grades k-3
Keywords: life cycle, salamander, metamorphosis, amphibian, classification, sequencing, scientist, biologist
Animals in the book: spotted salamanders
Vetters: Thanks to the following experts for verifying the information in this book: J. Adam Frederick, Maryland Sea Grant, Asst. Director of Education at the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology and Dr. Ryan Kerney, Assistant Professor of Biology at Gettysburg College. As an organismal biologist, Dr. Kerney specializes in the ecology, evolution and development of amphibians.
Reviews:
Seamlessly woven in are: information on local conservation actions for salamanders and their habitat- vernal pools; a timeline for salamander development; the idea of becoming a scientist; annual cycle; food webs; and more. - Science Books & Films
Highly recommended, especially for schools and public library nonfiction collections. - Midwest Book Review
A scrapbook-like design includes color photos of varying quality and amateurish drawings. More information about salamanders and the work of biologists is appended. - Horn Book Guide
J. Adam Frederick is the Assistant Director of Education at Maryland Sea Grant and works in the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology in Baltimore, MD, and is a former high school biology teacher. As part of his job, he studies salamanders and other aquatic organisms and develops practical applications for classroom teachers. He has co-authored two curriculum-related books: Inside-Out: Environmental Science in the Classroom and the Field, Grades 3-8 and Saltwater Aquaria in the Classroom: a Manual for the Beginner as well as written articles or book chapters to help science teachers in the classroom. This is his first picture book.
