Cheetah Dreams

Cheetahs are the most rapidly vanishing cat in Africa. Share the dreams of a bright future for cheetahs while engaging sidebars provide a wealth of natural history information. From cleat-like feet to tear-marked faces, these majestic cats are well adapted to life on the African plains. The fierce predators sprint after their prey at high-speed, an exhausting dash that leaves them ready for a nap! This rhythmic text will lull readers into cheetah dreams of their own.

This nonfiction picture book with a cuddle factor includes a 4-page For Creative Minds section in the back of the book and a 39-page cross-curricular Teaching Activity Guide online. 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 Linda Stanek, Illustrated by Shennen Bersani
32 pg, 8.5 X 10, Ages 4-9, Grades 2-3, Lexile: 710, F&P: P

Reviews:

Incorporating two different writing styles in each double-page spread, Stanek aims to appeal to young readers’ emotions and intellect...This hybrid of poetic text with factual sidebars adequately serves its purpose as a way to interest early grade schoolers in the plight of one endangered species.
-Kirkus Reviews

Cheetah Dreams is a fabulous example of teaming up moving, descriptive poetic narrative, lifelike paintings of cheetahs in action in natural habitats, and highly informative sidebars. The result is a first class documentation of the presently endangered cheetahs, the most rapidly vanishing cat in Africa.
- Midwest Book Review

Cheetah Dreams offers lilting prose and beautiful illustrations to bring alive the world of the cheetah, from the amazing adaptations for their daily lives to hunt and care for young, to the challenges of surviving in an environment increasingly overtaken by humans. This captivating book, written to target a young audience from ages 8 to 11, offers an enriching visual experience that will draw in the attention of even younger children as the pages turn to reveal the cheetah’s natural history and the conservation issues that are being faced.
- Karin Schwartz, cheetah expert

Author/Illustrator Info:

As an early and middle childhood educator, Linda Stanek wants to inspire young learners, including children with written language disabilities, to write about things that excite them. Her own passion for saving endangered animals and teaching children about the importance of each link in natural world provide the inspiration for Once Upon an Elephant. Linda has also written The Pig and Miss Prudence and Beco's Big Year: A Baby Elephant Turns One. Linda has two grown sons and lives in Ohio with her husband and feline family members. Visit her website at www.lindastanek.com.

Shennen Bersani is an award-winning illustrator with 2 million copies of her books cherished and read by children, parents, and teachers throughout the world. Her art delivers heartfelt emotion, the wonders of nature and science, and creates a unique joy for learning. Some of Shennen's other illustrated works include River Otter's Adventures; Night Creepers; Cheetah Dreams; Animal Partners; Astro: The Steller Sea Lion; Home in the Cave; The Glaciers are Melting!; Once Upon an Elephant (CBC Children's Choice Book Award); Salamander Season; Sea Slime: It’s Eeuwy, Gooey and Under the Sea; The Shape Family Babies; and Shark Baby for Arbordale. She is also the author and illustrator of Achoo! Why Pollen Counts. Shennen lives with her family near Boston. Visit her website at www.shennenbersani.com.