3rdgradereading

What exactly is a wetland?  It is a place that is covered with water.  Some wetlands are wet all of the time while others may dry up sometimes.  Other wetlands may look dry but the ground is really very wet and soggy.  Even the plants that grow in the wetlands are different.  Some have are rooted in the dirt.  Some of these grow under the water while others grow out of the water.  There are even some plants that just float around on top of the water.  Grass, shrubs, trees and even human food grow in wetlands.  Did you know that rice and cranberries are grown in wetlands?  These plants also provide a way to clean our water before it soaks back into the ground.  Wetlands provide protection from flooding because they can soak up extra water.  These are good reasons why we need to protect our wetlands.

Too often we think of informational texts as dry and boring.  That is not the case with this book.  While it is considered to be on a third grade reading level, it provides easy reading and comprehension in the main section for lower level readers.  The back of the book provides more detailed information for each of the illustrations that can be used for more advanced readers or for teaching information.

Written by a former elementary teacher and beautifully illustrated by her husband, this book would make an excellent resource for third grade, early research skill building.  The author has included a glossary as well as other books and websites for further research.  This book is just one in a series of other books by the same author and illustrator about different habitats.

• Title:  About Habitats Wetlands
• Author:  Cathryn Sill
• Illustrator:  John Sill
• Publisher: Peachtree Publishers
• Reviewer:  Sandi Waymire
• Paper back:  unpaged
• ISBN: 978-1-56145-689-5
• Genre:  nonfiction – science/environmental