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Reading Rockets' children's literature expert, Maria Salvadore, brings you into her world as she explores the best ways to use kids' books both inside — and outside — of the classroom.
A yellow frog? In more ways than one!
April 18, 2008
When I was a kid, a bunch of us would go to the local creek and collect tadpoles. My mother wasn't really keen on the idea, but she always let me watch the tadpoles grow into baby frogs — in the room I shared with my sister. (Now, my sister was another story all together…) Once the babies were developed, we returned them to the same creek.
At some point, I became aware of Earth Day, but surely it was later when I learned that the health of our environment could be determined by the health of frogs. They've been called the canaries of the modern age (harking back to the days when coal miners took the little yellow birds with them to assess the health of the air).
Much more recently become aware that many of the 5000 (plus) species of these amphibians are in decline, some extinct. There are even organizations to help save frogs!
An exhibit at the National Geographic Society introduces museum visitors to a range of real, live, and incredibly interesting frogs. (You can visit them in DC until mid May.) It's a fascinating exhibit (the frogs I raised sure weren't this colorful!).
It also reminds me of what we'd lose if we lost any of these fascinating creatures.
If you don't believe that frogs are fascinating, just take a look at the range of them through the lens of Nic Bishop. His Frogs (Scholastic) will make your eyes pop — as will Sandra Markle's Slippery, Slimy Baby Frogs (Walker) for slightly older readers.
I personally will remember the frogs of my childhood in honor of this year's Earth Day: April 22, 2008…but I'm not sure how else I will mark the 38th Earth Day? Any ideas?
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Our kindergarten classes (all 8 of them) hatched butterflies. While the butterflies were "growing", they planted a butterfly garden outside the library. When everything sprouted (includeing the butterflies) they had a releasing party! Everyone oohed and ahh-d -- and some of the butterflies are still hanging around!
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I'm CERTAIN that your sister enjoyed the tadpole transformation as much as you did!