Seeds, Bees, Butterflies and More!: Poems for Two Voices

The book does show a development of process within it. We are able to explore the different phases of life that a butterfly goes through. We see the process of being a caterpillar, being in hibernation, then its transformation into a butterfly. The development of process is seen yet again through several of the poems that tell the different stages of pollination.

Author: Carole Gerber
Illustrator: Eugene Yelchin
Year Published: 2013
ISBN: 9780805092110

Summary

This picture book is written as a series of poems that tell about the different stages of life for flowers and certain insects. The poems in this book are written in a way that is meant to be read by two individuals simultaneously. This is meant to be a engaging book that students could easily use critical thinking skills on. This book is perfect for teaching about pollination, insect life cycles, poetry and rhyming.

Evaluation

Appropriateness: High
Authority: Medium
Accuracy: Medium
Liteary Artistry: Medium
Appearance: High

Questions

Does the book foster development of processes?

Does the book provide an opportunity for children to ask and answer their own questions?

Children are given points throughout the book to truly think through what they have read and answer any questions they might have. A great time to allow children to have this time to would be at the very bottom of each page, before you flip to the next poem. This is a good stopping place because once you turn to the next page you are going to be confronted with the new title for the new poem. Once they are given that title they are going to be thinking about what the next poem will be about, which you do want the students to predict what will happen next, but they also need to think deeply about what they have already went through before adding more data to their toolboxes.

Does the book encourage children to think for themselves?

This book encourages children to think for themselves. They are challenged to find the similarities and differences between the different plants and animals. This is seen by the sheer amount of poems that are in the book, there is a new one on each and every page. The children are also encouraged to think for themselves when reading the book because they are meant to talk through the story with a partner.

Is the science topic addressed in ways that are appropriate to the lesson?

The science topic is presented in a way that is appropriate for the lesson. It shows the different stages of pollination and the life cycle of several different insects. The topics are introduced in each poem by either the flowers or insects talking to one another about what is going to happen to them. They are discussing how they will go through pollination, and the different cycles of life.

Is the content based on sound scientific principles? Is it accurate?

The content of the book is accurate. It tell the different stages that a plant will go through to pollinate. We are also told about life cycles of different insects in the book like the butterfly. There is a poem for each stage of life for the butterfly, one for being a caterpillar, one for being in hibernation, and another for when they turn into a butterfly. The information that is being given is based on sound scientific principals.

Does the book distinguish between fact and fiction?

This book does not directly distinguish between fact and fiction. Some of the students could take this book as fiction because flowers and insects do not really talk. However, it is possible that they will take the actual information that they are given from the book as fact, which it is, even if it is given in a fictional way.

Are the illustrations clear and accurate?

The illustrations are bright and colorful, which can make the book seem more inviting to the students. It is clear that all of the pictures were drawn in a cartoon type form, but everything is easily distinguishable. The animated characters could also help the students connect with different toys or movies since so much of children's entertainment are made of unrealistic but recognizable drawings.

Is the book written at the level of your students?

This book is a great read aloud for students in Pre-K through second grade. The text is a bit advanced making it more accessible to the first and second graders when it comes to reading on their own. The book would still be enjoyable to use as a read aloud for the younger students because of the bright illustrations and characters giving information about their real life counterparts.

Is there a multicultural component? Is it free from stereotyping?

In a way there are two different cultures being shown in this story, the flowers are one while the insects are the other. The insects have a different purpose than the flowers, they are just looking for food and by doing so they help out with pollination, while the flowers are focused solely on reproducing. There is no form of stereotyping in the book because it gives the facts of what is going on through reproduction and life cycles.

Is the book free from gender bias?

There is no sexism in the book, which can be seen by the lack of addressing the animals or plants by any pronouns of any sort. The words 'I', 'you', and 'we' are used in place of the pronouns making it impossible to distinguish the genders of the animals and flowers. This book very deliberate chose to not be associated with any gender bias associations, which is clear the lack of words like 'he' or 'she'.

Does the book show the close association between science and other disciplines?

This book could be used as a model for language arts along with science. The book consists of poems and has plenty of rhyming words that could be focused upon. The students would be able to learn one way to configure a poem, and that there could be two points of view happening in a poem. They could also put together a rhyming lesson by taking some of the vocabulary words from the book and using them in a word work activity.

Does the book present a positive attitude toward science and technology?

There are no aspects of technology seen in this book, the setting is held in nature. There is a positive attitude towards science, which is seen by the way the plants and bugs are so thoughtful, curious and excited to either gather food or go on an reproductive adventures. Science is shown as an exciting subject here, and there are many different aspects of this book that could be brought up and used as examples for language arts.

Science Topics

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