Platypus

Excellent model text- use of descriptive writing, adjectives, verbs, adverbs etc.

This book captures this beautiful native Australian animal in all its beauty, the Platypus. 'Hurrying. Scurrying. Always moving. Always busy. Always looking for a meal. Platypus is perpetual motion – never still.' These poetic words capture the life of the mysterious platypus, who reside in their freshwater dwellings hiding in their burrows on the banks.As you turn each page, you discover that in the murky waters lie little surprises like dragonflies that I see from the corner of my eye, the b [...]

Platypus is packed full of interesting information about a very strange animal, but the book never feels like an informational text. The rich lyrical descriptions of the animal and habitat are accompanied by sidebars providing scientific details. The platypus’s world comes alive in the illustrations and language as the author slowly reveals the features of this puzzling creature and follows it through its day. Several other “Nature Storybooks” are available in the series as well.

This is like a wonderful nature program on TV with a narrator doing voice-over. Love the information. The watercolor art totally fits the odd character and setting. My only nitpick is that I wish the two fonts were more distinct. For leveled text, they are too similar. Other than that, wow. The verbs. The voice. Fabulous."Night settles in. Frogs croon to the starry sky. Thirsty wallabies appear at the creek edge to drink. Under the cover of darkness, Platypus rides the current, performs back fli [...]

There are animals native to very specific places regardless of climate. Polar bears are only found in the Arctic regions. Their counterparts, penguins, are only seen in the southern hemisphere. The Galapagos pink land iguana is native only on Wolf volcano, Isabela Island, labeled as critically endangered. Within the moist mountain areas of Venezuela lives the pebble toad; named for its unique defense strategy of folding its body into a ball and rolling away from predators.Within the continent of [...]

I learned facts that I didn't know about the platypus, like that it is venomous and toothless. I would have loved to see a diagram of these "stiff plates inside their bills", and in general, I was wishing that the illustrations were clearer, providing more detail. I was also bothered that the two different fonts were not quite distinct enough, setting one apart as narrative and the other as factual information. Still, much good information to be learned from this book. I suggest reading the note [...]

A marvelous book about a marvelous creature! Sue Whiting takes the reader through a busy night with a male platypus as he forages, grooms, evades a fox, and finally returns to his den to rest. The engaging lyrical prose is accompanied by clear factual text that conveys a plethora of information about platypuses, including all the ways that their biology is so unusual. The earth-toned illustrations by Mark Jackson reinforce the quiet, captivating mood. A delightful book to share aloud with youngs [...]

This book is illustrated with painterly, realistic art in muted tones. The narrative follows a platypus as he moves about his environment, defining words and focusing on his unusual attributes. The tone is comfortable, easy to read and understand. An interesting introduction to the platypus for elementary age.

Narrative text tells the story of a day in the life of a male platypus. The female is mentioned briefly, but also in the backmatter.Other than the backmatter, on only the page with the wallabies do we get a hint of which continent the platypus lives on.Wide spreads on slightly over-sized pages show the animal's activities in greenish-brown tones.

I learned quite a bit about this unique animal through the double-page spreads that contain both a narrative tale of a platypus' day and also a section informative text. This is a great addition to the animal collection for student researchers.

Great format for 1-3 grade nonfiction readers. Describes a day in the life of the platypus, accompanied by short text facts related to the narrative on each page. Criticism: Don't tell readers to look up the words from the index in a dictionary; include a glossary for them.

I tried to read this to my daughter but she was definitely NOT interested. So I finished reading the book myself. The information in this book is interesting but I was not fond of the illustrations. This book would be best suited for school-age children.

More reasons to love non-fiction picture books. Author Sue Whiting and illustrator Mark Jackson give you many in this beautiful book all about platypus, a misunderstood and often forgotten animal.Published by Candlewick Press. #NF #PB #platypus #unique #animals #mystery

Good introduction to one of nature's oddest critters.

A lovely interplay between lyrical text and factual information.

This is a great opportunity to learn about the creature that fascinates observers and puzzles scientists. Kids will love the platypus and want to know more.

Beautiful illustrations accompany this story that follows the day in the life of the very puzzling/unique platypus. Informational text is also provided. Nice source material for a beginning report.

Interesting book about an interesting animal. The information was appropriate for young kids and the pictures are really pretty.

As seen on Science Book a Day: sciencebookaday/2015/07/14

Full of interesting and bizarre facts about the platypus (e.g. they're an egg-laying mammal, and the males are venomous).

Who knew that platypuses were not only adorable but fascinating?