Review: “A Nest Is Noisy”
We’ve seen the beautiful collaborative results from author/illustrator duo Dianna Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long: A Seed is Sleepy, A Rock is Lively, A Butterfly is Patient, and An Egg is Quiet. The two have widened the perspective slightly beyond the egg to encompass the entire nest is their new book, A Nest is Noisy.
This series of books is not of the hurry-up-and-read-me-another variety, but instead are for contemplative young readers who want to match the animals from the back end-pages to the nests in the front, or the seeds with the plants, or the eggs with the animal. These books are for students who want to pour over the detailed artwork paired beautifully with the descriptive story of each animal, and who will revel in the knowledge that a dusky scrubfowl’s nest can measure more than 36 feet across while the bee hummingbirds nest is the size of a golf ball.
Chronicle has created a 13-page Common Core-aligned teacher guide for all 5 of the books in the nature series, with pre-planned activities for students in reading, language arts, science, art, mathematics, geography and social studies. And since the books are appropriate for multiple ages and grades, they’ve used second grade standards for the early elementary grades and fourth grade standards for the upper elementary grades.
With three weeks remaining until its release, this is the perfect time to pull past sales reports, make some calls or send a few emails asking, “Should we hold one back for you?”
A Nest is Noisy by Dianna Hutts Aston, illustrated by Sylvia Long (Chronicle Books | 9781452127132 | April 14, 2015)
