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Vulture View by April Pulley Sayre illustrated by Steve Jenkins

To anyone who thinks writing for children is "easy", let them try to match Vulture View in content, simplicity, rhyme, and rich vocabulary. April Pulley Sayre has done a masterful job of incorporating all these elements into this book which is beautifully brought to life by Steve Jenkins' paper-cut collage illustrations. Even though each page contains a limited amount of text, Sayre manages to teach a lot about turkey vultures; what they eat, what they don't eat, how they find their food, when they look for it, and how they clean up after eating. And vocabulary! How often does a K-2nd grade child hear the words reek, tilt, seek, fragrant, and preen? The rhyme and gentle rhythm of the text make this book a great read-aloud. A big thumbs up for Vulture View!

Comments

Anonymous said…
Next time I am having a bad day, I am going to read the first line of your review. May I be totally biased and say you write excellent reviews? :-)
I'm glad you like Vulture View. I enjoyed watching vultures and hawks soaring as I drove through Utah last year.

Perhaps I will visit schoolchildren in your state next year. Charlesbridge, the publisher of my new book, Trout Are Made of Trees, is having a nationwide environmental project/art project contest for K-3. The winner gets a school visit from me.
www.aprilsayre.com
lw said…
Great review, Nycole! I never think of stuff like the vocabulary building aspect of a very interesting book.

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