Nonfiction Series by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page

                 

I have loved participating in Donalyn Miller's Book-A-Day Challenge. I approach the day differently, knowing I will read at least one book. Every Day. All Summer.  My stack doesn't seem so overwhelming when I know I have a bit more time to catch up. This week, I did lots of picture book reading.  Three books that I absolutely love are Time to Eat, Time to Sleep, and Time for a Bath, all by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page.  I purchased all three at the same time and love the way they work together as well as separately.

These are small square books. They are very inviting nonfiction. One thing I love about Steve Jenkins work is the ways in which he organizes it--the way he connects information for readers.  Each of these books take on a different topic such as eating, sleeping and bathing. Then Jenkins and Page find fascinating stories about the different ways various animals do each of these things. So, this book can be read in any order--as each page stands alone with facts about an individual animal. But together, this book shows us something bigger about the animal world in general.  Even though there are only a few sentences of text on each page, I learned a great deal from each book.

Although I was familiar with many of the animals in the books, there were also many that were new to me.  Jenkins and Page have included information about each animal at the end of the book for readers who want to know more.

These books are great for primary readers. They are also great for older readers. They would make great read alouds and would also serve as great mentor texts in a nonfiction writing unit. I am hoping there are more books coming out in this series!