Web of Life
7 total works
Cumulative text presents the animals and plants of the tropical rain forest and their relationship with one another and their environment.
Set in Australia's Great Barrier Reef, this lyrical rhyming tale introduces young readers to some of the coral reef's most striking residents. From the sleek shark to the colorful parrotfish to the deceptively beautiful sea anemone, each creature in this abundant undersea world relies on another for its existence. Beginning with coral, the very element that defines this ecosystem, Madeleine Dunphy uses a cumulative approach, combining simple yet forceful verse with repetition to reveal the fragile chain that links each of the plants and animals in this unique environment. Tom Leonard's vibrant paintings capture this miraculous circle of life.
The wetland is a murky, moist, and mysterious world. Atop its glittering surface and beneath its shadowy depths, birds, bass, minks, and muskrats struggle to survive and flourish. Madeleine Dunphy's lyrical prose shows the relationships between the wetland's plants and animals, giving young readers a clear picture of how each living creature depends on the others for survival. Illustrator Wayne McLoughlin adds stunning visuals, with luminous, detailed paintings that convey the fragile beauty and complexity of this critically important ecological community.
Using cumulative verse, this picture book introduces children to the cacti, jackrabbits, peccaries, roadrunners, coyotes, lizards, and bobcats of the desert, while giving young readers an understanding of the interdependency of life in this ecologically diverse environment.Despite its stark landscape and harsh climate, the Sonoran Desert teems with life. Animals of all kinds live among the desert’s fragrant mesquite and spiny cactus, and none can exist without the others. Madeleine Dunphy’s poetic text explores all the warm and native elements that make the American Southwest such a mystical place, while Anne Coe's stunning paintings portray the desert’s plants and animals as well as the dazzling colors reflected in the rocks and skies of the Sonoran Desert. This book is a must have for any young naturalist hoping to learn about the interconnectedness of life.
The Arctic winter is cold, snowy, and dark. The barren landscape is covered by a layer of snow that stretches to the horizon, with nothing to disrupt it but jagged rocks. There are only a few plants and no sunlight. And yet, there are animals hardy enough to survive this bleak environment: the arctic wolf, hare, cod, and fox; the snowy owl, polar bear, ringed seal, and Peary caribou, all inextricably linked together in the chain of life. With lyrical text and glowing paintings that capture this mystically beautiful environment with stunning realism, this unusual book fascinates and inspires children of all ages.
Penguins, whales, seals, fish, and many other animals are all part of Antarctica's food web. In this striking picture book, Madeleine Dunphy uses a cumulative approach, combining lyrical verse with repetition to reveal the region's interdependency of life. Tom Leonard's gorgeous illustrations, from the flash of orange on a penguin's beak to iridescent icebergs jutting from the sea, capture a wondrous miracle -- the circle of life. Here Is Antarctica educates as it entertains, inspiring children to explore this fascinating ecosystem page by page.
Exotic environments like the African savanna have long held a fascination for young readers. This colorful picture book beautifully evokes that realm with images of giraffes, lions, hippos, elephants, and many more animals of the plains. Through cumulative, singsong verse, young readers learn how all living things in this important ecological community rely on one another for their existence. The book brings home the important lesson that when one of these animals or plants is killed off or goes extinct, the web of life is broken. Luminous paintings by Tom Leonard capture the untamed beauty of this timeless, endangered realm.