What in the Wild? by David M. Schwartz

Can You Find Me?

National Science Teachers Association Inspiration Books:

What in the wild? : mysteries of nature concealed-- and revealed : ear-tickling poems by Schwartz, David M; illustrated by Kuhn, Dwight— Tricycle Press, 2010--508; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 2.7 Full-color photographs and text on gatefold pages introduce ten mysteries of the natural world and encourages the reader to decipher the given clues and determine which creature is responsible and why.

Stripes of all types by Stockdale, Susan— Peachtree, 2013. Dewey: 591.47; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 2.8. An introduction to the many ways that animals wear stripes, and includes an afterword with a brief description of each animal and a matching game.

Hide-and-seek science : animal camouflage by Stevenson, Emma— Holiday House, 2013. Dewey: 591.47; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 3.7.  Shows how animals use camouflage in seven different ecosystems by asking the reader to find all the animals in each picture.

Where in the wild? : camouflaged creatures concealed-- and revealed : ear-tickling poems by Schwartz, David M — Tricycle Press, 2007. Dewey: 590; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 4.9.  Poems with clues prompt readers to guess the identities of ten camouflaged animals, revealed in gatefolds, and fact pages present information on each species, discussing their camouflage and life cycles. OP

Where else in the wild? : more camouflaged creatures concealed--and revealed : ear-tickling poems by Schwartz, David M; illustrated by Kuhn, Dwight— Tricycle Press, 2009. Dewey: 591.47; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 5.5.  Photographs, rhyming text, and gatefold pages illustrate how animals use camouflage to blend in with their natural environments and hide from predators. OP

Rationale: My husband, the science teacher, often helps me with a blog post by suggesting activities that fit a particular book that I want to share. That is the case with this post. Years ago when he was the elementary and middle school science supervisor for a district, the sixth graders went to an area nature camp for three days. The students learned about trees, wild flowers, geology, geography, and applications including camouflage. He developed an activity for camouflage that he called “Toother Picker Bugs.” Using food color, he dyed tooth picks a variety of colors (red, yellow, orange, green, brown) and as part of the presentation outdoors, he tossed the toother picker bugs onto the lawn/meadow area. Students had a set time to collect the “bugs” and count them. The same number of tooth picks had been dyed for each color, but the students found very different numbers for each color. The question of the day, Why?

Procedural How To Ideas: I use David Schwartz’s Inspiration Books to reinforce the concept of camouflage when that is the lesson being taught in the classroom. You do not need to use or even have all of the Schwartz books--Where Else in the Wild and Where in the Wild are actually out of print. Here’s what I do:

1. Prepare butterfly or bug shapes from newspapers and colored papers (enough for each student). Then spread a layer of paper in the middle of the story corner and have students sit around the paper. After the students gather, I toss some colored bugs on the newspaper and ask students to find them. Then I mix some newspaper bugs with the colored paper bugs, toss them out, and ask each student to find a bug. Which bugs were easier to find? Why? (And hopefully, students will say the colored bugs.)
2. Read the poetry in whichever Schwartz book you have, and have students try to find the camouflaged item. Go through the book again and read or summarize the facts about each camouflage.
3. Option 1: Have students glue one of the bugs on plain paper and using crayons, try to make a habitat in which the bug is camouflaged.
4. Option 2: Read one of Susan Stockdale’s books: Spectacular Spots or Stripes of All Types. How does the very simple book illustrate the concept of camouflage?
5. Option 3: If you have some of the other books from the “Related Titles” list, provide browsing time for small groups.

Related Titles:

Spectacular spots by Stockdale, Susan— Peachtree, 2015. Dewey: 591.47; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 1.5, Brings to life a patterned parade of animals, showing young readers some of the many reasons spots are found so often in nature.

How animals hide (Amicus Readers Level 1: Our Animal World) by Kenney, Karen Latchana — Amicus, 2011. Dewey: 591.47; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 2.0. Photographs and simple text provide examples of how animals use camouflage to hide.

Ocean hide and seek by Kramer, Jennifer E — Sylvan Dell Pub., 2009. Dewey: -E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 2.3. Illustrations and simple rhyming text introduce readers to marine animals and their camouflage abilities. Includes instructions for related activities.

Who am I? : an animal guessing game by Jenkins, Steve— Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017. Dewey: 590; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 2.7. Readers are given clues about an animal's characteristics and must use them to guess the identity of the creature.

Now you see them, now you don't : poems about creatures that hide by Harrison, David L; illustrated by Laroche, Giles— Charlesbridge, 2016. Dewey: 591.47; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 3.4. A collection of poems that discusses how different animals use camouflage to hide in nature.

Toco toucans : bright enough to disappear (Disappearing Acts...) by Suen, Anastasia) — Bearport Pub., 2010. Dewey: 598.7; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 4.0.  Examines how their coloration helps them to blend in with their surroundings, with photographs and information on other rainforest birds that benefit from camouflage.

Camouflaged creatures (Crazy Nature) by Racanelli, Marie— PowerKids Press, 2010. Dewey: 591.47; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 4.4.  Explains how different creatures, including insects, reptiles, and birds, camouflage themselves to avoid detection, catch prey, and stay safe in the wild.

Animal mimics (Crazy Nature) by Racanelli, Marie  — PowerKids Press, 2010. Dewey: 591.47; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 4.8. Explores how animals, insects, birds, and fish use mimicry to adapt to their environment, protect themselves from predators, and catch prey.

Lots of spots by Ehlert, Lois— Beach Lane Books, 2010. Dewey: 591.47; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 4.6. A collection of poems about a variety of birds and beasts, their camouflage and adornment, with an author's note on animal spots and stripes.

The animal book : a collection of the fastest, fiercest, toughest, cleverest, shyest--and most surprising--animals on earth by Jenkins, Steve — Houghton Mifflin Books For Children/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013. Dewey: 590; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 6.0. Contains illustrations of and facts about three-hundred animals. Also available in Follett ebook.

Search and spot : animals! by Ljungkvist, Laura.  Follett eBook  — Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015. Dewey: 793.73; Int Lvl: K-3. Invites the reader to look for various animals hidden or camouflaged in the illustrations.

Now you see me, now you don't by Borando, Silvia— Candlewick Press, 2016. Dewey: -E-; Int Lvl: K-3. Invites young readers to discover the concepts of visibility and camouflage on spreads depicting a menagerie of colorful animals who seem to "disappear" as the background color changes on sequential pages.

Teacher Resources:

Stripes of all Types-FREE Teaching Resources available for download from Follett.

A Teacher Guide is available from Peachtree Publishers at http://peachtree-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Stripes2016.pdf

Where in the Wild--The Where in the Wild Teacher’s Guide contains other useful suggestions for using the book in the classroom .http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/teachers_guides/9781582462073.pdf

Six Traits Teacher Guide is available at https://sixtraitgurus.wordpress.com/2011/09/16/can-you-find-the-red-spotted-newt-how-about-the-ladybug/

Where Else in the Wild--Teacher Guide available at http://p5cdn5static.sharpschool.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_32715/File/Departments/Library%20Services/Armadillo/ArchiveLessons/where%20in%20wild_11-12.pdf