Panoramic Picture Book from Debut Illustrator Explores What it Means for Mammals to Be All Grown Up
The front cover of This Is How I Grow displays three of the awards this title was awarded before its publication: the Tillywig Brain Child award, Creative Child Magazine's Book of the Year award, and the first place Feathered Quill Book Award.
Explore an Asian elephant calf's environment, then flip to the back to learn more about the hidden details of the environment drawn by debut illustrator Wesley Davies.
Explore the world of mammal moms and babies from across the globe, including Masai giraffes and North American cougars.
New Book Lies at the Intersection of Early Science Education and Attachment Parenting
Kids find the wide-ranging skills these animals must quickly develop in order to survive to be all the more compelling for their, and our, shared classification as mammals.”
WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, March 2, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Publisher Science Naturally is thrilled to announce a new addition to their collection of animal books for young children, available for purchase everywhere this Tuesday, March 3. More than a simple scientific introduction, the animal stories in This Is How I Grow celebrate those things that unite all mammals, fostering empathy, kindness, and compassion in their young readers.— Dan Levy, Tillywig awards chair
The newest book in the Beginnings collection, This Is How I Grow, introduces readers to eight different animal ambassadors from habitats across the globe. In two-page vignettes, each mammal baby soliloquizes on their birth, nursing, and weaning experiences before exploring the skills they must learn from their mother and others in their community in order to achieve independence. This is an engaging approach for children ages 7-10 who are just starting to explore what it means for them to be “all grown up.”
All newborn mammals—whether they have hooves, flippers, paws, claws, or wings—rely on mother’s milk to help them grow. This book conveys that childhood is the period of time where mammals rely on their family and community to survive. This time together allows mammals to create strong bonds and loving relationships that readers young and old will recognize from their own lives.
This Is How I Grow just received the 2020 Book of the Year award from Creative Child Magazine and has also won a Tillywig Brain Child award. Tillywig awards chair Dan Levy celebrates the first-person narrative that “deeply draws young readers in.” He continues, “verbal gems and lush, lifelike illustrations infuse the writing with warmth and personality. Kids find the wide-ranging skills these animals must quickly develop in order to survive to be all the more compelling for their, and our, shared classification as mammals.”
The beautiful art from debut illustrator Wesley Davies fosters this sense of connection while imparting important information about each animal’s habitat, community, size, and more. These expansive, detailed illustrations infuse the book with a sense of scientific authority. Readers could get lost exploring the lush artwork overflowing with scientifically accurate flora and fauna from each animal’s habitat. In the back of the book, readers find questions that encourage them to delve more deeply into the visual text. These reference pages allow parents and educators to address the questions each little scientist is likely to have as they turn through the book.
This Is How I Grow explores the incredible variety of skills baby mammals must learn in order to survive and thrive. From bats learning how to fly to elephants gaining control of their trunks, animal families help their young develop the tools they need to hunt, forage, or scavenge.
This introduction to the mammal world is an easy way to introduce young children to STEM. Peggy Ashbrook, an early childhood science teacher, columnist, and author of Science Learning in the Early Years and Science Is Simple, writes, “With this beautifully illustrated introductory book, children will learn that mammals across the globe have ways of caring for their babies, a Disciplinary Core Idea of the NGSS (LS1B). The questions about each species that follow the text are exactly what children might ask after reading This Is How I Grow and the answers are appropriate for children as young as two while inspiring elementary students to use the referenced sources to learn more.”
An extensive Teacher’s Guide, available for free download at the publisher’s website, provides further information, hands-on activities, and articulations to the Next Generation Science Standards, making this book an invaluable early childhood science resource.
Author Dia L. Michels is an award-winning science and parenting writer who has authored or edited over a dozen books for both children and adults. This is her fourth book exploring science topics through animal stories. Studying mammals has helped her appreciate the simplicity and importance of attachment parenting and breastfeeding. The mother of three grown children, she lives in Washington D.C., where she shares her home with three cats and a dog.
Wesley Davies is an artist from New England who specializes in illustration and comic art. He received a Bachelor of Arts in anthropology from Kenyon College, earning Phi Beta Kappa honors, and has been making art all his life. He provided spot drawings for Platypus Media’s 2018 publication Babies Nurse. This book marks his debut as a children’s book illustrator.
Science Naturally books are distributed to the trade by the National Book Network (NBNbooks.com). For more information about our publications, or to request a review copy, please contact us. Cover images and sample content are available at ScienceNaturally.com.
This Is How I Grow
Science Naturally • March 2020
Written by Dia L. Michels • Illustrated by Wesley Davies
English • Ages 7-10 • 8.5 x 11” • 52 pages
Hardback ($14.95) ISBN: 978-1-93-849210-5
Paperback ($9.95) ISBN: 978-1-93-849208-2
eBook ($8.99) ISBN: 978-1-93-849209-9
Spanish language edition coming October 2020.
Anna Cohen
Platypus Media
+1 202-546-1674
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