Search form

 

Kids will gobble up All About Turkeys!


 This book from author/illustrator Jim Arnosky is a great resource for kids who are hungry for information about turkeys. A feast of fascinating facts, a must for every school library's bookshelf!

 

All About Turkeys! Bookcover After years of decline, wild turkeys can be found in many parts of the north, east, south, and west. Their growing numbers make turkeys a topic of year-round interest among school children. No longer is learning about turkeys just a November activity!

A new book from author Jim Arnosky is the perfect "snack" for students hungry for turkey information. The book, All About Turkeys, offers plenty of facts and food-for-thought, and is sure to whet your students' appetites for learning more about these fascinating creatures.

Before introducing the book, you might ask your students a handful of leading questions to see what they already know about turkeys. Reading the book aloud will help clear up some common misconceptions about these big birds. Among the questions you might ask -- questions that are all answered in Arnosky's text -- are:

  • What do turkeys eat?
  • How do turkeys protect themselves?
  • Where do turkeys live?
  • What's a tom? a gobbler?
  • What animals are among the turkey's biggest enemies?
  • How many eggs does a turkey lay at one time?
  • Do turkeys fly? (How well and how far can they fly?)
  • Where do turkeys sleep?

Arnosky writes about turkeys in straightforward and factual style, much as he's done in some of his other books in Scholastic's All About series -- including All About Alligators and All About Rattlesnakes. He provides a feast of turkey information in a couple dozen pages. His beautiful double-page spreads, in dazzling watercolors, offer plenty of information on their own, for readers and nonreaders alike. We see the many settings in which turkeys live, images showing a full-size turkey foot and turkey head, a map showing turkeys' range, and close-up pictures that show details of coloring and even the tiny hairs on turkeys' heads. (Turkeys don't have feathers on their heads.)

Among the interesting facts students will learn in Arnosky's text:

  • Some turkeys live in the desert. Those turkeys are a different color than their counterparts seen in many wooded areas. A desert turkey's tan feathers more closely match its surroundings.
  • Many male, or tom, turkeys have beards!
  • Turkeys have incredible eyesight. "Turkeys can see the smallest, slightest movement a hundred yards away," writes Arnosky.
  • Two male turkeys often fight for dominance and breeding rights. Often, they fight until one of them dies!
  • Turkeys' heads change color if they get excited or agitated.

All About Turkeys, the latest addition to the All About series from Scholastic Press, is a must for every elementary school library!

 

Additional titles by Jim Aronsky

Jim Arnosky has written and/or illustrated dozens of titles, most of them nature books. Among the other books Arnosky has written for Scholastic's All About Series (targeted to ages 4-9) are:

  • All About Alligators
  • All about Deer
  • All About Owls
  • All About Rattlesnakes

Arnosky has also authored the "Jim Arnosky's Nature Notebook" series, for readers ages 8-12. Those titles include:

  • Animal Tracker
  • Bird Watcher
  • Bug Hunter
  • Shore Walker

Among Arnoksy's other titles:

  • Bring `Em Back Alive! -- Capturing Wildlife on Home Video (A Guide for the Whole Family)
  • Drawing from Nature
  • The Empty Lot
  • Every Autumn Comes the Bear
  • Flies in the Water, Fish in the Air: A Personal Introduction to Fly Fishing
  • I See Animals Hiding
  • Little Lions
  • Rabbits & Raindrops
  • Watching Desert Wildlife
  • Watching Water Birds

All About Turkeys, written and illustrated by Jim Arnosky, was published this year by Scholastic Press. It is available in bookstores everywhere. If you have difficulty locating a copy, ask your bookseller to order one for you or contact Scholastic Press, 555 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.

Article by Gary Hopkins
Education World® Editor-in-Chief
Copyright © 1998, 2015 Education World

 

Related Articles from Education World

 

 

Copyright © 2014, 2015 Education World