Sidman, J., & Prange, B. (2010). Ubiquitous: Celebrating
Nature's Survivors. Boston [Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. ISBN: 0618717196.
Annotation
Joyce Sidman combines poetry and science to examine some of the oldest
living evolutionary survivors on Earth. Ubiquitous
celebrates these survivors’ unique traits.
My thoughts
Ubiquitous means “somewhere that is (or seems to be) everywhere at the
same time. Given that these species are prevalent and exist all over the world
many of them are overlooked or assumed to be simple. This book reveals that
these prevalent species are anything but simple. They are survivors for certain
reasons and while this may seem mysterious, Joyce Sidman writes about some of
the unique traits of these species that have made it easier for these species
to survive.
This book highlights these special adaptive species and celebrates their
unique traits for informational blocks, poetry, and detailed illustrations. Key
pieces of information make this book interesting for children for example“…it
is said that industrious squirrels plant more trees than humans do.” Crows have
been “observed dropping large nuts at highway intersections so that passing
cars will crack them open!” “Geckos can literally break their tail in two to
escape from predators.”
The timeline in the beginning of the book is probably one of the better Earth
timelines that I’ve seen for awhile. It really puts time into perspective. A
mass of lines wind around each other like a giant fingerprint and spread across
the inside cover and title page. For the scale, each centimeter represents one
million years. It begins with Earth’s birth at 4.6 billion years. Humans, only come
into the picture at the end of the timeline.
The prints are also creative and appropriate. Everything blends seamlessly.
These are an impressive set of
poems that tribute our planet’s survivors.
Curricular
connections
Elementary school science- Biology
Students can reenact this timeline and bring their own timeline into the
class using a 46 meters long string and cards to label the key events. Different
colored string can be tied together to represent the different geologic
periods.
Lesson Plan
See 'Lesson Plan' page
Literary
devices
Use of
Rhythm
First Life
(a diamante)
Bacteria
Ancient, tiny
Teeming, mixing, melding
Strands curled like ghostly hands
Winking, waving, waking
First, miraculous life
Use of
Allusion
“… I am Sheath-wing, beloved of ancients. You have never seen armor like
mine. As the sun-god rolls his blazing disk overheard, so I roll my perfect
sphere of dung across the sands.” – Alluding to the Egyptians and the Sun-God
Ra.
“Who swirled your whorls and ridges? Was it the shy gray wizard shuttered
inside you? I hear he walks on one foot and wears a magic mantle, trailing
stars. O shell, if only I could shrink! I’d climb your bristled back, slide
down the spiral of your heart. I’d knock on your tiny door and ask to meet the
mollusk that made you.”
Use of
Sophisticated language
Adaptability, diamante, diverse, mutate, photosynthesis, prolific,
organism, ubiquitous.
Reading level/ Interest Age
Age 6 and up.
Reviews and Awards
Awards and
Honors: Starred reviews in Booklist, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal,
Kirkus, Horn Book; Junior Library Guild Selection; Publisher's Weekly, Best
Books of the Year; Washington Post, Best Books of the Year; Kirkus, Best Books
of the Year; School Library Journal, Best Books of the Year; National Science
Teachers Association/Children's Book Council, Outstanding Science Trade Books,
K-12, 2011; Boston Globe, Top Ten Children's Books of 2010; New York Public
Library's "100 Best Books"; Booklist, Top 10 Sci-Tech for Youth; Book
Links, Lasting Connections for 2010; Finalist for the 2011 CYBILS Poetry Award;
Association for Library Service to Children Notable Children's Book; The John
Burroughs List of Nature Books for Young Readers
Author website:
www.joycesidman.com/
Illustrator
website: http://www.beckieprange.com/
Media: linocuts, hand-colored with watercolor
Genre: nonfiction, poetry
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