"Anybody Home?" is the spellbinding story of Polly, the pregnant possum, who is looking for a home to have her babies in. Polly asks a spider and a robin in an oak tree if they have room for her but they shoo her away. She continues her search, asking "Anybody home?" of Becky Bee, Suzy Squirrel, Timmy Turtle, Milton Mole, Betty Beaver, Billy Bat, even hiding in desperation from Freddy Fox and family, who would surely eat her. No one's home is right for her, and hospitality is minimum. Finally she tries Woody Woodpecker's empty hole in the oak tree, and just in time she moves in and delivers 12 baby possums! Children learn about nocturnal and diurnal animals and 10 different types of habitats, or animal homes, from Polly's search. A grid marked map is included to show Polly's path of exploration for a home for her family. Illustrations are both funny and partly realistic, in lovely color. ""Anybody Home?" is ideal for nature education reading activities for children in grades K-2.
"This was a wonderful book for my nature-loving kids, and compliments their lessons in school about animal homes. Whether in English or Spanish, I especially appreciated the vocabulary presented because even the newer terms were easy to understand with the colorful illustrations and detailed text. My four children (ages 5-9) and I highly recommend this book for elementary-aged kids.
This is the delightfully charming story of Polly `Possum who is searching for a home of her own. Young children will definitely love accompanying Polly as she searches for the perfect home to raise her own little family in. As the tale goes on, we find out about the many homes other animals have. For example, we learn that Milton Mole has a burrow and Betty Beaver has a lodge with a mote around it. The tale is upbeat and the full-page, full-color artwork is bold and bright with a touch of humor. In the back of the book are several activities, including some that can be downloaded and printed from the publisher’s website. This is fun book that can be read at home or utilized for educational purposes in the homeschool or classroom setting.
Quill says: If you want to know just where other critters live, this is a fun, imaginative tale that will tell you just that!
The teacher in me loves Arbordale books, and this one is no exception. The illustrations by Rebecca Dickinson are vivid and detailed. The last few pages add much to our science curriculum. Anything to do with animals, children love! The books are now aligned to the Common Core State Standards – Yay!
It is so interesting to read about how animals use their homes not only to sleep but to protect themselves from predators, store food and hide from the bad weather. Explore the activities in the back of the book. Learn about the Animal Homes, Name the Animal Home, Diurnal or Nocturnal and Polly’s map. I recommend this book for classroom teaching. The illustrations by Rebecca Dickinson are colorful and helps tell the story.
The upbeat tale will help children to understand the purpose of why animals choose certain areas in which to make their homes with an emphasis on Habitat and Environment....The full-page, full-color artwork by illustrator Rebecca Dickinson is bold and bright with a touch of humor and helps tell the story. There is a great deal of information covered in a kid-friendly fashion about how animals use their homes not only to sleep but also to protect themselves from predators, store food, and hide from the bad weather, as well as the concepts of diurnal and nocturnal.
the teacher in me loves Arbordale books, and this one is no exception. The illustrations by Rebecca Dickinson are vivid and detailed. Add the last few pages like our science curriculum. Anything to do with animals, children love! The books are now aligned with the common core State standards-Yay! If you go to arbordalepublishing.com, you can download a 15-30 page education activities Guide. The accelerated reading level is 2.8 and the recommended age for this book are K-2nd grade. This is a great book for primary teachers, parents of primary children, and homeschoolers! Enjoy!
A delightful tale explaining and helping children to understand the purpose of why animals choose certain places and areas in which to make their homes. Polly finally discovers her perfect place to call Home Sweet Home...Each page introduces new vocabulary such as predators, drey, burrow, moat, etc. The text and illustrations simply yet effectively convey the meaning and explanations of the new words....Excellent resource for children in grades K-2.
As Polly makes the rounds young readers will enjoy learning about the different animals and the homes they make and thrive in all year round. Parents and teachers will love the Creative Minds section found in the back of the book. Reader will find interesting facts about animals and their homes. Readers can see Polly's map, a cool grid and can also learn about diurnal or nocturnal animals. Cheery illustrations and simple structured sentences will engage young readers for hours.
What's great about this book is that there is an emphasis on Habitat and Environment. If you sit down and share this book with children they will learn that some animals are nocturnal, while others a diurnal. They'll start to think about all the types of different homes creatures have too. Birds have nests, for example, while foxes have dens, and spiders have their webs.
This is a cute little story about a possum trying to find a new home so she can have her babies. The story itself is rather sweet, and children will find themselves worrying about Polly and if she will ever find a home. My kids quite enjoyed the book and asked to read it several times. My 3 year old especially liked it.
As young readers accompany Polly on her search for a suitable new home, they will learn where all these diurnal and nocturnal insects, birds and animals live. There are also four pages of learning activities at the back of the book that will engage the reader and help further his or her knowledge of animal living accommodations.
A creative teacher or parent can use this book to launch a learning unit on animals and what kind of places they like to live in. You can expand the unit by looking at why the animals' traits often dictate where they live.
"Anybody Home? I love love love this book and mama possum. Mamma Polly is looking for a home for her babies. Its funny how she goes to all different kinds of animals and bugs in search for home and finds out about their unique homes. Out of all those home none is just right for her and her babies. I too enjoyed learning about all different kinds of animal homes like mole lives in burrow, beaver’s home is called lodge, bee have hives and most interesting squirrel’s nest is drey. I also was surprised to see how all animal uses different type of materials for their houses that are just right for them. It made me so happy when finally mama Polly found home just right for her babies, its surprise for you if you want to read this book. Most of all I had fun playing map games at the end of the book. Pictures in books are so bright and happy I couldn’t help myself from drawing some in my book, and now my favorite activity is finding all kinds of animal homes around my house and when I go on hikes, so much more fun. Now I know who to find where. I love my house too like all animals it protects me from wind cold hot all kind of weather." - Reviewed by Shriya, Age 5
"As young readers accompany Polly on her search for a suitable new home, they will learn where all these diurnal and nocturnal insects, birds and animals live. There are also four pages of learning activities at the back of the book that will engage the reader and help further his or her knowledge of animal living accommodations. A creative teacher or parent can use this book to launch a learning unit on animals and what kind of places they like to live in. You can expand the unit by looking at why the animals' traits often dictate where they live."
It's a story that leaves you with a sweet "ahhhhh" moment, but the map of her travels at the end of the book will keep the story fun going and going.