Nature Riddles in Poetry
by Lynn Davies
illustrated by Chrissie Park-McNeil
Nimbus Publishing, 2020
ISBN 978-1-77108867-1 (sc)
$15.95, 31 pp, ages 7 – 10
nimbus.ca
What am I? Do you know me? Do we make you sneeze? Each poem is a nature riddle (answer at the back of the book, hints in the illustrations) which invites children to read and analyze the textual clues, scientific facts, and acrylic-on-canvas child-focussed illustrations to guess what natural flora or fauna is featured on each page (a great springboard to a science research project). The poems are designed to be read aloud, individually or chorally. Teachers can use this text to model a variety of poetry formats and encourage students to create their own natural poetry riddles—a possible culminating task to science research to create a class book.
Classroom Connections: So Imagine Me would be great for reading aloud, poetry studies, and “minds-on” for science/environmental studies. Reading Comprehension Strategies: Making Predictions, Visualizing, Inferring.
Review by Amanda Forbes.
This review is featured in Canadian Teacher Magazine’s Fall 2021 issue.