“And the Tide Comes In…Exploring a Georgia Salt Marsh,” is the latest in the LTER Schoolyard Book Series. I wrote the book, which is beautifully illustrated by Joyce Mihran Turley, as the contribution from the Georgia Coastal Ecosystems (GCE) program. It is a narrative told from the point of view of a young girl who is showing her visiting cousin the salt marsh. The children go to the marsh every day over the course of 4 days, slowly building up their knowledge of the ecosystem. They experience the different stages of the tide, marvel over the adaptations of the plants and animals that they encounter, and have fun getting muddy along the way. Each page of the story includes a sidebar that highlights a specific organism or scientific concept, as well as a connection question to engage children (e.g. “Is there a creek near your home? Do you know where it goes?”).
The GCE Schoolyard Program, led by Schoolyard Coordinator Venetia Butler, developed lesson plans that are tied to state standards as well as a vocabulary list, both of which can be used with the book. These supplementary materials are available on the GCE website (gce-schoolyard.uga.edu) along with children’s artwork and information about visiting a marsh. The book is currently being distributed to school teachers and environmental educators throughout the southeast. So far all the reviews have been positive and are helping to generate interest in the book by both libraries and school districts.
The LTER Schoolyard Book Series, which is now being published by Taylor Trade, includes books from Niwot Ridge (My Water Comes From the Rocky Mountains and My Water Comes from the San Juan Mountains), McMurdo Dry Valleys (The Lost Seal), California Current EcosystemPalmer Station Antarctica (Sea Secrets), and Florida Coastal Everglades (One Night in the Everglades). Books from Moorea Coral Reef (MCR) (Kupe and the Coral), Hubbard Brook (Searching for the Wolf Tree), and Plum Island Ecosystem (Bradley and Emma and the Lawn Mystery) are in the publication process, while the Andrews Forest (AND) has just published a chapter book (Ellie’s Log) that is aimed at a slightly higher grade level (http://osupress.oregonstate.edu/book/ElliesLog).
It is truly rewarding to see this booklist growing, and this latest is a useful addition to the collection.
Happy Reading!