Prairie Dog Song

The Key to Saving North America's Grasslands
By Susan L. Roth, Cindy Trumbore
Hardcover: $18.95

Focusing on the role of prairie dogs as a keystone species, this book tells the connected histories of the North American grassland prairies and current efforts to preserve and recover the Janos grasslands in northern Mexico.

Description

For thousands of years, green and gold grasses covered North America from Canada to Mexico. The prairie and desert grasslands were home to a variety of animals, from small prairie dogs to huge bison. But in the nineteenth century, ranching and farming took hold in the grasslands, and over time many of the animals and plants vanished.

Then, in the late 1980s, scientists discovered a region in Mexico where green and gold grasses still waved and prairie dogs still barked. The scientists understood the importance of this grassland ecosystem and the prairie dogs’ key role in it. Could they now preserve the area and bring back its lost animals and plants?

This moving nonfiction tale of environmental recovery builds on the success of the acclaimed Parrots Over Puerto Rico and The Mangrove Tree. Cumulative song text plus prose passages combine to celebrate North America’s grasslands, their iconic prairie dogs, and the dedicated scientists who work to make the grasslands healthy again.

About the Creators

Susan L. Roth
Susan L. Roth

Susan L. Roth's vibrant mixed-media collage illustrations have appeared in numerous outstanding picture books, including Parrots Over Puerto Rico, winner of the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal; Prairie Dog Song; The Mangrove Tree; and most recently Every Month Is a New Year and Malala Yousafzai: Warrior with Words. Roth and her husband live in New York. Visit her online at susanlroth.com.

Cindy Trumbore

Cindy Trumbore has been involved with young people's literature for most of her career. A former editor in children's book publishing, she now writes children's books, edits books for classrooms, and teaches writing. She has collaborated with her friend Susan L. Roth on several award-winning titles, including Parrots Over Puerto Rico, which won the Robert F. Sibert Medal for Nonfiction; The Mangrove Tree; Prairie Dog Song, and most recently Butterfly for a King. She lives with her husband in Delaware. You can visit her online at cindykane.net.

Awards

  • Best Books

    Kirkus Reviews

  • Junior Library Guild Selection

    Junior Library Guild

  • William Allen White Children's Book Award

    Emporia State University

  • Capitol Choices

    Capitol Choices

Reviews

  • * "[T]he entire book is a worthy work of science-and-arts integration. An inspiration."

    - Kirkus Reviews
  • * "This heartening success story is entertaining to sing along to and a valuable, beautiful resource."

    - School Library Journal
  • "[I]n an inspiring environmental comeback story."

    - Publishers Weekly
  • "A combination of simple verse and detailed context makes this well suited for children of various reading levels."

    - Booklist

Hardcover

  • ISBN 9781620142455
  • Price $18.95
  • Publication Date Apr 15, 2016
  • Trim Size 10 × 9.5 in
  • Weight 1.0625 lbs
  • Page Count 40
  • Word Count 2185
  • Interests

  • Imprint Lee & Low Books
  • Audience Children
  • BISAC Category 1 JNF / Animals / Mice, Hamsters, Guinea Pigs, Squirrels, etc.
  • BISAC Category 2 JNF / Science & Nature / Environmental Conservation& Protection
  • BISAC Category 3 JNF / Animals / Endangered
  • Themes Animal / Biodiversity / Plant Adaptations, Animals, Collaboration, Environment / Nature, Exploring Ecosystems, History & Civics, Human Impact On Environment / Environmental Sustainability, Informational / Expository Nonfiction, Latinx / Latino / Hispanic, Music, Nature / Science, Nonfiction, Optimism / Enthusiasm, Overcoming Obstacles, Persistence / Grit, United States History
  • Reading Levels

  • Age Range Ages 6 - 10
  • Grade Range Grades 1 - 5
  • Guided Reading T
  • ATOS Book Level 5.7
  • DRA 44
  • Interest Level Grades 1 - 5
  • Lexile Code AD
  • Lexile Level 1050
  • Reading Level Grades 4 - 5
  • Bebop Reading Fluent
  • This Book is Included in These Collections:

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