With a cut-out cover and clever fold-out map at the end, this attractively illustrated book tells young children all about the Arctic tern, those extraordinary little birds who fly from the Arctic to the Antarctic and back every year (a journey of over 70,000 km). It follows one tern from the moment it hatches from its egg (diagrams allow us to see inside the egg), the tern itself describing its life as a chick then how, as a fledgling, it learns to fly and catch its own fish; and next how, at just three months old, it flies over the Atlantic to Africa and on to Antarctica. Not only do we learn about terns but we see the some of the other animals, birds and sea creatures they pass on their long journeys. The tern’s voice is friendly and direct, explanations are perfectly pitched for young children and the illustrations convey extra information.
A carefully-thought-out and very appealing information story book.
Small, Speckled Egg with a giant fold-out map Synopsis
Small, Speckled Egg starts with an egg. The fluffy chick that emerges is an Arctic tern - one of the most remarkable creatures on the planet.
The story of her life is told clearly and carefully in a way that builds understanding. The illustrations draw the reader into the tern's world to watch her grow from chick to fledgling to juvenile, and marvel at her long migration with her family from the top of the world to the bottom and back again. It's a journey she does every year of her life.
The story ends with her meeting her lifelong mate and the 50 adorable chicks they have in their lifetime.
To make this a truly special primary-science picture book, there is a big fold-out map at the back showing the tern's record-breaking migration, an illustrated lifecycle, big-thinking facts, and an I-Spy of the polar animals for young readers to go back and find in the book.
Mary Auld is an award-winning writer of children's information books, most notably How To Build an Orchestra with the London Symphony Orchestra. Mary Auld is a pen name for Rachel Cooke, former Editorial Director at Hachette and an honorary fellow of the English Association in recognition of her work in children's non-fiction.
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