Lots and Lots of Zebra Stripes by Swinburne, Stephen R. (2002) Paperback

by Stephen R. Swinburne

Excellent Book

Genres: Mathematics, Nonfiction, Science, Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Juvenile

Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Steve was born in London, England. He holds a BA degree in Biology and English from Castleton State College in Vermont. He has worked as a ranger in a number of national parks and is the author of over 30 children's books. His extensive travels to faraway lands such as Africa and treks through Yellowstone have all influenced his book projects. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt published Steve’s book Sea Turtle Scientist in 2014. His most recent title is from Scholastic and entitled Safe in a Storm, a comforting read-aloud story, where all the animals find cozy places to keep them safe and warm. Steve visits nearly a hundred schools a year across the United States as well as many international schools. He lives in Vermont with his wife Heather, two dogs named Scout and Jem, and a cat named Skittles.

Reviews

[Rosa Guerrero]

Summary: This book shows children a variety of nature animals. He shows children to open their eyes and look for patterns in water and on land, even in their own neighborhood. The author basically wants children to see the world in a different way.

Illustrator: Stephen R. Swimburne

Evaluations of illustrations and text: The pictures are very realistic as they are used in every picture in the book. The cover of the book includes the title and the background are big bright white and black zebra. Children love animals so it can be a chance for them to learn of animals like zebras.

Strategies in the classroom: This can be a good book to use in the classroom with children to learn about patterns. Crayons, markers, and paper can be used to draw patterns.

[Sarah Willbanks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is informational book about patterns. (I didn't know these existed but it makes sense that it does.) This book uses nature, like plants, animals, and bugs, to teach kids about patterns. It tells them what they can look like, where to find them, what seasons they can be found in (all seasons).

[Stephen Stopper]

Title: “Lots and Lots of Zebra Stripes”
Author: Stephen R. Swinburne
Illustrator: (if different than author)
Genre: Photographic Essay
Theme(s): Animals, Science, History, Camouflage, Pattern Perception, Color, Nature
Opening line/sentence: “Patterns are lines and shapes that repeat.”
Brief Book Summary: This book contains many different pictures of nature, and animals, and under each it tells about the patterns in the picture and what patterns can do/show.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
C. Henebry (Parent Council, September 2001 (Vol. 9, No. 1))
Help children become aware of patterns by showing them this marvelous book of nature photographs. Many interesting discussions may result as patterns are found in a variety of places!
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
Sally J. K. Davies (Children's Literature)
Patterns appear everywhere in nature, yet it takes an observant person to find them. Swinburne has photographed some of the many stripes, polka dots, and various textures and shapes that he finds in nature. Leaves, flowers, clouds, rocks, trees, cat fur, bird feathers, spider webs and many other objects, even patterns in snake skin have all been captured by his artistic eye and the lens of his camera. This beautiful book will no doubt spark a quest by young readers to find other unusual patterns in nature. The page design is spacious and elegant. Several pages show young children looking for patterns in the playground and in the woods. If readers look carefully, patterns hide on the children, too!
Response to Two Professional Reviews: I really enjoyed this book, and thought that it was very simple but clever. The pictures chosen throughout the book are beautiful and the text is short and sweet, but gets the point across.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: This book is basically all photographs, and has very minimal text that tells the reader about patterns and how to find and create them.
Consideration of Instructional Application: I really enjoyed this book and believe that children will love it too. Personally, I would use this book in my classroom while teaching patterns because it does such a great job of showing and explaining them with the text and more importantly the pictures. I would have talk about patterns and then use this book as a read aloud.

[Ann Marie Olson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Personal reaction:
I liked this book because the pictures were realistic and emphasized what the text explained about patterns in nature. I also liked how the book provided a variety of pictures of patterns in nature for particular seasons. I think this book could be used as an implicit way to show and tell children that everyone looks different, and that is okay. For example, the cheetah has spots, the zebras have stripes, and birds have feathers. I also liked how the images definitely supported the text and would be helpful for students trying to figure out an unfamiliar word.

Read aloud:
This would be a fun book to read aloud because of all of the photographs of nature that the class could discuss. During a read aloud of this book, the teacher could cover up the text and present the class with the pictures and ask them what patterns they see. This would be a perfect book to introduce the concept of patterns whether it is in math, science, literature, or social studies.

Independent read:
This would be a good book for beginning readers because the pictures help tell the story. Although, the words are not too difficult, a child could look to the picture to help guide them in the right direction and figure out the unfamiliar word. This book is also relatable for children because there are photographs of other children in nature. I think this book would be a good way to show children the importance of nature and its beauty.

Literary elements
o Comma use- items in a series
o Definition of a “pattern”
o Question mark placement and how to make it sound like you are asking a question when you speak aloud

[Tim Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this book and Swirl by Swirl for a discussion on patterns with my children's group. It has a lot of good information on patterns that effectively reinforced what we had learned the previous week without being monotonous. The wording has obviously been chosen with care and is supplemented with large and colorful pictures that the children can analyze. This book would work equally well with something Pattern Fish which also has a nice humorous element while being equally full of good information on patterns.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title of this book is misleading because you would think that it's about zebras; however, this book actually teaches kids about patterns. It starts out with the definition about what a pattern is, so it teaches kids what it is before introducing the different types. Another thing that it does is not only shows different patterns, but it also talks about what they look like, where to find them, and how long they last. The last few pages also ask questions about different patterns that they see.

[Felicia Tidwell taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots and lots of Zebra Stripes showed ways things look alike but are different in so many ways. But yet they can be the same in other ways. You could talk about patterns/similarities things of that nature.

[Angelina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for animal theme. Also good choice for teaching children about patterns!