How Do You Know It's Summer?

Signs of the Seasons

by Ruth Owen

Flowers bloom and start producing seeds. Trees covered with fresh green leaves are making food for themselves. Young animals born in the spring are striking out on their own. The days are long and sunny, and kids head back outdoors after supper to play. It's summertime! This colorful, fact-filled title gives readers a chance not only to learn about summer, but also to develop their powers of observation and critical thinking. Fun activities, such as recording changes in temperature, precipitation, and the length of days in a weather notebook, give readers a chance to gain insights beyond just facts and figures. Expertly crafted to meet early elementary reading and science curriculum standards, How Do You Know It's Summer? introduces young readers to science concepts and the two fundamental components of scientific inquiry--making observations, and drawing inferences from those observations.

Genres: Nonfiction

24 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Ruth Owen has been developing, editing, and writing children’s books for over 10 years. She particularly enjoys working on books about animals and the natural world. Ruth lives in Cornwall, England, just minutes from the ocean. She loves gardening and caring for her family of llamas.

There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. ( Ruth Owen, Romance Writer)

Reviews

[Katt Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this volume of the series about signs of the seasons didn't have quite as many activities as "How Do You Know It's Spring" did, it still offered enough ideas to make me long for summer. I loved the pictures, as they gave the book exactly the right tone. The close up of the ladybug was probably my favorite.

I also like how we track temperatures, hunt for bugs around trees and spend time in the shade. This is a lovely series for introducing the concept of seasons to your child.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect for grades 1 and 2. I used it on Epic! Students were able to read along on ipads. The best part was that the author challenged students to complete a summer treasure hunt. This will get them outside exploring nature!

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This introductory book on most folks' favorite of the four seasons, summer, characterizes that time of year and describes some of the accompanying weather patterns, such as higher temperatures and thunderstorms. Full-page photographs provide close views of summer happenings such as a family toasting marshmellows over the fire and a bee looking for nectar in a yellow flower. In addition to the simple, informative text and attractive photographs, I especially liked how some of the pages ask the reader to think more deeply about what's happening or expand on what is seen in a photograph, both of which make the reading process more active. Backmatter includes Science LAb with activities for readers, a short glossary with photographs, and an index.