Tracks, Scats and Signs

by Leslie A. Dendy

Become a nature detective with this illustrative, engaging and fun Take-Along-Guide. You may not know where to look, or what to look for, but animal signs are everywhere and this guide will help you learn how to read them. You'll learn how to spot and identify common clues that 17 wildlife species leave behind in the woods, in the fields and along ponds.

Genres: Animals, Science, Childrens, Reference, Nature, Picture Books, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published October 1, 1995

Reviews

[Hope Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much like the flower book i have previously reviewed this book provides information about the animal life around the children in their everyday environment. By going outside and letting the children find these things in their environment science comes alive. And by recording their findings they learn how to be very descriptive writers.

[Isaiah Cutts · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a review of Tracks Scats and Signs by Leslie A. Dendy.

There is no way of avoiding it, children think it is a fascinating and funny topic to discuss, poop, and this book offers an advantage to turn it into a more serious topic of discussion and examine the tracks, scats and signs animals leave behind, and the science in how to interpret who did it! The illustrations are in bold watercolor and equal to the best of field guides in a child friendly picture book version that is informative and practical to use. It is marketed as a Take-Along-Guide in a series of books for nature exploring field trips with young children.

The book is written to assist the nature detective in reading a paw print or “gift” left behind by 17 wildlife creatures with illustrations of poop and prints to make it easy on adults hoping they will be the more expert. It covers forest, field and pond creatures, and even leaves scrapbook pages for the children to document their own adventures. It discusses safety in observation and being respectful of animals and their habitats. It provides details of the life and needs of each animal, what they eat, where they live, and how to identify the sounds and clues they make. The illustrations leave the reader feeling like they had a close up view of the animal and where it lives and how to track its signs.

This would be a great book to build a field trip around, or a series of field trips with a class or to assign homework to be done with their families at home. It has just the right amount of vocabulary and content to work well with older children but not be too much for those younger to grasp. It was a book I used on a field trip with children in the YMCA program I worked with in a before and after school program that was connected to an outdoor YMCA camp. The book and the field trip it inspired was an instant hit with children K-5th grade I helped supervise and I would highly recommend it as a way to take the class out of the classroom and have an up close experience in nature.

[Maura Fenelon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great informational book about what animals leave behind as they pass through nature, though you have to be careful how you use it because it does deal with poop quite a bit. This book is most appropriate in a third grade or older classroom due to its density and vocabulary. I would use this book to support science investigations and as an introduction to basic research methods, as there is specific information about a wide range of animals.

[Helen R]

1. 1999 winner of the National Outdoor Award.
2. Recommended for children in grades second through fifth.
3. Tracks, Scats and Signs is a book that teaches children to recognize the poop and footprints/paw prints of 17 different animals in their natural habitat. Minor informational tidbits pertaining to the 17 different animals has been included in the with teaching of poop and prints. The back cover of the book has an 8-inch ruler on it, to assist with measuring footprints.
4. This book is a good introduction for children when it comes to tracking animals in their natural habitats. The pictures are drawings and not actual photographs of tracks/poop of the 17 animals involved in this book.
5. This book would be good to read to children before a nature hike of a field trip to a state park or local zoo.