Top to Bottom Down Under

by Ted Lewin, Betsy Lewin (Illustrator)

Explore the diverse and unique creatures, plants, and landscapes of north and south Australia as the authors go on a journey "down under" to see wildlife in their natural habitat, study plants, and check out the lay of land.

Genres: Science, Geography, Australia

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Celia Buell · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I wasn't getting into this one much, but it definitely grew on me.

Top to Bottom Down Under takes the reader on a tour of Australian fauna from the perspective of a touring couple. It's well-written so that the perspective actively takes me there, even as an adult reader reading a book for kids.

I love the illustrations as well. Many of them, especially the reptiles, are designed to blend in with the surroundings. I don't know why, but this definitely takes me there.

I hope to one day go on this same tour and see all the animals pictured here. I love Australia's diverse wildlife.

*Read for: Children's Book group (Miscellaneous Club) - January 2023 Autralia
The text level would probably make this ideal for 3rd-4th grade level readers, but I could see younger readers having fun with the pictures. I think it could also be a good book to teach nonfiction text features.

[Spencer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gift from Harper's grandmother

[Ms. McGregor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book a little long-winded and the illustrations left me wanting more details, but my 4 yo son absolutely loved it. He loved not only learning facts about Australian animals, but hearing true stories about real people interacting with them. After this book, he has borrowed many more books and sought out videos about Australian animals!

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had some good information which we hadn't read in other books. The boys loved the illustrations of the authors getting chased or watching the toilet flush. The illustrations of the animals and landscape, while lovely, where done in a blurry type style so you couldn't get a good feel for what they actually looked like.

The information just skims the surface so it's a good basic read, but not helpful for really learning about the area.

Recommended for K through 1st, but you'll need more for the older kids.

[Jennifer Bean]

I thought that this book would be a good way to introduce information about the continent of Australia.It had colorful pictures throughout depicting the many characteristics that it offers.

Instructional possibilities could be:

Read aloud to students in the lower grades

Have students chose an animal that they liked in the story, write a few sentences about it, and draw a picture pertaining to what they wrote

This book could be used in part for research on Australia and its inhabitants

Could be used to introduce a unit on Australia

[Eva Best · Rating 4 out of 5]

A super cute educational book written like a trip! The two authors wrote it so it felt like you were going on the safari with them! I loved the pictures and quirky way it was written. I loved that it was informative with interest and shows interesting things about a new place! There were also maps and comparisons to America which I thought was interesting and helpful for young American readers to see and understand the similarities or differences about Australia! Overall, a great and informative picture book to have in your classroom!

[Mandee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Top to Bottom: Down Under by Ted Lewin introduces the reader to Australia by giving information about the continent. It has colorful pictures throughout depicting the many different aspects of animals and landscapes that Australia offers. It uses bold print to show the different facts about the animals. Top to Bottom: Down Under by Ted Lewin offered a map of Australia within the United States of America to show the reader the comparison in size.

[Nojood Alsudairi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book by the couple (husband and wife) about animals of Ausralia.

[Anca.T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Used this book for a lesson on Australia. Both my kid and I liked it, it's somewhat funny, well written and has info that we didn't see/read in other books.