Little Skink's Tail by Janet Halfmann

To escape from a hungry crow, Little Skink snaps off her bright blue lizard tail. Now, although she is gratefully alive, she misses her tail. Seeing all the animals that live around her, Little Skink wonders what it would be like to have each of their tails. She visualizes her tail's new look on each page of the book. 

"A porcupine's tail: "Too stickly-prickly," she said. An owl's tail: "A lizard with feathers?" she exclaimed. "I don't think so!"

Of course, none of the tails were right for her. While realizing this, she is on a sunny rock and sees her shadow. Guess what? Her shadow had a tail. The book ends with her seeing a bright blue tail that grew back on her.

This is a colorful picture book that not only will be exciting for children to see and read, but it will inform them about different animals. This book would go very well with a science curriculum on this subject. 

After the story ends, there are a few pages of informative activities. "For Creative Minds" is an educational section that may be photocopied or downloaded. There is a footprint map activity with questions, a map grid, as well as a trail matching activity. As a parent and a teacher I appreciate the scientific accuracy as well as the enjoyment factor these offer. My daughter loved doing the "For Creative Minds" section after I read her the book. 

There are additional resources available on their website www.SylvanDellPublishing.com. I was able to quickly go there, choose the book, look up related websites, click on one about deer tails, and see pictures of real deer with information. They also offer English and Spanish audio readings online for free, as well as many other free services. 

I definitely recommend this award winning book!