Hibernación

By: Robin Nelson
Publisher: Lerner
Publication Date: August 2012
ISBN: 978-0761393368
Reviewed by: Deb Fowler
Review Date: November 2012

The trees are covered with snow and when you look into the forest it is quiet with no signs of life. There don’t seem to be any animals wandering around. Where have they gone? You can see the little bats quietly hanging in their cave and the little mouse curled up in his nest next to his food. “Muchos animales están hibernando. La hibernación un sueño profundo.” It is part of the animal life cycle to help them survive the cold winter.

It is very cold during the winter and hard to find food because “la nieve esconde las plantas y otros alimentos.” You can see the big black bear fast asleep in her den, but in the spring she comes out with her little cub once the snows have gone. There are many different kinds of animals who hibernate. “Algunas serpientes hibernan.” If you look through the pictures of this book you can see many different kinds. Do you know the names of some of them?

This is an excellent introduction to hibernación for young students. Entirely written in Spanish, this beginning introductory nonfiction book about hibernation is aimed toward the emergent reader to newly independent reader. There is a photograph on each page to illustrate the concept being discussed. For example, we see a photograph of an animal curled up in his den which is surrounded by snow. Beneath we read “Los animales hibernan para sobrevivir al invierno.” Words that may be more difficult such as “sobrevivir” (stay alive) are highlighted and defined in the glossary. In the back is an index, a glossary, a section that discusses more about the hibernation mode, and additional statistics about hibernation.

Quill says: This book on hibernation is one in a series of six life cycle books (Descubriendo los ciclos de la naturalezea) that would make an excellent addition to homeschool, classroom or library shelves!