Milly's preschool class is learning all about the rain forest. A few weeks ago they went on a field trip to the National Geographic Museum at Explorers Hall in Washington, DC to see Frogs! A Chorus of Colors. The field trip itself was an expedition to rival any of National Geographic's, but the exhibit was worth it. There were live frogs from around the world (our favorites were the tiny jewel-like poison dart frogs) in terrarium habitats right at the kids' eye level. We also saw this exhibit of frog photography by Mark W. Moffett (the images were blown up so that in many cases the frogs were bigger than the kids, which was fun). If you're not local, you can check out Moffett's excellent Face to Face with Frogs (National Geographic Children's Books, 2008), part of NGS's Face to Face series of kids' nonfiction. If you are local, the frogs are here til May 11. After reading the book, Leo wants to see them, too. Ribbit!
[We also like Red-Eyed Tree Frog by Joy Cowley; photographs by Nic Bishop (Scholastic, 1999). This one tells a day-in-the-life of a tree frog story with short, simple text (one or two sentences per page) and amazing close-up photos. Perfect for preschoolers.]
