Have you ever seen a mole? No, not just molehills, but the actual creature? Probably not! Or perhaps just a fleeting peek at a nose. Moles are practically everywhere, but almost always out of sight. Yet moles are remarkable animals - super strong, super fast, super in numerous ways. And they have a special helpful relationship with the soil. All this and more comes out in a new picture book for children, MIGHTY MOLE AND SUPER SOIL. It's hard to imagine an environment more challenging to portray than the dark underground home of moles - who hardly have eyes, compounding the problem-and soil. But illustrator, Chad Wallace, took up the challenge and succeeded beautifully, creating a picture book that holds interest and conveys a much-maligned creature with a kind of subterranean charm. Following the story is a clue game for children and exercises that bring out information found in the story - for example, moles can dig about 18 feet an hour and run 80 feet a minute either backwards or forwards! And their toxic saliva paralyses their prey, which is mostly bugs. Also available in hb 978 1 58469 5387 Ages 4-9

 

There are 32 pages in this book. This book was published 2015 by Dawn Publications, U. S. .

Academic editor Frances Schoonmaker is a professor in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching at Teacher's College, Columbia University. She has taught and lectured in China, Japan, Mexico, England and India, and served as the head of the teacher-education initiative for the Teachers College/UNICEF Afghanistan Project. Illustrator Chad Wallace creates detailed paintings with a focus on wildlife, people and landscapes. He lives in Amawalk, New York. Mary Quattlebaum loved playing pirates, reading ghost stories, and planting seeds in the family garden when she was a kid. And pirates, ghosts, and a garden are all featured in her books, which include Hero Dogs!: True Stories of Amazing Animal Heroes! , Jackson Jones and the Puddle of Thorns , and Jo MacDonald Hiked in the Woods . She is the author of 20 award-winning children's picture books, books of poetry, chapter books, and novels. Quattlebaum teaches in the Vermont College MFA program and at the Writer's Center in Bethesda, Maryland. She also regularly reviews children's books for The Washington Post .