What Do Living Things Need?

Great for my library

Perfect for Kindergartners!

Nice book the children in the classroom enjoyed it

We are doing a lesson with the kids on needs verses wants. It made sense therefore to read a book on what living things actually NEED to live. Then the kids were going to study an animal and make a diorama showing what they needed to live. This book however missed the mark for that need. it awkwardly presented some material and did not really explain anything. I did like their bones and muscle books from another series, but this series just is too simple and not as effective at teaching like it should have. BTW - What living things typically need are: 1. food / nutrients, 2. water, 3. air / gases, 4. sunlight (makes vitamins by hitting your skin, keeps the planet warm, photosynthesis), 5. shelter / protection, 6. ideal environmental conditions (temperature, humidity, ecosystem), 7. other living things (like gut bacteria or predators), 8. a way to get rid of waste, and 9. a way to reproduce. I guess you could also argue - 10. a way to fight off disease and 11. a way to protect the integrity of genetic material. Now with young kids, I probably would not spend time explaining the DNA, reproduction, and predators part.... but the rest is all things a Kindergartner can understand. We really do not give kids the credit they deserve - they are capable of learning more than you think! Especially since its things these kids already do to live themselves... its something they can understand.

I agree with the other reviewer who said this was too simple. I wanted to expand a little bit more on the lessons I give to my almost 4 year old, and this is not cutting it. There’s one sentence per every two pages, except for maybe the last page.