Big Tracks, Little Tracks: Following Animal Prints (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science, Stage 1)

Big Tracks, Little Tracks is a good book for introducing preschoolers and kindergarteners to widlife observation. The writing is engaging and the art has a nice warmth to it. I gave Big Tracks, Little Tracks four stars instead of five because it prominently featured domestic animals, namely dogs and cats. I don't have anything against dogs and cats, but I felt that including them, especially early in the book, could leave some younger kids with the impression that dogs and cats are wildlife. At the very least, their inclusion strikes a dissonant chord as the main focus of the book is on wild animals. Beyond that small drawback, it's a great little book for young children.

Got this for my 7 year old daughter before we went on a trip to Yellowstone. She loved the pictures and turned out to be pretty darned good a spotting and identifying many of the tracks from it. Great little book...was her favorite of several that I got for us.

Big Tracks, Little Tracks is a beautifully illustrated book for young "nature detectives." All animals leave different tracks and if you know just how to study them, you will find out how they walked, what or how they ate and sometimes even what way the wind was blowing as they walked! A fun activity page explains how to do an experiment with leaving tracks of your own and making plaster casts of tracks that you find. Fun read!

This book is written in a style that promotes problem solving and develops inquiry skills. It is a wonderful introduction to animal tracks. After a child reads this book they will be able to differentiate between several common tracks and have an understanding of how to interpret tracks to understand the behavior of the animal that made them. I highly recommend this book to teachers, families...

The book is a great way to get children involved in their reading. The questions in the book encourage reflection and help children make predictions about what they are reading. The concepts can be applied to anywhere in nature, and are appropriate for all children no matter where they live. The book gives important facts and information, but also allows children to become "detectives" and take an active role in the book. It is great for science discovery with young children!