Let me tell you.....
both are new e-books by Melissa Markham!

And, for the ENTIRE MONTH OF OCTOBER~
just by purchasing either (or both) of these books
(or any of Melissa's previous offerings)
you will be helping support Katrina Relief in New Orleans!

Head on over to Melissa's blog to find out more.

Now, to give you a "taste" of what you can look for in Melissa's books,
here's my review:

The Life of the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
E-book by Melissa Markham

Gracie and I just had the privilege of reading this new e-book by Melissa Markham.  Previously on my blog, I shared a review of Melissa’s Komodo Dragon e-book.  This book was much more to my liking~ not because I didn’t think the first book was well-written (it was)~ but because I find the little hummingbird a much more interesting (and less intimidating) creature!

Melissa really does a great job writing these books!  She follows the hummingbird’s life through its migration journey, touching on how it finds a mate, how it builds and tends to its nest and babies, and what it eats, etc.  One of the things I really enjoy about her e-books is that she links certain words and phrases to websites where you can learn more about these things.  To a homeschooling mom, this is a great thing as it encourages further learning and research.  Another great feature of Melissa’s e-books is the full-color photographs that she includes.  I enjoy that they are not black and white, nor are they drawing, but rather real life pictures of hummingbirds in various stages of life and activity.

At the end of Melissa’s e-books, she includes fact sheets with further information, as well as giving several websites and books that would be appropriate for further research.  These things, as well, are “clickable”, making the planning and research on my part very minimal.  I learned a lot of things from reading this little book.  For one, I had no idea that hummingbirds weighed less than a paperclip!  I knew they were tiny, but goodness~ their eggs are the size of a pea!  Adorable!  And those little creatures can really fly~ did you know that their wings flap up to 60 beats per second?

Gracie enjoyed clicking on a link for a coloring page of the hummingbird.  She completed that page, and it will make a great addition to her notebook for our Flying Creatures study this year.  Not only will this hummingbird book make a great addition to your Flying Creature study, it’s just plain fun to read!  Head on over to Melissa’s website and download your copy TODAY!

American Bison
E-book by Melissa Markham

The third e-book by Melissa Markham is about the American Bison.  I found this book very interesting as we have several bison farms close to our home, but I really am not very familiar with bison and was interested in learning more about them.

This e-book follows a particular bison throughout 4 years of her life~ from her birth, up until the time that she becomes a mother for the first time.  Again, I am much impressed with the fact that Melissa’s e-books include such large, colorful, real-life pictures.  We took our time looking at all of the pictures; they help to make the reading seem more “real”. 

This e-book contains further information about bison at the end, as well as a brief history on the bison and it’s relationship with man throughout the past several hundred years.  It also contains several (linkable) websites for further research, as well as reading suggestions and a book bibliography. 

Yes, I learned several things about bison by reading this book.  I learned that an adult bison can weigh up to 2,000 (now that’s a lot of bison burgers!) and that bison have such a keen sense of smell that they can tell from a mile away whether a horse is approaching alone or with a rider!  (This could be because bison have very poor eyesight, and need their sense of smell to help compensate for that.)  If you would like to learn more about the life of the American Bison, you should definitely consider purchasing this e-book.  Melissa has (again!) done a great job!

Share Your Thoughts

Oct. 1, 2007 - Untitled Comment

Posted by writmm

Heidi, I am so glad you and your daughter enjoyed the books. Thaks for the reviews and letting others know what your thoughts were!!

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