Achoo! Why Pollen Counts (Arbordale Collection)

This is the only book my Debbie will read! the pictures were remarkable and well written! I think she has memorized it by heart....and I need a new copy!

The media could not be loaded. Achoo! Why Pollen Counts by Shennen Bersani is about a baby bear who comes out of his den in the spring, sneezing so much that he wishes pollen didn’t exist. When he meets up with his mom, she cleans him up and explains how important pollen is. Then he wanders around and meets all sorts of critters who explain why pollen is important to them too.It’s a cute story with catchy language that is easy to understand and educational at the same time. It even has a “For Creative Minds” section at the end that has interesting information about allergies, pollination, and bees. A couple of activities about flower parts and pollinators make learning fun, and anyone can read more about allergies, pollen, insects, and bears if they look up resources listed in the bibliography that is included. The very best part of this book is its beautiful artwork. Happy pictures with bright colors and a swirling effect that mimics pollen in the air practically jump off every page.Opinion:Achoo! Why Pollen Counts is written for children ages 5-8, but I can’t imagine who wouldn’t love this book (no matter how old they are)! It is a fantastic multi-purpose book that is perfect for anyone who enjoys nature or wants to know more about pollen. The artwork is detailed enough that young children can picture walk themselves through the basic story. Parents can help their children learn the names of specific creatures that they may not have seen before or do not know yet. Anyone could use it as a guide to help others understand allergy symptoms better, what pollen is, and how it’s used in nature. The more I read this book and looked at its pictures, the more detail I saw and the more I learned. It was like taking a real nature walk outdoors and finding something new to explore with every next step.Reviewed by a LitPick student book reviewer Age 12

Baby Bear wakes to the beauty of Spring covered with pollen and dealing with the sneezing and watery itchy eyes of pollen allergy. This makes him agitated and wanting little to do with pollen. His forest friends and Mother explain to him in a caring and loving way how pollen is necessary and critically important for food and pollinating. The friends and the conversational exchanges with them are very well done and lovable. Baby Bear ends up changing his attitude about pollen and realizes it is critical to the lives of many. The writing flows well and describes the details of pollen and pollination in a way that young children ages 3-8 can relate to and love reading. It makes you enjoy being inside every page. The words are composed well and feel well integrated with the illustrations. These attributes are all important, but the real exceptional attribute of the book is all the beauty and emotion. Baby Bear is caught in moods and positions that display so much emotion and cuteness. The pollen in the air and on the ground do a wonderful job of creating a mood and feeling of being in a Spring forest. It captivates the reader and makes them feel like they're covered in pollen. The illustrations are exceptional. Baby Bear rolling around, rubbing his face against a tree, and Baby Bear's Mother licking off his pollen and hugging are pages that draw children to them over and over. Add the fact that there is a huge section at the back of the book that provides added facts and help for children, parents, or teachers who use the book to learn or teach about the forest, pollen, pollinators, allergies, pollen allergies, bears, and more.

Baby Bear's eyes looked swollen and itchy and he came out of his den. Rub, rub, rub! Even his little nose ran and his eyes watered from all the pollen in the air. "Achoo! Achoo!" The pollen was everywhere and "a coat of yellow dust covered the forest outside his home." Baby Bear rolled in the clover with his toes up in the air, but that yucky yellow pollen stuck to his coat. Even Valerie Vole began to sneeze when she came out of her burrow. "Achoo! Achoo!," what to do?Rubbing up against tree bark was a great way to get rid of some of that yucky pollen. "It's messy. It's itchy, " Baby Bear exclaimed. "It makers me--ah, ah, a-choo--sneeze!" He wasn't crazy about pollen at all, but his mother cuddled him and began to tell him just how useful it was. Many of the forest plants and animals needed It to survive. Some would eat it while insects like bees pollinated plants as they moved from plant to plant. Bzzzzzz! Not all of the pollen out there would make Baby Bear sneeze and feel yucky.Momma Bear told him about how Sandy Spiderling caught pollen in his web to eat it and how Zoe Zebra Butterfly used her long proboscis to get herself a "tasty meal." Baby Bear was very interested in those honeybees and Honey Bee told him all about pollen collection, beebread, and nectar. "Achoo! Achoo!" There were certainly a lot of things to learn about pollen and why the creatures of the fields and forest need it. Did you know that even wolves can use pollen? If not, you'll learn all about it in this book!This is a fun, fascinating book that will teach young children about pollen and why we need it. Of course many children who are allergic to some forms of pollen might not find it useful, but will adore Baby Bear. He sneezes here and there throughout this highly informative book, one that makes it easy for children to understand the pollination process. The artwork is fun, vibrant and the picture book format makes it easy for even the most reluctant reader to learn some very interesting facts. In addition to the four pages of activities, there are free complementary activities on the publisher's website. This is an excellent read and discuss book for students in the homeschool or classroom setting.Accelerated Reader: 3.3Flesch-Kincaid: 3.2Lexile: 670LFountas and Pinnell: NThis book courtesy of the publisher.