Pistes d'exploration

Make a timeline of Sammy’s journey to Panama, using the map. Include the places he stopped, and the birds and animals that helped him along the way.

Make a list of other birds, animals or insects that migrate and explain how they navigate to get to their destination.

Invent a board game about Sammy and his journey. Use the additional information at the back of the book.

Make a timeline of Sammy’s journey to Panama, using the map. Include the places he stopped, and the birds and animals that helped him along the way.

Read the information about birds, animals and migration at the end of the book. Share three interesting facts with the class.

Make a class poster of birds in your area that migrate south in the winter. Include their feeding habits and destinations.

Write a postcard from Sammy in Panama to a friend back home in Alaska.

The Arrival, Grandfather's Journey

Mots-clés

Non-fiction , animals , birds , journeys , migration , seasons

Commentaire descriptif

This book relates the first migration journey of a warbler named Sammy and the animals he meets en route from the Arctic Circle to Panama. Dialogue and narration provide excitement as well as information. “‘I’m going south,’ the caribou snorted loudly. . . . ‘But I’ve never heard of Panama. I’m heading to my winter forest.’” Young Sammy and readers learn about the winter habits of animals such as snakes, insects and humpback whales—as well as the hazards human civilization poses to birds. Delicate illustrations include paper cut-out effects. Perched amid watercolour-stippled leaves, Sammy gazes across the river: “. . . Mayan ruins, in fields of maize, in monkey-filled rainforests.” Children will be pleased when, three eventful weeks after his journey’s start, an exhausted little Sammy arrives safely at his winter home. Back material includes a map showing the usual warbler migration, along with Sammy’s detour. Every animal he meets appears on the map with an informative caption. “How Animals Migrate” offers intriguing facts about the senses and landmarks that animals use, as well as dangers they face.