Thank you everyone for all of the great posts each week for the Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge 2014.
Sniffer Dogs: How Dogs (and their Noses) Save the World
Nancy F. Castaldo
HMH Books for Young Readers (July 8, 2014)
Ages: 9 to 13
Nonfiction * Animals * Dogs * Senses
Kirkus Review | Author Website
Description from the Publisher:
Anyone who has ever spent time with a dog knows that dogs love sniffing! They sniff out hidden food, dirty socks, and the visitor who comes to the door. But some dogs work with police officers, soldiers and even scientists to put their "sniffers" to work. Sniffer dogs make use of the amazing biology behind their noses to protect people from bombs, catch criminals smuggling drugs, or help researchers locate a hard to find snail in a forest.
A dog's nose is so sensitive that if a human could see as well as a dog could smell, we would be able to see the small letters on an eye chart from four (four!) miles away. Is it any wonder then that dogs can be trained to find missing people in piles of rubble or a certain flower blooming amongst hundreds or thousands of other smells?
In Sniffer Dogs you will meet many dogs and their handlers and learn all about their jobs. Some of these dogs are raised from birth to detect blood sugar levels in their owners. Others are rescued from animal shelters and their boisterous personalities help make them excellent sniffer dogs. Featuring a balance between science and social science, Sniffer Dogs will appeal to dog lovers and science lovers alike.
My thoughts on this book:
Children love dogs, and learning about dogs and their incredible ability to detect things with their noses can make for fun and informative reading. Nancy Castaldo has created a comprehensive look at Sniffer Dogs. This 160 page book is packed full with information. Readers are provided facts about the relationship between dogs and their handlers, the science behind sniffing, and various types of tasks that sniffer dogs can perform with amazing accuracy. Facts and information are intertwined with stories about real sniffer dogs and how they perform their jobs.
Sniffer Dogs is written in an engaging way and it allows students to either read straight through or jump around a bit to learn about specific types of sniffer dogs. The end includes several pages of additional resources including suggested reading, websites, glossary, and more.
This is a book that is worth including in your classroom or school library, and one that students will find fascinating.
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