Fifteen poems explore close encounters with animals … and choosing to respond tenderly.
Whether it’s helping a hummingbird escape, respecting a bear’s habitat, admiring a heron’s beauty, or giving way to ants at a picnic, the human response in these poems is to do no harm, and to help whenever possible. The poems follow a seasonal progression, ending with a final poem that imagines where each animal might be on a winter night.
Inspired by personal experiences, Nicholas Ruddock’s poems are simply written, with a pleasing rhyme, and fun to read aloud. In the spirit of the text, Ashley Barron’s cut-paper collage illustrations portray each creature with respectful realism, in environments ranging from rural and wild to urban and suburban.
A delightful dip into poetry for young animal lovers!
Key Text Features
illustrations
poems
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.4
Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.6
With prompting and support, name the author and illustrator of a story and define the role of each in telling the story.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4
Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.
Book details
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English -
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About the author
Nicholas Ruddock
NICHOLAS RUDDOCK is a writer and physician whose novels, short stories and poetry for adults have won multiple prizes in Canada, the UK, and Ireland. Most recently, he has been shortlisted for the CBC Short Story Award. The poems in This Is a Tiny Fragile Snake, his debut children’s book, are inspired by personal experience. He lives in Guelph, Ontario with the artist Cheryl Ruddock, and, very often, with bustling hordes of their children, grandchildren and dogs.
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