Editorial Review

Journals and notebooks are an integral part of the educational journey today. Recording information quantitatively as well as qualitatively preserves the event on paper for future reference. In the Animal Diaries series, Ellen Lawrence models scientific record-keeping through the eyes of a child scientist. The activities of butterflies, frogs, spiders, snakes, and kangaroos are observed and investigative questions are suggested throughout the text. Each double page spread features a dated journal entry typical of an observant student’s journal, opposite full page photographs of the animal and its habitat. An inset photo of the young journalist on the first spread makes the book’s premise even more personal and appealing.