Description: On May 12, 2008, XiXi, a giant panda, escaped from the destroyed Wolong Panda Reserve when a 7.9 earthquake rocked Northern China. After the quake, mother and cub run from the wreckage. Confused and afraid, they get lost! How will they survive outside their reserve? Will they find food? Will they find shelter? And will they safely endure the earthquake after-shocks? The "For Creative Minds" education section includes: Endangered Giant Pandas; Life Cycle Activity; Panda Fun Facts; Shake, Rattle & Roll; The Richter Scale and Magnitude Ranges; and an Earthquake Chart & Map. This work of narrative nonfiction includes a 5-page For Creative Minds section in the back of the book and a 44-page cross-curricular Teaching Activity Guide online. Pandas' Earthquake Escape is vetted by experts and designed to encourage parental engagement. Its extensive back matter helps teachers with time-saving lesson ideas, provides extensions for science, math, and social studies units, and uses inquiry-based learning to help build critical thinking skills in young readers. The Spanish translation supports ELL and dual-language programs. The interactive ebook reads aloud in both English and Spanish with word highlighting and audio speed control to promote oral language skills, fluency, pronunciation, text engagement, and reading comprehension. Tap animals and other things that make noise to hear their sounds.
Brief description: Phyllis J. Perry (Pandas' Earthquake Escape) is the author of more than 70 books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction for children and adults. Phyllis worked with the Boulder, Colorado, Valley Schools as a teacher, principal, curriculum specialist, and director of talented and gifted education before taking early retirement to write full time. She is active in a number of writing-related organizations. She is a member of the Colorado Authors' League and of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. She participates in the Colorado Council of the International Reading Association and lives in Boulder with her husband, David. They have two daughters and four grandchildren. For more information about Phyllis, visit her website: http: //www.phyllisjperry.com/
Review Quotes: "Children will easily connect with the animals' fear and relief, conveyed in their expressive faces. - Booklist