It’s Hot! But Nature is Cool!

It’s no coincidence that we are sharing a book about summer on the Summer Solstice. That’s right, June 21 is the longest day of this year and therefore the day with the most sunlight. And what is the sun most known for? Keeping us warm, of course!

It keeps animals warm, too, which is a good thing when it’s cold outside. But what
happens when it’s hot? Animals can’t turn on the air conditioner or drink a cold glass of lemonade. A Cool Summer Tail explores how several animals adapt to hot temperatures. For instance, just like dogs, red foxes pant to dissipate their body heat because their skin doesn’t sweat like ours.

Did you know grey squirrels sometimes lick their forearms to cool off? This behavior has a similar cooling effect as sweating because when the saliva evaporates, their body heat is dissipated into the air.

Many birds stay cool by staying under the shade of tree leaves. This is one adaptation human animals can practice, too!

When the sun goes down at night, the temperature goes down, too. Some animals take advantage of the cooler air to find their food and move about. Imagine how our world would be different if humans slept during the day and were active only at night!

One way both humans and animals can stay cool is to take advantage of air blowing across our bodies. Whether it’s a lakeside breeze for a white tail deer or a circulating ceiling fan for humans, air helps dissipate body heat. While you are pondering this, make your own personal fan using the directions shared HERE by The Pinterested Parent.

Or make a paper plate mask of an animal featured in A Cool Summer Tail and encourage some pretend play. Directions HERE. While creating, discuss how animals adapt to summer heat and how these behaviors compare and contrast with how humans stay cool.

The next time you see an animal in its environment, take a minute to talk about how it adapts to the heat. Isn’t nature cool?

Carrie Pearson is the author of A Cool Summer Tail. The book is illustrated by Christina Wald. To investigate how animals stay warm when the temperature drops, check out another Arbordale book, A Warm Winter Tail, also written by Carrie and illustrated by Christina.

Ferdinand Fox’s Scavenger Hunt

In the book Ferdinand Fox’s First Summer, we’re introduced to how young foxes grow up and learn to survive on their own. Although they drink only their mother’s milk when the kits are first born, they eventually have to learn how to hunt and scavenge for food on their own.

Just like us, young kits love to play outside with their siblings and friends in the summer. Gather a few friends together to see if you can complete Ferdinand Fox’s Scavenger Hunt!

Give a bag to each scavenger and see who can collect the most items:

• An acorn
• The biggest leaf you can find
• A long skinny leaf
• A leaf that has been chewed
• A smooth rock
• A rough rock
• A flower
• A twig
• A pine cone
• A clover
• A seed
• A feather
• Pine straw
• A blade of grass
• Something beautiful

Happy scavenging!

Can you name all of the seashells?

If you’ve ever had a chance to go to the beach, you may have noticed the overwhelming number of shells that are scattered all over the sand. Some are big, some are small, and some have a very weird shape. Although the shell is all that’s left now, most of the shells you find have had something living in it at one time or another. Cool, huh?

In Turtle Summer, we are introduced to several different types of seashells. Next time you’re at the beach, see if you can name all of the shells!

 

Moon Snail Shell

Mussel Shell 

Ark Shell

Clam Shell 

Lettered Olive Shell

Tulip Shell 

 Knobbed Whelk Shell

Oyster Shell 

Jack Knife Clam Shell

Slipper Shell 

Cockle Shell

Magic happens in the summer!

It’s finally summertime and everyone is dying to put away their school clothes and bring out the bathing suits. School’s out, it’s beach weather, and we want to spend all of our time out of doors.

But there are so many other things that also happen during the summer right under our noses!

Have you noticed all of the flowers that have begun to bloom? How about the daisies? Daisylocks is a story that tells us all about how the wind helps little Daisylocks to get home where she can be planted. There are so many different climates and types of soil around the world, but daisies have to be in just the right place in order to bloom. Next time you see a daisy, take some time to appreciate all that it had to go through in order to become a beautiful flower.

 

In Turtle Summer, we learn all about how Loggerhead Sea Turtles lay their eggs and how the babies hatch. These sea turtles lay about one hundred eggs four different times each summer–that’s four hundred eggs! The summer is a very busy time for these sea turtles. Mama sea turtle has to make her way onto the shore at night to lay her eggs, and a couple of months later, the baby sea turtles have to find their way from the nest all the way to their home in the ocean. If you ever get a chance to see a Loggerhead Sea Turtle’s nest hatch, stay back and watch as the magic happens.

Turtles are not the only animals that are growing up in the summer. Ferdinand Fox’s First Summer also shows us the story of a baby growing up and learning how to survive on its own over the course of the summer. Foxes have to learn how to protect themselves from other predators and also how to scavenge for their own food so that one day they can also raise their own kits.

 

It’s amazing how many different plants and animals are born and grow up (or bloom!) during the summer months. Nature is magical and it’s happening all around us! Measure yourself this summer–I bet you’re growing, too!