Eyewitness DVD Butterfly and Moth

Eyewitness DVD Butterfly & Moth
From DK Canada

About the product

How did the death’s head moth earn its name?

Which bizarre caterpillar spurred the building of empires?

Butterfly & Moth takes a flight of fancy with nature’s most beguiling creatures.  See their miraculous transformation from lowly caterpillar to airborne adult, and learn why these delicate insects have long inspired and entranced us.

Beautiful in their simplicity, the lives of butterflies and moths have long fascinated scholars and children alike. Here is a rich and innovative look at their natural history. Stunning real-life photographs provide a unique eyewitness view of the behavior of these complex and vividly beautiful insects, their structure and life cycle, where they live and feed, and how they protect themselves. See a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis, how silk moths make silk, a caterpillar eating its own eggshell, and butterflies that have become extinct. Learn how a caterpillar can frighten off predators, why some adult moths never eat, which butterfly migrates the length of a subcontinent, and how to breed butterflies and moths, and much more!

My Thoughts

On a rainy day, while being inside our temporary home (our RV) in the new area where we will be living, I decided to sit down with the kids and watch the Eyewitness DVD Butterfly & Moth.   This DVD is definitively the perfect tool to watch after you have visited a butterfly conservatory, learned more about butterflies or completed a unit study on butterflies.   In the York region, there is a place which you could visit in September to watch to tagging and releasing of Monarch butterflies – a field trip that I am seriously thinking of doing in the fall.

Now to get back to the DVD.   This DVD will highlights the interesting facts about every steps of the life cycle of a butterfly or moth.    For each step of the life cycle you will learn more about the techniques and defenses mechanism of the butterflies and moths.    It was very interesting and informative to discover how each butterfly/moth will lay its eggs on a plant, how the caterpillars differ possess various defenses to prevent their predators and how the cocoons are different depending of the butterfly/moth inside.  The video also follow the life of a monarch butterfly as it goes through the stages of life.   At the end of the DVD you will discover where the Monarch Butterfly go during the winter season and what is its migratory route to various places in the world.

Now, my only caution that I would like to give my readers would be that there is a bit of mention of evolution and millions of years old at the beginning of the presentation.   We personally believe in creation as a basis of life on Earth.  However, I also come to realize that it is important that my kids know that there are other beliefs in the education system and that eventually they might encounter Evolutionary teaching in college or university.   Also included in this DVD presentation are historical beliefs that people use to have about butterflies and moths.   This part was very interesting as it made us realized that there were weird beliefs in the past.  

Nevertheless, I think this DVD is worth watching with your kids and it is a good springboard to start a discussion on how to defend your own belief concerning in the never ending debate about evolution versus creation.

Eyewitness DVD Butterfly & Moth is available at your favourite bookstore, even amazon.ca.

Disclaimer: Thanks to DK Canada for sending me the above mentioned products for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Island of Thieves

Island of Thieves
Written by Josh Lacey
Published at Houghton Mifflin Books for Children

About the book

Only boring people get bored… Interesting people can always find something to be interested in.

That’s what Tom Trelawney’s father says, anyway.   Tom knew he shouldn’t have been so interested in playing with matches – it’s just that he was…. well…. bored.  Now, with the garden shed in ashes, the only person willing to look after him while his parents are away is his father’s brother, mysterious Uncle Harvey.

As soon as Tom’s parents leave, Harvey announces he’s travelling abroad on “urgent business” and young nephews are not invited.   When Tom discovers his uncle is going on a treasure hunt, however, he proves that Harvey isn’t the only troublesome Trelawney and blackmails his uncle into letting him tag along.    But as with all of Uncle Harvey’s schemes, the details prove more complicated than he originally discloses.   Tom realizes there are two types of Trelawneys: those who follow the rules and those who chuck them in the wastebasket.   He must decide which kind of Trelawney he will be, and which kind will help him stay alive.

Who is Josh Lacey?

Josh Lacey worked as a journalist, a screenwriter, and a teacher before writing his first book for children, A Dog Called Grk (under the name Joshua Doder).   Josh lives in London with his wife and daughter , and is seldom bored.

www.joshlacey.com

My Thoughts

Before putting a book in the hands of my kids, I like to read it first and see if I consider it worthy for their eyes.   I am very picky when it is non-christian novels or books because I know that there is a lot of secular books out there that contains things I do not want my kids exposed yet.  But when I read the description of the book, I thought this particularly novel would be interesting.  After all, how would you react if you read the following?

An ancient map and a buried treasure harbor a mystery worth millions in this Treasure Island – meets – James Bond thriller.

Knowing that my oldest son loves mystery, I was curious about this title.     I must say that this book is exactly what it advertise…  It really does feel as though you have a mix of Treasure Island and James Bond together.    Packed with twists and turns, the novel will keep you on the edge and want to learn more about the main characters adventure in Peru.   The story is well written and will bring your in South America in the hopes to find an long lost treasure.   Intertwined in the novel are history facts that are also found at the end of the book.

I didn’t particularly liked the fact that the beginning of the story starts with the boy playing with matches and burning down the shed.   But I guess that the author needed a good reason to send him to his uncle.   My other problem during the reading of this book was the lies that the uncle was saying as though it was a natural thing.  The younger character was observing him and learning how to lie at the same time.   However, I tip my hat to the author who at the end of the book brought both the uncle and the young lad to the realization that it was better to say the truth to the parents.    So even though there were lies in the story, at the end the adult main character comes to the conclusion that it is better to saw the truth after all.      An important lesson learned by both main characters throughout their adventures.

In the end, I am quite pleased with the story and the lesson that the reader learns at the end of the book.    Would I recommend this book to my fellow homeschoolers?   Definitively.   To the point that I have just pass the book to my oldest son so he can read it as well.    Last week, he kept asking if he could start even though I had not finished my reading.    His interest was picked just by reading and observing the cover of the book.    And he will complete the reading in 48 hours….!  

Island of Thieves is available at your favourite bookstore, even amazon.ca.

Disclaimer: Thanks to Thomas Allen for sending me the above mentioned product for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

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