Kevin Kurtz
Kevin Kurtz has loved books and nature since he was a kid growing up in upstate New York. He holds degrees in English literature and elementary education and started his professional career working in a marine biology laboratory. For the past decade, Kevin has combined all of these experiences by working as an environmental educator and curriculum writer for organizations such as the South Carolina Aquarium, the Center for Birds of Prey, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, and the South Carolina Marine Educators Association. He has written and edited the South Carolina Aquarium's award-winning K-8 curriculum, as well as curriculum activities for NOAA, the College of Charleston's COASTeam project, and the Center for Birds of Prey. He also helped develop and was the first coordinator of the South Carolina Aquarium's High School Intern Program, which won AZA's Diversity award. Kevin is currently the Education Director of the Science Factory Children's Museum in Eugene, Oregon, where he is abut fifty miles from the Cascades Mountains and fifty miles from salt marshes.
Visit Kevin's Website.
Contributor: Sylvan Dell
Photo source: www.kevinkurtz.homestead.com/
Reviews
A Day in the Salt Marsh
Kevin Kurtz
Illustrated by Consie Powell
From sun up to sundown, interesting changes take place in a salt marsh. Readers get a close up view of these changes when they read the tantalizing rhyming verses in this book. The simple but informative text offers a pleasing way to highlight hour to hour salt marsh activities. Featured creatures include birds, crabs, a terrapin, periwinkle snails, dolphins, fish, otters, a heron, and oysters. Information about their habitats is also available. Descriptive passages allow the reader to come away with the feeling of actually having been at the salt marsh for a visit. Illustrations with insets and text boxes add a striking visual appeal. End materials contain sections for matching up salt marsh critters and their names, a tidal activity, explanations about what causes tides, why marshes are important, and information about Spartina grass. This book is sure to be a welcome addition for pre-school and early grade classrooms as they study creatures and habitats. 2007, Sylvan Dell, $15.95. Ages 4 to 8. Reviewer: Nancy Garhan Attebury (Children's Literature).
ISBN: 9780976882350
A Day on the Mountain
Kevin Kurtz
Illustrated by Erin E. Hunter
With this book, the reader travels up a mountain and sees how the environment changes the higher you go. The book begins at the base of the mountain where trees are abundant and little bears romp, and goes all the way past the tree line to where there is only snow and insects. It is written in rhyme and accompanied with attractive illustrations, giving an overall charming presentation. The book combines the feel of a vibrant picture book with scientific information. The back of the book includes information about mountain ecosystems and contains sections such as Mountain to Arctic Pole Map Comparison, Above or Below the Tree Line Game, and Match the Animals. Additional teaching activities and interactive quizzes are available on the publisher's website. The book is perfect for children to learn about mountain ecosystems. It can be used in science units and in celebration of Earth Day. Because of the rhyming text and charming illustrations, the book can also be used in reading classes. 2010, Sylvan Dell Publishing, $8.95. Ages 5 to 10. Reviewer: Carollyne Hutter (Children's Literature).
ISBN: 9781607180739
Added 5/25/11
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