Written By: Madeleine Dunphy
Illustrated by: Wayne McLoughlin
For Ages: 4 years and up
Language: English
Topics Covered: Pint-Sized Professor, Ecosystems, Wildlife, Wetlands, Life Cycle, Predator, Prey.
Summary:
Here is the Wetland is a book in a series about different ecosystems and places. It’s a classic, I definitely remember being a kid and reading this series (particularly the Coral Reef book) in school!
The book text is fun in the way that it builds on itself, (much like my favorite camp songs) making the last page a repeat of the entire book and reinforcing the complexity of the ecosystem. The illustrations are incredibly lifelike and I love the additional information about the freshwater marsh pictured in the book. Books like this showcase the diversity of wildlife that can be found in these places, in a way that kids might not consider. When I look at the marsh across the street, it doesn’t exactly appear to be teeming with critters, but that’s not true! Once the reader can have a peek underwater we see how many pieces live together in (somewhat) harmony to create a murky, muddy, marsh! This book would be perfect to pair with other books about the environment or climate change, explaining how building and development can impact all of the unique types of wetlands.
This book was kindly sent to us by Web of Life Children’s Books, but all opinions are my own!


Madeleine Dunphy is an educational consultant who teaches children about endangered environments. She has studied and visited many of the world’s ecosystems, and was inspired to write books about our world’s great diversity of life. She lives in Oakland, California with her husband, Chris, and their daughter, Gwendolyn.

Wayne McLoughlin
Since childhood, Wayne McLoughlin had a love of the outdoors that informed both his professional works and leisure-time activities. Wayne illustrated a wide variety of children’s fiction and nonfiction including the bestselling Warrior series by Erin Hunter. Wayne died in 2015. To find out more about Wayne’s beautiful books and illustrations visit www.blueloonfinearts.com