Fur and Feathers

When Sophia dreams that howling winds whisk the fur and feathers right off her animal friends, she shares some of her clothes with them. But her clothing doesn’t work well for the animals. Seeing their disappointment, she offers to sew each one the “right” coat. Animals line up to explain what they need and why. Polar Bear needs white fur to stay warm and hide in the snow. Fish needs scales, but with slime. Snake needs scales too, but dry ones. And how will Sophia make a prickly coat for Porcupine? The award-winning team of Halfmann and Klein (Little Skink’s Tail) reunite to bring animal coverings (and classification) to life in an imaginative way. Sophia’s friends include Duck, Fish, Frog, Ladybug, Polar Bear, Porcupine, Snail, and Snake. The For Creative Minds educational section includes: Scientific Classification, Skin Coverings, and Animal Classification. Additional Teaching Activities and Interactive Quizzes are available on the Sylvan Dell Publishing website.

Janet Halfmann is the award-winning author of more than thirty children’s books, both fiction and nonfiction. Recent titles include Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea; Good Night, Little Sea Otter; Little Black Ant on Park Street; and Seven Miles to Freedom: The Robert Smalls Story. Janet is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Before becoming a children’s author, Janet was a daily newspaper reporter, children’s magazine editor, and a creator of coloring and activity books for Golden Books. She is the mother of four and the grandmother of four. When Janet isn’t writing, she enjoys gardening, exploring nature, visiting living-history museums, and spending time with her family. She grew up on a farm in Michigan and now lives in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Laurie Allen Klein has been a freelance artist for two decades. Over the last several years, she has worked as the on-staff artist for a marine park, where she does everything from painting life-size sea animal murals, to illustrating children's activity books. In addition to Furs and Feathers (color pencil, water-color, acrylic paint wash, and gesso), Laurie illustrated Where Should Turtle Be? (Prisma color pencil and acrylic paint), the award-winning Little Skink's Tail (acrylic paint), and If a Dolphin Were a Fish (colored pencils) for Sylvan Dell. Laurie lives in Florida.