The Long and Short Tale of Colo and Ruff by Diane Lang with illustrations by Laurie
Allen Klein uses a fictional story as means of providing readers with basic
information about a variety of animals in a compare and contrast format.
Colo, a
young cougar, relies on her long tail for balance and can jump great distances.
Her friend Ruff, a bobcat cub, has a short tail and can’t keep up and worries
that there is something wrong. Together the friends set out to see if there is
a better tail for Ruff. In the process they discover a lizard, Redtail hawk,
skunk, and gopher and those encounters lead Ruff to an important realization.
Following
the story text is a Creative Minds section with multiple activities to
reinforce understanding of the content.
Cat
Comparisons charts comparative facts about cougars, bobcats, and housecats.
Cat Maps
illustrates and describes the habitat and range of North America’s bobcats,
ocelots, cougars and lynxes.
Tail
Adaptations discusses the physical adaptations that influence balance, turning
speed and steering, and defense.
Match
the Tail challenges readers to pair pictures of tails with their animals.
The book identifies
an audience of ages 5-9. Young readers will enjoy the strong visual impact of
the images and benefit from reading with an adult or older sibling.
The text was fact-checked
by Animal Program Specialist from the Columbus Zoo. Most double-page spreads
contain brief paw-print highlighted call-outs with additional information.
Additional
Educational Resources are available at:
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