Animal Database
http://www.kidsbiology.com/animals-for-children.php?animal=Sloth%20Bear
Genre: Informational
Format: Database
Age Recommendation: 6-12 years
If one word could describe the animal database featured on KidsBiology.com, "simple" would be that word. Kids are supplied with a list of animal types to choose from, such as "bears," "flying lemurs and tree shrews," "hippos and pigs," and "marsupials." Whereas these animal types don't follow the typical classification pattern of kingdom, phylum, class, etc., I daresay that this type of search is much simpler for children to use in comparison. Once children have chosen the type of animal they're looking for, they choose from a list within that type. For example, the bear type includes the American black bear, Asiatic black bear, grizzly bear, polar bear, sloth bear, spectacled bear, and sun bear. Then follows the disappointment. Each animal has a mere paragraph written about it. The American black bear, for example, merely states that "These bears are often found in national parks, where they raid campsites for food. They have a keen sense of smell, and usually hunt at night. They are smaller and less dangerous than their brown bear cousins." Accompanying each animal is also a chart which includes the animal's name, class, what it eats, and where it lives. That is the extent of the information provided within this database. Many of the informational paragraphs were poorly structured, meaning that I found several grammatical mistakes throughout the site. Overall, the animal database is a wonderful concept, and it's great if kids want nothing more than basic information, but there is room for much improvement. The inclusion of more information would make this database ninety times better, and would then prove itself to be a great resource for kids as they research animals for school. Including more than one picture of each animal and maybe even an accompanying video would also do strides for this site. So now comes the big question: would I recommend this site? The answer is yes. It's simple design is sure to satisfy young children's curiosity, but I wouldn't recommend it for any purposes other than that. I therefore wouldn't recommend it to teachers as a resource, but would consider it something valuable for parents and librarians to utilize. I would recommend this database for kids ages 6-12, although ages above 10 are a bit of a stretch as older children will no doubt desire more in-depth information.
*No reviews could be found for this database.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
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