Mother’s Day is next Sunday—a perfect time to celebrate the bond between mothers and their babies in the natural world. Fran Hodgkins does just that in her book If You Were My Baby: A Wildlife Lullaby.  You’ve been introduced to some of these mothers during the past month through the clues in the “Who Am I?” mystery contest. They’ve included a wolf, squirrel, bison, as well as last week’s mom—an opossum.

I always find it interesting to know how authors get their book ideas. Fran’s book grew out of a lifetime of love for wild creatures. She says that her mother taught her “how to watch and how to really see the squirrels, jays, sparrows, bugs, and worms….” One of her earliest memories was watching a garden spider build a web in her tire swing. She says, “I seem to remember staying put for hours just to see what would happen as the spider worked.”

When Fran became a mother, she shared her love of “watching and seeing” animals with her daughter, Rosie. “Rosie inspired the book through her questions about nature and animals,” Fran says. If You Were My Baby is the result of three generations of women nature lovers!

Which animals are the “best” and “worst” mothers? National Geographic features three short videos of their choices.

Inside: Creative Non-Fiction

Fran calls her writing “creative non-fiction because the facts are there but they don’t hit you over the head.” Have your students choose an animal and write their own creative non-fiction short story. Begin with the facts and then have them add their imaginations to present the facts in an interesting way. Good sources for animal facts include Creature Features on the National Geographic site and Ranger Rick (magazine or for iPad).

Outside: Schoolyard Homes

Have student pairs search the schoolyard for nests, spider webs, piles of rocks, holes in trees, and other places animals make their homes. They can use this Animal Homes print out from National Wildlife Federation to check off the homes they find. Ask them to draw any additional homes they find on the back of the page, along with drawings of animals or other interesting observations.

More Facts and Fun about Animals

• Watch interesting wild animal behavior via the San Diego Zoo’s Animal Cams and Videos.
• Read what animal kids might say to their wonderful mothers at “Thanks Mom.”
• Kids will have fun acting like an animal when they play the Animal Imitation Game from National Wildlife Federation.
• Read the book Do Animals Have Feelings, Too? by David Rice. Then  discuss the animal behaviors that demonstrate various feelings.