Back to             
2005
finalists.

2005 Hackmatack

Children's Choice Book Award/Prix littéraire - le choix de jeunes

A polar bear mother gives birth while hibernating, then goes back to sleep for another two months. A male seahorse carries a female's eggs in a pouch until they are ready to hatch. Whether by giving birth, protecting their young or teaching them survival skills, animals produce and care for their babies in some extraordinary ways.

Born and raised in Mississauga, Ontario, Pamela Hickman lives in Canning, Nova Scotia. She is the author of numerous pictures books, including Animals in Motion: How Animals Swim, Jump, Slither and Glide, Animal Senses. How Animals See, Hear, Taste, Smell and Feel, In the Woods, The Jumbo Book of Nature Science and five books in Kids Can Press's My First Look series. Her books have been nominated before: At the Seashore for the 2000 and Animals Eating: How Animals Chomp, Chew, Slurp and Swallow for the 2003 Hackmatack Award.

Thematic Links

• Baby animals
• Motherhood, caring for the young
• Fertilization and birth
• Life cycles
• Habitats

Suggested Activities

• Raise mice or gerbils and study how to care for them.
• Visit a farm or wildlife park where recent babies have been born.
• Compare your life to a chosen animal's life. What are the similarities and differences?
• Have a Pet Show at your school or library. Show and tell how you take care of your pet.
• Make a chart of the life cycle of an animal.