Celebrate Nonfiction

Exploring the Joy of Nonfiction Reading and Writing

Friday Fun: A Perfect Pair

The Salamander Room by Anne Mazer + A Place for Frogs by Melissa Stewart
The Salamander Room is a gentle tale with an important message. A boy finds a salamander in the woods and asks his mom if he can keep him. Instead of saying “no,” she asks him questions that require him to think about what the salamander needs to survive and, ultimately, to realize on his own that he cannot create an adequate home for the salamander in his bedroom. Lush, shadowy paintings perfectly capture the mood of the boy’s increasingly elaborate plans for transforming his room into a suitable habitat for the little amphibian.


Clearly written and richly illustrated, A Place for Frogs provides a gentle introduction to the environmental hazards frogs face and promotes environmental stewardship by providing concrete examples of how scientists and citizens are working together to protect frogs and their habitats. Pointers on how youngsters can help frogs in their area are included.

Discussion QuestionsAsk students what the books have in common. [They are about protecting amphibians and their habitats.]

How are the books different? [One is a story with people as characters. The other provides information about how people’s actions can help and harm frogs.]

Discuss what makes one book fiction and one nonfiction.

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