About the Book
GQ GQ. Where are You? Adventures of a Gambel's Quail by Sharon I. Ritt follows a curious Gambel's quail as he leaves home to look for playmates and explore the Sonoran Desert of southern Arizona. GQ sees many interesting plants and animals on his journey, but as night falls, he decides the best place to be is home.
A CD is included with each book that includes the author's voice reading the story and singing it as well with musical accompaniment. This provides children of various ages the opportunity to experience the story in different ways. The book also features an illustrated non-fiction section which details some of the plants and animals that appear in the story. A special section following the story features activity ideas for home and school.
About the Author :
Sharon I. Ritt received her doctorate in curriculum K-12 at Northern Arizona University. She has taught in elementary school Title I reading programs and in the Northern Arizona University Center for Excellence in Education. After moving to southern Arizona, Sharon taught in the ESL programs in Fountain Hills and Scottsdale. She is currently a storyteller/singer at the Desert Foothills Library in Cave Creek and continues to teach Language Arts workshops in Arizona and around the United States.
Born in Czechoslovakia, Nadia Komorova studied at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, Slovakia, where she also received instruction in classical piano, the music of which continues to fill her studio as she creates her paintings. Nadia uses any traditional medium, as well as the digital approach in her work. She has illustrated several children's titles for Five Star Publications, Inc., including Horrifa, The Moon Saw it All, and Alfie's Bark Mitzvah.
Review :
"Many children's picture books use fanciful tales of talking animals or make-believe worlds to inspire children, but GQ GQ. Where Are You? is inspiring with real information about a colorful bird species, the Gambel's quail, and the curious explorations of one young bird. The book follows Georgy's explorations through his home in the Sonoran Desert on one fine day, including the foods he snacks on, the animal playmates he meets and the predators and other threats he needs to avoid. Though the text is simple and its rhythmic meter can be repetitive and awkward for simple reading, the vocabulary is appropriate to young readers without oversimplifying the necessary context.
Author Sharon I. Ritt is not only a former elementary teacher with extensive reading program experience, but she is also an accomplished storyteller and singer. She brings those skills to great use with the book's accompanying CD, which includes tracks for both a read-a-long and sing-a-long version of the story. The read-a-long track has no background noise other than a few quail calls, but there is a basic tone to indicate the proper time to turn pages. The sing-a-long track features a basic but lovely piano tune and the book sung to the tune of "Fr�re Jacques" - an ideal choice that is familiar to young readers and can encourage them to follow along in a fun and engaging way. Brief introductory and conclusion tracks are also part of the CD, but the total run time of all four tracks is just 10 minutes, so young readers do not get distracted or lost.
The book's most remarkable feature is how it goes far beyond GQ's simple story. Pages 27-33 are filled with supplementary information about the native desert plants and wildlife mentioned in the book, including fun trivia and more detail than is part of the basic story. The most extensive information is provided about Gambel's quail and includes details about the species' dimorphic plumage and field marks, general behavior, nesting preferences, diet choices and even how the birds got their unique name.
In addition to expanded information, a short section of suggested activities offers ways parents or teachers can encourage young readers to learn more about Gambel's quail and other desert plants and animals. A variety of activities are suggested and include options for writing, drawing, research and other educational skills.
The book's illustrations have a soft, cuddly focus and are brightly colorful, ideal to capture the interest and imagination of young readers. The details are accurate and paint a complete picture of the various desert scenes, without being overwhelming or distracting. Additional desert birds are also pictured throughout the story, including the white-winged dove, northern cardinals and the Bullock's oriole, though no supplemental information for those species is included in the reference section and their full names are not mentioned in the text.
Many children's picture books are entertaining, but few are richly informative. GQ, GQ. Where Are You? is both, with a sweet story of a young quail, supplemental information about the Sonoran Desert, colorful illustrations and suggested activities for further enrichment. This charming book should have a place of honor on any young reader's bookshelf and is sure to help inspire their interest in all birds."
--MELISSA MAYNTZ, ABOUT.COM GUIDE TO BIRDING AND WILD BIRDS
GQ GQ. Where Are You? Adventures of a Gambel's Quail is a fun story about the day in the life of a curious young quail named Georgy, better known as GQ. My son loves that this little guy has a nickname! GQ is a young quail that loves to explore the Sonoran Desert of southern Arizona. Throughout this story, young GQ comes across many other plants and animals that live in the desert. Since my children are just as curious as young GQ, I was thrilled to discover this book has a non-fiction section loaded with detailed descriptions about several of the animals and plants in the story. The first time we read GQ GQ. Where Are You? Adventures of a Gambel's Quail, my 5-year-old immediately asked me if coyotes really live in the desert. Thanks to the paragraph in the back of this book about the coyote, I was able to give my son a detailed and well-informed answer!
The non-fiction section of this book is a great resource for parents and I wish more authors would include facts and activities related to their stories. GQ GQ. Where Are You? Adventures of a Gambel's Quail is fun book for any child but the bonus features in this book provide you with fun activities you can try at home or in school if you home school or are a teacher!
Author Sharon Ritt also included a bonus CD with her book, GQ GQ. Where Are You? Adventures of a Gambel's Quail. This CD includes a narration of the story by Sharon Ritt as well as a sing-along version to the tune of "Fr�re Jacques" with musical accompaniment. The features on this CD allow for my children to experience this book in many different ways. The CD encourages children to explore the book independently. I find books that come with a CD to be great for road trips. Since I can't really read to my kids in the car, the CD allows for them to hold the book and follow along to the narrator reading to them. We especially like to "sing" this story to the tune of "Fr�re Jacques." We do a lot of traveling during the summer months so this book has gone on quite a few road trips already!
--The Children's Nook
"This is by far my favorite children's book to date. I am so impressed by how interactive the story is with the accompanying CD. Not only is there a track of the author's narration, but she also does a sing-along, and my daughter's can't get enough. I haven't been able to get the book back from them since it arrived in the mail. Because of these wonderful options, which allows kids to enjoy the book in more than just one way, we decided the girls would sing for you today, instead of having me read the book. Before we get to the cuteness, I want to mention another unique and truly beneficial quality about this book. The plants and animals that GQ encounters have a small corresponding paragraph of information in the back of the book. If your child doesn't know what a cholla is, that's OK because the knowledge is at your fingertips. My children love books that not only have a great story and pretty pictures, but teach them something in the process. This book provides it all! The illustrations are stunning. Everything looks so real and vibrant, like you are actually on an adventure with GQ in the desert, which keeps the attention of everyone reading it. Brilliant job to both the author and the illustrator!"
--Toni, My Book Addiction
GQ GQ. Where are You?
GQ, a curious Gambel's quail, is on a search for playmates in the Sonoran Desert of southern Arizona. GQ meets some of the interesting animals that live in the desert as he continues on his adventure, but he soon decides the best place to be is home. The gorgeous illustrations and additional illustrated glossary help bring the desert ecosystem to life. Included is a CD that has the author's narration as well as a sing-along version of the book. Picture book.
--Minnesota Parent
DESERT STORY FEATURES FAMILIAR CHARACTER
By Daniel Friedman - March 27, 2013
Plenty of children's books rely on animals acting like humans, dressing in clothes and portraying human traits to tell the story, but sometimes animals can be animals.
Arizona author, Sharon I. Ritt's book, GQ GQ, Where are you? (Little Five Star, 2013) is about a Gambel's quail, going about his day in the Sonoran desert. His name is Georgy, though he goes by GQ. So yes he has a human name, which I'm glad is not Quigley Quail as one of my pet peeves is alliterative animal names in children's books.
The best thing about this book for Valley children is seeing and hearing GQ on a regular basis since Gambel's quail are ubiquitous in the Valley and they make themselves heard, calling to one another to keep track of the covey or to give warning.
The book narrates GQ's day in the desert as he encounters other animals and plants. The language is simple and often the second line on the page repeats, much like the quail calling out to the covey.
The illustrations by Nadia Komorova are suitably cute, because, let's face it, Bambel's quail are cute animals with their round bodies and dashing plume on top of their heads. The plants and animals of our desert are accurately drawn and kids will get to see in real life what they see in the book; A nice connection between literature and nature.
The story is written simply and perfect for a beginning reader or as read aloud. The end of the book has a few pages describing desert plants and animals, The young kids for whom this book is written will need the descriptive text read to them, but as they get older they'll be able to enjoy the story again on their own and read the descriptive text as well.
The book comes with a CD to sing the story with music. I didn't have the CD since the book is just a review copy but you can hear an excerpt on the book's website.
--Raising Arizona Kids Magazine
