Serengeti: Plains of Grass

Award-winning science poetry master Leslie Bulion presents a lyrical salute to Africa’s Serengeti Plain, one of the most spectacular and productive ecosystems on Earth.

Leslie Bulion, a virtuoso science poet, has created a portrait of the rainy season on East Africa’s southern Serengeti Plain, offering young readers a compelling look at an ecosystem in motion.

Using a series of interconnected verses inspired by an East African Swahili poem form—the utendi—Bulion’s cadences and rhythmic lines mimic the web of life in the Serengeti, following the great migration of wildebeest, zebras, and others into and then out of the vast short-grass plain.

Lush, evocative gouache illustrations by Becca Stadtlander showcase the grandeur of this immense and complex ecosystem and provide close-up details of its wildlife inhabitants. Scientific notes on each spread and comprehensive back matter material offer more specifics. This, paired with Bulion’s brilliant poetic form, make the book ideal for cross-curricular learning.

Leslie Bulion has graduate degrees in oceanography and social work. She has written parenting and education articles and is the author of several children's books.

 

 Becca Stadtlander was born and raised in Kentucky. She attended the Maryland Institute College of Art, where she earned a BFA in Illustration. She has illustrated a number of children's picture books, including Sleep Tight Farm, The Greatest Table, and On Wings of Words

★ "The Serengeti comes to life in all its color and glory through illuminating verse, matter-of-fact narrative, and captivating illustration. Bulion once again makes science accessible and imaginative. . . . Stadtlander's renderings embody the expanse through spectacular colors, shading, and brushwork. . . . A STEAM book in the truest sense as it -inspires curiosity through art and science."

"Bulion presents a vibrant picture of Tanzania's Serengeti Plain and the animals and plants that reside there, employing lilting half-rhyme quatrains. . . . Rich gouache and pastel art by Stadtlander provides atmosphere through vintage-inflected depictions of wildlife and sweeping landscapes portraying the plains at different times of day and year. A reverent and educational portrait. . . ."