Carmen Bredeson

Grades 4-6

Students who enjoy a high degree of yuck will love this series. Life in the Middle Ages was a dirty business, and this title doesn't pull any punches when it comes to describing poop in the streets, filthy water, leprosy, leeches, and plagues. As kids get plenty of the "EWWWW" factor, they'll be picking up a surprising amount of information about why diseases were so rampant, which treatments worked and which made patients worse, and how the plague actually helped peasants demand show more better conditions. And of course, learning about the barber's role as doctor and amputator (from the book: the red and white striped poles we see today are a carryover from barber surgeons advertising their work by wrapping bloody rags around a pole). Who knew? show less

Last week we had a school wide unit study on Louisiana, concluding with "Louisiana Day" on Friday wherein students rotated to four centers around campus. We had Zydeco music with square dancing, second-line handkerchief decorating, a scavenger hunt with fun facts about LA, and our very own Jackson Square complete with caricature drawings of classmates. In Jackson Square each grade level was responsible for a table display and Kindergarten had Louisiana wildlife. We made a life-size diorama show more out of our water/sand table by filling it with mud to make a swamp. The boys created animals to place inside the swamp and we studied these animals all week.

In preparation for Louisiana Day, I went to our school library to check-out our nonfiction collection. The first book I chose was Fun Facts About Alligators by Carmen Bredeson. This book is a nice little elementary level book that provides facts about alligators for young readers. Each page contains a question with an explanation following. My favorite pages explored the difference between a crocodile and an alligator, and provided a great compare/contrast discussion for our class. The photographs throughout the book were excellent and my boys commented on them. I was excited when one student asked me to check the back of the book to see who took the pictures since it wasn't provided on the cover. Another exciting aspect was that most of the boys are reading on this level or higher, so I have been able to call guest readers to come up and read the page for us. They love doing this, and this book was perfect for such an activity. show less

Regardless of where one lives in the country, it's probable that at least several of these beautifully photographed birds will look familiar - House Sparrow, Robin, Cardinal and Crow are just a few of the nine featured birds. A photograph of each bird is on the left side, with a simple, one page "chapter," on the facing page,

"Barn Swallow
These birds zip through the air.
They catch bugs while they fly.
Barn swallows have long tails.
Their tails look like the letter V."


That's it! Short and show more simple - all that a young one needs to know.

Each concludes with "Read More," "Web Sites," "Index," as well as the book's Guided Reading Level and word count.

I don't think these are the perfect books for sharing with a large group, but I would definitely have wanted them at home when my children were small. At approximately 7"x 6", these simple nonfiction books are perfect for little hands and invite backyard and neighborhood discovery.

This series should inspire budding naturalists (and their parents!) to get outside and discover.
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Poison Dart Frogs are one of my favorite animals. This is a great introduction to the world of Poison Dart Frogs. With brief text, just enough to get the point across and colorful up-close pictures that draw readers eyes in and promote interest in this amazing animal.

Where the frogs live, how they are poisonous, how they get around and how they reproduce are established. This book will be sure to stimulate interest in learning more about Poison Dart frogs.

This book was provided for free in show more return for an honest review. show less