In this engaging nonfiction picture book, five young friends --- Nick,
Yulee, Pedro, Sally and Martin --- spend the day traveling around their
neighborhood and participating in activities designed to raise money for
their local library. Along the way, they learn about the people and
places that make up their community and what it means to be a part of
one. A map opens the story, with each of the places the children will be
visiting labeled, including the gas station, retirement home, school,
police station, soccer field, community garden and, of course, the
library! Then each of the following spreads features a different
location, detailed in a bright, busy illustration. Illustration captions
expand the locations' connections to the concept of community. For
example, when they stop at a yard sale, the caption reads, "Donating
means you give something to help a good cause. You can donate money,
things or your time." In some cases, readers are asked to find things or
people within the illustrations, which adds an interactive experience.
Author and illustrator Scot Ritchie has created a rich resource for
social studies lessons on places, roles and jobs within a community, and
what it takes to be a responsible citizen. But there is also the
potential here for even broader classroom discussions, including about
the economy of a community, geography and mapping, and how the character
education concepts of cooperation, responsibility and teamwork apply.
The author has also included step-by-step instructions for a
puzzle-making project.
