Author/Illustrator: Jacqueline Davies
Plot Summary: A humorous story about the first U.S. census complete with historical details and engaging, detailed pictures. With paper and ink scarce, horses as the only means of transportation, and no way to communicate the purpose of the task, the complexity of counting people in the new nation was not easy and the job, a thankless one.
Comments: A Junior Library Guild Selection which are usually interesting titles.
Extensions:
1. Third grade students will take a census of their classroom, classes in their grade, or school building. They will come up with a form including the information they want to know about each person. They will use a program such as Graph Club or a spreadsheet to tabulate the data.
2. Students will learn about the real U.S. Census which is coming up in 2010. They will see the questionnaires that are sent to households to better understand what the government wants to know and why.
3. Students will write about why the Census is important; why it is important for the government to know how many people live in a given State or area.
Themes/keywords: demographic surveys, Vermont history, United States, Humorous stories, Census
Age/Reading Level: Interest level - K-3; Reading Level - ATOS-3.7(Follett - 2.4); Lexile - 660
Standards:
SS2E2 The student will identify ways in which goods and services are allocated (by price; majority rule; contests; force; sharing; lottery; command; first-come, first-served; personal characteristics; and others).
SS3CG1 The student will explain the importance of the basic principles that provide the foundation of a republican form of government.
SS3E2 The student will explain that governments provide certain types of goods and services in a market economy, and pay for these through taxes and will describe services such as schools, libraries, roads, police/fire protection, and military.
Publisher's Info: Alfred A. Knopf, New York. 2009
ISBN-13: 978-0-375-93909-9
ISBN-10: 0-375-93909-1
Awards/Review Sources:
Wilson's Children 07/01/09 | School Library Journal starred 03/01/09 |
| Booklist 02/15/09 | Horn Book 05/01/09 |
| Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books 07/01/09 | Kirkus Review 03/01/09 |
| Library Media Connection 08/01/09 |
Genre/Dewey: Fiction; Easy/Everybody
Websites:
Website for the 2010 Census - http://2010.census.gov/2010census/
Website for the U.S. Census Bureau - http://www.census.gov/
Notes for Booktalk:
Vocabulary: saddlebag, tallyman, conscription, taxes, widow, ordinary, quill,
Comments