Maps are about far more than getting from a to b. Maps can help children understand and explore both their everyday environment and faraway places. With an appealing search-and-find technique, Follow That Map! is an interactive picture book that explains and demonstrates key mapping concepts. Kids will enjoy following Sally and her friends as they search for Max and Ollie, a mischievous dog and cat on the lam from the backyard. Sally and friends take an imaginative trip through the neighborhood, city and country, around the world and beyond.
Kids can join in the search for Max and Ollie, who are hiding somewhere in every map. An activity at the end of the book shows children how to make a map of their bedroom.
Learning about buildings and how they are constructed has never been so much fun. This gem of a book introduces young readers to basic construction concepts through the eyes of five friends keen on building a doghouse for their pet pooch, Max. To find out more about the task, Yulee, Martin, Nick, Sally and Pedro head to the library, where they learn about foundations, beams, frames and other building fundamentals. Fun facts, bright illustrations and comic-book-style discussions among the characters add to the mix. An activity at the end of the book invites readers to make their own mini doghouse out of marshmallows, paper, glue and craft sticks.
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.
It's the day of the first salmon ceremony, and P'ésk'a is excited to celebrate. His community, the Sts'ailes people, give thanks to the river and the salmon it brings by commemorating the first salmon of the season.
Framed as an exploration of what life was like one thousand years ago, P'ésk'a and the First Salmon Ceremony describes the customs of the Sts'ailes people, an Indigenous group who have lived on what is now the Harrison River in British Columbia for the last 10,000 years. Includes an introductory letter from Chief William Charlie, an illustrated afterword and a glossary.
In this perfect, kid-friendly introduction to the concept of family heritage, the five friends from Scot Ritchie's popular series participate in a Heritage Festival at their school.
Today is a big day for the five friends. Their class is hosting a Heritage Festival to celebrate the customs and traditions of people from all over the world. Martin, Sally, Pedro, Nick and Yulee are best friends, and they each have their own heritage. Martin's mom was born in Japan, and his dad's family is from India. Sally is Haida, one of the Indigenous peoples in the Pacific Northwest. Pedro is from Brazil, Yulee is from Egypt and Nick's ancestors were Scandinavian. The friends have so much to share with each other! They discover the many ways they're alike and also what makes them unique. Which makes everyone feel like they belong!
Part of Scot Ritchie's popular and award-winning Exploring Our Community series, this picture book is a perfect introduction to the concept of family heritage. It sensitively explores aspects of diverse cultures that include music, food, language, traditions, stories, crafts, clothing and games, teaching readers to value differences and to respect the customs and beliefs of others. It also encourages children to learn about their own heritage, and offers instructions for a heritage craft project. Boxes on the pages provide background information on the cultural items being shared. Comprehensive yet entertaining, with a glossary in the back, this is an excellent teaching tool for social studies units on heritage and identity, prompting children to consider who they are, and who came before them.
Part of the popular Exploring Our Community series, here's the perfect child-friendly introduction to mindfulness.
Friends Yulee, Nick, Martin and Sally are at Pedro's house for a sleepover. Pedro is moving in a few days, and he's been feeling both sad about leaving his old house and worried he won't be happy in his new one. To try to help Pedro feel better, his mom decides to teach the five friends about mindfulness, which is, as she describes it, being aware of what is happening right now. As the children practice focusing on their bodies, using their senses, paying attention to their feelings and accepting life as it happens, Pedro learns there are many ways to manage the stress of his upcoming move.
As with all the titles in the popular Exploring Our Community series, award-winning author Scot Ritchie tells an engaging story about five culturally diverse friends while also providing comprehensive factual information on each spread. Fun mindfulness activities follow the story. Studies have shown the many benefits of mindfulness for young children -- from increased attention and self-control to decreased stress and disruptive behavior -- and teachers are using it more and more in the classroom. By learning how to incorporate mindfulness into their lives, children gain lifelong coping skills they can use to stay physically and mentally healthy. All the facts in the book have been reviewed by a mindfulness expert.
From award-winning author and illustrator Scot Ritchie comes this lively look at the journey of a West Coast tugboat towing a log boom, as seen through the eyes of a young boy.
I'm helping Dad on the tugboat. We're going to tow a log boom to the sawmill on the river... I look out for ferries and other boats in the harbor... Then I see it -- a deadhead!
Follow a child and his father through their workday on a tugboat on the West Coast as they watch a log boom being made, then tow it to a mill upriver. The pair must steer clear of other ships, race against the tide and weather a storm along the way.
Told from a child's perspective, this fun, accessible picture book explores the key role of a tugboat in the logging process. As explained in the author's note, the story is inspired by Scot Ritchie's childhood memories of seeing tugs and log booms off the coast of Vancouver, British Columbia, with additional information provided in the note about forestry on the West Coast today.
Key Text Features
author's note
diagrams
glossary
illustrations
facts
map
speech bubbles
writing inspiration
It's the day of the first salmon ceremony, and P'ésk'a is excited to celebrate. His community, the Sts'ailes people, give thanks to the river and the salmon it brings by commemorating the first salmon of the season.
Framed as an exploration of what life was like one thousand years ago, P'ésk'a and the First Salmon Ceremony describes the customs of the Sts'ailes people, an Indigenous group who have lived on what is now the Harrison River in British Columbia for the last 10,000 years. Includes an introductory letter from Chief William Charlie, an illustrated afterword and a glossary.
Pedro, Nick, Yulee, Sally and Martin are buzzing with excitement today! The five friends are visiting Martin's neighbor, Mr. Cardinal. He keeps beehives in his backyard, and he's offered to show them how honeybees live. As the kids help Mr. Cardinal with his work, he explains how bees feed and pollinate, what happens inside their colony, how they build their hives and even why they like to dance! He also tells the friends why some bee populations are in trouble and what people can do to help. And the perfect sweet ending to the day? Honey, of course! These children are sure to remember: it's best to bee a friend to the bees of the world!
This playful book mixes narration, facts and appealing illustrations to introduce young children to why the world needs bees, and how people can help them thrive. It's part of the critically acclaimed Exploring Our Community series from award-winning author and illustrator Scot Ritchie, which features the same five culturally diverse characters throughout. Comprehensive yet entertaining, the book encourages children to look closer at the natural world around them, including in cities, and raises their awareness about how each person can do something to help the environment. It aligns perfectly with the early science curriculum, particularly sustainability and stewardship, and understanding life systems. Rounding out the information in the story are a full bee illustration with the parts identified, a glossary and two activities that can be done at home or in school.
Pedro, Yulee, Nick, Sally and Martin are excited! Tomorrow their swim team, the Flying Sharks, will be competing in the school meet. They've been working hard to train their bodies and minds in order to swim their best. Readers follow along as the team has one last practice with their coach at the neighborhood pool. Then it's off to the races on the big day! Along the way, the friends discover the benefits of physical fitness and learn about many important aspects of active, healthy living, such as:
As with all the titles in this nonfiction picture book series from award-winning Scot Ritchie, there's a lot of information presented here in a fun, engaging and colorful style. This introduction to physical and health education encourages children to form positive lifelong habits by emphasizing how physical fitness can be fun, social and rewarding. It's a great resource for the classroom concepts of learning on the move and active academics, which incorporate physical activities into everyday lessons. The book contains a table of contents, an index, a glossary of terms and a spread with ideas for active play.
When Federica invites the animals from the park back to her house, chaos ensues!
Federica's busy family can't keep their house clean! To get away from the buzzy, buggy mess, she escapes to the peaceful park where she can spend time with her animal friends...which gives her an idea.
She brings home sheep and goats, spiders and dragonflies, a toad, an owl, and some raccoons. Then she takes her family to the park for a picnic, and while they're gone, the animals chomp the overgrown grass in the backyard, eat the garbage and catch the pesky bugs overrunning the house. After a peaceful afternoon at the park, Federica's family comes home to a clean house -- and raccoons doing the dishes!
Scot Ritchie's warm art and original story bring a fresh perspective to the busy-family challenge of keeping the house clean, while featuring a clever and resourceful young girl who knows that, sometimes, letting nature back into our lives is the best answer.
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.3
With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.7
With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.3
Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events
Working with his dad in the park, Owen gets to do his favorite job all by himself. First, he clears the park of picnickers, checkers players, sleepy dogs and geese, and then the magic happens ...
It's a busy morning in the park. All along the boulevard, families are picnicking and people are napping, playing checkers and reading on the grass. But Owen and his dad are hard at work, raking and mowing the grass. And today, Owen gets to do the best job all on his own. With his dad's encouragement, Owen gathers his courage and goes around to everyone in the park. He tells the families, the checkers players and the readers what he has to do, and they rush off. Finally, when the park is empty, it is the moment Owen has been waiting for. He turns the tap for the sprinkler system, and water cascades over the trees and flower beds.
In creating this book, Scot Ritchie was inspired by his trip to the beautiful Tiergarten park in Berlin. Owen at the Park is a sweet story illuminating the small pleasures in everyday life and the excitement of a child taking on new responsibilities.
Key Text Features
author's note
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.3
Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.3
Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
A free-spirited picture book with a message about the importance of wild spaces.
See below for English description.
Nous, les êtres humains, habitons un seul monde, n'avons qu'un seul soleil et qu'une seule lune, mais nous sommes tous différents. Tout le monde a une histoire différente. Quel meilleur moyen de le montrer et d'en être fier que d'organiser un festival sur l'héritage? Aidez cinq amis à préparer une fête d'école où seront célébrées les coutumes et les traditions de différentes cultures autour du monde.
Scot Ritchie, auteur-illustrateur récompensé, encourage les enfants à s'intéresser à l'histoire et à la culture de leur famille à l'aide de cet album inspirant et instructif. Comprend un glossaire et des instructions pour fabriquer une boîte sur l'héritage de sa famille.
We belong to one world, one sun, and one moon, but this planet is filled with people from all sorts of different backgrounds. Look around -- everyone has a different story. What better way to show that than a heritage festival? Join five friends as they prepare for a school event where they can celebrate the customs and traditions of people from all over the world.
Award-winning author and illustrator Scot Ritchie brings us this inspiring and insightful picture book that prompts readers to dive deeper into their family story and culture. It also includes a glossary and instructions on how to make a heritage box.
Original title: See Where We Come From!: A First Book of Family Heritage