Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Welcome to Mayberry, err... Heflin


Saturday And Teacakes
Written by Lester Laminack
Illustrated by Chris Soentpiet
Peachtree Publishing, 2004
29 pages
Nonfiction

            Lester Laminack visited my son’s school last year to talk about his local children’s books he had written and to share some of his books with them.  When I found his book at the library, I was very excited to get to read the book my son had come home talking all about last year.  To make it even better, Mrs. Jones did a lesson plan using the book.  This book is about Lester and his life growing up in Heflin, Alabama.  He talks about his Saturdays spent with his Grandmother and what they do all day.  This book is heavy in Southern culture and language so grab some sweet tea, sit on the porch, and read a while.

            The realistic cartoon illustrations are done in watercolor on 100 percent ray acid-free paper.  They are beautiful and look as if they were paintings hanging on the wall of some art gallery.  The illustrations truly depict a warm, sunny lazy Saturday here in the south.  They are bright and colorful and have a strong impact for the book themselves.  The text is on the illustrations for an easy informal read.

            This book would be good for kindergarten through sixth grade.  The book is easy to read, but has a subject matter that any age will understand.  The book will be good for a language arts lesson (already demonstrated by Mrs. Jones). A science lesson would be good for this book to teach students about weather in the south (like the humidity). A social studies lesson would work particularly well about different eras of time, comparing life then and now.   To my knowledge this book has not won any awards.


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