Everybody Works (bk 1) (32 pgs)

Rotner, Shelly and Ken Kreisler. Everybody works. Millbrook Press. Brookfield, Connecticut, 2003.

Summary:
Everybody Works is a very short and quick read. The pages are filled with pictures of people doing work and the actual writing is only a sentence or two for each two page spread. It outlines the different types of work and gives examples of what work might be using the pictures.

Author: Shelley Rotner and Ken Kreisler
Illustrator: Photographs by Shelley Rotner
Access Features: No access features
Illustrations: Illustrations are pictures of people at work
Curriculum: Social Studies
Use of book in Classroom: This would be a good resource to use when discussing society and the different roles of people within society.
Book Design: This is a very small book and is really very basic. The end pages are red and every page in the book is a different color. Usually that color is just an outline for the pictures and enhances the color in the pictures. The writing is large and block style for easy reading for younger students.
Writing Style: Very elementary. Sentences are short and precise. Easy language that describes the pictures in general.
Credibility of Author: Shelly Rotner is a former elementary school teacher and has written over 20 award-winning children’s books.
Grade Level: PreK-1
Awards: Notable Social Studies Trade Book 2004
National Standards: Social Studies: Standard 4: Individuality and Individual Development; Standard 5: Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
Related Texts: Send It! -Don Carter; What Color is Nature? -Steven R. Swinburne; Why Do Kittens Purr? -Marion Dane Bauer

Response:
I really enjoyed the pictures in this book. They are very colorful and using color outline for the pictures is very helpful in making those pictures stand out. I also really liked the big writing that makes it easy to see and the short simplistic language that makes it easy for younger students to read and understand. Rotner does a wonderful job of explaining that work is many different things, not just a job.