Respect and Take Care of Things

by Cheri J. Meiners, Meredith Johnson (Illustrator)

Overview

Everything has a place. Things last longer when we take care of them. Respect, responsibility, and stewardship are concepts that even young children can relate to—because they have things they value. This book encourages children to pick up after themselves, put things back where they belong, and ask permission to use things that don’t belong to them. It also teaches simple environmental awareness: respecting and taking care of the earth. Includes ideas for adult-led activities and discussions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781575421605
Publisher:	Free Spirit Publishing, Inc.
Publication date:	09/15/2004
Series:	Learning to Get Along Series
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	69,561
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.15(d)
Lexile:	AD350L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Cheri J. Meiners, M.Ed., has her master’s degree in elementary education and gifted education. A former first-grade teacher, she has taught education classes at Utah State University and has supervised student teachers. Cheri and her husband, David, have six children. They live in Laurel, Maryland.

Editorial Reviews

An unnamed girl narrates this lecture about taking care of belongings and respecting the environment. The girl and her family are lovingly illustrated; Johnson has taken particular care to represent this African-American family realistically with a variety of skins tones. Other children in the book are shown with different racial backgrounds as well as one child depicted in a wheelchair. There is little literary value in this book, the theme is didactic, and most likely, boring to children. The topic jumps from putting away toys to caring for the environment and recycling to respecting others' possessions with little cohesiveness. The last pages of the book are directed at parents and teachers, giving ideas for activities to teach the concepts outlined in the book. While this may be helpful to parents, only the most novice of teachers will not be familiar with these ideas. 2004, Free Spirit Publishing, Ages 2 to 6.
—Wendy M. Smith-D'Arezzo

Children's Literature