Sheila Says We're Weird

by Ruth Ann Smalley, Jennifer Emery (Illustrator)

Overview

Sheila is either hanging over the back fence or hanging out with her neighbors. They're interesting, but they're weird. Why do they hang their laundry outside instead of using the dryer? Why are they riding their bikes to the library instead of just using the car? Why do they mow their lawn with a push mower when a gas mower is much faster? But Sheila discovers that their homemade soup sure tastes good, that she likes picking cherry tomatoes and strawberries in their garden, and it's pretty cozy to sit around their woodstove in the winter. Are Sheila's neighbors really weird, or do they have some good ideas going on?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780884483267
Publisher:	Tilbury House Publishers
Publication date:	04/01/2011
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 10.20(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	5 - 12 Years

Read an Excerpt

On Saturdays, we go to the farmer's market. We bring home baskets of apples, cheese, and eggs. Shelia spies us and scooters over.

"Why don't you get your groceries from the store?" she asks.

"We like local food. It's fresher and tastes better when it comes from nearby farmers. And it doesn't use so much energy to get to us."

"That's weird" Shelia says.

What People are Saying About This

Bill McKibben

The only thing weird about this family is how much fun they have—what a lovely reminder of how easy some change is! (Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature and eaarth)

Editorial Reviews

The family next door is weird! At least that is what Sheila thinks. However, Sheila is very interested in what the family is doing and she loves to participate in activities with them when they ask. The family next to Sheila hangs clothes out to dry instead of running an electric dryer. Family members also plant a garden to help feed bees and to feed themselves. Mowing with a push mower instead of an electric mower and using ceiling fans instead of air conditioners are some other things Sheila learns from the family. Sheila sees the family heat with wood, recycle bottles, and repair clothes. This well-written book brings home the idea that being ecologically smart is a good thing. It does so in a kid-friendly manner that shows the benefits of trying to be both ecologically smart and economically smart at the same time. Because of its picture book format, the book can be used for young children. However, older kids will like it, too. This publisher is on the cutting edge with its handling of timely topics and this book makes a great supplement to units about ecology and saving. It will work well as a jump-off point for finding more information about what children can do to save energy and money. Reviewer: Nancy Garhan Attebury

Children's Literature - Nancy Garhan Attebury

Right along with a nosy young neighbor, children get an eyeful of a family's sustainable lifestyle.

Regarding the responses of his little sister's friend (see title) with amusement, the big-brother narrator models green living. He helps his parents plant a backyard garden and carry fresh produce from a farmers' market rather than going to the grocery store. The family cuts the lawn with a hand mower, they hang up the wash rather than chucking it into a drier, they heat the family room with a wood stove and cool it with a ceiling fan rather than using more energy-intensive appliances. Looking skeptical but plainly beguiled, red-haired Sheila takes it all in, just as readers will. Smalley never delivers an explicit message here, and by showing rather than telling, she makes these practices look all the more appealing and doable—idealized though they are in Emery's painted views of lush gardens, cozy indoor scenes and hardworking but ever-smiling adults and children.

A good-humored guide to environmentally responsible behavior, all the more convincing (and refreshing) for being indirect. (Picture book. 6-8)

Kirkus Reviews