Prairie Town (Small Town U.S.A.)
Grade 1-4?The Geiserts present a year in the life of a small mid-western prairie town. In this accurate depiction, stories of everyday life unfold: houses are repaired, lawns are mowed, dying trees are pruned or removed, a junk-filled yard is cleaned up, a house is sold and a new family moves in, the school playground gains new equipment, someone gets a traffic ticket, a wedding takes place, a death is mourned, puppies are born...life goes on. The fascinating full-page illustrations provide minute details, while the clear, readable text explains in general terms the economic and social interdependence of the town and surrounding farms, and the influence of weather on the town's economic health. Young readers will want to return again and again to this bird's-eye view of small town life, as they follow the changing seasons through the year: spring plowing, summer grain harvest and the arrival of a circus, reopening of school and burning leaves in the fall, a winter blizzard. Small changes occur even as the town at first glance appears to stay the same. This colorful title captures the essence of the prairie as well as endangered small-town life.?Eunice Weech, M. L. King Elementary School, Urbana, ILCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.