Customer Reviews

Lewis and Clark: A Prairie Dog for the President (Step into Reading, Step 3)

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Lewis and Clark, A Prairie Dog for the President, is a fun read that's nicely paced. Author Shirley Raye Redmond uses whimsy and humor to tell this historic event: President Jefferson sends the eager Lewis and Clark off to explore the West. The vast young nation has never been fully explored. The president wonders how long it will take to get to the end of it and what they will find. One of my favorite parts is the banter over what to name the barking prairie creature they discover and send back to Jefferson.
"You can call it a ground rat."
"No, it looks like squirrel. I'll call it a barking squirrel."
"Squirrels don't bark. Dogs bark. We should call it a prairie dog."
"That's it!" Lewis and Clark agreed.
Later it starts all over again, when the President asks, "Is it a gopher?"
The illustrations by John Manders are just as pleasing. I like the facial expressions on the people and animals, especially the mischievous smile of the prairie dog. Manders is skilled at portraying action and emotions. And like the author, his sense of humor is so much fun. A buffalo and bear pose to be sketched. A buffalo won't fit in a shipping crate. Prairie dogs pop in and out of holes, eluding capture. A poor scout is so weighed down with "presents" for the President, he must be hoisted onto a boat.
Together, Shirley Raye Redmond and John Manders have created a delightful book.

LEWIS AND CLARK: A PRAIRIE DOG FOR THE PRESIDENT is a step 3 young readers book that discusses how the Lewis and Clark expedition began, what it's purpose was, and some of the strange sights that the group of explorers saw. The story has some words that the youngest of readers might not be able to handle, but contains enough familiar words and phrases that somewhat older readers (1-3rd graders) won't have any problems and might pick up a few new vocabulary words. The illustration by John Manders is really what makes this book stand out as it adds a depth of humor to the text that would otherwise be lacking. For instance, the picture of the overburden scout carrying a cage with a prairie dog and another with some magpies, traveling to Baltimore to deliver the plants, animals, and other goods and a letter to the President is quite funny. Overall, this is a really good book that children will enjoy reading and learn some history in the process.

Since my Kindergartener (age five-and-a-half) had completed the Step 2 books in the Step Into Reading series of books, I decided to go ahead and purchase the Step 3 books. I was a bit hesitant because I noticed there is quite a big leap between the Step 2 and Step 3 books, especially in terms of vocabulary and sentence structure. The vocabulary is more advanced with higher order words, and the sentences are longer. I was also concerned that my daughter might not like the topics which seemed to be more 'academic' with history-based stories. My worries were unfounded. She loves the books and is reading them with very little help from me.

These books are excellent for building children's reading skills as well as increasing their confidence. Once you've completed the Step 1 and Step 2 books (I would advise proceeding level by level), the Step 3 books are not as daunting as they might first appear. In "Lewis and Clark", young readers are introduced to the intrepid explorers whose adventures are now part of American history. Their adventures are vividly illustrated with color illustrations that will appeal to visual learners (my daughter is certainly motivated by illustrations - she still balks at reading books that are text-heavy with few illustrations).

I can't recommend these books highly enough - they are great for building reading skills, and also educational. This book is a great introduction to history, and I also came up with a series of short comprehension questions based on the story in this book so as to hone my daughter's comprehension skills (e.g. "Who were Lewis and Clark?" "What animal did they give to the President?" etc.).

My 5 year old really likes this book. It tells a short take of Lewis and Clark and their journey across America to map and document. It mentions Sacagawea and how she did the translating and trading along the way. I also shows some funny (according to my son) encounters that the explorers had when they encountered and tried to capture or document native animals. I would definitely recommend this for a young reader or for a parent to read to a prereader.

I just bought about 30 children's books for my son's 7th birthday which is fast approaching. He is entering second grade, but we are told he is an "Advanced Reader." What I do know is that he'll read ANYTHING just to prove he can, but he always goes back to the books with the cute pictures. I gave him this book early because we went on a long road trip and I needed to keep my sanity.

When this one arrived I read through it before hiding it in the birthday present storage facility under my bed. This book is Adorable! The illustrations will have the kids laughing, the job they did at conveying humor through the facial expressions is wonderful. The buffalo jammed into the crate is by far one of my favorite pictures other than the Prairie Dog himself.

What I was most happy with was that it is a cute tale about real history. The kind of stuff they are leaving out of the schools these days. My husband was astounded that these little readers had historical information that he didn't know. They did an amazing job of taking history and making it fun. I couldn't be happier with this book.

Though there are a few larger words in it, my son had no trouble reading it. He actually read it beginning to end 3 times and had to show me the pictures over and over. Since giving it to him, he's taken this specific book everywhere with him.

The premise is the story of Lewis and Clark and their famous expedition. It covers the things they saw, the reason for the trip, and that they sent many items back for the president to see - including the silly little prairie dogs. My son laughed and lauged and then proceeded to tell me the storie even without the book.

"Did you know Lewis and Clark saw Buffalo? And they found Prairie Dogs, and sent them to the president, and then they went across the country - look there's a picture!"

I could not recommend this book enough to both parents and teachers. I will review the others after his birthday.

Excellent book for introducing younger children to the Lewis & Clark expedition. Entertaining text and great comical illustrations!

Great story of the exploration of the west and all the wonders of that great time. Love the series.