History of Pets
Series of 6 titles
With its reader-friendly and interactive approach, History of Pets presents a high-interest introduction to key social studies curriculum topics. Each book explores the history of how humans in different cultures and geographic areas have interacted with common pets, including when, where, and who first came into contact with each kind of animal and how these wild animals ended up becoming the pets we know and love today. Bright, full-color photographs complement the carefully leveled text to make reading easy and fun. Each title includes an infographic, a map, sidebars, a table of contents, a glossary, and an index to aid comprehension.
Reviews
Booklist Review of History of Pets
The History of Pets series offers a fresh take on a perennially popular topic while introducing beginning readers to basic nonfiction-text features. Brief chapters use simple declarative sentences reinforced by labeled or captioned photos and data models, including charts and maps. All text passages appear in highlighted blocks of color, and occasional prompts (“Did you know?” “What do you think?”) encourage moments of self-reflection and quick checks for understanding. Vocabulary words appear in bold font and are defined in a glossary. Birds reveals that these feathered animals have been kept as pets for over 1,000 years in China, where people often take their parakeets out for walks. Dogs reports that European kings and queens used to love their tiny pups so much that they had special pockets sewn into their clothes so they could carry them around. According to Fish, Ancient Romans used to keep saltwater fish as pets—and one such inchthyophile even designed special jewelry for his favorite moray eel. In Lizards, readers will learn that these animals live on every continent except Antarctica and are often smuggled from on country to another to be bred as exotic pets. The eye-catching covers and accessible content make this series equally effective for building literacy skills, small-group instruction, or independent reading.