AnyBook4Less.com	Find the Best Price on the Web Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Home  |  Store List  |  FAQ  |  Contact Us  |
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money Keyword AuthorISBN

Title: Settler Sayings by Bobbie Kalman ISBN: 0-86505-518-1 Publisher: Crabtree Pub Pub. Date: March, 1994 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.95

Your Country USA Canada United Kingdom Australia Austria Belgium France Germany Italy Netherlands Switzerland Currency AutoUSD CAD GBP EUR AUD CHF Delivery Only cheapest delivery All delivery options Include Used Books Are you a club member of: Barnes and Noble Books A Million Chapters.Indigo.ca

Average Customer Rating: 5 (2 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: The sayings of American settlers and their modern meanings
Comment: At the very beginning of "Settler Sayings," author Bobbie Kalman points out that mothers who have never counted chickens in their life have been telling their children "not to count your chickens before they're hatched." The point of this book is to show how phrases like "lock, stock, and barrel," "dogs days of summer," "upper crust," "bite the bullet" and dozens more came from the day to day business of the lives of American settlers. Kalman explains the source of these sayings as well as showing how they are used today, which is often in a different context.

"Settler Sayings" is categories by topics, so that we begin by looking in the kitchen and finding out where the sayings "upper crust," "apple-pie order," "cut and dried," "potluck," and "gone to pot" came from. Kalman then looks at phrases associated with spinning and weaving, the farm, the miller, artisans, inns and travel, fashion, guns and ammunition, and medical terms. However, one of the most interesting chapters is devoted to extinct expressions, such as "see the elephant" and "giving someone the mitten," which are no longer in use today. Of course this leads to thoughts of why some sayings surive and others do not.

In the back of the book Kalman provides some activities and ideas, such as researching more sayings and creating sayings using similes. There are even some fun bits like having a "sayings" bee, where you use sayings from the book and have to come up with explanations for how they originated (you get points if the answers make sense or at funny). Of course inventing your own sayings is a suggested activity as well, applying the same principles to modern items like the microwave, television, and VCR.

Teachers doing units on the American settlers will find this book an excellent supplement to whatever history textbook they are using. Making history come alive is always a concern and a book like this, where the past is linked to the present in such an interesting way, has got to be a valued additional research. "Settler Sayings" is part of the Historic Communities series that includes volumes on such subjects as "The Gristmill," "A Colonial Town: Williamsburg," "19th Century Clothing," and "A One-Room School."

Rating: 5
Summary: Settler Sayings
Comment: As a children's librarian I am often at a loss for answers to obscure homework questions. When students are doing units on pioneers, they often ask for explanations of particular sayings. I find this book to be very useful. The format is clear. The style is fun and informative. I have yet to have a reference question on this subject that I could not locate in the book. The kids don't seem to have too much difficulty using it either.