Why'd They Wear That?

Title: Why'd They Wear That?: Fashion as the Mirror of History
Author: Sarah Albee  
Publisher: National Geographic Children's Books
Publication Date: February 10th, 2015 
Genre/Format: Non-Fiction/Expository 
GoodReads Summary: Move over Project Runway. Get ready to chuckle your way through centuries of fashion dos and don'ts! In this humorous and approachable narrative, kids will learn about outrageous, politically-perilous, funky, disgusting, regrettable, and life-threatening creations people have worn throughout the course of human history, all the way up to the present day. From spats and togas to hoop skirts and hair shirts, why people wore what they did is an illuminating way to look at the social, economic, political, and moral climates throughout history. 
What I Think: The more I learn about the world, the more fascinated I become. In the last two years, I've fallen more and more in love with science as I've been invited to classrooms discussing the impact of biodiversity. It has really opened my eyes. The same goes for history. I started listening NPR and reading more historical fiction and non-fiction that is really captivating. Why'd They Wear That? is another non-fiction text that immediately sucked me in.
     We recently watched the movie Night At The Museum and I've talked to my kids about many of the museum artifacts that come to life at night. It's neat to read Why'd They Wear That and recognize many characters from the movie in the book. More than that, it's so cool to look at different time periods, people, and places in Why'd They Wear That and think about why they wore what they did. Fashion is so much more complex than I ever paid attention to.
     At Nerdcamp this summer, I led a session on looking at non-fiction mentor texts and especially how we can develop descriptive writing in non-fiction and using non-fiction mentor texts. I grabbed an examples from Why'd They Wear That where Sarah Albee used alliteration and commas in a series. Throughout the book, you'll find great descriptive language and literary elements that help bring the time period and the fashion of that era to life. 
Read Together: Grades 3 - 12 
Read Alone: Grades 5 - 12 
Read With: Any non-fiction or historical fiction text, along with other texts to build an understanding of a time period, people, and their society 
Snatch of Text: 

"Everything you're wearing has a history. There's a story in every sneaker, shirts, and stitch." (p. 9)

Writing Prompts: Use descriptive language to bring to life your fiction or non-fiction writing. How might describing what a person is wearing tell about him or her as a person/character? Especially as it relates to the time period he or she belong to?
Topics Covered: Integration - History, Descriptive, Non-Fiction

I *heart* It:

*Thanks to Media Masters Publicity for 

a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review!*