A Picture Book of Sam Houston

TITLE: A Picture Book of Sam Houston
AUTHOR:  David A. Adler and Michael S. Adler
ILLUSTRATOR:  Matt Collins
PUBLISHER: Holiday House
COPYRIGHT: 2012

This biography shares information from the interesting life of Sam Houston.  Besides being a war hero, he lived among the Cherokee Indians for 3 years, was a lawyer and teacher, and eventually became the first president of the Republic of Texas.  He also was married three times and had eight children. 

This is an enjoyable book with wonderful illustrations.  It is appropriate for elementary aged students and has an AR level of 4.8.  My son enjoyed this biography and the battle images. 

The Alamo from A to Z

TITLE: The Alamo from A to Z
AUTHOR:  William R Chemerka
ILLUSTRATOR:  Wade Dillon
PUBLISHER: Pecan Publishing Company
COPYRIGHT: 2011

I enjoyed this ABC book all about the Alamo.  There was a lot of information and I liked the way it was presented in an understandable way.  Popular Alamo names are mentioned such as Bowie, Crockett, and Travis, but others are here too that I was less familiar with like William King, the youngest Alamo defender. 

This would be an educational book to add to your unit on Texas!  It is appropriate for elementary aged children. 

ABC San Antonio

TITLE:  ABC San Antonio An Alphabet Guidebook to the Fiesta City
AUTHOR:  Heila Rogers
ILLUSTRATOR:  David Rogers, Haley Beham, Heila Rogers, Christopher Borchardt & Daniel Rogers
PUBLISHER:  Stage Books
COPYRIGHT:  2009

Since we visited San Antonio this year for our family vacation, this book caught my eye at our local library.  This is a well-done ABC book focusing on some of the sights to see in San Antonio, Texas.  There are both popular attractions like the Alamo as well as others that are not as well known.

I thought the photographs in this book and the layout were very appealing for the young reader.  This would be a great book for the elementary classroom in a Texas study.  Another use would be as a wonderful example of a well-done ABC book.