Laurie Coulter
Teachers and Librarians
School and Library Presentations
What was it like to make a living as a snake charmer, a breaker boy in a coal mine, or a dinosaur hunter? Laurie re-creates the world of work in the past with interactive activities, weird stories she uncovered researching the three books she has written for the Jobs in History series, and her treasure box of props. In the presentation, she also talks about her own career as a book editor, ghostwriter (what's that?) and author.
- Grades 4 to 6
- Preferred audience size: 30
- Fees: $250 per reading
Cowboys and Coffin Makers: One Hundred 19th-Century Jobs You Might Have Feared or Fancied
Please see Extra! Extra! for ten extra 19th-century jobs to print out. For lesson plans and a podcast, see the book's page on the Annick Press site.
Reviews
"...Teachers and librarians will be happy to hear that Cowboys and Coffin Makers far surpasses the standard information book criteria; a comprehensive introduction provides background to the time period, a huge index helps students navigate the text, and recommended readings include both fiction and non-fiction.... this book is a truly invaluable supplement to any nineteenth-century study. The book would also be great for a road trip since it facilitates multiple readings as kids can't possibly absorb all the wacky, jaw-dropping facts in one sitting." Highly recommended.
— Shannon Ozirny, CM Magazine
"Short job descriptions, usually one or two per page, are written in an entertaining style and grouped according to headings.....The book could be used in social-studies units about the 1800s, the Westward Movement, and comparisons of cities to rural areas."
— Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, School Library Journal
"...written in an engaging and interesting way... highly recommended for elementary schools and public libraries."
— Resource Links 06/07
"Cowboys and Coffin Makers would be an excellent addition to any school library. Because 19th-century Canadians were pursuing similar occupations, this resource could be used to launch a unit on pioneers or early Canadian history."
— Laura Barron, Professionally Speaking,
the Magazine of the Ontario College of Teachers
"I ordered this book to use with 4th graders who were working on a unit about careers from the past. They loved reading about the different occupations and comparing and contrasting them with jobs of today. I also like the way the book is set up by various career clusters. "
— T. Hooks (N.C.), Amazon.com
Canadian Curriculum Connections
British Columbia
Social Studies: Grades 4 and 5
U.S. Curriculum Connections
National Center for History in the Schools
Standards in History for Grades 5–12
Era 4
Expansion and Reform (1801–1861)
Standard 1: United States territorial expansion between 1801 and 1861, and how it affected relations with external powers and Native Americans
Standard 2: How the industrial revolution, increasing immigration, the rapid expansion of slavery, and the westward movement changed the lives of Americans and led toward regional tensions
Era 5
Civil War and Reconstruction (1850–1877)
Standard 2: The course and character of the Civil War and its effects on the American people
Era 6
The Development of the Industrial United States (1870–1900)
Standard 1: How the rise of corporations, heavy industry, and mechanized farming transformed the American people
Standard 2: Massive immigration after 1870 and how new social patterns, conflicts, and ideas of national unity developed amid growing cultural diversity
Standard 3: The rise of the American labor movement and how political issues reflected social and economic changes
Ballplayers and Bonesetters: One Hundred Ancient Aztec and Maya Jobs You Might Have Adored or Abhorred
Reviews
"This book describes in often humorous detail (accompanied by equally humorous illustrations) the work that both the elites and commoners performed. The jobs run the gamut from judge to latrine boatman, from salt maker to adobe brick maker, from Great King to slave."
— Susan Perren, The Globe and Mail
"...the descriptions of the vocations yield a rich view of the culture, and the breezy text makes this as much a browsing as a reference title....a solid purchase for elementary school and public libraries."
— Ann Welton, School Library Journal
"Author Laurie Coulter writes in a light and lively style that is informative and entertaining...a useful and appealing book for anyone interested in the early culture of Mesoamerica."
— Mary Anne Cree, Canadian Children's Book News
"'Wow!' 'Really?' 'Gross!' 'Listen to this!' Put this book into the hands of young people and this is what you will hear. Amazement, disbelief, nose-wrinkling, and sharing; I believe these are the main criteria for a winning information book, and Ballplayers and Bonesetters guarantees them all. Get ready for 96 pages of undeniably stimulating ancient facts mixed with a welcoming dose of Mesoamerican malarkey. Coulter and Newbigging get a four out of four. Or, written in the Mesoamerican way, four small dots out of four small dots. Highly Recommended."
— Shannon Ozirny, CM Magazine
Canadian Curriculum Connections
British Columbia
Social Studies: Grade 7 – Ancient Civilizations
Alberta
Social Studies: Grade 8 – Worldviews in Conflict: The Spanish and the Aztecs
Manitoba
Social Studies: Grade 8 – World History: Societies of the Past
Ontario
Heritage and Citizenship: Grade 5 – Early Civilizations
U.S. Curriculum Connections
National Center for History in the Schools
World History: Era 5 (Intensified Hemispheric Interactions)
Standard 6: The expansion of states and civilizations in the Americas, 1000–1500.
How the Aztec empire arose in the 14th and 15th centuries; major aspects of Aztec government, society, religion, and culture.
art by Martha Newbigging © 2010