Pleasure Reading Picture Book: Vitamins Are Vital

Title:

Vitamins Are Vital by Kristin Petrie (Book)

Bibliographic Information:

Petrie, K. (2004). Vitamins are vital. Edina, Minnesota: ABDO Publishing Company.

Weekly Requirement:

Pleasure Reading Picture Book

Summary:

Vitamins Are Vital is a book that is part of the Nutrition Series published by ABDO Publishing Company.  It about the different vitamins and minerals that humans need to consume in their diet. The books describes the difference between water soluble vitamins (vitamins that move freely in the bloodstream) and fat soluble vitamins (vitamins that are only absorbed with fat in a diet). The water soluble vitamins the book describes are vitamins B and C. The fat soluble vitamins it describes are A, D, E, and K. Each vitamin has an individual description that discusses its health benefits and a short list of what foods contain the vitamin. The minerals calcium and iron are also included in the book with a description of why they are important and what foods contain them. In addition to discussing vitamins and minerals the book also explains why it is better to get vitamins and minerals from our diet and not solely from supplements, and also highlights the importance of daily water intake. The book offers a glossary with vocabulary words from the text and also a section titled Saying It to help students pronounce difficult or unfamiliar words like soluble and dehydrate. It also shares ABDO Publishing Company’s website address where children and adults can find other titles related to children’s health.

Quantitate reading level:

Accelerated reader 5.8

Qualitative Reading level:

Includes Table of Contents, Glossary, and Index, as well as Saying It section to demonstrate pronunciation of difficult or unfamiliar words. The book includes simple pictures of foods and/or people preparing them or eating them. Each vitamin or mineral is covered in one to two pages and the top of the page includes the vitamin or mineral name is a bold heading. Each vitamin and mineral section includes a small box that lists what foods include it.

Content Area:

Health Science

Maine Common Core Content Area Standard:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.1
Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.4
Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.7
Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.8
Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text, identifying which reasons and evidence support which point(s).

Curriculum Suggestions:

Vitamins Are Vital is a book that could be used by students independently as a reference for school assignments about healthy eating. It can also be used during a science unit related to biology in order to explain digestion and hydration, or during a basic biochemistry lesson that explains minerals from the periodic table such as calcium and iron and why the human body needs them.