Chickens May NOT Cross the Road and Other Crazy (But True) Laws
Written by: Kathi Linz
Illustrated by: Tony Griego
Published by: Houghton Mifflin Company in NY in 2002
Written by: Kathi Linz
Illustrated by: Tony Griego
Published by: Houghton Mifflin Company in NY in 2002
ISBN: 0-618-11257-X
Genre(s): Picture Book, Informational Text
Reading Level: Grade 4
Activity Level: Grades 2, 3, and 4
Summary: This is a book that not only lists several crazy laws, past and present, but also a book which details much about our legal system. After every few pages of strange laws, the author writes about such things as why we have such laws, why we have laws at all, who wrote the oldest set of known laws, United States Citizens' rights, the different branches of our government, and how laws are passed. The author addresses each of these questions individually in enough detail appropriate to the grade level of students who would be reading this book. The book's purpose is not only to make students laugh, but also to make hem ponder the laws we currently have and think about their world in a new way.
Response: My first reaction upon completing my reading of this book was to be grateful that North Carolina is NOT in this book! Yay for us!
Although there are several humorous laws in this book, my absolute favorite is "Barbers can't eat onions between seven in the morning and seven in the evening (Waterloo, Nebraska)" (p. 26). I can just imagine someone complaining about his barber's smelly breath while he was shaving his beard to the police, who, in turn, put this law on the books. I have always found it interesting, when thinking about some of the crazy laws we sometimes stumble upon, what must have happened in order for that law to have been put in place. For example, did someone actually tie and alligator to a fire hydrant and someone else become upset? Or, did a person really ride a horse so ugly that another person was offended?
I love that this book does not just superficially list these strange laws and provide no context or further information for the reader, but instead makes a case for the importance of laws, perhaps besides those in the book, and details about the judicial system of the United States.
The illustrations in this book are all very colorful one-page spreads that are fairly humorous (to match the laws they depict). This adds a child-like quality to this book that combines humor with a good amount of useful information for children.
Teaching Connections: This book could be used for students in second, third, and fourth grades. In second grade, a teacher could read the laws in this book to her class and have a discussion about the questions the author tries to answer about laws in the book. Then, students could be placed into groups, choose a law from this book, and write a short story together about what might have occurred in order for such a law to be passed.
In the third grade, a teacher could do the same as for the second grade, but the students could write their stories about the laws individually.
(Note: In both cases the teacher would need to be certain to reiterate how important laws are, even though some of them are silly. Hopefully, the children's stories might help them also realize this point because they should be written in a way that details why that particular law was important at a specific time.)
I think this book would also be a great one to read to children when teaching about the legal system in the fourth grade. The humorous laws and illustrations in this book would really get the students interested in learning about laws. A teacher could read this to her students as the beginning of her lessons about the country's and state's laws. Perhaps she could read all of the crazy laws and then ask students the questions the author tries to answer in the book, and then go back through and read her answers to the class. Then, she could begin teaching about the legal system beginning with reading pages 28 and 29.
What Students Learn: By reading this book and having a follow-up lesson about the laws, students will learn that laws do become dated sometimes, but they are there to protect us. The will also come to know how laws are enacted!
Image Retrieved From: http://www.bookcloseouts.com/images/large/isbn978061/9780618112579-l.jpg
Genre(s): Picture Book, Informational Text
Reading Level: Grade 4
Activity Level: Grades 2, 3, and 4
Summary: This is a book that not only lists several crazy laws, past and present, but also a book which details much about our legal system. After every few pages of strange laws, the author writes about such things as why we have such laws, why we have laws at all, who wrote the oldest set of known laws, United States Citizens' rights, the different branches of our government, and how laws are passed. The author addresses each of these questions individually in enough detail appropriate to the grade level of students who would be reading this book. The book's purpose is not only to make students laugh, but also to make hem ponder the laws we currently have and think about their world in a new way.
Response: My first reaction upon completing my reading of this book was to be grateful that North Carolina is NOT in this book! Yay for us!
Although there are several humorous laws in this book, my absolute favorite is "Barbers can't eat onions between seven in the morning and seven in the evening (Waterloo, Nebraska)" (p. 26). I can just imagine someone complaining about his barber's smelly breath while he was shaving his beard to the police, who, in turn, put this law on the books. I have always found it interesting, when thinking about some of the crazy laws we sometimes stumble upon, what must have happened in order for that law to have been put in place. For example, did someone actually tie and alligator to a fire hydrant and someone else become upset? Or, did a person really ride a horse so ugly that another person was offended?
I love that this book does not just superficially list these strange laws and provide no context or further information for the reader, but instead makes a case for the importance of laws, perhaps besides those in the book, and details about the judicial system of the United States.
The illustrations in this book are all very colorful one-page spreads that are fairly humorous (to match the laws they depict). This adds a child-like quality to this book that combines humor with a good amount of useful information for children.
Teaching Connections: This book could be used for students in second, third, and fourth grades. In second grade, a teacher could read the laws in this book to her class and have a discussion about the questions the author tries to answer about laws in the book. Then, students could be placed into groups, choose a law from this book, and write a short story together about what might have occurred in order for such a law to be passed.
In the third grade, a teacher could do the same as for the second grade, but the students could write their stories about the laws individually.
(Note: In both cases the teacher would need to be certain to reiterate how important laws are, even though some of them are silly. Hopefully, the children's stories might help them also realize this point because they should be written in a way that details why that particular law was important at a specific time.)
I think this book would also be a great one to read to children when teaching about the legal system in the fourth grade. The humorous laws and illustrations in this book would really get the students interested in learning about laws. A teacher could read this to her students as the beginning of her lessons about the country's and state's laws. Perhaps she could read all of the crazy laws and then ask students the questions the author tries to answer in the book, and then go back through and read her answers to the class. Then, she could begin teaching about the legal system beginning with reading pages 28 and 29.
What Students Learn: By reading this book and having a follow-up lesson about the laws, students will learn that laws do become dated sometimes, but they are there to protect us. The will also come to know how laws are enacted!
Image Retrieved From: http://www.bookcloseouts.com/images/large/isbn978061/9780618112579-l.jpg
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