LEARNING AND GROWING WITH ALICE.

Environmental Fiction for Young Adults.

I call this series of books 'environmental fiction for young adult readers.' Each book is about an endangered species and their stories are told from their point-of-view. In 'What the Parrot Told Alice,' the protagonist, Alice, is 12 years of age, making this book appropriate for readers aged 8-12. In 'What the Orangutan Told Alice,' Alice has grown up a bit and is now a 15 year old high school student. Age appropriateness for this book is 12-18. In 'What the Tortoise Told Alice,' Alice is a recent high school graduate unsure about what her next step in life. This book is set in and around Las Vegas and as you might expect is appropriate for mature young adult readers and 'new adults.'

All the books feature short chapters, giving kids who are not avid readers a sense of accomplishment. 'What the Parrot Told Alice' and 'What the Orangutan Told Alice' both feature glossaries of words readers 'might not know,' which helps readers build vocabulary. Both the parrot and orangutan books are illustrated to help readers visualize the settings and situation. With the tortoise book, written for a more mature audience, readers are on their own in imagining what the people and setting look like.  

Teachers' Guides are available as downloads from Smashwords.com for the parrot and orangutan books. The guides have over 70 projects – social studies, cultural, art lessons, geography and more – to expand the books educational reach. Each of these books would be ideal for home schooled students.

Dale Smith's books are available on Amazon.