Gila Monsters Meet You at the Airport (Reading Rainbow Books)

A recent issue of Bookbag magazine presented lesson plans on the topic of gila monsters, which immediately brought this book to mind. It is an entertaining means of linking fiction texts with non-fiction fact sheets, while addressing the issues of commonly held beliefs which may not be true, stereotyping, and the transient nature of the American family. This book makes a great read-aloud, and is also appropriate for reading circles and DEAR reading time.

I bought this book for some friends who were moving out west from the east coast. The book compares the pains of the city (NYC in this case) with the pains of living out west (cacti, hot, dry, etc). Very funny; we love it.

Gila Monsters at the Airport is a great book (even for older children up to age 10) because it discusses how kids think about different parts of the country and how they think people live. It's a nice effort at trying to explain how people (Westerners and Easterns) describe each other in backward ways. This teaches kids that they have more in common with people in new places that they move to than they think. A nice lesson that can be learned at any age. A great book to help kids adjust to moving to the other coast of the United States and realize that alligators really don't live in the Eastern city sewers and that the West isn't just a dessert cactus village. I loved this book on Reading Rainbow with good old Levar Burton. I still remember the song they sang with this book on the show. It was really cute. Enjoy this one with your kids!! They will love the illustrations and the way it is written (from a kid's vocabulary and point of view).

"Gila Monsters" has to be one of my favorite children's books. It addresses the fear of a young boy from New York, whos "parents are moving out west." His friend told him that "Gila Monsters Meet You at the Airport," and he knows it's true, because he read it in a book. When he finally arrives at the airport, he meets another young boy who is moving to New York and filled with fears, because there are alligators in the sewers. He knows it's true, because he read it in a book. This book is a great way to defuse a child's fear of an upcoming move. And it's a fun read for adults as well!