Bob the Alien Discovers the Dewey Decimal System

by Sandy Donovan, Martin Haake (Illustrator)

Bob is from planet Plainold, where they have just discovered spiders. But planet Plainold doesnt have books, so Bob has traveled to Earth to find books about spiders. Join Allison Wonderland as she teaches Bob how to use the Dewey Decimal System to find books about spiders and much more!

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Childrens, Aliens

24 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Eugene · Rating 5 out of 5]

if i had only had this for cataloging class....

[Shanna Hurd · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wonder who this book is for? A cartoon-y book featuring an alien looking for books about spiders. But the girl (Allison Wonderland...) feels the need to explain the Dewey Decimal system in great detail before helping him find the books. Did he really need to know that the 200s are for religion books, and the 800s for literature, and so forth? No. At then end, when she finally tells the poor alien what the call number for spiders is and why, he is amazed that we all have to remember all of that, and she says, oh no you don't, you can just look it up on the catalog computer. So, why did we go through all that then, exactly? The story line and pictures make this book seem like it is for much younger children, but the information contained would make more sense to share with older kids or even adults. Pass on this one.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I discovered this while trying to find 020s in the catalog, and knew it would either be hilarious or hilariously awful. I read this and I formed a pretty firm opinion. Then I gave it to my second-grader to see what he would think. He read it to me, and a book that I had thought stodgy and pedantic read differently in his voice. Still stilted, still not natural dialogue, but not as bad as it seemed when I read it to myself. That was very interesting experience to me. His opinion, which I'll share with you because it's more flattering than mine, is that the book has a lot of good information but it is a little bit silly because there's no real reason for an alien and the illustrations are a little too cartoony.

[Vincent Stewart · Rating 3 out of 5]

informative and silly

[Launna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best explanation I have heard. Helped me even though I have been using the library system for decades. :-)

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bob the Alien is confused by the Dewey Decimal System. Who isn't??? It's not all facts, it's not all true and it's very arbitrary to say the least. Why do we still use it? Because re-classifying everything would be a giant pain, and no one has really come up with a better system. In this picture book, the librarian explains to Bob what books are in each section, and how to read a call number. Boring topic, but cute pictures. When in doubt, ask your librarian for help, good advice! May be good for school tours with elementary?

[ckodama152 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is good for explaining the Dewey Decimal System to students. It goes through each hundreds category and tells what kinds of books and materials can be found in each section. This book might be a bit confusing, though, especially for students who are brand new to learning about the Dewey Decimal System. I would recommend this book for older elementary students and middle school students (4th grade - 8th grade).

[Sandybear76]

A new book I was processing for the school's library. Hmmm. aliens learning the Dewey Decimal System. Colorful book. We'll probably use it for library skills but I'm not sure a student will really check it out just for read for fun. The girl describes each of the classifications well but it was wordy.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm thinking some of the other books in this series (In the Library) might be more useful for me... I really couldn't remember the Dewey Decimal system that well, so I did learn new information. Would like to read ...UNCOVER THE PARTS OF A BOOK and ...HOW A BOOK IS MADE in this series.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would probably be good for school libraries. I really liked the way they explained the different groups within the Dewey Decimal System. This book isn't really fun but it does a good job at explaining a complicated topic.

[Jnase1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The pictures in this book would probably appeal to younger grades, but the explanation/words ate more suited for upper elementary. Might be good to read this book in stages rather than straight through when using it to introduce or teach the DDS.

[Krystal Fontenot]

This would be a fun book to read to elementary students about how Bob wants to find out more about spiders. However, the planet Bob comes from had no books, so Bob comes to Earth and learns about the Dewey Decimal system.

[Christie Rice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book that intergrates literature and math. This book helps students learn the Dewey Decimal System in a fun exciting way!

[Kathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review from library copy.

Um, really?

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great intro to library organization, specifically the non-fiction section and the Dewey Decimal System. The information is presented in a kid-friendly and engaging format. Move over Shelf Elf....

[Belinda Sargent · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recommend this book because it is a fun, bright colored book that engages the children and them about using the Dewey decimal system.

[Jie · Rating 5 out of 5]

MT said he is from planet plainoid too~

[Karissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great way to learn the Dewey Decimal System! I want a copy!

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book to help explain the Dewey Decimal System!

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book to introduce the Dewey Decimal system to young children (or anyone really!).

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book to use with second graders to teach the concept of the dewey decimal system.