Spending Spree
The History of American Shopping
Ka-ching! Ever stop to think how our modern-day shopping culture came to be? In the early 1800s, stores were few and far between in the United States. General stores supplied everything from fabric and flour to handsaws and clocks. As the country grew, mail-order catalogs arrived at homes across the country, Mom and Pop specialty shops sprang up along Main Street, and later, shopping malls and big box megastores thrived in the suburbs. Then online shopping arrived via the Internet and changed the consumer experience yet again!
Buying behaviors also changed over time. For example, did you know you could barter for a pound of sugar at a general store in the early 1800s? Or that department stores in the 1900s added restrooms and ladies lounges to encourage women to shop all day long? Or that online shopping in the twenty-first century is a multibillion-dollar industry? Spending Spree takes readers on an amazing journey from farmlands to cyberspace to learn about the evolution of shopping in the United States.
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978-1-4677-1017-6
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$24.99 | |
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978-1-4677-1658-1
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$37.99 |
Author: Cynthia Overbeck Bix
Cynthia Bix grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, where family visits to historical sites that dot the East Coast—including Old Sturbridge Village, Colonial Williamsburg, and Baltimore’s own Fort McHenry—sparked her early interest in American history, crafts, and everyday life. After moving as a teenager to the San Francisco Bay Area, she added natural science—the world of plants, animals, and the environment—to her interests.
She has been an avid reader ever since first grade, and there’s always a stack of novels on her nightstand. (Sometimes she even sneaks in a reading session when she should be cooking dinner!)
Cynthia loves to write about anything and everything. In her more than 30 nonfiction books for children and adults, she has written about such diverse subjects as carnivorous plants, the water cycle, flower gardens, and the Grand Canyon. She has also written how-to-do-it books about activities from planning a backyard cottage to making impressions of animal footprints!
In addition to writing books and articles, Cynthia edits books for both children and adults.
Lerner eSource™ offers free digital teaching and learning resources, including Common Core State Standards (CCSS) teaching guides. These guides, created by classroom teachers, offer short lessons and writing exercises that give students specific instruction and practice using Common Core skills and strategies. Lerner eSource also provides additional resources including online activities, downloadable/printable graphic organizers, and additional educational materials that would also support Common Core instruction. Download, share, pin, print, and save as many of these free resources as you like!
Spending Spree
Ka-ching! Ever stop to think how our modern-day shopping culture came to be? In the early 1800s, stores were few and far between in the United States. General stores supplied everything from fabric and flour to handsaws and clocks. As the country grew, mail-order catalogs arrived at… View available downloads →
Awards
- Children's Book Committee at Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year
Reviews
Booklist
“Tracing the social and economic changes that led the American population from self-sufficiency to recreational shopping, the text is interesting and very readable….In this useful, historical presentation, Bix offers a good deal of information in an accessible way.” —Booklist
School Library Journal
“For report writers, there are plenty of facts and interesting tidbits.” —School Library Journal