2This is the first installment of our new curriculum-supported books, designed as a new way for the children to work with the Waseca materials you already have! We created this book with the intention that every child in a classroom can have a portfolio of their own in which to collect their research, make maps, write journal entries and create art projects, while working on a study of a continent. The activities and research projects prompt the child to use the North American biome and animal cards for reference, and the stories tie back into and expand upon the information introduced in our cards. The journey begins in the Temperate Forest of North America with Abram from Pennsylvania Amish country; from there we travel to the Grasslands of Iowa, and on to the Wetlands of Louisiana. We then meet Otilda in the Tropical Forest of Panama, continue to the Deserts of New Mexico, the Mountains of Alberta Canada and conclude with Oki, an Inuit boy from the Polar Regions of Alaska. Every chapter begins with meeting a native of that biome who hosts the reader in their home and guides them on their adventures. The chapters include a combination of activities that explore both the cultural and natural elements of each biome with integrated lessons that challenge the child