William Stafford's beautiful poem "Everyone Out Here Knows" examines natural processes attributed to the existence of Bigfoot. It's both a celebration of nature and a tall-tale. Cliffs are broken where "Big Foot was climbing with its big hands. " Perhaps flowers appear in spring from Bigfoot's tracks in the snow. I think this book would be a fun read-aloud as a jumping-off point for further study of Bigfoot. Students could discuss whether they think Bigfoot exists, and how they would interpret the clues in the book. It also could be used to talk about the process of scientific inquiry. What would it take to prove the existence of Bigfoot? There are also some great explorations of the flora and fauna of the forest. Because the book presents only a single poem, it can serve as an interesting example for interpreting poetry. How much imagery and feeling one can get from a single poem!

Picture Book, Poetry, Bigfoot