Sofie and the City- Multi Cultural

Title: Sofie and the City

Author: Karima Grant

Illustrator: Janet Montecalvo

Stars: 4 out of 5

Summary: Sofie, a little girl who has moved to the city, does not like the city. She tells her grandma every Sunday that she wants to live with her and if she leaves “no one will miss me”. One day she becomes friends with a girl named Kenya. From then on the city isn’t so ugly.

This is a very pretty and heart warming story. I love the way the story ends with Sofie making a friend and finally being happy. This shows the reader how strong the sense of friendship can be. The story centers around a little girl who is new to a big city. I think this is a great way to show students who do not live in a city one perspective of the city. It is also a great way to show kids who do live in the city another perspective.  I love the way Grant portrays Sofie as such an outsider at first. I feel that this character would really connect with a lot of students considering many children feel left out at some point in their lives. This is a great window book for me considering I have never lived in a big city. It really shows how the city can be a melting pot for all kinds of people from all over the world. I really like the way Grant brings up the little girl’s English a couple of times throughout the story. This is something that native English speakers take for granted while people who are trying to fit in feel really self conscious about. By using this story in the classroom the teacher can address this topic. By addressing the topic the teacher is making students aware of something that they may not have thought about. This would also be a great time to talk about teasing. Sofie is affected by the kids on the street who make fun of her plastic sandals. The teacher can lead a discussion about how teasing can affect someone even if you do not mean it too.

Shadow



Title: Shadow

Author/Illustrator: Marcia Brown

Stars: 4 out of 5

Summary: an African folktale explaining what a shadow is.

I chose to blog about this story because of how powerful and scary the imagery is. I love the fact that the story is dark and mysterious. I feel that if I was a kid reading this story I would probably be pretty afraid of my shadow. There is once specific part where the story talks about the shadows eyes are ash and it cannot see. There is a specifically scary picture of a shadow that looks old and mangled. I love this imagry because it makes me feel like my shadow is aged and has been a shadow for ages and ages. This story makes me feel a sense of wonder and respect for my shadow because it never speaks out yet it is always around. I think that stories like this are a great way for children to take a step back and look at the beauty of our world around us. As kids its hard to look at things and find beauty, but by exposing my students to a story like this they will be forced. I think I could have my students choose a simple object and have them write a poem about that object. It could be a poem about where the object came from or maybe the adventures that it has had so far. Overall I really enjoyed reading this mysterious story.

My People - Multi-Cultural

Title: My People

Author: Langston Hughes

Photographer: Charles R. Smith Jr.

Stars: 3 out of 5

Summary: Langston Hughes writes few words but they have a huge impact. In this story Hughes compares his people to the night, the stars, and the sun

(I found this book on a list of Multi cultural books and decided to blog on it becuase i do not really view it as a Multi Cultural book. I feel that based on the fact that the photographs are of black people does not really make it multi cultural. If I replaced all of the pictures with pictures of white people would the story still be multi cultural? I'm not sure, but to me it is not really multi cultural. )

This is a great story to use at a very primary age. Because there are big pictures and few words it’s a great way to get young readers reading and interested. i am currently in a practicum class and there is one student who I know would love this book. She is a 2^nd grader but a very low level reader who reads books with few words. She has commented other books that use actual pictures and finds interest in real pictures of things such as informational books however these are usually too hard for her to read. I feel that giving her this book would combine her interest in pictures and her actual reading ability level.

I think the fact that the book has photographs instead of illustrations really ads to the overall tone of the story. I as the reader felt like I was seeing pictures of Hughes’s actual family, or his people. Although I really enjoyed looking at these pictures and reading the story, I do not think that I would be able to form a lesson around this story. It would be a great book to have in my library for students such as my second grade friend.  

Too Many Tamales- Multi Cultural

Title: Too Many Tamales

Author: Gary Soto

Illustrator: Ed Martinez

Stars: 5 out of 5

Summary: A girl named Maria helps her mom make Tamales on Christmas. Maria things she cooks her mothers wedding ring into the tamales. After eating all of the tamales and failing to find the ring, Maria confronts her mother only to find out her mother is wearing the ring.

What a beautiful holiday story. I love the way Soto brings together Mexican culture and the Christmas Holiday. He weaves in the Christmas season with talk about Christmas trees and lights and pictures of a holiday party. We also get a sense of the Spanish culture with words such as tamales, masa, and nina. I love the fact that the little girl is starting to feel grown up because she is helping her mom and wearing her mom’s apron. I can remember feeling exactly the same way when I was a little girl helping my mom cook. I can also remember how much I would stare at her ring and wish that she would let me wear it just for a little while. I guess its best that she never did because I probably would have done something very similar to Maria. I think that Soto does a great job of showing us how this family has decided to make their culture part of the holiday tradition. Throughout the story we get the sense that the tamales are a pivotal part of the tradition, especially at the end of the story after the kids have eaten all of the tamales and Rosa says that it looks like it’s time to make another batch of tamales. I love the way Soto mentions how the ring slid off Maria’s finger and into the dough however Maria doesn’t seem to notice it until she is upstairs with the other children. This is so typical of a young child to not realize what is going on until it is too late. We can really feel for Maria when she discovers what a big mistake she has made. I think this would be a great book to use in the class room to introduce a discussion on family traditions around the holiday seasons. After reading this story the teacher could have students write or talk about different things that their family does that represents their culture.

Horton Hears a Who

Title: Horton Hears a Who

Author / Illustrator: Dr. Suess

Stars: 5 out of 5

A kangaroo named Horton hears someone from a spec of dust. The kangaroo who rules the jungle tells Horton that no people that small exist and she insists that he forget the spec. Horton chases after the spec and proves to the Kangroo that there are people on the spec.

This is one of my all time favorite books and movies. When I was little I loved reading this story and a couple of years ago I couldn’t even believe they made a movie. (The movie is amazing.) I love the story because Horton who is just your average elephant stands up for what he believes in. He knows that he is right and he is willing to do whatever it takes to prove it to the other animals. I can remember as a child after reading this story my mom told me that this is an example of how ever little girl should act. They should know what is right and stand by it. I can remember a specific incident when I was in about 8^th grade. My friends would not invite a girl over for a huge slumber party. This girl knew that she wasn’t invited and was very upset about it.  I knew that this was a horrible and mean thing to do and I tried to tell my friends but they insisted that she couldn’t come. When I discussed the situation with my mom she reminded me of Horton and how he did whatever it took to stand up for what is right. I ended up not going to the sleepover because I wanted to make sure my friends knew that I did not think this was right. I feel that this positive Dr. Suess story can show students a variety of things. First students can look at the positive theme of standing up for what you believe, like I did in 8^th grade. Second as a teacher you can use little Jo-Jo and his one small voice to represent a vote. We can show our students how each and every voice or vote matters and your voice can be the one that changes everything. After the movie came out I heard people talking about this story representing anti abortion beliefs. I can see how this would be an accurate theme I do not believe that this is the only thing that Horton can represent. If a teacher is brave enough to enter that conversation I believe it could be a very influential one.  



Hey, Al

Title: Hey, Al

Author: Arthur Yorinks

Illustrator: Richard Egielski

Stars: 1 out of 5

Summary: A man and his dog live together in an apartment. The man works hard and does not have much. He is visited by a bird who takes him away to a paradise. In the paradise the man Al and his dog Eddie turn into birds and realize that they would much rather be at home even if it’s not perfect.

                Yorinks is the Author of this story and I feel it was a bit confusing. As I was reading the story to myself I could not really figure out who was talking to who? Was it Eddie or Al talking? I was able to clear this up by reading the story out loud. I think this is an interesting topic to bring up to young readers. Sometimes it is easier to understand a story if you read it outloud and are able to actually hear the words being spoken. It’s almost like being read a story.  I really like the over all theme of the story that is stated on the last page of the book “Paradise lost is sometimes Heaven found.” I think it’s a great theme to show students. It’s important that they begin to think that the grass is not always greener on the other side, and that they should be happy for all of the things that they have. I thought the story was a bit choppy for example when Al fell into the ocean and almost drowned.  I understand that Yorinks was trying to show that Al would have lost so much by taking off and going to this new paradise even his best friend Eddie, however this just didn’t flow for me. The pictures were really fun to look at, very colorful. I love how Egielski shows us the kitchen from a cross section so we can see what is outside the door. I think this is a fun book for students to read and I would like to have it on my shelf for an early finisher read, however I do not believe that I would use it to teach any specific lesson in my classroom.



Amazing Grace

Title: Amazing Grace

Author: Mary Hoffman

Illustrator: Caroine Binch

Stars: 5 out of 5

Summary: A little girl name Grace loves to listen to stories and act them out, always giving herself the most exciting part. After reading peter pan her class is going to act it out. Grace wants the role of Peter Pan, but a couple of her class mates tell her she can not play the role because she is a girl and black. Grace shows them and ends up winning the vote and acting as Peter Pan in the play.

I wanted to read this story because I have heard so many good things about it and I had never had the chance to read it myself. I now understand why there are so many positive reviews. What a positive story for a child. I love the way Hoffman and Binch show Grace imagining herself in a plethora of roles including a spider, an Indian chief, and a pirate. This is a great introduction to the story because all little kids love to imagine. Their whole play time is devoted to using toys in imaginative settings.  This story will draw each child in because they can relate to Grace even if they are not a girl or they are not black. There is such a positive atmosphere when Grace is told that she’ll never be able to play Peter Pan. Grace is surrounded by support from her family members which gives the reader a sense of stability. I love the part when the Grandma tells Grace that “Natalie is another one who don’t know nothing.” We can really see the grandma and hear how much she disagrees with Natalie.  I love how the grandma takes Grace to a ballet where the Juliet is black. I believe that the grandma is trying to show Grace that it doesn’t matter the color of your skin, it’s how you do what you are there to do. Grace loves the ballet and we can see how excited she is while she is twirling around in her imaginary tutu. The story ends with Grace wowing her classmates and becoming Peter Pan with a unanimous vote. The over all theme that we hear see and feel is that Grace can do and be anything she wants to be even if people tell her she cant. The reader almost becomes Grace and gets a feeling that he or she can do anything as well. I think this is a great story that should be in every families home and would have a great place in the classroom.

Arrow to the Sun

Title: Arrow to the Sun

Author/Illustrator: Gerald McDermott

Summary: A boy is born to him mother, however he does not have a father. After he is not accepted by the other boys he sets out to find his father. It turns out that the boy’s father is the sun and after completing 4 challenges he knows this for sure. The boy returns home and is happy.

This book has amazing pictures. The illustrator Gerald McDermott uses geometric figures and bright colors to fill the pages with life and character. The story surrounding the images is a great way to get students interested in fantasy vs. realism. Throughout the story the reader is thrown in situations that could not really happen such as the boy becoming an arrow and shooting towards the sun. However there are situation that could really happen such as the boy being rejected from his peers. I conducted a lesson on fantasy vs. realism earlier this semester for my practicum. I was instructed to use a specific book and form my lesson around it. I would much rather have used this exciting story to explain what fantasy means. The story has a boy not fitting in because he is without a father. This would be an interesting time to introduce how not all families are the same. A teacher could begin the lesson with this story and use more literal non fantasy books to follow up the lesson.  This would also be a great book to use as an example for an art project. McDermott used Pueblo Indian Art to inspire this book so a teacher could have her students mimic this way of illustrating. Overall I really enjoyed reading and viewing this Caldecott award winning story.



Black and White

Title: Black and White

Author: David Macaulay

Stars: 0 out of 5

Summary: It seems that there are four disconnected stories, one about a cow, one about a boy on a train, one about passangers waiting for a train, and one about a family. After reading all four of the stories you notice some similarities between them all

                The story Black and White is very difficult for me. There are 4 stories that are pretty different however each story contains elements of the other stories. I know that there is supposed to be a reason why things are not always “black and white” however I can not understand how all of the stories are related. I am a very logical and literal person meaning I have a hard time finding the hidden meaning in things for example poems. This story is really hard for me to decipher and besides the images that start to merge and appear in multiple stories I can not find the relationship between the stories

Why Mosquitos Buzz In People's Ears

Title: Why Mosquitos Buzz In People's Ears

Author: Verna Aardema

Illistrator: Leo and Diane Dillon

Stars: 5 out of 5

Summary: In this story a chain of events happens that ends in the owl refusing to call the sun to rise and make it daytime. At the end of the story we understand why a mosquito buzzes in our ears.

                There are a lot of ways that this story could be used in the classroom. First I noticed while reading that Aardema uses a lot of onomonopeas. She describes things like the crow crying “kaa, kaa, kaa!”, the rabbit bounding “krik, krik, krik” and the iguana bobbing its head “badamin badamin”. These are great examples of a technique that is sometimes difficult for students to understand. I love the way Aardema’s use of onomonopias really make the reader see and hear the story. This is also a great story to teach children about assumptions. Each character assumes that he or she knows why the other is reacting in the way that they do. Each character assumes wrong and therefore causes a chain of events that ends up killing on of Mother Owl’s owlets. As a teacher I could make a social studies unit revolving around why it is wrong to make assumptions and why we should always clarify when we misunderstand. This is a great example of creating a story based on something that happens in everyday life. As a teacher I could have my students write a story based on something that they don’t understand such as why the sun rises every morning. Their stories would have to explain what causes this to happen. I believe that Verna Aardem’s story could be extremely useful

The Misfits

Title: The Misfits

Author: James Howe

Stars: 5 out of 5

Summary: The Misfits is a story about five friends who feel like outsiders. They decide to start a new political party at their school and run for office.

                I really enjoyed reading The Misfits. Howe really sets up the scene by starting the story with Bobby at the tie shop. We really get to become connected with Bobby because of this. We feel sorry for him that he has to work at this tie store with a crazy boss, but at the same time we know that he doesn’t hate it all too much. To me the best part of this book was the characters and how well we got to know each and every one. Howe really gives us a sense of connection to every character even the small ones such as Bobby’s dad or Ms. Wyman . We get to know the characters on a deeper level. I love how this is one of the themes in the book: it is important to understand that everyone has a story and acts the way they do for a reason. I felt that throughout the book Howe was telling us to really get to know people. Down to the things that make us tick. I feel that this is really something that I connected with in the book. There was an paragraph on page 124 where Bobby told us how “This business of really knowing people, deep down, including your own self, it is not something you can learn in school of from a book.” I really believe this statement and I think it’s a great thing to talk to students about. The age where students would be reading this book is just the age where everyone becomes self conscious and just wants to fit in. This book brings up a great point at showing us that we need to love our differences. As children it becomes so natural to do everything just like everyone else, but this book shows us that being different, or a “misfit” it was makes you an individual, and it’s ok. There are so many ways that a teacher could teach this book. I would love to have my students dissect each character. Maybe make a huge poster or college showing different images that represent them. I think it’d be cool to have the students draw pictures of what they thing the character’s room would look like and bring in objects that the character would like.

                Howe had a great way of portraying Bobby through the narration. We really got to know him and how witty and funny he was. This was important to the story because we understood how painful it was when the other students would call him names based on something as superficial as what he ate for lunch. All of the characters in this story are dealing with acceptance and it is interesting how they all deal in different ways. I love the huge difference in the way Addie deals with her individualism and how Bobby deals with his individualism. This situation shows us that everyone is different and that it doesn’t matter. The No Name Calling campaign would be a great thing to get your class involved in after reading the story.  I love how the story shows us how hurtful name calling can be. By just addressing name calling the book makes the reader aware of what he or she is doing. I think part of the problem is at this age students are doing things without realizing the effect that they have on other students. This book puts us in the minorities place and makes us really get to know them and empathize with them.

Jacquelin Woodson: From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun

Title: From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun

Author: Jacqueline Woodson

Stars: 3 1/2 out of 5

Summary: A boy named Melanin finds out that his mother is a lesbian.

I thought that this was an interesting and very controversial book. My favorite part of the book was the excerpts from Melanin’s writing that Woodson would shove in the middle of the story. These excerpts always complimented whatever Melanin was discussing and it gave the reader a more personal connection with Melanin. Because he always talks about his notebooks it was great that we were able to actually read parts of them. I the whole story was centered on Melanin discovering that his mother is a lesbian. While throughout the story Melanin is grappling with how he can possibly accept his mother at the end he learns that it is ok. I thought the ending occurred a bit to fast. I would have like to see more defined acceptance to feel satisfied at the end. I did however love how Woodson stressed Melanin and his mother’s relationship. She really made us feel the connection between the two of them which made the reader feel just as betrayed as Melanin does when she tells him something life changing. I also really enjoyed the amount of time that we feel passing as Melanin is ignoring his mother. It makes us feel so bad for his mother, because we know how much she just wants to share her life with her sun, but at the same time we can see how betrayed Mel feels. At the end of the story Woodson has Mel go to the beach with his mother and Kristin. I couldn’t believe that Mel agreed. Melanin was so adamant on not taking any part in his mother’s activities that I was shocked when he decided to go along. I think this change of heart would be a great topic to discuss with students. They can discuss the emotion and confusion that Mel is feeling during this situation and discuss and analyze what would make him change his mind.

It would defiantly take the right group of students to read this story as a class. I think it would be a great book to have on a list of controversial books that my students could choose from, because I do believe that it is a great story with a great lesson about learning to accept.

The Giver

Title: The Giver

Autor: Lois Lowry

Stars: 5 out of 5

Summary: The Giver is a story about a boy in a world of sameness. During the most important assembly of his life, he discovers that he will be the receiver of memories and cannot tell anyone what he experiences. In the end he realizes that this way of life is not fair.

                The Giver was a fun and exciting story to read. The whole time I was reading the story I wanted to find out more. I love stories that really make you think about your life and existence, and this did just that. Lowry sets up this utopian society which at first seems pretty normal. During the first couple chapters I did not understand how different this society was from our own. As the story goes on Lowry gives us metal pictures to explain how different this place is. My favorite part of the story was the concept of no color. I love how Lowry does not make it obvious that this place is black and white. We find it out along with Jonas. I love the mental image I got when The Giver tells Jonas that weird thing that was happening with the apple and Fiona’s hair. I loved the mysterious apple. I could not figure out what was going on with that apple and at first it made me a bit frustrated. Once I found out that it was the color red I thought it was awesome. I also loved how The Giver reveals the memories to Jonas. I love how we discover love with Jonas. I believe that this was a real turning point for Jonas. When he sees what his society is missing in love he really believes that it is wrong. He wants his people to experience things that will make them happy and he is confused why it has come to such sameness. I was thoroughly confused by the ending of the story, but I think that is how it is supposed to be. I think it would be fun to discuss this ending with my students. I could have them work in groups to come up with an explanation as to what happened and then they could share their evidence. The giver would be a really fun story to read with a class. I would want to make sure that I gave this book a long time in the classroom. I had a great time reading this story and am really going to try to find a place for it in my classroom.



Tuesday



Title: Tuesday

Written by: David Wiesner

Summary: This is a basically wordless book that shows a crazy Tuesday night. On this particular Tuesday night mysterious frogs on Lilly pads are floating around the neighbor hood, through laundry, and messing with peoples living rooms.  When the town awakes in the morning all that’s left behind are the hundreds of lilly pads, which no one can explain. The story ends with next Tuesday promising to be just as interesting.

I really enjoyed looking through this book. David Wiesner has such a creative way of portraying his stories without actually giving us words to read. However, we do not need the words to read because his story is right there on the page. I love how he sets up some of his pages with a main picture in the background and then almost scene like slices of other things that are going on. The first page sucks us right in with an almost eerie feeling as we see a turtle minding his business on a log. I love how Weisner brings us closer and closer to the turtle as we realize that the turtle looks pretty worried. The main characters in the story would probably be the frogs, but I think this story is being told from the on lookers perspective. The reader does not know why the frogs are there, or what they are doing, or even when they will leave.  Weisner only gives us a couple of times throughout the story showing the progression of time. I think this is a very important literary element that Weisner wants us to notice. Its important to the story that we see how long these frogs are floating around outside. We see that all throughout the night the frogs are playing and causing mischief. We see that when the ligh starts to come up, again showing the passing of time, all of the frogs must hop down off their lilly pads, and return back to their normal lives. We are then shown that next Tuesday right around 8 o’clock again, it looks like pigs get to go for the ride. This book is a great way to model both how much pictures can show us, and how important the passing of time can be to a plot line. I would use this story in my classroom to introduce the point of view of the reader as well.



The Three Pigs

Title: The Three Pigs

Written by: David Wiesner

Summary: This story is a spoof of the classic Three Little Pigs. This version starts off the same, with the wolf coming to huff and puff and blows the house down, however he ends up blowing the pig right out of the page, where it is safe. The three pigs end up in between the pages of classic children’s stories meeting interesting characters as they explore.

Wowee! I really loved this story. It was so fun to read! There is a serious sense of magic that you get when reading this book, like you’re let in on a secret that no one else knows except for you and these three pigs. I love how at first the pigs look cartoonish when they are inside the pages of the classic story, however when they fall out of the pictures, they look more life like. They way the wolf is looking around while he is supposed to be eating up the pigs makes us feel like stories are always happening right as we read them. I always believed that my toys would wake up the second I left my room, this book gives me that same feeling. When the three pigs got away from the wolf I was wondering what was going to happen to the worlf and the rest of the story. I really like how Weisner brings us back to the original story, however there is a dragon and the cat with the fiddle. Setting takes a huge character throughout The Three Pigs. Without the setting placed outside of the pages of the story, we would not be able to see what the three pigs were doing. There are a couple pages where there is hardly any pictures or words on the page where the pigs are riding around on a page like an airplane. I love these two pages. I don’t know why but when they are on the airplane and one of them is saying “Wheeeeee” it reminds me of the commicial with the pig in the back seat screaming “Whee wheee wheee”  out the window while a mom drives him home. I love that commercial and it made me think of it. The Three Pigs is a great way to show kids that they can make up their own versions of fairy tales, and have them end however they want.

The Higher Power of Lucky

Title: The Higher Power of Lucky

Written by: Susan Patron

Summary: Lucky is a little girl who is living with a guardian named Bridgette who she is scared of losing. This story is the journey of lucky finding what she believes her “higher power”. With the help of her friends and family Lucky eventually finds what she is looking for.

The higher power of lucky was a quick and very enjoyable read. The characters in the book seemed to jump right off the page and into my life. Bridgette was an especially mesmerizing character for me. I never quite understood what she was doing with Lucky. Why she had agreed to take Lucky, and why she wanted to leave France in the first place. Adding my confusion to Lucky’s constant worry of Bridgette leaving made the book pretty suspenseful for me. I was always right there with Lucky wondering if Bridgette was going to pick up and leave. Some of my favorite parts of the book are parts that I may not have understood if I was an elementary aged student reading the book. I loved how the characters that we meet during the smokers anonymous and alcoholics anonyms almost become our friends. We want to learn more about them just the way that Lucky wants to learn more about them. I think its so fun that Patron lets us see into the world of picking up Cigarette butts and throwing away beer cans. I loved how even though it is never explicitly talked about, we can see that Lucky has a crush. The book deals with Lucky trying to find her higher power, which in the end I was a little confused about. I did not know exactly what her higher power was but after a bit of discussion I was able to figure it out. I feel that this is a great way to use the book in class: discussion. The Higher Power of Lucky has so many Literary Elements inside of it that I feel an in depth analysis would be necessary. I would like to have my students break up into groups and choose different literary elements to present to the class. This would be a great way to get the whole class involved in pieces of the book. I can definitely see myself using The Higher Power of Lucky in my elementary classroom some day.

Owl Moon



Title: Owl Moon

Written by: Jane Yolen

Illustrated by: John Schoenherr

Summary: Owl moon is a story about a child who goes searching for owls in the forest on a wintery night with his/her father.

    

Owl moon is a beautiful story. The story feels like a winter night. Beginning on the first page, Yolen sets up a scene that is so silent and so heavy that when I was reading it I felt like I needed to whisper in my head. We become the child along for a ride with our Pa, searching for an owl, but not quite sure if we are going to find one. We can feel the wonder that the child feels as we try to keep up with pa. I love how the Pa is almost a mysterious character. Because we only have the child’s point of view we do not get to hear what the Pa is thinking. We do not know where the child is going and the child doesn’t either. The setting plays a huge character in Owl Moon. The child stresses how important the silent of the wintery forest is. The forest is such a big place that we feel more mystery and wonder.  The pictures compliment this story very well. The trees are so big I the pictures that it feels like the forest goes on forever. Schoenherr uses the contrasting white of the snow and the black of the night to give the forest an almost eerie feeling, as if anything could happen while searching for the owl. I think my favorite picture is the picture of the owl staring at the child and the Pa. We feel like that owl is the only thing that matters in the whole entire world, as we read how it felt like they were staring at eachother for a hundred minutes.  I think this is a great story to use with students when we are trying to show how writing can evoke a feeling. Jane Yolen does such a great job of recreating that somber cold night.

 

Uncle What is it? Came to Visit

Title: Uncle What is it? Came to Visit

Written by: Michelle Willhoite



Summary: Two children are excited because their uncle is coming to visit. They find out that their uncle is gay, but they do not know what the word gay means. They ask a couple of boys in the town what the word gay means and they get some silly answers. First the boys tell the children that their uncle is going to be wearing women’s clothes and acting like a women. Then they tell the children that he will be wearing leather and chains. The children end up meeting their uncle who loves baseball and is great at cake decorating. In the end the children love their uncle for everything that he is.

            I think this is a great book. Although I could see how it could be deemed as a controversial book, I think it is a great way to start a conversation about the sensitive topic of homosexuality. The book uses some intense language such as “faggot” and “fruity”. These terms would need to be addressed. I was completely shocked when I came across the word “faggot” in this children’s book. Although it is hard to say out loud I think it is beneficial for a teacher to discuss in the class room. Students need to understand why we do not use words such like this. They need to be taught that it is not right, and it is hurtful. If we ignore these ideas in our classroom we are not doing our duty as a teacher. I thought it was interesting how the boys showed the children a picture from the newspaper. The title of the story read “Gay Pride Parade” and there was a picture of a man with fruit on his head wearing a skirt. This would be a great time to talk about how the newspaper is depicting the gay pride parade. Students could discuss this imagine and if they believe it is a correct depiction of what the parade is trying to represent.   I especially liked how at the end of the book when Uncle Brett comes to visit he says that someone who is gay can be who ever they want to be even if that includes chains and zippers.

The Stupids Die

Title: The Stupids Die

Written by: Harry Allard

Illustrations by: James Marshall

Summary:  The stupids are a family of dumb people. The story goes through their daily life ending in what they think is death. The lights end up going out, and they think that they have all died. When the lights come back on they think that they are in heaven but the continue to do their daily activities such as water the carpet, and eat with their feet.

This book was ironically really stupid. I think this story was a silly story for students to read and laugh at, but I would not have this story in my classroom library. I think that this story gives students the idea that it is ok to call someone stupid. Although the Stupids do things that are completely ridiculous such as hear the clock ring 11 times and believe that it is 12 oclock. I do not believe that many of the literary elements are met in this story. There is not much more than the explanations of the Stupid’s daily routine. I don’t have much more to say about this book, because I do not think it had much value.

Penguin and the Pea

Title: Penguin and the Pea

Author: Janet Pearlmen

Summary: Classic story of the princess and the pea however the characters are penguins.

I love the fact that Janet Pearlman made the characters penguins. It made a really cute twist to a common fairy tale. The illustrations were comical and fun to look at. I thought it was interesting how the story seemed to highlight the fact that the prince’s mother was old. She was the sense of evil in the story, acting as if she did not believe that the penguin could possibly be a princess because she was such a mess. The mother wanted to make sure that her son married a real princess and a real princess would be able to feel the slight pressure from a pea underneath a stack of mattresses. I think that it’s important that when we have our students read stories like this they understand that there is no truth to the story. Its important to give students the opportunity to critically challenge stories like this when they are young so that they will be able to continue to critically challenge any literature that they read as the get older. This fairy tale is fun to read for children because it is the classic story of romance. The prince is searching for his perfect princess even though she is sitting right in front of him. I like the Penguin and the Pea because throughout the story we get the sense that the prince really wants to like the penguin even though he is not sure that she is a princess. We get the sense that it is not the most important thing to the prince, he actually likes her.

Cinderella

Title: Cinderella

Retold by Cynthia Rylant

Illistrations by Mary Blair

Summary: Classic story of Cinderella. Cinderella is forced to live with her step mother and her evil step sisters. Cinderella ends up going to the ball where the prince is looking for his princess. She loses her slipper and the prince eventually finds out that the slipper belongs to her and they live happily ever after.

I have always loved the story of Cinderella, because it gives all little girls and boys a sense of romance. That people can be together no matter what their social class. That love is something that is magical and mysterious, something that people can’t define, but that they just know. In this story retold by Cynthia Rylant we feel a sense of sorrow for Cinderella. I have always enjoyed fairy tales, and I think they are a great way for children to stretch their imagination. In addition I think fair tales are a great way for everything to end up happy and sparkly in the end. One part in this fairy tale that made me a little uneasy was a whole page devoted to how a man finds his wife by walking into a room looking around seeing a girl touching her and knowing that they are going to be together. This is so unrealistic and it’s almost hard to read without laughing. Cinderella plays a very passive role throughout the story, waiting for her chance to go to the ball which comes when her fairy god mothers comes, and then waiting for the prince to come find her again, which he eventually does by using the glass slipper. Although I do not think that any fairy tale, especially Cinderella, should be used to teach about real life, I do not think there is any problem when children reading them. The drawings by Mary Blair were so exquisite, that the story felt like a dream. They were so fantastical, almost looking like they were going to drip right off of the page. I had a great time reading Cinderella and although it might not have been the most politically correct, I think it is a great fairy tale.

Jumanji

Title: Jumanji

Author and Illustartor: Chris Van Allsburg

Summary: The story starts with a mother and father leaving their two children alone for the night. The children go outside to play and they find a game called Jumanji. They decide to go back inside and play the game. The kids read the instructions and find out that the game will not be over untill one of the players reaches Jumanji. Peter is not entertained by the cautious directions and decides to start. the children experience a lion, raiding monkeys, a monsoon, rhino stampede, a lost guide, a sleeping virus, a snake, and a valcanoe. Finally Judy reaches the end of the game and after shouting Jumanji all of the jungle madness disappears and the house goes back to normal. The children take the game back outside for someone else to find. The children's parents come home with some friends. While the children are looking outside they see two boys find the game and run off to play it.

     As a kid who really loved the movie Jumanji, it was hard for me to really get into the book. although I know that this book was the original story,there were so many details that were added in the movie.  I was almost unsatisfied with just reading the story, I feel as if i want to go rent the movie. The story did not have very much characterization. Although we see that Peter is the bored and unenthusiastic brother and Judy is the more adventureous sister, we don't really get to know these two characters. The illustartions that Allsburgs creates are beautiful. The give the reader a sense of reality. It almost feels like the children are showing us snap shots from the actual game. The borders around the lifelike pictures make us feel like we are seeing something that actually happened. I think this is a quality book for children to read, and I would love to have it in my classroom available for children to use during free time, but I do not think I would use this as a major lesson.

Golem

Title: Golem

Author and Illustrator: David Wisniewski

Summary: Golem is a story about the cheif rabbi or Prague and his experience making a protector named Golem for the Jews. At the beginning of the story, all of the religions in Prague are fighting. the rabbi is scared for his Jews and has had a vision showing him the word Golem. He decided that he must make a man who would serve as the protector for the Jews named Golem. The rabbi went out with his son in law Itzak Kohen and his student Yakov Sassoon. The rabbi made Golem from clay and wrote truth on his head. Golem protected the jews untill there were too many people in the prison. Prague revolted and formed a rally. Golem attack all of the people and killed many. The emporer demanded that the Jews would stay protected as long as Golem was put to rest. The rabbi agreed and Golem went back into the Earth.

     I was really surprised when I started reading this story. I did not know it was going to be so dark and almost scary. I absolutely love the illustartions. They are made from paper cut outs formed on top of one another. The detail and dark colors really add too the story. After reading the "note" in the back of the book, I learned that this story was a legand. I really liked how the "note" relates the making of Golem to the advances of our technology. I think its important to realize that we can not create life, and if we do it might turn out a little scary, like Golem. I'm not sure if I would ever attempt to use this story in a classroom. There are so many religious connections. It would be hard to shed this book in a light where the students weren't focusing on a religious aspect.

The Hello, Goodbye Window

Title: The Hello, Goodbye Window

Author: Norton Juster

Illustrator: Chris Raschka

Summary: The Hello, Goodbye Window is a story written about a little girl and her visits to her grandparents house. Throughout the story the girl tells us all about a special window located in the front of her grandparent's house. This window can be used for many things such as greetings, scaring people, and observing passer by's such as a T-Rex.

     The Hello, Goodbye Window is written from the point of view of a little girl. Its really fun to read because the way the girl talks and thinks is just like that of a 5 or 6 year old girl. I love the way the girl talks about her grandfather. She gives us a great picture of his fun and ridiculous antics. I especially enjoyed reading about her grandfather playing the harmonica. This was fun for me to read becuase I can also play the harmonica, but just like the grandfather, I can only play one song: Old Susanna. This story made me remember when my mom taught me how to play old susanna and she would play it quickly and slowely or just in a different rhythm and I was so excited to learn how to do it just like her. The art by CHris Raschka gives the book and amazing feel. Its almost as if the little girl herself was painting the pictures with the help of her grandparents. My favorite picture in the story is of the house and the window during the night time. You really feel a sense of peace as you see the grandparents gazing out at you from the Hello, Goodbye window. This would be a great story to use for Point of View. The students could investigate how the little girls explains her stories.

The Little House

Title: The Little House

Author: Virginia Lee Burton

Illustrator: Garth Williams

Summary: THe little house is a story about a house who lived in the country. She had always wondered what it would be like to live in a city. Slowly but surely the city came to her and because of over population and the growth of the city, the little house found herself right in the middle of the big city. After becoming depressed the little house is found by her builders great great grandchild, and she is moved back to the country side.

     I think this story is a lovely story that can be shared with children of all ages. The illustations are what makes the story for me. My favorite part of the story is the picture of the house. If you look at each picture carefully you can notice that in the beginning of the story, the houses stairs look a little bit like a smile, with her windows being the eyes and her door as her nose. As the story progresses you can feel and see the house becoming upset about her new found home in the city. I love the caracters in this story especially the city. The city becomes its own character as all of the subways, trains, cars, roads and skyscrapers are added to it. There is an amazing emotional connection that one feels when reading the story. I think my emotional attachment was to the house itself, but I was also attached to the original builder of the house. The builder was so adamant on his house staying in the family, and never being sold. When the house ends up in the city broken down and forgoten, I am not only sad for the house, but for the legand that the house was supposed to become. The end of the story gives the reader a sense of satisfaction. We can finally see the house back in its proper location with a loving family living inside.  

The Butter Battle Book

 

Title: The Butter Battle Book

Age Group: Early to Intermediate

Summary: The butter battle book is a story about the Yooks and the Zooks who are battling on two sides of a wall. They are battling over which side of the bread to butter: underneath or on top.  Throughout the story a boy is hearing from his grandpa about the different weapons that each side has invented in order to out do the other side. The Yooks come up with several new weapons however each weapon is recipricated by the Zooks. In the end both the Yooks and the Zooks have a bomb weapon that they could drop at any time. We are left with the question who will act first.

    Dr. Seuss has always been one of my favorite authors to read because of the pure joy you get from hearing his stories out loud. The way Dr. Seuss formulates his stories with such flow make them the ultimate treat for young readers. I also love the way Seuss makes up characters and words to animate his stories.
    After reading a bit about the story I have discovered that this was writen during the era of the Cold War. The wall that this present in the story is simulating the Berlin Wall which was located in Germany. I love this fact becuase Dr. Seuss makes the Yooks and the Zooks fight about something as silly as which end to butter their toast. This story has a cliff hanger ending which I love. The reader is left in suspense as to what is going to happen to the Yooks and the Zooks whom we have fallen in love with throughout the story. I think this story does a wonderful job of setting up a scene for the reader. We are given so much of the background information before the present time of the grandfather holding the "bitsty big boy boomeroo". This story is a great way to introduce this war and fighting to small chidren. I also thinks its a great tool to use for further discussion about war are the effects.

Focus Question: How does knowing about literary elements impact understanding of a story?

     I really enjoyed reading the novel "The Higher Power of Lucky". Because I had been exposed to the Literary Elements before reading the novel, I feel I was able to find a higer respect for the story. Throughout the article writen by Peterson and Eds, I felt as if they were giving deeper meaning to every story I had ever read. I believe that once a student is exposed to these "literary elements" he or she is going to find a different sense of understanding within the stories that they read. By discussing what different elements such as: character, setting, mood, plot, etc..., bring before actually reading the story, the reader can mentally prepare for what he or she is going to experience. If a reader knows that the mood of the story can change based on the presencse of something as simple as a cookie, the reader can be more aware and detailed when reading. I also believe that discussion of these literary elements are key when reading novels. The literary elements give students something to start their discussion with. Once they start the discussion on something like setting as a character, who knows where their conversations and discoveries will end.
     It seems that most students are going to focus on plot and characters. These are the two outer layers of the book. Without explaining and discussing the different elements such as point of view, colors, etc... our students will not know how to look for them. I can remeber always summarizing a story. We would have to write out the main idea and then give supporting details for the story. Although this can be a great tool for students to use when beginning their literary journey, I think we as teachers need to provide the resrouces for students to delve deeper, into the themes and controversies that the authors want us to reveal.

Lloyd Alexander

Lloyd Alexander

 January 30, 1924 - May 17, 2007

    

Lloyd Alexander became one of the great modern American writers with his beautifully written children's novels. Lloyd was born in Drexel Hill, Philadelphia. He lived in Drexel Hill for most of his childhood and adult life, taking small pauses in Paris and traveling with the army. Alexander Lloyd passed away in Drexel Hill when he was 83 years old from cancer.  Lloyd was not always a children’s novelist he started off writing non-fiction for adults. He took many experiences from his own and gave them to the characters in his books. After researching Lloyd I have come to find a fascination in him. It seems like he has a sort of magic surrounding him. He was so full of curiosity and imagination that his books just seem to come alive.  I have scanned many of his novels and it seems as though a lot of them have a similar theme. There seems to be a boy main character that is searching for something greater that what he has become. The boy usually has to fight evil in order to become that something greater. What I like about Alexander is how his stories can be similarly, but still have such character intimacy that they seem different.

Lloyd writes in a way that took a while for me to get used too. The names of people and places that he uses are different than any names I have heard of before. This would make it difficult for me as a teacher to use the book in class. I would have a hard time referring to the characters, because I would not know how to properly say them. I think this could raise an interesting topic in my class. If I were to use these stories in my curriculum I could have a discussion with my students about how they read names that they have not seen before. We could, as a class, decide on how we were going to pronounce them so that the students would have an easier time when reading on their own.

The Black Cauldron, a Disney movie made in 1985, was based on two of the books from the Chronicles of Prydain. I think this is a great supplement to the series.  If I were to use Alexander’s books in my class I could have them read one of the Black Cauldron books, and then watch the Disney movie. We could hold a class comparison and the students could do some work researching the similarities and differences between Alexander’s books and the Disney movie.

Jack and the Night Visitors

Title: Jack and the Night Visitors

Author: Pat Schories

Age: Primary

Summary: This is a wordless book about a boy named jack and his alien encounter. We see the boy, jack who is in bed at night is visited by little alien robots. The robots come in through the window and Jack is extremely fascinated by the creatures. The creatures all escape however Jack captures one and keeps him in a jar. In the end the robot escapes and Jack is left looking out his window once again.

I love this story becuase it is wordless and I have never really experienced a book like this before. The illistrations are so captivating. The reader cannot help but study each individual scene as if they are reading the pictures. The story and the pictures capture so much suspense that even a young reader could understand. Along with Jack as one of the main characters is Jack's dog. I love this addition to the story becuase we watch as not only Jack is intrigued by these small invaders, but his trusty companion is also. This story would be great in a classroom where the teaching is working on writing stories. This would be a great class activity. The teacher could set up the premis by showing the kids the book in absolute silence. The teacher could then have the students do a quick write for about 5 minuets on the setting, characters, and plotline of the story. After this the teacher could have the students work on a project where they write a detailed story. This assignment could become interesting. The teacher could use it to teacher different lessons such as: perspective (have the students write from Jack's point of view, the dog's point of view, the captured robots point of view) dialogue (the students must use only dialogue in their story), or a focus on beginning middle and end (the teacher could have the students write out an introduction first then a conclusion and finally write the core, the middle, of the story. I love this book becuase of the vast uses it could have in a classroom, not to mention the pure fun the book has to offer.

Grandfather's Journey

Title: Grandfather's Journey

Author / Illistrator: Allen Say

Age Group: 3/4/5

Summary: This story is from the perspective of a boy who grandfather came to america from Japan. The story talks about the gradfathers departure from Japan, what he saw in America, His return to Japan, and then his longing to go back to America. The story ends with the boy discussing how he longed to move to America to see what his grandfather saw. Although he loved America,  the moment he got there he longed to go back to Japan.

     Grandfather's Journey is a lovely story about Japanese immigrants. The illistrations are breathtaking portralyls of what look like snapshots from a camera. The pictures give the story a feel of a scrap book that the boy is looking through while he is telling his grandfather's story. The illistrations, along with the text, give us a feeling of longing for something. We begin to feel that same way the grandfather feels. We want to go back to our childhood homes and visit our old friends once again. The story introduces the War which is a great thing to transition to in the class. I think I would use this story to start a conversation about immigration. We could talk about not only Japanese immigration, but all other types as well. This story could start discussion about why and how people immigrate from other countries and how we react to them.

Tadpole's Promise

Title: Tadpole's Promise

Author: Jenna Willis

Illistrator: Tony Ross

Age Group: 4th grade

Summary: This is a delightful story about a tadpole and a caterpillar that meet by the water. They fall in love, however the caterpillar begs the tadpole to never change. The first time they meet the tadpole has grown legs, which the caterpillar does not like. the second time they meet the frog has grown arms, which the caterpillar does not like. The caterpillar gives the tadpole one more chance to stay the same: her "shiny black pearl", however when they meet a third time, the tadpole has lost his tale. The caterpillar gets upset and cries herself to slee. The next time they meet the caterpillar is a butterfly and the tadpole is a frog. When the butterfly tries to find the tadpole to forgive him, the frog ends up eating the butterfly, and waiting for his "beautiful rainbow" (caterpillar) to come back.

       I really enjoyed reading this story. The illistrations are wonderful. The book is illistrated in a way that the top page is the earth and sky and the bottom page is the pond. There is even a little story about more tadpoles being chased by a fish at the bottom of the pond illistration that is never talked about in the text. I think the twist at the end of the story, with the frog eating the butterfly, is perfect. We are so caught up in this beautiful love story of a caterpillar and tadpole that we think they are going to end up together forever, but they don't, and it's almost grousum what happens.

      I think this would be a great story to use to lead into a 4th grade science unit on metamorphis. In all science classes they talk about tadpoles changing into frogs and caterpillars changing into butterflies. I think this would be a perfect attention getter to get the students engaged in this topic.

The Friend

Title: The Friend

Author: Sarah Stewart

Illistrator: David Small

Age Group: k-5

Summary: This story follows a little girl, Belle, and her housekeeper, Bea, on their everyday adventures. During the climax of the story Belle ends up getting taken out to sea by a big wave. Bea, sensing the danger, runs out to find Belle drowning in the water. Bea saves the littler girl, and the two continue on together. At the end of the story we see a grown up Belle reminiscing about her missed friend, Bea.

     This was a wonderful and emotional story. The pictures really compliment the text. It looks liek the pictures are drawn with water color. The story begins before the words even start on the end pages. You see a little girl sitting in a giant lavishly decorated room, all alone, with only her teddy bear on the ground. On the next two pages, even before the title page, we see the little girl wake up, put on her glasses, pick up her teddy, and venture down the stairs. The next two pages are the title pages where we see the dressed up parents rushing out of the house with luggage. There is real emotion on these pages because it looks as if the parents do not really care that they are leaving their little girl behind. We see a woman dressed as a maid putting the luggage into the trunk of the car. On the first page we are greeted by the text that is written in rhyming style. We are introduced to Anabelle Bernadette Clemntine Dodd and her friend Beatrice Smith. The beauty of this story is that the text never tells us that Bea is Belle's housekeeper and maid, however we can infer this from the pictures. We see Bea constantly watching over Belle in the illustrations. Throughout the text and the pictures we become instantly attached to these two characters, and the strong bond between them. The reader almost gets sucked in as if they actually know the characters. From the very beginning the story ends each little chapter with the two characters going hand in hand to the sea. This almost gives us a preminition as to what is going to happen in the story. Sure enough the sea becomes an even bigger character when Belle, trying to be independent, gets taken out by a wave. I love the way the story brings us into Bea's room. The text tells us that it is full of "birds and blooms" and before moving on to the next page I was a little confused as to what this meant. After turning the page you understand becuase you are given a visual picture of what Bea's room looks like. My favorite part of this story is the last page. I love the illistration of the girl, who we infer is Belle looking out the window thinking about her friend bea. When looking around the room that Belle is in, we see that she has all the things that she had when she was with Bea: sea shells, flowers, birds, and her teddy. There is almost an emotion sigh when the book ends becuase we feel the thanks that Belle feels for Bea. I also loved the fact that we are given an actual picture of who I'd like to think is the author Sarah Stewart and her real life Bea. The picture is disguised in an illistration of a locket.

      I would like to use this in a classroom to talk about the emotional weight that pictures and text can have. I'd like to disgus with my students why a piece of writing can make us feel a certain way and how pictures can help either compliment or change a mood.

Walter Was Worried

Title: Walter Was Worried
Author: Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Age Group: Early Readers

Summary: This story involves many characters that are all experiencing different emotions due to the weather. At the beginning of the story the characters are experiencing negative emotions to the weather, but at the end of the story the negative emotions turn positive and they are all happy as the clouds clear and the sun finally comes out. The story has great text along with extremely powerful illistrations.

       Walk Was Worried is extremely beautiful story where the pictures are absolutely necessary. The wonderful part about the pictures is that the adjective that describes the character is written out on their face. I love the way the story has no title on the front cover it just has a picture of walter's face. If you look closely you can see the word "worried" written in Walter's facial features. Another great feature is found in the text. The adjective that describes the character has the same font and coloring of the letters that are found in the facial features of the character. This makes it easier for the reader to see where the letters are in the face. The story also deals with alliteration. The character's names have the same first letter as the adjective that describes them such as worried Walter, puzzled Priscilla, etc. This brings up a great lesson for the students in alliteration. The students could play with alliteration with their own names, and they could draw pictures with the adjective written in their facial features.
      I think this is a great way to get students involved in the pictures. If I were to use this story in a class I would like to read the story through the first time without giving any hints away. Maybe I would show the class the cover and ask them to come up with a possible title, before actually revealing it to them. After I read the story the first time, I could ask my students if they noticed anything when they were looking at the pictures. We could then use this time to look at the alliteration found in the text. I think a great way to get the class involved would be to make a story like this throughout our own classroom. The students could draw their own pictures with adjectives in their facial features and we could hang them up throughout the classroom.

Shel Silverstein

      "Where the Sidewalk Ends" By Shel Silverstein was my absolute favorite book when I was growing up. There was not a night that I did not flip through those pages. I still have the book. The binding is disconeccted from the pages and I have lost the cover. Ickle Me Pickle Me Tickle Me Too was my favorite poem. Although I had memorized about 10 of the poems, for some reason I loved to recite "Ickle me Pickle me Tickle me Too". After about 11 years I can still recite the poem perfectly (test me). I loved both "Where the Sidewalk Ends" along with "A Light in the Attic". I enjoyed these books becuase they were fun. They were fun to read, and they were fun to recite. Other poems such as Sick and Warning were in my top favorites. Silverstein has a way with words which is unlike any poet I have read before. He writes about topics that interest and entertain children. Ironically as a child, my two favroite things were interesting and entertaining; a book of poetry which contained both was perfect for me.