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.