Reader Response Log

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Title: Bad Day at Riverbend

Author: Chris Van Allsburg

Genre: Science Fiction

Date of Publication: 1995

ISBN: 039567347X

Other Designators:

Reading Level: 3^rd Grade

Pre-K – 3^rd Grade Interest Level

2.8 Grade Level Equivalent

680 Lexile Measure (3^rd Grade)

38 DRA (3^rd Grade)

P Guided Reading (3^rd Grade)

Summary

Bad Day at Riverbend is the story of a quiet Western town drawn in black outlines in the middle of nowhere.  Only the stagecoach occasionally rolls through town, but it never stops.  One day the town Sheriff Ned Hardy saw a bright light out on the western sky.  Later, the stagecoach rolls into town and stops for the first time.  The coachman was gone and the horses were startled and covered in a strange shiny, greasy slime that would not come off.  When Sheriff Hardy went looking for the coachman, he found him outside of town also covered in the strange slime.  Sheriff Hardy took the coachman back to Riverbend only to find that strange slime had come to Riverbend as well.  Sheriff Hardy decided to take a posse out west to find the source of the strange slime.  Outside of town, they find not only more slime, but also a stick-figure cowboy.  The posse decides to attack the stick figure.  When they come over the hill, they become stuck in the strange slime and we see a child’s hand and a crayon over the picture.  The story ends with the reader realizing that the town is a coloring book and the slime is crayon from a child drawing in the book.

Response

Considering that this is a picture book for young elementary school children, this book is amazingly suspenseful.  My first thought when I saw the cover and started reading the first couple pages was that the illustrations in this book were not like other Chris Van Allsburg books.  It actually took a little effort to initially make myself interested in reading this book.  I had to let the suspense in the story carry me through and the more I read, the more I was intrigued by the slime.  The ending was a typical Chris Van Allsburg ending, revealing to the reader a surprise and making you want to read it all over again.

Teaching Ideas

After reading this book to your class, you could have the kids use the same idea with their own coloring books.  I’d choose coloring books with themes so that the students could write a story to go along with the pictures and they could choose to color the books in anyway they choose.  They could either use the same “mysterious slime” found in Bad Day at Riverbend, or they could write a different kind of story and choose to color in the pictures in some manner.

Title: The Man Who Walked Between The Towers

Author: Mordicai Gerstein

Genre: Biography

Date of Publication: 2003

ISBN: 0-7613-1791-0

Other Designators: Caldecott Medal Winner, SLJ Best Book Award

Reading Level: Second Grade

K-2 Interest Level

2.5 Reading Level

L Guided Reading (2^nd Grade)

480 Lexile Level (2^nd Grade)

Summary

The Man Who Walked Between The Towers is about a young Frenchmen aerialist named Philippe Petit, and his dream to walk a rope between the World Trade Center Towers in New York City.  The book begins with a description of Philippe; a street performer who rides unicycles and can juggle balls and fiery torches.  Philippe’s passion, however, was to walk on a rope tied between two tress.  He looked at the space between the two not quite completed towers and imagined walking a rope tied between them.  He reminisces about how he had walked on a wire between the steeples of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.  He also knew that like in Paris, the owners of the Twin Towers would not be too excited about a man stringing a line between their towers and walking on it nearly a quarter mile in the sky.  So Philippe made a secret plan to string a seven-eights inch thick wire between the towers.  He and some friends dressed as construction workers and snuck their equipment to the roof at the end of the day.  Over night, Philippe and his crew string the wire between the towers.  By dawn, they were done, and as the sun rises, Philippe walked out onto the line.  It didn’t take long for people on the street, including police officers, to notice Philippe dancing on his wire between the Towers.  Police rushed to the roof.  They told Philippe that he was under arrest.  Philippe smiled, and continued to walk back and forth on his line until he was completely satisfied.  Philippe was arrested and sentenced by a judge to perform in the park for the children of the city.  Philippe accepted his sentence happily.  The books ends saying, “Now the towers are gone.  But in memory, as if imprinted on the sky, the towers are still there.  And part of that memory is the joyful morning, August 7, 1974, when Philippe Petit walked between them in the air.”  This book is a Caldecott Medal winner that features creative fold out illustrations.

Response

My favorite things about this book were the “disguised” large illustrations.  I say disguised because I loved how the picture was a perfect two-page picture before I unfolded the page.  Once I unfolded the page, the picture became a large, three-page panoramic style illustration.  I also enjoyed the placement of the text.  In the beginning of the book, the layout of pictures and text are pretty standard.  As the moment where Philippe walks on the line gets closer, the illustrations start to get bigger, eventually encompassing the entire page.  Here, the text starts moving to corners of the page or is hidden behind the fold out pages.  I also really appreciated how the author incorporated the falling of the towers into his book.

Curriculum Connections

Grade 1 English Language Arts:

2.03 Read and comprehend both fiction and nonfiction text appropriate for grade one using:

• prior knowledge.

• summary.

• questions.

• graphic organizers.

2.05 Predict and explain what will happen next in stories.

Grade 2 English Language Arts:

2.01 Read and comprehend text (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama) appropriate for grade two by:

• determining purpose (reader’s and author’s).

• making predictions.

• asking questions.

Grade 3 English Language Arts:

2.02 Interact with the text before, during, and after reading, listening, or viewing by:

• setting a purpose.

• previewing the text.

• making predictions.

• asking questions.

• locating information for specific purposes.

• making connections.

• using story structure and text organization to comprehend.

4.01 Read aloud grade-appropriate text with fluency, comprehension, and expression.

Teaching Ideas

One part of the book that caught my attention was when Philippe was looking at the space in between the towers.  The author writes, “Once the idea came to him he knew he had to do it.  If he saw three balls, he had to juggle.  If he saw two towers, he had to walk!  That’s how he was.”  This quote reminds me of passion.  I think it would be fun to have students either write about their own passions (example: When I see a baseball, I have to hit it.  When I see crayons, I have to draw.  When I see a book, I have to read.  Etc…) or have them write about a fictional character with a passion.  For me, I’m intrigued by the irony of a kangaroo with a passion for running or an elephant with a passion for jumping, but really any story about a character with a passion and how they achieve that passion could be appropriate.

Title: The Lorax

Author: Dr. Seuss

Genre: Informational

Date of Publication: 1971

ISBN: 0394823370

Other Designators:

Reading Level: Second Grade

K-2 Interest Level

3.5 Reading Level

560 Lexile Level (2^nd Grade)

Summary

The Lorax is a cautionary tale told as a flash back by the Once-ler, an entrepreneur who’s always looking to see how he can make his next buck.  A young boy travels down a street called The Street of the Lifted Lorax.  The boy has heard that if he travels to the Once-ler, he can learn who the Lorax was.  The Once-ler agrees to share his story with the boy for a fee that the boy pays.  The Once-ler tells about the first day he traveled to this place and how it looked: beautiful Truffula Trees, Brown Bar-ba-loots, Humming-fish, Swomee-Swans, green grass and clear water.  The Once-ler decides to set-up shop in this beautiful place and makes Thneeds out of the soft tuff from the top of the Truffula Tree.  Out of the stump from the first tree the Once-ler cuts down, crawls a funny looking creature named the Lorax.  The Lorax tell the Once-ler, “I speak for the trees,” and tells the Once-ler to please stop cutting down trees.  The Once-ler doesn’t listen to the Lorax.  His Thneeds start selling quickly so the Once-ler invites his whole family to move into the area.  They build a larger factory and bigger machines to chop down the Truffula Trees.  As the factory grows larger, the Lorax continues to ask the Once-ler to stop.  He tells the Oncel-er that the Bar-ba-loots have to leave because they’re hungry; the Swomme-Swans have to leave because the air is filled with smog, and the Humming Fish have to leave because the pond is too polluted.  All the while, the Once-ler ignores the annoying Lorax and replies that he’s going to continue to grow his business.  When the last Truffula Tree is chopped down, the Once-ler’s family leaves because they cannot make any more Thneeds and the Lorax leaves because he has no more trees to speak for.  The Once-ler is left in a barren wasteland of stumps.  The story then goes back to the young boy hearing the story from the Once-ler.  The Once-ler throws the boy the last of the Truffula Tree seeds, and tells him that if he plants the seeds and cares for and protects the trees, that the Lorax may come back.

Response

I enjoy this book, along with all of what I would consider “Informational Books” by Dr. Seuss, because it speaks of an extremely important “adult” message, in an extremely “childish” way.  The illustrations are classic Dr. Seuss.  Before reading this book aloud to students, I would HIGHLY suggest that the reader practice.  I read the Lorax aloud and definitely struggled through certain parts.  I think this book could be used many ways in school.  It could be used as an example of poetry where there is rhyming, however not in every line and there is an example of using text to carry the message (example: biggering, and BIGGERING, and BIGGERING).  This book could also obviously be used in a science class discussing the environment and conservation.

Curriculum Connections

Grade 1 Science:

1.01 Investigate the needs of a variety of different plants:

1.02 Investigate the needs of a variety of different animals:

1.03 Observe the ways in which humans are similar to other organisms.

1.04 Identify local environments that support the needs of common North Carolina plants and animals.

Grade 2 Science:

1.02 Observe that insects need food, air and space to grow.

Grade 3 Science:

1.02 Observe and describe how environmental conditions determine how well plants survive and grow in a particular environment.

2.05  Determine how composting can be used to recycle discarded plant  and animal material.

Teaching Ideas

One idea would be to have kids write their own story about their own “Lorax.”  They could write about a fictional creature that they could name who speaks for something that can’t speak for itself.  It could be something serious like a “Lorax” who speaks for endangered Rhinos or something silly like a “Lorax” who speaks for the uneaten lasagna from the cafeteria.  I would give my students the option of having their stories use poetic tools like rhyme, text placement, etc. and of course, if time allowed, have them illustrate their fictional character.

Title: The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Stupid Fairy Tales

Author: Jon Scieszka & Lane Smith

Genre: Traditional Literature

Date of Publication: 1992

ISBN: 0-590-47676-9

Other Designators: Caldecott Honor Book

Reading Level: 3^rd Grade

K-3 Interest Level

3.9 Grade Level Equivalent

520L Lexile Measure (2^nd Grade)

34-38 DRA (3^rd Grade)

P Guided Reading Level (3^rd Grade)

Summary

The Stinky Cheese Man… is a collection of classic fairy tales that seems to be told by a stand-up comedian with a horrible memory, so he just makes up the details (or large-tails) of the story.  The book begins with the Little Red Hen trying to tell her fairytale.  The narrorator introduces himself as Jack and tells the Little Red Hen that she’s on the end paper and that the book hasn’t even started yet.  They argue as he tries to tell her she’s too early and she keeps telling her story.  Next the title page appears with “Titile Page,” written in large bold letters.  The dedication page is upside down because Jack says nobody ever reads it anyway.  Next comes the introduction in the form of a letter from Jack letting the reader know that these aren’t fairy tales, but instead Fairly Stupid Tales.  The first story in the book is called “Chicken Licken.”  Something falls on Chicken Licken’s head (In the illustration we see the number 12 falling on Chicken Licken’s head.) and Chicken Licken collects all of her friends (Ducky Lucky, Goosey Loosey, and Cocky Locky) to go tell the president the sky is falling.  They meet Jack who says, “But I cam to warn you.  The Table of Contents is-“ but they ignore him and move on.  After they meet Foxy Loxy who convinces them to come to the cave to presumably be eaten, the Table of Contents falls and kills them all.  Next is the story “The Princess and The Bowling Ball” where the prince puts a bowling ball under the 100 mattresses rather than a pea so that his favorit princess can feel it and his parents accept her.  The story ends, “And everyone lived happily, though maybe not completely honestly, ever after.”  The next story is “The Really Ugly Duckling.”  In this story, the really ugly duckling simply grows up to become a really ugly duck.  Next is “The Other Frog Prince.”  A frog convinces a princess to kiss him on the pretense that he’s a prince under a horrible spell.  After the kiss, the frog replies, “Just kidding,” and jumps away.  In “Little Red Running Shorts,” Jack tells us that Little Red Running Shorts actually beats the wolf to Grannies house.  She opens the door and says, “My, what slow feet you have.”  The actual characters, Little Red Running Shorts and Wolf become angry at Jack for telling the whole story, so they decide to walk off the page even though their story is supposed to be three pages long.  Next we see a blank white page and the Little Red Hen bickering about her story and asking why there is a blank page.  The next two Next stories, “Jack’s Bean Problem,” and “Jack’s Story” involve the narrator.  The Giant decides he wants to tell his version of the story.  When it doesn’t make any sense, he tells Jack he’ll eat him as soon as Jack’s done telling his version of the story, so Jack speaks for a very, very, very long time to avoid being eaten.  “The Story of Cinderumpelstiltskin” is about Cinderella, who is the victim of her steprelatives cruelty.  When a weird, short man arrives and asks her if she’d like to spin straw into gold, Cinderella replies she’s only looking for a dress, some slippers, and a coach.  The man leaves, angrily shouting his name, and Cinderella’s family starts calling her Cinderumpelstiltskin.  Next, “The Tortoise and the Hair,” is about a hare who says he can grow hair faster than the tortoise can run.  The tortoise takes the bet, and the story ends with them still racing.  Next is “The Stinky Cheese Man.”  An old women makes a man out of stinky cheese and puts him in the oven, when she opens it to check on him, he’s alive and runs.  Nobody wants to catch him because he smells so bad.  When Stinky Cheese Man gets to a river, a fox offers to swim him across and promises not to eat him.  The fox coughs, gags, and sneezes because of the horrible smell and the Stinky Cheese Man falls in the river and falls apart.  Finally, we come to Jack trying to sneak away from the sleeping Giant.  Little Red Hen shows up yelling she’s made her bread.  The Giant wakes, but happy to see bread to eat, he eats the bread, and Jack gets away.

Response

I think this book is spectacular because it has tremendous cross over appeal for both children and adults.  The comedy is incredibly smart.  It doesn’t just change the stories, it plays with the notion of book construction. The table of contents falls on characters.  Characters notice a blank page and comment on the author and illustrator.  All of which make the reader chuckle, if not outright laugh.  What I kept thinking as I read this book was, “Why didn’t I think to do this?”  The illustrations are also beautiful that reminds me of a Tim Burton animated film.  The colors are dark and the characters are abstract, but I think it fits perfectly with the “Fairly Stupid Tales” in the book.

Teaching Ideas

I think it would be fun to have students mimic the theme of this book with their own stories.  One idea would be to have each student pick a fairy tale (doubling up would be okay) and recreate it in a comic book form.  I think it would be fun to take the students finished products and hang them on a wall or bulletin board.  Another option would be to have students pick stories without doubling up (You may need to make students into groups depending on the size of the class.) and create their own book of “Fairly Stupid Tales.”  They could also pick out a new title for their book.  Finally, it may also be fun to play a game where one student starts telling a traditional fairly tale, another student take over after three or four sentences, then another, and another.  This could be done talking in class or over several days.  It could be written and a different student could take it home for homework every night to add to it.  The finished product has potential for being very funny.

Title: The Polar Express

Author: Chris Van Allsburg

Genre: Modern Fantasy

Date of Publication: 1985

ISBN: 0395389496

Other Designators: Caldecott Medal

Reading Level: 2^nd Grade

K-2 Interest Level

4.9 Grade Level Equivalent

520L Lexile Measure (2^nd Grade)

30-34 DRA (2^nd Grade)

N Guided Reading Level (2nd Grade)

Summary

The Polar Express is about a boy waiting laying in bed on Christmas Eve waiting to hear the bells of Santa’s sleigh.  Instead, he’s surprised to hear a hissing coming from the front of the house.  When he looks out the window, he sees a train waiting in the street.  He goes outside and the conductor tells him that this is the Polar Express going to the North Pole.  The boy gets on the train and joins other boys and girls who are all in their pajamas and drinking out chocolate.  The train makes the journey to the North Pole.  When they get there, hundreds of elves are gathered in the main square to see Santa off on his journey.  The kids from the train gather around when Santa calls the boy who was laying in bed and says that he can have the first gift of Christmas.  The boy asks for a bell from Santa’s sleigh.  Santa gives the boy a bell and declares it the first gift of Christmas.  After Santa leaves to deliver his presents, the boys and girls go back to the Polar Express for the journey home.  Once in the train, all the other children ask the boy to see the bell.  When the boy reaches into his pocket, he finds that the bell had fallen through a hole in his pocket and was lost.  Sadly, the boy goes home and goes to bed.  In the morning, the boy opens his presents.  The last present he opens is the missing bell with a note telling him to fix that hole in his pocket and is signed S.C.  The boy rings the bell and his parents reply, “Oh, that’s too bad, it’s broken.”  Only the boy and his sister can hear the bell.  As they grow up, his sister one day cannot hear the bell any more either.  The book ends explaining that only those who truly believe can hear the bell.

Response

This is one of my favorite books of all time.  I think the two elements that I love most about this book are the beautiful illustrations and the creativity in storytelling.  The illustrations are just fantastic.  Any one of them would be something that I would be eager to hang on my wall.  The illustrations combine with a fantastic story where a train of all things takes a little boy to the North Pole.  Finally, I like that the book doesn’t have naughty or nice lists when it comes to Santa.  I feel like the book values less materialistic culture in favor of sentimental gifts which I think is a good message during Christmas.  Personally, in my house, every Christmas it’s still asked, “Can you still hear the bell?”

Teaching Ideas

I think this book could be used in several ways.  First, and probably because I enjoy this book so much, I would use this book simply during story time.  I would ask the kids to just sit and listen as I read them the story.  At the end, we could discuss why the boy chose something as small as the bell when he could have asked for say an iPod.  Also, we could discuss metaphors and why the parents couldn’t hear the bell but the kids can.  Why did the bell eventually fall silent to the sister?  Another idea ay be to use this book in an art class and look at the illustrations and work with tools and techniques.

Title: My Name is * Me llamo Gabriela

Author: Monica Brown

Genre: Biography

Date of Publication: 2005

ISBN: 0-87358-859-2

Other Designators: Cultural Diversity

Reading Level: 4th Grade

Level 4.3, Points: 0.5 Accelerated Reader

Level 2.3, Points: 1 Scholastic Reading Counts

AD860L Lexile Measure

Summary

My Name is * Me llamo Gabriela is a picture book biography of Gabriela Mistral.  Gabriela was the first ever Latina to win a Nobel Prize for Literature.  The story is told in the first person with the author speaking as if she was Gabriela Mistral.  We quickly learn that Gabriela Mistral chose her name because she liked the sound of it.  Gabriela grew up in Chile near the Andes Mountains with her mother and sister.  Gabriela always had an extraordinary imagination.  She was always fascinated by language and liked the power they had.  Gabriela taught herself how to read.  She read all sorts of fiction and non-fiction stories.  Her reading led to writing stories, songs, and poems.  Growing up in her village, Gabriela used to play school with the younger children.  She would play the teacher and make the children learn their ABCs and sing songs.  When Gabriela grew up, she became a real teacher.  While teaching, she continued to write poems and stories.  Gabriela traveled to France, Italy, Mexico, and the United States.  While traveling, she met with teachers and students from all over the world.  The book ends with Gabriela receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Response

The most distinctive thing about My Name is * Me llamo Gabriela is the fact that the entire book is bilingual.  Everything from the summary on the inside of the dust cover to the about the author and about the illustrator sections are written in both English and Spanish.  On the pages of the book, the English and Spanish texts are separated in groups by the colorful illustrations.  It tells of an interesting and relatively unknown Nobel Prize winning author from Chile.  The book ends with a full page biography without pictures.  It is written in the third person and gives a slightly more academic, less sing-song, than the rest of the book.  This section gives more information about dates and Gabriela’s given name, Lucila.  This section is beneficial for older students who may be looking for more information than they got in the rest of the book.

Curriculum Connections

Grade 3 Modern Foreign Languages:

5.01 Identify the sound patterns of the target language and compare them to his/her own language(s).

5.02 Develop an awareness of the structural patterns (e.g., gender agreement, adjective placement) in the target language and his/her own language(s).

5.03 Recognize similarities and differences in the ways languages are written (e.g., alphabet/characters, punctuation, capitalization) in the target language and his/her own language(s).

Grade 4 Modern Foreign Languages:

3.03 Tell or retell a simple story orally and or/in writing with visual cues and prompting.

4.07 Identify people and products and their importance to the target cultures.

Grade 5 Modern Foreign Languages:

3.03 Tell or retell a simple story orally and or/in writing with visual cues and prompting.

4.07 Identify people and products and their importance to the target cultures.

Teaching Ideas

The most obvious use for this book is as an introduction to Spanish.  The fact that each page has the same text only in English and Spanish give teacher’s who have a very little understanding of the Spanish language, like myself, a gigantic and extremely helpful crutch in terms of working with some vocabulary words with our students.  This book is also a good introduction into biographies and will give students some information about an important person that they may not have heard of before in their usual text books.

Title: Bad News for Outlaws- The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves- Deputy U.S. Marshall

Author: Vaunda Micheaux Nelson

Genre: Biography

ISBN: 0822567644

Other Designators: Cultural Diversity, Coretta Scott King Award

Reading Level: 4^th Grade

3-6 Interest Level

5.2 Grade Level Equivalent

860L Lexile Measure (4^th Grade)

Summary

Bad News for Outlaws is the story of Bass Reeves.  Bass was a legendary lawman working on the frontier who was also black.  The book covers Bass’s early life being born into slavery in Texas.  Bass was liked by his owner and was actually allowed to shoot guns.  His owner entered Bass into shooting contests, but when his owner went off to the Civil War and brought Bass with, he and Bass had a disagreement so Bass ran west to the Indian Territories.  There, Native Americans gave him shelter and Bass learned the land.  When the Civil War ended and Bass was officially a free man, he married a women named Jennie, settled down, and had a large family.  But life out in the frontier in the Indian Territories was rough and it was a haven for outlaws to hide out.  When law moved west, Bass signed up as a U.S. Marshall.  He was valuable for his knowledge of the land his shooting ability.  Bass never learned to read, but he had the judge read him warrants and Bass would remember the men he was trying to catch.  Deputy Bass always got his man.  Sometimes he would disguise himself and surprise the men he was trying to catch.  Bass was kind as well.  He always used his gun as a last resort and would try to talk with his prisoners while he brought them back to face the judge.  There is a story of Bass even bringing in his own son when his son murdered his wife for being unfaithful.  When Oklahoma gained statehood, Bass was no longer a U.S. Marshall.  He was hired as a police officer in Muskogee, Oklahoma at the age of nearly seventy.  Even walking with a cane, there were no crimes committed in his patrol area for the two years he was on the force.  On January 12, 1910, Bass dies of a kidney ailment called Bright’s disease.

Response

I enjoyed this book because it was about a man that I had never heard of before.  It was exciting to read an new story about the old west.  Parts of the story feel like a folk tale.  For example, when Bass pulls a steer out of the mud single handedly when the steer is stuck up to it’s neck, or when Bass pets a skunk the his prisoners were trying to get to spray him.  It was fascinating to read about a black U.S. Marshall immediately post slavery and what he was able to do.  At the back of the book, there is a sort of reference section that lists definitions for western words and phrases.  There is also a timeline, a short section about Judge Isaac Parker, a short section about Indian Territory, and a selected bibliography.  This section is interesting for older students who can get more into the facts than simply the story.

Curriculum Connections

Grade 3 English Language Arts:

2.02 Interact with the text before, during, and after reading, listening, or viewing by:

• setting a purpose.

• previewing the text.

• making predictions.

• asking questions.

• locating information for specific purposes.

• making connections.

• using story structure and text organization to comprehend.

4.01 Read aloud grade-appropriate text with fluency, comprehension, and expression.

Grade 4 English Language Arts:

1.01 Use word identification strategies appropriately and automatically when encountering unknown words (graphophonic, syntactic, semantic).

1.02 Infer word meanings from taught roots, prefixes, and suffixes to decode words in text to assist comprehension.

1.03 Identify key words and discover their meanings and relationships through a variety of strategies.

Grade 5 English Language Arts:

1.04 Use word reference materials (e.g., glossary, dictionary, thesaurus, on-line reference tools) to identify and comprehend unknown words.

2.04 Identify elements of fiction and nonfiction and support by referencing the text to determine the:

• plot development.

• author’s choice of words.

• effectiveness of figurative language (e.g., personification, flashback).

• tone.

5.04 Determine the impact of word choice on written and spoken language.

Teaching Ideas

This could be a great book to use during Black History Month to tell a story that many people have never heard.  It could also be used to teach about biography.  Students could then pick a person from the past to write about or the teacher could assign people so that there would be a diverse selection of characters.  This book could also be used as an example of literary tools like metaphor, “He was as honest as the day is long,” and simile, “Getting through to them was like trying to find hair on a frog.”

Title: The Wave of the Sea-Wolf

Author: David Wisniewski

Genre: Traditional Literature

Date of Publication: 1994

ISBN: 0-395-66478-0

Other Designators: Cultural Diversity

Reading Level: 3rd Grade

3-5 Interest Level

5.6 Grade Level Equivalent

620L Lexile Measure

Summary

The Wave of the Sea-Wolf is the story of how a wooden war canoe became stuck in the top of a tall cedar tree.  A young princess in the Tlingit tribe named Kchokeen planned to go with her friends to collect salmon berries.  Her mother said okay, but warned her not to go near the mouth of the bay because great waves can come and wash her away to sea. Kchokeen is excited because perhaps Gonakadet, the Sea-Wolf, makes the waves.  If she got to see Gonakadet, she would surely receive honor and wealth. Kchokeen’s mother reminds her that this is not worth dieing for and that she should stay away from the bay.  The girls go to collect berries, but have to go close to the bay to find ripe berries.  While looking, Kchokeen falls into a hollow tree and becomes trapped.  She tells her friends to go get help back in the village.  In the tree, Kchokeen found a starving bear cub.  She fad the cub some berries, and the cub came close to her.  The Kchokeen heard a rumbling.  She thought it may be the Sea-Wolf, so she looked through a hole in the tree.  A great wave came crashing down on Kchokeen and the cub.  Their tree was lifted and moved.  When the hollow they were in filled with water, they were able to swim up and out of the hole. Kchokeen and the cub were left alone, but safe as the moon rose. Kchokeen caught a glimpse of Gonakadet, the Sea-Wolf, in the moonlight and dropped to her knees.  She was the first girl to ever see the Sea-Wolf.  This was a great honor.  From then on, Kchokeen was able to predict the coming of large waves with the help of the bear, who would howl when a wave was approaching. Kchokeen was a great asset to the fishermen in her village.  Later, a large, European ship comes into the bay.  Kchokeen is told by her father that the ship contained men who were good traders.  Kchokeen felt uneasy.  One day, Kchokeen’s father returned from the ships and told everybody that they were in danger.  The Tlingot knew that to trap more animals was not okay, but the men on the boat wanted more skins.  When Kchokeen’s father refused, the men fired cannons on the Tlingot village.  In revenge, Kchokeen asked the Sea-Wolf for a large wave.  After a rumbling in the night, the Tlingot sent a war canoe into the bay at night filled with furs.  The large ship gave chase just as a giant wave came crashing into the bay.  The large ship instantly disappeared beneath the waves.  The war canoe rode the wave high into the air and was lifted into the tops of a cedar tree.  The Tlingot rebuilt their village, but in time, more large ships came into the bay and the Tlingot slowly changed their way of life in response. Kchokeen asks herself, “The Sea-Wolf has protected us once, but will mightier forces in the earth protect us again?” Kchokeen vows to protect her culture by telling the story of the war canoe that’s stuck in the tree.

Response

I enjoyed this book.  I have spent time in the area of the Pacific Northwest (Western British Columbia and South-Eastern Alaska) and have a good idea of the combination of land and sea there.  I particularly enjoyed the parts of the story that hold true to evidence we can see in the bays even today.  Evidence of large tsunami waves crashing high on the sides of the cliffs or waves caused from giant chunks of ice calving off from tidewater glaciers.  This is also an interesting story because it’s about another group of Native Americans that we don’t often think about when we hear the term, “Native American.”  This is an entirely different culture and reading about their stories and traditions can be insightful for people who don’t know about Native peoples in this part of the Americas.

Teaching Ideas

I think this would be a great story to introduce students to a different group of Native Americans that actually, according to archeological studies, pre-dates the Planes Native Americans.  These Natives also lived in an incredibly unique eco-system; a northern rainforest.  This book could be an introduction to this eco-system and the plants and animals that live there.

Title: The Story of Jumping Mouse

Author: John Steptoe

Genre: Traditional Literature

Date of Publication: 1984

ISBN: 0-688-01902-1

Other Designators: Caldecott Honor, Cultural Diversity

Reading Level:

Grade 3-5 Interst Level

4.1 Grade Level Equivalent

500L Lexile Measure

38 DRA

P Guided reading

Summary

There was a young mouse that lived in the brush near a great river.  His whole life, young mouse listened to the elders tall stories about the desert beyond the river, the dangerous shadows in the sky, and of the far off land.  The elders made the far off land sound so wonderful that after many nights dreaming of it, little mouse decided that he would cross the great river, cross the desert, and travel to the far off land.  When he reached the great river, little mouse did not know how he would ever get across.  Frog appeared and asked little mouse if he knew how to swim.  Little mouse responded no.  When little mouse told Frog that his name was mouse, Frog laughed and said, “That’s not a name.”  Frog told mouse that he was a magic frog.  Using his magic, frog gave mouse the power to jump and named him Jumping Mouse. Jumping Mouse told Frog of his journey, and Frog helped by pushing Jumping Mouse across the great river on a leaf.  Once safely across, Jumping Mouse used his new legs to quickly jump across the land and avoided the shadows in the sky.  He jumped until he came to a fat old mouse living in some bushes.  When Jumping Mouse told fat old mouse of his journey, fat old ouse tried to convince Jumping Mouse to stay with him because it was safe there.  He said that the far off land was a myth and that they were protected from snake by a stream.  Jumping Mouse decided to stay a while to rest and eat.  Eventually, Jumping Mouse become fat like the other mouse.  On a walk, Jumping Mouse decided that he must continue on his journey while going for a walk. ON his walk, he saw a stick laying across the stream.  Snake had crossed.  BY the time Jumping Mouse made it back to the brush, the old fat mouse had already been eaten by snake.  Jumping Mouse took this as a sign that he must continue his journey.  After a while of traveling, Jumping Mouse came to a bison that lay dying in a field.  The bison told Jumping Mouse that he had gone blind because he drank from a poisoned stream.  Without the ability to see, the bison would surely die.  Jumping Mouse decided that just as frog had given him a name and new legs, he would give the bison a new name.  “I name you Eyes of a Mouse,” said Jumping Mouse.  With that, the bison regained his sight, but Jumping Mouse however, was now blind.  Eyes of a Mouse thanked Jumping Mouse, and helped him on his journey by guiding his now blind friend across the plains to the far off land.  The bison left Jumping Mouse at the foot of the mountains.  There, the now blind Jumping Mouse came across a wolf.  Wolf told Jumping Mouse the he had lost his sense of smell because he was proud, lazy, and had misused his gift.  Jumping Mouse again remembered what Frog had done for him.  Jumping Mouse decided to name the wolf Nose of a Mouse.  With that, the wolf could smell, but Jumping Mouse was now blind and without his sense of smell.  Nose of a Mouse led Jumping Mouse on another part of his journey to show his appreciation.  Eventually, wolf left Jumping Mouse, and Jumping Mouse went to sleep.  When he woke, Jumping Mouse cried because though happy he had come so far, he was scared that he was now blind and without his sense of smell.  Then, Jumping Mouse heard Frog’s voice.  Frog told Jumping Mouse not top cry and that he would be rewarded for his selflessness.  Frog told Jumping Mouse to jump as high as he could.  Jumping Mouse did, but before instead of falling back to earth, Jumping Mouse rose high into the air.  “Don’t be afraid,” said Frog.  Slowly Jumping Mouse began to see and smell.  Frog said, “You have a new name.  You are now Eagle.  You will live in the far off land forever.”

Response:

I LOVE THIS STORY!!!  Perhaps not this version of it as much, but the illustrations in this book are fantastic and there are parts of this story that I struggle to get through without crying.  The company I worked for in Utah used a different version of the Jumping Mouse story as an example of the classic hero’s journey tale and I have told a different version of this story over MANY a camp fire in the desert outside Capitol Reef National Park.  Reading this book makes me want to research and develop my own re-telling of the Jumping Mouse Story.  Here is a link to my favorite version of the story:

http://www.hyemeyohstsstorm.com/sevenarrows/emouse2.htm

Teaching Ideas:

For me, the most obvious lessons in The Story of Jumping Mouse come from the life lessons that are shown throughout the book, mostly focusing on hard work, courage, and selflessness.  Students could write about some metaphors that appear in the story, like the fat old mouse.  For me, he represents laziness and temptation.  He tries to persuade Jumping Mouse that he should quite is journey and live happily with him.  When Jumping Mouse give the bison his eyes and the wolf his sense of smell, it represent how in life, we must sometimes sacrifice for others.  Students can write about how these lessons may relate to them.  Students would also write their own story and use a metaphor to relate to a real life scenario.

Title: The Arrival

Author: Shaun Tan

Genere: Science Fiction

Date of Publication: 2007

ISBN: 0439895294

Other Designators: Graphic Novel, Cultural Diversity

Reading Level: Wordless Book

5-12 Grade Interest Level

Summary

The Arrival is a wordless, graphic novel.  It begins with a man packing his things and leaving his wife and daughter.  The wife and daughter see the man off to a train.  While they walk through the city, we can see large tentacle-like shadowy arms reaching across the city.  The man then boards a large sea-going boat.  We can tell that he travels a long way with many other immigrants.  As they pull into the harbor of their destination, we see a science fiction type land with new creatures, different shapes, and large statues.  The man, along with everybody else on the boat, disembark the vessel and must wait in line to enter this new land.  They are given medical examinations and assigned a symbol of sorts.  The man stuggles because he can not understand the language of this new land.  Eventually he is let into the country traveling on an elevator of sorts, carried by a balloon.  He is dropped off in a market where he requests the help of people who speak a different language.  Through a note pad, the man gets help finding a place to live.  There are several odd things in his new home, but the oddest is a bowling ball sized lizard creature that is living in a pot of sorts.  He becomes a companion to the man,  While exploring his new country, the man meets several people who help him and also share their stories with him.  The man gets what appears to be a low skill job working on an assembly line.  Seasons pass and the man misses his family.  He eventually gets a letter from them that they are coming to be with him.  The book ends with the man’s daughter offering help to another little girl, presumably a new immigrant.

Response

Admittedly, this is my first experience with a graphic novel, and I have to say, there was more to it that I expected.  I presumed that a graphic novel would simply be a picture book without words that the kid who didn’t want to read would always pick out, however, the illustrations of this particular graphic novel are EXTREMELY in-depth and tell a fascinating story that’s almost more fun to fill in with your own mind.  It truly takes time to examine the up to twenty four sequential images per page flip and examine what is happening, especially when the story takes place in a sci-fi fictional world where people run from giant shadows, elevators are carried by balloons, structures are built in a way that seemingly defies physics, and small, alien like creatures are pseudo pet-guides.

Teaching Ideas

This book could be used in conjunction with a history lesson on immigrnats experience coming to the United States from Europe.  Students could find what things in the sci-fi world of The Arrival represent historical things; perhaps what “chased” people from their homes in Europe or how people got around the United States once they got here.  Students could also be encouraged to write text for a couple of pages.  The text could either be their version of the story or perhaps simply their explanation as to what people are feeling.  Students could then share and compare/contrast their thoughts.

Title: Whiskers & Rhymes

Author: Arnold Lobel

Genere: Poetry

Date of Publication: 1985

ISBN: 0-688-03835-2

Other Designators:

Reading Level:

Summary

Whiskers & Rhymes is a book consisting of thirty five short poems that all involve some rich, some poor, some young, and some old personified cats.  The poems do not come together to create a cohesive story.  In fact, the only cohesiveness if the cats as the main characters.  Some of the poems are sad:

“She listens to the waves resound,

She gazes at the sea.

I wish that she would turn around

And simply smile at me.”

Some of the poems are funny:

“Polly Barlor, in the parlor,

Doing the trickiest things.

For while chewing some gum,

She nibbled her thumb,

And pulled out the stickiest strings.”

Each poem is accompanied by at least one picture, usually several in a comic strip type form that assist in telling the story.

Response

I like Whiskers & Rhymes for its simplicity and it usefulness.  Because it consists of many short and unrelated poems, they can be read individually.  As the reader, especially a reader performing for children, you can pick and choose the pomes that will work best for your audience without fear of missing important parts.  This also opens up the book for a lot of ideas as far as lesson plans.

Teaching Ideas

This book would be a great tool for teaching rhyme schemes.  With their being 35 different poems, there would be a lot of variety for your students to explore and compare/contrast.  Another idea would be for students to explore writing their own poetry.  This book has many examples of different rhyme schemes and also lengths.  I think this would lessen the fear and/or intimidation sometimes associated with poetry.  One tool I would use is showing how the author doesn’t always follow correct grammar or punctuation in his poetry.  I would give my students this same freedom in order to again lessen the intimidation and also encourage creativity.  I would require that if they decide to break a grammar rule, they need to explain why.

Title: Working Cotton

Author: Shirley Anne Williams

Genere: Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Date of Publication: 1992

ISBN: 0-150299624-9

Other Designators: Caldecott Honor, Coretta Scott King Honor, ALA Notable

Reading Level: 2^nd Grade

K-2^nd Grade Interest Level

3.9 Grade Level Equivalent

600L Lexile Measure

18-20 DRA

J Guided Reading

Summary

Working Cotton is the story of a young black girl.  It begins with her riding a bus in the early morning.  She, along with her family, get off the bus in a field.  We can see the sun rising in the East.  Everybody is huddled around a fire in a trash can waiting for the sun to warm the land and give them light so they can begin work.  When the sun comes up, the family begins picking cotton.  The family consists of a father, mother, and four children.  The story is told by the third eldest daughter.  Father picks cotton with the two oldest children and hums.  Mother picks cotton with the two youngest and sings.  The narrator picks cotton as well and puts it in her mother’s bag.  She describes her father being able to pick cotton so fast that you never actually see him put any of it in his bag.  Father returns with a large bag of cotton to be weighed.  In fact, it must be doubled over in order to weigh it.  They all eat cornbread and greens for lunch.  On a rare occasion, they’ll have a piece of meat.  The narrator says that there are always kids in the fields, but that they travel around a lot to different fields and she rarely sees the same kids multiple times.  After lunch, they go back to picking cotton.  The bus picks them all up when it’s almost dark.

Response

This is an interesting book.  First off, the illustrations are spectacular and deserving of a Caldecott Honor.  What I found most interesting about this book was the author’s notes at the beginning.  My first thought was that this would be a book about slavery or indentured servitude.  However, the author makes this note at the beginning of the book: “Our shame as a nation is not that so many children work the fields but that so few of them have other options, that the life chances of too many are defined by the cycle of the seasons.  In the environments characterized by minimums – minimum wages, minimum shelters, minimum food and education – individual character, the love of a family, can only do so much; the rest is up to the country.” (Sherley Anne Williams)  This made me look at this book in a broader context.  Rather than look at it as a black family working a cotton field, I saw the book as a story on child labor.  I think this book would be appropriate on many academic levels.

Teaching Ideas

For older students, this book could be an interesting introduction into the history of child labor in the United States.  I think older children would initially enjoy using a picture book since it is probably different from their usual texts, however, it tells a story that many students, especially in more urban areas, may not be aware of.  This book could also be used to express empathy for those whose lives are perhaps harder than our own.  The illustrations of the people show a lot of emotion in their faces.  A lesson that could teach empathy as well as vocabulary would be to write down what emotions the students think the people in the book are feeling.  They could compare and contrast these with their peers.  This could also be a good lesson for a special education classroom.

Title: Casey At The Bat- A Ballad of the Republic Sung in the Year 1888

Author: Ernest Lawrence Thayer (Illustrated by Christopher Bing)

Genere: Historical Fiction

Date of Publication: 2000 (orig. 1888 by Ernest Lawrence Taylor)

ISBN: 1929766009

Other Designators: Caldecott Honor

Reading Level: 2^nd Grade

K-5^th Grade Interest Level

3.1 Grade Level Equivalent

Summary

Casey At The Bat is an old baseball poem that was released by Christopher Bing.  Christopher did the illustrations for this edition which includes not only illustrations, but a sort of scrap-booking style layout.  The famous story begins with the Mudville team being down 4 to 2 in the bottom of the ninth.  Mudville is up to bat.  The first two players make two outs.  The crowd hopes that if the next two players, who really weren’t that good, could make it on base, then mighty Casey will get to bat.  Somehow they do, and Casey strides to the plate.  Casey lets the first pitch go by saying it’s not his style.  The crowd jeers at the umpire for calling strike one, but Casey raises his hand to silence them.  Casey lets the second pitch go by.  The umpire calls strike two.  The crowd again jeers the umpire and threatens to kill him.  Casey again raises his hand and tells the crowd to stop yelling at the umpire.  Casey readies for the third pitch, and swings with all his might, but misses… The book ends with, “Mighty Casey has struck out.”

Response

I love this story/poem.  I remember it being read to me in grade school.  FYI, here’s a link to the story being read by Mr. James Earl Jones… It’s FANTASTIC!!!:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-2lXQQcXb8

What I love most about this version of this classic story is the illustrations and memorabilia in Christopher Bing’s version.  For example, the inside cover of the book features and old-school style print of a library card catalog card for the original author “Thayer, Ernest Lawrence.”  Pages also feature other memorabilia like old paper and silver money, but my favorite are the old newspaper articles that feature stories like, “Managers and City Officials Renew Cry for Building of Outfield Fence” because spectators would interfere in the game.  “We note with increasing concern the barbaric practice of using only a single ball throughout the nine innings of play in a game of baseball…”  “The exclusion of Negro players from the game of baseball…”  “Lifting of the ban on overhand pitching…”   I find all of these articles extremely interesting, especially as a baseball fan.  I think it give the book more depth than simply illustrating pictures to go along with this classic story.  As for the illustrations of the story, I can best describe them as a sort of “finger print” style that captures an old school newspaper image.

Teaching Ideas

The immediate lesson that comes to mind for me is a history lesson on baseball and the time period.  Using this as a way to introduce the late 1800s would be a good way to get some students interested.  For older students, I would require that they read all the text, the story and the article print which includes everything from late 1800s baseball news to late 1800s advertisements.  For younger students, this book could be a lesson on ego and the value of being humble, being that the “Might Casey” arrogantly lets the first two strikes go by without even swinging and then strikes out on the third pitch.  Finally, if put all together on one page, this would be a great story to figure out the rhyme scheme.  It may be a little long, but it could also present students with a challenge.

Title: Yo! Yes?

Author: Chris Raschka

Genere: Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Date of Publication: 1993

ISBN: 0-531-05469-1

Other Designators: Caldecott Honor

Reading Level: 1^st Grade

K-2^nd Grade Interest Level

1.2 Grade Level Equivalent

C Guided Reading

Summary

Yo! Yes? Is a simple story with tremendous illustrations that shows the value of exploring what’s different.  The book begins with a black child on one page looking at a white child on the other.  The black child says, “Yo!”  The white child replies, “Yes?”  Because this book is difficult to summarize, I’ll simply quote the minimal text, and share more in my response.  Black child, “Hey!”  White child, “Who?”  Black child, “You!”  White child, “Me?”  Black child, “Yes, you.”  White child, “Oh.”  Black Child, “What’s up?”  White child, “Not much.”  Black child, “Why?”  White child, “No fun.”  Black child, “Oh?”  White child, “No friends.”  Black child, “Oh!”  White Child, “Yes.”  Black child, “Look!”  White child, “Hmmm?”  Black child, “Me!”  White Child, “You?”  Black child, “Yes, me!”  White child, “You!”  Black child, “Well?”  White child, “Well.”  Black child, “?”  White child, “Yes!”  Black child, “Yo!”  White child, “Yes!”  Together and jumping, “Yow!”

Response

This is an interesting story that personally brings up a little bit in regards to social stereotyping.  I can’t exactly place my finger on it, which would mean that I am perhaps being a little too critical, but I can’t deny that there’s something in the book that makes me feel like some people would not like it and therefore it may be an issue in a classroom.  Perhaps it’s in the way they’re dressed.  The black child has untied high top basketball shoes, shorts, and a t-shirt.  The white child has red shoes, brown slacks, a white button up shirt under a green long sleeved sweater.  Also, the fact that the black child said “Yo” while the white child said “Yes” could also be an issue.  As for my own feelings, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this book.  I think it would be a good book for a child to read in the early stages of learning to read because of the simple text.  I also like overall message.  I like that two children who are different become friends.  I like that one child has the courage to admit that he’s sad because he has no friends and I like that the other child has the courage to invite the lonely kid to play with him.  I think this is a fantastic message for young kids.  However, I would be curious to see what other teachers thought of this book because I could possibly see a parent taking issue with some of the things I mentioned above.

Teaching Ideas

For younger students, this would be a great book to learn about emotions and making friends.  It could be used along with a diversity lesson; perhaps side-by-side with Martin Luther King, especially his “I have a Dream” speech when he says, “I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor’s lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.”

Title: Grandfather’s Journey

Author: Allen Say

Genere: Historical Fiction

Date of Publication: 1993

ISBN: 0-395-57035-2

Other Designators: Caldecott Honor

Reading Level: 3rd to 4th Grade

3^rd-5^th Grade Interest Level

4.2 Grade Level Equivalent

650 Lexile Measure

34 DRA

O Guided Reading

Summary

Grandfather’s Journey is the story of author Allen Say’s grandfather.  He grew up in Japan, but when he wanted to see the world, it boarded a steamship to journey across the Pacific ocean to the United States.  It took three weeks for him to reach California.  Once there, he explored North America.  He traveled by train and riverboat, and often simply by walking.  He went to the desert South West and saw giant rock formations.  He walked across the endless plains and prairies.  He was “bewildered yet excited” by the factories and tall building of the industrial Midwest and “marveled” at the towering mountain in the West.  On his travels, he met a great number of very diverse people; “black men and white men, yellow men and red men.”  The more Say’s grandfather traveled, the more he wanted to see, and the less he thought about ever going home.  California was his favorite place.  Later, he returned to Japan to marry his childhood sweetheart.  After marriage, they moved back to the United States.  They lived in San Francisco and had a baby girl.  Over time, the grandfather began to think about where he grew up.  He thought about the mountains and rivers in Japan.  One day, when his daughter was nearly grown, he moved the family back to Japan.  He was happy to see the mountains and rivers.  He was happy to exchange stories with his friends.  They moved from the village to a larger city in japan where the daughter fell in love, married, and gave birth to the author.  The author remembers visiting his grandfather and hearing stories of California.  Then a war began, and when it was over, the entire city was left in rubble.  Grandfather moved back to the village where he was born.  Though he talked about going back to California, he died before he could make the trip.  When the author was grown, he traveled to California to see it for himself.  He stayed and had a family but says that he often misses the mountains, rivers, and friends in Japan so he returns often.  The book ends: “The funny thing is, the moment I am in one country, I am homesick for the other.  I think I know my grandfather now.  I miss him very much.”

Response

I like this story because I can personally relate to it.  Specifically, I can relate to the idea of continually longing to be in a place that I was just in, whether that be Utah, Colorado, Chicago, Alaska, or North Carolina.  I enjoy the simplicity of the story.  Though I’m certain there were many more struggles that Say’s grandfather faced, say financial and/or racism, this story focuses on his love of traveling and his love of diverse landscapes.  My favorite illustration is the one that is the cover of the book.  It is the “grandfather” on the steamship on his way to California, however, the grandfather is peculiarly small.  Is it the author?  Is it the grandfather in ill-fitting European clothes?  I just fund it interesting, especially since it’s the cover of the book.

Teaching Ideas

This would be a good book to introduce family history and stories.  After reading this book, students could investigate their own family history and publish it in a book with illustrations and/or photos.  This book could also be used as an elementary source on the time period and studying immigration.

Title: Snowflake Bentley

Author: Jacqueline Briggs Martin

Genere: Biography

Date of Publication: 1993

ISBN: 0-395-57035-2

Other Designators: Caldecott Honor

Reading Level: 1^st Grade

K-2^nd Grade Interest Level

4.1 Grade Level Equivalent

830L Lexile Measure

28-30 DRA

N Guided Reading

Summary

Snowflake Bentley is the story of Willie Bentley.  Willie was born in 1865 and grew up LOVING snow on a farm in Jericho, Vermont.  Willie loved nature and would collect things like butterflies and apple blossoms to show his family, but he couldn’t collect snowflakes because they would always melt.  Willie was home schooled by his mother and is said to have read an entire set of encyclopedias.  From early childhood, Willie was fascinated by weather.  When his mother gave him a microscope, he used it to look at all things small in nature, including individual snowflakes.  Willie loved the beauty in each snowflake.  He realized that there were no two that were exactly the same and he also realized that their beauty was fleeting.  Even when he tried to draw a picture of a snowflake, it would melt before he could finish.  He wanted to find a way to capture the beauty of a snowflake for everybody to see.  Willie learned of a camera that was also a microscope.  He thought this would work great for taking photos of snowflakes.  After convincing his parents, they used their savings to buy Willie the camera.  The camera was large and very expensive, but Willie knew it could work.  After two winters of experimentation and failure, Willie finally found the right combination of light and exposure time to create a photo of a snowflake.  Other people in the area thought Willie was crazy.  “Snow is Vermont is as common as dirt.”  Who cares what it looks like?  But Willie continued on.  Willie would take hundreds of photos of snowflakes and started to notice patterns between the shapes of the snowflakes and the weather when they were formed.  Willie would continue taking pictures of nature throughout the year using his magnifying camera.  Pictures of snowflakes were always Willie’s favorites.  He would put on slideshows for the neighbors and sell copies to Universities and other artists.  Willie would eventually publish a book with many photos of crystals but he was never able to make much money.  He always put it back into the photos.  Less than a month after his book was published, Willie walked six miles in a blizzard to take more photos.  He caught pneumonia and died two weeks later.  Today, there is a monument outside where Willie grew up to remind people about Willie “Snowflake” Bentley.

Response

I love snow!!!  In college, I took a course called “snow science” where we went skiing, dub snow pits, looked at snow crystals, and learned about avalanches.  I remember my professor showing us pictures by William Bentley so this book was an instant catch for me.  I also love the organization of the book.  I’ve found that many children’s books that are nonfiction generally have a main body text, and a supplemental piece in the back that is more had facts and less story.  Snowflake Bentley combines these two elements.  Each page has an illustration and story text that goes along with it, and then every so often, there’s a side-bar on the page that list more of the hard facts, but aligns with the part of the story being told.  I like this approach and find it more “user friendly” than separating the two styles of text.

Teaching Ideas

This book could be used in a science curriculum on snow.  It could also be used simply with the changing of the seasons and making snowflakes to decorate the classroom.  A great supplement to the book would be getting some of Bentley’s photos and putting them on a projector for the entire class to see.  This could move into a lesson on weather, and, if you’re living in the right climate, a very hands-on learning of snow crystals.

Title: SNOW

Author: Uri Shulevitz

Genere: Biography

Date of Publication: 1998

ISBN: 0-374-37092-3

Other Designators: Caldecott Honor

Reading Level: 1^st Grade

K-2^nd Grade Interest Level

1.5 Grade Level Equivalent

220L Lexile Measure

Summary

SNOW is the story of a young boy referred to as “boy with dog.”  The whole city is gray.  One snowflake falls and boy with dog gets excited and yells “It’s snowing!”  He runs all over town proclaiming, “It’s snowing!” only to be met by adults responding with, “It’s only one snowflake,” or “It’ll melt.”  Boy with dog continues on about snow, despite the fact that both the radio and television report that there is no snow coming.  But as the author says, “snowflakes don’t listen to radio, snowflakes don’t watch television.”  The snowflakes continue to fall and pile up faster than they can melt.  Eventually, the entire city is covered in snow.  The book ends: “The rooftops are white.  The whole city is white.  ‘Snow,’ said the boy.”

Response

As I said above in my response to Snowflake Bentley, I LOVE SNOW!  So, needless to say, the title of this book attracted me.  I love the simplicity of this book.  I love that all the characters are named based on their physical description: “boy with dog” “grandfather with beard” “man with hat” “women with umbrella.”  I love the innocence of the boy and that despite all the adults who like far too many adults in my opinion, take the roll of “Debbie downers” and insist that it’s not snowing.  I want to yell to them, “For crying out loud!  If the kid is happy about the one snowflake, just let him be happy!!!”

Teaching Ideas

Like Snowflake Bentley, I think this would be a good book to use as fall transitions into winter.  I also like the optimism of the boy in the book.  Hopefully parents wouldn’t think I’m indoctrinating their children into a weird “snow loving” cult, but I for one think snow is fantastic and love to play in it.  I would offer my opinion and this book as a counter belief to what I think most adults feel which is that snow is simply a nuisance.

Title: The Sweetest Fig

Author: Chris Van Allsburg

Genere: Modern Fantasy

Date of Publication: 1993

ISBN: 0-395-67346-1

Other Designators:

Reading Level: 2^nd Grade

K-2 Interest Level

3.9 Grade Level Equivalent

530L Lexile Measure (2^nd Grade)

Summary

The Sweetest Fig is about Monsieur Bibot.  Bibot is a dentist who lives in a small apartment with his dog, Marcel.  Bibot was not a kind dog owner.  He punished Marcel severely for being disobedient.  One morning when Bibot went to his office, he found a women waiting outside.  Though she didn’t have an appointment, Bibot said that he’d help her since he could earn some more money.  He decided the old women needed a tooth pulled and when he was done, he said he’d give the women some medication to dull the pain.  The old women told Bibot that she didn’t have any money, but that she would give him very special figs that would make his dreams come true instead.  Bibot was not pleased.  He took the figs and told the women that only paying customers would be given pain medication and kicked her out.  That afternoon, Bibot took Marcel for a walk.  Marcel loved the park, but Bibot would never stop to let him sniff the park.  For dinner that night, Bibot ate one of the figs the old women had given him.  It was quite possibly the most delicious fig Bibot had ever eaten.  In the morning, Bibot pulled Marcel down the tall steps.  He’d never carry Marcel.  While on their walk, Bibot noticed many people staring at  him and talking.  He looked down and realized that he was only wearing his underclothes.  He ducked into an alley and saw that the Eiffel Tower was leaning over.  Bibot realized that he had dreamt this the night before.  The Figs had worked.  For the next few weeks, Bibot studied hypnotism and practiced having dreams.  He’d look into the mirror and and say over and over, “Bibot is the richest man on earth.  Bibot is the richest man on earth.”  As soon as Bibot was able to have his dream, Bibot planned to eat the last fig.  He put the fig on a plate and went into the cupboard for some cheese.  When his back was turned, Marcel ate the last fig.  Bibot was furious at Marcel.  He chased him out of the kitchen and vowed to punish him in the morning.  Bibot went to sleep.  When Bibot woke, he was confused.  Rather then being in the bed, he was underneath.  Suddenly, he saw his own face appear!  The face said, “Time for your walk Marcel.”  Bibot yelled, but all that came out was a bark.

Response

I really enjoyed this book.  To me, it’s a classic Chris Van Allsburg book: great illustrations and a magical ending.  And of course, Fritz is hiding on the bottle of what looks like wine in the kitchen.

Teaching Ideas

I think the most obvious lesson that can be formed from this book is about character and how to treat people.  The students could discuss how Bibot should have treated the other characters like the old lady and Marcel.  Students could also discuss cause and effect as well as the idea of Karma.

Title: The Stranger

Author: Chris Van Allsburg

Genere: Modern Fantasy

Date of Publication: 1986

ISBN: 0-395-42331-7

Other Designators:

Reading Level: 4^th Grade

3^rd-5^th Grade Interest Level

3.5 Grade Level Equivalent

640L Lexile Measure (2^nd Grade)

Summary

The Stranger is about Farmer Bailey and his family.  One crisp fall day, Farmer Bailey was driving his truck along the road when he thought he hit a dear.  When he got out of his truck, he saw that he had actually hit a man.  He put the man in his truck to take him back to the farm and take care of him.  When they got the man back to the farm, the local doctor checked him out and diagnosed him with amnesia, which accounted for the stranger not speaking and walking around in a rather peculiar way.  During his examination, the doctor discovered that his thermometer was broken because the mercury was stuck on the bottom.  That night at dinner, the stranger saw the farmer’s daughter blow on her hot soup.  The stranger did the same and Mrs. Bailey commented on the draft in the room.  The stranger stayed for a few more days.  Unlike most people, he was able to approach the rabbits on the farm without them running away like they did from the Baileys.  The stranger stayed and had a fine time, but strange things were happening at the Bailey farm.  The vegetables were growing to sizes Farmer Bailey had never seen before.  One day, the stranger was sitting in the yard when a leaf fell on his head and he suddenly remembered who he was.  He went in to say goodbye to the Baileys and dashed out the door.  The Baileys never saw him leave, but when they went outside to watch him go, they noticed a chill in the air.  The Baileys never saw the stranger again, but every autumn, the trees around the Bailey house stayed green a week longer than all the others, and etched in frost on the farmhouse windows were the words, “See you next fall.”

Response

Probably my favorite Chris Van Allsburg book!  My favorite thing about it is reading it multiple times and realizing little hints throughout the book like the broken thermometer and the draft when the stranger blows on his soup.  I thought it was very creative to turn the idea of Jack Frost into a real character that crosses the land, causing Fall.

Teaching Ideas

I think this is a great book to read as the leaves change color.  There are also lots of Fall activities that you could do in conjunction with reading world: leaf collecting, activities with pumpkins and other gourds.  Perhaps the students could also write their own stories about a character, or three, that cause the other seasons to change.

Title: The Wreck of the Zephyr

Author: Chris Van Allsburg

Genere: Modern Fantasy

Date of Publication: 1983

ISBN: 0-395-33075-0

Other Designators:

Reading Level: 3^rd Grade

PreK-3rd Grade Interest Level

3.9 Grade Level Equivalent

500L Lexile Measure (2^nd Grade)

38 DRA

P Guided Reading

Summary

Wreck of the Zephyr begins with the narrator walking along the sea cliffs above a small village by the sea where he happens upon the wreck of a boat.  Sitting next to the wreck is an old man.  The narrator asks if he knows how the boat got, and the old man tells him a story:

Years ago, a boy lived in the village and he was the greatest sailor there was.  The boy would sail his boat in conditions that would turn other men around.  One day, when the clouds were looking extra dangerous, the boy took his boat, the Zephyr, out for a sail.  While out on open water, the winds kicked up, the boom hit the boy in the head, and he fell to the floor of the cockpit and did not move.  When the boy woke, he found himself, and the Zephyr, beached far up shore; Much too far to be taken back into the sea by the rising tide.  He began to look for help.  While looking for help along the steep seashore, the boy saw a magical sight.  He saw three boats flying high above the water.  The third boat was towing the Zephyr.  The boy ran into the harbor and asked the harbormaster if he could learn to fly the Zephyr in the air.  The harbormaster told the boy it takes years to learn to fly like that and that the Zephyr didn’t have the right sails, but the boy continued to plead.  The man agreed to try and teach the boy.  They put new sails on the Zephyr, and the man tried to teach the boy.  The man would get the Zephyr in the air, but each time the boy grabbed the tiller, he’d lose the wind and glide back into the water.  They sailed back to the harbor and the harbormaster told the boy they’d remove the sails in the morning and he’d take the boy home.  That evening, the boy, snuck out to try to fly his boat again.  This time, he caught the wind, and was able to fly the Zephyr.  He flew the Zephyr back to his home, but as he approached, the wind shifted.  Try as he may, the boy couldn’t keep the Zephyr in the air.  It crashed here.

What a great story says the narrator.  “What happened to the boy?”  “He broke his leg.  Nobody believed his story, but he’s been out there looking for that land again,” said the old man.  When he’s done telling the story, the old man picked up his cane and limped away slowly towards the town.

Response

My second favorite Chris Van Allsburg book!!!  Like many other Van Allsburg book, I love the illustrations and I love the magical ending.

Teaching Ideas

This book could be used to discuss “magic” and what children believe is the truth to the story.  It could be told as a modern day tall tale perhaps along with a story like Paul Bunion.

Title: The Impossible Patriotism Project

Author: Linda Skeers

Genre: Informational

Date of Publication: 2007

ISBN: 978-0-8037-3138-7

Other Designators:

Reading Level: Amazon suggests Preschool and up.

Summary

The Impossible Patriotism Project is about Caleb.  His teacher announces that the class has to do a project on what they each think patriotism is for parent’s night.  Caleb is stumped.  He goes around the room and find other kids doing a papier-mache Liberty Bell, a map of the United States, a poem about the United States, and even dressing up as the Statue of Liberty.  Caleb stil has no idea what to do for his project.  Laying in bed, Caleb still doesn’t know what to do for his project.  If only his dad were there to help him… Then Caleb figures it out.  The next day in class, Caleb puts his project by his desk.  He walks around and sees all the other projects. But everybody is most interested in his.  When Caleb take his mom to see his project, she sees that Caleb has made a poster with a picture of his dad in his military uniform.  The boy who drew the map writes, “Thank You” on the map and asks Caleb to send it to his dad.  The book ends with a split illustration of Caleb writing his dad and his dad in a tent smiling and reading the letter.

Response

This is a great book for young children who aren’t in military families to start to understand what other families go through.  It is also a good book for children in military families to understand what they’re parent is doing and why it is important.  I personally enjoyed this short picture book.  The illustrations are fantastic and fill nearly every page.  The ending is sweet of course and has a good message for any reader.

Teaching Ideas

I would be careful using this book in a classroom with a student who has a parent in the military.  I would just feel more comfortable asking the parent at home how they felt just to make sure they I didn’t single anybody out in a way that they didn’t want to be.  If such a case were true, this would be a great book to suggest to a family where one parent is away in the military.  It could also be used to discuss the idea of patriotism either in a very elementary way for younger grades, or you could challenge older kids and think and write about the patriotism projects in the book.  Were they patriotic?  Why or why not.

Title: Peppe The Lamplighter

Author: Elisa Bartone

Genre: Historical Fiction

Date of Publication: 1993

ISBN: 978-0688154691

Other Designators: Caldecott Honor

Reading Level: 4^th Grade

3^rd-5^th Grade Interest Level

4.3 Grade Level Equivalent

570L Lexile Measure

28 DRA

M Guided Reading

Summary

Peppe The Lamplighter is about a young Italian immigrant boy named Peppe.  Peppe lives in a small apartment with his father and seven sisters.  Peppe’s mother passed away.  The family needs Peppe to work to help support the family.  Peppe asks the butcher, the bartender, the candy maker, and the cigar maker if they would hire him, but they all say no.  One day, Peppe was walking home when he ran into Domencio, the lamplighter.  Domencio was going back to Italy to bring his wife back and asked Peppe if he could light the lamps while he was gone.  Peppe was overjoyed and ran home to tell his family he got a job.  All of his sisters were happy for Peppe, but his father was disappointed and said that he didn’t move to this country so that his son could be a lamplighter.  Peppe tried to stay optimistic.  His sisters and friends told him that he had an important job and that he did it well, but his father kept telling him that the job was beneath him.  Finally, Peppe let his father get to him and he decided not to light the lamps.  Everybody in the streets wondered where Peppe had gone.  What was even more important was that one of Peppe’s sisters didn’t come home.  After some nervous waiting, Peppe’s father apologized and admitted that Peppe had an important job.  He told him to go light the lamps so that his sister could find his way home.  Peppe went out and lit all the lamps and found his sister.  From then on, Peppe lit the lamps with pride.

Response

I enjoyed Peppe The Lamplighter.  I felt for him when his father told him that being a lamplighter was not a respectable job.  I was lucky enough to never really feel that pressure from my parents, but I can only imagine how that hurts, especially for a young kid trying to help his family.  I also like how it ends with his job being incredibly important and essentially “saving the day…” or night in this case.

Teaching Ideas

This book could be used in a historical context to teach about living in a big city when European immigrants were the majority of the minority.  It could also be used to show the value of the underdog; how despite Peppe’s father’s reaction, being the lamplighter was an incredibly important job.  Students could discuss other occupations that are perhaps undervalued in society and why.

Title: A Visit to William Blake’s Inn

Author: Nancy Willard

Genere: Poetry

Date of Publication: 1981

ISBN: 0-15-293822-2

Other Designators: Caldecott Honor, Newberry Medal

Reading Level: 4^th Grade

2rd-5^th Grade Interest Level

4.8 Grade Level Equivalent

Summary

A Visit to William Blake’s Inn- Poems For Innocent and Experienced Travelers is a collection of poems about a young boy who visits an imaginary world.  In the world, there is an Inn run by the William Blake.  The Inn is “peopled” by a collection of strange and fascinating creatures.  Each page of the book is a separate titled poem, however there is a flow to the entire story.  First the Inn and it’s inhabitants are described, the boy boards an fantastical flying device, and is then shown to his room by a rabbit where he finds that he will be sleeping not on a bed, but on a bear.  And from here, the story continues: a rabbit is brought breakfast – a cow in the clouds is fed some buttered bred, and so on and so forth.  The story ends with the boy leaving the Inn, and saying farewell to all the creatures he has met, fondly remembering his walk in the Milky Way, and sending his love to William Blake.

Response

If found this book very interesting.  I love poetry that rhymes, so as far as poetry goes, I love this book… (Although, when I went to go read another book immediately after, I found it extremely hard to read without a bouncy rhythm.)  I think children will enjoy the rhymes no matter what.  Actual comprehension is another matter.  It was a great book to read slowly and multiple times.  The imagery was fantastic.  I also agreed that the illustrations were Caldecott worthy.  I love the style that they were done in and how they filled the entire page.

Teaching Ideas

This book would be great to simply read aloud to a class, although I would suggest a lot of practice prior to this experiment.  Also, I found that the rhyme scheme on each page is interesting.  After learning what a rhyme scheme is and how to map it, I would assign students a poem in the book and map the rhyme scheme.  Then we could come together as a class and compare to see how everybody did with the assignment.

Title: Catching Fire

Author: Suzanne Collins

Genre: Modern Fantasy/Science Fiction

Date of Publication: 2009

ISBN: 978-0439023498

Other Designators: Novel

Reading Level: 7^th Grade

6^th-8^th Grade Interest Level

5.4 Grade Level Equivalent

820L Lexile Measure

Summary

After Katniss wins the Hunger Games by defying the rules, President Snow is furious and determined not to let Katniss make him look a fool.  Because of Katniss’s actions, rebellions are starting to occur in other districts.  Every twenty-five years, there is a special Hunger Games.  This twenty-fifth anniversary, it is announced that the tributes will consist of prior winners.  When Katniss and Haymitch are drawn for Distict 12, Peeta volunteers to take Haymitch’s place.  As they prepare, word of rebellion in other districts continues to spread.  As time goes by, Katniss realizes that she has caused quite a stir in the Capitol.  Friends of hers continue to suffer.  As Katniss goes into the arena, she sees Cinna beaten and taken away by Capitol police.  Once in the arena, Katniss and Peeta form alliances with other tributes.  As time goes by, the discover that the arena is a clock with different killing mechanism occurring every twelve hours.  One of the tributes Katniss has an alliance with, Beetee, thinks he can kill some other tributes by using a wire to electrocute them.  Secretly, he has a plan to escape the arena with band of rebels that includes the head gamemaker, Plutarch.  When Beetee electrocutes himself trying to complete his plan, Katniss unknowingly finishes for him.  A rebel hover craft sweeps in to pick up as much of Katniss’s alliance as possible, but they’re too late to get Peeta.  When Katniss wakes on the hover craft, Haymitch explains all that has been happening and of this secret plan.  Katniss is upset for not being included.  She finds her friend Gale on the hover craft.  When Katniss asks about District 12, Gale explains that the Capitol fire bombed the district in retaliation.  “There is no District 12,” he says.

Response

Eh, the second book was all right.  I was hoping that something would happen before Katniss and the other tributes were sent into the arena.  I felt like the end of the book that takes place in the arena was too similar to the first book.  I loved the exchanges between President Snow and Katniss.  I love that Katniss is heralded as the hero and starter of the rebellion.  I really enjoyed Peeta’s cleverness, especially when he said that Katniss is pregnant.  Leanring about the secret District 13 was exciting.  I just hope the third book raps everything up in a fun way because for far in both book one and book two, I would have written the climax differently.

Teaching Ideas

I think one fun activity would be to make a map of Panem now that we know of the existence of District 13.  As we learn which districts specialize in which industries, we can place some districts near water, etc.  We already know that District 12 is in the Appalachian Mountains and the Capitol is near the Rocky Mountains and District 13 is east of District 12.  Also, with more characters introduced in this second book, a character web and/or chart explaining who is who would also be helpful.

Title: Back Home

Author: Julia Keller

Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Date of Publication: 2009

ISBN: 978-1606840054

Other Designators: Novel

Reading Level: 4^th Grade

6^th-8^th Grade Interest Level

4.6 Grade Level Equivalent

700L Lexile Measure

Summary

Back Home is told from the point of view of thirteen year old Rachel Brownie.  She is the oldest of three siblings including a middle sister and a younger brother.  Rachel’s father was in the Army Reserves serving in Iraq when the Humvee he was in was attacked.  Her father, Edward, was pulled from the vehicle, but he lost an arm, a leg, and suffered a traumatic brain injury.  When he made it back to the United States, Rachel’s mom spent a long time away from home visiting Edward at Walter Reed Hospital.  The kids were being watched by their aunt and a neighbor.  Mom finally came home and shortly thereafter, so did dad.  But when dad came home, he was different.  He just sat in a wheel chair and didn’t really speak.  Over a long period of time, taking care of Edward takes its toll on the family.  Rachel’s mom becomes exhausted taking care of the children and Edward.  Everybody is getting frustrated because Edward does not seem to be progressing as hoped.  Some days, he would simply not get out of bed which made mom get upset and yell because she needed to get him out of bed and the kids to school and then get to work.  The family knows that Edward isn’t doing this on purpose.  It is all caused by his brain injury because the brain doesn’t only tell your body what to do, it tells your body when to do it.  Eventually, mom decides that Edward needs to live in a facility that can better care for him because she needs to go back to work and living at home isn’t working.  The book ends with Edward living in a facility and the family going every week to visit.

Response

This was a completely depressing book.  I kept waiting for the part when dad would finally recover and learn to get along in his wheelchair, but that never happened.  Perhaps that is what makes this book realistic.  I really en joyed the way Julia Keller wrote the book through the eyes of a young teenager.  Parts were brutally honest, like when Rachel admits that even though her father is seriously hurt, a part of her enjoyed the attention she got in school.  Writing from this perspective also allowed her to transition from point to point quickly and without transition, much the way a scatter-brained teenage girl does; especially one whose father just got home from Iraq suffering a brain injury.

Teaching Ideas

This book can be used to teach compassion and the harsh reality of war.  I would be cautious using this book in a class with a student who has a parent in the military because it may be too sensitive a subject.  This could be a good book to read before having students do a project where they write letters to soldiers overseas and/or in a hospital facility.   It could be used along with The Impossible Patriotism Project.

Title: Gone Wild

Author: David McLimans

Genre: Informatuional

Date of Publication: 2006

ISBN: 978-0802795632

Other Designators: Alphabet Book, Caldecott Honor

Reading Level: 2^nd Grade

PreK-1^st Grade Interest Level

28-30 DRA

N Guided Reading

Summary

Gone Wild- An Endangered Animal Alphabet is an alphabet book where each letter of the alphabet represents an animal that is considered at some level of endangerment.  For example, A is the Chinese Alligator.  The page has an A formed from pieces of an alligator and also facts: scientific name, class, habitat, range, threats, and status.  Each page through the entire alphabet looks this way and has this information.  At the end of the alphabet, there is a section of the book that provides a short narrative on each of the animals; their size, why their endangered, some unique qualities, etc.  The book ends with a list of web sites that readers can go to for more information including the World Wildlife Fund, Wildaid, and the Sierra Club.

Response

This book is simultaneously informative and depressing.  My brain jumped back and forth with each page from, “Wow, that’s a cool picture of a G that looks like a goose,” only to jump to, “Oh, the Swan Goose is critically endangered.”

Teaching Ideas

I would use this book in class some-time after my students had a grasp on the alphabet.  I would use it both as an English refresher, but also as a science lesson to learn about endangered animals.  We could discuss the different levels of being endangered that the book uses.  After reading the book, each student could be assigned a letter/animal to research.  Is that animal still endangered?  What has changed since this book was published?  Are there any other animals that start with your letter that are also endangered?

Title: Tar Beach

Author: Faith Ringgold

Genre: Biography, Modern Fantasy

Date of Publication: 1991

ISBN: 978-0517885444

Other Designators: Caldecott Honor

Reading Level: 4^th Grade

K-2^nd Grade Interest Level

2.9 Grade Level Equivalent

790L Lexile Measure

38 DRA

P Guided Reading

Summary

Tar Beach is a sort of autobiographical fantasy story told from the point of view of a young girl.  Her family has picnic on the roof of their building, the tar beach.  The girl says that she would fly around the city, New York.  Every place she’d go, she said that she owned it.  She loved the George Washington Bridge the most because it was built the same year she was born (1931), it was her most prized possession, and is the “longest and most beautiful bridge in the world.”  She flew buy the Union building that her father worked at.  He walked high in the sky on the beams, but he wasn’t allowed to join the Union because he was Black and Native American.  She said that when she flew by the building, she would own it and let her dad join.  She flew over the roof and saw her family picnicking.  She flew buy the ice cream factory to be sure that her family would never run out.  When her baby brother Be Be said he wanted to fly too, she took him with and explained that flying is easy.  “All you need is somewhere to go that you can’t get to any other way.  The next thing you know, you’re flying among the stars.”

Response

My favorite thing about this book is when I read the last page and learned that the book is based on a story quilt.  There is a picture of the actual quilt in the back of the book.  The center of the quilt is a large image of the cover of the book (see above) surrounded by flower patterns with the actual words to the story surrounding the flower patterns.  Today, the actual quilt, along with the rest in the series “Women on a Bridge” by Faith Ringgold, hangs in the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City.

Teaching Ideas

This would be a great book to use to introduce students to creative ways to quilt.  That it’s possible to create a quilt and tell a story.  I would read this book to the class, show them the actual series of quilts, and then come up with a story that the class can tell together with a class quilt made of paper, or perhaps iron on patterns if possible.  This would be a good assignment to use at the end of the year.  The quilt could be a class quilt telling a story of what was learned all year in various subjects.

Title: The Lion and The Mouse

Author: Jerry Pinkey

Genre: Wordless Picture Book, Fable, Trad. Lit.

Date of Publication: 2009

ISBN: 978-0316013567

Other Designators: Caldecott Award

Reading Level: 2^nd Grade

PreK-2^nd Grade Interest Level

Summary

This version of Aesop’s fable The Lion & The Mouse is a wordless picture book.  It begins with a mouse that hears and owl hooting.  Before he knows it, the owl is flying in to attack.  The mouse runs away as fast as possible.  He hides himself in the tall grasses; safe from the owl.  As he crawls around the grass, he finds that he’s actually crawling around on the back of a lion.  The lion picks him up and roars, but decides to be merciful and let the little mouse go.  The mouse heads back to his home to visit his babies.  Next we see hunters drving a truck into the jungle and setting a trap.  Unknowingly, the lion wanders by, steps in the trap, and gets caught in a net.  He starts roaring for help.  The mouse hears the roaring and comes to help the lion.  At first, the lion doesn’t seem to think the mouse will be able to help, but the mouse starts to gnaw on the ropes.  Eventually, he gnaws enough to break the net and allows the lion to escape.  The lion thanks the mouse and heads off on his way.  The mouse brings back some of the rope for the mice babies to chew on and the story is over.

Response

I really enjoyed this wordless picture book.  Even the cover of the book is without a title, but is a full image of a lion head.  The illustrations are absolutely Caldecott Medal worthy.  All the animals are both realistic looking and have facial expressions that are humanistic that allow the reader to understand the story without words.

Teaching Ideas

This would be a fantastic book to have children write their own stories to.  It would be fun to compare them afterward to compare and contrast them with each other and also with the original Aesop’s fable.  This, along with other wordless picture books, could also be good for Special Education classes where the students are working on emotions.  Reading the facial expressions of the animals, especially the lion could be good practice.

Title: Bone Dog

Author: Eric Rohmann

Genre: Modern Fantasy/Science Fiction

Date of Publication: 2011

ISBN: 978-1596431508

Other Designators:

Reading Level: PreK Grade

PreK & Up Level from Amazon

Summary

Bone Dog begins with Gus and his dog Ella who have been friends for a long time.  One night under a full moon, Ella tells Gus that she’s getting very old and she won’t be around forever, but that she will always be looking out for Gus.  “A promise made under a full moon cannot be broken.”  After Ella died, Gus was sad and reluctantly left the house, did his chores, and went trick-or-treating dressed as a skeleton.  On his way home, Gus walked through a graveyard.  The wind blew, the moon became covered by clouds, and soon Gus was surrounded by real skeletons.  When the skeletons discover that Gus is actually a human boy, they tell him that they’re going to get him.  Just then, the skeleton of a dog, Ella, come barking to Gus’s protection.  “A bone dog?… Why would we be afraid of a bone dog?” laugh the skeletons.  As Ella barked, Gus got an idea.  He started to bark and howl with Ella.  Soon, other dogs nearby started to howl in return.  The skeletons became nervous.  Real dogs?  They would want to chew their bones.  Sure enough, a pack of hungry real dogs arrived and chased away the mean skeletons.  Now safe, Gus sat with Ella, the bone dog, in the moonlight.  Gus asks if he’ll see Ella again.  “A promise made under a full moon cannot be broken,” Ella replied.  She went off into the night and Gus picked up his Halloween candy and went home.

Response

This book was really fun to read.  My initial thought was, “Oh great.  The dog dies on page two.”  I probably should have known that from the title.  My favorite part of the book was when the skeletons discover that Gus is actually a living boy because you’d think the would be able to tell the difference and when Gus figures out to call the other dogs.  I never thought of that, but what else would be such a natural enemy to a gang of skeletons that a pack of dogs?  Awesome!

Teaching Ideas

Obviously, this would be a fantastic book to read to the class during Halloween.  I also like the idea of a ghost dog that is the hero.  I think it would be fun to give your students an assignment where they have to create their own ghost superhero characters who save the day.  You could publish them all together and make it a ghost superhero Halloween book.

Title: Can Hens Give Milk?

Author: Joan Betty Stuchner

Genre: Traditional Literature

Date of Publication: 2011

ISBN: 978-1554693191

Other Designators:

Reading Level: 3^rd Grade

PreK & Up Level from Amazon

3^rd grade reading by my estimation

Summary

Can Hens Give Milk? Is the story of a Russian family that lives in the past in the town of Chelm.  The family has many hens but no goat or cow for milk.  The family dreams of milk and cheese.  One night, Shlomo, the father, wakes himself with an idea: Since cows give milk and eat grass, the hens will also give milk if they eat grass.  The next day they try to get the hens to eat the grass, but they refuse.  His daughter, Tova, suggests maybe if they wrap the leaves of grass in the shape of grain the hens will eat it.  This didn’t work either.  Tova’s next idea was to have all her siblings catch the hens.  When the hens “bocked” in protest, the family shoved the grass in the hen’s mouths.  That night, Tova replaced the hen’s nests with buckets wo collect the milk, but the next morning, there was no milk and no eggs.  Tova went to get the rabbi for help.  The rabbi looked at the hens and declared there was no way they could give milk because they didn’t have an udder.  The rabbi agreed to trade one of his two goats for six of the families hens, that way the rabbi could have eggs and the family could have goat milk.  Everyone agrred and was happy.  One day, father Shlomo was looking at his animals and noticed that the goat was much larger than the chickens.  That night, he dreamt that if he could get the goat to eat grain, imagine the size of the egg it would lay!

Response

I thought this book was hysterical.  I love the simple logic of cow make milk by eating grass, so obviously chickens will make milk if they eat grass.  Simple.  The illustrations were also great.  I like books where illustrations take over the entire page and the text is placed over the illustrations and in planned groupings.

Teaching Ideas

This would be a great book to use for a science lesson.  Why doesn’t this logic make sense?  What animals give milk?  What animals don’t give milk?  Students could learn about different types of animals and their characteristics.  As a follow up, they could also each write a sequel to this book that begins with Shlomo trying to get his goat to lay huge eggs by trying to feed it grain.  How could Shlomo get giant eggs?