Bibliography
Gantos, Jack. 2002. Joey Pigza Loses Control. New York, NY: Square Fish. ISBN 9780312661014
Plot Summary
Joey Pigza is young boy with ADHD who lives with his single and neurotic mother and his beloved Chihuahua pet Pablo. Everything is fine until Joey goes to spend time with the father he has never met.
Critical Analysis
As the story begins we are quickly introduced to Joey’s neurotic mother who is driving Joey to Pittsburg so he can spend some time with Carter, his father whom he has never met. Throughout the entire ride she keeps reminding him to take his meds since the last time he forgot, he threw a dart that landed on Pablo’s ear, his Chihuahua. Soon we are introduced to his non-stop talking father who as Joey puts it “is wired.” As soon as his mother leaves his father takes him to “Storybook Land” a miniature golf place filled with fairy tale characters like Humpty Dumpty whom according to his father, inspired him to stop drinking. Soon Joey is left with his chain smoking grandmother who blackmails him to use his emergency cash his mother left, to buy her cigarettes, in exchange for Pablo who grandma has hidden. Things gradually get worse as Joey’s father continually tells him that he does not need his patches for ADHD and flushes them all down the toilet. Joey’s willingness to please his father, his need to feel loved and wanted win over as he does not tell his mother about the meds. As his father slowly begins drinking again, things get more interesting as Joey pitches in his first baseball game on the team his father is coaching. At first things are going well, until his medicine completely wears off and baseballs are flying all over the place, his father is screaming and cursing and Joey runs off from the baseball field to call his mother to come get him. In a time when many young people are being identified with ADHD, many of them will identify with Joey Pigza, his need for medication and his upside down family. The fourteen chapters are brief and easy to read. Jack Gantos has created true to life story of an ADHD boy whose life without meds is upside down.
Review Excerpt(s)
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review- “This high-voltage, honest novel mixes humor, pain, fear, and
courage with deceptive ease…Joey’s hear of gold never loses its shine.”
School Library Journal, Starred Review- “Hilarious, harrowing, and ultimately heartening.”
Booklist, Starred Review- “A truly memorable read.”
Connections
*Newberry Honor Book
*Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
*Father and son relationships
*Baseball
*Alcoholism and the effects on family
Thursday, December 8, 2011
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
Bibliography
Yang, Gene Luen. 2008. American Born Chinese. New York, NY: Square Fish. ISBN: 9780312384487
Plot Summary
Jin Wang is the only Chinese-American student at his school and longs to “American” like the other students. Soon a boy from Taiwan joins his school and Jin Wang hesitantly becomes his friend. Meanwhile the King Monkey wants to be an immortal god in heaven and somehow he is entangled with Danny, an all-American boy whose obnoxious Chinese Cousin ruins his reputation at school.
Critical Analysis
After the King Monkey establishes his kingdom and masters the twelve major disciplines of Kung-Fu he wants to be known as the Great Sage Equal of Heaven, and is convinced that he is no longer a monkey. Tze-Yo-Tzuh creator of all existence tells him it was he who made him but the monkey still refuses to believe so he is under a mountain of rock for five hundred years to prevent him from exercising Kung-Fu.
Jin Wang is an American born student of Chinese parents whose parents move to an all-American town where Jin Wang is the only American-Chinese student. From the beginning he is made fun of and bullied because of the way he looks or what he eats and so he has no friends until another Asian boy named Wei-Chen Sun arrives from Taiwan. As much as Jin Wang tries to not avoid Wei-Chen Sun because he is FOB (Fresh of the Boat) they end up becoming best friends.
Then there’s Danny an all-American boy who is great at basketball and is popular with the girls until his obnoxious Chinese cousin Chin-Kee comes to spend some time with Danny at this school. While Chin- Kee is brilliant at every subject he is a comical Chinese stereotype with buck teeth, crude manners, a braided pony tail, a thick accent, “Harro Amellica!”and Danny detests him for being so Chinese.
Readers will be captured with the colorful and expression filled graphics of each page, and the action filled pages with Kung-Fu fights and likewise, be entertained with innocent teenage mishaps as Jing Wang tries to put his arm around the girl he likes only to realize his armpits smell.
Readers will be fascinated with how these three stories told separately yet interwoven throughout the entire novel come in the end to create conclusion about finding and accepting ourselves for who we are and where we come from as we try to fit in.
Review Excerpt(s)
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review- “Startlingly provocative…nuanced and evenhanded…a fast-moving, emotionally involving plot.”
Booklist- “With vibrant colors and visual panache, indie writer-illustrator Yang (Rosary Comic Book) focuses on three characters in tales that touch on facets of Chinese American life. Jin is a boy faced with the casual racism of fellow students and the pressure of his crush on a Caucasian girl; the Monkey King, a character from Chinese folklore, has attained great power but feels he is being held back because of what the gods perceive as his lowly status; and Danny, a popular high-school student, suffers through an annual visit from his cousin Chin-Kee, a walking, talking compendium of exaggerated Chinese stereotypes.”
Library Media Connection- “In this graphic novel, three humorous and seemingly unrelated stories keep the reader's attention until they come together at the end.”
Connections
*Identity
*Cartoons & Comics
*Winner of the Michael L. Printz Award
*National Book Award Finalist
Yang, Gene Luen. 2008. American Born Chinese. New York, NY: Square Fish. ISBN: 9780312384487
Plot Summary
Jin Wang is the only Chinese-American student at his school and longs to “American” like the other students. Soon a boy from Taiwan joins his school and Jin Wang hesitantly becomes his friend. Meanwhile the King Monkey wants to be an immortal god in heaven and somehow he is entangled with Danny, an all-American boy whose obnoxious Chinese Cousin ruins his reputation at school.
Critical Analysis
After the King Monkey establishes his kingdom and masters the twelve major disciplines of Kung-Fu he wants to be known as the Great Sage Equal of Heaven, and is convinced that he is no longer a monkey. Tze-Yo-Tzuh creator of all existence tells him it was he who made him but the monkey still refuses to believe so he is under a mountain of rock for five hundred years to prevent him from exercising Kung-Fu.
Jin Wang is an American born student of Chinese parents whose parents move to an all-American town where Jin Wang is the only American-Chinese student. From the beginning he is made fun of and bullied because of the way he looks or what he eats and so he has no friends until another Asian boy named Wei-Chen Sun arrives from Taiwan. As much as Jin Wang tries to not avoid Wei-Chen Sun because he is FOB (Fresh of the Boat) they end up becoming best friends.
Then there’s Danny an all-American boy who is great at basketball and is popular with the girls until his obnoxious Chinese cousin Chin-Kee comes to spend some time with Danny at this school. While Chin- Kee is brilliant at every subject he is a comical Chinese stereotype with buck teeth, crude manners, a braided pony tail, a thick accent, “Harro Amellica!”and Danny detests him for being so Chinese.
Readers will be captured with the colorful and expression filled graphics of each page, and the action filled pages with Kung-Fu fights and likewise, be entertained with innocent teenage mishaps as Jing Wang tries to put his arm around the girl he likes only to realize his armpits smell.
Readers will be fascinated with how these three stories told separately yet interwoven throughout the entire novel come in the end to create conclusion about finding and accepting ourselves for who we are and where we come from as we try to fit in.
Review Excerpt(s)
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review- “Startlingly provocative…nuanced and evenhanded…a fast-moving, emotionally involving plot.”
Booklist- “With vibrant colors and visual panache, indie writer-illustrator Yang (Rosary Comic Book) focuses on three characters in tales that touch on facets of Chinese American life. Jin is a boy faced with the casual racism of fellow students and the pressure of his crush on a Caucasian girl; the Monkey King, a character from Chinese folklore, has attained great power but feels he is being held back because of what the gods perceive as his lowly status; and Danny, a popular high-school student, suffers through an annual visit from his cousin Chin-Kee, a walking, talking compendium of exaggerated Chinese stereotypes.”
Library Media Connection- “In this graphic novel, three humorous and seemingly unrelated stories keep the reader's attention until they come together at the end.”
Connections
*Identity
*Cartoons & Comics
*Winner of the Michael L. Printz Award
*National Book Award Finalist
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Bibliography
Zusak, Markus. 2005. The Book Thief. New York, NY: Random House. ISBN 9780375842207
Plot Summary
The Book Thief is a narrative told through from the point of view of death whose focus is on Leisel Hubermann, a girl who cannot read but enjoys collecting books.
Critical Analysis
From Death’s point of view we are introduced to the many unforgettable characters found in the Book Thief, but in particular Liesel, a young girl whose book stealing begins with a book entitled, “The Grave Digger’s Handbook”; even though she does not know how to read. Set in Natzi Germany, the life about Liesel unfolds with her mother taken to prison because she is a communist, her younger brother dying along the way and Leisel taken to live with people who eventually become her foster parents, Rosa and Hans Hubermann. Rosa is a spirited woman who runs the house with an iron fist and Hans is a kind man who loves to smoke, plays the accordion and is a painter. As Liesel settles in with the Hubermann’s she eventually makes friends with the neighborhood children like Rudy whom is always trying to steal a kiss from her. As the war progresses and Jews are being taken prisoners the Hubermann’s themselves hide a Jew by the name of Max in their basement and eventually becomes very good friends with Leisel, especially after they find out they both have nightmares that haunt them at night. Liesel’s book thieving continues throughout her life as her father patiently teaches how to read until his death. Readers will thoroughly enjoy the personification of death and the rich and philosophical language found throughout, “Five hundred souls. I carried them in my fingers, like suitcases. Or I’d throw them over my shoulder. It was only the children I carried in my arms.” (p336) The book is divided into ten parts that are divided into various chapters that include small interruptions identified in bold and that are often poetic in nature, “A book floated down the Amper River. A boy jumped in, caught up to it, and held it in his right hand. He grinned. He stood waist-deep in the icy, Decemberish water…” (p528) and concludes with an epilogue.
Review Excerpt(s)
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review- “An achievement.”
The Horn Book Starred Review- “Exquisitely written… A tour de force to be not just read but inhabited.”
School Library Journal, Starred Review- “An extraordinary narrative.”
Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review- “Beautiful and important.”
Connections
*Compare with Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler’s Shadow by Susan Bartoletti
*History of Germany
*Jews and Germany
*Death
*World War II
Zusak, Markus. 2005. The Book Thief. New York, NY: Random House. ISBN 9780375842207
Plot Summary
The Book Thief is a narrative told through from the point of view of death whose focus is on Leisel Hubermann, a girl who cannot read but enjoys collecting books.
Critical Analysis
From Death’s point of view we are introduced to the many unforgettable characters found in the Book Thief, but in particular Liesel, a young girl whose book stealing begins with a book entitled, “The Grave Digger’s Handbook”; even though she does not know how to read. Set in Natzi Germany, the life about Liesel unfolds with her mother taken to prison because she is a communist, her younger brother dying along the way and Leisel taken to live with people who eventually become her foster parents, Rosa and Hans Hubermann. Rosa is a spirited woman who runs the house with an iron fist and Hans is a kind man who loves to smoke, plays the accordion and is a painter. As Liesel settles in with the Hubermann’s she eventually makes friends with the neighborhood children like Rudy whom is always trying to steal a kiss from her. As the war progresses and Jews are being taken prisoners the Hubermann’s themselves hide a Jew by the name of Max in their basement and eventually becomes very good friends with Leisel, especially after they find out they both have nightmares that haunt them at night. Liesel’s book thieving continues throughout her life as her father patiently teaches how to read until his death. Readers will thoroughly enjoy the personification of death and the rich and philosophical language found throughout, “Five hundred souls. I carried them in my fingers, like suitcases. Or I’d throw them over my shoulder. It was only the children I carried in my arms.” (p336) The book is divided into ten parts that are divided into various chapters that include small interruptions identified in bold and that are often poetic in nature, “A book floated down the Amper River. A boy jumped in, caught up to it, and held it in his right hand. He grinned. He stood waist-deep in the icy, Decemberish water…” (p528) and concludes with an epilogue.
Review Excerpt(s)
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review- “An achievement.”
The Horn Book Starred Review- “Exquisitely written… A tour de force to be not just read but inhabited.”
School Library Journal, Starred Review- “An extraordinary narrative.”
Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review- “Beautiful and important.”
Connections
*Compare with Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler’s Shadow by Susan Bartoletti
*History of Germany
*Jews and Germany
*Death
*World War II
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy
Bibliography
Schmidt, Gary D. 2004. Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy. New York: Yearling Books. ISBN 9780553494952
Plot Summary
Turner Buckminster is a minister’s son new to the town of Phippsburg in Maine. There he meets a girl named Lizzie Bright from Malaga Island, a poor community founded by former slaves, and become friends.
Critical Analysis
From the first day Turner Buckminster had arrived to his new home with his mother and father, the new minister of Phippsburg’s First Congregational Church, he felt out of place. He did not have any friends and couldn’t even play baseball the way the people of his new home town played it, not only that, in his father’s eyes and to the townspeople he continued to be a disgrace because he is a minister’s son and minister’s son are not allowed to be imperfect, like the time he punched Willis, Deacon Hurd’s son, on the nose. Feeling lonely and a failure he wanders off to the sea to get away from it all, there he meets Lizzie Bright, a lively girl about his age. Lizzie shows Turner her home, Malaga Island, and the people who have lived there since she can remember. Set in 1912, the story focuses on Turner, and the uproar the town is in because of his close friendship with Lizzie, a colored girl. Many readers will connect with Turner and Lizzie as everyone at some time in their lives have been the new kid who doesn’t fit in while other’s will feel Lizzie’s pain and sorrow as everything she loves is stripped away including her life. The non-fictional setting of the town of Phippsburn Main and Malaga Island will fascinate and surprise historical fiction readers, as they read about how the homes of the people of Malaga Island were burnt to the ground, and the people literally forced out of the island and some put in homes for the feeble-minded.
Review Excerpt(s)
Booklist, Starred Review- “A powerful tale of friendship and coming-of-age, adding a lyrical sense of the coastal landscape.”
School Library Journal, Starred Review-“Schmidt’s writing is infused with feeling and rich in imagery. With fully developed, memorable characters…this novel will leave a powerful impression on readers.”
The Horn Book Magazine- Multiple conflicts, between all manner of the powerful and the powerless, create a drama that examines the best and worst of humanity.”
Kirkus, Starred Review-“The telling is both beautiful and emotionally honest, both funny and piercingly sad.”
Connections
*Received the Newbery Honor Book & Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature from the American Library Association.
*Racism
*Poverty
*Prejudice
Schmidt, Gary D. 2004. Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy. New York: Yearling Books. ISBN 9780553494952
Plot Summary
Turner Buckminster is a minister’s son new to the town of Phippsburg in Maine. There he meets a girl named Lizzie Bright from Malaga Island, a poor community founded by former slaves, and become friends.
Critical Analysis
From the first day Turner Buckminster had arrived to his new home with his mother and father, the new minister of Phippsburg’s First Congregational Church, he felt out of place. He did not have any friends and couldn’t even play baseball the way the people of his new home town played it, not only that, in his father’s eyes and to the townspeople he continued to be a disgrace because he is a minister’s son and minister’s son are not allowed to be imperfect, like the time he punched Willis, Deacon Hurd’s son, on the nose. Feeling lonely and a failure he wanders off to the sea to get away from it all, there he meets Lizzie Bright, a lively girl about his age. Lizzie shows Turner her home, Malaga Island, and the people who have lived there since she can remember. Set in 1912, the story focuses on Turner, and the uproar the town is in because of his close friendship with Lizzie, a colored girl. Many readers will connect with Turner and Lizzie as everyone at some time in their lives have been the new kid who doesn’t fit in while other’s will feel Lizzie’s pain and sorrow as everything she loves is stripped away including her life. The non-fictional setting of the town of Phippsburn Main and Malaga Island will fascinate and surprise historical fiction readers, as they read about how the homes of the people of Malaga Island were burnt to the ground, and the people literally forced out of the island and some put in homes for the feeble-minded.
Review Excerpt(s)
Booklist, Starred Review- “A powerful tale of friendship and coming-of-age, adding a lyrical sense of the coastal landscape.”
School Library Journal, Starred Review-“Schmidt’s writing is infused with feeling and rich in imagery. With fully developed, memorable characters…this novel will leave a powerful impression on readers.”
The Horn Book Magazine- Multiple conflicts, between all manner of the powerful and the powerless, create a drama that examines the best and worst of humanity.”
Kirkus, Starred Review-“The telling is both beautiful and emotionally honest, both funny and piercingly sad.”
Connections
*Received the Newbery Honor Book & Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature from the American Library Association.
*Racism
*Poverty
*Prejudice
Catherine, Called Birdy
Bibliography
Cushman, Karen. 1994. Catherine, Called Birdy. New York: NY. Harper Trophy. ISBN 9780064405843
Plot Summary
Catherine, Called Birdy is the diary of a young teenage girl who is high spirited and determined to chase away the men her father chooses for her to marry.
Critical Analysis
Catherine is a spitfire young maiden who detest spinning yarn, writing in a journal, and does not wish to get marry any time soon. She in turn would rather be spending time outdoors with the goat boy, be a rich lady so someone else could do the work for her or spent time with the birds that she keeps in her chamber. However, Catherine’s father is quick to remind her of her place as a daughter by striking her each time she chooses to do things according to her will. All the while she continues to anger her father by driving away rich man he wants her to marry, until a year later she actually considers marriage and is making a list of her future children’s names. Set in the Medieval Ages during 1290’s readers are taken on a journey filled with Catherine’s longing for adventures beginning the 12th of September to the 23rd day of September of the following year. The diary entries that make references to the feast of the Saint being celebrated that day aid to establish the setting and beliefs of the time such as on the 16th day of February, Feast of Saint Juliana, who argued with the Devil. Young readers will identify with the fourteen year old Birdy who like many teens despise house chores, is sharp-tongued and dislikes her life or as Catherine would say, “Corpus Bones! I utterly loathe my life!”
Review Excerpt(s)
*School Library Journal, Starred Review-“Birdy reveals fascinating facts about her time period. A feminist far ahead of her time, she is both believable and lovable…Superb historical fiction.”
*The Horn Book, Starred Review-“Her diary of the year 1290 is a revealing, amusing, and sometimes horrifying vie of both Catherine’s thoughts and life in the Middle Ages…The vivid picture of medieval life presents a seemingly eye-witness view of a culture remote from contemporary beliefs. Fascinating and thought-provoking.”
*The Kirkus Reviews-“The period has rarely been presented for young people with such authenticity; the exotic details will intrigue readers while they relate more closely to Birdy’s yen for independence and her sensibilities toward the downtrodden. Her tenacity and ebullient naivete are extraordinary.”
Connections
*Received the Newbery Medal Honor Winner
* Compare and Contrast Catherine the main character from Catherine, Called Birdy with Beetle from The Midwife’s Apprentice another Newbery Medal Honor book by Karen Cushman
*Medieval Literature
*Women’s rights throughout the ages
Cushman, Karen. 1994. Catherine, Called Birdy. New York: NY. Harper Trophy. ISBN 9780064405843
Plot Summary
Catherine, Called Birdy is the diary of a young teenage girl who is high spirited and determined to chase away the men her father chooses for her to marry.
Critical Analysis
Catherine is a spitfire young maiden who detest spinning yarn, writing in a journal, and does not wish to get marry any time soon. She in turn would rather be spending time outdoors with the goat boy, be a rich lady so someone else could do the work for her or spent time with the birds that she keeps in her chamber. However, Catherine’s father is quick to remind her of her place as a daughter by striking her each time she chooses to do things according to her will. All the while she continues to anger her father by driving away rich man he wants her to marry, until a year later she actually considers marriage and is making a list of her future children’s names. Set in the Medieval Ages during 1290’s readers are taken on a journey filled with Catherine’s longing for adventures beginning the 12th of September to the 23rd day of September of the following year. The diary entries that make references to the feast of the Saint being celebrated that day aid to establish the setting and beliefs of the time such as on the 16th day of February, Feast of Saint Juliana, who argued with the Devil. Young readers will identify with the fourteen year old Birdy who like many teens despise house chores, is sharp-tongued and dislikes her life or as Catherine would say, “Corpus Bones! I utterly loathe my life!”
Review Excerpt(s)
*School Library Journal, Starred Review-“Birdy reveals fascinating facts about her time period. A feminist far ahead of her time, she is both believable and lovable…Superb historical fiction.”
*The Horn Book, Starred Review-“Her diary of the year 1290 is a revealing, amusing, and sometimes horrifying vie of both Catherine’s thoughts and life in the Middle Ages…The vivid picture of medieval life presents a seemingly eye-witness view of a culture remote from contemporary beliefs. Fascinating and thought-provoking.”
*The Kirkus Reviews-“The period has rarely been presented for young people with such authenticity; the exotic details will intrigue readers while they relate more closely to Birdy’s yen for independence and her sensibilities toward the downtrodden. Her tenacity and ebullient naivete are extraordinary.”
Connections
*Received the Newbery Medal Honor Winner
* Compare and Contrast Catherine the main character from Catherine, Called Birdy with Beetle from The Midwife’s Apprentice another Newbery Medal Honor book by Karen Cushman
*Medieval Literature
*Women’s rights throughout the ages
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
Bibliography
Anderson, Laurie Halse. 2008. Chains. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9781416905868
Plot Summary
After being sold to a very cruel couple from New York, a young slave girl named Isabel spies for the Rebels during the Revolutionary war.
Critical Analysis
Isabel knew that the day would come when she would be free. When Miss Mary Finch, Isabel and Ruth’s kind owner who taught them how to read, died; she expected to be released. Before their faith could be decided, the lawyer, who has Mrs. Finch’s will, is gone and Mrs. Finch’s nephew, the ungrateful Mr. Robert decides to sell both girls. The girls are then sold to Mr. and Mrs. Lockton. As the girls make their voyage from Rhode Island to New York City Isabel crosses paths with a boy named Curzon who informs her that her new owner Mr. Lockton is a dirty Loyalist who believes in slavery. Curzon asks Isabel to spy on her masters and inform him about plans and conspiracies against General Washington. Isabel chooses not to have anything to do with politics and refuses to help, but Isabel changes her mind after she realizes what Curzon had said earlier was a hard truth, that her master will say anything in front of her because slaves don’t count. After Isabel’s sister is sold and shipped to the West Indies, she becomes even more determined to help so that maybe the Rebels will help find Ruth and help them gain their freedom. Set in 1776 during the American Revolution, each chapter begins with a newspaper article, advertisement, handbill, or letter from the time period. For example, the following ad is a newspaper advertisement from the Royal Gazette in New York: Run-away from the subscriber, living at No. 110, Water-street, near the new slip. A Negro girl named POLL, about 13 years of age, very black, marked with the Small Pox, and had on when she went away a red cloth petticoat, and a light blue short gown, homemade. Whoever will take up and secure the said girl so that the owner may get her shall be handsomely rewarded. These components provide a sense of the time and place as we see these historical events through Isabel’s eyes. Readers may not understand the harsh realities that thirteen year old Isabel had endured from beaten nearly to death because she tried to run away to being branded in her face with the letter I for being insolent, but will sympathize with her for being courageous in fighting for something many take for granted, freedom.
Review Excerpt(s)
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review- “Startlingly provocative…nuanced and evenhanded…a fast-moving, emotionally involving plot.”
Booklist, Starred Review-“Anderson explores elemental themes of power, freedom, and the sources of human strength in this searing, fascinating story.”
Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review- “Readers will care deeply about Isabel…”
Connections
*Received the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction
*National Book Award Finalist
*Slavery
*Revolutionary War
*Children and Slavery
Anderson, Laurie Halse. 2008. Chains. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9781416905868
Plot Summary
After being sold to a very cruel couple from New York, a young slave girl named Isabel spies for the Rebels during the Revolutionary war.
Critical Analysis
Isabel knew that the day would come when she would be free. When Miss Mary Finch, Isabel and Ruth’s kind owner who taught them how to read, died; she expected to be released. Before their faith could be decided, the lawyer, who has Mrs. Finch’s will, is gone and Mrs. Finch’s nephew, the ungrateful Mr. Robert decides to sell both girls. The girls are then sold to Mr. and Mrs. Lockton. As the girls make their voyage from Rhode Island to New York City Isabel crosses paths with a boy named Curzon who informs her that her new owner Mr. Lockton is a dirty Loyalist who believes in slavery. Curzon asks Isabel to spy on her masters and inform him about plans and conspiracies against General Washington. Isabel chooses not to have anything to do with politics and refuses to help, but Isabel changes her mind after she realizes what Curzon had said earlier was a hard truth, that her master will say anything in front of her because slaves don’t count. After Isabel’s sister is sold and shipped to the West Indies, she becomes even more determined to help so that maybe the Rebels will help find Ruth and help them gain their freedom. Set in 1776 during the American Revolution, each chapter begins with a newspaper article, advertisement, handbill, or letter from the time period. For example, the following ad is a newspaper advertisement from the Royal Gazette in New York: Run-away from the subscriber, living at No. 110, Water-street, near the new slip. A Negro girl named POLL, about 13 years of age, very black, marked with the Small Pox, and had on when she went away a red cloth petticoat, and a light blue short gown, homemade. Whoever will take up and secure the said girl so that the owner may get her shall be handsomely rewarded. These components provide a sense of the time and place as we see these historical events through Isabel’s eyes. Readers may not understand the harsh realities that thirteen year old Isabel had endured from beaten nearly to death because she tried to run away to being branded in her face with the letter I for being insolent, but will sympathize with her for being courageous in fighting for something many take for granted, freedom.
Review Excerpt(s)
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review- “Startlingly provocative…nuanced and evenhanded…a fast-moving, emotionally involving plot.”
Booklist, Starred Review-“Anderson explores elemental themes of power, freedom, and the sources of human strength in this searing, fascinating story.”
Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review- “Readers will care deeply about Isabel…”
Connections
*Received the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction
*National Book Award Finalist
*Slavery
*Revolutionary War
*Children and Slavery
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Our Eleanor by Candace Fleming
Bibliography
Fleming, Candace. 2005. Our Eleanor. New York: New York. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9780689865442
Summary
Our Eleanor is a biography of the life of first lady Eleanor Roosevelt’s life from infancy to her death in 1962. This biography contains very private details from Eleanor’s low self-esteem as a child because of her looks to the details of her not so perfect marriage to President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Critical Analysis
All throughout the book the author includes documentable dialogue that came from Eleanor, her children and her friends. At the end of the book source notes, picture credits, and other resources about Eleanor are included. The book begins with a table of contents that includes titles, page numbers and a quote by Eleanor that introduces parallels with what the chapter is about. It continues with a time line of Eleanor’s life and a Roosevelt Family Tree. Then it continues from her birth, youth, marriage, and finally her death in 1962. The book is organized as a scrapbook with each vignette including borders, portraits, letters, newspaper clippings, sketches, or photographs. Headings with bold fonts are included as well as subheadings with a different font style are also used. Captions under well cropped photographs or other images are included to aid the reader. The book jacket is inviting with a colorful portrait of Mrs. Roosevelt. Her warm smile and her soft blue eyes give the photograph an inviting motherly appearance that draws the reader in. The black and white photographs, newspaper clippings, and letters support the text throughout and are placed appropriately with each vignette and are either gay, or serious. Middle school children or older could easily open this book and begin reading from any point in the book. The ivory pages give the book an older feel while giving the background a crisp look. The various font sizes and varieties help move the text along as the journey through Eleanor’s life continues. The writing is clear and to the point and shows the author’s interest in Mrs. Roosevelt’s life without being biased. The author encourages curiosity throughout the book by the way she chooses to title certain vignettes. One of the titles in the book is “The Other First Lady” and then we see a large photograph of Mr. and Mrs. Roosevelt sitting in a carriage with another woman sitting between the two of them, and then there’s another vignette titled “Father’s Weakness” that peaks the reader’s curiosity.
Review Excerpt(s)
*Society of School Librarians International Book Awards, 2006.
*Jefferson Cup Award, 2006. Honor Book Grades 6-12
* Kirkus Reviews-“Had Eleanor Roosevelt kept a scrapbook-an incredibly well-organized and thorough scrapbook-this is how it might feel to look through it. Arranged chronologically, the volume works like a jigsaw puzzle. Open it up, pick individual pieces at random and when placed all together, a full picture of the subject emerges...”
*Booklist- “As in Fleming's Ben Franklin's Almanac: Being a True Account of the Good Gentleman's Life (2003), which was a 2004 Booklist Top 10 Biography, this takes a pastiche approach to humanizing a legendary life. Through anecdotes and archival photos drawn from an assortment of sources, Fleming invites readers into a camaraderie with the timid, neglected little girl who grew up to become the woman many nicknamed "co-president," and whose flouting of accepted gender roles earned her admiration and ridicule in equal measure…”
*Library Media Connection- “This scrapbook biography employs oral history transcripts, books, and photographs. Eleanor's vital role in American history is chronicled in this biography that captures her vulnerability and her humanity. With chapters in loose chronological order, chapter titles indicate phases of Eleanor's life...”
Connections
*Use as a cross curricular resource in Social Studies and English Language Arts to study biographies.
Fleming, Candace. 2005. Our Eleanor. New York: New York. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9780689865442
Summary
Our Eleanor is a biography of the life of first lady Eleanor Roosevelt’s life from infancy to her death in 1962. This biography contains very private details from Eleanor’s low self-esteem as a child because of her looks to the details of her not so perfect marriage to President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Critical Analysis
All throughout the book the author includes documentable dialogue that came from Eleanor, her children and her friends. At the end of the book source notes, picture credits, and other resources about Eleanor are included. The book begins with a table of contents that includes titles, page numbers and a quote by Eleanor that introduces parallels with what the chapter is about. It continues with a time line of Eleanor’s life and a Roosevelt Family Tree. Then it continues from her birth, youth, marriage, and finally her death in 1962. The book is organized as a scrapbook with each vignette including borders, portraits, letters, newspaper clippings, sketches, or photographs. Headings with bold fonts are included as well as subheadings with a different font style are also used. Captions under well cropped photographs or other images are included to aid the reader. The book jacket is inviting with a colorful portrait of Mrs. Roosevelt. Her warm smile and her soft blue eyes give the photograph an inviting motherly appearance that draws the reader in. The black and white photographs, newspaper clippings, and letters support the text throughout and are placed appropriately with each vignette and are either gay, or serious. Middle school children or older could easily open this book and begin reading from any point in the book. The ivory pages give the book an older feel while giving the background a crisp look. The various font sizes and varieties help move the text along as the journey through Eleanor’s life continues. The writing is clear and to the point and shows the author’s interest in Mrs. Roosevelt’s life without being biased. The author encourages curiosity throughout the book by the way she chooses to title certain vignettes. One of the titles in the book is “The Other First Lady” and then we see a large photograph of Mr. and Mrs. Roosevelt sitting in a carriage with another woman sitting between the two of them, and then there’s another vignette titled “Father’s Weakness” that peaks the reader’s curiosity.
Review Excerpt(s)
*Society of School Librarians International Book Awards, 2006.
*Jefferson Cup Award, 2006. Honor Book Grades 6-12
* Kirkus Reviews-“Had Eleanor Roosevelt kept a scrapbook-an incredibly well-organized and thorough scrapbook-this is how it might feel to look through it. Arranged chronologically, the volume works like a jigsaw puzzle. Open it up, pick individual pieces at random and when placed all together, a full picture of the subject emerges...”
*Booklist- “As in Fleming's Ben Franklin's Almanac: Being a True Account of the Good Gentleman's Life (2003), which was a 2004 Booklist Top 10 Biography, this takes a pastiche approach to humanizing a legendary life. Through anecdotes and archival photos drawn from an assortment of sources, Fleming invites readers into a camaraderie with the timid, neglected little girl who grew up to become the woman many nicknamed "co-president," and whose flouting of accepted gender roles earned her admiration and ridicule in equal measure…”
*Library Media Connection- “This scrapbook biography employs oral history transcripts, books, and photographs. Eleanor's vital role in American history is chronicled in this biography that captures her vulnerability and her humanity. With chapters in loose chronological order, chapter titles indicate phases of Eleanor's life...”
Connections
*Use as a cross curricular resource in Social Studies and English Language Arts to study biographies.
Let Me Play: The Story of Title IX: The Law That Changed the Future of Girls in America by Karen Blumenthal
Bibliography
Blumenthal, Karen. 2005. Let Me Play: The Story of Title IX: The Law That Changed the Future of Girls in America. New York: New York. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0689859570
Summary
In Let Me Play: The Story of Title IX: The Law That Changed the Future of Girls in America Blumenthal includes the injustices of many female athletes to how women in politics helped introduce, pass and enforce Title IX.
Critical Analysis
What would you say if someone told you your daughter could not play sports because she doesn’t need to build character? When she graduates from college with a law degree she can only teach but not practice law because she is a woman. Karen Blumenthal’s Let Me Play: The Story of Title IX, answers these and many other questions in an informative survey style book. The photographs, cartoons, newspaper and magazine clippings keep the heavily factual book interesting. Each chapter either focuses on female athletes or influential woman throughout the women’s rights movement and includes interesting female player profiles such as Mia Hamm and Billie Jean King. Although the split sentences during the course of the text create a bit of confusion at times the overall information found throughout is priceless.
Review Excerpt(s)
Jane Addams Children’s Book Award, 2006
Booklist-“ As in Six Days in October (2002), a compelling overview of the 1929 stock market crash and a financial primer, Wall Street Journal editor Blumenthal uses specific facts and fascinating personal stories to give readers a wide view of history. Here, the author looks at American women's evolving rights by focusing on the history and future of Title IX, which bans sex discrimination in U.S. education...”
Kirkus-“ The history of the small but wildly influential amendment known as Title IX receives a thoughtful, enlightening and inspiring treatment from the Sibert Honor-winning Blumenthal...”
Library Media Collection-“ Before the time that Donna de Varona won the gold in the Olympics and made the cover of Sports Illustrated, or Billy Jean King played Bobby Riggs, the battle for equality in the treatment of the sexes had been fought on several fronts. The warriors for the cause and the skirmishes leading up to the victory of Title IX are the subjects of this book...”
Connections
*Women Athletes
*Sex discrimation in sports
*Women’s rights throughout the centuries.
Blumenthal, Karen. 2005. Let Me Play: The Story of Title IX: The Law That Changed the Future of Girls in America. New York: New York. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0689859570
Summary
In Let Me Play: The Story of Title IX: The Law That Changed the Future of Girls in America Blumenthal includes the injustices of many female athletes to how women in politics helped introduce, pass and enforce Title IX.
Critical Analysis
What would you say if someone told you your daughter could not play sports because she doesn’t need to build character? When she graduates from college with a law degree she can only teach but not practice law because she is a woman. Karen Blumenthal’s Let Me Play: The Story of Title IX, answers these and many other questions in an informative survey style book. The photographs, cartoons, newspaper and magazine clippings keep the heavily factual book interesting. Each chapter either focuses on female athletes or influential woman throughout the women’s rights movement and includes interesting female player profiles such as Mia Hamm and Billie Jean King. Although the split sentences during the course of the text create a bit of confusion at times the overall information found throughout is priceless.
Review Excerpt(s)
Jane Addams Children’s Book Award, 2006
Booklist-“ As in Six Days in October (2002), a compelling overview of the 1929 stock market crash and a financial primer, Wall Street Journal editor Blumenthal uses specific facts and fascinating personal stories to give readers a wide view of history. Here, the author looks at American women's evolving rights by focusing on the history and future of Title IX, which bans sex discrimination in U.S. education...”
Kirkus-“ The history of the small but wildly influential amendment known as Title IX receives a thoughtful, enlightening and inspiring treatment from the Sibert Honor-winning Blumenthal...”
Library Media Collection-“ Before the time that Donna de Varona won the gold in the Olympics and made the cover of Sports Illustrated, or Billy Jean King played Bobby Riggs, the battle for equality in the treatment of the sexes had been fought on several fronts. The warriors for the cause and the skirmishes leading up to the victory of Title IX are the subjects of this book...”
Connections
*Women Athletes
*Sex discrimation in sports
*Women’s rights throughout the centuries.
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose
Bibliography
Hoose, Phillip. 2009. Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice. New York: New York. Melanie Kroupa Books. ISBN 9780312661052
Summary
This is the story of Claudette Colvin a 15 year old African American girl who in 1955, when segregation laws were still in effect in Montgomery Alabama, refused to give up her seat on a bus for a white passenger and was arrested.
Critical Analysis
Did you know Rosa Parks was not the first African-American to make history by refusing to give up her seat on a city bus in segregated Montgomery Alabama? Phillip Hoose’s biography of Claudette Colvin shows readers anyone can stand up for their rights at any age just like Claudette Colvin did at the young age of 15. Teenage readers will identify with Claudette’s struggles as a single mom during her young adult years, to her decision participate in tumultuous court case that endangered her life. The book will appeal to readers visually with the many photographs that depict the ignorant way thinking such as the sign that read “NO Dogs, Negros, Mexicans,” back when segregation was in place to the faces of innocent lives lost and the courageous boycott leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Junior. Tidbits of interesting facts, such as how Jim Crow Laws got their name, are sprinkled throughout out the 10 chapter narrative filled with interviews from many individuals that lived in Montgomery Alabama during the tumultuous times of segregation to desegregation.
Review Excerpt(s)
*Booklist Starred Review-“ Starred Review* Nine months before Rosa Parks’ history-making protest on a city bus, Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old Montgomery, Alabama, high-school student, was arrested and jailed for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger. Hoose draws from numerous personal interviews with Colvin in this exceptional title that is part historical account, part memoir....”
* Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices-“Phillip Hoose’s narrative, which was drawn in large part from interviews with Colvin and others as well as additional research, paints a fresh, insightful picture of those life-changing times in Montgomery, looking at them through the experiences of a teenager who faced challenges for being both young and Black.”
*Kirkus- “Claudette Colvin's story will be new to most readers. A teenager in the 1950s, Colvin was the first African-American to refuse to give up her seat on the bus in Montgomery, Ala. Although she later participated with four other women in the court case that effectively ended segregated bus service, it is Rosa Parks's action that became the celebrated event of the bus boycott. Hoose's frank examination of Colvin's life includes sizable passages in her own words, allowing readers to learn about the events of the time from a unique and personal perspective….”
Connections
*National Book Award Winner
*Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction Finalist
*The Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
*Civil Rights
*Segreation
*Inspirational biographies
Hoose, Phillip. 2009. Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice. New York: New York. Melanie Kroupa Books. ISBN 9780312661052
Summary
This is the story of Claudette Colvin a 15 year old African American girl who in 1955, when segregation laws were still in effect in Montgomery Alabama, refused to give up her seat on a bus for a white passenger and was arrested.
Critical Analysis
Did you know Rosa Parks was not the first African-American to make history by refusing to give up her seat on a city bus in segregated Montgomery Alabama? Phillip Hoose’s biography of Claudette Colvin shows readers anyone can stand up for their rights at any age just like Claudette Colvin did at the young age of 15. Teenage readers will identify with Claudette’s struggles as a single mom during her young adult years, to her decision participate in tumultuous court case that endangered her life. The book will appeal to readers visually with the many photographs that depict the ignorant way thinking such as the sign that read “NO Dogs, Negros, Mexicans,” back when segregation was in place to the faces of innocent lives lost and the courageous boycott leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Junior. Tidbits of interesting facts, such as how Jim Crow Laws got their name, are sprinkled throughout out the 10 chapter narrative filled with interviews from many individuals that lived in Montgomery Alabama during the tumultuous times of segregation to desegregation.
Review Excerpt(s)
*Booklist Starred Review-“ Starred Review* Nine months before Rosa Parks’ history-making protest on a city bus, Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old Montgomery, Alabama, high-school student, was arrested and jailed for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger. Hoose draws from numerous personal interviews with Colvin in this exceptional title that is part historical account, part memoir....”
* Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices-“Phillip Hoose’s narrative, which was drawn in large part from interviews with Colvin and others as well as additional research, paints a fresh, insightful picture of those life-changing times in Montgomery, looking at them through the experiences of a teenager who faced challenges for being both young and Black.”
*Kirkus- “Claudette Colvin's story will be new to most readers. A teenager in the 1950s, Colvin was the first African-American to refuse to give up her seat on the bus in Montgomery, Ala. Although she later participated with four other women in the court case that effectively ended segregated bus service, it is Rosa Parks's action that became the celebrated event of the bus boycott. Hoose's frank examination of Colvin's life includes sizable passages in her own words, allowing readers to learn about the events of the time from a unique and personal perspective….”
Connections
*National Book Award Winner
*Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction Finalist
*The Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
*Civil Rights
*Segreation
*Inspirational biographies
Thursday, October 13, 2011
The Llama Who Had no Pajama
Bibliography
Hoberman, Mary Ann. The Llama Who Had No Pajama. by Betty Fraser.
New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-15-205571-4
Plot Summary
This is a collection of 100 favorite poems by Poet Laureate Mary Ann Hoberman. The poems are of universal topics such as birthdays, family, animals, insects, opposites and time.
Critical Analysis
The Llama who had no Pajama is an individual poet compilation of poems by author Mary Ann Hoberman from 2008 to 2010 and beautifully illustrated by illustrator Betty Fraser. The Language is full of rhythm, rhyme, alliteration and repetition of sounds. The use of alliteration is found in the poem “Permutations” such as in the flea flew high to flee the fly. The poem “Termite” is full of rhyme. At the end of each line we find the following words that rhyme: sort, report, resort, state, rate, cooperate, find, blind, kind, kings, stings, and things. There are insect riddles as in “Who Am I” and animal tongue twisters as in the poem “Gazelle” 'O gaze on the graceful gazelle as it grazes'. The collection of 100 poems will resonate with young children since the poems center around themes young children will be able to relate. For example in the poem, “Brother” where the poet complains about having a little brother who is a bother and the poem “Let’s Dress Up” where little girls are enjoy playing dress up in grown-up clothes. The poems will also resound with adults since there seems to be a nostalgic feeling in the poems of things we enjoyed as children such as the rain. There is also an index at the end of the book where the first line of each poem is provided as a quick reference. The watercolor illustrations are simple but colorful and do not overwhelm the poems. The snow-white page backgrounds enhance the detailed and lively drawings that accompany every poem.
Review Excerpt(s)
School Library Journal-“Hoberman’s rhythms are lively and agile.”
Publishers Weekly-“This inventively illustrated collection brims with enough wordplay and silliness to please a room full of young wordsmiths.”
Connections
*The Llama Who Had No Pajama was awarded the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children for Mary Ann Hoberman’s lifetime of poetry writing.
* The animal poems can be a great introduction to science themes.
Hoberman, Mary Ann. The Llama Who Had No Pajama. by Betty Fraser.
New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-15-205571-4
Plot Summary
This is a collection of 100 favorite poems by Poet Laureate Mary Ann Hoberman. The poems are of universal topics such as birthdays, family, animals, insects, opposites and time.
Critical Analysis
The Llama who had no Pajama is an individual poet compilation of poems by author Mary Ann Hoberman from 2008 to 2010 and beautifully illustrated by illustrator Betty Fraser. The Language is full of rhythm, rhyme, alliteration and repetition of sounds. The use of alliteration is found in the poem “Permutations” such as in the flea flew high to flee the fly. The poem “Termite” is full of rhyme. At the end of each line we find the following words that rhyme: sort, report, resort, state, rate, cooperate, find, blind, kind, kings, stings, and things. There are insect riddles as in “Who Am I” and animal tongue twisters as in the poem “Gazelle” 'O gaze on the graceful gazelle as it grazes'. The collection of 100 poems will resonate with young children since the poems center around themes young children will be able to relate. For example in the poem, “Brother” where the poet complains about having a little brother who is a bother and the poem “Let’s Dress Up” where little girls are enjoy playing dress up in grown-up clothes. The poems will also resound with adults since there seems to be a nostalgic feeling in the poems of things we enjoyed as children such as the rain. There is also an index at the end of the book where the first line of each poem is provided as a quick reference. The watercolor illustrations are simple but colorful and do not overwhelm the poems. The snow-white page backgrounds enhance the detailed and lively drawings that accompany every poem.
Review Excerpt(s)
School Library Journal-“Hoberman’s rhythms are lively and agile.”
Publishers Weekly-“This inventively illustrated collection brims with enough wordplay and silliness to please a room full of young wordsmiths.”
Connections
*The Llama Who Had No Pajama was awarded the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children for Mary Ann Hoberman’s lifetime of poetry writing.
* The animal poems can be a great introduction to science themes.
Flamingos on the Roof
Bibliography
Brown, Calef. Flamingos on the Roof. By Calef Brown
New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 978-0618-56298-5
Plot Summary
In this compilation of poems written and illustrated by Calef Brown we are introduced to 28 poems that vary from topic to topic. The topics range from a biker named Bob to televisions in a taxi cab and worms.
Critical Analysis
The poems vary greatly from poems that rhyme like “Poseidon’s Hair” where we see words such as kelp, help, toupee, away. Then there are other poems, for example “Sally” where the poet compares people like Sally to Medusa from Greek Mythology. Then there’s “Combo Tango” where the poem is actually a simple tango. In “Allicater Gatorpillar” we see a play on words such as combining the words alligator with caterpillar. “Weatherbee’s Diner” is a great example of a poem with rhyme. Here we see words like eat, street, rain, main, loud, cloud, treat, sleet, dessert, hurt, warm, storm. The acrylic illustrations are lively and filled with colorful and wacky pictures. In the poem “Allicatter Gatorpillar” we see a butterfly with an alligator’s body and a caterpillar with an alligators head. Then in “Poseidon’s Hair” Poseidon appears with his green kelp hair and a tattoo on his arm stating king of the sea.
Review Excerpt(s)
Booklist-“An exuberant debut, equally enjoyable read silently or aloud.”
Publishers Weekly-“A traveling circus of poems…weird and wonderfully catchy.”
School Library Journal-“A gleeful book for solo or shared reading.”
Connections
*May be compared with non-silly poems from “The Llama Who had no Pajama.”
* It makes a wacky read aloud book of non-sense poems.”
Brown, Calef. Flamingos on the Roof. By Calef Brown
New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 978-0618-56298-5
Plot Summary
In this compilation of poems written and illustrated by Calef Brown we are introduced to 28 poems that vary from topic to topic. The topics range from a biker named Bob to televisions in a taxi cab and worms.
Critical Analysis
The poems vary greatly from poems that rhyme like “Poseidon’s Hair” where we see words such as kelp, help, toupee, away. Then there are other poems, for example “Sally” where the poet compares people like Sally to Medusa from Greek Mythology. Then there’s “Combo Tango” where the poem is actually a simple tango. In “Allicater Gatorpillar” we see a play on words such as combining the words alligator with caterpillar. “Weatherbee’s Diner” is a great example of a poem with rhyme. Here we see words like eat, street, rain, main, loud, cloud, treat, sleet, dessert, hurt, warm, storm. The acrylic illustrations are lively and filled with colorful and wacky pictures. In the poem “Allicatter Gatorpillar” we see a butterfly with an alligator’s body and a caterpillar with an alligators head. Then in “Poseidon’s Hair” Poseidon appears with his green kelp hair and a tattoo on his arm stating king of the sea.
Review Excerpt(s)
Booklist-“An exuberant debut, equally enjoyable read silently or aloud.”
Publishers Weekly-“A traveling circus of poems…weird and wonderfully catchy.”
School Library Journal-“A gleeful book for solo or shared reading.”
Connections
*May be compared with non-silly poems from “The Llama Who had no Pajama.”
* It makes a wacky read aloud book of non-sense poems.”
What My Mother Doesn't Know
Bibliography
Sones, Sonya. 2001. What My Mother Doesn’t Know. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
ISBN 978-0-689-855535
Plot Summary
In What My Mother Doesn’t Know we meet Sophie, a teenager who is almost fifteen. The entire book is about Sophie’s teenage life. We are introduced to her best friends Rachel and Grace and all the fun teenage things they love doing together and to the many boy crushes Sophie has.
Critical Analysis
This verse novel is filled with themes young adults will be able to relate to such as teen age love, parent and teen relationships, school friendships, and cultural acceptance. What my mother doesn’t know is written in a colloquial conversational language from the main characters point of view. The book is organized as a group of free verse poems written in short lines that are easy to read that will appeal to reluctant teenage girl readers. The story moves and evolves quickly making it a quick and enjoyable dramatic read aloud novel.
Review Excerpt(s)
Booklist starred review-“Fast, funny, touching.”
Publishers Weekly-“Honest, destined to captivate.”
Kirkus starred review-“A verse experience that will leave readers sighing with recognition and satisfaction.”
Connections
*What My Mother Doesn’t Know is a great verse novel to inspire reluctant teenage girl readers.
*Must read What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know, the novel in verse, from Robin’s (Sophie’s teenage love) point of view.
*Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy, another acclaimed novel by Sonya Sones for reluctant readers.
*Compare and Contrast with another verse novel such as Heartbeat by Sharon Creech.
Sones, Sonya. 2001. What My Mother Doesn’t Know. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
ISBN 978-0-689-855535
Plot Summary
In What My Mother Doesn’t Know we meet Sophie, a teenager who is almost fifteen. The entire book is about Sophie’s teenage life. We are introduced to her best friends Rachel and Grace and all the fun teenage things they love doing together and to the many boy crushes Sophie has.
Critical Analysis
This verse novel is filled with themes young adults will be able to relate to such as teen age love, parent and teen relationships, school friendships, and cultural acceptance. What my mother doesn’t know is written in a colloquial conversational language from the main characters point of view. The book is organized as a group of free verse poems written in short lines that are easy to read that will appeal to reluctant teenage girl readers. The story moves and evolves quickly making it a quick and enjoyable dramatic read aloud novel.
Review Excerpt(s)
Booklist starred review-“Fast, funny, touching.”
Publishers Weekly-“Honest, destined to captivate.”
Kirkus starred review-“A verse experience that will leave readers sighing with recognition and satisfaction.”
Connections
*What My Mother Doesn’t Know is a great verse novel to inspire reluctant teenage girl readers.
*Must read What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know, the novel in verse, from Robin’s (Sophie’s teenage love) point of view.
*Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy, another acclaimed novel by Sonya Sones for reluctant readers.
*Compare and Contrast with another verse novel such as Heartbeat by Sharon Creech.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Rumpelstiltskin.
Bibliography
Zelinksy Paul O. 1986. Rumpelstiltskin. By Paul O. Zelinsky. New York: NY. Puffin Books. ISBN 9780140558647
Plot Summary
In this variant of Rumpelstiltskin a poor miller tries to impress his king by claiming that his daughter can spin straw into gold, which is not true. The king sends for the miller’s daughter who is to spin straw into gold by the next morning or she will die. The girl begins to cry because she does not know how to turn straw into gold, in that instant a peculiar little man appears out of nowhere and offers to help her if she will give him something in return. She agrees to give him her necklace the first night, her ring the night and her first born child the third night he spins all the straw into gold. On the third day, the king is impressed at her abilities and marries her and they eventually have a child who Rumpelstiltskin comes to claim. Rumpelstiltskin gives the queen three days to find out what his name is and if she guesses correctly by the third day, she can keep her child. In the end the queen sends her servant to spy on Rumpelstiltskin. The servant overhears him chant his name and the queen gets to keep the baby while umpelstiltskin is never to return and the queen and king lived happily ever after.
Critical Analysis
In this variant of Rumpelstitskin it is easy to see the basic story elements of protagonist, problem, antagonist, climax, and resolution. The protagonist, the miller’s daughter, finds herself in a bit of trouble when she is asked the magical task of turning straw into gold, soon the antagonist, Rumpelstitskin is presented. He quickly offers a solution to the problem but not without a heavy price. At the climax of the story the antagonist returns for the queen’s first born unless his name is discovered. At the conclusion of the story, the problem is resolved when the queen’s servant discovers Rumpelstiltskin’s name and he disappears to never return again. Also, the significance of the number three is found throughout the story when the girl makes gold for three nights and then has three days to figure out Rumpelstiltskin’s name. This is typical in European stories where things usually occur in threes. (Vardell, p. 93)
It is easy to see why Zelinksy’s variant of Rumpelstiltskin was chosen for the Caldecott Honor. The illustrations have a painting like style that creates a memorizing background to the story such as in the royal wedding scene and the pages where the queen reveals Rumpelstiltskin’s name to him. The expressions in the characters and the detail to the castles walls and floors are flawless. The rich colors of the character’s medieval costumes and the piles of spools of gold thread shine and glistened as if they were real and in front of the reader. The illustrations give so much depth and detail that it will make readers want to reach out and touch every page in the book. The characters facial expressions are full of life for example when Rumpelstiltskin rejoices in the woods that no one knows his name. The illustrations are so full of life that they carry the story. I found myself turning pages without even reading the story. The Caldecott Honor Book was given to Paul O. Zenlinksy’s variant of Rumpelstitskin because it is truly a perfect example of a traditional tale in picture book form.
Review Excerpt(s)
*School Library Journal-“Zelinsky’s smooth retelling and glowing pictures cast the story in a new and beautiful light.”
*The Horn Book-“Truly a tour de force.”
*The New York Times Book Review-“Children love the story for its mystery and familiarity.”
Connections
*Other Caldecott Honor Books by Paul O. Zelinsky: Swamp Angel
* Compare and Contrast with other versions such as the Rumpelstiltskin story from West India were Lit'mahn spins thread into gold cloth for the king's new bride, Quashiba.
*Integrate with other subjects such as math with the version of the Multipliyng menace: the revenge of Rumpelstiltskin by Pam Calvert.
Vardell, Sylvia M. 2008. Children's Literature in Action. Libraries Unlimited. Paperback: ISBN 13: 9781591585572
Zelinksy Paul O. 1986. Rumpelstiltskin. By Paul O. Zelinsky. New York: NY. Puffin Books. ISBN 9780140558647
Plot Summary
In this variant of Rumpelstiltskin a poor miller tries to impress his king by claiming that his daughter can spin straw into gold, which is not true. The king sends for the miller’s daughter who is to spin straw into gold by the next morning or she will die. The girl begins to cry because she does not know how to turn straw into gold, in that instant a peculiar little man appears out of nowhere and offers to help her if she will give him something in return. She agrees to give him her necklace the first night, her ring the night and her first born child the third night he spins all the straw into gold. On the third day, the king is impressed at her abilities and marries her and they eventually have a child who Rumpelstiltskin comes to claim. Rumpelstiltskin gives the queen three days to find out what his name is and if she guesses correctly by the third day, she can keep her child. In the end the queen sends her servant to spy on Rumpelstiltskin. The servant overhears him chant his name and the queen gets to keep the baby while umpelstiltskin is never to return and the queen and king lived happily ever after.
Critical Analysis
In this variant of Rumpelstitskin it is easy to see the basic story elements of protagonist, problem, antagonist, climax, and resolution. The protagonist, the miller’s daughter, finds herself in a bit of trouble when she is asked the magical task of turning straw into gold, soon the antagonist, Rumpelstitskin is presented. He quickly offers a solution to the problem but not without a heavy price. At the climax of the story the antagonist returns for the queen’s first born unless his name is discovered. At the conclusion of the story, the problem is resolved when the queen’s servant discovers Rumpelstiltskin’s name and he disappears to never return again. Also, the significance of the number three is found throughout the story when the girl makes gold for three nights and then has three days to figure out Rumpelstiltskin’s name. This is typical in European stories where things usually occur in threes. (Vardell, p. 93)
It is easy to see why Zelinksy’s variant of Rumpelstiltskin was chosen for the Caldecott Honor. The illustrations have a painting like style that creates a memorizing background to the story such as in the royal wedding scene and the pages where the queen reveals Rumpelstiltskin’s name to him. The expressions in the characters and the detail to the castles walls and floors are flawless. The rich colors of the character’s medieval costumes and the piles of spools of gold thread shine and glistened as if they were real and in front of the reader. The illustrations give so much depth and detail that it will make readers want to reach out and touch every page in the book. The characters facial expressions are full of life for example when Rumpelstiltskin rejoices in the woods that no one knows his name. The illustrations are so full of life that they carry the story. I found myself turning pages without even reading the story. The Caldecott Honor Book was given to Paul O. Zenlinksy’s variant of Rumpelstitskin because it is truly a perfect example of a traditional tale in picture book form.
Review Excerpt(s)
*School Library Journal-“Zelinsky’s smooth retelling and glowing pictures cast the story in a new and beautiful light.”
*The Horn Book-“Truly a tour de force.”
*The New York Times Book Review-“Children love the story for its mystery and familiarity.”
Connections
*Other Caldecott Honor Books by Paul O. Zelinsky: Swamp Angel
* Compare and Contrast with other versions such as the Rumpelstiltskin story from West India were Lit'mahn spins thread into gold cloth for the king's new bride, Quashiba.
*Integrate with other subjects such as math with the version of the Multipliyng menace: the revenge of Rumpelstiltskin by Pam Calvert.
Vardell, Sylvia M. 2008. Children's Literature in Action. Libraries Unlimited. Paperback: ISBN 13: 9781591585572
The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig
Bibliography
Trivizas, Eugene. 1993. The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig. By Helen Oxenbury. New York: NY: MacMillan. ISBN 0590486225
Plot Summary
In this version of the three little pigs the, the wolves are the ones having their houses destroyed by the big, bad pig. The first house built out of bricks was destroyed with a sledgehammer, the second house built out of concrete was destroyed with a pneumatic drill and the third house made out of barbed wire, iron bars, armor plates, heavy metal padlocks and Plexiglas was blown up with dynamite. Soon the three little wolves decided they must try something different so they built a house out of flowers. Soon the big, bad pig came to tear their house down, but the smell of flowers was so lovely that his heart grew tender and he decided to become a good pig. From then on the wolves played games with the pig, ate together and lived together happily ever after.
Critical Analysis
The text has the repeating situations and phrases from the traditional version of The Three Little Pigs. An example of this is when the three little wolves say “no, no, no. By the hair on our chinny-chin-chins.” And the big, bad pig says, “I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down!” Also, the characters are full of personality for they are either drinking tea, playing croquet in the garden or a game of shuttlecock and of course in the end build a house out of flowers. The ending of the story is quite ironic when the pig has a change of heart due to the strong aroma of the flowers and becomes friends with the three little wolves.
Helen Oxenbury's watercolor illustrations work well to create the various settings and transitions found in the story. The use of gray colors help to move the story from setting to setting from beginning to end, finishing with beautiful happy pastel colors, such as from the construction of the first house made out of bricks to the soft and aromatic petals of the house made out of flowers.
The author’s illustrations of the cold and hard houses made out of brick, mortar, barb wire and padlocks is a grim reminder of the disconnect and distrust many humans have with their neighbors just as the big, bad pig had with the wolves; therefore causing conflict among the two.
Review Excerpt(s)
*Publishers Weekly-"among the wittiest fractured fairy tales around."
*Booklist-“This fractured fairy tale has a subtle message, adding some heart to what otherwise might have been just a clever piece of storytelling. . . . The concepts that beauty can facilitate change and that tenderness works better than toughness won't be lost on kids.”
* Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books- “Irony entails a restoration of the proper order of things, and this book has a double transformation that will reassure young audiences at the same time it tells them a new truth about old tales: every pig has his day."
Connections
*Compare and Contrast with another version titled, The Fourth Little Pig, by Teresa Cecil and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka.
*Practice point of view using the traditional tale of the Three Little Pigs and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka.
*This version is a great example to use as a writing springboard where students may write their own version of The Three Little Pigs.
Trivizas, Eugene. 1993. The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig. By Helen Oxenbury. New York: NY: MacMillan. ISBN 0590486225
Plot Summary
In this version of the three little pigs the, the wolves are the ones having their houses destroyed by the big, bad pig. The first house built out of bricks was destroyed with a sledgehammer, the second house built out of concrete was destroyed with a pneumatic drill and the third house made out of barbed wire, iron bars, armor plates, heavy metal padlocks and Plexiglas was blown up with dynamite. Soon the three little wolves decided they must try something different so they built a house out of flowers. Soon the big, bad pig came to tear their house down, but the smell of flowers was so lovely that his heart grew tender and he decided to become a good pig. From then on the wolves played games with the pig, ate together and lived together happily ever after.
Critical Analysis
The text has the repeating situations and phrases from the traditional version of The Three Little Pigs. An example of this is when the three little wolves say “no, no, no. By the hair on our chinny-chin-chins.” And the big, bad pig says, “I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down!” Also, the characters are full of personality for they are either drinking tea, playing croquet in the garden or a game of shuttlecock and of course in the end build a house out of flowers. The ending of the story is quite ironic when the pig has a change of heart due to the strong aroma of the flowers and becomes friends with the three little wolves.
Helen Oxenbury's watercolor illustrations work well to create the various settings and transitions found in the story. The use of gray colors help to move the story from setting to setting from beginning to end, finishing with beautiful happy pastel colors, such as from the construction of the first house made out of bricks to the soft and aromatic petals of the house made out of flowers.
The author’s illustrations of the cold and hard houses made out of brick, mortar, barb wire and padlocks is a grim reminder of the disconnect and distrust many humans have with their neighbors just as the big, bad pig had with the wolves; therefore causing conflict among the two.
Review Excerpt(s)
*Publishers Weekly-"among the wittiest fractured fairy tales around."
*Booklist-“This fractured fairy tale has a subtle message, adding some heart to what otherwise might have been just a clever piece of storytelling. . . . The concepts that beauty can facilitate change and that tenderness works better than toughness won't be lost on kids.”
* Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books- “Irony entails a restoration of the proper order of things, and this book has a double transformation that will reassure young audiences at the same time it tells them a new truth about old tales: every pig has his day."
Connections
*Compare and Contrast with another version titled, The Fourth Little Pig, by Teresa Cecil and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka.
*Practice point of view using the traditional tale of the Three Little Pigs and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka.
*This version is a great example to use as a writing springboard where students may write their own version of The Three Little Pigs.
Anansi and the Magic Stick
Bibliography
Kimmel, Eric. 2001. Anansi and the Magic Stick. By Janet Stevens. New York: Holiday House. ISBN 0823414434
Plot Summary
Anansi the spider is very lazy but clever. While everyone else like the lion, zebra, rhino and warthog work hard to either clean their houses or yards Anansi chooses not to. One day he walks by Hyenas house and wonders how Hyena keeps his house tidy yet no one ever sees him working. Anansi the spider spies on Hyena and finds out that Hyenas secret is a magic stick that does whatever Hyena says. Anansi steals the stick and tries to use it to tidy up around his house but ends up creating a mess and a flood. Anansi does not know how to stop it until Hyena floats by looking for his magic stick, finds it and leaves. Everyone else enjoys the lake thinking that poor Anansi was swept away by the flood, but they don’t know that Anansi is far away on the other side of the lake, sleeping all day and planning new tricks.
Critical Analysis
Many of the same safari characters such as the zebra, elephant, hyena rhinoceros, and lion found here can also be seen in the other Anansi folktales retold by Eric Kimmel. The story line of the Anansi folktales is always the same where the trickster, Anansi, the spider gets in trouble or gets someone else in trouble. Kimmel’s Anansi and the Magic Stick is loosely based on a Liberian story called the Magic Hoe. There are similarities to the story of the Sorcerer’s Apprentice where magic gets out of control and there’s a flood.
Janet Stephen’s colorful pictures were created using digital elements, watercolor, watercolor crayon, and acrylic. The Illustrations also have a modern-day appearance such as when we see modern day items such as the hose the stick uses to water, the watering cans and the circular sprinkler found in the vegetable garden. Also, when Anansi loses control of the magic stick, a flood is created, and then a mighty river is made and here we see caricature images of the author Eric A. Kimmel and the illustrator Janet Stevens floating by in a lifejacket and a dinosaur shape floatable. All of these effects add a humorous touch to the story.
Review Excerpt(s)
Booklist- “The slapstick of the trickster out-tricked is a lot of fun."
School Library Journal- “The art has a softer focus than in Talking Melon but the same bright colors fill the pages, and the whole adds up to an enjoyable offering that is clever, funny, surprising, and traditional all at once."
Connections
*Compare and contrast with the Sorcere’s Apprentice or Disney’s Fantasia.
*Compare and contrast the tricks of Anansi with other Anasi folktales such as Anansi and the Talking Melon.
Kimmel, Eric. 2001. Anansi and the Magic Stick. By Janet Stevens. New York: Holiday House. ISBN 0823414434
Plot Summary
Anansi the spider is very lazy but clever. While everyone else like the lion, zebra, rhino and warthog work hard to either clean their houses or yards Anansi chooses not to. One day he walks by Hyenas house and wonders how Hyena keeps his house tidy yet no one ever sees him working. Anansi the spider spies on Hyena and finds out that Hyenas secret is a magic stick that does whatever Hyena says. Anansi steals the stick and tries to use it to tidy up around his house but ends up creating a mess and a flood. Anansi does not know how to stop it until Hyena floats by looking for his magic stick, finds it and leaves. Everyone else enjoys the lake thinking that poor Anansi was swept away by the flood, but they don’t know that Anansi is far away on the other side of the lake, sleeping all day and planning new tricks.
Critical Analysis
Many of the same safari characters such as the zebra, elephant, hyena rhinoceros, and lion found here can also be seen in the other Anansi folktales retold by Eric Kimmel. The story line of the Anansi folktales is always the same where the trickster, Anansi, the spider gets in trouble or gets someone else in trouble. Kimmel’s Anansi and the Magic Stick is loosely based on a Liberian story called the Magic Hoe. There are similarities to the story of the Sorcerer’s Apprentice where magic gets out of control and there’s a flood.
Janet Stephen’s colorful pictures were created using digital elements, watercolor, watercolor crayon, and acrylic. The Illustrations also have a modern-day appearance such as when we see modern day items such as the hose the stick uses to water, the watering cans and the circular sprinkler found in the vegetable garden. Also, when Anansi loses control of the magic stick, a flood is created, and then a mighty river is made and here we see caricature images of the author Eric A. Kimmel and the illustrator Janet Stevens floating by in a lifejacket and a dinosaur shape floatable. All of these effects add a humorous touch to the story.
Review Excerpt(s)
Booklist- “The slapstick of the trickster out-tricked is a lot of fun."
School Library Journal- “The art has a softer focus than in Talking Melon but the same bright colors fill the pages, and the whole adds up to an enjoyable offering that is clever, funny, surprising, and traditional all at once."
Connections
*Compare and contrast with the Sorcere’s Apprentice or Disney’s Fantasia.
*Compare and contrast the tricks of Anansi with other Anasi folktales such as Anansi and the Talking Melon.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
The Poky Little Puppy
Bibliography
Lowrey, Janette Sebring. The Poky Little Puppy by Gustaf Tenggren
New York, NY: Western Publishing Company. ISBN 0307604187
Plot Summary
The Poky Little Puppy is a picture book that tells the story of five little puppies that dig a hole under the fence and explore the world outside their yard. Then they look around and notice that one puppy or “the poky little puppy” is missing, so they look for him up and down, and around the hill and come across other garden critters until they find the poky puppy. The poky little puppy smells dinner and they all run home only to be scowled by their mother and sent to bed without supper, all except for the poky little puppy who arrives home later, eats all the rice pudding and goes to bed happy as can be. The next two mornings the same thing happens and the poky little puppy continues to eat all the desserts except for the day when his mother discovers that he is the one who has been eating all the puddings and is greatly displeased.
Critical Analysis
Janette Lowrey’s story of the poky little puppy is about choices and the consequences of those choices. Children will identify with the characters and reflect about times when they were naughty. This story is filled with prepositions that children will find themselves repeating throughout the story as well as practicing counting the numbers one through four.
The illustrations are in full color and were quite a sensation during its time in the 1940’s. The colors of the blankets belonging to the puppies are a vibrant solid color while the poky little puppy’s blanket is a patchwork, indicating left overs or hand-me-downs, symbolically making the poky little puppy the runt of the litter as he is always the last one to arrive.
Review Excerpt(s)
Kathleen Karr (Children's Literature: “What a sorry sight to see the poky pup’s comeuppance! Toddlers may learn a lesson from the pup’s experience.”
Publishers Weekly: “The Poky Little Puppy is the all-time bestselling children’s hardcover book in English.”
Connections
*It is the number one bestselling children’s book
* Great book to teach cause and effect
* This book can serve young readers as an introduction to prepositions
* Can be used to teach lessons about good things happen to those who do the right thing.
* Another popular books in the Golden Book Series is Tootle and the Saggy Baggy Elephant
Lowrey, Janette Sebring. The Poky Little Puppy by Gustaf Tenggren
New York, NY: Western Publishing Company. ISBN 0307604187
Plot Summary
The Poky Little Puppy is a picture book that tells the story of five little puppies that dig a hole under the fence and explore the world outside their yard. Then they look around and notice that one puppy or “the poky little puppy” is missing, so they look for him up and down, and around the hill and come across other garden critters until they find the poky puppy. The poky little puppy smells dinner and they all run home only to be scowled by their mother and sent to bed without supper, all except for the poky little puppy who arrives home later, eats all the rice pudding and goes to bed happy as can be. The next two mornings the same thing happens and the poky little puppy continues to eat all the desserts except for the day when his mother discovers that he is the one who has been eating all the puddings and is greatly displeased.
Critical Analysis
Janette Lowrey’s story of the poky little puppy is about choices and the consequences of those choices. Children will identify with the characters and reflect about times when they were naughty. This story is filled with prepositions that children will find themselves repeating throughout the story as well as practicing counting the numbers one through four.
The illustrations are in full color and were quite a sensation during its time in the 1940’s. The colors of the blankets belonging to the puppies are a vibrant solid color while the poky little puppy’s blanket is a patchwork, indicating left overs or hand-me-downs, symbolically making the poky little puppy the runt of the litter as he is always the last one to arrive.
Review Excerpt(s)
Kathleen Karr (Children's Literature: “What a sorry sight to see the poky pup’s comeuppance! Toddlers may learn a lesson from the pup’s experience.”
Publishers Weekly: “The Poky Little Puppy is the all-time bestselling children’s hardcover book in English.”
Connections
*It is the number one bestselling children’s book
* Great book to teach cause and effect
* This book can serve young readers as an introduction to prepositions
* Can be used to teach lessons about good things happen to those who do the right thing.
* Another popular books in the Golden Book Series is Tootle and the Saggy Baggy Elephant
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
Bibliography
Willems, Mo. Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! By Mo Willems.
New York, NY: Hyperion Books. ISBN 9780786819881
Plot Summary
In this humorous and persuasive picture book the reader interacts with the book throughout the entire story. The story begins with the bus driver leaving the reader in charge of the bus but warning against letting the pigeon driving the bus. From beginning to end the pigeon thinks of every reason imaginable to bribes as to why the reader should let the pigeon drive the bus until the end where the pigeon ends up having a temper tantrum.
Critical Analysis
Author Mo Willems does an amazing job at pulling the reader in from the first page where the driver introduces himself and leaves the reader in charge of the bus (or the story) as he warns, “Don’t let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!” The readers will find themselves saying no, every time the pigeon begs and pleads and laughing hilariously as you wonder why the bus driver doesn’t want the pigeon to drive the bus. This book is filled with a wonderful humorous voice.
The simple line drawings of the one-eyed pigeon come alive as the author/illustrator use the eye to express the emotions of the pigeon. The drawings have a cartoon like effect and the over use of lines don’t create a lot of flow or movement but more of a freeze frame effect.
Review Excerpt(s)
Booklist Starred Review: “Willems is a professional animator, and each page has the feel of a perfectly frozen frame of cartoon footage--action, remarkable expression, and wild humor captured with just a few lines.”
Horn Book’s starred review: "Clean, sparely designed pages focus attention on the simply drawn but wildly expressive (and emotive) pigeon, and there’s a particularly funny page-turn when a well-mannered double-page spread with eight vignettes of the pleading pigeon gives way to a full-bleed, full-blown temper tantrum."
Connections
* Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! DVD includes Read-along subtitles, in which the words are highlighted as they are spoken; the pages have been fully animated; author/illustrator Mo Willems teaches the children to draw Pigeon
* Don’t Let the Pigeon books are a great resource for teaching young writers the various types of sentences such as interrogative, exclamatory, declarative and declarative.
Willems, Mo. Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! By Mo Willems.
New York, NY: Hyperion Books. ISBN 9780786819881
Plot Summary
In this humorous and persuasive picture book the reader interacts with the book throughout the entire story. The story begins with the bus driver leaving the reader in charge of the bus but warning against letting the pigeon driving the bus. From beginning to end the pigeon thinks of every reason imaginable to bribes as to why the reader should let the pigeon drive the bus until the end where the pigeon ends up having a temper tantrum.
Critical Analysis
Author Mo Willems does an amazing job at pulling the reader in from the first page where the driver introduces himself and leaves the reader in charge of the bus (or the story) as he warns, “Don’t let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!” The readers will find themselves saying no, every time the pigeon begs and pleads and laughing hilariously as you wonder why the bus driver doesn’t want the pigeon to drive the bus. This book is filled with a wonderful humorous voice.
The simple line drawings of the one-eyed pigeon come alive as the author/illustrator use the eye to express the emotions of the pigeon. The drawings have a cartoon like effect and the over use of lines don’t create a lot of flow or movement but more of a freeze frame effect.
Review Excerpt(s)
Booklist Starred Review: “Willems is a professional animator, and each page has the feel of a perfectly frozen frame of cartoon footage--action, remarkable expression, and wild humor captured with just a few lines.”
Horn Book’s starred review: "Clean, sparely designed pages focus attention on the simply drawn but wildly expressive (and emotive) pigeon, and there’s a particularly funny page-turn when a well-mannered double-page spread with eight vignettes of the pleading pigeon gives way to a full-bleed, full-blown temper tantrum."
Connections
* Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! DVD includes Read-along subtitles, in which the words are highlighted as they are spoken; the pages have been fully animated; author/illustrator Mo Willems teaches the children to draw Pigeon
* Don’t Let the Pigeon books are a great resource for teaching young writers the various types of sentences such as interrogative, exclamatory, declarative and declarative.
Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave
Bibliography
Hill, Laban Carrick. 2010. Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave. by Bryan Collier.
New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-316-10731-0
Plot Summary
In this simplistic but poetically structured biography we are taken on a journey of the life and creations of an important African American artist known as Dave who lived most of his life as a slave and created some of the most beautiful pieces of pottery etched with poetry. The story begins with how we look at clay as dirt but to him it was a way to give life to pots that to us had no real significance but for him they held wonderful memories.
Critical Analysis
Hill’s writing is a poem that celebrates Dave’s life and art as an artist, poet, and potter. Every page has one or two sentences beautifully written as a poem with short lines and stanzas that reinforce Dave’s life as a poet. Throughout the story the reader feels the sense of poetry that Dave must have felt and the step-by-step creation of pottery helps to move the story along smoothly. The inclusion of actual poems used by Dave adds to the historical realism of the time.
Bryan Collier’s illustrations of watercolor and collage portray Dave engaged step-by-step through the process of creating pottery from the collection of the clay, to grinding, kneading, and preparing the clay for the wheel, to applying the glaze, and finally showing Dave handwriting a poetic verse, the date, and his signature.
This is a great story that incorporates poetry, artistry, and history that could be used that could be used to teach any of those elements.
Review Excerpt(s)
Booklis: “Collier’s gorgeous watercolor-and-collage illustrations recall the work of E. B. Lewis—earth-toned, infused with pride, and always catching his subjects in the most telling of poses. A beautiful introduction to a great lost artist.”
Starred Review in School Library Journal: “An inspiring story, perfectly presented....Outstanding in every way.”
Children’s Literature: “Hill’s terse but emotionally evocative, poetic text describes the work of an enslaved potter in the 1800s”
Connections
*Curriculum connections to Art, Poetry, and Slavery
*Use other books that build background about slavery such as Julius Lester’s From Slave Ship to Freedom Road 1998.
*Gather other books illustrated by Bryan Collier, winner of the both Caldecott Honor and Coretta Scott King Award for Martin’s Big Words and Rosa books dealing with slavery.
Hill, Laban Carrick. 2010. Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave. by Bryan Collier.
New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-316-10731-0
Plot Summary
In this simplistic but poetically structured biography we are taken on a journey of the life and creations of an important African American artist known as Dave who lived most of his life as a slave and created some of the most beautiful pieces of pottery etched with poetry. The story begins with how we look at clay as dirt but to him it was a way to give life to pots that to us had no real significance but for him they held wonderful memories.
Critical Analysis
Hill’s writing is a poem that celebrates Dave’s life and art as an artist, poet, and potter. Every page has one or two sentences beautifully written as a poem with short lines and stanzas that reinforce Dave’s life as a poet. Throughout the story the reader feels the sense of poetry that Dave must have felt and the step-by-step creation of pottery helps to move the story along smoothly. The inclusion of actual poems used by Dave adds to the historical realism of the time.
Bryan Collier’s illustrations of watercolor and collage portray Dave engaged step-by-step through the process of creating pottery from the collection of the clay, to grinding, kneading, and preparing the clay for the wheel, to applying the glaze, and finally showing Dave handwriting a poetic verse, the date, and his signature.
This is a great story that incorporates poetry, artistry, and history that could be used that could be used to teach any of those elements.
Review Excerpt(s)
Booklis: “Collier’s gorgeous watercolor-and-collage illustrations recall the work of E. B. Lewis—earth-toned, infused with pride, and always catching his subjects in the most telling of poses. A beautiful introduction to a great lost artist.”
Starred Review in School Library Journal: “An inspiring story, perfectly presented....Outstanding in every way.”
Children’s Literature: “Hill’s terse but emotionally evocative, poetic text describes the work of an enslaved potter in the 1800s”
Connections
*Curriculum connections to Art, Poetry, and Slavery
*Use other books that build background about slavery such as Julius Lester’s From Slave Ship to Freedom Road 1998.
*Gather other books illustrated by Bryan Collier, winner of the both Caldecott Honor and Coretta Scott King Award for Martin’s Big Words and Rosa books dealing with slavery.
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