Children's Literature
Sharing my thoughts on some exceptional books...
Applegate, K. (2015). Crenshaw. New York: Feiwel and Friends. This is a story about a little boy named Jackson, his imaginary friend Crenshaw, his parents, and his little sister. Crenshaw, a huge cat was imagined by Jackson when he was a young kid one day at a rest stop. Jackson and his family were living out of their van. Crenshaw was his comfort in a time of need. He disappeared once Jackson and his family were back on their feet. Unfortunately, Jackson's family have fallen on hard times again. They are struggling to pay the rent, and there is little food to eat. Jackson starts to suspect that something is wrong, especially when mom and dad say that there is going to be a garage sale. Soon enough, Crenshaw comes back into Jackson's life. Jackson doesn't understand why he is there, and at first wants him to leave. Jackson is a science and fact seeker so all he wants is his parents to be honest with him about their family situation. The ending of this story is hopeful. The family instead of resorting to living in their van again end up having a small place to stay. This book deals with a very serious issue of homelessness, yet the story is told in a manner that creates empathy and understanding instead of distress. The protagonist is a likable character and so is his imaginary friend. Crenshaw is witty and comforting during a time of emotional distress for Jackson. After reading this story have children read A Hole Is To Dig by Ruth Krauss and The House on East 88th Street by Bernard Waber. These are the two books that Jackson and his sister kept in their keepsake bag. They did not want to part with them because of sentimental value. Have children read these two books and discuss why they think these two books were so important to them.
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Klassen, J. (2012). This is not my hat. Somerville: Candlewick Press. This is a book about a little fish who thinks he is very clever. He steals a hat from a much larger fish and thinks that the outcome will be okay. He plans to hide in the reeds which he believes is how he will get away with it. Little does he know that the larger fish is on his trail, and with the help of a onlooking crab, he is sure to catch the thief. The author uses dramatic irony. We know something one the characters does not know; the little fish will soon be discovered. Watch a book trailer here: https://www.teachingbooks.net/ql8hwvx Hale, S., Hale, D., & Hale, N. (2008). Rapunzel's revenge. New York, NY: Bloomsbury. In this graphic novel, the author takes two well-known fairytale characters and puts them together in a different setting, the Old West, to create a whole new story. The two protagonists are Rapunzel, famous for her long hair, and Jack, from Jack and the beanstalk. It begins with Rapunzel being raise by Mother Gothel, who she believes to be her real mother in a castle. She becomes very curious one day about what lies ahead on the other side of the wall surrounding the castle. When she jumps the wall and meets the woman who is her real mother, Mother Gothel admonishes her and throws her in a tall tree to live on her own. Mother Gothel uses her "growth magic" and Rapunzel's hair becomes extremely long. Her long hair comes in handy when she uses it to escape. She meets Jack and together they set out to save Rapunzel's real mother from the horrible situation she is living in. After many adventures and even being imprisoned together, Rapunzel and Jack develop a romantic relationship. The illustrations show true emotions on the character's faces. There are several silent frames where there are no words or speech balloons, yet; the reader can feel the action and emotion from reading the character's faces. Some of the words bleed into the gutter with words such as "crash", "snap", and "yank." This onomatopoeia heightens the action. The mood is portrayed well in the mine setting. The entire illustration in the panels contains only the color grey, helping the reader feel the gloomy environment that Rapunzel's mother is living in. Another graphic novel to read by these authors is: Calamity Jack Selznick, B. (2007). The invention of Hugo Cabret: A novel in words and pictures. New York: Scholastic Press. This is a story about a boy named Hugo Cabret who lives in a train station in Paris. His father has passed away and he was being cared for by an uncle until one day his uncle went missing. Since then Hugo has taken on his uncle's responsibility of keeping the clocks in the station running. He hopes that by doing so, no one will ever know that his uncle is missing. All was going well for Hugo until one day when a toy booth owner catches Hugo stealing small toy parts from his store. He takes a notebook away from Hugo. This notebook contained important information about how to fix an automaton that Hugo recovered from a museum fire. His hope was to one day fix the automaton so that he would be able to read its message. He believed it was a message from his late father. When the old man takes his notebook and threatens to burn it, Hugo is devastated and determined to get it back. He is also confused as to why the old man was so interested and bothered by his notebook. When the automaton is finally repaired, it draws a picture that reveals the old man's identity as Georges Milies. There is a great deal of suspense in this historical fiction book. The storyline keeps you wanting to read more. The illustrations done in black and white are captivating. Some are zoomed in detailed illustrations while others are farther away but truly captivate the emotions. Other books to read by this author / illustrator: The Houdini Box and Wonderstruck Willems, M. (2010). We are in a book! New York, NY: Hyperion. This is a humorous book! In the beginning Piggie realizes that she is being watched and read by a reader, so she let's Elephant know that they are in a book. Not only are they in a book, but they can have the reader say whatever they say in their speech bubbles. So without hesitation Piggie then has the reader say banana and Elephant thinks it is the most hilarious thing ever. They both seem to be enjoying the interaction with the reader until Elephant realizes that the reader is approaching the end of the book. There is nothing more to do but to ask the reader to please read the book again. The illustrations are lively and sure to make children laugh. Sometimes the characters are large and up close like when Piggie is curious as to who is watching them, and sometimes they are smaller and further away. The speech bubbles contain different font type. Some are bold showing the characters true emotions. Other interactive books to read: This Book Just Ate My Dog by Richard Byrne and Press Here by Herve Tullet Lord, C. (2006). Rules. New York: Scholastic Press. This book is about a girl named Catherine, who is enjoyed summer and is excited that a new neighbor has just moved in next door. She hopes to become best friends with the new neighbor’s daughter named Kristi, who is the same age. Catherine is nervous about meeting Kristi because of her brother David. David is autistic and can often embarrass Catherine with his behavior. All Catherine seems to want is a “normal life” and to feel equally important as David to her parents. As a means to obtain a “normal life” she has created some rules for David to follow, but they don’t always seem to work. She meets a boy named Jason at the clinic where David goes for Occupational Therapy. Jason is confined to a wheelchair and points to his card collection to communicate. Although they had a rough start, Catherine’s friendship with Jason blossoms. She begins making new vocabulary cards to give him a variety of teenage feelings and attitudes. Catherine gets invited to a dance and has a difficult time telling Kristi why she can’t make it. She is dishonest with herself and her friends, but learns an important lesson at the end. The story is told in first person point of view. Through this view the reader will empathize with the protagonist Catherine. This would be an exceptional book to use in the classroom as a read aloud by the teacher. Since the book uses different rules at the beginning of each chapter, students can discuss what they predict will happen in each of the chapters before they are read to. Smith, L. (2010). It's a book. New York: Roaring Brook Press. A humorous book about a Monkey and Jackass who are seated across for each other, one with a book and the other with a laptop. Jackass, who has the laptop is captivated by monkey who is reading a book. He has so many questions for monkey about his book. He wants to know if it needs a password, if it can tweet, and can you scroll on it? Monkey proceeds to read a passage from the book, and Jackass is hooked. He borrows the book for a while and tells Monkey that he will charge it when he is finished. The best thing about Monkey's book is it will never need charging because it’s a book! The author’s tone is clearly set from the very beginning. Smith uses humor by having Jackass ask Monkey a ton of questions about his book. Monkey seems irritated by Jackass and continually answers him “no, it’s a book!” When Jackass says he will charge it up when he is finished Smith reveals the hysterical punch line “It’s a book, Jackass!” While the book is a PreK to 2nd grade book, I really think older kids would appreciate and understand its message. It would also be a great resource for teachers to introduce tone. Other books by this author: It’s a Little Book, Grandpa Green, and John, Paul, George, & Ben Cleary, B., & Zelinsky, P. O. (1983). Dear Mr. Henshaw. New York: W. Morrow. This is a story about a boy named Leigh Botts who frequently writes letters to his favorite author, Mr. Henshaw. It started as a classroom assignment, but when the author writes back with a whole lot of questions, we begin to see all of Leigh’s struggles in life. He is dealing with his parent’s divorce, the longing for his father’s attention and a bully at school who continually takes his lunch from his lunchbox. Mr. Henshaw advises Leigh to keep a diary instead of writing to him every day. After a while Leigh decides to build an alarm for his lunchbox. It works and his lunch isn’t stolen anymore. Leigh’s relationship doesn’t seem to improve throughout the story, leaving Leigh feeling lonely and unwanted. No doubt this is a great read for children who are experiencing or have experienced divorce. In the beginning it is written in letter format and changes onto a diary. Through Leigh's diary entries the reader can feel the heavy mood of loneliness and abandonment that he feels in the story. The author also gives great descriptions of the setting. We can imagine what it feels like to live in Leigh’s new neighborhood with his mom. The description of the school setting also sets the mood by revealing Leigh’s problem with a lunch snatcher. Other related books: Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo and K.G. Campbell, and It’s Not the End of the World by Judy Blume Draper, S. M. (2010). Out of my mind. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. Ever since Melody was a small child, she was soaking up all the words around her. Although she was born with cerebral palsy, she has an exceptional memory. To her frustration, doctors and teachers do not understand and limit her abilities and she has no way of convincing them otherwise because she is not verbal. Yet, with the help of Mrs. V and her inclusion teacher aide who believed in her, she is able to acquire a communication device and is placed in inclusion classes. She seems to go unnoticed by her peers until she scores a perfect score on a quiz for the school’s competitive trivia team. She helps the team advance to Washington D.C. but is unable to compete when her flight is cancelled. She is devastated that her team flew to Washington D.C. without her. More tragedy hits when she is unable to communicate to her mother about her sister Penny being in harm’s way. In the end, Melody builds the courage to return to school and face the team members who left her behind. Coretta Scott King award winning author Sharon Draper wrote this book in first person, through the eyes of Melody. Through this perspective the reader is able to experience her disability and frustration at not being able to communicate to the world verbally or physically. Draper’s carefully chosen words create the mood of the story. You can feel her worry about being accepted among her peers, and her heartache and disappointment at the end. Draper also uses the fish to symbolize Melody. The fish jumps out of the bowl and Melody is unable to save him. Just like the fish Melody’s hope to fit in and be just like all her peers dies when they exclude her in the final competition. Other related books: "Wonder" by R.J. Palacio, "Rules" by Cynthia Lord, and "El Deafo" by Cece Bell Gino, A. (2015). George. New York: Scholastic Press. This is a book about a child named George who to everyone looks like a boy but she feels like a girl. In secret she calls herself Melissa, and wishes to be like the girls in magazines. Her magazines are a huge secret and symbolize her true desire to be a girl. She has a close friend named Kelly. When the teacher announces that the class will put on a play "Charlotte's Web", Melissa longs to play the part of Charlotte. She is not sure how to tryout for the part since Charlotte is only to be tried out by all the girls. With Kelly's help Melissa practices and to try out for Charlotte. On the day of tryouts Melissa is crushed when her teacher tells her that she can not tryout for Charlotte. This devastation affects Melissa greatly, but luckily Kelly has secured the role of Charlotte and together they make a plan. Melissa plays Charlotte with her mother in the audience. She has an outstanding performance and her secret is now out. She feels a sense of relief and is accepted by her mother who only worries about the bullying Melissa might face in a world who can be cruel and unaccepting. An inspiring book that would be great for grades 4-6. The protagonist is a likable character that many transgender children can identify with. Likewise, all children can easily understand what it feels like to be transgender in a world that can sometime be cruel and unaccepting. The author does an excellent job at showing the different perceptions of Melissa from her mother and brother to the bully and her best friend Kelly who is her greatest advocate. When Melissa makes her secret known, she is received with positivity and acceptance by the most important people in her life. This book makes a great basis for children to understand and talk about what it means to be transgender. Other related books: Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky, Holly’s Secret by Nancy Garden, and Totally Joe by James Howe |
Nora RuizI'm a stay-at-home mom who has three daughters ages 7, 4, and 1. I like spending time with family and enjoying a cup of coffee with sweet bread! Assignments:Textbook #2
textbook_assignment_2.pptx |