"Penguins"

Penguins
Written by: Seymore Simon
Illustrated by: Numerous photographers
Published by Harper Collins Children's Books in NY in 2007
Genre: Informational Text
Ages: grades 3-5

Summary: This text provides a myriad of information about all types of penguins. From Antarctic penguins to Australian penguins to Galapagos penguins, numerous species are detailed in this book. Penguins discusses what penguins eat, how they choose mates, how they incubate their eggs, and what animals are their predators. This incredibly fact-based work is like an mini- encyclopedia of information filled with remarkable pictures of numerous species of these animals.
Response: I learned a great deal about penguins from this book! I learned that all penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere and some can live in rookeries of more than twenty million! Sometimes they even dive 1,500 feet to find food and have the ability to remain submerged for up to fifteen minutes before needing air! Some penguins can swim up to fifteen miles per hour and most lay two eggs at a time. The most interesting thing I learned about penguins was about their mating rituals. When a male penguin is ready to mate "He bows, struts about, and may offer a rock as a gift. If a fight breaks out, the males use their bills and flippers to hit their rivals. When penguins...find their mates, they bond by touching necks and slapping each other on the back with their flippers. By 'singing' to each other, they learn to recognize each other's voice. A penguin may stay with its mate for years--or as long as the pair has chicks together" (8). I thought this part of the information was hilarious! I could just picture the male penguins hitting each other with their short little wings and "strutting about" offering rocks to females. The picture in the book that corresponds to this page shows two king penguins "hugging" with their necks. It is so cute!

The pictures in this book are amazing! Because this work was produced in correlation with the Smithsonian, obviously the pictures must truly capture the essence of being a penguin because the Smithsonian employs such great photographers. This book does not disappoint in this aspect at all! Most of the photographs are single-page spreads because the vast amounts of information are on the corresponding pages. Although the pictures do not cover both pages, they are nonetheless extraordinary. Many are close-ups of beautifully colored penguins in their natural habitats.

Teaching Connections: The one disappointing element in this book was the vast amount of information provided. The facts given were well-organized and insightful, but , especially for younger children, it might be a bit too much to handle. I would suggest possibly splitting up the reading of this book into several days and talk about only one species per day or one aspect of penguins per day for younger students.

In order to help students comprehend the totality of information provided by this work and distinguish between species of penguins, an organization chart or diagram might be of assistance. Categories could include food, habitat, number of penguins in a rookery, how many eggs the female lays, height, and weight.

As a response to this book, students could find their own pictures (or draw some) of a particular animal of their choice and write a mini-book about information they found through research about that animal.

(Image retrieved from http://img.libreriauniversitaria.it/BUS/300/395/9780060283957.jpg on 19 April 2008)

"The Greatest Treasure"

The Greatest Treasure
Written by: DEMI
Illustrated by: DEMI
Published by: Scholastic Press in NY in 1998
Genre: Traditional Literature (folklore) (Multicultural Work)
Ages: grades K-2

Summary: This story parallels two Chinese men named Pang and Li. Pang is a wealthy man who loves to count his money, but has little time to spend with his children because of it. Li is a carefree poor man who plays the flute and enjoys time with his family dancing. One day Pang loses count of his money because of all the flute playing and decides to give Li something that will occupy his time so he will play the flute less often--a bag full of gold coins. The trick does work because Li becomes so preoccupied with counting, recounting, and finding a hiding place for his gold that several days pass without him being able to play the flute and be merry with his family. Soon, he realizes what has happened to his life and decides to give the money back to Pang with a special gift of his own handmade flutes for Pang's entire family. In the end, both families are much happier with their flute-playing than with the money.

Response: This book is great for teaching about the Chinese culture as well as about money. The Chinese culture is well-represented in this book by the proverbs taught throughout. They include: "With money you are a dragon, without it you are a worm" (3), "He who had heaven in his heart is never poor" (17), and "Gold and silver have their price, but peace and happiness are priceless" (24). Even without the cultural connection to China, these proverbs are good morals for children to understand. Money is important in our world, but to some people like Pang, it has become too important and has taken over people's lives. Children should come to understand that that situation is wrong. The first proverb teaches that money makes one mean, the second teaches that what is in one's heart matters more than what is in one's pocket, and the third teaches that no amount of money can buy peace or happiness. What great lessons for children!

This book also teaches much about Chinese culture through the illustrations. DEMI uses circles on every page in which to place his illustrations. My thought is that the circle represents the world and that, because readers are learning about the Chinese and those are the only figures in the pictures, the circles represent the "Chinese world." The illustrator used Chinese inks and brushes to create his work. Due to this, there exists little to no texture in the work. In order to place the art in a book, it "was reproduced using four-color separations and then overprinted with gold." Utilizing more than one type of illustration,, such as is the case here, is called mixing media. All the characters in this story is wearing traditional Chinese clothing in vibrant colors. The characters also wear traditional Chinese hats and don wild hairstyles. The illustrations are very detailed although the characters are relatively small in each illustration.

Teaching Connections: A great activity for students in coordination with this book is to have them form groups and research parables from other cultures, ie Japanese, Russian, etc. Then have them present a story to the class that revolves around those parables.

Teachers could also ask students to think of parables that we have in our culture and then have a class discussion about what they mean. Learning from one another about parts of our own culture is always great!

(Image retrieved from http://www.childrensbooksforparents.com/books/0590313398.jpg 19 April 2008)

"Baseball Saved Us"

Baseball Saved Us
Written by: Ken Mochizuki
Illustrated by: Dom Lee
Published by: Lee & Low Books, Inc in NY in 1993
Genre: Historical Fiction (Multicultural Work)
Age: grades 3-5

Summary: A young Japanese-American boy recounts his story of life in an internment camp during WWII. Although they did not have much and things became tough at times, the parents in the camp used their resourcefulness to make a suitable baseball field for the boys to give them something familiar from their old lives. The young narrator details how baseball changed his life for the better. Because of the time he spent practicing in the camp, he was able to focus on something besides the harsh reality of his everyday life and, as an added bonus, was able to learn about a sport that eventually helped him be excepted back into his community after he returned home after the war.

Response: What struck me the most and continues to amaze me about this situation is something expressed in the author's note. "None of these immigrants from Japan--or their children, who were American citizens--were ever proven to be dangerous to America during World War II." On one hand I understand that we were so frightened by what happened at Pearl Harbor, because it happened to us on our soil and it was the first time something like this had happened, and we were scared and wanted to protect ourselves. But, on the other hand, what we did to these people and the conditions we made them live in was completely wrong. I cannot believe that it took until 1988 (43 years after the war ended) for us to admit that we were wrong!

The content of this book is wonderful. It could help so many children realize how harmful even one word can be to another child. This boy's least favorite word was "Jap" because "it meant that they hated [him]" (21). It really hurt him when people placed this label on him because he meant no harm to Americans and truly felt himself to be one, but this words represented so much hate--it represented the camp and the reasons his family was sent there. This book could be used to teach children tolerance for others. Because Baseball Saved Us is told from the perspective of a child, children can easily identify with it and because it speaks of baseball, boys will really be especially intrigued by the story. To me, this work was so heartwarming and I found myself cheering this boy on throughout my reading of the book. Even without in-depth explanations of the camp's conditions, one can sense the harsh reality this boy faced on a daily basis and hopes so much that baseball will be the answer--as it does.

The illustrations in this book are outstanding! There exist so many details in every one of the illustrations that one cannot seem to turn the page for fear of missing something. The illustrator's method was to apply beeswax to paper, scratch out the images, and then add oil paint for color. This "scratching out" is what makes the images so beautiful in this work. They look like old photographs instead of paintings to me. The texture on each page just makes you want to touch every picture because it seems as though you could feel them. The amount of color in each picture is perfect. None of them is too stark, but each has the right amount of paint. Many of the illustrations are double-page spreads, but none of them cover the entire two pages since space for the text is set aside on each page. The text and the illustrations match very well. One of my favorite illustrations is on pages 25 and 26 where "The pitcher wound up and threw" (25). Here the illustrations are three separate ones in a sequence. The first one depicts the pitcher readying himself to throw, the second shows the windup, and the third illustrates the actual pitch. Sequential pictures are my favorites because it looks like someone held the shutter button on a camera and took several individual pictures at just the perfect timing.

Teaching Connections: Before reading this book to or with children I would definitely read the author's note and possibly direct students to some of the following websites in order for them to understand what really happened to Japanese-Americans during this time.

This book could easily connect to the social studies curriculum. A good teaching suggestion would be to have students research the lives of children during the Holocaust, like Anne Frank, and write a comparison paper between that experience and the one of the boy in this book.

Teachers could connect this book to math as well. A lesson about baseball and counting the number of runs and innings, etc. would be very interesting for students. It would allow them to learn about the sport, connect it to the book, and they could even make predictions about which team might be favored to win after calculating innings and how many players they had on which bases, etc.

(Image retrieved from http://content.scholastic.com/content/images/content_promo/book/01baseball.jpg on 19 April 2008)

"Mind's Eye"

Mind's Eye
Written by: Paul Fleischman
Cover illustrations by: Ericka O'Rourke
Published by: Henry Holt and Company, LLC in NY in 1999
Genre: Realistic and Historical Fiction
Age: Grades 5-8

Summary: This novel is written in the form of a play. It features a popular, normal sixteen year old girl who has to adapt to her rapidly changing life after becoming paralyzed in an accident. Courtney is placed in a nursing home and dreads the rest of her life with her new condition until an elderly blind woman takes her on an imaginary journey to Italy in 1910 and teaches her the power of the mind. On this trip Courtney discovers the love she has never known and is able to fight through her struggles with her situation. Much historical data of Italy is intertwined with this remarkable coming of age survival tale.

Response: I was very intrigued by this book at first simply because of its cover art. One sees a young girl and an elderly lady both lying in hospital beds on the two covers of the work. These black and white photographs are set on top of a colorful scene of rooftops in Italy. The contrast of these two photographic images is very stark and makes the book seem somewhat eerie, but nonetheless extremely intriguing.

An aspect of this work that I enjoyed was the ability to read a fictional tale and yet, learn so much about Italy in the early twentieth century. Because this author has such a love for history, he places much of his knowledge into his books. The descriptions in this work create truly amazing vivid images that make one feel as those he or she is actually vacationing in Italy during this time. Elva, a friendly elderly woman, has Courtney use the Baedeker's Guide to Italy, published in 1910 and famous throughout the world for its vivid descriptions of every aspect a traveler would care to know, that she bought to explain with great detail every museum, hotel they visited as well as describe each statue and figure they passed on their walks through the city.

I really love this line in Mind's Eye: "Isn't that the essence of literature? Of all the arts, really. Our ability to identify with characters, no matter that they're separated from us by thousands of miles and hundreds of lifetimes. We may have no Mount Vesuvius looming over us. It may not be lava and ashes we fear. But we look at these forms, and we know what they felt" (58). It just seems as though Fleischman truly captures the essence of literature with this statement. Those of us who feel that we can truly connect with the characters in our books have a wonderful gift. We are able to see past some of the differences from us they may posses and really get to know them as if they were real people. Being able to see past those differences is key to a successful life outside literature, so the connection of those two is remarkable. I am always amazed by the connections Fleischman is able to make between his works and real life situations.

Another quote I love from this book is: "A good, loving childhood fills you up like a good breakfast. It gives you strength and sustenance for the adult years ahead. And a good marriage does the same, for the years of living alone that come after. I go back to those years everyday. Like a child passing through the kitchen for a snack. Something sweet and savory" (63). This metaphor, spoken by Elva, the elderly woman in the book, captures impeccably two diverse aspects of one's life. It makes connections that are so true that it leaves you at a loss for words. There need be no further description of this passage than simply the passage itself, and that speaks very highly of Paul Fleischman's writing.

Teaching Connections: Have students choose and ancient city like Rome, Paris, London, Venice, Bologna, Moscow, Berlin, Prague, Geneva, etc. and research its landscape, inhabitants, and history in a time period of their choice. Then have them draw a map of that city including all historical sites of the time. To continue with this activity, teachers could ask their students to write a story about traveling through this city. Encourage them to not only use their research as a guide, but to also use great detail and a little of their imaginations to make the story interesting to its reader.

Websites that might be of assistance:

http://www.world66.com/destinations
Venice, Italy
Bologna, Italy
Use this encyclopedia to search for cities

(Image retrieved from http://www.hcboe.net/School/MHHSE/mindseye.jpg on 19 April 2008)

"The Animal Hedge"

The Animal Hedge
Written by: Paul Fleischman
Illustrated by: Lydia Dabcovich
Published by: E.P.Duncan, Inc. in NY in 1983 (newly illustrated edition in 2003)
Genre: Traditional Literature (animal folktale)
Ages: grades K-3

Summary: In this work, a farmer is forced to sell his farm and animals due to a drought. He misses his animals terribly at his new home, but notices one day that one of the hedges at his house resembles and cow. The farmer then gets the idea to recreate his favorite farm animals within his hedge. Furthermore, when his sons grow older and cannot decide what careers to embark upon, the farmer, who knows his sons very well, creates images of each son's future job within the hedge and all are pleased with the careers they begin. Because of the son's wonderful jobs, at the end of the story they are able to buy the farmer something he has missed for many years--farm animals.

Response: I though this book was remarkably creative. Amid one of the most difficult times in the farmer's life, he was able to find happiness in something other than living on a farm. I believe this sends a great message to students. When all of the doors one thought were open to them seem to close, there is always one door standing wide open and full of opportunities for those who simply take that leap of faith. The Animal Hedge would be a great book to read to or with students struggling with difficult events in their lives.

This theme of perseverance and survival seems to flow through many of Paul Fleischman's works. In Mind's Eye, a paralysed teenager learns to cope with her disability, in Lost, a young girl learns how to survive in the woods for several days, and in Finzel the Farsighted, Finzel learns that his weak eyesight does not hinder his ability to catch the man who robbed him. I believe that this survival theme is very important for children. If they learn at an early age to make the best of their situations and take everything "with a grain of salt" they will have much less stress in their lives and be much better able to handle life's difficult situations they are prone to encounter. In this way, the farmer in The Animal Hedge is a great role model for children.

The thin line pencil/pen illustrations in this book are quite unique in themselves. Other than black and white, the only color used is green. The illustrator uses green for the hedge and grass, of course, but also fro the farmer's stockings and shoes, bags, articles of clothing, and other small items throughout the book. Amazingly, this is not distracting to the reader because the color is used only to enhance the illustrations, not to make anything overtly look out of place. The backgrounds are all white, which makes the simple color jump off the page. Throughout the book, the illustrator uses single and double pages spreads equally to convey her message. I do like these illustrations, but am also interested to see what the new book's illustrations look like for The Animal Hedge.

Teaching Connections: As a response to this book, teachers can have students write about a struggle they have faced in their lives and how they dealt with it. They can assess whether their method was positive or negative and discuss how they feel about the farmer's reaction to losing his farm and livelihood.

Students could also think of the job they want in the future and illustrate that using pencil/pen, drawing this item in a hedge, and choosing only one color to add interest to their drawing.

(Image retrieved from http://www.wiredforwords.com/COVERS/theanimalhedge.jpg on 19 April 2008)

"Germs Are Not For Sharing"

Germs Are Not For Sharing
Written by: Elizabeth Verdick
Illustrated by: Marieka Heinlen
Published by: Free Spirit Publishing Inc. in Minneapolis, MN in 2006
Genre: Informational Text
Ages: grades K-2

Summary: This book tells children about ways to prevent the spread of germs. It details places germs live, how to rid oneself of bad germs, and when and how to wash one's hands. It talks about the relative size of germs, that one should use a kleenex (or at least cover one's mouth in some way) when one coughs or sneezes. This book also gives a way for children to tell when their hands are clean. The book suggests singing "Happy Birthday" twice while washing one's hands. In addition, the back of the book also gives great information for parents and educators to share with their children and students about germs.

Response: I learned a lot about germs from reading this book. I never knew how long they could live on surfaces (2 hours!) or about the "Happy Birthday" song. The information in the back of the book is great for teacher reference in a lesson about germs. This book has so much information, but is written in a style that is so wonderful for children. It teaches them about germs, but it ceases to be like a textbook full of "extra information." This book simply tells children when and why to be cautious about germs and how to get rid of them once one comes into contact with them. Germs are explained in a way that very young children would easily be able to understand and since those are the children who do not have very much knowledge of the germs around them, the awareness this book provides is wonderful for them!

This author and illustrator have worked together on several of Elizabeth Verdick's book. The illustrations are very colorful, in a 24-pack of crayons kind of way! The children in this work are drawn with very bold lines. The backgrounds are also very bright oversized scenes. All of the illustrations, which I believe to be watercolor, are all double page spreads, which give readers more time to ponder the situations to the pages.

One of the remarkable aspects of this book is the diversity of the children within. Multiple nationalities of children are represented within this work as well as children with disabilities, which makes this a great book to show children that all people are similar-we all become sick occasionally, we all need to wash our hand frequently, and none of us is immune to germs.

Teaching Connections: Teachers could make questions from the factual information in the back of this book, have her students form groups, and assign two or three of those questions to each group for them to answer.

Then, the teacher could have one student from each group write their group's answer to their questions on chart paper to serve as the "what we think we know" part of the lesson. (This paper could be hung in the room for a few days to remind them of this lesson.)

Next, the teacher could read Germs Are Not for Sharing to her students.

A great activity for this lesson is about glitter germs. Click here for the glitter germs activity. Following this activity, discuss how germs are similar to the glitter.

The conclusion to this lesson, to determine what students learned, can be to look back at the answers students wrote on the chart paper and discuss the correct answers.

(Image retrieved from http://www.kensonparenting.com/prodimages/germsPB_small.jpg on 19 April 2008)

"Aleutian Sparrow"

Aleutian Sparrow

Written by: Karen Hesse

Illustrated by: Evon Zerbetz

Published by: Simon & Schuster in 2003 in NY

Genre: Historical Fiction

Age: grades 3-5

After viewing the websites:

I was absolutely shocked upon hearing that anything like this ever occurred. Our country is so very focused on other aspects of WWII that apparently this event was overlooked. I too am very interested in WWII because my grandfather fought in it and there is nothing wrong with learning about that era in our history. However, I am so stunned that something as monumental as relocating so many people and nearly 27,000 attacks on one island was withheld from the American public. On one hand I understand that the government wants to protect the American people and only tell us what we need to know, but on the other hand, I believe that something as monumental as this is something we should have known about. It seems as if the government was just protecting itself from the harsh reality that we did not do the right thing and we were attacked twice. I was also surprised to read that the fighting in Alaska during this time was the first time since the War of 1812 that fighting had occurred on US soil! In addition, the mear fact that the Aleut Restitution Act was not passed by Congress until 1988, 43 years after the end of WWII, was astonishing! I cannot believe that it took that long for us to try to help the Aleutians. Everything about this part of history is completely new to me and absolutely shocking. It makes me feel so terrible for all of the people involved who had to leave everything they knew of their lives and make the transition into such horrible living conditions.

After reading Aleutian Sparrow by Karen Hesse:

After the shock of learning of this history in America, this novel was a more intriguing read. I think it was very important to learn about the tragedy before beginning this book. If I were using this novel in a classroom, I believe I would have read the author's note to the class to introduce them to the story before they began the book. I also think that viewing a few of the websites might also be beneficial, especially www.nps.gov/archive/aleu/home.htm, which has a children's section. This part of the website tells a story about the Aleuts which children can easily understand and also has a supplementary quiz and coloring pages. The entirety of this website is detailed and very informative.

The Temple textbook says that reading historical fiction, like Aleutian Sparrow, is very beneficial to children because it allows them to "step into" that time period and gives them a better grasp of the occurrences of the time as well as giving them answers to subjects in history they may naturally be curious to know more about. Temple also relates that historical fiction, as opposed to non-fiction, supplies readers with a closer connection to the story. I certainly agree with this statement because I believe that many more emotions are evoked through fiction than non-fiction simply because of the plethora of information in non-fiction. Fictional stories provide somewhat less information, but they do allow a more personal connection due to the story involved. Aleutian Sparrow maintains historical authenticacy through the background story, but fictionalizes the characters because they are "...not intended to depict specific individuals, but rather to represent the experience shared by many during the three-year relocation program(Hesse, 155). Furthermore, the setting and conflict in the story are completely true to reality according to information attained upon further research of the topic and upon viewing the websites. This work provides fictionalized family histories, but is based on research.

It is heartbreaking that throughout this novel, the same theme of "unwanted Aleutians" continues to reappear. "We are only trying to survive our exile, I want to say. Yet our white neighbors scratch at the rash of our existence. We didn't ask to come here. The Japanese are no longer a threat. Let us leave. Let us go home" (90). The Aleutian people never wanted to leave their homes in the first place; they never wanted or asked to become the burden they were. Yet, Americans remained prejudiced against them for all the trouble they caused. This work can teach children much about prejudices because it shows how little reason the Americans had to dislike the Aleuts and how much they took form the Aleutians in a way that children will understand. I absolutely believe that by helping children recognize injustice that we can empower them to initiate change. Children will be the leaders of the future, so if we do not teach them the difference between right and wrong, how can we expect them to know it? Because this novel is told from a child's perspective, children can more easily identify with the main characters an be more empathetic to their view of the situation because the character's view parallels what their own would have been. Vera talks of how her relationships with her friends, family, and the elders changed and how quickly she grew up and had to acquire employment, etc. due to the relocation.

Outwardly, Vera's life and the lives of all the Aleutians are very different from those of the children I will teach, but in some ways, they are much the same. The children still wish to keep their Christmas traditions within the church and go to the movies like normal children. Yet, to make the paper stars for the church they need glue and do not wish to "...catch four cod, Boil their eyeballs in water, crush the cooling goo with [their] fingers, and use that for glue" (107) as Alfred's grandfather suggests and they cannot afford to pay for a taxi to the movies, "But [they] all need to get out of camp. So [they] walk eight miles to Ketchikan and eight slow miles back home again" (99). Children's grandparents might not tell them to make glue in this way and children may not actually need to get out of the house bad enough to walk eight miles, but we all have daily struggles and perhaps looking and the trials and tribulations of others will help lessen the stress children have in dealing with their own struggles and make them more empathetic and compassionate.

In Because of Winn-Dixie Opal learns that just because people in her new town are different from her and different from her former friends, that these people are still good on the inside, even though they are outwardly different. Aleutian Sparrow teaches children the same lesson by portraying the Aleutians in a good light and showing that they are good people although they may have different customs and ways than white people. This further illustrates the injustice the American soldiers show toward the Aleutians by making them live in such harsh conditions without much medical assistance. The Aleuts are made to "...choose between warmth and privacy. [They] hang blankets to divide the space inside the crowded cabins...and [they] shiver (46). And when they become ill, "[They] ask for a doctor, beg for a doctor to come to [them]. When he finally arrives, he tells us we are not ill, only 'adjusting'" (91).

One thing I was disappointed in about the book was the relationship between Vera and her mother. I assume that it was just strained due to the loss of her father, but they really seem to never have a good connection and then her mother just leaves her during the war.

One of the quotes from the book really struck me as a great place to begin a topic of discussion with students. "We never thought who we were was so dependant on where we were" (139). I would read this quote to a classroom and have students volunteer to share their experiences about moving around or living in the same place all their lives and how they feel it affected them as people. I think this could potentially be a very interesting discussion to have with them.

Overall, I really feel like this is a very good novel to use in the classroom because it brings into view a part of history that most, if not all, students know nothing about and it does provide ample opportunities to discuss racial biases, prejudices, and injustices as well as empathy and compassion.

(Image retrieved from http://www.kimfolio.com/mix2/Resources/aleut_txt.jpg on 19 April 2008)

Free Verse Response to "Aleutian Sparrow"

They "never thought that who [they] were was so dependant on where [they] were"(Hesse 139).
And, really, who does think that way unless something dramatic in his or her life has made him or her feel that way?
The parallelism was what struck me so much about this statement and made me recognize it as a great quote, initially.
But upon further contemplation of this statement, it really does seem truthful.
I have lived in the same state, same county, same house my entire life and I really connect my being to that location.
I wonder how others who have lived all over the country by this time in their lives feel that home is.
I feel so sorry for people who do not have the connection to one specific place that I do, but do they feel that way?
Even more than for those people, I feel such heartbreak for those in this novel who had that sense of home for so long in their lives and then it was taken from them--twice.
Once, when they had to abandon it.
And again, when they returned to find nothing left.
Their dreams had vanished.

Where I Am From

Where I Am From

I am from tulips and hostas, tractors and dump trucks, and lots of love.

I am from huge meals on Thanksgiving and Christmas, from dinners out on birthdays, and from laughing at “inside” jokes.

I am from working hard and playing trumpet in school ensembles.

I am from Christianity, from church on Sundays and family meals at Grandmama’s afterward.

I am from “read to me” and “strawberrty,” from falling off the couch, and weekends in the mountains.

I am from circle houses in the driveway, from bologna sandwiches in the microwave, and the smell of Grandaddy’s aftershave.

I am from spinach dip and chicken and dumplings, from canning green beans and beets.

I am from remodeling houses and spontaneous trips to town, from shopping with Mom.

I am from funny stories about cleaning my sunglasses, and “I’m just lookin’.”

I am from matching cars and mp3 players, from running through piles of leaves with my brother, from watermelons, blackberries, and sweet tea.

I am from car fanatics and morning checklists, and from watching movies on Sunday nights.

I am from first day of school pictures, from hot light rolls and chocolate oatmeal cookies, and from the importance of family.

"Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices"

Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices
Written by: Paul Fleischman
Illustrated by: Eric Beddows
Published by Harper Trophy in 1988
Genres: poetry, informational text
Age: grades 4-6
Award: Newberry Award Winner 1989

Summary: Joyful Noise is a collection of unique poems about a multitude of insects. This book provides details about how they live their lives and occasionally mentions of how people perceive them. These succinct poems are meant to be read aloud by two people and are written in two columns as to make this easier. Some of the lines are spoken simultaneously by both individuals and at other times, one or both speak of different information about the insects. Paul Fleischman uses a musical style of writing which gives his poems a unique melodic form.

Response: This work is satiated with creativity in the method utilized to achieve the perfect combination of information, humor, and ideal sentence structure. Although I do not particularly care for insects, this work takes learning about insects to a completely different level than one might initially expect. Joyful Noise provides a myriad of information about the insect world, but because that information is laced within duet-based poetry to be read aloud, maintains a quirky backdrop throughout the collection, and has occasional onomatopoeia, Fleischman’s work does not explicitly teach. The manner in which Fleischman writes is of embedding factual information within the texts, which helps insure that readers do not become bored because each poem is a mini-story.

The creativity of the idea to create a work for two voices is remarkable. I would not have ever thought of doing something like that, but it makes perfect sense. It engages students and teaches them about poetry and insects. I believe this was a wonderful idea!

The illustrations in this work, though sparse, are very beautiful and very detailed pencil sketches of each insect included in the book. The illustrator takes much care in crafting his designs in order to create the illusion of three-dimensional figures. Although there is no color within these illustrations, I feel that it would detract from there beauty, so it was better to leave that out anyway. The faces of several of these creatures are hilarious-especially that of the moth. Furthermore, the moth's facial expressions do mimic his eccentric nature that readers learn about in the poem, well.

Teaching Suggestions: With this work teachers have the opportunity to make lesson plans in which children can express their creativity as much in performing the poetry as Fleischman did in writing it. At the same time, they are encouraging learning through literature. Any lesson on a poem in this book could easily meet science, language arts, and, with a little ingenuity, also the arts curriculum guidelines. One idea is to form pairs in the classroom and have each students read a poem of his choice of the other student. Then, each pair must choose their favorite poem and think of costume ideas, movements they could mimic. Students would then have several days to prepare for their presentation. With the Honeybees poem, for example, students have a great opportunity to truly become bees with descriptions of the actions of worker and queen bees. The poem speaks of “guarding the hive’s narrow entrance” (Fleischman, 29), “being fed by …royal attendants” (29), “tak[ing] out the hive’s morning trash...making wax…collect[ing] nectar” (30), and “lay[ing] eggs” (30). Each of these actions could be done by students in their own play. Because none of the poems are long, splitting the students into pairs and having them make presentations should cause no problem if the acting is spread over several days. Not only could the entire class benefit from increasing their knowledge of insects, their ability to read poetry, and engaging their creativity, but also there is an additional benefit for English Language Learners. The poems in Joyful Noise are much less elementary than most and do not have a plethora of repetition or rhyme, therefore, ELL students must engage more complex knowledge of the English language in order to comprehend this work and practice their sentence fluency. Words such as: “calligraphers”(Fleischman, 13), “formidable” (25), “fervent” (37), and “cataclysm,” (41) which students may not be familiar with, provide ample opportunities for all students to augment their vocabularies, especially ELLs. As a future educator, being able to distinguish cross-curricular ties as well as aid the learning of ELL students, proves how vital this work could be in my future classroom. Another lesson plan idea is to have students read these poems, or act them out, and then ask them to write a poem about their favorite animal. This assignment will hone their research and writing skills. Depending on the grade level of the child, the poem they write could be very simple, or could rhyme. Potentially, with older students, teachers could suggest that they attempt a poem for multiple voices, however this style of writing will likely need more assistance from the teacher.

Website of assistance to a lesson on Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices. (some of my ideas stem from this website's ideas)

(Image retrieved from http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/c1/c7529.jpg on 19 April 2008)

"Jackrabbit"

Jackrabbit
Written by Jonathan London
Illustrated by Deborah Kogan Ray
Published by Crown Publishers, NY in 1996
Genre: realistic fiction
Ages: grades K-3

Summary: A jackrabbit is left behind and scared when she cannot keep up with her mother. A woman walking through the woods finds the frightened rabbit and cares for her just as her mother would have. The rabbit becomes a good pet, but after some time passes, her wild instincts become apparent and the woman knows she must let the rabbit go back into the wild where she belongs, no matter how much she may miss her. Later, the woman sees the rabbit in the wild and notices that she had a family of her own now and has adapted well to the life for which she was created. Both the woman and the jackrabbit have fond memories of the time they spent together even after they have both gone on with their respective lives.

Response: I chose to read this particular picture book because I have always loved rabbits. Although I never had one as a pet when I was a child, I have always loved their long ears and soft fur, therefore, a book about rabbits will always peak my curiosity.

The illustrations in this novel are very good and detail the country setting of the work. Although they are not as exceptional as some illustrations, they follow the story very well and add to the imagery in readers' minds. They are mostly in deep yellows and oranges; none of the colors are remarkably bright. I love the illustration in of the kitchen, because here the illustrator pays such careful attention to detail, that readers can read the grocery list, party invitation, and schedule of the homeowners posted on the refrigerator. Thin, wispy lines are used throughout these illustrations, which makes it easy to see the effort the author put into her illustrations. Additionally, the illustrations are all double-page spreads, which show lots of action. Although I am not positive, I believe the medium used was watercolor.

This book teaches about being kind to creatures in nature, caring for pets, and knowing when to let go. The later lesson is the hardest for us all, however, knowledge of this can help children cope with anxieties over loses of their own pets. There is also some information about the particular foods rabbits eat and how wild animals are not meant to be pets due to their wild tendencies.

Teaching Connections: A teacher could ask students about their pets. The class could also discuss the difference between wild and domesticated animals and which ones make good pets and why.

After reading this novel, the class could learn more about Jackrabbits and students could make a short presentation about a particular animal, its abilities to be or not to be a good pet, and general facts about the animal.

(Image retrieved from http://www.bookdepot.com/images/large/isbn978999/9789999990714-l.jpg on 19 April 2008)

"What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?"

What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?
Written and illustrated by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page
Published by Houghton Mifflin in NY in 2003
Genre: Informational Text
Age: grades K-3
Award: Caldecott Honor Book

Summary: This book is not a traditional story, perse, but is more of a quirky way to relate information about for what certain parts of animals' bodies are used. This book has two pages each about noses, ears, tails, eyes, feet, and mouths. The first page shows pictures of these parts of different animals and lets children guess what animal it could be from until the next page when the pictures are of whole animals and the text details what they do with their respective body parts. The last several pages of the work given encyclopedia-like information about each of the animals in the book to further explain their use of these body parts.

Response: The first thing that caught my attention regarding this book was the title. I cannot imagine how someone could not want to read a book with a title such as this! Fortunately, the title is not the only grand thing about this work.

The artistic media (collage art) of each animal, and the texture created by this form of art are remarkable. There is a lot of white space on the pages, but that allows the rich colors from the collage to be more striking. Furthermore, the words on several pages are integrated with the artwork in the book and flow well with the illustrations.

I love the way that the first page of each new body part's introduction allows readers to guess what the animal could be. The author and illustrator used page turns as a means of creating suspense.

Due to the layout of the piece and the humor, the information is woven into the book. This makes learning seem less like learning for readers.

The information at the end of the book is great for expanding one's knowledge about animals and for teachers to share more information with their classes.

Teacher Connections: Teachers could do a health lesson about parts of the body: arms, legs, heads, noses, ears, etc. and then read this book about animals.

Students could make a Venn Diagram about what they use their body parts for and how that is different or similar to animals.

Students could chose one animal to concentrate on or use a different animal for each body part.

(Image retrieved from http://www.larl.org/kids/images/tail.jpg on 19 April 2008)

"Moses"

Moses
Written by Carole BostonWeatherford
Illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Published by Hyperion Books for Children in NY in 2006
Genre: historical fiction
(This work is multicultural.)
Ages: grades K-3
Awards: Caldecott Honor Book, Correta Scott King Award Winner


Summary: This book detailed the thoughts and prayers of Harriet Tubman during and after her time of enslavement. It chronicles her fervent wish to become free, the perils of her escape, and her subsequent victory in arriving in the safe town of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After her free life begins, and God helps her see the joys of such a life, she struggles with the idea of helping the family she left behind and others still trapped in the binds of slavery. Through many prayers, she determines that anything is possible through the Lord, and decides to help others. After she frees her family, she again risks her own life to take other slaves into the safety of Canada.

Response: The greatest aspect of this book is the pictures! The story is and excellent depiction of the trials and tribulations of Harriet Tubman, but the illustrations truly tell the story. It is as if one could narrate even without the words-that proves the quality of these illustrations. Readers can almost feel the pain of the characters through Nelson's illustrations. My favorite picture in Moses is on page 32 and is a double-page spread of a close-up depicting the pain and struggle in Harriet's face. This illustration is breath-taking. Kadir Nelson utilizes dark colors in this work to show the pain these people went through and to relate that all of Harriet's travels had to occur at night. Sometimes the text of the work would wrap around the pictures and integrate them. One page in particular, God is telling Harriet that he is with her and his words are wrapped around her.

I believe this book would be a challenge to read to a class since a teacher would need to use three different voice tones in order to truly portray the text in this story the way it is intended. I believe it could best be read as a play with three players rather than just being read by a teacher. There should be a narrator to tell the story, Harriet, and God's voice.

My concern with utilizing this test in a classroom is the explicit conversations Harriet has with God. Since religion is such a controversial issue in the school system, I am not sure how to make this novel appropriate for a lesson in schools. As a Christian, I see her prayers to God as part of the intrigue of reading this book, however, in a classroom setting, this could become an issue.

I liked the way that the story connected the title of the book to Harriet's role as a Moses-like figure who led her people to freedom. I had not ever thought of her in that manner before, but the comparison makes perfect sense.

Another of the aspects that I loved about this book was the introduction to slavery at the beginning and the author's note at the end detailing about the life of Harriet Tubman. These two aspects make the book very teacher-friendly because all of the information one needs to do a lesson about slavery, specifically about the Underground Railroad, is within this work.

Teaching Suggestions: A teacher could begin the discussion about the harsh circumstances most slaves faced in the United States during this historical period. Perhaps a general overview of the Foreward in Moses would also be of assistance in beginning this topic of discussion.

Then, a teacher could ask for volunteers from the class to read this book like a play. One student could be the narrator, one could be Harriet, and one could portray God. Students could even act during the skit and the narrator would be sure to share the illustrations with the class.

As a conclusion to the lesson, read the author's note about Tubman and study about the Underground Railroad.

As a follow-up activity, have students explore http://www.nationalgeographic.com/railroad/index.html and truly engage in the control of their own storey and the choices they might have to make if he or she was a slave. Then, have them write a poem, song, or essay about the feelings he or she might have had during this time if he or she was a slave and was being led to freedom by Harriet Tubman on the Underground Railroad.

(Image retrieved from http://www.lmlibrary.org/images/Moses.jpg on 19 April 2008)