Blizzard

Bibliography:
Murphy, Jim. Blizzard! the Storm That Changed America. New York: Scholastic, 2000. Print.


Plot Summary:
This nonfictional story written by Jim Murphy begins on March 12, 1888.  This is a story about how many states from Virgina to Maine experienced the worst blizzard for three days and nights of harsh winds and snow.Thousands of people were trapped at home and work and many people died as they tried to survive the storm that changed America. There was more than 40 to 50 inches of snow. Winds broke powerlines, and blocked buildings. Transportation was shut down and many cities became ghost town. Many trains were derailed during this storm.This natural disaster was the worst  storm of its time. The book shows how prices went up and it documents through newspaper articles, illustrations, and memoirs from business owners.

Critical Analysis:
This book is well written. The descriptions leading to the storm are very detailed. As you read the story you are drawn in instantly as you begin to anticipate what will occur to hundreds of people.The  narrative is told through the eyes of the survivors and victims. Life was changed forever because of this storm. The National Weather Service was formed and weather forecasting was no longer the job for the Army. Weather forecasting became monitored for 24 hours and there were no days off which may have helped some of the people prepare for the storm. Power lines were now placed underground instead of up in the air and many cities now had to create an emergency plan. The book has many illustrations and captions about the events that took place.

Reviews:

Kirkus Review
In the same format as his Newberry Honor title "The Great Fire(1995), Murphy brings the blizzard of 1888 to life. He shows how military weather monitoring practices, housing and employment conditions and politics regarding waste management, transportation monopolies and utilities regulation, all contributed to- and were subsequently affected by-the disaster.

Connections:

1. Students can read the informatioon about one person's experience during the blizzard. Have the students write what the person was doing before the blizzard.
2. Students can create a timeline of events of the historic events.
3. Listen to the audio version and compare it  to the written text.
4. Choose several illustrations from the story and retell it and write an expository poem. 

Heart and Soul

Bibliography:
Nelson, Kadir, and Martha Rago. Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans. New York: Balzer + Bray, 2011. Print


Plot Summary:
This Coretta Scott King Honor and Winner Book is an incredible book of hope, courage, and determination of the human spirit.Nelson tells the struggle of African-Americans in America through a fictional narrator. This story details in chapters showing how African-Americans worked hard and endured discrimination, hardships , but managed in some instances to triumph in wicked and evil injustices that were in place only to keep them in an inferior position. Heart and Soul begins with a prologue in which the narrator admits she is ashamed of her past of being a slave. The narrator  goes on to tell the story of slavery,abolition,reconstruction,westward expansion, the great migration and ends with an epilogue in which the narrator describes participating by walking her 100 yr old legs in an election in which Barack Obama, the first time an African -American, won the Democratic nomination for president of the yet to be United States of America.

Critical Analysis:
Heart and Soul is wonderfully written book and it looks like a picture book but this nonfiction book is so much more. It has wonderfully illustrated pictures that show the emotion on the faces of the men, women, and children who are depicted in the narrator's memoryThe illustrations are so detailed with the rich brown hues that it causes you to try to read their expression to self- reflect how you would feel if it were you living during this time period.I read the book with pride and came away feeling inspired about the accomplishments that were made in spite of all of the broken promises and vile behavior of so many people who felt that African-americans were nothing. This book will have you cheering with emotion and angered with feelings of pain for the victims who suffered at the hands of many  selfish evil people. Slavery was ugly and so was the Jim Crow years that came after it and lasted for many years.

Review Excerpts:

Kirkus Review
In an undertaking even more ambitious than the multiple-award winning We are the Ship(2008), Nelson tells the story of African -Americans and their often central place in American history.


Connections:
1. This book can be used to discuss modern discrimination against other groups of people in the world today. Students can study other cultures such as the Chinese, Irish, and Latino or Afro-latino groups.
2. Students can study geography of the journey and the different countries in Africa who participated in the slave trade.

Lincoln Tells a joke: How Laughter saved the President(and the country)

Krull, Kathleen, Paul Brewer, and Stacy Innerst. Lincoln Tells a Joke: How Laughter Saved the President (and the Country). Boston [Mass.: Harcourt Children's /Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010. Print.


Plot Summary
The biography begins by telling all the reasons why Lincoln was sad growing up. He had a rough childhood and grew up very poor. However Lincoln loved to make fun of himself and read jokes to his family and friends.  His story is told in sequence and details his life but it uses humor to describe how Lincoln coped with life's disappointments. The story shows how Lincoln used humor as a young boy every day. He even used humor as he did chores. The story shows how  laughter and humor helped him make it through the loss of many of his loved ones like his mother, sister and two of his sons He always looked for the opportunity to write. The book used many one-liners and nonsense poems to paint a more humanistic portrait of a great president who tried to remain positive in spite of his circumstances. In the book Lincoln states " My father taught me how to work, but not love it, and he later said " I'd rather read,tell stories, crack jokes,talk,laugh".

Critical Analysis:

This is an easy read aloud for students. The words are easy to read and illustrations are funny and colorful.This book could show others how in the midst of  overwhelming obstacles and problems one can still keep their sanity and work through it. The book shows the character of Abraham Lincoln in an engaging way that the reader can relate too. The author writes from Abraham Lincolns point of view which adds more to the way I view him. Most people have respected Abraham Lincoln for his contributions to the history of America but this book will make you laugh and like him even more.

Review Excerpts:

Kirkus Reviews

Not many biographies of the 16th U.S. president begin "Poor Abraham Lincoln." This one does and goes on to list the reasons why the man's life was "hardly fun," but then it gets right to the titular theme: "But Lincoln had his own way of dealing with life. Not many people remember it today. It was all about laughing." (In a lovely acrylic painting of the famous Lincoln log cabin, an escaping plume of "HaHaHaHas" mirrors the chimney smoke.) ....

School Library Journal

The legends that endure about Lincoln are many: his log-cabin childhood, his honesty, his eloquence. What is less often discussed is how he used humor to diffuse tense political situations, disarm critics , and undo the stressess of running the country. His  love of words in general and jokes and humor more specifically, helped him throughout his life when things were difficult, uncomfortable and down right dire....

Connections:
1.This book could be used for President's Day studies or the Civil War.
2. It could also be used in middle or high school as a quick read to build a discussion and brainstorm the culture of America at this time in history.

Messing Around on The Monkey Bars

Bibliography

Franco, Betsy, and Hartland Jessie. Messing Around on the Monkey Bars and Other School Poems for Two Voices. Somerville, Mass: Candlewick, 2009. Print

 

Language and Emotion

This collection of 18 poems are meant to be read by two voices although it can be read by one person. I found myself changing my voice to read the other verse.  The poems are really fun to read. I think my class would love to read these poems and act some of them out. The subject matter is something they can relate to. Every kids loves recess or have been to the park or have tried to make a new friend. Read aloud these lighthearted poems for multiple voices as they try to capture the silliness of the playground and other things like writing a report on an animal. Some children are on a school bus, heading to the lost and found making a new friend out on the playground, kids are skipping rope and making trades. In the library, they’re whispering, and talking. In the classroom  they come up with excuses why they didn’t have their homework  and have to stay afterschool at the teachers request.                                          

Analysis

The rhyme and humor the incorporation onomatopoeia and the personification of objects make it really engaging. Did you ever think your class was alive? I didn’t until I thought about the poem referring to the arms and legs on the chair and the face on the clock and of course the spine on the book. The children would able to find the humor in that and begin to find various traits in other objects at home and at school. In the book the author   encourages the teacher or reader to divide the group in two. One group can read Voice1 and the other Voice 2 in unison. This would be a great book to use at the beginning of school at an elementary level. The illustrations are colorful and add to the adventures of children at school.

Reviews

A cheeky romp elementary school children’s academic and social lives. –  Kirkus Review

The clear and interactive presentation elevates the solid content, and Hartlands whimsical paintings afdd to a playful tone-   The Horn Book

Connections

1.Spend a week focusing on sounds with your class can create a list of sound words with your students and post it in the classroom.

2. Ask kids to listen to the natural world and then write about what they have heard.

3. Encourage your students too consciously add sound words to stories and poems they write.

Then invite your class to write three-line “Sound poems.” This is a form Betsy Franco made up; it’s similar to a haiku but focuses specifically on sounds and doesn’t involve any syllable counting

4. Invite students to write acrostic poems about objects at school.

5. Read the book Big talk” Poems for Four Voices by Paul Fleishchman

 

 

 

I Am the Book

 Bibliography:

Hopkins, Lee Bennett., and Yayo. I Am the Book: Poems. New York: Holiday House, 2011. Print.

 Language and Emotion:

Lee Bennett Hopkins collection of thirteen poems from  various authors commemorate the love of  reading books. The poems summarize the excitement of engaging and escaping into a good book through the vision of poets. The poems arrangement  is perfect for  reading orally.All of of the poems make you think and reflect about why you love books and the beauty of the words painting an image on the page. The poem “ I Am the Book” by Tom Robert Shields compares a book to a best friend. All of the poems that were selected for this compilation pays homage to books and those of us who love them. The poem “What was That” by Rebecca Kai Dotlich is another example of that beautifully conveys the images of words.

Critical Analysis

According to an online interview with Hopkins he stated ” Poetry is magical, mystical. I maintain that more can be said or felt in 8 or 10 or 12 lines than sometimes” http://www.harpercollins.com/author/authorExtra.aspx?authorID=12232&displayType=interviewan entire novel can convey”

“I Am the Book” has wonderful illustrations by Yayo to enrich the anthology of poems selected by Hopkins . I think this is a good book to read aloud to get your children or students to appreciate books from a different perspective. This book will be appreciate by younger readers because the language is easy to understand and because of the rhyming words that the younger students will love.

Reviews

It closes with five landlocked tributes to bookishness and shoehorns in between one off-topic contribution by Hopkins and another by Jane Yolen. Eight of the 13 poems are new, and all (of the relevant ones) share a sense of excitement- Kirkus Review

Connections:

One can engage or brainstorm with students about what they love about their favorite books. They can tell what elements of the story they make personal connections and how it relates to them and to the world.

Students can use a wordless picture book and come up with their own story using the illustrations.

Students can compare several of the poems in the books and contrast how the authors convey their love of books.

The Surrender Tree

Bibliography

Engle, Margarita. 2008 THE SURRENDER TREE: POEMS OF CUBA’S STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM. New York: Henry Holt and Company, LLC. ISBN: 9780805086744.

Plot Summary

This is the story of  a girl named Rosa and her plight  during the three wars that Cuba fought to get  their freedom Many of Rosa’s people have been put in camps where there is not enough food and many people are sick However, Rosa is a nurse who is called a witch because she uses medicinal plants to heal. Rosa, her husband, Josa, and her others have to hide in caves and hospitals that they find or build in the jungle. Some people want to capture Rosa because she heals the rebels. A man that she knew as a boy and calls Lieutenant Death is looking for her to capture her. Rosa is nice and will use her medicines and skill for anyone that needs it, including her enemies.

Critical Analysis

In this verse novel, Engle tells a wonderful story using little words but the reader is still drawn into the character’s lives. Engle explains how the three wars effect Rosa, her family and friends.)

This book is very moving and It was written similarly to a chapter book and told from the different perspective of the characters so as a reader one had a personal connection with the reasons why every character behaved the way they did whether you agreed with them or not.

At the end of the book there is a  chronology of the early independence movement in Cuba with selected references, author notes, and historical notes.

 Review Excerpts

“An absolutely lovely book… that should be read by young and old, black and white, Anglo and Latino.” –School Library Journal, starred review

“The moving poetry and finely crafted story will draw readers in and leave them in tears and awe” – The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, starred review

“A work of literary imagination. Engle’s skillful portrait will spark readers’ interest in Manzano’s poetry"

 

Awards

Jane Addams Children’s Book Award, 2009

Americas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature, 2009

American Library Association Notable Books for Children, 2009

Pura Blepre Award, 2009

Connections

1.Combine this book with Engle’s THE POET SLAVE OF CUBA: A BIOGRAPHY OF JUAN FRANCISCO MANZANO and use it to discuss poetry, slavery, medicinal plants and other topics.

The Three Little Pigs

Bibliography:

Boddy, Joe. The Three Little Pigs. Ohio:McGraw,1995 .

Plot summary:

The three little pigs is a traditional tale of how three pigs outsmart a hungry wolf. The Three Pigs  by Joe Boddy retells this classic tale however the pigs are sisters who had been living in the same house and after years of living together  the sisters agree to move out and live on their own lives. The pigs in this tale are Amanda, Kate, and Cassy. Amanda builds her house of straw. Kate builds her house of wood and clever Cassy builds her house of rocks. The familiar tale continues with the resourceful wolf knocking on the door and chimes  the classic chant of “no, no, no, not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chinas he attempts to get the  pig . She escaped to her sister’s house Kate and the wolf came again and she huffed and puffed and blew the house down. The sisters escaped to Cassy’s house and the wolf followed but he couldn’t blow the house down. The story ends when the wolf lost her balance and went sliding down the roof .Although the pigs were scared they showed  amazing compassion and took care of the wolf .

 

The story show how you can show kindness and how kindness can change your circumstances. The classic tale illustrates how the pigs forgiveness of the wolf’s action allowed them to develop a friendship. There are many variations of The Three Little Pigs. The author took this traditional story of good versus bad and made it a positive lesson of how one can change. Just as the characters set off on their own hoping to find their fortunes a major problem occurs when they are no longer together and the major life changing decision of simply choosing the wrong building material. Although in this version the pigs are not eaten ,they learn that they are better off together than apart in the end.

 Connections:

Children can dramatize the story as you reread it. Children taking the parts of the pigs can draw their houses on the chalkboard. Children listening can join in on the repeated phrases

Students can come up with an alternate ending.

Students can compare different versions of the three little pigs and compare the setting and how the overall plot changes or the dimension of the characters in a literacy chart. Students can compare how the illustrations help to enhance the story for the reader.

Book Review:

 I could not find any reviews for this book.

Anansi and the Magic Stick

Bibliography

Kimmel,Eric A. Anansi and the Magic Stick.New York: Holiday House,2002

 Plot Summary:

This is a tale about the familiar character Anansi.Anansi the spider wants his house and yard to look as good as his neighbors  but he does not want to do the work.  He watches Hyena, who has a lovely house and yard  and wonders why he never seems to work, and discovers that Hyena has a magic stick that does his work for him. Anansi steals the stick and has it paint his house and plant and water his garden. Anansi falls asleep, and the stick keeps watering...and keeps watering...and keeps watering, until the whole area is flooded. Hyena comes drifting by and asks if anyone has seen his magic stick and says a few  magic words and the water stops however the animals are now stuck with the lake.

 

Children should make a personal connection while reading this story if they have ever played a trick on someone. One could reference April Fools Day to draw prior knowledge. Sometimes things don’t go as you plan just like it didn’t for Anansi. Most important This tale  teaches the lesson/value  of honesty and how everything has a consequence. Honesty and the value of  hard work  are  important character traits explored in this tale written by .Dr. Kimmel who is a master storyteller and has written a number of picture books for children such  as Anansi and the talking melon, Anansi and the Moss-covered rock, and Anansi Goes Fishing.The story was illustrated by Janet Stevens who captures the sequence of the story with bright detailed pictures.

 

Connections

Warthog, Lion, Zebra, and Hyena all appear in this story. Ask children to

choose one of these African animals to research. They can find out where the

animal lives, what it eats, and how it behaves. Have children give a report on

their animal to the class.

 

 At the end of the book, the author points out that the story is similar to The

Magic Hoe and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Have children read one or the other

of these stories. Provide them with a two-column chart labeled Differences and

Similarities. Ask them to write down the ways the stories are different and the

ways they are similar.

Review Excerpts

-Children will delight in Anansi’s escapades as he annoys his neighbors and learns how to control the stick. Kimmel and Stevens make a good team, with the text fonts echoing the action of the story and the illustrations bringing Anansi and all his antics to life. This is their fourth Anansi collaboration (Anansi and the Talking Melon, 1996, etc.); has the tricky spider learned his lesson this time? Let’s hope not—his stories are too amusing. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Review

Rumpelstiltskin

Read Aloud of Rumpelstiltskin

Bibliography:

Zelinsky, Paul O., Jacob Grimm, and Wilhelm Grimm. Rumpelstiltskin. New York: Puffin, 1996. Print

 

Plot Summary:

In this traditional classic tale retold and illustrated by Paul O.Zelinsky the mystical tale of Rumpelstilskin is brought to life.  This book was a 1987 Caldecott Honor book an ALA Notable Book for best illustrations. The tale was first told by the Grimm brothers in the 19^th century and the story takes place in medieval times. The story is about a poor miller who has a beautiful daughter and while one day in town the miller tells the king that his daughter can spin straw into gold and because the king loves gold he orders the miller to bring his daughter to him a once. However the miller’s daughter doesn’t know how to spin straw into gold. Enters a tiny little man who offers to do it for her for a price. Every time the mysterious little man spins the gold he asks the millers daughter for a fee until one day she promises to give him her first child when she becomes queen. As the years passed the queen had a baby then the tiny little man appeared to collect on his promise but the queen pleaded with him to keep her baby. The little man told her she could keep her baby if she could guess his name in three days. She beats the little man at his own game and guessed his name and he disappears and is never seen again.

 

The mystery and suspense in this magical tale will keep children and adults alike engaged in the story as the queen’s gets her servant to help find out the name of the mysterious magical little man. The vivid and colorful illustrations capture the richness of the medieval times. The overall message to children would be not to trust strangers and to be careful what you commit to. I remember listening to this story on tape as a child and l loved when Rumpelstelkin becomes upset and disappears.

 Teaching Connections:

Students read the story Rumpelstiltskin and discuss the literary elements. They read a different version of Rumpelstiltskin and complete a graphic organizer identifying the literary elements. Finally, they compare both versions and participate in a class discussion 

Practice summarizing literature in this resource, where young readers create a summary of text, including relevant details in proper sequence. They read "The Legend of William Tell Aloud." Next, they independently read "Rumpelstiltskin" summarize it in one paragraph

Learners examine classic fairy tales and their variations. They read and view a variety of fairy tale versions, compare and contrast the author's purpose and use of motifs and use an interactive website to construct a Venn diagram with their observations

Review Excerpts:

“Truly a tour de force.”-The Horn Book

Richly hued oil paintings complement a story simply and gracefully told. "Children...love the story for its mystery, and its familiarity. Adults will find that, like most classic fairy tales, this one rewards periodic rethinking." —New York Times Book Review

"Zelinsky's smooth retelling and glowing pictures cast the story in a new and beautiful light." — School Library Journal

A Ball For Daisy

Bibliography:
 Raschka,Chris.2011 A Ball for Daisy.Random House Children's Books.
ISBN-13: 9780375858611

Plot Summary:
 Winner of the 2012 Caldecott Medal. This is a a very simple story about  a dog named Daisywho loses his special toy, a ball, to a bigger dog and how loss can have an effect on anyone even if the loss is small.The author uses a wordless picture book to convey how  happiness and sadness of a toy change your daily life .Rascha uses colorful illustrations to create mood and unique watercolors  to make the characters come alive. The colors and illustrations used in the picture book show a wide variey of emotion held by the dog due to the loss of his favorite toy.. his ball.

Crtical Analyis:
 In this story loss is explained in a simple manner for a child to understand. Raschka uses a story of small dog and his toy getting broken by a larger dog to explain loss and how friends can help one another after experiencing a loss.Although the book is wordless the wonderfully illustrated sequence of the story is delightful as the plot unfolds in a familar yet surprising manner. The illustrations are very detailed and they tell the story by the facial expressions of the dog. The illustrations in the begiming show how happy Daisy is at the start and how she changes in the middle and end of the story through slight details .

Review Excerpts:

Starred Review, Horn Book, September/October 2011:
"a story that is noteworthy for both its artistry and its child appeal."

Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews, December 1, 2011:
“Rarely, perhaps never, has so steep an emotional arc been drawn with such utter, winning simplicity

Starred Review, School Library Journal, August 2011:
"Raschka’s genius lies in capturing the essence of situations that are deeply felt by children."

Connections:

Another book for children and toys  is Mine by Shutta Crum illustrated by Patrice Barton. This is a picture based book about two children and a dog who have problems sharing with one another.

Teachers can use this book for narrative writing, sequence, and cause and effect relationships.

This picturebook can help children who are readers and non-readers with the basic art of storytelling. Students can learn about emotions and analyze how and why they change..

We Are The Ship

Bibliography:
Nelson,Kadir. 2008. We Are The  Ship. Hyperion Books CH; 1 edition.
ISBN-10: 0786808322

Plot Summary:
 We are the ship is a story about the trials and tribulations of African-American baseball players at the turn of the 20th century.Kadir Nelson tells the story of baseball's great heroes. It details the history of racial discrimination and hardships endured by the baseball players and how social and political ideals influenced the perception of African-American baseball players. The story shows in short the daily hatred, low pay and the daily miserable plight the players faced just to do something they truly loved to do which was play baseball.Nelson uses a narrator "Everyman" to unveil his story stemming from the 1920's to the late 1940's.The book reads like a picture book but it has the perfect blend for a short chapter book.

Crtical Analysis:
This story shows the pride and the brotherhood shared by the men in the Negro Leagues.The book's beautiful artwork by Nelson enhances the story as you can read the emotional expressions  on the players faces and the breathtaking colorful artwork help to  empathize how they felt with each passing moment as they travel from city to city with constant mistreatment and racist comments.Each page is a wonderful piece of art history told from the perpective of the players and the creative mind of Nelson who is the author and illustrator. The strength of the men in their adverisity is a wonderful inspiration to all.


Review:

 From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 3 Up—A lost piece of American history comes to life in Kadir Nelson's elegant and eloquent history (Hyperion/Jump at the Sun, 2008) of the Negro Leagues and its gifted baseball players. The history of the Leagues echoes the social and political struggles of black America during the first half of the 20th century. There were scores of ballplayers who never became as famous as Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb and were almost lost in obscurity because of segregation—and Nelson recreates their history here. The narrative is divided into nine innings, beginning with Rube Foster and his formation of the first Negro League in 1920 and closing with Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier into white major league baseball. In between are fascinating snippets of the events and men who formed the Negro Leagues. Listeners glimpse the pain black Americans endured because of bigotry and segregation, but the true center of this story is the joy of baseball and the joy men felt at being able to play the game. Hall of Famer Hank Aaron, who began playing with the Negro Leagues, provides the foreword. Eloquent narration is performed by actor Dion Graham, and a bluesy guitar introduction and conclusion is reminiscent of the time period. Nelson's stunning oil paintings are included on a CD—but make sure to have the book available as well.

Winner of the 2009 Coretta  Scott  King Author Award

Winner of the 2009 Sibert Medal

 

Connections:
This information book could be used to teach lessons about the history of sports or a lesson about segregation.
  The story could be used as an example of writing that has a strong voice and could be a model for students to create their own writing voices and narrators

Are You My Mother?

1.       Bibliography: Eastman, P.D.  1960. Are You My Mother? Random House Books for Young Readers; 1 edition (June 12, 1960)

 

2.       Plot summary:  
     In this classic picture book written by P.D Eastman, a baby bird falls from his nest after hatching and he anxiously begins a journey to find his mother. The baby bird embarks on an adventure meeting various animals while asking the question “are you my mother”.He meets a dog, a cow, a plane and more on his journey.

3.       Critical Analysis:
     In this easy beginner book, the author explores the basic traits of identifying the baby bird’s mother. As the baby bird begins his quest he learns to differentiate the characteristics that he believes that his mother has. The story uses basic primer vocabulary and colorful primary illustrations to capture the young beginning reader. The theme is something all children can relate to.Most children love this book and the happy ending when the bird is reunited with his mother.

4.       Review Excerpts:
        www.jacketflap.com –A great book about a bird looking for his mother
      WINNER 2012 Scholastic Parent & Child 100 Greatest Books for KidsWINNER 2012 TimeOutNewYorkKids.com 50 Best Books for Kids
 

 

5.       Personal/Teaching Connections:
      This would be a great book for early childhood teachers. Students could compare and contrast the various animals that the bird met to baby bird’s mother. Another activity would be to create a family tree in order for the children to tell about themselves and their family. Other books by P.D. Eastman are Go Dog Go and the Best Nest.