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.