Thursday, April 24, 2008

"A mouse with a lioness's voice"

Exploring Multicultural Literature through Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan


Becoming Naomi Leon touched me in many ways and for many reasons. The first thing that stuck in my mind when reading this novel was the fact that Naomi and her brother, Owen, had just been dumped with their great-grandmother because their mother needed to "find her life." Then their mother, Skyla, waltzes back into their lives hoping to pick up where she left off... but only with Naomi. Since Owen was a FLK (funny looking kid), Skyla didn't want anything to do with him. She told the judge during the custody hearing that "he had so many problems that [she] never really connected with him" (118). Skyla even went so far as to slap Naomi and threaten to do something to Gram if Naomi didn't abide by Skyla's wishes.
It was also touching to see the care and the lengths that Gram went to in order to protect these children. She completely uprooted Baby Beluga and took her family to Oaxaca, Mexico to escape Skyla. The trouble she went through and work she did to make sure that Naomi and Owen were both taken care of was really touching. At 69 years old, it must be hard to work as much as Gram did altering dresses, plus taking care of two relatively young children. I was glad that she got temporary custody of the kids and then went to court to keep them away from Skyla and her boyfriend, Clive.

I really enjoyed the last part of the book. I've always been interested in Mexican and Hispanic culture. I loved reading about all of the traditions and rituals that take place the week before Christmas in Oaxaca. As Ryan says in the afterword, she has witnessed the festivities first-hand and that experience is evident in her descriptions. I don't think that the rich and detailed descriptions could have come from someone that had not been there to see the sights and smell the smells as she did. I've been in Latin America and a lot of what I noticed about the people there held true in this book also. I think that Ryan did an excellent job of presenting the Mexican people as a diverse group with a rich culture. The housing, the language, the attitudes, and the dress of the people in the book match up with my own experiences of Latin America. I feel like Ryan did not simply give them all sombreros and beer bottles; she gave them life, she gave them a culture that I know I would find if I traveled to Oaxaca. The houses with the large courtyards are very prominent throughout most of Latin America. As most of the people do not have large sums of money, most also have a garden in their courtyards. Many of the cities that I have traveled through also had the cobblestone streets, just as in the barrio in Oaxaca. Also it is very common for extended family members to live together, so it did not surprise me one bit that Graciela and her son still lived with Graciela's family. The food and the market are also cultural markers that I thought were very well represented.

Also, in this last section of the book, Naomi really comes into her own. She discovers her voice and stands up for what she believes in because she knows there are people who believe in her. This goes to show that having love and support can do a lot to help the development of a child.

Ryan seems have taken a lot of time to thoroughly research and experience the Mexican and Mexican-American cultures in order to write this book. As I stated earlier, Ryan says in her afterword that she has traveled throughout Mexico and attended festivities in Oaxaca. She writes with an insiders perspective as she has a background that is a "smorgasbord of Spanish, Mexican, Basque, Italian, and Oklahoman." She was even raised in Southern California. I think her own personal ethnicity and background provide her with an excellent springboard for writing about the Mexican culture. Nothing I read reminded me of the Mexican stereotypes that are so common in our society. The Mexicans were presented as hard-working, dedicated, and intelligent people. Unfortunately, many people in the American society believe that Mexicans are sombero-wearing, bean-eating, lazy people. By showing that Mexicans are much, much more than a stereotype, Ryan has created a work that teaches about a culture and creates appreciation for Mexico and its people. Here are some pictures that show the extravagant sculptures that the Mexican people create in the Noche de los Rabanos.

I loved that Ryan added Spanish phrases into the text. This added language provides an extra bit of authenticity to the novel. When Naomi and her family arrive in Mexico, they are introduced to the city by the Spanish names of places; la basilica, el zocalo, el mercado. Naomi herself, even picks up a little Spanish and says "gracias" many times. There are a few times where non-Spanish speakers might get lost had Ryan not thought to add explanations for the Spanish terms as if the explanation were directed toward Naomi.
Overall I'd have to say that I really liked this book. Ryan did an excellent job of representing the Mexican culture within the context of a realistic story. There are a lot of children in this country and around the world who do not have a traditional family, yet as this story shows, family is not necessarily defined by a mother, a father, a brother, and a sister. As long as you belong somewhere and you are loved, you have a family.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Poetry

My Favorite Poem that I've read so far:
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
By Roald Dahl
from a Poetry Anthology, Once Upon a Poem
Published 2004 by The Chicken House

This famous wicked little tale
Should never have been put on sale.
It is a mystery to me
Why loving parents cannot see
That this is actually a book
About a brazen little crook.
Had I the chance I wouldn't fail
To clap young Goldilocks in jail.
Now just imagine how you'd feel
If you had cooked a lovely meal,
Delicious porridge, steaming hot,
Fresh coffee in the coffee-pot
With maybe toast and marmalade,
The table beautifully laid,
One place for you and one for dad,
Another for your little lad.
Then dad cries, "Golly-gosh! Gee-whizz!
"Oh cripes! How HOT this porridge is!
"Let's take a walk along the street
"Untile it's cool enough to eat."
He adds, " An early morning stroll
"Is good for people on the whole.
"It makes your appetite improve
"It also helps your bowels to move."
No proper wife would dare to question
Such a sensible suggestion,
Above all not at breakfast-time
When men are seldom at their prime.

No sooner are you down the road
Than Goldilocks, that little toad,
That nosey thieving little louse,
Coming sneaking in your empty house.
She looks around. She quickly notes
Three bowls brimful of porridge oats.
And while still standing on her feet,
She grabs a spoon and starts to eat.
I say again, how would you feel
If you had made this lovely meal
And some delinquent little tot
Broke in and gobbled up the lot?
But wait! That's not the worst of it!
Now comes the most distressing bit.
You are of course a houseproud wife,
And all your happy married life
You have collected lovely things,
Like gilded cherubs wearing wings,
And furniture by Chippendale
Bought at some famous auction sale.
But your most special valued treasure,
The piece that gives you endless pleasure,
Is one small children's dining-chair,
Elizabethan, very rare.
It is in fact your joy and pride,
Passed down to you on grandma's side.
But Goldilocks, like many freaks,
Does not appreciate antiques.
She doesn't care, she doesn't mind,
And now she plonks her fat behind
Upon this dainty precious chair,
And crunch! It busts beyond repair.
A nice girl would at once exclaim,
'Oh dear! Oh heavens! What a shame!'
Not Goldie. She begins to swear.
She bellows, 'What a lousy chair!'
And uses one disgusting word
That luckily you've never heard.
(I dare not write it, even hint it.
Nobody would ever print it.)
You'd think by now this little skunk
Would have the sense to do a bunk.
But no. I very much regret
She hasn't nearly finished yet.
Deciding she would like a rest,
She says, 'Let's see which bed is best.'
Upstairs she goes and tries all three.
(Here comes the next catastrophe.)
Most educated people choose
To rid themselves of socks and shoes
Before they clamber into bed.
But Goldie didn't give a shred.
Her filthy shoes were thick with grime,
And mud and mush and slush and slime.
Worse still, upon the heel of one
Was something that a dog had done.
I say once more, what would you think
If all this horrid dirt and stink
Was smeared upon your eiderdown
By this revolting little clown?
(The famous story has no clues
To show the girl removed her shoes.)
Oh, what a tale of crime on crime!
Let's check it for a second time

Crime One, the prosecution's case:
She breaks and enters someone's place

Crime Two, the prosecutor notes:
She steals a bowl of porridge oats

Crime Three: She breaks a precious chair
Belonging to the Baby Bear.

Crime Four: She smears each spotless sheet
With filthy messes from her feet.

A judge would say without a blink,
'Ten years hard labour in the clink!'
But in the book, as you will see,
The little beast gets off scot-free,
While tiny children near and far
Shout, 'Goody-good! Hooray! Hurrah!'
'Poor darling Goldilocks!' they say,
'Thank goodness that she got away!'
Myself, I think I'd rather send
Young Goldie to a sticky end.
'Oh daddy!' cried the Baby Bear,
'My porridge gone! It isn't fair!'
'Then go upstairs,' the Big Bear said,
'Your porridge is upon the bed.
'But as it's inside mademoiselle,
'You'll have to eat her up as well.'

I laughed through most of this poem. I never knew that Roald Dahl wrote poems! As I was reading the poem, I kept disliking Goldilocks more and more! Dahl is right! When you read the fairy tale, you are thinking about poor little Goldilocks, most people don't stop and think of how the bears must have felt to come home and find that someone had broken into their house and eaten their porridge and slept in their beds. I love the way that Dahl talks to the reader, reminding the reader to put his or herself in the place of the mother bear. Just how would you feel if someone had broken into your house and broken your most prized possession and ruined your family's breakfast and sheets?? After reading the story of Goldilocks as told this way, I think that Goldilocks deserves to be eaten up! Dahl really makes Goldilocks out to be a little brat. He adds so many extra details that really liven up the story: there is dog poo on Goldilocks' shoe, an Elizabethan chair, and more.

Dahl makes definite use of rhyme and rhythm in this poem. The rhyme and rhythm work together to provide a fast-paced reading, the same pace as someone who is telling you a story that makes them mad! I know when I'm upset about something and I just can't believe it's happened, I tend to talk a little faster than normal. His word choice is also outstanding. I can't believe the number of synonyms for brat that Dahl was able to come up with and use as if they were part of normal, every-day speech. This version of Goldilocks also gives us a little different view of the events. If we just read the traditional fairy tale, we don't see how things look from the bears' point of view. Luckily for us, Roald Dahl is able to change that for us! While I wouldn't exactly call it profound insight, this poem shows us a Goldilocks that is different from the one we're used to. It's important that we teach our children to think about how others will perceive our actions and to look at both sides of a story before making a judgment.

This poem would be great for a unit on traditional literature. Children love reading things that put things in a new perspective. Reading this poem would allow them to get a little bit of "blood and guts" into a relatively sugar-coated unit (unless of course you include the Grimm Brothers). As I mentioned before, this poem is also great for teaching about perspective. I would have students re-write some of their favorite fairy tales from a different character's point of view; for example, how does the wolf feel about things in Little Red Riding Hood? Obviously this poem, along with many others, is great for teaching about rhyme and rhythm.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

The Mirror of Erised

The Mirror of Erised shows what your heart most deeply desires at the moment you look at it. It's no accident that "Erised" is desire spelled backwards. Harry was able to see his family when he first found the mirror. Later, when he is fighting Professor Quirrell to save the Sorcerer's Stone, the mirror is what enables him to do it. He desires to have the Sorcerer's Stone just to have it, and not use it, that the Stone magically appears in his pocket. This shows that good overcomes evil and that if your intentions are pure and your desires are strong enough, there is really no limit to seeing your desires realized.


If I were to look into the Mirror of Erised, I think that I would see myself in a few years, happily married with kids. I really want to be married and have kids and for all of us to be extremely happy. If there were a way to photoshop a teacher ID into that picture, I'd have that there too. I really want to be an ESL teacher, it doesn't even really matter what age group.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Reader Response

A. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
B. J. K. Rowling
C. n/a
D. Scholastic Inc., 1998
E. novel, fantasy
F. 5-9

G. After Harry Potter's parents are killed when Harry is a baby, he is sent to live with the only relatives he has, the Dursleys. He is treated awfully; he spends most of his time under a cubbard and is denied the most basic of childhood joys. One day an own arrives telling Harry that he is a warlock and has been invited to enroll in Hogwarts, a school for witches and warlocks. There, he is sorted into the Gryffindor house. He is a natural at quidditch and is chosen to be the seeker as a first year (practically unheard of!). While he is there, he learns that there is something amiss. He knows that the Sorcerer's Stone is being hidden in a highly guarded corridor and there is someone very evil seeking to find it. He finds out as many details as possible and the book ends with him defeating Professor Quirrell and keeping the Sorcerer's Stone out of the wrong hands.

H. I'm so very glad I gave Harry Potter a second chance. The first time I went to read Harry Potter (about 6-7 years ago) I didn't care for it a whole lot. I really can't remember why. Rowling does an excellent job of using imagery to really bring the reader into Hogwarts and take the reader on the adventures with Harry. Especially at the end, I felt as though there were vines grabbing my legs, real-life chess players shouting at me telling me what to do, and a sharp pain in my own forehead. Even the decorations in the Great Hall were described in so much detail that you can't help but feel as though you're there. It's just amazing to think that the whole Harry Potter series was started as a scratched out note on a napkin.
There are so many themes in Harry Potter, it's hard to know where to start when talking about them. The main theme is clearly good versus evil. It was surprising to me how good and evil were portrayed in this book. A lot of times in children's literature (and often in adult literature, too) it's very easy to pick the "good guy" and the "bad guy." However, I never would have guessed that Professor Quirrell would be the one trying to steal the Sorcerer's Stone and trying to kill Harry. I thought it was Professor Snape right up until the end. I also liked how the love that Harry embodies was what was hurting Professor Quirrell. I would have never thought to make love a weapon like that. That shows that love is a very powerful force and can overcome a lot of the evils in the world. Harry Potter also shows that you should not be quick to judge people. In the beginning, Ron and Harry formed a sort of alliance again Hermoine, yet she proved to be one of the most valuable allies they could have had in facing the dilemmas they faced, like choosing the correct bottle of potion to drink when three of the choices could kill you. Professor Snape may have disliked Harry but he was the one trying to save Harry as Professor Quirrell tried to kill him with a jinxing spell during the Quidditch match.

I. I could see a lot science experiments coming from this books. Like the links provided, owl pellets are a fascinating way to learn about owls. I remember dissecting owl pellets in fifth grade and getting a nearly complete mouse skeleton. Also, like Harry did in his potions class, I'm sure a class would love to mix chemicals (or ingredients) together in a big cauldron (bowl) to make something to eat or use (like brownies or playdoh). That would teach ratios and measurement. This book is also good to teach about loyalty and the epic struggle of good versus evil. Students could discuss other books they've read that show good versus evil and how the characters in book overcame evil.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

The Year of the Dog Reader Response

A. The Year of the Dog
B. Grace Lin
C. n/a
D. Little, Brown and Company, 2006
E. novel, realistic fiction
F. 4-8
G. The Year of the Dog is based loosely on Grace Lin's own life. It begins one year at the Chinese New Year, kicking off the Year of the Dog. This was supposed to be a lucky year for Grace, according to the Chinese calendar; this held true. Grace grew up in a largely caucasian neighborhood and was the only Asian girl at her school (besides her sister) until Melody Ling showed up. The two immediately became best friends; they did a science fair project together, spent the night at each other's houses, and were practically inseparable. As part of the Year of the Dog, Grace was supposed to find herself and find her talent. Thanks to a book-writing competition, in which Grace won 4th place, she discovered that she has a talent for writing and illustrating books. The book concludes at the next Chinese New Year with Grace deciding that she's proud to be Asian-American and that the Year of the Dog really was lucky for her.
H. After reading the author's note, I was not surprised to find that Grace Lin had written this book based largely on her own life and her own experiences. In the book, Grace talks about everything with such detail that it really does seem as if Grace, the author, was there to experience everything. I was impressed with the level of detail given to the Chinese New Year festivities and traditions. I'm not very familiar at all with the Chinese culture and after reading this book, I feel like I have a little bit better understanding. I absolutely love that Grace went into so much detail about her family and included stories from her parents and grandparents. The italicized stories really made the novel seem even more real to me. Those stories reminded me of times when I would be at family gatherings and a relative would say, "Hey, did I ever tell you about the time..."
Grace's anxiety about her ethnicity is also something very important that a lot of readers need to witness. As Grace says in her author's note, "What was I? We celebrated Chinese New Year, my parents spoke Taiwanese to our relatives, and we had chocolate M&Ms on the table. It was this constant whirling of East and West that spun the threads of my identity." This statement is very personal to me and very relevant to the lives of a lot of the people in this country. My own roommate has gone through a similar journey of finding herself. While she grew up in an area that had a lot of Hmong people, there were still people who made her feel self-conscious about her ethnicity. But finally she decided that she was Hmong-American and proud of it.
Included in the author's note is Grace Lin's Website which lists all of her books but also tells which parts of The Year of the Dog are actually true facts from her life and which are not.
I. This book is a good introduction into Eastern cultures. I would encourage my students to do culture studies based on a non-Western culture group. I feel that too often our education is based on Western culture and our students do not get enough exposure to non-Western groups. I would try to create a Chinese New Year for the students with as much authenticity as possible (hopefully with the help of Chinese community members if at all possible). I would also encourage students to think about what they think of themselves. This book is not just about culture, but about accepting your own culture.

*Multicultural*

Hush Reader Response

A. Hush
B. Jacqueline Woodson
C. n/c
D. Scholastic Inc., 2002
E. novel, realistic fiction
F. 6-8
G. Hush is the story of a middle school age girl who lives in Denver, Colorado. Her father, a Denver policeman, witnesses the unjust murder of an African-American boy, killed by two of his fellow policemen. After a while, Toswiah's father decides to speak out against the murder. The family receives a lot of death threats and enters the witness relocation program. They are moved far away from their home in Denver and must take on new names. Toswiah, now Evie, struggles to accept what has happened and how this "punishment" is a just consequence for doing the right thing. Evie takes up track and does very well at it. Over time, she begins to accept her new destiny, saying that maybe God came up with a better plan for her life so she had to start over again. She says, "I think in the middle of everything, God changed His mind. And maybe, just maybe, came up with a better idea... My life is a rewrite. I hope this is the last revision" (180).
H. Wow. What a powerful story. I can't even imagine how Toswiah/ Evie and her family must have felt when they were taken out of their lives suddenly during the middle of the night and redeposited in a place far away, denied any contact with their old life, save a few vague letters to and from Grandma. It seems like such an undeserved consequence for doing the right thing, for speaking out for a life that was taken just because the boy was the wrong color. Toswiah and her family are victims just as much as the murdered boy; they both had their lives taken away from them without cause. The hatred that the family faced as a result of Toswiah's father doing the right thing astounded me. It saddens me that this kind of ignorance and hatred isn't just something that we find in books either. Like in Rosa, these people were persecuted based on the color of their skin; they broke no laws.
Because the author let us inside of Toswiah's head to witness her innermost thoughts, I felt completely connected to her. I felt as if I almost knew her. Woodson's descriptions of the expressions and actions of the characters made them really come to life, as if Toswiah's father were just in the next room staring out a window, or her mother were sitting at my kitchen table studying her Bible. This truly is a great work of realistic fiction because I know that there are families who have been relocated through the Witness Protection Program and the events of this story are completely believable. Woodson makes the story so real.
My favorite part of the book was the very end. I love the way that Toswiah finally comes to terms with her new life. The way she calls her life a "rewrite" gives me a little sense of hope. If she can come away from this situation with a new outlook on life, then there is nothing that anyone can face that can't be overcome. She shows such strength at the end, such hope. Her simile comparing her life to a play where God said "Cut!" right in the middle stuck out to me. I've heard of life being a stage but just the way she says it makes it take on a slightly different meaning; it's more innocent and heartfelt.
I. Hush teaches many great lessons. First, there is the lesson of racism. The boy was murdered because he happened to be black. Then, because of Toswiah's father witnessing the crime and speaking out about it, his blackness becomes a sort of stigma where it had never been an issue before. Secondly, this is a great book to teach about accepting your situation and working to overcome it. Toswiah had everything taken away from her and yet was able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. One could also delve into the Witness Protection Agency and research to see what all it does and how it works. As with Rosa, I think this book would be great for looking at instances when one should "rock the boat." I would have students think of those instances and share them with the class. I would also have students do an activity like what we did with Aleutian Sparrow. I would have each student make a list of what/who they would take with them if they were forced to leave their homes. After the lists are made, I would have each student to tear the list up and tell them that they only get a few generic clothes and their immediate family; that's it.

*Multicultural*

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

The Skin I'm In Reader Response

A. The Skin I'm In
B. Sharon G. Flake
C. n/a
D. Scholastic Inc., 1998
E. novel, realistic fiction
F. 6-8
G. The Skin I'm In begins with the main character Maleeka, a seventh-grade African-American girl, meeting her new teacher Miss Saunders for the first time. Both Miss Saunders and Maleeka have a kind of beauty that most people don't recognize; Miss Saunders has a large white "stain" across her face and Maleeka is blacker than black. As the school year goes on, Maleeka comes to realize that her blackness is nothing to be ashamed of; as she says "black is the skin I'm in." Maleeka is faced with a lot of the problems that most adolescents face: she struggles to fit in and as a result forms a sort of alliance with some of the "mean girls" at the school. The leader, Charlese, treats everyone terribly and gets Maleeka into trouble on more than one occasion. Finally, Charlese decides that she and Maleeka, along with two other girls, will get revenge on Miss Saunders by destroying her classroom. Maleeka is the only one who is punished for the offense until she has enough courage to stand up for herself and tell the truth about who all was involved.
H. I really got into this book. Even though I'm not African-American myself, I could easily put myself in Maleeka's shoes. I was always one of the smart kids as I went through school and that in itself is enough to bring bullying upon oneself. I also dressed differently than a lot of the kids and I wasn't allowed to do what a lot of my peers were doing at certain ages. Maleeka was such an excellent character; I wish I had had this book to read when I was going through middle school. She shows the raw emotions that everyone feels at that stage in their life and she has this great epiphany at the end that shows that there is no need to be ashamed of who you are. Caleb even shows that no matter what you look like, as long as you are a good person, there will always be someone who cares about you.
Maleeka was exceptionally poetic. Her diaries about Akeelma were powerful. It was great how she used her diaries as an outlet for all the emotions she was feeling about Charlese, Caleb, John-John, and her own thoughts about herself. I was very glad to see that she won the competition. I can't imagine another middle schooler having the imagination and the diction to write such beautiful compositions. I felt like her work was better than a lot of adult writers.
Maleeka also showed how to deal with the death of a parent which is so important. I thought it was moving when she went through the box of things that her mother had kept after her father passed away. That poem was a great statement of the love between a father and daughter and of the pride that Maleeka should have in herself. However, I did feel really bad for Maleeka's mother. She lost her love when her husband died and it took her a long time to heal from it. At least she found an outlet (sewing) to bring her out of her grief and to start her on the path to healing.
I. This book is a fantastic book for teaching to love who you are. Every single person, no matter who, has self-doubts from time to time either about the way they dress, how they look, the way they talk, etc. As an activity for this book, I would have students each tape a piece of computer paper to their backs. Every student would be given a marker and would have to write something nice on the back of every other student in the class. Once everyone has written on everyone else, the students will remove the piece of paper and read what was written about them. I did this activity as a freshman Teaching Fellow and it really makes you feel good about yourself and a little less sensitive about those things that you don't really like about yourself.

*Coretta Scott King Award Recipient*
*Multicultural*

Monday, April 7, 2008

Hidden Roots Reader Response

A. Hidden Roots
B. Joseph Bruchac
C. n/a
D. Scholastic Inc., 2004
E. novel, realistic fiction
F. 3-5
G. Hidden Roots begins by telling of a young boy named Sonny who lives with his father and mother. His father is a very angry man and often beats Sonny and his mother. However, Sonny spends a lot of time with a man whom he calls Uncle Louis. Uncle Louis teaches Sonny many things about nature but Sonny must keep these things from his father who does not like Sonny spending so much time with Uncle Louis. One day, Sonny and his mother return home from spending time with Uncle Louis to find that Sonny's father is already home. He goes to strike Sonny's mother but Uncle Louis holds his wrist and prevents him from doing so. Not long after, Sonny's father loses two fingers to a machine at the mill saving a new hire from being killed by the machine. He views this as a punishment for hitting his wife and son so much. From then on, he is not so violent. Once Sonny's father is better, Uncle Louis tells Sonny that he is his grandfather and that they are all part of the Abenaki Indian tribe.
H. This novel is a great story of accepting your roots and being proud of who you are and where you came from. The change in Sonny's father, Jake, is the most remarkable. He goes from a very angry man denying his heritage, to a hero who no longer beats his family and who will no longer deny his roots. It's was sad to see that someone would deny their Native American heritage and be so bitter about their inability to be a hero. Jake could not help that he was injured right before going off to war yet he carried that around as a heavy burden and he passed his bitterness off to others in the form of punches. However, after having witnessed so much of his bitterness, I was surprised to find that he would endanger himself to save the life of someone whom he had never even met.
I think that Sonny is a character that many students can easily relate to. He's at that age where he is beginning to try to figure out who he is and where he comes from. His dilemma is the same as every child who started to cross the bridge from child to adult. It's a very hard time in everyone's life and I think it's great that this book embraces that problem and deals with it very openly. Also, many students come from abusive homes and while I doubt that many abusive parents will have the same sort of epiphany that Jake has, it is nice to give students a little bit of hope that things won't always be so bleak. This book also provides one explanation (but certainly no excuse) for why parents might beat their spouses and/or children. Overall, I think this book is a great read for students of many different ages. It brings to light many issues that students will be facing as they grow up and how to deal with them. It also tells about the plight of many different Native American groups and how they are dealing with the fact that Americans have largely taken away their pride in their own ethnicity.
I. This book is a great way to teach about the plight of Native Americans in this country. The characters in this book got off relatively easy in that they are ashamed of their heritage. Many groups were forcefully relocated and subsequently killed by their living conditions and the diseases that the white man brought with him from Europe. In order for students to better understand how these people must have felt, I would take students to a reservation or a place that has a lot of Native American influence in the area in which they are living (like the Cherokee or Lumbee for much of North Carolina). I think that by seeing these conditions first-hand, students will appreciate the horror of what has happened to the Native Americans much more. The Abenaki themselves have a very rich culture from which students would benefit from learning about.

*Multicultural*

Bio-poem Gregor Mendel

Gregor

Curious, hardworking, diligent, faithful

Friend of the Church

Lover of knowledge, science, and teaching

Who feels humility, tenderness, and joy

Who finds happiness in following his passion

Who needs recognition for his ground-breaking work

Who gives new meaning to traits and features

Who fears failure, ignorance, and not being able to follow his dreams

Who would like to see a quest for the unknown

Who enjoys nature and its wonders

Who likes to wear his apron when examining pea pods

Resident of the Czech Republic

Mendel



A cool site:
Gregor Mendel

Gregor Mendel Reader Response

A. Gregor Mendel: The Friar who Grew Peas
B. Cheryl Bardoe
C. Jos. A. Smith
D. Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2006
E. picture book, biography
F. 2-5
G. This book is a biography of Gregor Mendel who is most noted for his discovery of how genes are passed from one generation to another. He was born in 1822 in the Czech Republic and was fascinated by science. Once he had finished grammar school, his parents scraped together enough money so that he could go to a higher level school. However, during his stay there, his father broke his back and was no longer able to pay Gregor's tuition so Gregor had to pay it himself. Life was hard for Gregor until he became a friar, where he was able to eat and study without worry. He was eventually sent to the University of Vienna to pursue his studies in science. After returning to the abbey, Mendel started experiments with peas to figure out how traits were passed from generation to generation. He grew several generations of peas in order to find out that every trait was governed by two genes: recessive and dominant. He received no fame or attention during his lifetime but he is now known as the first geneticist.
H. The author of Gregor Mendel did an excellent job of explaining the genetics behind Mendel's work. The genetics is no easy topic to tackle, especially for younger readers. However, Bardoe and Smith did a great job of combining the text and illustrations to provide explanation of how genes work and how they affect the trait that appears in an organism. While the text was not "dumbed down" for the reader, it was simple enough for most readers to grasp the importance of Mendel's work and to fully understand what it was that he was doing.
As with Rosa, I was glad to see that the author took a lot of time to explain Mendel himself, and not only his work. It means a lot more to a reader or learner to know the person behind the great accomplishment. I'm sure Mendel's work would not have been quite as remarkable had he been some great scientist's son or had a ton of money to go to whatever school he pleased. Mendel had to overcome some astounding odds to get as far as he did in his schooling. I never know that he had to pay his way through school at 16! (and I thought it was bad now, as a 20 year old college student!). I was also amazed to find that no one really knew of Mendel's work until after he was dead. I would have thought that as earth-shattering as his work was, there would have been someone who would have taken notice.
The illustrations in Gregor Mendel are beautiful! Especially on the page where Mendel is examining pea pods in the middle of his garden with pea vines growing up all around him, you can really sense how content he must have been to be out in his garden. The joy he got from working with the peas and pursuing his greatest interest is so clearly evident. All of the illustrations have such vibrant and beautiful colors, just like nature.
Again, I was pleased to see a bibliography included in the book so that students could see where the author got her information and also where they could look for more information on Mendel and his work.
I. This book is obviously great for teaching about genes and genetics. However, if that topic is a little over the heads of the students, it's also great for introducing the scientific method. Mendel spent a lot of time making sure that each step of his experiment was carried out carefully to ensure that his results were accurate. I would have students come up with a hypothesis they want to test. Then, I would have them follow the scientific method to design an experiment and find out whether or not their hypothesis was true or false. Then, I would have all the students enter their projects into the school science fair.

Rosa Reader Response

A. Rosa
B. Nikki Giovanni
C. Bryan Collier
D. Scholastic Inc., 2005
E. Picture book, biography
F. 1-4
G. Rosa tells the story of Rosa Parks, an African-American woman in the 1950s, who refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white man. Rosa worked as a seamstress and on this one particular day, her supervisor told her to go home early since they were ahead of schedule in their work. As she got on the bus, she noticed that she would have to sit in the neutral section of the bus, where both blacks and whites could sit. At the next stop, several more people got on and many of them demanded that Rosa give up her seat to let the white people sit. She refused because she felt that it was wrong for them to demand her to give up her seat just because she was black. So then she was arrested. Her resistance to a system that was completely wrong sparked a huge boycott of the bus system. A year later, the Supreme Court ruled that segregation on buses was wrong.
H. I really enjoyed this book because it gave Rosa Parks a face and a life. Before reading this, I had no idea that Rosa was a seamstress, had a mother who lived with her, or that her husband really liked meatloaf. By making Rosa come alive, the authors were able to bring history alive a lot better for me than simply reading the facts in a text book about what Rosa did. It made me think a lot more about what it must have been like on that day in Alabama. Even some of the information in this book cleared up some of the misconceptions that I had about what had happened. Before, I thought that Rosa didn't give up her seat in the black section because she had had a very long day at work and was extremely tired. I had no idea she was in the neutral section and did it more to protect her own rights than anything else. I know that I will remember this information longer than if I read it out of a text book because it was presented in a way that isn't boring; it has life!
The illustrations were really impressive. I feel like each page conveys the feeling of what is going to happen with color as well as the actual subject of the illustration. As the illustrator says in the beginning of the book, he uses yellow hues to show the heat and the foreboding of bad events. When looking at the pictures, I can feel the kind of stale heat that you often feel in August, after summer is done but fall hasn't quite arrived to change the air. The collage in the illustrations provide beautiful textures and prints in a way that I doubt any other media can so effectively. I wanted to touch several of the pictures to feel the textures in the illustrations.
I. Rosa is a great way to teach about segregation and the many people who fought to get that system abolished. Not only does this book talk about Rosa Parks, it also talks about Martin Luther King, Jr. In addition to segregation and the great works of civil rights activists, this book is great for teaching about tolerance and standing up for what you believe in. I would have students think of a time when they themselves or someone they know had witnessed an injustice and had done something about it. Or, if they had witnessed an injustice and did nothing, what would they do different now? By hearing about and/or thinking about instances of "rocking the boat" that are a little more close to home, the students can feel the impact of standing up for what you believe in a little bit better than by thinking about a person whom they have never met (even though this is a great book and it does such an incredible job of making Rosa Parks identifiable to the students).

*Caldecott Honor book*
*Multicultural*

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Roanoke: The Lost Colony Reader Response

A. Roanoke: The Lost Colony
B. Jane Yolen and Heidi Elisabet Yolen Stemple
C. Roger Roth
D. Scholastic Inc., 2007
E. Picture book, informational text
F. 2-4
G. Roanoke is about the lost colony on the coast of North Carolina. It starts in the year 1587 and explains the background of the colony up through the discovery of the missing colony. John White led a group of people from England to start a colony at Chesapeake Bay but instead ended up at Roanoke Island. The colonists got off to a rocky start with the Croatoan Indians who lived nearby. After a while, the colonists led an attack on the Croatoans, thinking they were a different tribe who had killed one of the colonists. Soon after this, John White had to go back to England to get help and supplies. He instructed the colonists that if they should have to leave Roanoke, to carve their destination into a tree, along with a cross if there were trouble. After having been help up by several different issues, White finally made it back to Roanoke Island three years later to find that the colony had been ransacked and no one was left. On one post the word "Croatoan" was carved, but there was no cross. The book ends by giving several different theories as to what happened to the colony but no one knows for sure what really happened.
H. I really liked this book. Before I started reading any of the informational books that I picked out to read this week, I was slightly worried that some of them might be a little boring. However, after reading this book and the two others, I was pleased to find that this wasn't the case. I liked that this book was it was as if the story were being told by a girl who would be about the same age as the students reading it. I feel that since the girl showed a great interest in the topic, students would be more likely to become interested. Also, I thought it was very helpful to have the small notebook and sticky notes on each page providing a definition or extra clarification to words or ideas that students may not know much about. I even learned a lot from the extra information as well as from the book itself.
The illustrations, too, added a lot to my understanding of the text. It helped to see the conditions under which the colonists were living. The illustrator added a note in the beginning of the book explaining her own personal process for creating illustrations. Seeing this made me think of how much time and effort has to go into these books to make them worthy of being published. A personal note just brings into focus something that is often overlooked. I think students would also appreciate that note.
My favorite part of the book was the ending. It was very interesting to me to see all the different theories as to what happened to the colonies. Since the authors included all theories, even the ones they don't agree with, there seems to be added merit to the book. Each theory was interesting although I don't believe all of them (or even think they are all plausible). Another feature of the book that gave it all the more merit for me was the list of sources in the very front of the book. By listing all 16 sources that were used to write a picture book, I know that the authors spent a lot of time researching the information to make sure that they gave the most accurate information as possible to their readers.
I. This book is obviously great for teaching about life in colonial days and also the plight of the colony of Roanoke. However, in addition to a history lesson, this could be used to talk about theories and facts. Since the book describes several different theories, students could study different theories in social studies and discuss how those are different from facts or laws (as in science). After reading this book and doing a little bit deeper research, I would have students formulate their own theories about what happened at Roanoke. Then, I would have students act out their theories for the rest of the students.
Here's the site for a cool lesson plan that has students act as FBI agents or detectives, much like the girl in the book, to figure out what really happened at Roanoke Island.

Hachiko Waits Reader Response

This is the actual statue of Hachiko in Hachiko Plaza, Japan.


A. Hachiko Waits

B. Lesléa Newman

C. Machiyo Kodaira

D. Scholastic Inc., 2004

E. chapter book, realistic fiction

F. 2-4

G. Hachiko Waits is based on the true Japanese story of a dog, Hachi (later given the honorable title Hachiko), who waits for his master at the train station everyday at a little before 3 PM. He does this for a while until one day his master dies suddenly at work and does not return on the train. A young boy, who had seen Hachi and his master at the train station everyday day, decided to take Hachi in but Hachi has other plans. The first chance he gets, Hachi leaves Yasuo’s house but continues to show up at the train station everyday just before 3 o’clock. The station master and Yasuo take care of Hachi and people give donations to buy Hachi food and keep him healthy and well. For ten years Hachi waits for his master until he dies of natural causes. The town celebrates the dog’s life with a statue that everyone views as good luck. Yasuo even meets his wife there.

H. This story is a touching story of faith, devotion, and hope. Everyday Hachi comes to the train station to wait for his master who will never step off the train. I really liked this book because the theme is so universal; it goes so much further than a dog waiting on his master. Hachiko was remarkable in more ways that one. He was much smarter than any dog that I know. I don’t know any dog that is able to “tell time,” or know what time of day to show up somewhere to meet a person. He also caught on very quickly to everything that his master taught him.

Yasuo was also an impressive character. I know that the Japanese culture is very different from the American culture, but I don’t know of any boy who would be so dedicated to taking care of a dog who didn’t even live at his house. Most boys would have quit taking care of the dog as soon as he ran away (especially if there were a station master who would make sure that the dog was taken care of). Yasuo was just so impressive in the way he honored Professor Ueno’s memory by taking care of Hachi. I just loved the way Yasuo kept his promise to take care of Hachi even though I’m sure that there were several times, especially as he got older, that he would have rather been doing other things.

The support Hachi got was also touching. I can’t believe the donations that the station master got to help take care of Hachi and the number of people who came to that train station just to see and touch Hachi for good luck. I was glad to see that there was a statue put up at the station after Hachi died so that people would remember the hope and the faith that Hachi represented for so long.

I. Hachiko Waits offers a great number of ideas for lessons. This book offers a great introduction into the Japanese cultures. By reading about Professor Ueno’s and Yasuo’s habits, students can learn about how Japanese people live, and what a typical day is like for a boy in Japan. After reading this book, I would have students do a small cultural research project to learn about basic customs and cultural markers of the Japanese culture. Then, based on their research, we would set up the classroom to look like a tatami room and practice some of the Japanese customs. This book also offers great life lessons. Hachi himself is a symbol of faith, loyalty, devotion, and hope. By waiting for Professor Ueno to get off that train everyday for ten years, Hachi teaches students that they should continue do to what they think is right and even if they aren’t immediately rewarded, they will eventually be rewarded for doing what is right. They should follow their dreams and never give up.

*Multicultural*

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Jouanah: a Hmong Cinderella

A. Jouanah
B. adapted by Jewell Reinhart Coburn and Tzexa Cherta Lee
C. Anne Sibley O'Brien
D. Shen's Books, 1996
E. Picture book, traditional literature
F. k-4
G. Jouanah is the Hmong Cinderella story. It is about a young girl whose father and mother need a cow to do work on their farm in Laos. However, they are unable to get a cow and the mother decides that she will become a cow and do the work. Selfishly, the father does not turn the mother back into a human but instead takes another wife who has a daughter about the same age as Jouanah. The new wife finds out that the cow is Jouanah's mother and this makes her very angry. In order to get rid of the cow, the new wife feigns illness and tells the father to go ask for help from the spirit of a tree. The wife disguises herself as the voice of the spirit and tells the father to kill the cow. The father kills the cow and dies soon after. The New Year festivities soon arrive. Jouanah wants to go but her stepmother makes it impossible. However, she finds a beautiful outfit in her mother's sewing basket (which has a piece of her mother's magic cowhide in it) and she is able to go to the third day of festivities. A handsome young man falls in love with her but she has to run away to get home before her stepmother and stepsister; she leaves a shoe behind. The young man ends up at their door and the shoe fits Jouanah's foot, and so they get married and move away from the stepmother. And they live happily ever after.
H. This is a beautiful version of Cinderella. All the elements of Cinderella are there but the story takes place in a world that is so very far removed from the typical Disney Cinderella that most people think of that it should almost have a category all of its own. The setting and plot elements provide a different look at what it truly means to be a Cinderella. Jouanah's mother sacrifices her own humanness to become a cow to make sure that the family is provided for. The magic that Jouanah's mother provides to ensure that Jouanah has happiness in her life is moving. I was actually quite sad when the cow died.
One thing I thought was especially interesting what how the culture was represented. While there were a lot of Hmong cultural markers in the story, I feel like the gist of the culture was somehow missed. A great deal of the Hmong culture is based on tradition and customs and propriety. When Jouanah and Shee-Nang leave her house to go to his house, that is completely taboo in Hmong culture! None of the wedding traditions were even hinted on in this book, and those traditions are actually quite interesting.
As far as Cinderella stories and children's literature go, I think this is an excellent story. However, I feel like the Hmong culture is not represented well at all in this story. I wish that the 'author' could have done a little more research into the culture so that at least the taboos weren't being shown in here as if they were everyday occurrences. I know that this is a fictional book, but I think that students will take a lot of what goes on in the book to be truth about the Hmong culture. Misrepresenting cultures only breeds problems. Not only that, but the Hmong culture is fascinating and anyone who takes any time to investigate it will be impressed and amazed at the customs and traditions of the Hmong.
I. Jouanah is another great Cinderella story to add to the collection. In addition to reading this story as a part of the Cinderella unit, it is great as an introduction to the Hmong culture. While I don't completely agree with the representation of the Hmong, it is important to get that culture group out into the mainstream because there are a lot of people who don't know about it even though there is a huge population of them living right here in our state. This book would be especially beneficial to students living in or around the Hickory area who probably see a lot of Hmong people but just think that they're Chinese or Japanese. After reading this book, it would be great to have Hmong students (if it's possible) to talk about versions of this tale that they may have heard growing up. I would have students do a venn diagram of this story versus another Hmong Cinderella story or a different cultural Cinderella if there are no Hmong students in the class. This would also be a great opportunity for students to experience Hmong music and food.

*Multicultural*

Informational Texts

Whenever I think about informational texts, I often start feeling bored before I even start reading anything, or even see the book. Most of the informational texts I've read have been very dry and lack any of the qualities that make reading enjoyable (details, elaborated language, etc.). I also feel that informational texts can be very hard to relate to. Many books are written simply just to give the facts, not to really draw the reader into the information. However, I have read a few good informational texts. I enjoyed those because they presented the information in a format other than a cut-and-dry, here-are-the-facts manner.

I think children too, often think that informational texts are boring. Unfortunately I think that a lot of that is because of the types of things students are forced to read on standardized tests. It seems that the test makers pick out the most insipid topics and find passages that take whatever glimmer of interesting detail the topics may have and throw it out the window.

Creative Venn Diagram -- Snow White

Monday, March 31, 2008

Cultural Cinderellas

The I Poem for 2 Voices was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. At first I just thought that I would have to look through each book and pick out cultural markers in each. However, it took a lot more effort than just that. I did quite a bit of research on both the Algonquin culture and the Mexican culture in order to better understand the stories and the characters. I think the poem is a great way to showcase two separate cultures and bring out the things that make them truly unique and incredibly similar. Too often we just look at cultures and see the differences but the I poem places a special emphasis on the things that these two different Cinderellas share even though they may come from places thousands of miles apart.

Native American and Mexican culture have always fascinated me, although I never knew a whole lot about Native American culture, just what I had been taught in school. After reading Rough-Face Girl, I was glad to see that someone had written down a Cinderella tale from a specific Native American tribe, not just a "Native American tale." So many times Native Americans get grouped as one huge culture, but they are very different just as Europeans are made up of very many distinct cultural groups. Having lived in North Carolina all my life, I was mostly taught about the Cherokee tribe. However, I was glad to now learn something about a woodlands tribe. The Algonquins did a lot of trading with their Southern neighbors, the Iroquois. I never knew that they did not farm at all but had to get their corn from other tribes. It's so amazing how much you learn when you actually pay attention to the different subgroups that there are under umbrella labels, like "Native American."

The Mexican culture was a lot more open and welcoming than I had originally thought. They are very open with one another and they value family and closeness. This is especially important in understanding what it was like for Adelita to be an orphan and then to be robbed of the only "family" she had left, Esperanza. In a culture that centers around family and close-knit communities, Adelita must have felt completely abandoned when she had no one at home that she could turn to.

The more I learn about different cultures, the more I respect them. I am continually amazed at how many similarities there are between cultures whose foundations are so completely different. However, it is the differences that give me more respect. By understanding different cultural groups, it is easier to understand our ever-changing and diversifying society and the world. I think that everyone should be required to learn at least a little bit about a few cultures, especially the ones that are prominent in their society. The more people learn about different cultures, the more tolerant and peaceful the world will be.

Here is a list of Cinderella stories from different cultures.

Adelita Reader Response

A. Adelita
B. Tomie dePaola
C. Tomie dePaola
D. G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2002
E. Picture book, traditional tale
F. k-3
G. Adelita is a Mexican Cinderella story. Adelita's mother passes away the day she is born and so Adelita grows up with her father and her helper, Esperanza. One day, Adelita's father, Francisco, decides to marry a woman who has two daughters of her own. Unfortunately, Francisco dies suddenly of an illness and Adelita is left to live with her stepmother and her stepsisters. Her stepmother even forces Esperanza to leave and Adelita is forced to do all of the chores in the house and wait on her stepsisters hand and foot. One day the women receive an invitation to a party where a handsome young bachelor will be seeking a wife. Adelita is of course forbidden to go while her stepmother and stepsisters go. Esperanza hears Adelita's cries and helps her go to the party. Adelita leaves the party before the bachelor finds out who she is but he finds her the next day when he sees her shawl hanging out of the window as a sign. The two get married and live happily ever after.
H. Tomie dePaola did an excellent job of embracing the Mexican culture in this book. Each page is sprinkled with common Spanish expressions in context (with a glossary in the back). In the United States, the Spanish language and culture are becoming increasingly important and I just love how dePaola adds the tidbits of language in the book instead of just telling the story.
Esperanza is my favorite character in the story. She is just bursting with love and devotion for the family. She is willing to give up everything she has just to stay with Adelita after Francisco dies. She even plays the role of "fairy godmother" when Adelita wants so badly to go to the party but can't because she has nothing to wear and is forbidden by her stepmother. There is such love between the two and it is clearly evident in every single page.
Even the illustrations represent the Mexican culture very well. The bright colors that adorn the borders and pictures of each page are very typical in almost all Latin-American cultures, especially the Mexican. Although I've never been to Mexico, the illustrations look a lot like what I've seen in pictures and have heard from friends who have been to Mexico.
I. Adelita is also a great addition to any lesson on traditional literature or on Cinderella stories. In addition, Adelita is a great segue into a unit or lesson on different cultures and how similar we all are. This is a great story to read to talk about tolerance. By highlighting the similarities between the Mexican culture and our own, we can teach our students that there is no reason to hate or to be prejudiced against the Mexican culture. This can help our students to overcome a lot of what they are seeing in society right now. If there are any Hispanic students in the class, I would encourage them to talk to their parents and write down any other versions of a Cinderella story that they can find. Then I would have those students share those stories with the class (after being translated if necessary). I would also have a day to celebrate the Hispanic culture with a unit on different Hispanic celebrations, food, and music.

*Multicultural*

The Rough-Face Girl Reader Response

A. The Rough-Face Girl
B. Rafe Martin
C. David Shannon
D. Puffin Books, 1992
E. Picture book, traditional tale
F. k-4
G. The Rough-Face Girl is an Algonquin Cinderella story. It tells the story of a young girl whose older sisters make her sit by the fire. Sparks from the fire eventually make her skin rough and her hair dingy and ratty. In the same village as the sisters lived a great and powerful (and supposedly very handsome) Invisible Being. It was said that whoever could see the Invisible Being would be his wife. The two older sisters took every last nice thing their father could give them and went to see the Invisible Being. When they arrived, they were taken inside so the Invisible Being's sister (who saw how cruel and proud the two were) could prove to them that they had indeed not seen the Invisible Being. The next day, the youngest sister made an outfit out of bark and went to marry the Invisible Being. After proving that she saw the Invisible Being everywhere, she and the Invisible Being married and lived happily ever after.
H. Of the many Cinderella stories that I've read, this one is very much my favorite. There is so much more depth to this story than with the Cinderella stories that feature a beautiful girl. In this story, the Rough-Faced Girl is so destroyed by the sparks from the fire that she has become very ugly; there is no remnant of her beauty left. However, because of her kind spirit and her faith in herself and the world, she is able to see the beauty of the Invisible Being and therefore marry him. It teaches several great lessons: that no matter how insignificant you may seem, your spirit will raise you above your situation and that true beauty is on the inside and worthwhile people will take the time to see the beauty that lies under the skin.
The illustrations in this book were stunning. I was unable to find what media David Shannon used but it looks like chalk pastels. All of the characters are so expressive and the colors are so strong and rich. I feel like these illustrations really take the reader into the world of the Algonquins. Every time I open the book, I am transported to a village along Lake Ontario and I see the people who live there and I admire the landscape just as the Rough-face Girl sees it. The illustrations say more about the culture than the actual story does. Every facet of every page says something different about the Algonquins and their lifestyle. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to read or look at something that is much more than just a picture book or just a traditional tale.
I. The Rough-Face Girl is an excellent addition to any lesson on traditional literature. It is very easy to recognize this tale as a Cinderella tale but it's different enough to provide a whole new meaning to the stereotypical Cinderella. This book is also great for introducing students to Native Americans and, more specifically, the Algonquin tribes. After reading this book, I would have students conduct a small research project (in small groups) into one of the Native American tribes. Using the information that they gathered, students would write a Cinderella story, complete with illustrations, that reflects some of the individual aspects of each tribe. We would then share all the stories in front of the class and perhaps eat some traditional Native American food.

*Multicultural*

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Lon Po Po Reader Response

A. Lon Po Po
B. Ed Young
C. Ed Young
D. Penguin Putnam Books, 1989
E. Picture book, traditional tale
F. k-2
G. Lon Po Po is the Red Riding Hood story of China. It is about three girls who are visited by a wolf when their mother leaves them alone to go visit their grandmother. The eldest is the first to figure out that the wolf who is trying to disguise himself as their grandmother, is actually a wolf. The sisters outsmart the wolf by telling him there are some delicious nuts that grow in the top of a tree outside that will make them live forever. The wolf really wants some of those nuts but cannot climb the tree to get to them. So the girls tell their "Po Po" that they will raise her up in a basket. When the basket gets almost to the top, the girls drop the basket, killing the wolf. The mother returns and everyone lives happily ever after.
H. This book reminded me a little bit of the Three Little Pigs. The wolf was trying to get inside to eat the girls much as a wolf was trying to get in to eat the three little girls. I love how clever the girls were in outsmarting the wolf. It also amazed me how determined the wolf was to get those nuts; he just kept climbing back into the basket even though he had been dropped twice!
The language also impressed me. I loved the simplicity of the language but also how rich it was at the same time. I could tell that this story was not from the American culture but it shows how similar we are across all cultures. We all love our grandmothers and want them to come in out of the cold when they are sick.
I also liked the illustrations. I couldn't find what the media/medium is/was but it looks to me like chalk or pastels. The "panels" of illustration were new to me. I don't know a whole lot about the Chinese culture so I'm not sure if the panels are representative of traditional Chinese artwork or not. Either way, I haven't come to a conclusion as to whether or not like the panelling effect. In some spreads, they seem effective as a means to separate different parts of the illustration and in others it seems like the separation is not welcome in the illustration. Perhaps I would like them better (or at least be able to make a decision) if I understood why Young chose to do that.
I. This book is a good way to expose readers to traditional tales from other cultures. I would start by reading the traditional American Little Red Riding Hood before delving into this one. I would also include versions from other cultures, more importantly, cultures that are represented in the my own classroom. In addition to teaching about traditional tales, this could also be a good introduction into different cultures. From this could stem a discussion or lesson on the Chinese culture. By starting with simple things like this and seeing how similar different cultures are to their own, children can learn that prejudice is completely unnecessary and unfounded. Short stories are a great way to teach children that even though we may all look different, we are similar in many different ways.

*Caldecott Medal winner*
*Multicultural*

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Swamp Angel Reader Response

A. Swamp Angel
B. Anne Isaacs
C. Paul O. Zelinsky
D. Penguin Books, 1994
E. Picture book, traditional literature/ tall tale
F. 1-3
G. Swamp Angel is about a girl who is nicknamed Swamp Angel because she once came out of a swamp to rescue a group of wagons that had gotten stuck in the mud. One day there was a contest to see who could kill Thundering Tarnation, the bear that had been eating all the people's food. Men from all around signed up, and so did Swamp Angel. All of the men fell short of completing this monstrous task but not Swamp Angel. After wrestling Thundering Tarnation for a long while, he finally met his demise when Swamp Angel's snoring caused a tree to fall on him.
H. I love tall tales! This one seemed a bit different to me though because it features a girl (especially a young girl) as the protagonist. Most of the ones I've heard growing up had men in them, like Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill. The language in here in wonderful! It was comforting to hear all the little sayings that come from "mountain folk" like thundering tarnation because it reminded me of my mammaw in Kentucky. The imagery is fantastic; I can see the "dewdrops on the corn" and hear Angel snoring like a "locomotive in a thunderstorm." My favorite description was the description of why the Smoky Mountains are called just that.
I found a lot of humor in this book starting with the first page. A newborn barely taller than her mother playing with an ax, and her parents found nothing remarkable about that! And it being a pity that it took her a full two years before she could even build a cabin! I giggled quite a few times as I read what happened to the other men who were trying to outsmart Thundering Tarnation. The combination of the illustration and the text description gave a vivid picture of how these men must have felt and also how fun it must have been for Thundering Tarnation to outsmart them so easily.
The illustrations were beautiful. They reminded me a lot of the artwork my mammaw does. She's just started taking art lessons and most of what she paints are pictures of farmhouses and things that surround farmhouses, done on pieces of wood. I think the wood really gives the illustrations a warmth and that sort of backwoods Tennessee feel. The illustrations depict as much of the feeling and the importance of the setting as the language and imagery does. Angel's face is so expressive in every single illustration. I feel like I say this a lot but the illustrations in this book also add a whole different dimension to the book that the text alone can't accomplish.
I. What a great way to teach about tall tales! Along with reading this book, I would also read the classics like Paul Bunyan and Bill Pecos. I think I would also read tall tales from other cultures so my students could compare and contrast between different American tall tales and also between American tall tales and the tall tales of other cultures (using Venn diagrams perhaps). Obviously, I would teach this as a part of a unit on traditional tales, including fairy tales, folktales, etc. After reading several tall tales, I would have my students write a tall tale of their own.

*Caldecott Honor book*

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Baseball Saved Us

A. Baseball Saved Us
B. Ken Mochizuki
C. Dom Lee
D. Lee and Low Books Inc., 1993
E. picture book, historical fiction
F. 1-4
G. This book is about a young Japanese boy living in a relocation camp during World War II. He starts by talking about how he was bad at baseball outside of the camp and how all the other boys made fun of him. However, in order to pass the time and to keep the kids occupied, the boy's father decides to build a baseball field. The boy plays baseball and becomes very good at it while in the camp. When the Japanese are finally released, he goes back to playing baseball at school. A comment from a person in the stands makes him mad and he hits a homerun, winning the game for his team and thus proving to himself and his teammates that he is a good player and a good person.
H. I love the language used in this book. It's very easy to follow and it seems as though a real boy could have written it and that way, I think it will be a lot easier for young readers to get involved with the book. I also like how the descriptions were very straightforward and not sugarcoated. It made me feel as though Mochizuki wanted to relay the facts without eliciting a whole lot of sympathy; he simply wanted to state the facts. It was also good to see that this book and Weedflower reinforced each other in terms of the descriptions of the camps. That proves to me as an educator that both books contain valuable historical material and are not just meaningful stories.
It amazes me that with both Weedflower and Baseball Saved Us, the authors strove to show how the Japanese overcame their situations. Sumiko had her flowers and the boy had baseball. I just can't believe how resourceful and upbeat these people were even after everything they'd gone through. I know that if I had been forcefully relocated for no good reason, I doubt I would have been able to find something to be happy about. But these books provide a great lesson that you must play the hand you are dealt.
The illustrations were also very interesting to me. I have never before seen any art done with beeswax (at least as far as I know). I thought that was an interesting medium to use. Each picture has so much texture in it that I wish it weren't a print. I want to touch it! Also, all the pictures are monochromatic until the last two pages where the boy hits the homerun. This is a good indication of the blandness of camp life. And perhaps also a good indication of the dusty, arid climate. I also liked that the ending of the story was not told in text, it was told through the illustrations.
I. Baseball Saved Us provides many great lessons. The most obvious one is that this book is a great introduction into forced relocation and the plight of Japanese-Americans in WWII. I wouldn't use this book with older readers simply because the content of the book is a little too elementary for children who have already been exposed to this theme. With younger elementary students, I would lead a discussion about a time when they had seen something that was unfair and what they did about it or what they would do differently if it happened again. Also, this book provides a lesson on how to deal with things in life when life isn't exactly going the way we planned or hoped. It's a fact that bad things happen to good people but the best people can turn those bad things into at least a better thing (if not a good thing). I would ask students to think of a time when something happened that made them mad or upset. Then we would talk about ways that they could have made the situation better or ways that they did make the situation better. I would also ask kids to try to imagine how it would feel for this to happen to them and how they would react.

*Multicultural*

Friday, February 22, 2008

Poem in Response to Aleutian Sparrow

The Aleutians were denied life and liberty.
How could a country founded on these principles
be so blind?
The Aleutians were treated like animals because they looked Japanese.
How could a country so diverse
be so ignorant?
The Aleutians rebuilt their life, given nothing.
How could a culture destroyed without reason
be so ambitious?

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Zathura Reader Response

A. Zathura
B. Chris Van Allsburg
C. Chris Van Allsburg
D. Houghton Mifflin Books, 2002
E. picture book, fantasy
F. 2-4
G. Zathura is a story very similar to Jumanji in which two brothers play a game that sends them on a trip into outer space. During the game they encounter robots and space pirates and meteor showers. As the game continues and the brothers must make it through each turn together, Walter begins to see the value of his younger brother. Finally the two make it back home (after having traveled three hours back in time) where Walter tells Danny that he doesn't want to play Zathura when Danny finds the game in the yard. Walter suggests instead that they play catch.
H. To be honest, I wasn't terribly fond of this book. I wasn't fond of Jumanji and I guess the feelings carried over. To be sure, I like the idea of a space adventure a whole lot better than the animals and jungle-things that took over in Jumanji but I just couldn't really get into either story. A lot of that I think had to do with the fact that the movie scared me to death when I saw it for the first time when I was younger. However, the predicaments that the characters found themselves in were really imaginative. I found it quite comical when Danny's gravity was increased and he turned into a little ball much like Violet Beauregard after eating the blueberry something-or-other in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. When he asked Walter to roll him across the floor so he could take out the robot, I laughed out loud. What a smart kid!
I love the story within a story about how Walter changing his perspective of his younger brother, Danny. That part of the story is definitely something that all children with siblings can relate to. I know there were times when I wished my younger brother would move to Russia so he wouldn't get in my way or break my toys any more.
I also really liked the illustrations. There is something about Chris Van Allsburgs illustrations that really appeals to me. I love the simplicity of the pencil and the detail he adds into every spread. The shading is so fantastic; it would be easy to overlook the fact that this story is in black and white.
I. This story is a great representation of a sibling relationship. Anyone who has a brother or sister can relate to how both Danny and Walter feel at various times in the story. The book carries a great lesson on how valuable siblings can be and how important it is to treat them with love and kindness. I think children would really relate to this book and enjoy it because the lesson isn't one to be noticed easily. It would great to lead a discussion with the students after reading the book about a time when they have felt as Walter did in the beginning. And then help them to realize all the reasons they love their brothers and/or sisters.

The Polar Express Reader Response

A. The Polar Express
B. Chris Van Allsburg
C. Chris Van Allsburg
D. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1985
E. Picture book, fiction
F. 2-5
G. The Polar Express is a beautiful story about Christmas spirit. It's the tale of a young boy who in the beginning is not sure whether or not Santa exists. Then one Christmas Eve, a train pulls into his front yard that carries him to the North Pole. There, he meets Santa who gives him a bell off of his sleigh. Unfortunately, the bell falls through the boy's pocket because there is a hole. On Christmas morning, the boy finds a small box with the bell inside. Even after many years, the bell still rings for him because he has not lost his faith in Santa.
H. One can't help but love The Polar Express. There's always something so magical about stories involving holidays, especially Christmas. I've also seen the movie but even though there are so many more levels to the movie, I like the book better. The imagery Van Allsburg uses is so beautiful and it allows the reader to form their own world in their mind. I love the words he uses to describe everything from the "apron of steam" that shrouded the train to the hot chocolate that was "as thick and rich as melted chocolate bars."
One thing that really stood out to me as I was reading and looking at the illustrations is how similar the book is to the movie in terms of illustrations. In the train (in the book), I can see many of the characters from the movie sitting in the seats. I'm really glad to see that the animators for the movie paid that much attention to detail to try to get everything right, down to the colors of the kids' pajamas. The similarities are remarkable!!
However, my favorite favorite favorite part is the last page. Those last three sentences are so eloquent and state so beautifully the faith that one has to have in something. How much happiness it can bring to a person to believe in something that others have long forgotten.
I. This is a great Christmas-time story for any classroom. I would even read it in upper grades.
The major lesson in this story is the lesson of faith and believing in something. The great thing about this is that it can be applied to anything. That bell can represent anything of importance. It would be great to talk to kids about their own beliefs about Santa Claus and then lead that into beliefs about other things. You could lead a discussion about beliefs that students have that perhaps others don't share and why those beliefs are important to those students.

*Caldecott Medal Winner*

Two Bad Ants Reader Response

A. Two Bad Ants
B. Chris Van Allsburg
C. Chris Van Allsburg
D. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1988
E. Picture book, animal fantasy
F. 1-3
G. This books tells the tale of two bad ants (from the ants' perspective) who go along with the ant colony to investigate the discovery of amazing new crystals that can be eaten. When they get into the cave filled with the crystals, they decide that they aren't going to return home with the rest of the ants. However, as the household awakes, the ants have to survive coffee, a water spigot, and a garbage disposal. After surviving all this, the ants decide that the next night they will return home with the colony.
H. Once again, Chris Van Allsburg has amazed me. What a fantastic tale of a story told from the perspective of ants. The description of everyday things like coffee and water coming out of a faucet is incredible. It must have taken a lot of imagination to think of how these things would seem to an ant. The illustrations were key in the comprehension of the point of view. One picture shows the ants in the coffee as the cup is being tipped towards an open mouth. I know if I were one of those ants, I would be scared!!! It shows how neat it is to look at things from different perspectives.
I. What a great book for teaching perspective! It's not everyday that you run across a book that is written so expertly from the perspective of an ant. It's also a great way to talk about how to see issues from more than one perspective. Seeing both sides of an issue is an important lesson for youngsters.

Lesson Plan from Scholastic

The Widow's Broom Reader Response

A. The Widow's Broom
B. Chris Van Allsburg
C. Chris Van Allsburg
D. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992
E. Picture book, fantasy
F. 2-4
G. This book is about a widow who finds a witch who has fallen due to a faulty broom. Once the witch has healed, she flies away but she leaves her old broom behind. The broom begins to do things around the house, doing whatever the widow teaches it to do. However, when some boys begin taunting the broom, it gets in trouble for throwing their dog really far into the air and hitting the boys. Her neighbors tell her to get rid of the broom and she tricks them into burning a different broom when they decide they will burn it to get rid of it. The widow then paints the real broom white and sends it around the neighbor's house. They get scared and leave town.
H. Chris Van Allsburg amazes me more and more with each book that I read. His plots are unpredictable and very imaginative. I love that the widow hid the broom so that it didn't get destroyed and then painted it white to scare off her neighbors. I thought it was hilarious that the widow's neighbors got so scared of the ghost of the broom (I laughed pretty hard when they decided to leave town because they deserved everything they got because of the way they treated the poor broom!). The illustrations are beautifully drawn in pencil. Just like Bad Day at Riverbend, the illustrations help the text just as the text helps the illustrations. They are integrated as one just as they should be. This book is really quite unlike anything else I've ever read.
I. This book is a good introduction to the supernatural. It's also a good example of the way you should treat others. The broom was minding its own business sweeping the road when the boys started harassing it. And boy did that family get its comeuppance! It could also be used to show loyalty and friendship after all the widow went through to save the broom from certain "death."

Bad Day at Riverbend Reader Response

A. Bad Day at Riverbend
B. Chris Van Allsburg
C. Chris Van Allsburg
D. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1995
E. picture book, fiction
F. 2-3
G. Bad Day at Riverbend is the story of a small sleepy town. One day, a stagecoach shows up in the town and the horses are covered in some red sticky slimy stuff and the driver is missing. The sheriff of the town, Ned Hardy, tried to pull it off but it was stuck on like it was their skin. He rode out in the direction the horses had come and found the driver, also covered in different colored slimy stuff. Ned decided he would ride out in the direction of a mysterious light that flashed in the sky to figure out what was causing all the commotion. When he got out there, the light appeared again and he was frozed and covered in the slimy stuff. On the penultimate page, the reader finds out that the sticky stuff was crayon because the characters were in a coloring book.
H. This is probably my new favorite book because of the imaginative story line. Never before had I heard of a story about the characters in a coloring book. It kinda reminds me of Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Book when the little boy draws mustaches on all the characters. The illustrations are also fantastic. It took me a while to figure out what was happening, I just thought a little kid had gotten a hold of the book and had decided to color in it. The ingenuity of this book is just incredible. Who would have thought to write a story about the characters in a coloring book?
I. This is just a great read-aloud for any classroom. However, I think this book would lend itself well to a discussion about perspective. Everyone colors in coloring books but what if the characters were real? How would they feel about being colored?

Charlotte's Web Reader Response

A. Charlotte's Web
B. E.B. White
C. Garth Williams and Rosemary Wells
D. Harper Collins Publishers, 1952
E. Chapter book, animal fantasy
F. 4-6
G. Charlotte's Web is a story about a runty pig who is saved from death by a farmgirl named Fern. Fern raises Wilbur until he is about a month old, when he is sold to Fern's uncle and goes to live on his farm. Wilbur meets all the animals in the barn and becomes acquainted with a very eloquent spider named Charlotte. When Wilbur hears from one of the geese that he is certainly going to be killed and eaten for Christmas dinner, Charlotte promises that she will save his life. Soon, words such as "some pig" and "radiant" appear in Charlotte's web. The farmer sees it and assumes that this is a miracle from God and decides to take Wilbur to the fair. At the fair, Wilbur wins a large prize and his life is saved. However, Charlotte dies at the fair, leaving behind an egg sac that Wilbur takes home with him for the eggs to hatch.
H. This book continues to be a classic in children's literature. I loved the book when I was younger and it still hasn't lost its appeal to me. There are many issues within the book that are relevant to young readers such as loyalty and the circle of life. Also, it was very easy for me to relate to the characters in the story. The human characters were very realistic and the animals even exhibited emotions that were easy to relate to.
I. This book offers many lessons in life. It is an excellent example of friendship and loyalty. Also, it's a good introduction into the circle of life. It's never easy to lose a friend but the way that Wilbur handles it shows class and maturity. Readers might also benefit from an explanation of farmlife. For most kids these days, life on a farm is something very removed from the realm of their everyday lives. After reading the book and discussing the farm-related events and elements, it would be great to take students on a field trip to a working farm to let them see all these things up-close and personal.

Writing prompts

Monday, February 18, 2008

Eats, Shoots & Leaves Reader Response

A. Eats, Shoots & Leaves

B. Lynne Truss

C. Bonnie Timmons

D. Penguin Group Inc., 2006

E. Picture Book, concept book

F. 2-4

G. This book is a concept book about commas. It begins with the statement that gives the book its name. “A panda walks into the library. He eats a sandwich, then draws his bow and shoots two arrows.” When asked why he does that, the panda responds that that’s what it says he does. The librarian then looks at an entry in a reference book that says that a panda is a “large black-and-white beat-like mammal, native to China. [That] eats, shoots and leaves.” The following pages offer more comical looks at how misplaced commas can have surprising effects. In the end of the book, the use of the comma in each statement is explained.

H. I am a bit of a grammarian so this book was right up my alley. In addition to being a great informational text on the use of commas, this book provided entertainment as well. The hilarious look at misplaced and misused commas provides a different avenue to teaching grammar than traditional textbooks. Each page provides a statement using a comma with the opposite page showing the same statement but with the comma in a different place. The illustrations are comical pictures of the meaning of each statement.

These illustrations, naive art, are seemingly very simple at first glance, just showing slow children crossing the street or a big, hot dog. However, taking a closer look, you see a lot more detail. On the teacher’s wall, the homework assignments are posted as 1. Skip to the loo, 2.Hum, 3. Kiss a sardine, and many other unconventional homework assignments. My favorite is grandma skipping through the park with her walker held over her head.

I. This is a great way to teach the concept of commas. As the book says, commas are one of the most commonly misused elements of punctuation. After reading the book and explaining commas further, I would have students practice writing sentences using commas and then look into things they had written previously to see if there were places where they need commas.