To Understand What Loving a Dog Means

Recommended for Grades 3-6

I’m just going to come straight out and say that I almost stopped listening to the audio book of Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles right in the middle of the story.  Reason being is that if I think an animal in a story is dead or is going to die, I can’t handle the story—I shutdown.  I have an overwhelming emotional pull when it comes to dogs and I can’t even walk through the Humane Society without crying. 

Wiles’ protagonist, Comfort, has a dog named Dismay, who is all love and loyalty.  The climax in the story is when there is a flash flood that Comfort, her cousin Peach, and Dismay get caught in.  Dismay is swept away in the flood waters, but Comfort has this eternal hope for him that kept me listening to the book.  And yes, I yelled at the book when that suspenseful scene ended—“Did she just kill off the dog?!  I CAN’T believe she would do that!  I will never read another Wiles book.  Well, maybe she didn’t…. (denial with a false sense of hope, oh goody…)

Comfort’s family owns the town’s funeral home and so she has grown up surrounded by death, but it hasn’t created a dysfunctional family, if anything it bonded her family.  The family’s motto is, “We live to serve,” and that they do.  Each family member acted as a team player.  Comfort has to face loss that she wasn’t expecting in the beginning of the story, when her Uncle Edisto and Aunt Florentine pass away.

I love all of Wiles' characters, but Comfort Snowberger steals the show and rightfully so—she writes her own “life notices” (her version of obituaries), her spot to ponder the world is her closet, she has to live with and accept that her best friend has become a ‘mean girl’, be annoyed by her little cousin Peach, and work through her grief. 

She becomes lost in a world unfamiliar to her without the ones she loves, even if her mother, father, and brother are still there for her.  She ends up taking her grief out on Peach, who is so innocent (even if whiny and over-dramatic), that he still chooses to adore and be Comfort’s shadow whenever he can.  And when I say over-dramatic, I mean in the ‘have to stop Aunt Florentine’s viewing because Peach decided to attach himself to her IN her casket and bawl the words, “Come back!”’

The search for Dismay changed both Comfort and Peach.  And I have to say that Wiles has written an endearing tribute to dogs and their humans, as well as family.  I’m very satisfied that I finished the story.

Wiles, d. (2005). Each little bird that sings. Orlando, FL: Harcourt.

“You’re never too old, too wacky, too wild…”

I decided my school would celebrate NEA’s Read Across America in style this year.  I figured out a list of community guest readers who would matter to my students.  I wanted them to see that no matter who you are, reading is important.  I was also hoping they might be inspired by the readers who came. 

It was a lot of work, but I’m very proud of my final list of guests.  We had SIUE basketball players, Symphony Orchestra members, an actor from The Black Rep, local authors, firefighters, police officers, the superintendent of the school district, and many others.  The students signed wearable ‘Cat in the Hat’ hats for their visiting guests.  Each guest received a certificate of appreciation (made available on NEA’s website) and a Dr. Seuss bookmark, too. 

Students created banners welcoming the guests to our school, thanking them for coming to read, and of course, one of my favorite Dr. Seuss quotes (I even own a t-shirt with this): “The more that you read, the more things you will know.”  I created a flipchart on ActivInspire with the wording for the banners and projected it onto the Promethean Board and then put up butcher paper to cover the board.  Students took crayons and traced, then colored in the words.  It looked really good and they LOVED being able to work with the board in that manner.

            Anyway, I was only able to witness the end of the last visit because I had classes to teach that day.  I heard from both the students and teachers that they all really enjoyed the event; several of the guests even emailed me to let me know they had a wonderful visit. 

The BEST result of them all... I have had a hard time keeping Dr. Seuss books on the shelves in the library!

Seuss, D. (1978). I can read with my eyes shut. New York, NY: Beginner Books.

Hazelwood School District's Website

Inferencing Your Way to Freedom

Recommended for grades 2-5

You may think Freedom Summer tells a story heard over and over again about Black History.  To some extent it does, but the way the story is told makes quite the difference.  First off, Deborah Wiles states in ‘A Note About the Text’ that she is a white author trying to convey the uncertain feelings of the 1960s from a child’s perspective.  I made sure to read that section to my students to build some background knowledge.  Honestly, I wasn’t even aware they named the movement to help Blacks register to vote, “Freedom Summer” until I read that note.  I also wanted my students to understand that even though The Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed, that it doesn’t mean certain Southern White folks didn't still hold prejudices.

Wiles story focuses on two young boys—the protagonist, Joe and his best friend, John Henry.  The reader experiences their light-hearted playful summer days, filled with swimming, imagining themselves as firemen, and games.  Then, you find out that the boys play in the creek because John Henry isn’t allowed to swim at the pool…because he’s black.  You soon find out that John Henry’s mother is the maid at Joe’s house.  One day, Joe is sitting down to dinner when he finds out that all people, no matter their color will be able to swim in the pool and go anywhere else they like for that matter.  Joe cannot stay still in his excitement and rushes into the kitchen to let John Henry know.  They make plans to visit the pool the next day.

The story itself never explicitly tells you that The Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed.

First inferencing question: Why are all people, no matter their color, allowed to go to places like the pool now?

The next day, the boys walk to the pool and discover that it’s being tarred over.

The reader is never told that the White owner closed the pool instead of complying with The Civil Rights Act.

Second inferencing question:  Why is the pool being tarred over? 

Joe and John Henry become frustrated at not being able to do this simple summer activity together—Joe is markedly upset because he wants to be able to see things through John Henry’s eyes.  As they are walking past the general store, Joe pulls out two dimes and asks John Henry if he wants an ice pop.  John Henry lets him know he has his own money and the two walk side by side into the store.

The story stops at this point, so logically the next question I asked my students was: What are Joe and John Henry going to do once they are in the store?

This is a nicely told story to add to any Civil Rights Era Collection and definitely to your list of books to teach inferencing.

Wiles, D. (2001). Freedom summer. New York, NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

"Thunderclap Laughter"

Recommended for grades 2-5

     This month at school, my students will be studying Black History in some fashion.  I’ve decided that my 2^nd and 3^rd graders will be studying Black poets before they create their own original poems.  The Black figure I have them basing their study around is Langston Hughes, a Missouri born poet.  The students began the study by listing the first words that come to mind when they think of poetry (which I had to emphasize doesn’t mean writing a poem).  We shared these and then we moved on to looking up Langston Hughes on World Book Student.  I used the text to speech feature and asked students to listen and write down one thing they learned about Hughes. 

     The book I’m using to connect it all is Langston’s Train Ride by Robert Burleigh.  The story focuses on when Hughes wrote “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” and at one point I asked my students to write down all the words they could to describe a river without using the word river.  I began by reading the ‘Author’s Note’ in which Burleigh says he wanted to describe the moment where Hughes realized he was a writer.  Burleigh does a beautiful job emulating Hughes’ poetic form; the words come alive in first person narration.  I liked that I was able to focus my student’s attention on certain parts: 

     At one point, the main character states that he drifts back and this allows me to question my students if the story will stay in the present. 

     One of my favorite lines, “No matter what, I’ll keep on going,” allowed for my students to mention character traits—such as being brave, strong, having courage and allowed me to contribute a new word—perseverance. 

     Another point I enjoyed was when the protagonist mentions Illinois and in turn I am able to not only ask my students what it is, but show them the state on the ‘Interactive Maps & More’ feature on World Book Kids. 

     The book ends with the complete poem and I will be using Nikki Giovanni’s CD from Hip Hop Speaks to Children that has Hughes reading his poem.  The illustrations are gorgeous mixed-media, rich in color, sometimes covering a two page spread and other times opposite a page of text, which has the background of wood cuts against a solid color. 

Burliegh, R. (2004). Langston's train ride. New York, NY: Orchard Books.

Giovanni, N. (2008). Hip hop speaks to children: a celebration of poetry with a beat. Naperville: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky.

Tippy-toes, Let's Go!

Recommended for toddler-kindergarten

     I chose two books to read to my preschoolers because they both had “tippy-toe” in the title and admittedly, they both looked like cute books.  One was, Where is Tippy Toes? by Betsy Lewin, illustrator of Click, Clack, Moo fame and the other was Tippy-Toe, Chick, Go! by George Shannon.  Little did I realize how much my preschoolers would love Where is Tippy Toes?  And what’s not to like—rhyming text, big and bold, colorful illustrations, that are die cut, allowing the students to make inferences as to where they think the cat is hiding or what he mischief he is about to get into.  I asked them where they thought the cat was and they loved providing the answer. 

     Of course, I have to include a “kids say the darndest things” moment since one of my preschoolers asked me why I cut up the book.  Ha!  They all sat and listened to the book and even requested that it be read again.

     Tippy-Toe Chick, Go! by George Shannon has bright, but soft, with water color illustrations.  This story features a mother hen and her three chicks trying to get to the garden to eat their favorite snack (you’ll get an “ewwww” at the mention of potato bugs).  The only problem is that a dog stands in their way and his bark (a repetitive “Ruff-Ruff-Ruff-Ruff-Ruff!”) throughout the book scares off Hen, Big Chick, and Middle Chick.  But what about Little Chick, with her tippy-toe running?  Can she save the day?

     Two good stories, that provide a learning experience, yet are short enough that they can keep attention and be read back to back.

Lewin, B. (2010). Where is tippy-toes? New York, NY: Atheneum Books.

Shannon, G. (2003). Tippy-toe chick, go! New York, NY: Greenwillow Books.