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.

A Reverend and a Rabbi march together…

Recommended for 2^nd-5^th grade

     On MLK, Jr. Day, I never really understood why more places weren’t closed to commemorate him.  Here is this amazing man, who started off simple enough, with a loving family that taught him values.  This amazing man, who knew even when he was little that he was going “to turn this world upside down.”  He had a drive that is rare, but if encouraged, produces wonderful outcomes.  He made such a powerful impact during his life, that even the bullet that would take his life, couldn’t stop others from continuing to dream his dream.

     This week at school, all I read to my students were books related to Martin Luther King, Jr.  My favorite read for my 4^th and 5^th graders is As Good As Anybody: Martin Luther King and Abraham Joshua Heschel’s Amazing March Toward Freedom by Richard Michelson.  I like that it provides students with not only one person’s fight for freedom and equality, but two.  The text makes connections between the two figures.  The striking idea behind this, is that these figures were on opposites sides of the globe growing up—Martin in Alabama and Abraham in Poland. 

     The narrative is smooth—it doesn’t jump back and forth.  Martin’s life is explained up through the ten years of protesting and in the book it says that Martin put out a call for all G-d’s children to join the fight against prejudice.  This provides the transition to Abraham’s life, which begins by saying that Abraham answered Martin’s call, and then continues to give biographical information about his life.  The similarities between Martin and Abraham is what will help students develop strong skills in making connections—they are both told that they are “as good as anybody,” they both ran into issues (ex. “WHITES ONLY” or “NO JEWS” and jeering from the KKK), they both believed prejudice was wrong and that they should help stand up for others, they also both followed in the footsteps of their fathers—a Reverend and a Rabbi. 

     I also took this opportunity to show my students how to use an encyclopedia to search for more information—the book mentions Rosa Parks, so I looked up Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old, who did the exact same thing Mrs. Parks did, but 9 months earlier.  We also looked up Poland, where Rabbi Heschel was born, and Adolf Hitler, who affected Heschel’s life. 

     The end of the book talks about Martin and Abraham marching together and how they were very good friends.  I find this a strong point to be made, since they were of two different races and religions.

Michelson, R. (2008). As good as anybody. New York, NY: A.A. Knopf.

It’s a Bloody War

Recommended for grades 3-6

     My sister asked me what books I had managed to read over winter break and I was proud to rattle off at least six titles. It surprised me that the title I went to town explaining was The Civil War, the first book in the Profiles series.  This colorful nonfiction series with photos and illustrations takes six people from a particular part of U.S. history and gives 10-15 page biographies on them.  There is more in-depth detail pertaining to the specific event, in this case—The Civil War—the individuals were all connected with.  The end of the book contains an index and websites for further studies.  The figures profiled in The Civil War are Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, George McClellan, Robert E. Lee, Clara Barton, and Matthew Brady. 

     I will readily admit I’m not the best when it comes to history (but, a lot better than I used to be).  My sister made a point the other day when she asked my mom and me if we knew anything about history that didn’t have to do with the Jews and the Holocaust.  That’s why I like reading children’s books about certain periods of history—the majority of authors know how to make it intriguing enough to absorb.

     I knew some things about Abraham Lincoln and Matthew Brady since I studied some photography in college.  I did like the little facts that I learned about the rest of the figures.  For instance, I didn’t know that Robert E. Lee was originally asked to lead the Union army, but he felt great loyalty to his state of birth, Virginia, and decided to serve the Confederate army (and later, people would want him tried as a traitor).  I also can’t believe how many generals Lincoln went through during the Civil War; McClellan was just one of several. 

     An easy to swallow version of the war is explained, too.  The smart thing about this novel is that it takes prior information from the beginning of the novel and intertwines with each individual’s profile, making for a deeper connection.  At the end, there are two pages that give cause and effect relationships for the actions taken by each figure and how they affected the Civil War and each other.

     I will be looking for the others in this series to read.

Rosenberg, A. (2011). The Civil War. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Do you know what goes bump in the night?

Recommended for grades 4-8

I would always walk past The Last Apprentice series books’ by Joseph Delaney while working at Borders, with the thought that it was just some Harry Potter wannabe.  Then, I noticed that the newer titles in the series picked up in popularity toward the last few years I was working.  A tiny seed had planted itself on my “to-read” shelf.  Finally, this past December, I decided to check out the audio book from the library to listen to on the way to and from work.  I should be on the Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production committee because I manage to listen to so many children’s books on tape.  And I fancy myself doing pretty well judging a book on its quality.  It’s really a simple piece of criteria I judge with…is the audio book fascinating enough that I want to listen to it before AND after work.  Will I trade my relaxing, music-filled, yet traffic-bound drive home for an audio book, which requires some concentration? 

I wasn’t even through the first disc of Revenge of the Witch and I wanted to write this post, which lands the book in another rare category I have for my blog (it’s under very rare circumstances that I post about a book before finishing).  Delaney is an incredible writer!  One reviewer said The Last Apprentice series was a step above Goosebumps.  I disagree.  Delaney’s old world setting mixed with descriptive language about the things that go bump in the night—such as boggarts, witch’s and ghouls—is more than a step above Goosebumps (and I love Goosebumps).  It almost reminds me of a younger version of The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey. 

The job of the Spook is to take care of all that gives others nightmares—it’s a lonely and tough job, but someone’s gotta do it.  Thomas Ward, the twelve-year-old protagonist, who is the Spook’s newest apprentice, has a strong voice in this book.  The reader feels for him throughout the first book.  Tom and the Spook complement each other in this book and make for intriguing interactions.  The sense of adventure and suspense is palpable as Tom is tricked and befriended by a young witch, who comes from a family of highly malevolent witches.  Scenes throughout this book are creepy enough to keep even the most ardent scary story readers on their toes. 

I ordered this book for my library because I knew my 4^th and 5^th graders would eat this story up.

Delaney, J. (2005). Revenge of the witch. New York, NY: Harper Children's Audio.