Multicultural Children’s Book Day Today! (Book Review)

Kiely was born a star!  Her many talents include dancing, singing, and dramatics. Her parents (aka paparazzi) capture every cute moment whether Kiely wants them to or not. I can definitely relate to that aspect of having my first little ones (twins) and wanting to capture everything (and then posting it for family and friends to enjoy).

Many parents will see their child in Kiely, the protagonist in I Am Famous by Tara Luebbe and Becky Cattie. Having two littles myself and even thinking back to when my sister was little, I recognize the spirit of Kiely in them. Even my mom while reading the book, kept saying “this is you!”

Kiely’s big break comes when she performs at her grandpa’s birthday party. She finds the perfect outfit to “hit the red carpet”. In front of her live audience she performs her grandpa’s favorite song, but OH! “What were the words again?” Well, the show must go on, so now to dancing. Oops! Kiely has another embarrassing moment. Will it stop her from performing ever again? You have to read the book to find out.

This is a super cute book with the message that no matter what, family--I mean fans, will love you. Make sure to check out the sequel, I Used to Be Famous! especially if you have a child who feels like a "has been" with a new sibling.

Book Review: I Love the Earth by Todd Parr

I enjoy Todd Parr books.  Sometimes I forget just how much in the big world of children's literature.  I believe Todd Parr conveys an important message in all his books through text and pictures. His text is simple and yet he conveys important messages for children to hear.  To me, his illustrations convey all the brightness of the world.

I have read many of his books, but recently I've checked out two for E and N -- The Brother Book and I Love the Earth (new title and cover for The Earth Book).  I am providing the review for I Love the Earth instead of E and N because even though they might not understand the concept yet, I want to instill within my children the meaning of "tikkun olam" (repair of the world).  

Parr sets up examples of what he loves about the Earth and reasons why so that young children can understand.  He makes connections with stars and keeping the sky clear and animals and wanting them to be safe all over the world.  The book could end up leading to an important discussion on one of many aspects of ways we could help make a difference--oceans, food for everyone, even shopping at the local farmer's market.

My hope is that you take some time to check out more of Todd Parr's books. His newest, Love the World, just came out a couple of weeks ago.

Review Rewind: A Reverend and a Rabbi march together…

I always feel like any blog I post around the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday should be dedicated to imparting his message.  I looked back at my prior blogs during this time and realized that I wanted to share a review I wrote in 2012 of As Good As Anybody: Martin Luther King and Abraham Joshua Heschel's Amazing March Toward Freedom by Richard Michelson. Please enjoy!

Chris Raschka and All That Jazz

Listening to John Coltrane's "My Favorite Things" and drawing what the music makes you feel or see.  My kindergarten students created works of art based on a piece of jazz music.  The lesson started off with an introduction to John Coltrane and then I explained to my students that the author/illustrator, Chris Raschka, listened to Coltrane's "Giant Steps" while he illustrated the story of the same title.  Raschka pieced together the music using a box, snowflakes, raindrops, and a kitten. 

The narrator welcomes readers to the performance.  The illustrations move along in primary colors providing the piano, bass, melody, and tempo.  The book provides a basic intro to jazz and Coltrane.  I read aloud the book first, then played the song while reading aloud the certain parts.  Students and I worked on identifying the saxophone, piano, and the bass.  The song makes it easy to identify some parts because the saxophone will rest through part and the piano can be heard over other instruments.

I loved providing my students the opportunity to be like Raschka and draw how they heard the music from "My Favorite Things" or what it made them think about.  This was a meaningful way for me to bring Black History alive for my younger students while combining multiple media for them to work with.

Book cover image from Simon&Schuster.com

"My Favorite Things" video from Youtube.com

Pinkerton, Behave! Book Review

One of my back-to-school read aloud choices is the funny picturebook, Pinkerton, Behave! by Steven Kellogg.  The book is celebrating its 35th year with an anniversary edition.  I LOVE Steven Kellogg's character, Pinkerton!  My family even has a dog named after the character. 

Family Dog, Pinkerton

Pinkerton, Behave! has the great Dane trying to follow simple commands without much success.  Pinkerton will jump out the window when told to come or lick a "dummy" burglar when told to get him.  Pinkerton is taken to obedience school where the same commands are given and Pinkerton still misunderstands them.  The instructor of the school is very strict and warns Pinkerton's family that he needs to improve or be kicked out.  Well, the same commands are reviewed and this time ALL the dogs follow Pinkerton's actions!  Oh no!  That night, Pinkerton's skills are put to a test when a burglar comes to the house.  How will Pinkerton save the day?  You have to read the book to find out.

This story is such a great way to introduce students to the three types of reading: read to self, read the pictures, or retell the story.  The illustrations help tell the story, which makes it necessary for students to see the whole book first.  The story also works for predicting because Pinkerton repeats the exact same actions for each command given.  It's a silly book that has students giggling throughout.

Book cover image from http://www.penguin.com/book/pinkerton-behave-by-steven-kellogg/9780803741300

What's In A Word? Books Without 'Em

Thinking back to The Fantastic Flying Books... by William Joyce, I realized how this animated short could spark a child's imagination.  As I've mentioned, the short itself has no verbal exchange of words, only music that sets the tone for the scene.  Just think of including this in a unit about wordless books to "jump start" the way students should approach that type of book.  The reader or viewer can tell what is happening without the spoken word, but they still get this deep sense of understanding.  

I am going to challenge myself to provide a unit like this to my students this coming year.  This will be just as exciting a unit for me since I love to go back and review what I've learned about illustrations.  I'm not asking students to make predictions based off the pictures or retell a formulated story.  I want them to look at a wordless book and tell me what emotions it evokes in them, what is happening, do the illustrations tell a story or poem or song, what is happening in their mind as they look at the picture (is the brain trying to make sense of the elements of the picture, is it using the picture to create a movie, is emotion welling up, etc).

So far, the books I would include are Picture This: How Pictures Work by Molly Bang, Wave by Suzy Lee, The Arrival by Shaun Tan, Journey by Aaron Becker, Flotsam by David Wiesner, Rainstorm by Barbara Lehman, Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomie dePaola, Robot Dreams by Sara Varon (almost wordless), A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka, and The Snowman by Raymond Briggs.  Yes, the age groups for these books seem to jump all over, but I would use these books with 2nd grade and up.

Just imagine moving on to graphic novels after this... the two part analysis of illustrations and text/speech bubbles!!



Image courtesy of KROMKRATHOG / freedigitalphotos.net

Don't Use Up All Your Wiggles Book Review

During summer school students should get a breather from the work they put into their learning.  In my school district, library time happens to fill up one of those "brain break" times in the schedule once a week.  To keep with the theme of having students move around, I decided to use either brain break videos or stories with movement.

Doreen Cronin's book, Wiggle, makes for a nice "brain break" read aloud.  I read this to younger students at the summer school locations where I'm the librarian and the kids thoroughly enjoyed the book.  Being able to get your wiggles out is important and when a book tells you to do it during story time...well, take advantage!

The book focuses on a dog who wiggles his way around from morning till night.  The interactive dialogue makes this book both verbally and kinesthetically successful.  Some pages are simple statements while other pages ask the readers questions.  The illustrations help the reader visualize the actions.  

I combined this book with the song "Wiggle It" by Patty Shukla:

We also did an activity suggested by the Bounce and Wiggle guide: what sound does the animal make?  I transferred pictures of the animals to a flipchart to be displayed on a Promethean board--added relevant habitat backgrounds, typed in the noises of the animals and set the text to completely transparent.  This way kids could make the animal sound from their own background knowledge and then I just switch the text back to solid--it's kind of a cool effect.  

To keep with the movement theme, next will be Bounce and Stretch by Doreen Cronin.

Adding a Little More to Cinco de Mayo

Tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo and the beginning of my school's book fair week where the theme is "Reading Fiesta."  I know...I know... Other cultures should be celebrated everyday, but I'm taking the opportunity to veer from end of year library knowledge assessments and focus on learning with my students about another culture.  I searched the public libraries and the Internet for resources trying to find fun and simple ways to teach students about Mexican culture.

Keeping it simple with my younger students, I read Just a Minute by Yuyi Morales to focus on numbers in Spanish.  This week, the project we are working on is a counting book that includes numbers in English and Spanish and then a visual representation of those numbers.  On Discovery Education, there is "The Hello Song" which is in English and Spanish and I've been playing that during class time, too.

2nd grade students will be watching a video of Yuyi Morales reading Nino Wrestles the World. 

I was so excited when I found this because I really needed someone fluent in Spanish reading the story to students.  What's even better?!?  It's the author!!

4th and 5th graders will be watching a short video from History.com about the history of Cinco de Mayo.  It's succinct and entertainingly informational.  Students will recall information cooperatively by creating lists of words/phrases they remember from the video as a team table.

I wonder what else my students and I will learn...




Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono/freedigitalphotos.net
Video from youtube.com/Scholastic channel

Wham blam hickity hack! Book Review

Jack and the beanstalk was one of the fairy tales I pulled to use for the book battles before spring break. I had the pile of books ready to go and decided that even my very youngest students should get in on the fairy tale action.  I had a kindergarten class at the end of the day on the last day before spring break.  I gave them five choices to vote from and I was surprised that Look Out, Jack! The Giant Is Back!  by Tom Birdseye won.  It beat out two fractured tales with dinosaurs for crying out loud!

I'd like to think my dramatic telling of the story is what kept their rapt attention, but the story itself is very well written.  It's very easy for students to make connections between this tale and the original, at the same time this title stands completely on its own.  In this post-fairy tale, Jack is being chased by the giant's brother. Familiarity hits when this giant is given a similar refrain when approaching Jack,

"Wham blam hickity hack!
I'm gonna get that boy named Jack!
He now be living, but soon he'll roast!
I'll spread him with mustard, and eat him on toast!"

Jack's trickery includes cooking a great feast for this giant.  All that Southern cooking had the students rubbing their bellies (myself included).  Jack tricks the giant into eating all this food to end up with a HUGE belly ache!  My kindergartners loved being able to predict that one.  No one saw this next part coming--the giant takes off his shoes and uses his smelly feet to get even with Jack!  

The picture of the smelly feet will have anyone exclaiming, "EWWWWW!"  The illustrations throughout the whole book help the story along, giving it that fairy tale--old world feel, but livening it up with beautiful bright colors. The majority are two page spreads or one that takes liberties with the vertical versus horizontal (how else are you gonna get the idea of the size of a giant?!)  

This book was a huge hit and it allowed for more in-depth comprehension due to the outlandish happenings and silly humor.

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.

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.

Just Keep Walking Along

Recommended for grades PreK-2nd

If you have or educate preschoolers, kindergartners, 1^st or 2^nd graders and you don’t have the following lyrics stuck in your head, then you better listen up:

“I love my white shoes, I love my white shoes, I love my white shoes!”

That simple chorus is the hottest craze with the younger students at my school currently.  The rhythmic repetition, the singing, and the change up of one single word in the chorus have all the students nodding their heads and singing along.  The genius author behind this book, Eric Litwin, manages to teach students inference, colors, and self-control by counting with fingers the number of times one sings the chorus—1, 2, 3!. 

The picturebook is all about color and the illustrator, James Dean, does a wonderful job making each page POP.  Pete the Cat is just walking along when “Oh no!” he steps in piles of strawberries, blueberries, mud, etc. and finds his white shoes have changed colors.  Pete doesn’t get upset; instead he “kept walking along and singing his song.”  Litwin explicitly tells the audience the moral of the story, which also happens to be one of my best friend’s catch phrases, “It’s all good!”

And I’m also super excited because Eric Litwin and James Dean are coming to my school to perform for my students!  Hip-hip-HOORAY!  That’ll be a mighty fine day!

Did I mention they have a new Pete the Cat book?—Rocking in My School Shoes.  Visit the publisher’s website to download the songs and other activities associated with Pete the Cat. 

 

Litwin, E. (2010). Pete the cat: i love my white shoes. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

                (2011). Pete the cat: rocking in my school shoes. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

Suzy Lee—I Love Your Imaginative Style!

Recommended for grades Preschool to 2^nd grade

Lee won me over with Wave and she brings it home again with her newest title, Shadow. Lee is incredible at her craft, which is probably why Shadow placed on

The New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book of 2010.

In Wave, a little girl enjoys a day at the beach. The book is wordless, but that does not matter because the illustrations are animated enough to capture every aspect of joy the little girl feels with seagulls as an audience and the ocean waves as a playmate. The illustrations are not overdone and the colors, black and blue, are perfectly suited to this story. The book itself is designed with the reader in mind-- a slim and horizontal--so that when opened the two page spreads capture the stretch of beach along the shore.

Lee’s new book Shadow (nearly wordless), appears to bring back the same little girl from Wave. This time she is set upon exploring her family’s attic—that mysterious room, that can evoke curiosity from any child. Once the light comes on, the shadow play begins. The little girl starts simple, with a shadow bird, but then the most ordinary objects become a snake or a wolf. The animals soon take on a life of their own and the adventure only ceases when a voice calls the little girl down for dinner. The illustrations are in black and yellow—symbolizing the shadows and light from the bulb. Lee once again creates a unique design, where the book is meant to be held top to bottom—the top has the little girl and the items in the attic and the bottom are the shadows.

I only expect more great things from Suzy Lee.

Lee, S. (2010). Shadow. San Francisco, CA.: Chronicle Books.

Lee, S. (2008). Wave. San Francisco, CA.: Chronicle Books.

Putting The “Boo!” Back In PictureBOOk

In honor of Halloween, I’m offering a few of my favorite picturebook reads that make for some faBOOlous reading throughout the year.

Frankenstein Makes A Sandwich by Adam Rex

2^nd grade to 4^th grade

I remember the first time I picked up this picturebook, I was working at Borders. Almost right away, I started laughing out-load. The poems throughout this book go about describing a particular episode in a famous monster’s life. From Frankenstein, with his rude, food throwing neighbors to the Phantom of the Opera, who can’t get “It’s a Small World” out of his head. Rex’s illustrations only add to the comedy of it all.

Companion: Frankenstein Takes the Cake

Bats At The Beach by Brian Lies

Preschool to 1^st grade

The illustrations in this book, present some very furry and friendly (dare, I say cute?) looking bats. This was another treasure I discovered while working at Borders. I thought this book was such a great read aloud choice, especially with its simple and not overly done rhyming, that I picked it right away for Tiny Tots Storytime at the store. The book is about a night at the beach for bats, with all the typical activities the reader might experience on a trip to the beach, so it is a relatable story—hmmm, sounds like a good book for writer’s workshop.

Companion: Bats At The Library and Bats At The Ballgame

The Monster At The End Of This Book (Starring Lovable, Furry Old Grover)

by Jon Stone

Preschool

I really do wish this book was more popular—Grover makes a lovable and adorable protagonist. The great part about this book is that it’s interactive. Grover is trying to avoid the monster he’s heard about at the end of the book and asks the reader not to turn the page. But, who could resist the temptation to find out what is at the end of this book? So, while giggles will ensue from the reader, Grover becomes increasingly distressed and even tries to barricade the next page by building brick walls and the like. Who is the monster at the end of the book? Well, I only see Grover…

Companion: Another Monster At The End Of This Book

Lies, B. (2006). Bats at the beach. Boston, MA.: Houghton Mifflin.

Rex, A. (2006). Frankenstein makes a sandwich. Orlando, FL.: Harcourt.

Stone, J. (2004). The Monster at the end of this book. New York, NY: Golden Books.