The Skin I'm In (Chapter Book Addressing Diversity)

This book was written by Sharon Flake. It also won the Corretta Scott King Award. This book is about a 13 year old African American girl named Maleeka. Maleeka has very dark skin and is often teased by the other kids in her class. They also tease her about her homemade clothes and her good grades. Maleeka meets a new teacher at her school and the new teacher has a birthmark on her face. With this teacher's tough love and guidance Maleeka makes some discoveries about how to love who she is and what she looks like.

I read this as a member of the Kentucky Reading Project. After reading it I thought of many ways this book could be used with young adult readers. Middle school-age particularly comes to mind. It is those early teen years that students struggle with their identity and with who they "think" they are versus who they really are. This book would be great to use in literature circles. It would open much discussion about bullying, peer pressure, acceptance, self-esteem, and so many more issues that preteens and teens face. This book is another must have for your school's library!

Whoever You Are (Picture Book Addressing Diversity)

Despite the differences among people around the world, there are similarities that join us together such as pain, joy, and love. This book is by Mem Fox and is a must have for your school's library. This beautiful book features children from all over the world. It helps children see not only the differences we have with others but our similarities. Children can easily pick out differences and it is sometimes harder for them to see ways they are like other children from other parts of the world but this book does an excellent job of helping students celebrate both!

Nicholas

This book was written by Rene Goscinny. It was originally written in French and was translated in English by Anthea Bell.

This book is one of five books. It brings to life the day-to-day adventures of a young school boy. Being an only child, Nicholas, appears older at school than he does at home. Despite trying to be good Nicholas and his friends always end up in mischief and get into trouble.

As a teacher I think we can all think of a "Nicholas" that we have had in our classroom!

A Book of Coupons

This book is written by Susie Hoch Morgenstern. It was originally written in French and was translated in English by Gill Rosner.

In this book it is the first day of school and Marie Curie School is getting a new teacher. The new teacher is nothing like they envision. They are disappointed to find that the new teacher is fat, wrinkly, and old. Each student receives a strange gift-a book of very special coupons. They quickly learn that this new teacher is not the kind of teacher you meet everyday and that the school year is bound to be anything but ordinary!

Henrietta and the Golden Eggs

This book was written by Hanna Johansen. It was published in Switzerland and then translated to English by John Barrett.

This book is about a little hen with big dreams. She lives in a huge chicken house with 3,333 other chickens. She tells the bigger chickens that when she is old enough she is going to lay golden eggs. While she is small she learns to sing, to fly, and to swim in efforts to pass the time until she is big enough to lay her first egg. The other hens are not sure what to expect when Henrietta gets big enough to lay eggs! This was a simple story but very enjoyable to read!

International Literature for Children (Awards)

I found three awards given for children's books published in other countries.

Kate Greenaway Medal is presented for the most distinguished work in the illustrations of children's books published in the United Kingdom.

Carnegie Medal is presented annually to an outstanding children's book published in the United Kingdom.

Mildred L. Batchelder Award is presented to the most outstanding children's book originally published in a foreign language and then translated into English for publication in the United States. It is given by the American Library Association.

Laurence Yep

Cockroach Cooties was published in 2001. I love the picture on the cover! This book is about two brothers, Teddy and Bobby, who live in San Fransisco's China Town. Teddy, the older brother, narrates the story and tells how Bobby is being bullied by a boy named Arnie. Upon finding out Arnie is terrified of cockroaches the brothers decide to get a cockroach from their neighbor "the bug lady". This plan to ward off Arnie works for a while until the cockroach meets its end and the brothers have to come up with a new plan.
As the story unfolds the brothers find out that Arnie has a very rough home life and uncaring parents. When they realize that this is why Arnie acts the way he does the brothers attempt to form a friendship with Arnie.

This is a very entertaining book and a great book to use to discuss bullying. You can see both sides both bully and victim. Also a great book to use to discuss problem solving.

Laurence Yep also wrote Auntie Tiger, Dragon Road, The Dragon's Child, Dragon of the Lost Sea, Dragonwings, and many more!

John Henry

This book was written by Julius Lester and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. It was based on an African American folk ballad. It won the Caldecott Medal in 1990. It is tall tale about a boy who grew unbelievably tall. In the story John Henry works on the railroad with a crew of men. The men come to a mountain and need to get through. To do this the men would need to use a steam machine, which would require no man-power. John Henry bet he could beat the steam machine through the mountain. John Henry beat the steam machine to the middle and even kept going. When he reached the other side of the mountain he died. He was a strong folk hero for African Americans.

This book is a great way to learn about folk tales that have been passed down through the generations. All culture have similar tales, which were originally passed down orally.

Julius Lester also wrote Search for the New Land, Revolutionary Notes, Day of Tears, Black Cowboy, Black Folk Tales, Wild Horses, Long Journey Home, The Tales of Uncle Remus, Sam and the Tigers, and many more.

The Polar Express (Book/Movie)

The Polar Express was written by Chris Van Allsburg. This book beautifully captures the excitement of Christmas and the power of belief. The book is about a young boy and his journey to the North Pole aboard a magical train. Before his trip the the North Pole and before his experience meeting Santa Claus, the boy begins to question his own belief in Santa. After returning from the North Pole his belief in Santa and the magic of Christmas is restored.
The movie of this book truly brings the story to life. The movie does elaborate more in certain areas that the book does not. For example, the movie elaborates a little more on the boy's disbelief in Santa, and the boy's adventures aboard the train and at the North Pole or more detailed and elaborated in the movie than in the book.
I read this book to my class every year during the holiday season and show the movie too. The movie was not a disappointment and even though it has some added content it does not take away from the original story.

Charlotte's Web (Book/Movie)

This book was written by E.B. White and it is one of my all time favorite books. I read it every spring to my students. It is a true classic and has been loved by many generations. The book was first published in 1952. It is about a runt pig named Wilbur who is raised by a little girl named Fern. Wilbur is later saved from being slaughtered by Charlotte, an intelligent spider whom Wilbur befriends. All the farm animals in the book talk and each of them have their own unique personality.
Charlotte's Web has been produced into a cartoon/movie more than once but the most recent production was created in 2006 and it starred Dakota Fanning as Fern. The movie follows the book very closely and portrays all the characters very well. I was not disappointed at all! I thought it was a great movie!

Horton Hears a Who (Book/Movie)

This book was written by Dr. Seuss and was made into a movie in 2008. I read this book to my class and then we took a field trip to the movies to see it. I had my first graders compare and contrast the book and the movie.
Horton, the main character, is an elephant that hears something coming from a speck as it floats by. He discovers that there is a whole world living on the one tiny speck and becomes very determined to protect it. When the others in the jungle hear about this they think Horton has lost his mind, and even set out to destroy the speck. Horton does whatever it takes to protect the people of Who-ville, and the mayor of Who-ville and his people are counting on Horton to save them.
The movie is very similar to the book. The narrator in the movie reads parts of the actual story throughout the movie. The biggest difference between the book and the movie is Who-ville, the time spent and the characters of Who-ville were elaborated on a lot more in the movie than in the book. In the movie you become very familiar with the mayor and his family. In the movie there is mouse named Morton that is friends with Horton and he is a character that is not in the book.

Martin's Big Words 2002 Correta Scott King Award

This is a biography of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was written by Doreen Rappaport and illustrated by Bryan Collier. I like it because it is easy for children to read and understand. It includes some very insightful thoughts and some quotes from some of Dr. King's famous speeches. I use this book every year in my first grade classroom in honor of Dr. King's birthday. It is a great way to introduce students to the civil rights movement and to have them reflect on how they treat others. The artwork in this book is beautiful.

The Tale of Despereaux 2004 Newbery Award

The Tale of Despereaux was written by Kate DiCamillo. This fairytale features the character Despereaux Tilling, a mouse with very large ears. It is a tale of an unlikely hero. It is a very entertaining story with some important underlying messages about being yourself and that an interesting fate often awaits those that don't conform. This story contains a mix or wit and humor. DiCamillo's use of language is fantastic bringing "voice" to the story. It reminds me of Grimm's fairy tales. DiCamillo was also the author of Because of Winn Dixie.

Criss Cross 2006 Newbery Award

Criss Cross was written by Lynne Rae Perkins. I would call this a "coming of age" book. It would be a great book for preteens and young adult readers. Debbie, the main character in this novel, wishes for something good to happen to her. Her story criss-crosses with those of her friends in a search for first love. Young teens can easily relate to the self consciousnesses and uncertainty of all the characters. I think we all go through that time in our teen years when we are tyring to figure out who we really are and what we will become. It is a realistic novel and is creatively written. I think it would be a great book to do a literature circle with especially with middle school age students. I think young female readers would particularly enjoy this novel.

Olivia 2001 Caldecott Award

This is one of my favorite books. It was written and illustrated by Ian Falconer. I love the character, Olivia, because she reminds me of myself when I was young, and she also reminds me of some of the students I teach. Olivia is a very spirited little pig with a somewhat mischievous personality. The text is complimented by simple illustrations of black,white, and red. It is interesting to see what Falconer decided to illustrate with red. In one illustration it is Olivia's swimsuit, in another it is her dress. I think this was a genius way to illustrate the story just because it is so different. Very unique!

My Friend Rabbit 2003 Caldecott Award

Written and illustrated by Eric Rohmann, this is a simple story about a friendship between a rabbit and a mouse. Rabbit sends a toy air plane plying with Mouse as the pilot and the plane gets stuck in a tree. Rabbit comes up with a plan to get it down. There is minimal text in this book but the illustrations will draw your attention. The illustrations are hand-colored relief prints with heavy black outlines. The pictures are very comical! This book will easily put a smile on the readers face. I read this to my four year old daughter and she laughed at the illustrations and loved the story!

Kitten's First Full Moon 2005 Caldecott Award

Kitten's First Full Moon was written and illustrated by one of my favorite authors, Kevin Henkes.  This story is full of suspense as a kitten mistakes the full moon for a bowl of milk and tries to lick it!  The illustrations in this book are black and white which is very different from many of the other books Henkes has illustrated, such as Wemberly Worried and Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse. The illustrations were done in charcoal and features thick, black outlines.  It captures all the many shades of black. I think this was the perfect idea for the illustrations since the story takes place at night when the moon is full and bright.  

The Hello, Goodbye Window 2006 Caldecott Award

This book was written by Norton Juster and illustrated by Chris Raschka.  After reading this story, I will never look through a window quite the same way!  This story is narrated through the eyes and imagination of a young girl who is visiting her grandparents' house.  The illustrations are very childlike with the lines appearing to be somewhat like scribble/sketch marks.  The colors looked like water colors and were very vibrant making the house and the window seem almost magical.  The illustrations were very appealing to look at!  I liked this book because it reminded me of all the visits to my grandparents' house growing up.  

Flotsam 2007 Caldecott Award

Flotsam, by David Wiesner, won the Caldecott Medal in 2007. This book does not have any words in it, but the illustrations tell the story. The colors used in the illustrations are very bright and vibrant. I enjoyed looking at all the illustrations and thinking about what the words to the story would have been had they been printed on each page. This book allows you to use your imagination. There is a synopsis of the book on the front flap if the viewer wants to check his/her interpretation of the book with the author's intent. I learned from this book that you don't need words to "read" a story, the words to the story are in your mind, and in this case the illustrations bring the story to life!

Wiesner, D. (2006). Flotsam. Clarion Books: New York

Caldecott and Newbery

I am ashamed to admit that I did not know the difference between the Caldecott and Newbery Medal. I had an idea but was not certain until I researched this information today. The difference is that the Caldecott Medal is awarded in honor of the illustrator's work, while the Newbery Medal is awarded in honor of the author's written work/literature. These awards are two of the most prestigious children's book awards and are awarded annually. The Caldecott award was created in 1938 and named after Randolph Caldecott, a 19th century English illustrator. The Newbery award was created in 1922 and was named after James Newbery, an 18th century bookseller. Both awards are granted by the American Library Association. Neither award is better than the other because they awarded for two very different reasons.

Information retrieved from http://www.wikipedia.org/

September 19, 2009

Children's Literature

It was not until I became a teacher that I developed such a love for children's books. As a teacher I find myself constantly trying to find books that align with the content I am teaching. A good book is a great way to introduce new content, or just enhance what is being taught. As a mother my love for children's books grew even more! It is a joy to read stories to my two small children. Even though my daughter can not read yet I love to hear her retell the stories to me. I have so many favorite books, I could never choose just one favorite. I love Guess How Much I Love You, Love You Forever, The Giving Tree, Charlotte's Web, The Velveteen Rabbit, Click Clack Moo, Green Eggs and Ham, Parts, The Very Hungry Caterpillar........I could go on forever!

Blogging is new to me but I am excited about creating this blog. I created this blog to serve as a reading journal for a class I am taking but I am sure that it will become so much more as I become more familiar with how it works!