My Pony Jack: Great Read for Word Work Study (EA long e) and (CK) Sounds

Meister, Carl. My Pony Jack. New York City: Viking, 2005. N. pag. Print.

My Pony Jack is a wonderful read for children that are in the beginning stages of reading. I am currently using this book for a group of 1st grade students as part of a guided reading unit. Inside this book, there are many uses of the "CK" ending as well as the "EA" (long e) sound. I have incorporated the reading of this book with a word sort using the vocabulary mentioned inside this book.

The main flow of the story is about a girl named Lacy who has a Pony named Jack. Jack is special to her. She takes care of Jack. Taking care of Jack means brushing him, picking out his hooves, and feeding him hay and oats. There are many other unique vocabulary words related to equestrianism.

I would recommend this book for any teacher working with a  beginning level guided reading group. The story is very interesting and the pictures are bright and attractive. There isn't a lot of cultural diversity as Lacy is the only character in the book, however, she is a female which is a plus. I would recommend this book for an individual/guided reading study book, not for group discussion.

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Thank you

Dear Reader,

Thank you for joining me on this reading review adventure. Our fun has ended as all of our different genre specifications have been addressed. 

This blog will be currently on hold, but may be updated in the future with children's literature as time progresses; however; there may not be updates for a while as my other studies will take precedence.

Please enjoy your New Year- and read with you soon.

Thank you.

Courtney

Cover Unavailable 

(2015). Dance and Sing in English [Online video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRP_viB3Xjk

Dance and sing in English is a bilingual Japanese/English children’s book. This book is primarily for Japanese reading children who need an outlet to learn to read English. The book is unique in that it goes through some basic English, however, it includes music words. The book talks about numbers, the English alphabet, and some random songs like thread is spinning- and rock, scissors, paper- what shall we make?.

This book just does not cut it for quality children's literature. The book is cute and has a lot of fun songs in it, but the purpose of it to learn English isn't very applicable to everyday English words. For example, children learning English probably won’t need to learn needle and thread and gravel as primary English words. Also, if the book's purpose is to learn a principle, there isn't any principles in the songs or stories. The book is more about a mix of two cultures. The book has very white illustrations in the book and does include any other racial identities.

Don’t get me wrong, this book is adorable, however, for the purpose of learning English or learning principles, it’s very difficult to access the quality from that point of view. It just really isn't there. Singing about soap bubbles and such. Also, stereotypes of English speakers are clearly listed as white cutie pies. What’s interesting about the book is that I found it through an online YouTube review of the book. The Japanese girl giving the book review seemed to like it, however, in the classroom it really isn’t an applicable source to use. I would say, this book may have more use as an English speaker trying to learn Japanese with the Japanese hiragana subtitles. 

Literary Elements:

Tone: Happy, Cheerful

Characters: Imaginary, Dreamy

Setting: Rainbows, grassy fields, and musical pleasures

Lexile: n/a

Ivan and His Little Horse

Cover unavailable because of online resource only 

(Will not allow to Copy from Source)

Ivan and His Little Horse. (2007). (J. Urangoo, Trans.). N.p.: Soyombo Printing Co. Retrieved from http://www.childrenslibrary.org/icdl/BookPreview?bookid=uraivan_00900175&route=simple_0_0_0_English_11&lang=English&msg=&ilang=English

Ivan and His Little Horse is a Mongolian/English bilingual text about a story of a boy named Ivan and a horse that comes and eats out of his produce. The horse then apologizes for eating his produce and allows the boy to keep him as his master. One day, a king asked Ivan to be his horseman because his horses wouldn't behave. Ivan takes the job, but he continually gets tricked by another evil horseman. The horseman keeps telling the king things about Ivan, and Ivan is forced to continually get things for the King (in risk of his life). The last thing the king asks for is the Moon Princess, so Ivan travels seven seas to get her- the moon princess tells the King he must swim in boiling water, milk, and cold water and then she'll marry him. He tells Ivan to do it first- and Ivan turns into a pretty prince. The King then does it, and dies- so Ivan marries the Moon Princess instead.

Wow. So, this book was definitely a confusing shocker. I didn't realize that this book was a fairy tale until about half way through the story. The characters used in the book are all white, with mostly brown or white hair- except for the moon princess who of course has that stereotypical blonde hair. The character's in the book, however, are represented with Mongolian style clothing and art. This could definitely be used in a culture unit as part of a fairy-tale unit. You could discuss how fairy tales are different and similar in cultures, and the things that differentiate them from other cultures (for example, foods, backgrounds, clothing, people, etc;).

The book is suitable for children, but even with such, there are a few kind of harsher themes. For example, the King threatens the young boy of the death penalty if he does not bring back everything he wants. Also, the moral of the story is very unrealistic. Personally, I would not choose to read this book in the classroom except for the purpose of looking at the Mongolian style pictures- or during a fairy tale unit. I would use this for third grade and up.

Lexile: n/a

Literary Elements:
Setting- Fairytale land of Mongolia, blue skies, king's courts, hay stables
Character: Daring, exciting, tough, respectable, honest
Mood: Appealing, Questioning, Interesting, Unique

ANG ITIM NA KUTING- THE BLACK KITTEN

Vizcarra, N. (1996). Ang itim na kuting. N.p.: Adarna House, Inc.

The black kitten is a bilingual Tagalog/English book about a black kitten who is trying to find a home. No one wants the black kitten because they think he is like charcoal or bad luck. Finally, the black kitten runs into a girl that wants to accommodate the kitten. The kitten talks to the girl verbally and tells her of all the great things he can do and do for her. The girl in the story tells the kitten she has no mother or father. In the end, the kitten and the girl are friends, and the girl becomes the kitten's mother.

The black kitten is an odd yet fun read. The book teaches children that appearances don't make up the reality of who or what something or someone is. The illustrations are somewhat distorted looking but they do a good job at helping the reader understand the story. Unlike some books however, one definitely needs the words to be able to distinguish the entire story line. Without the words, the story would be somewhat confusing. Therefore, you could see that the story is not only a complex idea, but it is more abstract as the reader cannot just "see" the story, they need to also read the words.

The author doesn't include any other nationalities in the book besides Filipino, which makes sense since the book is written in Tagalog, however, the book could have been more aware of including other ethnic characters besides the main character along in the book.

Literary Elements:
Mood: Interesting, Questioning
Character: Rejected, wanderer, lonely, somewhat happy
Setting: Somewhere in the Philippines, small village setting

Lexile: n/a

Bird & Squirrel ON ICE

Burks, J. (2014). Bird & Squirrel ON ICE. New York City, NY: GRAPHIX.

Bird & Squirrel on ice is a graphic novel about a bird and a squirrel's adventure through an ice-centered journey. Along the way, they meet a great whale, their newest enemy, and they use their great wit to escape the whale.

The illustrations in this book doesn't contain any blunt stereotypes- it does not contain people related characters, but rather uses animals. The animals are not realistic to real life, except the whale. There are different genders in the book. The female is a strong female character in the book, and not scared of the situation.

The book does contain some voudou type spirit worship of fire. Obviously, if you don't agree with this type of thing, it would not be suitable for your children. The rest of the book follows a storyline- the storyline is not very strong- however the characters do use a bit of problem-solving to solve their problems. Overall, I would say that the book is a 4 out of 10 stars.

Literary Elements:
Setting: Ice climate, caves, some open water
Characters: Curious, slightly dumb, scaredy-cats, curious, adventurous
Tone: Excited, Fun, Happy, Thrill-seeking

Lexile Level: GN290L

Go, Shapes Go!

Fleming, D. (2014). Go Shapes Go. N.p.: Beach Lane Books.

Go Shapes Go is a book about shapes sliding, and bouncing, and jumping all around! The book builds a picture of a monkey with all the shapes at the end.

This book is an amazing shape book! It's a lot of fun too! You could use this as an interactive class in a classroom. For example, one of the pages says, "Slide, SQUARE, and start the show!" and then you can have all the student's slide across the room like the square. This is such an incredible text. The shapes are all listed on both sides of the pages (including the shapes that aren't the center of attention).

The way that the illustrations are made looks like they are out of real materials. So, the circle kind of looks like a corkboard, the rectangular legs of the monkey look like they are made out of paper, the circle of the bottom of the monkey's face looks like a type of marble. It's a real awesome thing when they are connecting the shapes with real-life materials because it allows the reader to see that shapes are useful as everyday objects.

The book is obviously free of stereotypes and provides a great learning space for everyone!

Literary Elements:
Tone: Excited, Wonder
Mood: Curious
Setting: Spaces of different colors and shapes

Lexile: not listed [new book]

COLORS AND SHAPES

Rosa-Mendoza, G. (2000). Colors and Shapes. Wheaton, IL: me+mi publishing.

Colors and Shapes is a small bilingual book that goes through the different shapes and colors in both English and Spanish. Some of the shapes include circle, diamond, triangle.

I used this book with a kindergarten class and it went over pretty well. I would say that it would still be considered high quality literature even though the book is very simplistic. The reason why is because the illustrations of the different children in the book come from many different racial groups and the facial expressions are all different on the children. The book definitely favors English however since the English language is written on the top, however, the Spanish is still listed.

Even on the back of the page, it asks children to find the colors and shapes. This is a great last page of the book as it's basically recapping everything that the book just talked about.

Literary Elements:
Tone: Happy, Educational
Characters: Excited
Setting: Traditional US looking Classroom

Lexile: not listed

HOPE SPRINGS

Walters, E. (2014). Hope Springs. Toronto, Canada: Tundra Books.

Hope Springs is about a boy named Boniface living in an orphanage. One day, he goes out to get water and two village ladies tell him he can't have any water because he doesn't live here. Boniface tries to tell the ladies he does live there, but they refused because they were just from the orphanage. One day, Boniface had his own well because they had finished working on it. Boniface's houseparents tells Boniface that the women turned him away because of fear of drought, not because of meanness. When Boniface remembered that, he decided to build them their own well.

This book is so beautifully written. I could read it over and over again. The illustrations are very life-like and relevant. The portraits are drawn just as little girls and boys in Kenya would look like. The boys are wearing nice dress slacks and the girls are wearing skirts. The facial expressions and bodily features of the children look so very realistic.  Everything is perfect about this book.

The moral of the story is so wonderful. Here you have a young boy, an orphan boy, with no water- and yet he learns to give freely of what was given to him- by helping others in his village that were orginally mean to him. Could we use more of this attitude in schools? Oh yes, yes, we could. Think about how school could change if student's could see past the originally meanness or fear of their classmates and were able to do something great and kind for them instead. This is what the book promotes. Problem-solving, love, kindness, and caring. [AND SO MUCH MORE!].
This book is a MUST have in any classroom. It's so imperative, so wonderful, please read it.

So, you get to end of the book and WALA! Here you find "THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY". Guess what!? This is a real, true story. The book contains pictures of Boniface and his twin brother and his friend Mueni. It also shows other pictures and information about building the well and how people fetch and wait for water. This is such a wonderful book, you can't ask twice if it's high quality literature because it is. When I was first reading this book, I didn't realize it was a true story, but you can almost tell because of all the passion in the writing, only something true could be this wonderful.

Literary Elements:
Tone: Hopeful, Happy, Hard-Working
Character: Pro-active, knowledgable, honest, friendly, willing-to-work, kind, caring to others
Setting: Kenya near the Rolling Hills Residence (orphanage)

Lexile: Not yet rated [new book]

Animoto

Animoto is a wonderful site for making short videos. There is a free version available which is the one mine is formatted with. The difference is that the time of video is shorter and you get an annoying animoto in the background of your video- but hey it's free.

Animoto is a great resource for getting student's involved with their literacy works.
The one here is about a character from The Birchbark House-
The character I chose to highlight on the video is Deydey which is the Father in the story.

Enjoy.

The Day I Became A Canadian

Bannatyne-Cugnet, J. (2008). THE DAY I BECAME A CANADIAN. N.p.: Tundra Books of Northern New York.

The Day I Became A Canadian is a book about a family's day of citizenship. The family is originally from China, and then passes the citizenship test and celebrates their big day. 

I struggle with the fact that this book is high quality literature. Sure, it says a great deal of what someone's day might be like when they pass a citizenship test, but most of the book seemed to be just a big party; I suppose it would be, however it really just shows one example of someone's life becoming a Canadian, so I feel that it is very stereotypical in that manner. Also, I know that a Chinese person wrote this book, however, the cover shows a Chinese girl with a white face- in reality Chinese people do not have white faces, they only paint their faces white, and not all the time. The painting could be symbolic of a celebration, however, it's not specified and is confusing.

The book's illustrations of the other cultural groups in the book are actually very accurate. The facial features and qualities all seem to fit the different racial backgrounds well. The overall story gives out a lot of information about Canada including their songs and the oath you have to say when you are a citizen. This book would be good for someone who wants to become a citizen of Canada. 

In the classroom, I would have student's talk about their heritage- where their grandparents came from and have them collect or draw pictures related to that.

Literary Elements:

Tone: Glad, Joyful, Happy

Setting: Canada, at a school

Character: Happy, Proud, Excited

Lexile: n/a

Shin-chi's Canoe

Campbell, N. (2012). Shin-chi's Canoe. N.p.: GroundWood Books.

Shin-chi's canoe is a story about a Native American family whose children are forced to be sent to residential school's. The European's there treat the Native American children as uncivil and cut their braids and put kerosene in their hair for punishment [fire danger anyone?]. The children are forced to sit apart by gender from each other are forced to go to mass and pray. In the end, the children get to go back home via cattle truck.

This story is a very sad reality of the beginning's of the European's settlement here in North America. The story portrays the character's very realistically. The story is pretty void of stereotypes as the character's are represented for what they are. The overall story is high quality literature. There are many educational topics you can discuss regarding the situations in this book, such as Native American home lives, beginning's of America, different character points of view (Europeans/Native American's).

I would be careful when recommending this book, to small children it may be hard for them to grapple with why the children were treated so poorly. The actually reading lexile is most likely lower, however I think this book definitely needs to be appropriately discussed with an adult guide.
The story definitely helps student's have empathy for one another.

lexile: AD810L

Literary Elements:

Tone: Sad, Hopeful
Character: Weak, Susceptible to others, Letting out Frustration in positive manners, sad
Setting: America, when European's first came and tried to "humanize" Native American's.

Too Many TAMALES

Soto, G. (1993). Too Many TAMALES. N.p.: The Putnam & Grosset Group.

This book is about a girl and her family who makes tamales. While they are making tamales, Maria wears her mother's ring that she places on the table. Later on that evening when Maria's relatives come, Maria realizes the ring is missing. All the children eat all the tamales in hopes to find the ring, but they could not. Maria admits to her mom, but then realizes the mom is wearing the ring. So, all of the relatives make a new batch of Tamales together since they had eaten them all!

This book is a wonderful read. The book is free from stereotypes and gives a good representation of Mexican-American as related to the topic of tamales. For example, the book even tells you a little about how the tamales are made which could make children very interested in creating some themselves. The book's illustrations represent the Mexican culture very well- and the wording the author chooses to describe is an accurate representation.

The book is high-quality literature for many reasons. The books gives a glimpse about Mexican culture, accurately portraying a day in their lives- and the book allows us to learn several different principles.

If I were to use this in class, I would use it as a read-aloud and then have students create pictures of a time they might have had similar to Maria when she lost her mother's ring and then write about how they felt in a few sentences on their picture.

Literary Elements:

Setting: Mexican's Family House, Togetherness, Christmas Time
Character: Mischievous, Loving, Admirable, Honest, Problem-Solving
Tone: Troublesome

Lexile: 670L

NAPPY HAIR

Herron, C. (1999). Nappy Hair. N.p.: Dragonfly Books.

Nappy Hair is a story about an African-American girl who was born with nappy hair. The story told in the book is about how throughout her whole life she had the nappiest hair and that before she was born the angels in heaven were trying to tell God not to give her such nappy hair but He wanted her to have the nappiest hair because He thought it was beautiful.

I think the book's premise is to encourage children that no matter what kind of hair they got, no matter how crazy it is that they are special and that God designed them perfectly and special. The book is not stereotypical in the fact that it tells the reality about African-American hair and offers many different contrasting opinions about the same issue, while still being truthful.

The illustrations are free from stereotypes as well and match up well with the story line. The font size changes to keep reader's engaged and the other uses bold prints to emphasize certain things in the story. The story can be used to help children overcome what other people use against them.

As a classroom, this book could be used to discuss similarities and differences and how they make us all special. I would use this in a first grade classroom.

Ages- 6+

Lexile Level: AD200L

Literary Elements:

Mood: Happy, joyful, adventrous
Character: Strong, Bold, Excited, Beautiful
Setting: Old grandpa's doorstep

Keesha's House

Frost, H. (2003). Keesha's House. N.p.: Frances Foster Books.

Keesha's house is a story about the lives of 6 main characters. Each character has a different story, but they all are similar in the fact that they are all street kids, who have been kicked out of their homes (everyone but Stephie and Jason, who get pregnant at 16 and then lose their baby). The essence of the story is that despite the struggles of life, that you can always find a place of home in your mind, and that home is a place with other people you care about.

The book drew me into the story almost immediately. The tragic situations of the characters made you wonder about their lives and what was going to happen next. The story really brings out empathy to the reader and makes them care about people going through these same issues. The story has some mature situations and content. I would recommend this book for mature 12+ year old's. The age limit on the book really has to do with the student's personal life experiences. Many student's will be able to relate to these stories; whereas some student's may never have had to deal with these situations and the story may be emotionally difficult for them, teacher or adult guidance is a must.

The author uses a diversity of characters and contexts. The characters all came from different economic home lives and racial diversities. The thing that connected them all was their situation. This is a great lesson for older pre-teen children as they discover that many student's are going through difficult times as well. The author also wrote an author's note in the back of the book as well as some additional information regarding the text.

I would use this book to help student's converse about the importance of community and our personal stories. The lesson would be about how our personal stories have an impact on those around us and ourselves and stick with the world forever. The choices they make today will impact future generations forever, and can be either a positive or a negative effect depending on how we use our lives. I would particularly suggest this book to a struggling reader or poverty/foster/gay/pregnant/social activist/religious interest reader. There are issues regarding so many of these subjects and they can be analyzed from many different viewpoints.

This is a great read. Once again, just be advised the book carries some strong and controversial issues including death, teen pregnancy, foster living situations, juvenile detention center, and sexually abusive step-father. 

lexile: np

Literary Elements:

Tone: Sad, hopeful, communal, teamwork, helpful
Setting: Abandoned and displaced children in a city, living in a house together- running away from a variety of homes, bad situations
Characters: Bold, Strong, Discouraged but hopeful, Sad, Confused, Happy to be alive

White Socks Only

Coleman, E. (Writer). Tamblyn, A. (Narrator). (1996). White Socks Only [Online video]. Albert Whitman & Company.

White Socks Only is a book about a young African-American girl who goes into the city one day to see if she can find a good spot to boil an egg on the cement. When she gets thirsty, she goes to a water fountain with the words "Whites Only" to get a drink of water. Reading the sign, she took off her shoes and stepped unto the stool with her clean white socks. A white man rampaged and threatened to beat her. One by one, several African-American's came and started drinking out of the fountain. The white man beat them all. Then, an old African-American man named the "Chicken-Man" came and drank out of the fountain for a real long time. The White man was so scared of the "Chicken Man" and they never saw the mean white man again, or the sign that said "Whites Only".

This book is a fantastic read. The book is a great visual representation of the struggles that many African-American's had to face just because of their skin color. The book teaches a great moral lesson without forcing values unto children, but rather instilling them. The book allows children to see that bad actions have consequences, and that the power of a group is better than standing alone. Also, that is takes someone to stand up for a cause before we can truly see change.

The illustrations were very reflective of African-American features. The only thing I thought was a bit odd was that the white man in the story appeared to have an African-American skin color and features. I am curious why the author would do this? The book has a female represented as the hero of the story, as well as a wise grandmother. This is wonderful for diversity and social justice standpoints.

The book also used African-American vernacular. Two examples of this from the story is "Stuff that his grandmother done taught him." and "Sho nuff be in trouble.". The book also used an onomatopoeia such as the word "Ping!" when she spit into a can. The book offered many different learning examples.

In the classroom, I would use this book to discuss onomatopoeia's, African-American and different cultural vernaculars, historical movements about the African-American community in the United States, social justice in the world today.

Lexile: AD630L (Adult directed discussion/reading)

Age Level: 7+

Literary Elements:
Character: Curious, Innocent, Strong-Willed, Perseverance

Mood: Brave, Bold, Inspirational, Humor

Setting: America- 1900's-1930's, segregated living, city

Ellington Was Not A Street

Shange, N. (2004). Ellington Was Not A Street. N.p.: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers.

Ellington Was Not A Street is a book based on the reality of a once famous, African-American neighborhood, filled with all the glorious ritzy glamour that no longer now exists. The book takes you through the thoughts of a little girl as she discusses the times she remembers about Duke Ellington, Paul Robeson, W.E.B. DuBois, Ray Baretto, Sonny Til, Dizzy Gillespie, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Virgil Akins, and the Clovers. In the end, she says, "Ellington was not always a street" implying that the great glory days are over and now it is simply just a busy street. 

The illustrations in this book demonstrate different amounts of wealth represented in the people groups and situations. The illustrations are slightly stereotypical as they almost imply at the end that all African-American's now live in metal-windowed houses instead of fancy ritzy places, which is not the case of all. The message the illustrations portray are strongly connected with the point the story is trying to make. The facial expressions allow young readers to follow along with the story. 

The book is a wonderful read as it introduces student's to famous African-American musical artists, allowing them to gain a personal appreciation and connection with those of our country's past. Student's and teacher's can explore political relationships regarding the 1950's and present with the topic of race. The book can also be used to explore our country's heroes or role models, and have student's explore who their own role models are. 

The book also contains a glossary of people in the back of the book, including an author's note. The way the story is written does not include punctuation or capitalization. This is another asset that attributes to the book's uniqueness as it came from a poem. This book stars both the little girl as a type of hero, as well as the African-American male musicians. As there were no female musicians starring as heroes, I commend the author for using a little girl for the star figure of the book, as it made her part of the history of Ellington. 

Lexile: Not Listed

Guided Reading Level: R

I would recommend this book be an adult-led discussion as there are many political and racial themes happening, and history to be talked about. There is also many terms that need to be discussed, and may not be further explored by young readers without help. 

Age Level: 7+

The Red Pencil

Pinkney, A. (2014). The Red Pencil. New York City, NY: Little, Brown and Company.

The Red Pencil is a 308 page story about a girl from Sudan named Amira who finds hope in drawing and writing. Amira is given a writing twig to write with in the ground on her 12th birthday. She writes with it to express her feelings of one day being something greater than her cultural traditions allow her to be. One day, the Janjaweed attack her village, killing her father and destroying her livestock and food supply, and worst of all, her special writing twig. She was so distressed, she could not speak, not even if she tried. Her family is forced to relocate to a city called Kalma. In Kalma, Amira struggles to stay alive and endure hardship in her new homeland. Things change when a Sudan Relief Officer comes and gives Amira a red pencil, where she can once again write. Amira's life transforms because of her writing, giving her hope and allowing her to speak again.

The Red Pencil is a wonderful read. It's packed with graphic images that will change your perception and world-view. The Red Pencil depicts scenarios of both an average village in Sudan, as well as a village that has been destroyed, and a refugee site that has rationed water and food. These different settings encourage the reader to see a broad spectrum of what life might be like for some people in Sudan. The Red Pencil gives you an eye into the culture of Sudan and includes many original Arabic words inside the text.

The back of the book contains a glossary of Arabic terms including pronunciation, definitions of important words that appear in the text, and a character pronunciation guide. There is also an author's note included, as well as an acknowledgement section. These assets further the assumption of high quality literature, and rightly so. The Red Pencil offers an inside look into the mind of a twelve-year old girl in Sudan and what they may be thinking as they are forced into traditions that they may or may not agree with or like, but sometimes have no choice.

I would say, there is some rather graphic sounding scenes, which I would be careful with for sensitive readers, however, the book is overall a high quality read. The book has a rather sad tone, with glimpses of humor. I would recommend this book for a child 11+ who is able to comprehend and deal with hard emotions. Some children may be ready to handle death, relocating, and burning of property; whereas some children may be sensitive. I would be cautious of these elements, and make sure you understand the child you are giving the book to.

Lexile Level: HL620L  - This reading lexile suggests this book be given to struggling readers, grades 7 and up. This text is written at an elementary level, but the themes and content are written for 7th grade and up, according to lexile.com

Age Level: 11+

Literay Elements-
Setting: Sudan, 1940's, hot weather, war zone, refugee camp, poor, destruction
Tone: Mellow, Sad undertones, Hopeful-slightly
Character: Bold, Hurt, Inspired, Non-traditional, "Going against the norm", Brave

Home of The Brave

Applegate, K. (2009). Home of the Brave. N.p.: Feiwel and Friends.

Home of the Brave is a book about a refugee from Sudan named Kek. Kek gets sent to America to live with his cousin. Kek has to adjust to his new life in America. There are many challenges Kek has to face as everything is different then what he was used to in his country. Kek’s life begins to change and adjust as he meets welcoming people in his life that help him overcome the challenges of being in a new country.

This book is one that I could not put down. In fact, when I was on the last page, I was terribly sad to find out that the book was over. I was totally enthralled and wrapped up into Kek’s life. I wanted to know what Kek’s life would become. The book is excellent in describing the many situations refugees and other people who are new to America might experience when they arrive. I was able to see this book from both perspectives as I had just been to a country in Africa right next to Sudan and I could relate so well with the situations Kek talked about in his book. It was neat to be able to see the book from both sides. I’ll be sending this book to a friend of mine living in Uganda.

This book is high quality literature for absolutely sure. The book represents a diversity of people, and does not stereotype them into one set of people. The book does an accurate job of representing the life of both a refugee from Sudan and their feelings and the feelings and lives of American’s here. The African Proverbs listed between “Parts” in the book made an awesome addition to the story.

The book is written in a type of poem format. All of the book isn’t necessarily written as a poem would sound, but it makes the read a lot easier to follow along with, and easier on the eyes. The book never seems overwhelming or long. The book is great for all ages. I would say that the youngest age I’d recommend read the book would be about 3^rd grade. Younger children could read this book, but I would have an adult read it with them as there is some content that could be difficult for children to handle and understand without being explained thoroughly.

Setting: Summer, Winter, Fall, Spring – lots of times with snow, in America- country-side- then in Sudan, village

Theme: A boy adjusts to his new American home and goes through struggles to overcome, endure, and survive and be happy

Mood: Filled with excitement, laughs, sadness, joy, jubilation, and tears this book is filled with several mood changes, drawing the reader directly into the life of Kek.

Age Range- 8+ [younger with guided reading]

Classroom Discussion: I would use this book to discuss issues about being in a new place, or welcoming new people into our lives. For example, if we have new student’s in our class, how should we treat them? What times have we felt isolated or excluded? Also- I would follow-up by having children create a diorama of their own lives at home and we would talk about how everyone is different, but how can we unite together to be welcoming and loving to those around us while understanding how our differences can bring us closer together.

Lexile: Not listed- but I would rate at about 530L

Here is a poem I wrote inspired by where Kek is from.

Where Kek’s From Poem- by Courtney Dunn

I am from people the color of earth

We all share our food supplies and worth

Where one goes

Everyone else knows

I am from people brave and strong

Always carrying the weaker one along

We are a team

A village, a community

Where I’m from we love each other

Not in shiny cars or monetary measures

But with warm delighted smiles

And freshly cooked meals

I am from a people

Half dead and half strong

Sharing our regrets in tiny steeples

Helping each other get along

I am from a town

A town that’s never cold

The sunshine and heat embrace us

As rich as freshly carved gold

I am from a place

That I miss more each day

As long as I’m away

I wait for my redemptive day

An Extraordinary Egg

Lionni, L. (1994). An Extraordinary Egg. N.p.: Alfred A Knopf.

An Extraordinary Egg is written by Leo Lionni and is about three frog friends who discover something marvelous. One frog brings home an egg. When the egg hatches they all think it is a chicken (because it came from an egg). The egg however is an alligator. The friends bring home the little alligator to it's mama and the mama is happy to see it's little alligator. In the end, the frog friends laugh because they think it is so funny that the mama called the "chicken" a little alligator.

The illustrations in this book are pleasing to children. The colors are bright and vivid and represent well the story line. The illustrations are life-like and allow the reader to jump into the book. The characters are all happy and friendly characters. Diverse populations of characters are represented. In fact, you could go as far to say that the alligator had the freedom of choice to be whatever it willed, even a chicken. However, since there was no skin colors involved, we can say that the animals were different and therefore represented a variety of ideas of characters. The illustrations do not support stereotypes.

The story is appealing to children. The story has an interesting flow to it. The story is exciting and funny, especially when the frogs are calling the alligator a chicken. The conflict in the story is that the baby "chicken" needs to get home to his mama. The frog and a bird lead the baby home to his mama. There is also small conflicts debating if the egg is really an egg or if it is a pebble. The frogs decide it is an egg when out comes the alligator that they call a chicken.

The story will encourage discussions as you can talk about different kinds of eggs. Do all eggs come from chickens? (No) What other animals lay eggs? You can also discuss teamwork, friendship, and group-effect thinking.

Literary Elements:
Setting: Somewhere near the edge of the waters and on the upper ground by a pond, beautiful flowers and crusty dirt
Mood: Bright, cherry, adventure, fun, exciting, friendship
Characters: Inquisitive, Bold, Funny, Out-going, Brave, Adventurous, Helpful

Lexile: 520L

Age Range- 5+

What's So Yummy? All About Eating Well and Feeling Good

Harris, R. H. (2014). What's So Yummy? All About Eating Well and Feeling Good. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

What's so Yummy takes us through a daily life of a cartoon-depicted family as they discover what healthy foods are and what good they do for your body. The family goes to the grocery store, the garden, and the park. The family gets along great and discusses great times to eat food.

What's So Yummy is an excellent choice for any age. The illustrations are of diverse families. Inside the book, it looked like there were families of all types- including different racial and sexual backgrounds, which paints a realistic view for all. The main characters in the book are a multi-racial couple including a white dad and an African-American female, with their three kids. The only thing that could have potentially made this book stronger is if an African-American male was listed as the father. The reason being that in the current power structure we have the white male, black male, white female, black female therefore by making the main character an African-American male, it would further promote a better power structure as the African-American character could have had another opportunity in the positive family light.

The book tells all sorts of nutrition facts including what types of drinks are healthiest, and what to do to avoid being crabby and angry (perhaps you need a snack!) and it listed the types of food you should eat when you feel that way. This is definitely rating as a high quality literature read as you can use it to educate children on healthy choices. The family in the book also uses transportation such as bikes, walking, or using a scooter- which also promotes the environmental health of the earth. The pictures are bright and cheery catering to the appeal of the children.

The only downfall of the book is that the characters in the book don't exactly have many characteristics of the different racial groups they are representing. They all have the basic round faces with a few stereotypical items adding in to help aid the representation of the characters. The characters are not represented in any negative light however, so I don't see there being much of a problem with the actual characters. The characters are all bright and happy and I would be okay with being in any of their shoes. The brother and sister also have a good relationship in the book, along with the mom and dad. There are also mini conflicts throughout the book including what to do when you feel crabby, a kite getting stuck in a tree, needing to rest our bodies, and etc;. A great read for any young one, and even old! We forget the important things that we need to do for our bodies!

Lexile Level: No Rating

Age Range- 6+

Literary Elements:
Mood: Cheery, bright, happy, healthy
Characters: Intelligent, Cute, Proactive, healthy, helpful, loving, working-together, thinkers
Setting: Park, Grocery Store, Somewhere in America, Modest Family Life, Park, Farmer's Market

Into The Volcano

Into The Volcano is a graphic novel about two brothers who take a trip to a remote island of Kocalaha. The volcano on the island is about to explode and they have to depend on each other to survive and think of a way to escape. In the end, Sumo's mom rescues them and rats out the relatives that brings them into the volcano and in essence puts Sumo's life in danger.

Wood, D. (2008). Into The Volcano. N.p.: The Blue Sky Press.

The illustrations of this book are well crafted. The pictures are honestly a lot more interesting than what the characters are actually saying. In fact, the story itself might be more interesting without any pictures at all. The illustrations are appealing to children perhaps ages 7-11 years old. The characters represented are not diverse, they are mostly all white on page 1 with Sumo and his brother looking native"ish". As far as high quality goes, I wouldn't rate it high quality because the story is neither much of a learning experience and it does not depict young children in a good standpoint, and it does not have a good representation of adults either. The pictures are all very Eurocentric. 

The story line is appealing to some children, mostly boys, and it seems to be a bit dark in some points. Dark in the fact that many bad things happen to the boys, there are pictures of scary skeltons, demon-like people, and creepy scenes in general. I would not consider it high quality because it is very limited as to what type of children the books interests. High quality literature should have some type of appeal to everyone, in some sort of fashion. If it cannot appeal to anyone in any area, then I would assume it to be a dud. 

The story follows a good story line and there is much suspense and wondering what will happen next. I would say that the author did a good job writing the story because it's hard to predict what will happen to the boys. The story is interesting because it shows people's thoughts and not just the words that they are speaking. Overall, I just don't think it is a very high quality read, although the pictures are interesting and the story is good, it doesn't fit into a high quality literature. 

Literary Elements:
Setting: Island, stranded, far away 
Mood: Scary, Suspicious, Dangerous 
Characters: Unintelligent, Daring, Brave, Slightly-Caring, Self-centered 

Lexile Level: GN240L
Age Range: 7-11 

Swimmy

Lionni, L. (1963). Swimmy. N.p.: Random House Inc.

Swimmy is an excellent read. Swimmy is about a little black fish who escapes the bite of the giant tuna when all the other little fish get gobbled up. Swimmy explores the ocean depth until he meets another school of red fish who want to play but they can't because they are afraid they will be eaten. Since Swimmy knows it's not good for fish to be trapped, he thinks of an idea. They will all go together and look like one giant fish, and Swimmy will be the eye. When the tuna saw them, the tuna was afraid because it looked like a scary, giant fish and swam away. Success! 

Swimmy teaches so many principles in such a short read. The biggest concepts I could see that could be used for a teachable moment was the principle of togetherness and creative solutions. Swimmy had to think and think (a principle we try to teach in schools) and then he finally thought of an excellent idea and it involved participation by everyone (another idea we teach in school). The togetherness factor allowed them to defeat the problem that was bothering them. It's such a teachable moment. 

The illustrations were bright and vivid. The stark contrast between the red and the black fish allowed the reader to understand the different viewpoints between the fish. The creative design of all the red fish together and the black eye reinforced the concept of unity and together. Together, they are one even though they are different separately. The underwater scenes matched the descriptions of the words perfectly and allowed the reader to emphasize greatly with Swimmy and his friends. 

In the classroom, I would have students write down all of the adjectives used in the book. Leo Lionni uses so many great describing adjectives. Once they have the list of adjectives, I would have them work in pairs to create a short tail of their own using the adjectives they collected from the story. Then, we would discuss how our tails are similar or different when we use the same adjectives. 

Ages: 6-12 

Lexile Level: AD640L

Literary Elements
Setting: Underwater, dark swampy 
Mood: Curious, Sad, Excited, Together
Character: Brave, Strong, Thinker, Creative, Friendly

Inch By Inch

Lionni, L. (1988). Inch By Inch. N.p.: Random House Inc.

Inch by Inch is written by Leo Lionni. Leo Lionni will be the basis for my mentor work. Inch by Inch is a young children's book about an inchworm that is threatened to be eaten by a robin, but convinces the Robin that he has an amazing ability to measure things. The robin decides that the inchworm is acceptable when he measures his tail. The little inch worm proceeds to measure many different types of birds, all the way until the end of the book when the last bird wants him to measure his singing. When the inchworm is threatened to be eaten if he doesn't measure the bird's singing he then measures his singing by inching away.

This book is well written and great for younger children. The story is one that little children find humorous as the little inch is seen to be witty and cute inching away from the strong bird. It teaches children to find solutions to threatening problems. The book also teaches children that there are more than one way to do something. Learning to think on your feet is an important emphasis in the book.

The illustrations are appealing to the eye. The illustrations are clearly cut outs on a piece of white paper. They really make the pictures seem almost 3-D and lifelike. The pictures of the animals represent a true idea of what each of those animals look like in real life. The food chain is also resembled as a part of an idea in this book as the birds want to eat the inch worm.

Discussions could be brought up about the food chain. For example, is it really possible that a worm could convince a bird of something? Why or why not? Where did the inchworm get its name? What other foods do Robin's eat besides inch worms? You could also discuss issues such as critical thinking problems and responding to threats, how to handle them and what is the best way to do it.

Literary Elements:
Tone: Bright, cheery, bewilderment, puzzling
Setting: In the grasses and trees of some place
Characters: Intelligent, witty, smart, endearing, fierce, demanding

Lexile: 210L

Age Level: 4-7

Mini Lesson: Food chain and Bullying

Esperanza Rising

Ryan, P. M. (2000). Esperanza Rising. New York City, NY: Scholastic.

Esperanza Rising is a book about a girl living in Mexico who is forced to leave home after her father dies and her house burns down from a fire. There is a constant struggle as she moves to a new place where she is no longer considered rich. Esperanza has to learn to work as her mother gets sick and is put into a hospital. In the end, Esperanza learns how to be happier when Miguel brings her grandma to the United States to live with them.

The book is one of high quality literature in the fact that the book allows student's to walk in someone else's shoes. The book also draws student's in as Esperanza's struggles are similar to struggles they have to deal with in their daily lives. The book is stereotypical in the way it portray's Mexican's in America as being poor and having to work only in the fields. The book also is based off of the author's own personal experience which obviously leads to bias.

The girl in the story Esperanza seems to struggle with being content and happy. Despite her situations, she always is thinking about unrealistic expectations that later turn out differently then she expected. Esperanza is a delightful character in that she represents what seems to be most of the middle school population as they challenge ideas and authority and question life. Esperanza though she is a SUPER COMPLAINER! follows through with what she is asked of and doesn't resist despite her complaining. In a way, it teaches student's that we all go through bad times, but that doesn't mean you can back out of something just because it's difficult.

The book didn't have any illustrations, but the illustrations that seemed to arise from reading the book was that of a Mexican family living in a shanty hut, eating poor man's food and waiting to go work. The author's writings made the dirt come alive and the tastes and smells stick on each of the pages. Actually, sometimes, I wanted to put the book down because it seemed all too realistic, as if you were stepping into Esperanza's hard world. 

My reading buddy also read this book along with me; and she absolutely enjoyed it. She enjoyed the facts like Esperanza struggling to sweep and her journey to a new land. 

The age appropriateness of this book would be ages 9-13

Lexile Level: 750L 

Mini Lesson: I would use this book to have a discussion about "Have you ever had a situation where you had to leave somewhere you were comfortable to go to somewhere that made you uncomfortable? How did that make you feel? What was it like? How did the other people treat you? Were there things that contributed to making you feel comfortable/uncomfortable? How can we help others adjust to the United States if we know they are new here? 

Literary Elements: 
Tone: Uncomfortable, Complaining, Adventure, Sadness, Joy, Earthy
Setting: Rich Mexico, Poor United States
Characters: Array from young to old, Mexican's- hard working, caring for families, love, appreciation, heritage

When Will It Snow?

White, K. (n.d.). When Will It Snow? N.p.: Little Tiger Press

When Will It Snow is a book about a baby bear who is longing to stay awake during hibernation so he can see the changes of winter; however; his momma bear will not allow him to stay awake during the winter. Bears friends squirrel and mole tell baby bear all about the sights and sounds of winter.  In the end, bear is happy because he gets to meet up with his friends again in the Spring, and they were true friends to him.

The book is very appealing to children. The images are very lively and have very beautifully painted scenes. The expressions shown on the characters faces are all revealing to the situation which help the children understand how the characters are feeling emotionally when different situations arise. The conflict presented in the story is that the bear wants to stay awake for hibernation, a time when bears do not stay awake for. Bear is also sad because his friends get to stay awake and play and he does not, and bear is scared that they will not be there for him when he gets back. The conflict is resolved when bear’s mother teaches him that true friends will be there for you. In Spring, his friends are still there for him and they have fun playing in the Spring time together.

The story offers many different things to consider including what are true friends, why do bears have to hibernate during the winter, how can you simulate snow in the spring and much more. The discussions that can open from this book are ranging from discussions about friendships and science.  The settings involved are depicted realistically regarding the different changes of seasons. Obviously, the animals are not realistically represented as their faces are shown smiling or frowning, and bears do not stand upright all the time, however, the actual body shape of the animals are accurate to their description.

The stories can promote diversity as all of the characters in the book are different and have different needs. The story promotes unity and friendship among the differences.

Age Level: 4-7

Lexile Level: Not Listed

Luke On The Loose

Bliss, H. (n.d.). Luke On The Loose. N.p.: Toon Books.

This book was shared with lots of laughs with my reading buddy. My reading buddy was giggling excitedly through almost every page of the book. My reading buddy really liked the illustrations involved in the graphic novel. The pages are exciting and exhilaration. I believe the pictures on the page are both shocking and funny as Luke runs throughout the town chasing a group of pigeons causing accidents and distresses everywhere. In the end Luke is put on a little leash showing a result of what will happen if you run away. The book really is a comical graphic novel.

The conflict presented is that Luke is bored talking with his dad and then he gets distracted with the group of pigeons. The conflict is resolved when Luke gets tired and sleeps on a roof and his dad and the police men also rescue Luke.

This book is a great book to get student's excited about reading. The pages are illustrated in a format that makes it very appealing. The comical drawings make the reader fall easily into the pages. I would recommend this book for a pair-to-share event. Student's can then make their own comic book events about a situation they can relate to. 

Diverse populations of both Caucasian, Hispanic, African-American. The illustrations depict both young and old folks.

The stories have the potential of some discussions, for example the benefits or disadvantages to following rules, consequences for actions, and perhaps the dynamics of parent-child relationships. The stories are certainly age appropriate and very appealing to children of about eleven years old.

Age Level: 9-13

Lexile Level: GN170L