Historical
fiction:
Sugar
By Jewell Parker Rhodes
The
novel was better than I anticipated.
I never considered historical fiction to be of interest to me. When having to look for these types of
books I found that there is a larger selection than I was aware of. The book Sugar in particular was
a very engaging story at first. I
was engaged in the beginning but not throughout the whole text, it was however,
written in a way where I felt it would be doable for an elementary student to
understand and grasp the overall concept.
The character in the story went through some trying times and witnesses
a lot through the book. It
certainly makes you think about that point in history. I did enjoy how the character in the story spoke about her
“Mama” all the way throughout the story and her mother’s wisdom was talked
about during different scenes in the book.
A Sweet Small of Roses
by Angela Johnson
The
picture book does a fine job of discussing the civil rights movements to young
readers. It does this by using a
young girl as the main character.
She sneaks out of her house to see what all of the rumors and talk was
about. The book describes and
makes children aware of the marches and protests that went on at the time. I think the book did a good job at
using terminology that children could understand. I wouldn’t say that this one of one of my favorite books but
I thought it was great for a historical fiction book.
Never Forgotten
By Patricia C. McKissack
The
book Never Forgotten was surprisingly engaging. I feel that the book was engaging due to the many detailed
pictures within the book. The
story was about a young boy from Africa who was forced to be a slave in America
at a very early age. I didn’t
expect too much from the book because there are many books out there that
pertain to the subject of slavery but I felt this one was better than
most. I think it allows the reader
to understand but it was something that was at an appropriate level for a
child.
Half Spoon of Rice, A Survival Story of the Cambodian
Genocide
Written by Icy Smith Illustrted by Sopaul Nhem
The
book Half Spoon of Rice is a very deep and intense story of
survival. It’s intriguing to me
how the story uses such heavy context even though it is clearly made for
children. The pictures are vivid
and really set the scene. The text
speaks about many actual happening during the genocide such as children being
taken away, having to work in units, and being separated from their families.
The
pictures may have been my favorite part, as they were incredibly detailed and
almost told the story itself. I
did feel emotion during this story for the children who were affected at the
time. I felt it did take you back
in time and make you think how those children felt when they were having
trouble and clearly experiencing times of need.
The Beatitudes, From Slavery to Civil Rights
By Carole Boston Weatherford
The
book is an interesting take on the story from slavery to civil rights. The pictures are amazing, the people
are quite life like. I was
impressed that the story is very factual for such young children and really
engulfs that time period. I think
an interesting detail about the story is that it will highlight certain lines
within the text by making it in larger print and having it placed on another
part of the page. When the author
chose to do this, she really emphasizes those words.
The
text and pictures together really allow you to grasp the story and understand
what is going on. The way the
author writes makes you feel as if you are listening to that narrator speak. The pictures have multiple images
and not just one scene on a page which allows the reader to think deeper and
see many visuals at once, allowing for much thought and use of the imagination.
June B. Jones, 1st Grade ( at last!)
By Barbara Park
The
chapter book Junie B. Jones, 1st Grade ( at last! ) is a truly cute
and endearing story of a little girl entering first grade. It goes through the ins and outs of
first grade, how it feels to be new at school, and the journey of making new
friends. The story is enjoyable for both children and adults, even though it is
meant for young children. It’s
certainly a text that a younger reader would most likely have to read with a
parent or a friend. I was
surprised at some of the vocabulary that is used within the book. I felt some of the vocabulary was a bit
high level for the students but I guess that is where the parents would come in
and explain if they were reading together. The story really captures how a student might feel entering
first grade and allows the younger reader to know that not everyone is going to
have a rough time at one point or another but it always turns out okay.
The
text is a chapter book but every once in a while they have a picture in the
book. The picture really engages
the students and children, getting them excited. The book allows kids to create a picture in their mind of
what Junie B and her current situation might look like, while only giving them
a few pictures to help along their thinking.
Wordless books:
Bone Dog
By Eric Rohmann
The
book was interesting, mainly because some pages had words an some did not. The story idea is strange in itself
because it is about this little boy who is afraid of his dog having to
leave. The dog then turns into a
skeleton, yet there are many other
skeletons that come about. I find
it strange and possibly somewhat scar to children that these skeletons are just
dancing around the boy in a somewhat haunting way.
The
cover is probably my most favorite pat of the book. It contains a detailed picture of the dog and the boy,
showing bones inside of both.
Perhaps the author wanted to show that they both have a skeleton on the
inside and are more alike than the by would think.
A Ball for Daisy
By Chris Raschka
The book is a very adorable story
of a little dog and his red ball.
Yes, the story had no words in it, yet, you can understand and
comprehend from the pictures that the dog loves his red ball and it is most
likely his favorite thing in the entire world. I think this story in particular would be a great one for
students to look at and have to create their own story with. It leaves a lot of room for imagination
and creativity.
The pictures show the dog and the
ball in all different environments and places throughout the story. The dog is always happy and enjoying
the time with his favorite toy. It
allows the reader to get a feel for what the dog is thinking and even how he
feels about the ball. The ball is
not a person, yet in this story it is almost a character, the dog and the ball
actually have somewhat of a relationship; which is certainly fun for kids.
Tuesday
By David Wiesner
The wordless
picture book is an award-winning book. The cover in itself intrigues you from the start with
the giant lone clock and the house with the shining light off in the distance.
The book starts off with the words, “Tuesday evening around 8…” Then the book turns into this very
creative story about frogs and what they do in the evening when no one is
looking. I found the story to be
very engaging and quite adorable for young children. In the text the frogs are flying on their lily pads and
roaming about the neighborhood.
The frogs are doing things that are not so normal for frogs!
I think children
will have a great time, coming up with a story to fit the pictures. The author is certainly creative within
his images, and showing these frogs in many different lights. The book is very useful as it can tie
into many different subjects if needed for integration.
The Lion and the Mouse
By Jerry Pinkney
The
story The Lion and the Mouse, is an endearing story about the relationship of those two
animals. The wordless book
really allows the readers to daydream within their own imagination about what
these two characters may bee saying to each other and what they have in
common. The reader can tell that
the two characters are friend and clearly enjoy each other’s company. I think the story is so engaging at
first because as most people know, it isn’t always common for a lion and a
mouse to be friends but yet, here in this story they are. The illustration sin this story
are absolutely amazing and go into great detail. The picture o the lion alone is so detailed and it truly
emphasizes almost every hair in his mane.
The Conductor
By Laetitia Devernay
The
story, The Conductor, is different from other ones I have read so
far. The story is almost
sophisticated and has a deeper meaning than the others I have read. I think this book would be interesting
for the upper elementary grades to look at. The main character is this small, somewhat lonely main
wearing a conductors suit. IN the
pictures it’s almost as if he standing on dandelions but then you come to find
out that he is conducting birds.
It is interesting that of all things the author chose the conductor to be
instructing birds. It sounds quite
odd at first but the pictures truly fit the story and allow for the
illustrations to have a consistent flow of a plot. The author used very few colors when drawing the
illustrations. I feel that he did
this so the reader could really focus on the conductor and his actions more so
the environment around him
I Can’t Sleep
By Philippe Dupasquier
The
wordless book, I Can’t Sleep is a great book for both kindergarten and
first grade. I feel that the book
is very relatable; which will make it easy for children to write their own
story when looking at the pictures. It is cute how you can tell simply by
looking at these pictures what the parents and the little girl in the story are
thinking. The little girl obviously
cannot sleep and wakes her parents, which is something that happens to most
children. The story continues on through
the night with the family doing different activities. My favorite part was when the
little girl expresses that she is hungry and then the whole family is making
breakfast in the evening time.
