Blog 2

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, 1^st Grade ( at last!)

By Barbara Park

            The chapter book Junie B. Jones, 1^st 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.