One World, One Day

Thanks, Shawnetha Watson, for another good photo essay book.

Kerley, B. (2009). One world, one day.  Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society.

Reading Level: Easy Non-fiction, K - 2nd grade

Summary: 
This photo essay book tells a story with a series of photographs.  The story tells what children around the world do in a day. The words are few, but the pictures speak for themselves. The photos tell a story about what children do from sunrise to sunset.  All children "get up, wash up, and celebrate a new day."  They all have breakfast, travel, go to school, head home, work, play, eat, spend time with family, and get ready for bed.  "Around the world, kids dream of tomorrow and all the possibilities of just one day."  By showing pictures of how one day is spent around the world, children can see how they are all different, yet all the same. 

Literary Terms:  

The illustrations are the most evident feature of this non-fiction book.  This book uses a total of sixty-three photographs to tell a simplistic yet powerful story.  Each photograph is mentioned at the end of the book with a title, location, and caption.  It is truly amazing to see where all of the photographs come from and how they all tie in with the story.  There are photographs included from the USA, Cambodia, India, Israel, Myanmar, Iraq, and China, just to name a few.  

The author of the book is able to connect children around the world with the use of photographs.  For example, the reader will see a series of photographs when the author is describing children having breakfast.  We see children eating different breakfast foods, such as churros, toast, hot sweet tea, pancakes, and porridge. By reading the explanation of the photographs in the index, you will see that the "Porridge" photograph is from Korea, the "Pancakes" photo is from the United States of America (taken in Sevierville, TN), the "Churros" photo is from Spain, the "Toast" photo is from Australia, and the "Hot sweet tea" photo is from Bangladesh. Our foods may be similar or different from other countries, but we all share the common thread of having breakfast.  This is just a part of the theme, which is that we all have much in common.  In the words of the author, "the more we can embrace our commonality, the more tolerant we can be of our differences."  

The captions in the index provide even more information about each photograph.  For instance, the caption of the "Hot sweet tea" photo from Bangladesh states "A boy helps his family by working in a restaurant pouring tea.  In South Asia, many people drink tea with milk and sugar."  Additionally, some photos like this one in particular include a photographer's note.  This note states "Roki makes tea in a restaurant in the main Bazaar in Azmiriganj, a remote town, in Bangladesh.  Roki studied up to grade four, but quit school to help his three sisters and his aging mother.  He described his day to me.  "I wake up at 6:00 am, brush, and wash dirty dishes in the river behind the restaurant.  Then I make tea until afternoon.  Later I have a bath.  For dinner, I have rice with potato.  After that I go back to work, usually until 9:00 pm, and then I go to sleep," Roki has stepped up to his responsibilities to his family, but I hope he will be able to continue his education someday." Captions and notes that go along with pictures like this one give an authentic insight into the life of a child who lives across the world.  

Curriculum Activity:

This photo essay makes me think about sharing diversity, culture, and tolerance in the classroom.  I think it would be a wonderful way to begin a new study on children around the world.  Groups of students could focus and research specific parts of a day around the world, such as "What children around the world eat for breakfast", "What school is like around the world", or "How children spend time with their families in different countries."  This book has so many possibilities when it comes to teaching students about diversity, culture, and tolerance.  

This website also has some great ideas for using this book in the classroom. 
http://www.rif.org/us/literacy-resources/multicultural/one-world-one-day.htm

Common Core State Standards:   I teach a Basic English 12 class to 12th graders with disabilities.  If I were to use this book in my classroom, the following standards would be addressed.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.3 Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and explain how specific individuals, ideas, or events interact and develop over the course of the text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.6 Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness or beauty of the text.

BIG questions: Are we all that different from people around the world?  How can a photograph tell a story?  Do you have a photograph that tells a story? 

Copper Sun

                                                                                                 

One I'd like to get - thanks to Christy Havens.

Draper, S. M. (2006). Copper sun. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

This chapter book begins in Africa in 1738.  The main character is Amari, a fifteen-year-old girl who is soon to be wed and very content with her life.  This all changes when strangers come into her village, killing her family, and taking her prisoner.  Amari’s journey from Africa is one of danger, hunger, suffering, and humiliation.  She is sold at a slave auction in South Carolina where she meets Polly, an outspoken indentured white girl.  Both girls are sent to work on the same plantation for a wicked man.  Life is extremely hard for the girls.  They both dream and long for freedom.    Then a sudden turn of events leads them running for their freedom.

This book is written in sections with a parallel plot structure built around the two characters, Amari and Polly.  By doing this, the author allows the reader to see slavery through the eyes of a white person, as well as a black person’s.  The conflict in the story would be considered person-against-society.  The protagonist is Amari and the antagonist is slave traders and owners.

Introduce and/or review what a parallel plot is.  Let small groups discuss why the author chose to use a parallel plot structure.  Then discuss their answers as a class.

CC.9-10.R.L.5 Craft and Structure: Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.

AASL Standard 2.4.2 Reflect on systematic process and assess for completeness of investigation.

AASL Standard 4.1.3 Respond to literature and creative expressions of ideas in various formats and genres.

The Big question is...           What is freedom mean to you?

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian

Thanks, Charlene for a good example of parallelism.

Alexie, S. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. New York: Hachette.

            Arnold Spirit, Jr. is a fourteen-year-old boy who lives on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington, where he has experienced poverty and parental alcoholism, and a host of medical problems. During his life, family and friends like have ridiculed him due to his stuttering, a lisp, and for interests that earn him the stigma of an outcast on the reservation. Hoping for a better education and chance to be happy in life, Junior decides to leave the reservation to attend the all-whit Reardan High School, where the only other Indian is the school mascot. Although he experiences some academic and athletic success there, he is unable to escape the ridicule of others. Throughout the novel, Junior endures several significant losses and eventually learns to form an identity independent of the stereotypes of either Indians or whites.

            In the classroom, I would use excerpts from this book to teach rhetorical analysis. Two chapters, “The Black Eye-of-the-Month-Club” (Chapter One) and “How Monsters Fight” (Chapter Eight) are excellent choices to help students understand how the author’s style conveys the theme of the novel. A “big question” I would ask students is “How would you describe your journey to developing your own identity?” I would then use one or both of these short chapters to explore how the author’s style reveals the theme of this journey to identity. Specifically, the first person narration establishes the voice of the adolescent narrator. The first few lines of Chapter One depict this: “I was born with water on the brain. Okay, so that’s not exactly true. I was actually born with too much cerebral spinal fluid inside my skull. But cerebral spinal fluid is just the doctor’s fancy way of saying brain grease.” The narrator continues this straightforward discussion of the congenital condition that serves as a source of his ridicule. The dark humor he uses to describe his condition creates the voice of the adolescent narrator. Further, the simplistic, often choppy syntax reflects the thought patterns of a young person and creates a conversational and matter-of-fact tone as he continues to describe his medical challenges:

First of all, I ended up having forty-two teeth. The typical human has thirty-two, right?  But I had forty-two.

Ten more than usual.

Ten more than normal.

Ten more than human.

The choppy structure is obvious again as he describes life on the reservation:

                        Do you know what happens to retards on the rez?

                        We get beat up.

                        At least once a month.

                        Yep, I belong to the Black-Eye-of-the-Month Club.

Alexie also utilizes parallelism, as in this example when he talks about why he likes to draw:

                        “I draw all the time.

                        I draw cartoons of my mother and father; my sister and my grandmother; my best friend, Rowdy; and everybody else on the rez.

                        I draw because words are too unpredictable.

                        I draw because words are too limited.

Here, (as is the short syntax in the above examples), parallelism is used to emphasize the importance of the subject being discussed. These rhetorical techniques continue throughout the novel and sustain the voice established in this first chapter.

            It would be interesting to have students bring in a map of their personal journeys that would illustrate their origins (family, culture, etc.) what influences they encounter along the way, and the destination they foresee (college, career, family, etc.) It would also be fun to have students illustrate them in the cartoon drawings typical of the kind Junior draws, as depicted by book illustrator Ellen Forney. Alternately, the cartoon art could be used to teach students to analyze visual text.  

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.5 Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.

The Skin I'm In

I know I already have a reflection about this book, but Brianna Paskitti did such a good job with this and raised some pretty awesome big questions. Worth a read!

Flake, S. (1998). The skin I’m in. New York: Jump at the Sun / Hyperion Paperbacks

for Children.

 

Category: Chapter Realistic Fiction Chapter Book (multi-cultural)

Recommended Age: Interest Level 7-12 grades (reading level 9.1)

Plot Synopsis:

            In this Coretta King Award winning book, Maleeka Madison is a brilliant student who feels out of place at school.  On top of her smarts, she had deep ebony skin that is a cause for ridicule from peers and make Maleeka feel like a “freak”.  She is often bullied.  Her father had the same skin tone and Maleeka had found worth and kinship in this shared trait with her father.  However, since his unexpected death three years ago, Maleeka has felt adrift in the world and ugly in her own skin.  Her mother fell apart at the death of her father, and Maleeka has played mother to her own mom during the grieving. 

            In 7^th grade, Maleeka has set out to make a new life for herself- hang our with the cool girls (whom she does homework for), get wild new haircut and play down her smarts.  He plan to reinvent herself begins to work until a new teacher, Mrs. Saunders, begins teaching English at the middle school.  Mrs. Saunders, who has prominent scar on her face, sees the potential in Maleeka and invests in Maleeka.  Maleeka has a love/hate relationship with Mrs. Saunders.  She sees the teacher as standing in the way of her growing in the social scene, but she also feels a sense of duty to live up to the type of work Ms. Saunders knows Maleeka can do.  Maleeka begins to seek solace through the creative writing project Mrs. Saunders tasks her with.  The relationship built between teacher and student gives Maleeka the support she needs to be comfortable and confident in the skin she is in.  At the end of the book, Maleeka has the confidence to tell the truth when her main bully sets Ms. Saunders’ room on fire.  She begins to be comfortable in her skin and with her place in the world.

Why choose The Skin I’m In?

            The theme of identity and bullying runs throughout the book.  In the current school culture, this topic is so relevant.  If I taught middle or high school, I’d love to share this book with my students.  I think many adolescents would find refuge and someone they could relate to in the character of Maleeka.

            Flake’s writing style, word choice and organization makes it a quick read.   She uses a lot of short sentences in rapid succession and chapters are about 4 or 5 pages.  The pacing makes it flows like a monologue and really gets into the mind of the main character.  Also, Flake uses urban and slang terms like a middle-schooler.  The characterization of Maleeka is beautiful! 

Using this text in the classroom/potential lessons and BIG questions:

            I would use this text for students to make text-to-self connections to deepen their comprehension. I would have students write about their own identity and if they have had any similar relationships-either on the bully end or the victim end.  I would have them write about them own self-perceptions and then how they think other perceive them.  Comparing and contrasting these list would be interesting.

 Also, I would encourage students to analyze some of the text from the book.  Specifically, I would have them analyze the monologue and then write what they reveal about the main character. 

Lastly, I would have conversations regarding bullying and social action.  Perhaps there could be a school-wide campaign started and this book could be the impetus.

Big questions:

• What does your face say to the world? 
• What qualities do you project and how do you think others’ see you?
• How can perceptions lead to conflict among people?
• Is the face you project consistent with your internal self?

Standards Connections:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.2 Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.

One Crazy Summer

Thank you Annette Black, for one I've missed.

Williams-Garcia, R. (2010). One crazy summer. New York, NY: Amistad.

One Crazy Summer is a multicultural historical fiction book by Rita Williams-Garcia that has won multiple awards. These awards include Newbery Honor, National Book Award Finalist, Scott O’Dell Award, and the Coretta Scott King Award. This interest level of this book is grades 4-7. It is a delightful yet touching book about three sisters that are sent across the country on an airplane by themselves to spend the summer with their mother that abandoned them when they were very young. The story portrays the power of love and protectiveness among sisters. This is especially evident in Delphine the order sister who is very protective of her younger siblings, Vonetta and Fern. Due to not having a mother growing up, Delphine has learned to take care of her sisters, because she hasn’t been able to rely on a mother to do so. As the story unfolds the reader falls in love with these three young girls that are forced to travel from New York to Oakland California to spend the summer with their mother a stranger to them and who doesn’t want them there. The girls are faced with the realities of life living in the black neighborhood of Oakland, California and meet some interesting characters involved with the Black Panthers and the movement for equality. They learn things about their mother that they never knew and make meet people that will impact the rest of their lives. Will the girls’ mother, Cecile begin to accept the girls as her daughters and show love toward them? How will the involvement with the Black Panthers impact the girls’ lives? Will they survive the summer with their mother and make it back home to New York safely? Read One Crazy Summer, this heart wrenching yet funny tale of three girls experiencing life with a mother that abandoned them.

            This book would be a good book to use for studying episodic plot, because there many underlying story lines going on throughout the book from chapter to chapter. For example you have the relationship between Delphine, her sisters and their mother. There is also the conflict involved with the Black Panthers and the police. The book portrays person-against-person conflict between the girls and their mother and person-against-society conflict with the story of the Black Panthers and the revolutionary camp.

A classroom lesson or activity that could go along with this book is to have the students study characterization by having them compare and contrast how the characters changed from the beginning of the book to the end. This would especially be good for looking at the character of Cecile and how her attitude toward her daughters changed in the book. Another activity that could go along with this book would be to have the students do research and write about the movement of the Black Panthers in the 1960’s.

Big Questions:

• How does the character of Cecile change from the beginning of the story to the end?
• How does spending time with Cecile during the summer change the girls’ attitudes about their mother?
• How does spending time at the revolutionary camp reshape the lives of Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern?

Standards:

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.4.3: Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character’s thoughts, words, or actions).
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.4.9: Compare and contrast the treatment of similar themes and topics (e.g., opposition of good and evil) and patterns of events (e.g., the quest) in stories, myths, and traditional literature from different cultures.

Rose Blanche

Thanks to Shawnetha Smith for a secondary entry.

Innocenti, R. (1985). Rose Blanche. Mankato, MN: Creative Education, Inc. 

Reading Level: 3.2 and above

Plot Summary: 
This is a story about the innocence of a child during World War II.  Rose Blanche realizes that things are changing about her as she watches the trucks and soldiers come and go in a small town located in Germany.  One day, she sees a little boy jump from the back of one of the trucks, but is the boy is quickly returned to the truck by the town mayor.  Curiosity gets the best of the young girl as she wonders where the loud, stinky trucks full of people go.  She decides to follow the truck after school one day only to find a world very different from her own.  She discovers long wooden houses, electric barbed wire fences, and many cold, hungry children. Rose Blanche begins to sneak food to the young children after school every day.  Then one morning, the people of the small town flee as a new group of soldiers arrive.  Rose Blanche was already in the woods that day to find that the camp has been destroyed as a gunshot fills the air. As spring arrives, beautiful wildflowers surround the remains of the old barbed-wire fence.   

Literary Terms:  

This book is well-known for its rich and realistic illustrations.  One of the main visual elements observed in this book is the use of color.  Throughout the book, the colors of the people and settings are very drab and gloomy, with the exception of Rose Blanche.  The illustrator and author of this book used dark shades of greens, reds, browns, and grays throughout all the pages.  His choice of color sets a melancholymood which fits right along with the reality of sadness this story conveys The only brightness the reader will see is that of young Rose Blanche, who is dressed in a bright blue coat, pink shirt, white socks, black shoes, and a bright red bow in her blonde hair.  Rose Blanche stands out against the cold winter settings and dreary-looking people.  The luster of her curiosity, child-like innocence, and good-hearted compassion for the children living in the concentration camps is shown by this contrast in color.  The written words of the story are simple enough for a child to understand, but the illustrations are so in-depth and powerful that they will remain with you after you have closed the book. 

Another important literary device found in the book is the use of theme.  There are parts of this story that are not explicitly stated by the author, but may be inferred by the reader.  For example, it is implied that Rose Blanche has died when there is a gunshot heard in the woods and “Rose Blanche’s mother waited a long time for her little girl.”  The last illustration of the book shows a bright-colored field full of beautiful wildflowers growing along the barbed-wire fences that were once part of the concentration camp.  The purple flowers seen in this illustration are also found in a previous page where Rose Blanche is holding a single purple flower in her hand as she comes upon the foggy scene of the demolished concentration camp.  This is not simply a story about war.  The author’s meaning seems much deeper than that.  There is a powerful underlying significance of the innocent mind of a child who doesn’t understand the bad things in the world happening around them.  This book touches on ethics, compassion, and innocence as Rose Blanche finds herself in the midst of war and devastation.  This emotional, haunting story has a theme that life isn’t always what it seems, especially in the eyes of a child.          

Curriculum Activity:

When I first read this book, I immediately thought about how closely this book relates to World History.  A teacher could use this book as a reference when teaching about World War II and the Holocaust.  An idea for a classroom activity would be to ask students to describe the scenes of this war, such as the soldiers, transportation, and concentration camps.  Another activity may be to have students make a timeline of the events happening in the story as related to the war, beginning with the formation of the German army and ending with the arrival of soldiers from another country.  Additionally, this book could also be used in conjunction with The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.

Common Core State Standards:   I teach a Basic English 12 class to 12th graders with disabilities.  If I were to use this book in my classroom, the following standards would be addressed.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.3 Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed)

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.5 Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact

BIG questions:  How would you explain the concept of war to a child?  How can a child view the world so differently than teenagers or adults do?                

Connections: World War II, Holocaust, Fascism, Germany, concentration camp, wartime, hunger, innocence, compassion, death

There's a Nightmare in my Closet

Mayer, M. (1968). There’s a nightmare in my closet. New York: Penguin.

Genre: Picture Book

Thank you, Charlene Martin!

Summary: Each night as he goes to bed, a little boy closes his bedroom closet in an effort to avoid letting his nightmare (which he is certain lives in there) escape into his room. One particular night as the boy crawls into bed and pulls his cover up to his eyes, his nightmare comes true: a large, hideous monster emerges from the closet, advances toward him, and jumps on the foot of the boy’s bed. In a delightful ending, the boy not only faces his fears but also embraces them.

Terms: Mayer portrays the boy and the monster through indirect characterization, allowing the reader to make inferences about both of them. The boy, for example, is depicted as being afraid of what looms in his closet. Apparently, his fear is that a monster is lurks in his closet, so the boy is careful to close the door each night. Through this behavior as well as his jumping into bed and pulling the covers over his head, the author presents a character with whom everyone can identify, from the child who struggles with bedtime fears to the adult who wrestles with life issues. Likewise, the monster, though illustrated as a tall, ugly, pink being with green polka dots, a gaping mouth, and large ears, proves that he is quite an emotional mess himself. Such actions create the boy’s empathy for the monster, which in turn creates empathy in the reader. The story of a monster who ends up being scared himself makes the book an excellent read for young children who have similar fears at night or in the dark, but it is even better for older children since it requires an amount of inference for which four and five year olds may not be developmentally ready. While this skill may not be necessary to enjoy and understand the book, the story is enhanced by it. The boy does not say exactly why the monster is crying, for example.  He also does not tell why he shuts the closet door after he tucks the monster into bed. Children would benefit from a discussion of these events. High school students, however, are equipped to dive into the symbolism of the monster. Clearly, the monster – or nightmare – represents any fear that we create in our lives, particularly those that we allow to become “larger than life.”  In fact, one theme of the book involves an ownership of those fears and the possible outcome of not only facing but also embracing those fears.

               Interestingly, the illustrations in this book are limited to only a handful of colors, including pops of green and orange, on a muted background. The illustrations seem to reflect the simplicity of the language and syntax in sentences such as, “Go away, nightmare, or I’ll get you!” and “I was mad, but not too mad.” In fact, the pages of the book are filled mostly with the artwork, while the sentences occupy minimal space. This further underscores the theme since the idea(s) become larger, or more important, than the words that are used to express the idea.

Curriculum Connection: An elementary librarian friend recommended this book to me when I inquired about picture books I could pair with the classic literature I already include in my classes.  In the future, I will pair this book with Frankenstein in my Pre-AP English II classes. While it certainly fits nicely with the monster as a literary archetype, it also shares a thematic link. Just as the monster in that novel is unnamed for various reasons (including the fact that we can all identify with the monster on some level), the monster in this picture book is not identified nor described in detail. This helps the reader associate our own nightmares or fears in place of this particular creature.

This book would also pair well thematically with 1984, a novel in which the government, or “Big Brother” gains information about individual citizens’ greatest fears and using those fears against them. For both novel units, this picture book would be a great introduction and discussion starter to focus on such BIG questions as, “What nightmare hides in your closet?” and “What would happen if you confronted your own monster?”
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.

Wemberly Worried

 Thanks to Brianna Paskitti!
Henkes, K. (2000). Wemberly worried. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books.

Category: Picture Book

Recommended Age level: 3 years to 8 years (though worriers of all ages will be encouraged)

Plot Synopsis:

Wemberly Worried is written by beloved children’s author, Kevin Henkes.  In traditional Henkes fashion, the story of Wemberly Worried is about a typical life experiences shared by all, especially kids, but written is a lyrical, memorable and fun format.  Henkes trademark mice tell the story of Wemberly, a nervous and reluctant girl.  The plot of this picture book is centers on the fact that Wemberly is a worrier- she frets about everything- the safety of the playground, the cracks on the wall, etc. Wemberly has a “lovie”, Petal, that she carries everywhere. One of the loveliest lines from the text, “ When Wemberly was especially worried, she rubbed Petal’s ears.  Wemberly worried that if she didn’t stop worrying, Petal would have no ears left at all.”   Wemberly lives in a tightknit family that is continually trying to reassure her that fears are unfounded, but that doesn’t save her from her biggest fear to date- the start of school.  Luckily, Wemberly is placed in Mrs. Peachum’s classroom, and Mrs. Peachum has a remedy for Wemberly’s worries. (I won’t spoil the ending, but let’s say every teacher, especially primary teachers, can take notes from smart cookie teachers like Mrs. Peachum.)

Why Choose Wemberly Worried?

I chose this book for a few reasons:

1)  I have read and enjoyed a few Kevin Henkes books in the past.  His fluid language and loveable characters are so easy to connect with and remember.  I was not disappointed with Wemberly Worried!  Wemberly is a lovely little mouse who the reader just wants to root for during the book!

2) My daughter started preschool in September and she has had a hard time adjusting.  Reading this book to her helped ease her into her second week of school.  She could make a text-to-self connection to the setting and plot.

3) Of course, the vivid illustrations draw the reader in, too.  Henkes is such a detailed author.  My daughter especially loved to read all of the dialogue that is scattered throughout the illustrations.  She laughed with each and every Wemberly comment. 

Illustrations

The illustrations are a knockout.  Henkes illustration style employs cartoon art and uses vivid color throughout.  The circular lines on the cover intensify the title, Wemberly Worried, and create drama.  However, on one page, Henkes uses lack of color to create visual contrast and tension.  Toward the end of the book, Wemberly is sharing all of her worries about school.  Henkes uses all gray and black typeface, and all text and question marks to illuminate how fearful Wemberly is feeling.  The questions range from: “What if no one else has spots?” to “What if I have to cry?”  To add drama and tension to the pages, the typeface gets bolder larger as the questions persist.  A little Wemberly sits on the corner of these pages, worrying. 

Another Henkes trademark illustration device are the boxes that Henkes uses to show changing emotion in his characters.  This composition of illustration adds to the characterization and makes for a fuller character.  It enriches the mood of the text.  In this book, it shows Wemberly worrying from all sides.  In Henkes’ Chrysanthemum, it elaborates on how much Chrysanthemum loves her name. 

Henkes also uses repetition of scene in his composition to show how the characters’ worries remain constant throughout the text.  Though the scenery changes, Wemberly’s fears and sour countenance remain.

Text

            Another hallmark of Henkes’ books are loving families and using repeated text.  Wemberly’s family is always trying to encourage her.  Throughout the book, we read:

“You worry too much,” said her mother.

When you worry, I worry,” said her father.

‘Worry, worry, worry,” said her grandmother.  “Too much worry.”

Wemberly in the Classroom and BIG questions

This text is a great read for the preschool through 3^rd grade classroom.  Students can be encouraged by the fact that worrying about the start of school is a normal occurrence and they are not alone in their fears.  If I were to use this in the classroom, I would pose two questions:

1. What text-to-self connections can you make with this text?
2. When a classmate is worrying like Wemberly, how can you be a friend?

 Standards Connection and Potential Lesson:

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.2 Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.

I would use this book with primary students and focus on retelling.  The illustrations are so detailed, I would use a story board graphic organizer and have students tell beginning, middle and end.  Their illustrations and written explanation will identify the main message of the text.

LeBron James: The rise of a star

Thanks, Krystalynn Wilson, for a refreshing look at a book!

Morgan, D. L. (2003). LeBron James: The rise of a star. Cleveland, OH: Gray & Co.

   

 This informational chapter book begins with the baby King James entering the world. Born to a 16 year old, immature mother, his life was sure to see its ups and downs. The only stability in his early life was his grandmother, who at about age three died of a massive heart attack while his mother was out partying. This lack of stability in his life resulted in absolute turmoil, moving in and out of people's homes for several years. LeBron recalls moving seven times in one year, and missing 89 days of the school year. It is hard to believe that a little boy who experienced what he did growing up developed into such a talented, hard-working athlete. 

 The author's style is quite informal. He refers to LeBron's mother, Gloria, as "belligerent" and "immature", and claims she was simply not ready for the task of raising a child. He does, however, make it clear through interviews and information from others that although she was struggling, her love for LeBron was never wavering. She was true to him the best she could be. 

 The organization of the biography was a struggle for me. It moves through time until present day (which was actually 2003- the date of the book bothers me because it doesn't reach "The Decision" of 2010, which is a pivotal time in LeBron's life). The focus, however, is how he became a star. Rather than just sequentially traveling through events in his life, it divides the chapters into themed ideas. For example, one chapter was dedicated to moving around; another was dedicated to the game in high school where he managed to gain fame. Although I think that all of the details the author shares are very important, I would rather the book been divided  into ages and travel more sequentially through his life. At times it was difficult to jump back and forth between him being a baby, then talking about fifth grade, then going back again. 

 Overall, I really enjoyed this book. LeBron James is one of the most controversially disputed players in NBA history. My husband and I argue about him frequently; I am in love with him, and my husband hates his guts. I think that rather or not you really like him, it's beneficial to see where he came from. Biographies always have a way of making me love a person, or at least having some empathy for him or her. A man who has won two championships in a row, a man who is frequently referred to as "King" or "The Chosen One" used to play street ball in a milk crate attached to a pole. What person can't find some interest in that?

An Abundance of Katherines

Robin, you didn't have to post a reflection AND a booktalk this week, but so glad you did - this is nicely done! AND I want to rush right out and get it.

Green, J. (2006). An abundance of Katherines. New York, NY: Dutton Books.

Colin is a former child prodigy facing life after being dumped for the nineteenth time, by yet another woman named Katherine. His friend, Hassan, suggests a road trip to pull him out of his funk and the two Chicago natives wind up in Gutshot, Tennnessee. They meet Lindsey and her mother Hollis, who offers them summer jobs at the tampon string factory she owns. As Colin attempts to get over Katherine XIX, he struggles to create a mathematical theorem to predict and graphically model the course of his romantic relationships with the Katherines. In the course of getting over himself and his status as dumpee, he must figure out what to do with his life and figure out how to get and keep the girl.

Colin experiences emotional realism due to his heartbreak. He is a believable, likeable character, and his funny, happy-go-lucky friend Hassan contrasts wonderfully with Colin’s anguish. Colin experiences person-against-self conflict because he believes he will never amount to anything. And almost everyone has been dumped, so it’s easy to sympathize with Colin even when he is acting pathetic. What will also resonate with teens is the dilemma of popularity versus doing something that matters. Which is more important? The humor and yes, the profanity, will appeal to teens.

I chose this novel because I’d heard John Green was a very popular Young Adult author who connects with his fans via social media. I loved this novel, and at times laughed so much my 9-year old became curious. Some of the language I could not share with him! Some of the humorous references to Kentucky and Tennessee were a bit irreverent, but that’s my perspective from being from the state.

What really caught my interest was the appendix. John Green had a mathematician friend develop “The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability.”  He explains the basics on how to plot ordered pairs, explains the Cartesian coordinate system, and describes a function. Having students read the appendix would be a fun, creative lead-in to a unit on graphing equations in Algebra. I plan on book talking this book and using the appendix as an introduction to my graphing unit in Algebra 1 this year. 

Mathematics Standard Grade 8 F: Define, Evaluate, Compare functions. Use functions to model relationships between quantities.

Affrilachia

I wasn't going to post this book again, but Chasity Ogle has added so much to it!

Walker, F. (2000). Affrilachia. Lexington, KY: Old Cove Press.

Interest Level Grade: 6-8

Grade Level Equivalent: 7.8

Genre: Poetry

 

This week I read the book "Affrilachia," by F. Walker. This is a book of poetry that illustrates the view of a male African American growing up in Appalachia. This book gives a new perspective on the region of Appalachia. Appalachia is most commonly known for white people that have little to their name, live in hollers and speak with a thick dialect. Affrilachia gives the viewpoint from the many African Americans that reside in Appalachia and what identifies them as being part of this culture. Each poem is unique to a different event, but remains structured around the times of early African American heritage and the struggles that come with. The words in the book are filled with emotion and are at times challenging to hold back. There is a poem within the book titled “Stop Looking and Listen." This was one of my favorite poems within the book because of the strong message it relayed. The meaning behind the poem was that we are all the same. Throughout the book of poems are many teaching points that extend to morals, values, and the common good of people. 

The genre of the book is Poetry. The writing style is unusual in that there is a lack of punctuation such as periods and commas. However, this is unique to the dialogue of the people within the poems. This is appropriate for the cultural significance that is embedded into each poem. Walker uses a thought, stanza, or line to have a double meaning. Depending on the reader, the purpose of the poem can take different meanings. The point of view in the book Affrilachia by F. Walker is written from the perspective of a young African American male who resides in Appalachia. The artistic style of the book Affrilachia is primitive & folk. The poems are of a particular culture or era known as Appalachia.

I choose this book because it was published in Lexington, KY which is the city I currently reside. I was intrigued by the title and the picture of the family on the cover. It was interesting to learn that Frank Walker is a native of Danville, KY, a graduate of the University of Kentucky, and an educator. He is the founding member of the Affrilachian Poets, and has written numerous poetry books pertaining to African American culture. 

A research based activities:

Learn about the author: Students get to know F. Walker through reading his biography and internet research. Since he is a local author the teacher could arrange for a class visit.

Writer’s Workshop: The book lends itself to the thematic study of African American culture and Appalachian culture. Lessons can be incorporated into classroom discussions and serve as prompts for writing workshops.

Class Discussion: Pair or group students and let them express and defend their opinions of the poetry in Affrilachia.

Venn diagram to compare: Affrilachia poetry to other poetry written by F. Walker.

Pretend: you are an African American growing up in Applilachian Kentucky. How does your skin color effect you, what struggles do you face, and what is everyday life like for you? Write a journal entry recording the events.  

Write a newspaper article:  Pretending that you’ve interviewed Frank Walker. What questions would you ask him?

Affrilachia newspaper: What would the inhabitants of Affrilachia want to tell one another?

Genealogical chart: for an African American family growing up in Appalachia.

Black History Month: This book of poetry could be used to discuss African American History.

Standards/Content that could be used during this activity include:

Science: Plant and animal studies. F. Walker uses Appalachia as the setting for his poetry. Make a list of plants and animals that reside in this area. Can they be eaten or used by humans? Ask students to research edible or medicinal plants in their geographic region.

Geography: Ask students to make a large map and indicate Appalachia. Make sure that their locations agree with the information in the books and that they include a compass, a map key, and some sort of scale of measurement.

History:  Students research African American history in Appalachia. Students can learn about class and social order. Have students interview their parents about their careers. Ask students also to consider what they would like to do for a living when they grow up.

Theater/Music: In Appalachia people are known for their unique music interest. Students research music from Appalachia and compare how it differs from other parts of the world. Ask students to create a short play based on one of the poems in the book. Challenge your students to create simple musical instruments with household items. They can then perform for the class.

Reading: Make a class anchor chart for each poem read and discuss the meaning and significance of each.  

Big questions:

·         How does the author show meaning in his poetry?

·         If you could write a poem what would you choose to write about?

Recommendation: I would absolutely recommend this book for young adult and adults. The book of poetry, Appalachia teaches many aspects of African American History. Areas of thematic study can be easily incorporated into classroom discussion, and serve as prompts for writing workshops and journaling exercises. I would also recommend reading other books by this same author.

Forgive Me, I Meant to do It

Thanks, Whitney for some good ideas and a new book.

Levine, G. (2012). Forgive me, I meant to do it. New York, NY: HarperCollins Children's Books.

Reflection: This anthology of poems is a great collection from Gail Carson Levine. She delivers a very funny collection of her own false apology poems, imagining how children really feel about the mischief that they make. She encourages anyone to read it who has ever apologized for something and not really meant it. Her poems include different topics including, people, animals, objects. It even has several references to nursery rhymes, literature works, and fairy tales embedded in some of the poetry.

One element of poetry that is included in each poem of Levine's works is meaning. She has stated and it is evident that each of her poems share a similar meaning, that is it is meant to show the reader what has taken place and whatever that may be, there is no hint of regret. She also uses sense imagery in several of her poems, especially taste. In one poem she describes plums the character ate as "delicious, so sweet, and so cold."

I think a great activity, although somewhat obvious, would be to have students write their own false apology poems after reading some of Levine's. I would not want to limit students wo what they could write about, but I would include a discussion on the elements of poetry and require they demonstrate at least one in their own poem. I think students would come up with some great false apology poems about things that they have done and are not sorry for. This type of activity woul coincide with Language Arts: Grade 5: Writing: Research to Build and Present Knowledge: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support reflection.

A big question for students after reading this work could be. "Why do you think people in our society apologize for things that they aren't really sorry for?" This could include adults, children, government, etc.

I wanted to give everyone a peek at some of the poems so they could have an idea of what a false apology poem is (because I found them very amusing):

This Is Just to Say

You may be jumping around
and skipping
pages
in this book

which
I actually
spent ten years
arranging

Forgive me
I put the curse of the mummy
on anyone
who reads out of order

This Is Just to Say

While you were buying
doll dresses
I sanded off
your Barbie's face

which
you constantly
patted
and praised

Forgive me
her beauty
was only
skin deep

If I Were in Charge the Rules Would Be Different!

One I want to get to read to grandchildren - thanks, Krystalynn Wilson!
Proimos, J. (2002). If I were in charge, the rules would be different. New York: Scholastic Press.
Genre: Poetry
Age: All Ages!

      First of all, let me begin by warning you that you take on this book, it's not exactly Keats or Eliot. Just look at the cover of this fun specialized poetry book:

 The back of the book reads: "Ahem. The proper way to read the title of this book is standing on your head. Thank you." Obviously, this book was intended for a young audience; you can tell by the fun voice the author uses throughout. The meaning behind the poems are all lighthearted, and the rhythm and rhyme both help keep it that way. Just look at the the title poem included: 

 If I were in Charge the Rules Would be Different

 It hurts me to lecture you, Mommy, 

but you didn't eat all your salami. 

 Plus, your room is way too neat

and you have socks on both your feet. 

 Why in the world, may I ask, 

 did you go and take out the trash? 

 You also get every inch of blame

 for hardly playing your video game. 

 Oh, after all you put me through, 

 what am I gonna do with you? 

 Go to your room and don't come out

 until you learn to whine and pout! 

The rhythm is very "sing-songy" and fast-paced. This AA/BB pattern poem instantly attracts children into listening because it is so enticing with its cadence. When I began reading to my fifteen month daughter, she instantly grinned and seemed to listen intently. Even when children don't understand every world, they hear the fun rhyming ends and it continues to keep their attention throughout. I also think this book would be good for older students because they were understand the humor and meaning behind the poem. It's intended to make the audience smile and appreciate its silliness. 

Another one of my favorites is entitled "My Delightful Derriere" because it begins with the stanza: 

 I'm so proud of my butt, 

 my roundish rump, 

 my delightful derriere. 

 What child wouldn't want to finish reading this poem? I'm 30 years old and I can't wait to read about why this speaker is so proud of his butt. It was absolutely delightful. 

 Again,  this isn't the type of book that's going to move you or bring tears to your eyes, but you will certainly get a few giggles, and your kids or students will, too!