Hesse, Karen. 1997. Out of the Dust. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN 0590460809.
Taking place in the Dust Bowl era of Oklahoma, this novel told in verse follows thirteen year-old Billie Jo Kelby through two of the hardest years she knows. Her mother and father work their wheat farm, endlessly trying to coax smaller and smaller crops by turning and replanting the soil. When an accident leaves Billie Jo’s pregnant mother charred, and Billie Jo’s own hands burned beyond recognition, an already hard existence becomes desperate. Her mother and the baby die in childbirth, Billie Jo can barely play the piano anymore and her father becomes a stranger, and the dust, like a constant swarm of hell’s breath, scorches and sweeps their livelihood away. In the end, though, Billie Jo makes peace with herself and father, and blade by blade, the crops begin to grow anew.
This Newbery Award-winning novel is told in short poems in the first person, each a work of art in their own right. Billie Jo’s voice comes through as authentically as if she were sitting next to you, recounting the many trials and few joyful episodes of her early adolescence. While many readers may have heard of or studied the Dust Bowl, this exacting tale describes the sheer force of airborne topsoil and the watchful disappointment of drought in a way that the reader must witness.
Book Review Excerpts
School Library Journal: A triumphant story, eloquently told through prose-poetry.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Kirkus Review: In Billie Jo, the only character who comes to life, Hesse ... presents a hale and determined heroine who confronts unrelenting misery and begins to transcend it.... There are no pat endings, but a glimpse of beauty wrought from brutal reality. (Fiction. 9-12) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Connections
Book display: select this and other historical novels set during difficult times. Place old dollhouse furniture in a glass bowl and put sand everywhere for Dust Bowl effect.
Program: for middle grades. Each read a poem from the book. Craft: construct the dust bowl farm in miniature, complete with crops, piano and train. Use the Library of Congress/American Memory Project “Voices from the Dust Bowl” website to print out photographs, interviews and music, and to listen to audio files. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/afctshtml/tshome.html
Other Books:
A Guide to Using “Out of the Dust” in the Classroom by Sarah Clark. ISBN 157690623X.
Children of the Dust Bowl: The True Story of the School at Weedpatch Camp by Jerry Stanley. ISBN 0517880946.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Book Review- Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant
Prelutsky, Jack. 2006. Behold the bold umbrellaphant and other poems. New York: Greenwillow. Illustrated by Carin Berger. ISBN 0060543175.
In this collection of seventeen poems, Prelutsky mashes two words together so that the end of the first word mirrors the beginning of the second word. The product is a new word representing a fantastic animal, such as the umbrellaphant, (umbrella + elephant), clocktopus (clock + octopus), panthermometer, and tubaboons to name a few. The poems that describe these creatures usually rhyme and are no more than five or six stanzas. The illustrations are paper collage and use burnt foreign newspapers, as well as lined notebook paper.
Prelutsky’s intriguing use of language lures the reader in so that he or she must untangle the puzzle of words to get the punch line of each of the poems. This delightful process is aided by the rest of the poem, in which Prelutsky outlines the habits and appearance of the beasts. Berger’s illustrations brilliantly capture the mood of magic creation, and sometimes out-capture the reader’s attention. Some poems, like ‘Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant” are seemless and natural despite the unnatural content; others, however, seem forced, for example “The Tearful Zipperpotamuses,” as if Prelutsky is trying to fill the space. Altogether, though, the use of language is inspiring and the illustrations are stellar.
Book Review Excerpts
Publishers Weekly: Prelutsky's confident reading conveys the witty, matter-of-fact silliness that is the hallmark of his work. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
School Library Journal: The poems are full of fun and wit, with wordplay and meter that never miss a beat. The whimsical illustrations use cut-print media, old-fashioned print images, and a variety of paper textures to create a rich visual treat well suited to the poetry. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Connections
~Prelutsky-themed book display: Spotlight this and other anthologies by Prelutsky that use animals, like purple pelicans, “Scranimals,” etc.
~Program: with mid-school students. Construct the animals in the book, or other fantastical creatures, out of modeling clay or different-colored “sculpey.” Bake the art and display with Prelutsky books.
~Open Mic Night
In this collection of seventeen poems, Prelutsky mashes two words together so that the end of the first word mirrors the beginning of the second word. The product is a new word representing a fantastic animal, such as the umbrellaphant, (umbrella + elephant), clocktopus (clock + octopus), panthermometer, and tubaboons to name a few. The poems that describe these creatures usually rhyme and are no more than five or six stanzas. The illustrations are paper collage and use burnt foreign newspapers, as well as lined notebook paper.
Prelutsky’s intriguing use of language lures the reader in so that he or she must untangle the puzzle of words to get the punch line of each of the poems. This delightful process is aided by the rest of the poem, in which Prelutsky outlines the habits and appearance of the beasts. Berger’s illustrations brilliantly capture the mood of magic creation, and sometimes out-capture the reader’s attention. Some poems, like ‘Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant” are seemless and natural despite the unnatural content; others, however, seem forced, for example “The Tearful Zipperpotamuses,” as if Prelutsky is trying to fill the space. Altogether, though, the use of language is inspiring and the illustrations are stellar.
Book Review Excerpts
Publishers Weekly: Prelutsky's confident reading conveys the witty, matter-of-fact silliness that is the hallmark of his work. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
School Library Journal: The poems are full of fun and wit, with wordplay and meter that never miss a beat. The whimsical illustrations use cut-print media, old-fashioned print images, and a variety of paper textures to create a rich visual treat well suited to the poetry. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Connections
~Prelutsky-themed book display: Spotlight this and other anthologies by Prelutsky that use animals, like purple pelicans, “Scranimals,” etc.
~Program: with mid-school students. Construct the animals in the book, or other fantastical creatures, out of modeling clay or different-colored “sculpey.” Bake the art and display with Prelutsky books.
~Open Mic Night
Book Review - A Suitcase of Seaweed
Wong, Janet. 1996. A Suitcase of Seaweed and other Poems. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books. ISBN 0689807880.
This collection of Wong’s poems explores her experience as a second generation immigrant. Her mother is Korean and her father Chinese, but Wong herself was born in Los Angeles, and the book is divided into three parts: Korean poems, Chinese poems and American poems. The childhood memories that fill the pages range kimchi and almond cookie recipes to working in her family’s store and lottery tickets.
With a deceptively simple voice, Wong illustrates parts of her complex experience of assimilation and traditionalism, though never as grand themes. Rather, she paints the language with the soft roundnesses found in teapots, pennies, shrimp, her nose, fish eyes and persimmons, sometimes punctured by chopsticks or shame. Though an individual’s recollections, the reader may be comforted by the recognition of similar thoughts and feelings across nationalities. The collection as a whole feels like, as Wong herself states in the last poem, a frayed patchwork quilt that still manages, lovingly, to keep the reader warm.
Book Review Excerpts
Booklist: The poems overlap their ethnicity and subject, of course, and young people will recognize many of the situations, whether Wong is imagining her parents' "Love at First Sight" or chafing at their high expectations and their disappointment. Hazel Rochman
Connections
-Lead a discussion on heritage and give each participant and opportunity to share about his or her own ancestry. List themes or similar feelings that arise on the chalkboard and ask if they’ve found those in Wong’s book.
-Break “Burial” into four stanzas and a chorus, singing the poem as a group or with individual volunteers.
-Get a map and mark on it the places Wong mentions in the book. Add marks (or stickynotes) to places students mention their families are from.
This collection of Wong’s poems explores her experience as a second generation immigrant. Her mother is Korean and her father Chinese, but Wong herself was born in Los Angeles, and the book is divided into three parts: Korean poems, Chinese poems and American poems. The childhood memories that fill the pages range kimchi and almond cookie recipes to working in her family’s store and lottery tickets.
With a deceptively simple voice, Wong illustrates parts of her complex experience of assimilation and traditionalism, though never as grand themes. Rather, she paints the language with the soft roundnesses found in teapots, pennies, shrimp, her nose, fish eyes and persimmons, sometimes punctured by chopsticks or shame. Though an individual’s recollections, the reader may be comforted by the recognition of similar thoughts and feelings across nationalities. The collection as a whole feels like, as Wong herself states in the last poem, a frayed patchwork quilt that still manages, lovingly, to keep the reader warm.
Book Review Excerpts
Booklist: The poems overlap their ethnicity and subject, of course, and young people will recognize many of the situations, whether Wong is imagining her parents' "Love at First Sight" or chafing at their high expectations and their disappointment. Hazel Rochman
Connections
-Lead a discussion on heritage and give each participant and opportunity to share about his or her own ancestry. List themes or similar feelings that arise on the chalkboard and ask if they’ve found those in Wong’s book.
-Break “Burial” into four stanzas and a chorus, singing the poem as a group or with individual volunteers.
-Get a map and mark on it the places Wong mentions in the book. Add marks (or stickynotes) to places students mention their families are from.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Book Review- Adelita
dePaola, Tomie. 2002. Adelita: A Mexican Cinderella Story. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons. ISBN: 0399238662.
After her parents die, Adelita becomes a maid and cook for her cruel stepmother, Dona Micaela de la Fortuna, and stepsisters, Dulce and Valentina. Her only friend, the woman who helped raise Adelita, Esperanza, is sent away and Adelita becomes more isolated. When an invitation to a party at the handsome Javier’s ranch comes to her home, Adelita is forbidden to attend. With a little help from Esperanza and her mother’s fine white dress and colorful shawl, Adelita wows Javier but keeps anonymous, referring to herself as Cenicienta- Cinderella. The next day, Javier finds Cenicienta’s house by the telltale shawl hanging in a window. They marry, and because Adelita is so sweet she invites her stepmother and stepsisters to the wedding. They live “muy felices por siempre”- happily ever after.
DePaola wonderfully adapts this tale of Cinderella, weaving Mexican words and folk art into each page to make a thoroughly enchanting story. While he borrows the main components from the original, such as the wicked stepmother and stepsisters, dePaola also playfully references the absence of a glass slipper and uses humorous names throughout (the stepsisters’ names translate to Sweet and Valentine). The expressionist illustrations compliment the story and also extend it by adding accurate cultural details like a shrine of La Virgen de Guadalupe, facades of vividly painted houses, and a kitchen featuring tortillas and chiles. The acrylic paintings have a watercolor quality, and combined with dePaola’s use of color, give the book a dreamlike quality. The tile-like page borders and beautiful end papers compliment the cultural effect of the book.
Review Excerpts
School Library Journal: Making perfect use of clear, warm hues, the full-color acrylic illustrations are a feast for the eye. Depth and brilliance in composition combine with economy of line and form to create a true tour de force.
-Ann Welton, Grant Elementary School, Tacoma, WA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Publisher’s Weekly: DePaola tweaks just enough details to make his version fresh; his liberal use of Spanish phrases (translated within the text) and cultural details enlighten as they enliven.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Excerpts taken from Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Adelita-Tomie-dePaola/dp/0142401870/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-5174069-4492150?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190227703&sr=1-1. Accessed 9/19/07.
Connections
Book display: many kinds of Cinderella stories. In display case have cover images from each book and cut-outs of key props from each story, such as the glass slipper and pumpkin from American version, the shawl and papel picado from Adelita, and so on. Ask the children if they can match up the props to the cover image of each version of Cinderella.
Storytime/class visit: Lead a discussion about what items each child would use if they were in their own Cinderella story, perhaps a favorite teddy bear turns into the magic guide (gender neutral), or a child’s favorite piece of clothing becomes the finery at the ball.
Other Cinderella stories:
Yeh-Shen by Ai-Ling Louie. ISBN 0698113888.
Cinder Edna by Ellen Jackson. ISBN 0688162959.
Cendrillon: A Caribbean Cinderella by Robert San Souci. ISBN 0689848889.
After her parents die, Adelita becomes a maid and cook for her cruel stepmother, Dona Micaela de la Fortuna, and stepsisters, Dulce and Valentina. Her only friend, the woman who helped raise Adelita, Esperanza, is sent away and Adelita becomes more isolated. When an invitation to a party at the handsome Javier’s ranch comes to her home, Adelita is forbidden to attend. With a little help from Esperanza and her mother’s fine white dress and colorful shawl, Adelita wows Javier but keeps anonymous, referring to herself as Cenicienta- Cinderella. The next day, Javier finds Cenicienta’s house by the telltale shawl hanging in a window. They marry, and because Adelita is so sweet she invites her stepmother and stepsisters to the wedding. They live “muy felices por siempre”- happily ever after.
DePaola wonderfully adapts this tale of Cinderella, weaving Mexican words and folk art into each page to make a thoroughly enchanting story. While he borrows the main components from the original, such as the wicked stepmother and stepsisters, dePaola also playfully references the absence of a glass slipper and uses humorous names throughout (the stepsisters’ names translate to Sweet and Valentine). The expressionist illustrations compliment the story and also extend it by adding accurate cultural details like a shrine of La Virgen de Guadalupe, facades of vividly painted houses, and a kitchen featuring tortillas and chiles. The acrylic paintings have a watercolor quality, and combined with dePaola’s use of color, give the book a dreamlike quality. The tile-like page borders and beautiful end papers compliment the cultural effect of the book.
Review Excerpts
School Library Journal: Making perfect use of clear, warm hues, the full-color acrylic illustrations are a feast for the eye. Depth and brilliance in composition combine with economy of line and form to create a true tour de force.
-Ann Welton, Grant Elementary School, Tacoma, WA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Publisher’s Weekly: DePaola tweaks just enough details to make his version fresh; his liberal use of Spanish phrases (translated within the text) and cultural details enlighten as they enliven.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Excerpts taken from Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Adelita-Tomie-dePaola/dp/0142401870/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-5174069-4492150?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190227703&sr=1-1. Accessed 9/19/07.
Connections
Book display: many kinds of Cinderella stories. In display case have cover images from each book and cut-outs of key props from each story, such as the glass slipper and pumpkin from American version, the shawl and papel picado from Adelita, and so on. Ask the children if they can match up the props to the cover image of each version of Cinderella.
Storytime/class visit: Lead a discussion about what items each child would use if they were in their own Cinderella story, perhaps a favorite teddy bear turns into the magic guide (gender neutral), or a child’s favorite piece of clothing becomes the finery at the ball.
Other Cinderella stories:
Yeh-Shen by Ai-Ling Louie. ISBN 0698113888.
Cinder Edna by Ellen Jackson. ISBN 0688162959.
Cendrillon: A Caribbean Cinderella by Robert San Souci. ISBN 0689848889.
Book Review- Schoolyard Rhymes
Sierra, Judy, collector. 2005. Schoolyard Rhymes: Kids’ Own Rhymes for Rope Skipping, Hand Clapping, Ball Bouncing, and Just Plain Fun. Illustrated by Melissa Sweet. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN: 0375825169.
This collection of forty-six poems and chants begs to be read aloud. The content ranges from the nonsensical to lewd, incorporating many chants about underwear, worms, kissing boys behind magazines, and counting chants that could go on as long as the rope-skipper can skip. Some are just a couple of lines, some are page-long.
Anyone who can remember recess may recall these timeless rhymes. A delightful collection of slightly subversive, but essential chants, this book is a trove of children’s folk culture. While some tunes to the rhymes can be derived from the poems themselves, an appendix of sheet music or exaggerated vowels would help the reader who’s unfamiliar with the jingle. The watercolor and collage illustrations playfully depict images from the rhymes, creating a few hilarious scenes like the ugly portrait scaring away the attic mice. This reviewer found herself laughing aloud and fondly picturing her daughter singing these classics. A great compilation.
Review Excerpt
This is a definite winner, as it will be enormously popular with children.–Lee Bock, Glenbrook Elementary School, Pulaski, WI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Connections
-Book Display: books about children’s folklore, including string games, knock-knock jokes and paper-folding books. Include props, like intricately folded notes or airplanes, and jump rope.
-Enjoy a playful outdoors program of games, hand-clapping, rope-skipping and hopscotch. Chant some of the rhymes from Schoolyard Rhymes and make up new ones. Put out a spool of string and teach each other string games, like cat’s cradle and Jacob’s ladder.
This collection of forty-six poems and chants begs to be read aloud. The content ranges from the nonsensical to lewd, incorporating many chants about underwear, worms, kissing boys behind magazines, and counting chants that could go on as long as the rope-skipper can skip. Some are just a couple of lines, some are page-long.
Anyone who can remember recess may recall these timeless rhymes. A delightful collection of slightly subversive, but essential chants, this book is a trove of children’s folk culture. While some tunes to the rhymes can be derived from the poems themselves, an appendix of sheet music or exaggerated vowels would help the reader who’s unfamiliar with the jingle. The watercolor and collage illustrations playfully depict images from the rhymes, creating a few hilarious scenes like the ugly portrait scaring away the attic mice. This reviewer found herself laughing aloud and fondly picturing her daughter singing these classics. A great compilation.
Review Excerpt
This is a definite winner, as it will be enormously popular with children.–Lee Bock, Glenbrook Elementary School, Pulaski, WI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Connections
-Book Display: books about children’s folklore, including string games, knock-knock jokes and paper-folding books. Include props, like intricately folded notes or airplanes, and jump rope.
-Enjoy a playful outdoors program of games, hand-clapping, rope-skipping and hopscotch. Chant some of the rhymes from Schoolyard Rhymes and make up new ones. Put out a spool of string and teach each other string games, like cat’s cradle and Jacob’s ladder.
Three Billy-Goats Gruff ~dePaola
Asbjornsen, P.C. [n.d.] “The Three Billy-Goats Gruff.” Tomie dePaola’s Favorite Nursery Tales. 1986. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons. Illustrated by Tomie dePaola. ISBN 0399213198.
Three billy-goats, last name Gruff, want to cross a bridge, under which lives a troll. The first goat is small, but outwits the troll when he says the next goat will be bigger. The next goat to cross the bridge and encounter the troll is bigger but he, too, says the next one will be bigger. The troll lets him pass as well. The third and final goat is big and has lots of meat on his body, but also has two large horns which he uses to toss the troll into the stream below. Once across the bridge, the goats eat and get so fat on the hills beyond that they can barely return home. The story ends with a foreboding that the troll will eat the goats, since they are now so fat.
This traditional fantasy employs common fairy tale elements, such as the number three and talking animals. This version also includes a predictable element when each goat crosses the bridge: “’Trip-trap! trip-trap! trip-trap!’ went the bridge.” De Paola illustrates the three goats with successively bigger horns and demeanors. Though there aren’t many illustrations, the existing pictures visually express the story with dePaola’s trademark accessible style, and make this classic tale come alive. Many generations will continue to find humor and fantasy in "The Three Billy-goats Gruff."
Review Excerpts
School Library Journal: Like a good winter coat in a large family, this anthology can be passed along to many children. Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Connections
Readers theater: include roles for three goats, one troll, the bridge, and two or more narrators. Use small, medium and large horns for the goats and a tie-on nose or big hat for the troll.
Explore dePaola’s website: www.tomie.com. Print out coloring pages from his site and include among dePaola book display. Also include a “Did You Know” factsheet about the author.
Three billy-goats, last name Gruff, want to cross a bridge, under which lives a troll. The first goat is small, but outwits the troll when he says the next goat will be bigger. The next goat to cross the bridge and encounter the troll is bigger but he, too, says the next one will be bigger. The troll lets him pass as well. The third and final goat is big and has lots of meat on his body, but also has two large horns which he uses to toss the troll into the stream below. Once across the bridge, the goats eat and get so fat on the hills beyond that they can barely return home. The story ends with a foreboding that the troll will eat the goats, since they are now so fat.
This traditional fantasy employs common fairy tale elements, such as the number three and talking animals. This version also includes a predictable element when each goat crosses the bridge: “’Trip-trap! trip-trap! trip-trap!’ went the bridge.” De Paola illustrates the three goats with successively bigger horns and demeanors. Though there aren’t many illustrations, the existing pictures visually express the story with dePaola’s trademark accessible style, and make this classic tale come alive. Many generations will continue to find humor and fantasy in "The Three Billy-goats Gruff."
Review Excerpts
School Library Journal: Like a good winter coat in a large family, this anthology can be passed along to many children. Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Connections
Readers theater: include roles for three goats, one troll, the bridge, and two or more narrators. Use small, medium and large horns for the goats and a tie-on nose or big hat for the troll.
Explore dePaola’s website: www.tomie.com. Print out coloring pages from his site and include among dePaola book display. Also include a “Did You Know” factsheet about the author.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Book Review- My Friend Rabbit
Rohmann, Eric. 2002. My Friend Rabbit. Brookfield, CT: Roaring Brook Press. ISBN: 0439579309.
When Rabbit crashes his friend Mouse’s plane into a tall tree, Rabbit has a plan. He coerces many large animals, an elephant, rhinocerous, and crocodile to name a few, to help. All the animals stand on top of each other and Mouse finally reaches his plane, but, like all of Rabbit’s plans, trouble is not far behind.
This is a deceptively simple, heartwarming story about the strength of friendship. Although Mouse gets dragged into trouble along with Rabbit, their bond only grows stronger and outweighs any trouble they may get into. The engaging relief print and hand-painted illustrations carry the story: most pages are wordless. The lovingly rendered Rabbit is irresistible to readers young and old. The illustrations take up the whole page and Rohmann’s use of empty space suggests that much of the story takes place just beyond the edge of the book. By the end, the reader’s imagination is fully satisfied with this gem of a book.
Review Excerpts
School Library Journal: The double-page, hand-colored relief prints with heavy black outlines are magnificent, and children will enjoy the comically expressive pictures of the animals before and after their attempt to extract the plane. -Kristin de Lacoste, South Regional Public Library, Pembroke Pines, FL
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Booklist: Tremendous physical humor delivers a gentle lesson about accepting friends as they are. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Connections
-For friendship-themed storytime sing “Make New Friends,” and craft friendship bracelets.
-Book display to include other duos, like Frog and Toad, Henry and Mudge, and Mr. Putter and Tabby.
-Have students/patrons call out qualities of friends and write down on large sheet of butcher paper.
When Rabbit crashes his friend Mouse’s plane into a tall tree, Rabbit has a plan. He coerces many large animals, an elephant, rhinocerous, and crocodile to name a few, to help. All the animals stand on top of each other and Mouse finally reaches his plane, but, like all of Rabbit’s plans, trouble is not far behind.
This is a deceptively simple, heartwarming story about the strength of friendship. Although Mouse gets dragged into trouble along with Rabbit, their bond only grows stronger and outweighs any trouble they may get into. The engaging relief print and hand-painted illustrations carry the story: most pages are wordless. The lovingly rendered Rabbit is irresistible to readers young and old. The illustrations take up the whole page and Rohmann’s use of empty space suggests that much of the story takes place just beyond the edge of the book. By the end, the reader’s imagination is fully satisfied with this gem of a book.
Review Excerpts
School Library Journal: The double-page, hand-colored relief prints with heavy black outlines are magnificent, and children will enjoy the comically expressive pictures of the animals before and after their attempt to extract the plane. -Kristin de Lacoste, South Regional Public Library, Pembroke Pines, FL
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Booklist: Tremendous physical humor delivers a gentle lesson about accepting friends as they are. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Connections
-For friendship-themed storytime sing “Make New Friends,” and craft friendship bracelets.
-Book display to include other duos, like Frog and Toad, Henry and Mudge, and Mr. Putter and Tabby.
-Have students/patrons call out qualities of friends and write down on large sheet of butcher paper.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Book Review- Knuffle Bunny
Willems, Mo. 2004. Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale. New York: Hyperion. ISBN: 0786818700.
Preverbal Trixie takes her familiar stuffed rabbit, Knuffle Bunny, and dad on an errand to the laundromat through their Brooklyn neighborhood. Tragedy strikes, though, when Knuffle Bunny is thrown unknowingly into a washing machine and left there. Trixie realizes the error and spends the walk home trying to communicate the problem to her father. Finally, with the help of her mom, Trixie gets her point across and Knuffle Bunny is joyously recovered.
Willems’ humorous portrayal of the difficulties inherent in toddler-parent communication is a parable of communication at its worst. Readers of any age can relate to the frustration, anger and hopelessness felt by the characters as they struggle to, and eventually give up on- communicate with each other. The artwork juxtaposes the realism of black and white photography with the cartoon figures and dramatic exclamations of Trixie and her father, further evoking the misinterpretation of Trixie’s attempts at explanation. Willems’ story has a loving quality, though, because despite their frustrations, understanding is eventually reached. When it is recovered, Trixie is driven to exclaim her first words: “Knuffle Bunny.”
Review Excerpts
School Library Journal: (starred) Personalities are artfully created so that both parents and children will recognize themselves within these pages. A seamless and supremely satisfying presentation of art and text.–Martha Topol, Traverse Area District Library, Traverse City, MI Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Booklist: (starred) Even children who can already talk a blue streak will come away satisfied that their own strong emotions have been mirrored and legitimized, and readers of all ages will recognize the agonizing frustration of a little girl who knows far more than she can articulate. Jennifer Mattson
Connections:
-Companion to discussion of child development (older students)
-Have students bring in photocopies of pictures of themselves and draw backgrounds to make a collage story.
-Play Pictionary to highlight inventive communication
Other books by Mo Willems:
Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity. Hyperion. ISBN 1423102991
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. Hyperion. ISBN 078681988X
Today I Will Fly (Elephant and Piggie series). Hyperion. ISBN 1423102959
Preverbal Trixie takes her familiar stuffed rabbit, Knuffle Bunny, and dad on an errand to the laundromat through their Brooklyn neighborhood. Tragedy strikes, though, when Knuffle Bunny is thrown unknowingly into a washing machine and left there. Trixie realizes the error and spends the walk home trying to communicate the problem to her father. Finally, with the help of her mom, Trixie gets her point across and Knuffle Bunny is joyously recovered.
Willems’ humorous portrayal of the difficulties inherent in toddler-parent communication is a parable of communication at its worst. Readers of any age can relate to the frustration, anger and hopelessness felt by the characters as they struggle to, and eventually give up on- communicate with each other. The artwork juxtaposes the realism of black and white photography with the cartoon figures and dramatic exclamations of Trixie and her father, further evoking the misinterpretation of Trixie’s attempts at explanation. Willems’ story has a loving quality, though, because despite their frustrations, understanding is eventually reached. When it is recovered, Trixie is driven to exclaim her first words: “Knuffle Bunny.”
Review Excerpts
School Library Journal: (starred) Personalities are artfully created so that both parents and children will recognize themselves within these pages. A seamless and supremely satisfying presentation of art and text.–Martha Topol, Traverse Area District Library, Traverse City, MI Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Booklist: (starred) Even children who can already talk a blue streak will come away satisfied that their own strong emotions have been mirrored and legitimized, and readers of all ages will recognize the agonizing frustration of a little girl who knows far more than she can articulate. Jennifer Mattson
Connections:
-Companion to discussion of child development (older students)
-Have students bring in photocopies of pictures of themselves and draw backgrounds to make a collage story.
-Play Pictionary to highlight inventive communication
Other books by Mo Willems:
Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity. Hyperion. ISBN 1423102991
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. Hyperion. ISBN 078681988X
Today I Will Fly (Elephant and Piggie series). Hyperion. ISBN 1423102959
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Book Review- A Caldecott Celebration
Marcus, Leonard S. 1998. A Caldecott celebration: Six artists and their paths to the Caldecott Medal. New York: Walker and Company. ISBN 0802786561.
Mr. Marcus showcases biographical vignettes of six illustrators who have won the Caldecott Medal for children's book illustrations: Robert McCloskey, Marcia Brown, Maurice Sendak, William Steig, Chris VanAllsburg, and David Wiesner. Each section briefly outlines the author's childhood insofar as it affected their illustrations later in life. Because the featured illustrators are also the authors of these award-winning books, Marcus includes the ideas for the stories as well as the evolution of the artwork into a brief but thorough account of the artistic process.
While most contain an element of serendipity, the six fascinating depictions of the artists brings the reader a sense of the huge amount of work it takes to produce book-length, believable drawings for children. Although each of the authors become accessible people through their trial and error, polishing and triumph, the details of the individual process keep the accounts fresh and inviting. The illustrations, as the award of the Caldecott Medal suggests, are of exceptional quality, and they include dynamic angles, crisp lines and graceful touch. The volume includes a list of Caldecott-winning books, glossary and index, which are helpful in working this book into the curriculum.
Review Excerpt
Filled with witty anecdotes and pithy observations, Marcus's (Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom) approach to examining the works of six Caldecott Medalists will be of as much interest to adults as to picture book readers.... With Marcus's sure hand guiding this tour, readers will find cause for celebration.
–Publisher’s Weekly
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0802786561/sr=8-1/qid=1188937569/ref=dp_proddesc_0/102-5174069-4492150?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books&qid=1188937569&sr=8-1] Accessed 9/4/07.
Connections
-Discuss the students’ own artistic processes with possible themes of inspiration, revision, medium, public vs. private audience.
-Create storyboards of a favorite story or memory as a class or individually
-Write a sequel to a Caldecott story or create a drawing using the same characters.
Mr. Marcus showcases biographical vignettes of six illustrators who have won the Caldecott Medal for children's book illustrations: Robert McCloskey, Marcia Brown, Maurice Sendak, William Steig, Chris VanAllsburg, and David Wiesner. Each section briefly outlines the author's childhood insofar as it affected their illustrations later in life. Because the featured illustrators are also the authors of these award-winning books, Marcus includes the ideas for the stories as well as the evolution of the artwork into a brief but thorough account of the artistic process.
While most contain an element of serendipity, the six fascinating depictions of the artists brings the reader a sense of the huge amount of work it takes to produce book-length, believable drawings for children. Although each of the authors become accessible people through their trial and error, polishing and triumph, the details of the individual process keep the accounts fresh and inviting. The illustrations, as the award of the Caldecott Medal suggests, are of exceptional quality, and they include dynamic angles, crisp lines and graceful touch. The volume includes a list of Caldecott-winning books, glossary and index, which are helpful in working this book into the curriculum.
Review Excerpt
Filled with witty anecdotes and pithy observations, Marcus's (Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom) approach to examining the works of six Caldecott Medalists will be of as much interest to adults as to picture book readers.... With Marcus's sure hand guiding this tour, readers will find cause for celebration.
–Publisher’s Weekly
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0802786561/sr=8-1/qid=1188937569/ref=dp_proddesc_0/102-5174069-4492150?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books&qid=1188937569&sr=8-1] Accessed 9/4/07.
Connections
-Discuss the students’ own artistic processes with possible themes of inspiration, revision, medium, public vs. private audience.
-Create storyboards of a favorite story or memory as a class or individually
-Write a sequel to a Caldecott story or create a drawing using the same characters.
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