Book Post #1

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by: Jon Scieszka Illustrations by: Lane Smith

Type: Picture book (cartoon) intended for children ages 6-10.

Rating: 5 Stars

                This picture book is a different take on the story of the Three Little Pigs. It is from the Big Bad Wolf’s perspective, and goes into detail about how he was framed by the Police and single-handedly blamed for the deaths of two of the three Little Pigs.

                I really enjoyed reading this book because of its satirical value and because of its alternative perspective on a children’s classic story. Perspective is an important element to think about when reading publications by any author. Authors write from their own personal perspectives and are therefore biased by their own opinions. Authors also make many different assumptions when writing. This is particularly evident when authors write on historical topics- they do not really know what happened back then, and therefore make certain assumptions based on their views of the historical event. I really would not have any concerns using this book in my classroom, because it is simply a different perspective on the Three Little Pigs, which is a story that has been told for many years.

                This book would work very well within a teaching practice to use concurrently with the original story of the Three Little Pigs, to show how varying view points and perspectives can affect a story’s plot, characters, and values. Since most school aged children have head the original Three Little Pigs, this story would be a good one to use to begin to entertain the idea of writing pieces from different perspectives. This book could also be used with a lesson about on judgments- the Big Bad Wolf was judged and convicted of killing the pigs, without any evidence or witnesses.

                There are really no controversial topics within this book, so it wouldn’t worry me to use this book to teach a lesson in a classroom. I am yet to use this book in an activity, but I am planning to use it next Wednesday with my reading buddy at Grant Wood Elementary School, so it will be interesting to see how she reacts to it.

Rapunzel by: Paul O. Zelinsky

Type: Picture Book: Representational (Realism) picture book intended for children ages 6-12

Rating: 4 Stars

                This realistic book is more of a serious take of the classic fairy tale of Rapunzel. Although it does have a happy ending, this version of the classic story does not have the perfect Disney-esque qualities that most people think of when they hear the story of Rapunzel. In this version, Rapunzel’s singing lures the Prince to her tower, where she is able to use her long locks of hair to aid him in climbing up to the tower. Eventually, she becomes married and pregnant, and the Sorceress who placed her in the tower finds out. Then, Rapunzel’s hair is cut off so that she and the Prince cannot get back into the tower. The evil Sorceress then makes the Prince go blind; he remains so for one year, until he and Rapunzel find each other. They then live happily ever after.

                After reading this book, I ended up really enjoying it. When I first started reading it, however, I was a bit thrown off by how different this story of Rapunzel is, compared to the kind of Disney Princess version we are all used to hearing. Just as its “type” says, this book is a more realistic type of Rapunzel story. The pictures within the book use light and shading to make the scenes portrayed look authentic, almost as though a picture was being taken of the scene instead of being drawn of the scene. Although the ending of this version does have a “happily ever after”, I did appreciate that there were some actual struggles the characters had to go through before they could begin living in their picture perfect dream world.

                This book would work well within a classroom setting in a lesson about genres. There are numerous different children’s books out there containing the story of Rapunzel, and they are all slightly different in their main plot points, as well as the genre in which they deliver the story. In a lesson, you could check out a bunch of different Rapunzel stories and then read them to the class while they take notes on the genre of the book, and the main plot points. Afterwards, the students can contrast and compare the differences between the different genres of books in order to get an idea of how to write in different genres aside from narrative and expository writing, which are very common in the elementary grades.

                I have not used this book in a classroom setting, but after reading it on my own; I would have no worries about presenting it to a classroom. Although in this version, Rapunzel becomes pregnant and is then kicked out of her tower, she does so only after being married, so there are no moral problems with this book. I think it would be really interesting to see how students would react to this type of Storybook Story, compared to the version they are used to hearing.

Pigsty by: Mark Teague

Type: Picture book (cartoon) intended for children ages 5-10

Rating: 4 Stars

                This picture book is the story of a young boy who refuses to clean his messy room. His room becomes so messy that pigs begin to move into his room with him, hence the title Pigsty. At first the boy thinks it is really fun to have a bunch of pigs living in his room with him. They do things like play games together. But after a while more and more pigs begin to move in, and the boy realizes that it is not so much fun to have a messy room. So, he begins to clean his room. Eventually his room becomes too clean for the pigs, and they move out. But he and the pigs remain friends, and sometimes his room gets dirty so that the pigs can come over and play a game of Monopoly.

                I thought this book was really cute and funny. The topic of this book would be really easy for children to relate too as well. I know that when I was younger, my mother called my room a pigsty all the time. I really like how this book puts a fun twist on that saying and turns the main character’s room into an actual pigsty! The cartoon illustrations in this book are also clever, because they personify the pigs just as well as the actual narration does. We see images of them playing games, talking, and doing other types of human activities.

                This picture book would work well within a classroom to show the concept of personification and how writers can give human characteristics to non human objects, or in this case, animals. It would also work very well to show students that there does not always need to be definitive endings to their writings. For example, at the end of Pigsty, all of the pigs move out of the boy’s room, but then there is one more page that says something along the lines of “except when they came over for a game of Monopoly”. This ending provides the story with a nice little twist that keeps the tone of the piece upbeat and happy. I also would have no problem or worries about using this book in a classroom setting. I think students would really enjoy reading this witty book.

Zathura by: Chris Van Allsburg

Type: Picture Book- It appears to be a type of stipple cartoon-like art. It is composed of black and white illustrations made in black dots. Intended for children ages 6-12

Rating: 4 Stars

                This book is a spinoff of the book Jumanji, which was written by the same author. It’s about two brothers who are left home alone and stumble across a mysterious game. Once they start playing, they are taken into space and have no choice but to finish the game or be lost in the universe forever. Along the way, they encounter many problems sprung upon them by the game such as robots going haywire, gravity being lost, and aliens boarding their house. In the end one of the brothers gets sent back in time by the game and stops his other brother from ever playing it.

                I thought this book was a very clever take on Jumanji. The author uses the same layers of writing style, illustration style, and story elements in Zathura that he did in Jumanji. It was fun to look at the book and compare it to the author’s first take on a magical board game. When you look at the book in this way, it becomes a very technical work of art and is much more than just a story about a magical space themed board game. The illustrations within the book are also interesting in the way that they are created by only using black dots in varying degrees of concentration. This book would be interesting to read even without knowing the original story, Zathura can hold its own as a fun adventure storybook for boys and girls of all ages to read and enjoy.

                I think it would be really interesting to use this book in conjunction with its preceding counterpart and contrast and compare the similarities and differences between the two books. It would be a fun twist on a language arts lesson to use books to simply contrast and compare similarities and differences instead of using them in a writing practice. I know that when I was in elementary school, books were usually used in lessons to show us different genres in which we could write. These lessons were almost always followed by writing practice, and I never really grew to like writing papers in school. So, whenever a book was brought out aside from classroom story time, I dreaded it because I always figured that a writing activity would not be far behind. So, using literature to help in other subject areas and lessons, I think, would be very beneficial. And using a piece like this to compare and contrast would definitely help a lesson like comparing and contrasting become more interesting.

The Home of the Brave by: Allen Say

Type: Picture Book- Representational (Realism) Intended for children 8-12

Rating: 4 Stars

                This book is a very interesting look at the imprisonment of Japanese Americans during World War II. It begins with a Japanese man who is rafting in a canoe when he hits a large drop and is knocked out. He then dreams that he washes up on the shore of a Japanese internment camp where he sees many little kids with nametags on their jackets. He then stumbles upon the nametags of his grandmother and grandfather. Realizing where he is, he wakes up in a panic where he is once again surrounded by a group of Japanese children at what appears to be an old internment camp. There are nametags everywhere, but the story ends with all of them being swept up by the wind and let free to symbolically represent the release of the Japanese.

                I thought this book was very interesting because of its storyline and its illustrations, however, I’m not sure if younger kids would be able to quite grasp the concepts. I was even slightly baffled while reading this book as to what was going on, and what the hidden messages were. However, I suppose you do not have to use this book solely for the purpose of looking for hidden meanings. I thought the illustrations within this picture book were very good. They were realistic but also projected a feeling of eeriness and abandonment, which makes sense when you look at the theme and meaning of the book. So far I have found Allen Say’s illustrations to be some of the most interesting to look at. Especially in this book they add a great deal to the narrative in the way that they project a feeling onto the reader.

                A book like this would be great to use in conjunction with a history lesson to give students an artistic perspective on one of the events during World War II. It may gain more students’ attention than a cut and dry history book would as well as give a deeper meaning to some of the events that happened during World War II. This is one book that would be more difficult to use in a classroom setting, because of its more complex and mature content. If it is being used as a supplement to a historical lesson, I could see the ways in which it could be used. However, I personally would find it difficult to use this book on its own for a primary level reading lesson. A very solid lesson plan would be necessary in order to make this book work in a non-controversial way.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by: Jeff Kinney

Type: Children’s novel- includes some hand drawn cartoon pictures intended for children 9-13

Rating: 4 ½ stars

                Diary of a Wimpy Kid is the story of a young boy named Greg. His mom bought him this journal in which he keeps a recollection of what is happening throughout his life. It follows him through a yeah of middle school, and documents his struggles with girls, friends, and trying to be the most popular kid in school.

                I really enjoyed reading this children’s novel and thought it was a really good piece of writing that many kids in its intended age range would be able to relate to. This novel addresses many things that young kids go through, especially in middle school, like discovering that the opposite sex is not as yucky as you used to believe. It covers many topics in a short span like the aforementioned boyfriend girlfriend issue, as well as issues with friends and popularity. The little cartoons scattered throughout the novel make it even more fun to read, because it gives you a visual idea of what the author was picturing when he was writing about the “stinky cheese”, for example.

                I would have no qualms with using this book in a classroom setting because it addresses issues that every pre-teen and teenager has gone through, or will go through in his or her life.  However I think it would work much better as a silent sustained read for the students, or as something they write a book report on. The graphics are an integral part of the novel, and most students wouldn’t be able to see the little pictures in a read aloud type setting. The effect of the novel would be much stronger if a student was able to read the book on his or her own time.

                This novel could also be useful in a lesson about what is right and wrong. Greg does a couple of things throughout the novel that would not normally be considered nice, or what a good friend would do. For instance, he lets his best friend take the blame for something he did, but then becomes angry when his friends tells the principal that Greg was the culprit behind it all. As a result, Greg and his friend have a big falling out. Was it right for Greg to let his friend take the blame? Should his friend have told on Greg? These are all interesting questions to discuss with a class. Also, since these events happen in a small timeframe and are compressed together within the book, a teacher could use photocopies or something to pass out so that the students are able to see the drawings and receive the full experience of what the author was attempting to project.