The Giver

                I can remember being assigned to read The Giver when I was in the sixth grade. However, that year I had a teacher that was not all that motivational when it came to getting her students excited to read. I don’t really remember anything about this book from reading it for the first time all those years ago. What I do know is that I appreciated it so much more the second time through than I ever thought I would have

                For me, the pages of this book just kept on turning and turning- I literally read it in only a few hours one night before class. Lowis Lowry does a really good job of keeping her audience in the dark throughout the entire book, much like the main character Jonas is. It is because of this ambiguity within the story that makes you want to read on and see if you can predict what will happen. I also liked the way that she slowly divulges information to the reader; like the fact that no one within the town can see color, and that being released is just a fancy word for dying. The whole concept that an entire town lives in their own utopian society, and has no real free will and choice for themselves is fascinating. Everyone who reads this book is going to be a human with their own experiences that shape who they are, so I think that is why people are so fascinated by this book; we all have experience s that have shaped us, and the characters throughout this book, except Jonas, really do not know what that is like. Their lives are carefully calculated by the elders of the community.

                The descriptions that the author uses in the narrative are also wonderful. Once the audience learns that no one in the village can see color, and that the flashes Jonas has been seeing are flashes of color within his world, the images that pop into the reader’s head are reminiscent of works of art. I, myself, was imagining his friend’s red hair in a sea of black white and grey. These kinds of mental pictures are a great thing to have in a picture-less children’s novel; it really does give pictures to the book from which the reader can pull from. I, personally, sometimes think that these mental pictures are even better than illustrated picture books because it allows the reader to own their representation of the story. I’m sure that the pictures in my head of the story differ greatly from others who have read The Giver.

                One other great thing about the content of this book is the basis it provides for a critical literacy discussion surrounding utopian societies and whether or not they are good. I feel that there would be great room for debate surrounding this topic as well as the issues of everyone in the society being exactly the same. One question that comes to my mind is how does every one perceive these people to look? Are they white? Are they black? Why do you envision this? Questions like these can spark a really good critical literacy discussion between students.

                Overall I thought this was a fantastic book, and even though it is on many controversial book lists, I would most defiantly like to use this book in my classroom in the future as long as the school will allow it.  This book can be studied and so many different meaningful discussions can come from it that I think a school would be crazy to ban this book from their curriculum. It keeps its audience interested, and sparks meaningful conversation between its readers; how is that a bad thing?

Author's Official Website: http://www.loislowry.com/

Five Picture Books and a Children's Novel

The Lorax-Dr. Seuss

Type: Children’s book- cartoon drawings with bold color fills

Intended for children ages 6-10

Rating: 5 Stars

                The Lorax is a story about a man named the Once-ler, who came upon a whole forest of beautiful Truffula trees. He learned about all the fun things he could make and sell from chopping down the Truffula trees and proceeded to chop down all of the Truffula trees he could find, thereby destroying the entire forest.

                I really liked the story of The Lorax; I thought that it had a lot of good messages within it concerning consumerism and the production of goods. It really is a perfect story about consumerism and how humans are destroying many of their own natural resources in order to produce building materials, and pretty things to wear. It also put an image with the idea that consumerism does take away natural resources in the way the Truffula forest is shown in the beginning of the book, after all of the Truffula tress have been chopped down; and in the middle of the book when the Once-ler is telling the story of when he himself stumbled upon the Truffula forest.

                This story could be really useful in a classroom setting. Although it is found on some controversial book lists, I do not really think that this would be a controversial book to use in a classroom. The destruction of resources, such as rainforests, has been a really big issue now for a long time. I think this book could fit in perfectly with a lesson having to do with the destruction on natural resources. It is a Dr. Seuss book, which I think will lure kids into reading it willingly, but the content of the book, will give teachers a chance to dive into some critical literacy ideas concerning the topic and overall theme of the story. Unlike some other children’s books, this story does have a clear setting, theme or moral, and clear characters.

Black and White- David Macaulay

Type: Picture book, watercolor illustrations

Intended for children ages 6-10

Rating: 5 Stars

                Black and White is a picture book that has four different concurrent stories going on at the same time. There are four boxes within the two pages, and each story has something to do with all the other ones as you read along.

                This book had a really interesting concept throughout it- on each page there were two different boxes with a picture and narration, so there were four boxes found throughout each set of two pages. Each of these boxes appeared to have a different story going on at first, but as you go along through the story, you realize that the four stories begin to become more and more interconnected. I thought that this was a really good twist to traditional storytelling. Each story cell had a specific setting pertaining to its story. They were all different settings, but then as the stories begin to reveal their relevance to each other, you realize just how these settings that appear to be random actually connect to each other in logical ways. I also thought it was interesting how there was really no indication as to what story box you should be reading first, second, third, or fourth. If you go by normal book reading technique, you should be reading left to right, top to bottom. But since there were only two cells on each page should you read them top to bottom and then move on to the next page and read top to bottom?

                I think this would be a very good book to use in the classroom. There are many elements of this book that challenge our conventions of reading, even more so for young children who are just beginning to read or becoming more confident readers. I think it would be a really good exercise to let each child read the story in the way that they see fit- left to right, top to bottom, etc, and then later see just how each of the students read the book and hear what their resulting conclusions were. This is a book that lets you decide how you want to read it. You can view it as four individual stories going on at once, or you can see it as four individual stories that eventually become interconnected in their events and characters. Either way, each student is going to have their own thoughts and experience from reading the book, and I think a really interesting classroom experience can be taken from it.

Flotsam- David Weisner

Type: Wordless picture book- watercolors

Intended for children ages 4-10

Rating: 5 Stars

                Flotsam is the story of a young boy who is sitting on the beach one day and comes upon an underwater camera that has washed ashore. Inside it he finds film and gets it developed.

                I really thought that this was a very clever children’s book. Even though it is a wordless picture book, there is still a story that you can follow along with, as well as a theme, setting, and characters. The illustrations of this book are amazing to look at. Because there are no words in the book, the illustrations have to be extra detailed and precise to assure that the audience is going to be able to follow along with what is happening in the story. Every page has a picture that I could spend ten minutes looking at; and within that time, I really do not think that I would have even begun to see all of the different details that David Weisner has included. It is this attention to detail that makes this book truly great and deserving of the Caldecott Medal.

                I would be very enthusiastic about using this book in my classroom. There are so many different types of activities that you could come up with using this type of book. Because there are no words throughout the entirety of the book, students will be able to interpret it in a variety of ways. It could spark a very good class discussion about what students think is going on within each different page. I also think that it would be interesting to use this book in a writing activity and have each student write out what they think is going on throughout the entire book, and then go back and look through all of the different ideas that students can interpret from the pictures. Even though there is a very strong plot like throughout the story, because it is a wordless book there is going to be some room for interpretation, which is what I think makes this book so great.

Snowflake Bentley- Jacqueline Briggs Martin, Illustrated by Mary Azarian

Picture book- etchings

Intended for children 7-11

Rating: 5 Stars

                Snowflake Bentley is the story of Wilson Bentley and how he came to love the beauty of snowflakes. His parents bought him a microscope camera when he was young and he spent the rest of his life photographing snowflakes and nature and writing about them.

                This book was really interesting in the way that it is part biographical fiction and part biographical nonfiction. I liked how there were really two parts to the story- the primary narration that tells the story of Snowflake Bentley and how he came to love studying snowflakes , but then there are also side panels that appear every few pages that tell the historical biographical information on Wilson Bentley, the story’s main character. I really liked that feature because it gives the reader more information on the main character of the story; it lets you get to know his life on a deeper level. I also particularly liked how the illustrator of the story used sort of the same method that Snowflake Bentley used when he would hike his snowflake pictures- etching. It gives the book itself a deeper connection to its main character through its exhibition of the same technique.

                This would be a really good book to use in the classroom if you were doing a lesson on snowflakes or a lesson on biographies. I think using this book as a model would work really well to show students that biographies can take shape in many different forms. I remember when I was in elementary school, I had to do a biography on a famous person that I liked, and I remember it being incredibly boring to write a paper retelling the facts that I had learned out of another book. Giving kids the opportunity to turn a biography into something creative like this would be a really good project. I, personally would have been much more enthusiastic about writing a biography if I would have been able to put my own little fictitious twist to it.

Jumanji- Chris Van Allsburg

Picture book- realism black and white

Intended for children ages 7-11

Rating: 5 Stars

                Jumanji is the story of siblings who come across a mysterious board game one day and decide to play. When they start playing, the game creates jungle situations that come to life- a stampede, quicksand, bats flying around etc. Soon, the children realize that they have to finish the game or deal with the new reality they have created.

                Beginning Jumanji, I remembered that I had already read Chris Van Allsburg’s other adventure game book, Zathura.  I really enjoyed reading Zathura, and the same held for Jumanji. The fantastical situations presented, I feel, are fun for any age. The illustrations of the book really put you in the moment and help you imagine what it must have been like for the kids to, say, outrun a stampede of Elephants. I enjoyed the fantastical nature of the story as well; it’s just fun to imagine what you would do being put in that kind of situations. I still don’t know what I would do.

                I think this book could be used in a classroom really well for a group reading book or an SSR book. I feel it is the type of book that a teacher could read out loud and keep her class interested the whole time because of its adventure aspect and action sequences. This book would also be really good to use in a fiction unit; if you were working towards having students crate their own fiction pieces for publishing, this would be a really good book to use for those students who are more inclined towards an adventure type story. This book is so incredibly over the top that I think it’s a good one to show students and let them know that they sky is the limit when it comes to what you can write about.

Ella Enchanted- Gail Carson Levine
Type: Children’s novel

Intended for children ages 9-13

                Ella Enchanted is the story of a girl named Ella who has had a terrible cure put on her since she was a baby- the curse to obey whatever she is told. This curse has dominated her life for as long as she can remember; but when the prince and Ella fall in love, she has to try to break the curse, before it’s too late.

                I remember reading this novel as part of a circle read in the fourth grade. However, in the fourth grade I did not enjoy it whatsoever because of the lack of enthusiasm my teacher had in regards to reading it to the class. After re- reading it, if you will, I realized just how wonderful this book really is. There is a level of humor in the tone of the narrative that keeps the reader interested and wanting more. There is action, adventure, and a love story to keep the readers entertained; there really is something for everyone in this novel. The author is able to describe the settings in such detail that you feel as though you are with these characters and they embark on their adventures; there is also a very nice moral or theme to the story, which I believe is to think for yourself and not be influenced by the words of others. Because throughout the whole story, poor Ella has to obey the commands of what anyone tells her, but by the end she breaks the curse by sticking up for what she believes in and creating her own path.

                I think this book would work really well within the classroom as a silent sustained read or as a round circle read. This is a novel that I think students would have motivation to read on their own, for a book report, etc.  There is the element of magic within this book, but I do not think it is on any level that parents would have a problem with the class being exposed to the book. Mainly there are just mythical fairy tale creatures within the novel and it is not on an y controversial book list that I am aware of. So, overall I think it is a really good boo to use with reluctant readers because it has all different kinds of story elements in it- adventure, romance, magic, as well as a good moral and theme that the students can take from reading it.

               

               

               

The Higher Power of Lucky

               

                 Before starting The Higher Power of Lucky, I was not sure how much I was actually going to like the book considering it has been found controversial by many people. However, upon finishing this book, my mind was forever changed on the matter of controversial books.

                Lucky is a book that is considered to be controversial simply because of the presence of one word; scrotum. The book in its whole is about so much more than this one word. Unfortunately to some, this one word overshadowed the entire book.

                Personally, I thought this book was great. It touched on many topics that I think students can benefit from reading about. Lucky worries about being abandoned by her dad’s ex-wife and only real family member, Brigitte. She is also dealing with the feelings of being annoyed by her friends all while plotting to run away from Brigitte and attempts to find her higher power. These are all issues that any child, and adult for that matter, can relate to. I think that is one reason why Lucky is such a powerful read.

                I loved how each character in this book was such a definite individual and had their own characteristics and identities that were specific to them. Miles is a little bit immature, and always wants Lucky to read Are You My Mother  to him, Lincoln loves to tie knots and always drops the telephone because he is busy fidgeting to finish his latest knot creation, Brigitte misses France a lot and cries sometimes, but sticks around and cares for Lucky with a smile on her face. Lucky is in incredibly curious young girl who wants to explore the world and find as many different bug specimens as is humanly possible. Lucky also wants to feel secure in her home and not have to worry about Brigitte running away back to France someday. All of the characters have such depth and complexities about them that it is impossible to describe them fully in this blog. It’s these complexities that make the story so relatable and interesting to read. You can have a good story, but if the characters aren’t there to back it up and make it relatable, then it is a waste of a story.

                The use of symbols within this story is also very interesting to look at. So many physical things in this story represent something besides themselves. Brigitte’s Parsley grinder, in a way, represents everything about home that she misses and wants back. Brigitte’s red dress is both a symbol of the day that she arrived in Hard Pan, but for Lucky it represents maturity and being a grown up. Lincoln’s knot that he gives Lucky before she runs away can be seen as a token of his love and friendship for her. Miles’ Dr. Seuss book is a symbol of his youth and immaturity, and HMS Beagle can be looked at as a symbol of loyalty and friendship in the way that he is always at the bus stop waiting for Lucky when she gets home from school, even if school gets out early for the day.

                The setting of this story, Hard Pan, is masterfully described by the author so much so that the reader can actually picture and imagine themselves there with clarity. I know that I could imagine myself in that sandy desert far away from city life with nothing around but sand. This description of the setting really helps the reader to understand and feel the different events that happen later in the story.

                Overall, I thought this was a great story about trust, friendship, and finding out that you don’t have to share blood to be family. It is a great story with so many fantastic elements in it that it would be a shame for teachers to be fearful about teaching this book in their class simply because of the use of one single little word.

Three Children's Books

Horton Hears a Who!-Dr. Seuss

Type: Picture book, cartoon drawings with color splashes

Intended for children ages 6-10

                Horton Hears a Who! Is a story about an elephant named Horton who comes across a tiny clover blowing in the wind. He hears voices on the clover screaming for help, so he plucks the clover out of the air and discovers that the people of Whoville live on it. Even though nobody believes Horton, he decides to stick up for the people of Whoville, because a person’s a person, no matter how small.

                I’ve loved this book for a long time; I used to read it in school all the time as a child for silent sustained reading. I think that this story has a really good theme and moral that people come in all different shapes and sizes, and that being a loyal friend is not always the easiest thing to do. I love how the simplicity of the colors used in this book really draws you in towards the important elements- Horton is grey, the Clover is coral, etc. This use of color sort of devalues the setting of the story, because it is not the focus that the author is trying to draw your attention towards. The author is trying to draw your attention to the key players in the story and the key elements, such as the clover.

                This book would fit really well within a classroom and could be used in a multitude of ways. You could use this book as an example of exemplary rhyme scheme or as a moral lesson on the importance of loyalty and friendship when it is being tested. You could even use this book for its pictures and dissect why certain colors were used in certain pictures, and why not one entire page of this book is filled in with color completely. This book really is a multi use book that can be used and adapted to fit within different lessons.

Probuditi- Chris Van Allsburg

Type: Picture Book- sepia artwork

Intended for children ages 6-10

                Probuditi is the story of a little boy who gets to go see a magician and hypnotist on his birthday. When he gets home he decides to hypnotize his little sister. He successfully makes her think she is a dog, but what is going to happen when his mother gets home and has a dog as a daughter?

                I liked this book, but it was definitely not one of my favorite Chris Van Allsburg books. It was not a bad book, but I thought the story was a little bit dull. I did like the ending however. Throughout the whole book you think that his sister was hypnotized and actually believed that she was a dog. However, at the end of the book you come to find out, on the last page nonetheless, that his sister was in fact faking it the entire time.

                I would not have any problems with using this book in the classroom; however I think that this book would be better served as an SSR book for students to read on their own. I could see this book being used in the classroom as an example of an unexpected or twist ending, but that’s about it.  It was not a bad book, it just did not hold my interest as I read it.

My Friend Rabbit- Eric Rohmann

Type: Picture book- hand colored relief prints

Intended for children ages 5-9

                My Friend Rabbit is a really cute book about a little rabbit and his mouse friend. Rabbit always gets into mischief- he tries to fly mouse in a plane but gets it stuck in a tree. However, no matter how much trouble rabbit gets himself into, mouse is there to help him.

                This book was a really adorable story about friendship and always being there for one another. The book consisted of mainly pictures and had very few words, so it’s a really good book to use with younger children. The pictures were also very vibrant and full of color and detail. Even though the book itself did not have much text to it, the detail in the illustrations gave all of the characters a definite personality. Rabbit is a curious little animal who likes to play and as a result sometimes gets himself into a little bit of trouble. Mouse is a more sensible character who also likes to play, but knows how to look out for trouble and avoid it.

 I can defiantly see using this picture book in a classroom setting for both a silent read, and also as a book teaching a lesson about loyalty and friendship- some of the book’s hidden messages.

               

               

Controversial Children's Books

My Two Uncles- Judith Vigna

Type: Picture Book- line drawings and watercolors

Intended for children ages 5-11

                My Two Uncles, is a children’s picture book that deals with the controversial issue of homosexuality. It has to do with a little girl who has two uncles; her father’s biological brother, Ned, and his friend Phil.  Ned’s father does not approve of the way he and Phil live their lives, and it all comes to be seen when Ned is invited to his parent’s wedding anniversary, but refuses to go because he cannot take Phil to the party.

                I honestly really liked this book. I thought the controversial issue was handled in an appropriate manner that is relevant to something that could happen in the real world. The child in this book is kind of caught in the middle of the argument between the grandfather and the uncle and wonders if she too did something to cause the uproar. I think this point in the book is really relatable for children who have been caught in the middle of this type of argument, but I also think that it makes the story easy for its readers to relate too. The story doesn’t just describe what it means to be gay or a homosexual to its audience, but it actually describes a situation that these homosexual characters and their family members are going through.  The book also had a good lesson at the end that I think can benefit all students who read this book- something along the lines of being different is okay, which is applicable to other topics besides homosexuality. Also, I felt that the characters and the setting within the book were very real and identifiable along with the rest of the story. The characters seemed like family members that any one person could have in their family.

                I defiantly think that this book could be used in a classroom environment, however seeing as it is a controversial book with a touchy subject matter, I would have to have a very precise lesson plan and reasoning for using this book within the classroom. I would also probably send home a letter or include it in a book list at the beginning of the year so that parents are aware and can voice their objections before work is started with the book because even though it is more widely accepted, many people still have problems surrounding those who are homosexual.

In The Night Kitchen- Maurice Sendak

Type: Picture book- abstract watercolor

Intended for children ages 5-10

                This book is about a little boy who falls into the crazy world of the night kitchen. He is baked into a cake, turns bread into an airplane and falls into a giant bottle of milk while trying to retrieve a cup for the chefs. It’s a very whimsical abstract book that allows your imagination to run wild along with the main character of the book.

                I thought it was kind of silly that this book is considered to be controversial. The reason it makes it onto controversial book lists is because the little boy in the book falls through the world naked, and is naked in other parts of the book, like when he falls into the jar of milk.  There was no plot line or lesson within this book that I would consider to be controversial; it is simply about a boy’s dream of falling into the night kitchen and doing crazy things like making an airplane out of break and then proceeding to fly around in it.  I think the controversy behind the naked boy hast mostly to do with the parents saying something about it. I don’t think that children reading this book are going to really mind it. The nudity is handled in a very low key kind of way, it is not included in the book for the shock value, and it is in the book as part of the story line; the boy fell out of his clothes and into the night kitchen.

                I think an abstract book like this could come with many benefits if it is used in the classroom setting. It is one of those books that you need to think about after reading it. There is no clear point or reason to the story line of the book. A book like this could be a great device to use to get students engaged and thinking about the purpose of the text. I do not think any kind of notice would be necessary in order to use this book in the classroom. I would be comfortable simply using it in class and then dealing with any complaints about it afterwards.

Fairy Tales

The Frog Prince Continued…- Jon Scieszka/illustrated by Steve Johnson  

Type: Picture Book- Cartoon Stenciling

Intended for children ages 5-10

                The Frog Prince Continued… is a fairy tale parody about what happened after happily ever after for the Frog Prince and his princess. They have an unhappy marriage, and the Frog Prince leaves his home to try and find a witch to turn him back into a frog.

                I really enjoyed reading this book; just like Scieszka does with The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, he has masterfully taken a classic children’s story and put his own twist on it. Using characters that have already been created by other authors, Scieszka takes these characters and puts them in his own world and interpretation of their setting and story. It is a cute story about love and family that has a good moral at the end- although people who love each other sometimes fight; it does not mean they ever stop loving each other.

                I think this story would work really well in the classroom, and I would not have any problem using this book within that setting. Like I said with The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, a parody story like this could work really well with a genre study highlighting both different genres as well as parodies of said genres. This book also has a very sweet moral at the end that you could have your students talk about/ interpret in their own way

Cinderella- Susan Jeffers

Type: Picture Book- Watercolor illustrations

Intended for children ages 5-10

                Cinderella, by Susan Jeffers, is a pretty classic telling of the Cinderella fairy tale. Cinderella’s father remarries, and her stepmother makes her work in the house. Cinderella’s fairy godmother helps her go to the ball and she loses her slipper. The prince eventually finds out that her foot fits the slipper, and marries her. In the end of this version, Cinderella gives her two stepsisters a home in the court where they live and marry two lords.

                I liked this version; it was very Disney-esque and had beautiful watercolor illustrations. It contained the mystical elements and magic that children in this book’s age range love reading about. It is told in the third person omniscient point of view, and its characters have many of the same characteristics of the Cinderella stories we are used to hearing. Except, in this version, Cinderella’s step sisters are not all that ‘evil’ compared to her stepmother.  There were not any controversial elements that I found in this book, however I think it would work very well within a critical literacy class discussion. Every single character in this book is either a prince or a princess of noble blood, and they are all white. Even in the scenes of the book where there are masses of people, the ball for example, there are only white individuals featured. A discussion on power and social class could be one resulting lesson to partake in after reading this book, and multiple other fairy tales for that matter.  Considering children mainly in the age range of five to ten years show the most interest in fairy tales, I could see this book as being a great stepping stone to get kids started in critical literacy discussions that is going to keep their interest and get them talking.