ltl. web viewthe black helps to emphasis the blindness and brings out the color of each mouse. the...

Jessica DoverBook Critiques Set 1

RE-5140June 17, 2009

Easy Reader Book

Are You My Mother?P. D. EastmanRandom House Toronto 1960

The book looks like a Dr. Suess book. It is about a bird that hatches while his mother is

out on the hunt for food. The story tells of the bird’s journey to find his mother.

Everything he comes to he asks “Are you my mother?” The repetition is necessary for

beginning readers. Eventually the “snort” helps him find his way back into the nest

where he is reunited with his mother. This book could be used to talk about families or

animal habitats. The bird was lost but he was able to make it back to his home. I think

it is fun story and it always surprises me how some children do not find it strange that

the bird think that a dog or a cat is his mother while other children find it completely

hysterical. I think the best part of the book is the ending where the bird finally knows his

mother and he know that she is not all the other animals that he encountered. I think

the idea of the bird being safe in the nest with his mother is comforting to children,

because even though they want to have their own adventures away from their mothers

they are still children and want to be cuddled up next to their mothers.


RE-5140June 17, 2009

Transitional Book

Amelia BedeliaPeggy Parish; Fritz SiebelHarper Trophy 1963

The book Amelia Bedelia is very entertaining because the Amelia Bedelia takes

everything literally and does not complete any chores on her list the way that Mrs.

Rodgers intended. But Amelia Bedelia can do one thing right and that is to make a

lemon meringue pie and that is what saves her from being fired. The book is something

that beginning readers can enjoy on their own because of Amelia’s mistakes the reader

can learn how the same word can have more than one meaning. For example when

Mrs. Rogers said draw the drapes she did not mean for Amelia to sit down and sketch

the drapes on paper. I think that when she measures the rice it could be related to math

and how you use different measurements depending on what you are measuring. The

fact that Amelia does not mess up on everything is a good theme to be learned from the

book. Everyone has something that they are good at. Amelia could make a perfect pie,

even though she could not follow her list of chores. This is important for kids to

recognize because there may be something that they have trouble with. Children who

understand the humor of this book with probably want to read more books about Amelia

Bedelia.


RE-5140June 17, 2009

Traditional Literature

Seven Blind MiceEd YoungPhilomel Books New York 1992

Seven Blind Mice is a traditional Chinese folktale. The story has a moral that you learn

after finding out that all the mice were wrong about what they thought the saw, only

when they looked upon the whole something could they visualize it in their minds and

recognize it as an elephant. The illustrations are very important to the book. Each of

the seven mice are represented with a different color on a black background. The black

helps to emphasis the blindness and brings out the color of each mouse. The book

uses color words and days of the week while presenting the story. Each mouse takes a

turn trying to find out what the strange something is. When the mouse returns to the

other mice to report their findings the color of their imagination matches the color of the

mouse that is talking. Each mouse reports something different until finally the last

mouse walks all around the something until the other mice join in. After seeing the

“whole” they finally were able to determine that it was an elephant. The story concludes

with the moral “Knowing in part may make a fine tale, but wisdom comes from seeing

the whole.” It can also show children the importance of working together. Once you put

all the parts of the story that each mouse told together you have a whole elephant. The

ideas of parts and whole can be used to describe different characteristics of objects and

to discuss different people can perceive the same object in so many different ways.


RE-5140June 17, 2009

Fantasy Book

ZathuraChris Van AllsburgHoughton Mifflin Company Boston 2002

In the picture book Zathura by Chris Van Allsburg two brothers are part of an adventure

in outer space. The illustrations are very detailed but are pencil sketch drawings in

black and white. The lack of color adds to the idea of being in space where most

everything is black. The voice the author uses as well as the illustrations help to draw

the reader in and make them feel they have entered a different world. When the boys

lose their gravity they are depicted upon the ceiling of the house that is floating around

in outer space. Each page brings a new obstacle into the journey of the Zathura game.

The story develops differently than the reader expects. Just when the reader is on the

edge of their seat wondering how the boys will make it back to Earth, the boys come up

for air and are back in the yard where the adventure started. The perspective is not

what is first expected. I was a little disappointed because I wanted to know how the

game ended and what other adventures the boys would have to go through to make it

back to Earth. I think that students would enjoy this book because of the adventure.


RE-5140June 17, 2009

Poetry

A Grand Celebration: Grandparents in PoetryCarol G. Hittleman and Daniel R. Hittleman, Kay LifeBoyds Mills Press, Inc. Honesdale, PA. 2002

The poems in this book are a celebration of grandparents. They include a wide variety

of poems from many authors. Each poem describes a grandparent in a different way.

Some of the poems describe a grandparent as another set of parents while others

describe grandparents as friends. It even talks about grandparents who are not present

in the everyday lives of their grandchildren. There are memories of grandparents and

as well as descriptions of activities that the children do with their grandparents. The

poems are written in a variety of styles. The pictures include a wide variety of cultures.

A poem that I particularly liked was the poem “From Her Office” it was about a

grandmother who has to work and travels a lot, but the last line says “wherever she is

and never forgets, she loves me so.” The illustration shows a boy on the telephone at

the bottom of the page and his grandmother on the other end of the line in an office

somewhere. Because of the wide variety of poems I think that anyone who reads the

book could find at least one poem that they could relate to.


RE-5140June 17, 2009

Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Owl MoonJane Yolen and John SchoenherrPhilomel Books New York 1987

The story of Owl Moon is about a child and her father going in to the forest to listen to

the sounds of owls. The pictures show a snowy scene. The book has rich detail in its

language and includes figurative language such as “the snow below it was whiter than

the milk in a cereal bowl” After they saw the owl they returned home. The story is a

story that could possibly take place. It describes an adventure that a child makes with

her father. It has a coming of age element because we know that her brothers have

made this journey before, but it is a first for the character we are reading about. At one

point in the story the reader is expecting to find an owl but when there is not one the girl

says “I was disappointed, My brother all said sometimes there’s an owl and sometimes

there isn’t.” I think that is important because the girl did not get upset she and her father

just continued looking for owls. The way the story is written it looks almost like poetry.

Once they find what they were searching for they return home, the story recounts their

journey.


RE-5140June 17, 2009

Historical Fiction

Tonight on the TitanicMary Pope OsborneScholastic New York 1999

In this adventure Jack and Annie find themselves on the ship Titanic as it is sinking.

Jack and Annie helps save two children from the lower deck by helping them find their

way to a lifeboat. The book does an excellent job of pulling the reader into history. The

idea of a magic tree house that can transport you into history through books is in

genius. The story includes many factual elements about the iceberg, lifeboats, people

on board and the design of the ship. At the end of the book the author includes a quick

facts page that tells more information about the ship. I think that this book as well as

any of the Magic Tree House series could be used to introduce various topics in history.

Readers who enjoy the adventures of Jack and Annie will be more likely to want to find

out more historical information related to the book. Had I not known anything about the

Titanic I would have wanted to find out more after reading this book. I think the idea

that everyone thought the ship to be unsinkable and the tragedy of it appeals to children

and adults alike. The focus on the time throughout the book and the knowledge that

Jack and Annie have of when the Titanic will sink creates a feeling of adventure and

adrenaline and they rush to save the children from the lower deck.


RE-5140June 17, 2009

Biography & Autobiography

Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.Doreen Rappaport; Bryan CollierHyperion Books for Children New York 2001

The illustrations play an important role in this picture book. The front cover does not

even include the title instead it only shows a painted portrait of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Each page has a separate quote that is at the bottom of the page that is highlighted in a

different color. The quote on each page is like a small sound bite or a vital piece to take

with you from each page. The story includes many elements of the civil rights

movement. It mentions Rosa Parks and some of the other protests that Martin Luther

King, Jr. became a part of. The book takes on a more serious tone toward the end,

after hearing about Martin Luther King’s philosophy of nonviolence you learn that he

was shot while fighting for civil rights. The book ends with the quote “His big words are

alive for us today.” Encouraging the reader to learn from Martin Luther King’s message

and even though he is gone don’t let his words die. The pictures are done in collage

and accentuate what is being said throughout the book. I think this book is an example

of the words and pictures being inseparable. I think the book is a powerful book that

could be used with older children just the same as it could be used with elementary

children.


RE-5140June 17, 2009

Informational Book

Zin! Zin! Zin! a ViolinLloyd Moss & Marjorie PricemanSimon & Schuster Books for Young Readers New York 1995

The information book does not seem like an information book at all. The illustrations are

very colorful almost like cartoons. The text has a slight curve to it. The book is written

in rhyme. It starts off talking about one instrument creating a solo and on each page

another instrument is added until there is a whole orchestra. The book is a great

resource for teaching instruments names, ordinal numbers, and the vocabulary behind

musical groups and their numbers. The book would easily hold the attention of a young

reader while teaching them about musical instruments. Up until now I had never read

this book but I plan to use it with my ESL students when we learn about sounds and

music, because it has a lot of great vocabulary that can be put to use in the classroom.

When you first begin reading the book and in fact throughout the entire book you are not

reading the book as an informational book. You are learning but it is not crammed full

of facts and figures like many informational books. It presents the ideas of musical

instruments through rich language and vibrant pictures.


RE-5140June 17, 2009

Caldecott Award

FlotsamDavid WiesnerClarion Books New York 2006

The pictures are very detailed and because there are no words I spent more time per

page than I normally do with picture books. I was trying to read and reread the pictures

to create the story in my mind. The boy in the story finds an underwater camera that

has washed up on the shore. He takes the film to be developed and a story unfolds in

the pictures. I was very interested in the pictures inside the pictures. There were

children from all different places and backgrounds. The pictures also want back in time

for a very long time. I was a little bit confused when I saw some of the other pictures

that had been developed from the camera. There were fish that looked like robots and

an octopus sitting on his couch. Had there not been the strange pictures of the fish I

would have clung to the hope that the story could actually happen. I think the pictures

alone without words help the reader to develop their own story as they are “reading” the

pictures. At the end of the story a girl discovers the camera washing ashore. It is clear

to see why this book won the Caldecott Award.


RE-5140June 17, 2009

BOOK CRITIQUES SET 2:

Caldecott Award

The Man Who Walked Between the TowersMordicai GersteinRoaring Book Press Brookfield, Connecticut 2003

I recall first reading this book as an undergraduate student. I was drawn to the book

because I remembered the terrible images from September 11, 2001. This book

presented the two towers in a very positive light and told a story that was adventurous

without being scary. One of the best parts of the book is that is an actual account of an

event that took place in 1974. The book is very well illustrated. It has fold out flaps that

enhance the pictures. One of the flaps includes a vertical shot of the two towers that

elongates them giving the illusion of the tight rope being very high in the sky. Even

when it shows a more close of painting of Philippe he appears to be floating in the air

among the birds and the clouds. I think it is important that the book portrays a happy

memory of the two towers. Many of our students were born after 2001 and do not have

a firsthand knowledge of the towers or the events of September 11th. The book gives a

way that teachers could introduce the towers on a more positive note. Not only does

the book include wonderful pictures which won the Caldecott Medal it also contains a

great story for teachers to share with their students.


RE-5140June 17, 2009

Caldecott Award

RosaNikki Giovanni and Bryan CollierHenry Holt and Company New York 2005

The story of Rosa Parks is very important in the history of the civil rights movement in

the United States. I found the part about the “evil custom” of paying in the front but

having to get off the bus and enter at the back door ridiculous. I had never realized that,

it was part of the segregation practice. Just in my own experience with city buses I think

that entering at the back door is a terribly dangerous thing. I could not understand why

prejudice would lead people to do such strange things, as making someone board the

bus pay, get off and walk to the back to get on again. It seems to me that it would have

wasted a whole lot of time at the bus stop. I suppose that students would have an

equally hard time understanding segregation. On one of the pictures there is

newspaper contains an article of Emmett Till. Later it mentions Emmett Till. There is

also a reference to Martin Luther King, Jr. who helps to lead a peaceful protest of the

buses. One page opens up into a rather large page that shows people walking all the

way to Washington D.C. and that the Supreme Court rules that everyone has the right

to sit on the bus. The pictures are very interesting and are done in sort of a collage

format. The story is an important one that can be shared with all ages.


RE-5140June 17, 2009

Newbery Award

Criss CrossLynne Ray PerkinsGreenwillow Books New York 2005

The book Criss Cross tells about a group of kids who live in a small town. I kept reading

the book thinking that in the ending all the kids would come together and it would

somehow be settled. But after reading snippets of their lives it ended kind of in the

middle of things. I had read 300 pages of stuff that happened to these kids and then it

just sort of ended. The characters crossed paths but often times they were not even

aware of each other. I thought that Lenny and Debbie would end up together instead

the shares a moment with Hector. The necklace that she had lost was found by Russell

who lost it to Dan who eventually lost it, and Hector found it. I never even imagined

Hector and Debbie together. Then it was broken when Hector returned it to Debbie. I

also didn’t realize that it was set in the 70s until they started talking about bell bottoms.

I think that in that way students could see that teenagers have pretty much been the

same for many years. I didn’t like the way the book jumped around without tying

everything together in the end. I did not think the book was spectacular enough to win a

Newbery but maybe I missed something. There were a lot of things I could relate to

with the characters. I think the book was probably realistic and I was hoping for more of

a traditional “happy” ending.


RE-5140June 17, 2009

Coretta Scott King Award

Poetry for Young People Langston HughesDavid Roessel, Arnold Rampersad & Benny AndrewsSterling Publishing Company New York 2006

I have always enjoyed the poetry of Langston Hughes. I enjoyed the way that the book

gave a very detailed biography of Langston Hughes at the beginning. Each poem also

included a short introduction to help the reader understand the poem. For example in

the Mother to Son poem the reader is told that the poem is advice from a mother telling

her son to keep on striving even though life is hard. The illustrations help to bring the

poems to life. There are many footnotes that explain words or phrases that children

may not be familiar with. My favorite poems are the dream poems where Langston

Hughes talks about his dreams, and dreams for America. He also talks about what

would happen if those dreams are not realized. Most of the poems written by Langston

Hughes were written before the civil rights movement had seen a whole lot of success.

I wonder today how he would feel seeing the progress that has been made and what

poems he would write about future hopes and dreams for America. I think this book

would be useful for upper elementary students and they could write some of their own

poems. Also they would better understand the themes of Hughes’ poems and be able

to apply them to what they are learning in social studies.


RE-5140June 17, 2009

Coretta Scott King Award

Moses When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to FreedomCarole Boston Weatherford and Kadir NelsonHyperion Books for Children New York 2006

The book begins with a forward that explains about slavery and the Underground

Railroad in a way that gives background knowledge to students who might be unfamiliar

with the topic. The writing is particularly interesting because it includes a conversation

between Moses and God. The words are formatted differently to show who is speaking.

The language is somewhat poetic. The pictures are incredible and use light to show

Harriet during the day and her travels by night. On one page the words are God are

encircling Harriet. She is a point where she says she would rather die than be a slave.

God says keep going you have glimpsed the future. Finally Harriet makes it to free soil.

The picture of Harriet’s face when she is about to lead other people out of slavery is

something that captivated my attention. Her face appears strong and determined. She

is able bring others to freedom. The very last page shows Harriet with clouds

illuminated behind her, God’s words say “well done, Moses, well done.” The book ends

with an author’s note that gives more biographical information about Harriet Tubman.

This book is something that could be used with younger students but could also be used

with older students. For older students the addition information in the forward and

author’s note would be helpful in a study of slavery or the underground railroad.


RE-5140June 17, 2009

Orbis Pictus Award

When Marian Sang Pam Muñoz Ryan and Bryan SelznickScholastic Press New York 2002

I listened to the book on CD. I think that had I not listened to the audio CD I would not

have enjoyed the book as much. Each page contains a small snippet of a song and on

the CD each piece of the song is sung. The book is a well written account of the

struggles that Marian Anderson faced being an African American singer in the United

States. Eleanor Roosevelt was instrumental in granting Marian Anderson the

opportunity to sing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. I could not imagine why she

was not allowed to sing in front of an all white audience or even banded from many

places that were mixed audiences. She was given the opportunity to sing all throughout

Europe but could not even sing freely in her own country. I hope that students would

find that appalling as well. I guess I had never really thought about how African

Americans were treated in Europe until I read about Marian Anderson’s experiences in

Europe. I found the story very interesting but I think students would enjoy it more if they

had the opportunity to actually hear Marian sing. The pictures were well done. The

music throughout the book could be analyzed with older students. I enjoyed the book

and think that it would be a great biography for students to read.


RE-5140June 17, 2009

Jane Addams Award

Harvesting Hope The Story of Cesar ChavezKathleen Krull and Yuyi MoralesScholastic New York 2003

The story of Cesar Chavez is a story that tells about Cesar’s struggle in the San

Joaquin Valley and in California and how he helped workers earn rights. The pictures in

the book are very beautiful. They are paintings that show the emotions of the workers

at each of the stages in their protest and when they won their rights at the Supreme

Court. I would probably not use this book for very young children because some of the

themes it deals with might be difficult for them to understand. I think this picture book

could be used for older students who are studying about civil rights or historical figures.

This biography includes information throughout Cesar’s entire life. The ideas of

nonviolence are important in the book. Also I think that the way the boycott of grapes

effected the industry is an important lesson in economics and the power of the

consumer to affect demand. Often times students study about the civil rights movement

and focus mainly on African Americans but this book shows how people of Mexican

descent were discriminated against as well. Cesar was born in Arizona but was

discriminated against in school for speaking Spanish and was forced to stay out of

business that displayed “Whites only” signs. The book also includes more information

about Cesar in the author’s note at the end.


RE-5140June 17, 2009

Pura Belpré

Papá and MeArthur Dorros and Rudy GutierrezHarper Collins Publishers 2008

Papa and Me is a story that takes the reader on a journey through the neighborhood

with a father and a son. The book is written for younger children. It contains phrases in

Spanish like “Buenos días” (good morning) and “mira” (look). The pictures are paintings

that are somewhat abstract. They include many bright colors. In the end of the book

the boy is visiting with his grandparents. They all embrace in a picture where they

appear to be creating a home. The story is something that is for younger students and

would make a great read aloud. There are Spanish words to look for throughout. All of

the Spanish words are written along with the English on the end pages of the book.

This book could also be used to talk about fathers or families, since the boy’s mother is

not mentioned in the book. The boy is spending his time with his father and then they

go to his grandparent’s house. The idea of family is seen throughout the book as the

father helps the boy throughout their journey across town. Students could even tell

about a trip they have taken with their own parents.


RE-5140June 17, 2009

Pura Belpré Award

The Tequila WormViola CanalesRandom House New York 2005

The Tequila Worm is a very well written story. The book contains many references to

the culture of Mexican Americans. I have worked with several students whose parents

are Mexican but they had grown up in the United States and had a culture of their own

that was a mixture of Mexican and American. The character Sofia deals with that

throughout the book. She is smart and has worked hard to prove herself; but when she

has the chance to break out of her neighborhood to go away to boarding school she

doesn’t know if she can leave her family or if they can let her go. Eventually she goes

off to school. She still has to overcome many obstacles but she does. I thought it was

particularly interesting when the girl talked about the cultural differences between school

and home. I could personally relate to that because I was the first person in my family

to go to college. When I returned home I felt some of the same feeling that Sofia felt in

the book. She was still able to maintain her friendships and ties to home. I think this is

a good book for older students to read. I think it would even be a book that high school

students could relate to. I enjoyed reading how the girls became comadres and how the

went from being girls into becoming women. When the Sofia’s father died it was a

surprise but the book ended with her moving forward and remembering him in the Day

of the Dead celebration.


RE-5140June 17, 2009

Schneider Family Award

My Pal, VictorDiane Gonzales Bertrand and Robert L. SweetlandRaven Tree Press Green Bay, Wisconsin 2004

When I read the story I was thinking I picked this book because it talks about a child

with a disability but I couldn’t figure out which kid had a disability until the very end. I

suppose that was the point of the book to highlight the similarities between the two

children and to help children accept the disability. The book is a bilingual book and is

written in both Spanish and English. The narrator talks about him and his pal Victor and

the stories and jokes they tell together. The both swim together, and ride rollercoasters

together. At the very end of the book the narrator says that the most important thing

about his pal Victor is that he likes him just the way he is. This is important because at

this point the reader sees that the narrator is in a wheelchair. This book is good to use

with children of all ages. It teaches that people who have physical limitations can still do

many things that other children can do. I think this book is good to show students that

even though someone might be different from you, you can still be friend with that

person. The fact that the book is written in both Spanish and English makes its

message more widely available to more students. This book could be used as a read

aloud or would be a good book for children to read at home with their parents. If a class

has a student with a disability this book could be used to show that someone in a

wheelchair is just like anyone else.

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