Module 15: My Mom's Having a Baby!

• Book Summary:  This book goes through the stages of a woman's pregnancy.  Elizabeth, is the main character and narrator who recounts each step of the process of her sibling being born.  The author gives detailed description of how a baby is conceived, carried, and delivered.  Throughout the book, Elizabeth describes whats happening to her mother as her baby grows in her belly and even asks the question "how are babies born?"  With many details and graphics, the author gives the reader a look into childbirth.

• APA Reference of Book:

Butler, D.H. (2005).  My mom's having a baby!  Morton Grove, IL:  Albert Whitman & Company.

• Impressions:  I believe this book was censored because of its graphics.  Beginning on the second page, the author talks about the mom's uterus, which in my opinion is too advanced for elementary aged children.  The illustrator shows where the uterus is located with a illustration of the mother's stomach.  I was shocked when the book showed a diagram of a naked man and woman and labeled and pointed to their private parts.  The book even goes as far as to describe in detail sexual intercourse between a man and a women.  For elementary students, I personally feel like the author was too detailed and graphic.  Older students could understand this book, but I believe the author wrote this book to educate a younger audience.  

• Professional Review:  Numerous books are available to prepare soon-to-be siblings for the changes that come with the arrival of a new baby in the house.  Butler's goes one better by candidly and thoughtfully responding to the question many such books ignore, "How did that baby get there?"  

Reference:

My mom's having a baby! (2005).  Booklist, 101(15), p 1358.

Library Uses:  I would use this book for sex education for high school students.  I personally wouldn't use this book for elementary or middle school students.

Module 14: A Curious Collection of Cats

• Book Summary:  This book includes different poems about cats.  The poems include things from a cat's shadow, tail, wit, and quickness.  The author also gives insight about the different types of personalities a cat can have as well as their interactions with humans and other animals.  This book is centered around and all about the world of cats.

• APA Reference of Book:  

Franco, B. (2009). A curious collection of cats.  Berkeley, CA:  Tricycle Press.

• Impressions:  This book is very unique with words and color all over the pages.  I liked the way the author didn't just have the words in straight lines like you would normally see in a book of poems.  The author causes its readers to have to move the book around to read some of the poems.  For example, the poem, "Tabitha's Tail," has the words in the shape of a tail.  The book has to be turned and moved in order to read it.  This makes the book become interactive and fun.  I also like the way each poem describes the different type of personalities a cat can have.  This book would especially be loved by cat lovers who would get a joy out of reading about the quickness, wit, and intelligence of cats.

• Professional Review:  In an ideal match of subject and form, poet Franco uses the sinuous shapes and playful motions of cats to distill the essence of felines in all their grace and ridiculousness. Each of the thirty-two concrete poems is a mini-depiction of a particular cat, as in "Veronica Goes Wide": "Veronica's gotten so pudgy / and PLUMP, / she now mostly acts like a snug-gable / lump"; the poem is written across the yellow cat, with the M in lump formed from her ears. Cats interact with dogs, with squirrels, with one another, and with people in a variety of funny ways, but Franco uses words so precisely to capture cats' behavior that cat-lovers will feel a shock of recognition. Cat-haters may, too, as Franco lays bare the less-charming aspects of life with cats, as in "cat haiku 1" ("Tuna fish dinner / Kitty washes down her meal / sips from toilet bowl") and the self-explanatory "that cat peed on my hat." Wirtz's illustrations, mono-prints adjusted in Adobe Photoshop, keep the words that wrap and weave around the cats readable while still creating visual interest in the backgrounds. Together, poet and artist convey the silliness of cats and their humans without ever being silly themselves.

Reference:  

Lemple, S.D. (2009).  [A Curious Collection of Cats, by B. Franco].  Horn Book Magazine, 85(3), p 314-315.

• Library Uses:  This book could be used as an example to show students how different poems can be written.  Allow students to jot words down about their favorite topics and things and see if they can come up with a poem like the ones from the book.

Module 13:Magic Tree House #5: Night of the Ninjas

• Book Summary:  The Night of the Ninjas starts off with the main characters Jack and Annie discovering that Morgan le Fay, the magical librarian is missing.  Jack and Annie find a clue that lead them to real life Ninjas!  Jack finds a Ninja book that helps guide them on their adventure and their way back home.  Along the way, Jack and Annie meet the Ninja master who warns them about the Samurai, fierce Japanese fighters who are at war with the Ninjas and their families.  After hearing the Samurai coming, the master told the children that they knew the way of the Ninja and left them with the words, "use nature, be nature, follow nature (Osborne, 1995).  These words would be the deliverance of Jack and Annie's journey.  They had to become nature by first imagining they were a rock to hide from Samurai, and then imagine themselves as a mouse to cross a stream.  The children found their way back to the tree house where the ninja master and the mouse, Peanut were waiting.  The ninja master gave Jack and Annie a moonstone, to help them find Morgan le Fay.

• APA Reference of Book:

Osborne, M.P. (1995).  Night of the ninjas.  New York, NY:  Random House.

• Impressions:  Although the story was entertaining, I feel that it could have been longer and more detailed.  The author had room to include more events during Jack and Annie's adventure.  By the time Jack and Annie met the Ninjas and crossed the stream, their adventure with the Ninjas was practically over.  Right when I got excited about the Ninjas appearing, they disappeared and were out of the story again.  I would have enjoyed the book more if the Ninjas were included more in the story.

• Professional Review:  

By A Customer on December 7, 2001

• Format: Paperback

  If you like ninjas, then you'll want to read Night of the Ninjas.
  If you like mice, you'll like this book, because Peanut is a mouse.
  The story keeps you guessing. becaue the mouse acts like a human.
  I liked Night of the Ninjas, because ninjas fight like martial

Reference:  Night of the Ninjas (Magic Tree House, No. 5).  (2001).  Amazon.  Retrieved from: http://www.amazon.com/Night-Ninjas-Magic-Tree-House/dp/0679863710/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1449204161&sr=1-1&keywords=magic+tree+house+5

Library Uses:  This book and series could be used to do a lesson on narrative writing.  Students could write about an adventure they've had or can imagine in first person point of view.

Module 12: The Boy on Fairfield Street: How Ted Geisel Grew Up to Become Dr. Seuss

• Book Summary:  This book starts off by describing Ted Geisel's (the future Dr. Seuss) love for books and animals as he grew up on 74 Fairfield Street in Springfield, Massachusetts.  Ted's father became superintendent of parts, which gave Ted a front row seat to the zoo and his father's stories about the zoo.  At night, Ted's mother (Henrietta Seuss Geisel) would read books from the library and put him and his sister to sleep with stories and nonsense verse.  Ted and his friends enjoyed roaming and playing in the neighborhood until Ted started to feel like he didn't fit in around Springfield.  Children at school teased him because of his German name.  It got so bad that children would chase and beat him up.  Not being skilled at shooting rifles like his parents, or being athletic, Ted found his passion for drawing.  He attempted to take an art class in high school, but was criticized and discourages by his art teacher who reprimanded him for breaking rules.  It was at Dartmouth College that Ted started using "Seuss" as his name in the school's newspaper.  After leaving Oxford University, Ted focused on his drawings and one day he was offered $25 for a cartoon by the Saturday Evening Post.  Ted received letters from other magazines wanting his drawings and soon he was off to New York city where his future began as a writer and illustrator.

• APA Reference of Book:

Krull, K. (2004).  The boy on Fairfield street: how Ted Geisel grew up to become Dr. Seuss.  New York, NY:  Random House.

• Impressions:  This was an enjoyable story, but I would have liked to read more about Ted Geisel's life after he moved to New York.  I know that Dr. Seuss became very successful, but I would have liked to read about his experiences of his early writings and drawings in New York.  I wanted to know more about his personal life after the age of twenty-two (like how long did it take to get his first book published or did he meet the love of his life while in New York?)  The author did a good job telling about Ted's life growing up, but as a reader I just wanted to know a little more about his early days of writing.

Professional Review:  Just in time for Dr. Seuss's one hundredth birthday comes this biographical tribute, an affectionate survey centered onTed Geisel's boyhood, plus a bit on his brush with higher education (neither Dartmouth College, where he was voted "Least Likely to Succeed," nor Oxford University engaged his full attention), concluding with the first months of his career. Four additional pages summarize the high points and pivotal moments of his entire life in somewhat more detail, but the real story here is of a boy who couldn't stop doodling, who "feasted on books and was wild about animals," and who "excelled at footing around." Krull does a good job of linking such early propensities with what turned up later, visually and thematically, in Geisel's books, Johnson and Fancher provide nostalgic full-page paintings that nicely recall illustrations of the period; a wealth of adroitly chosen vignettes from Seuss's own books (listed at the end) illuminate points made in the text (teenage Ted "knew his art broke the rules," observes Krull on a page sporting a gleefully determined race car-driving fish from One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish). Fans are sure to enjoy meeting theirrepressible man behind the ever-popular books.

Reference:

Long, J.R. (2004).  [Review of the book The boy on Fairfield street, by K. Krull].  Horn Book Magazine, 80(1).

• Library Uses:  This book can be read and displayed during Dr. Seuss Week (Birthday).  Older students could use this book to do research and a report about Dr. Seuss early life.

Module 11: The Day-Glo Brothers

• Book Summary:  The Day-Glo Brothers is about the creation of glowing colors like yellows, oranges, and green by Bob and Joe Switzer.  Early in their lives, Bob enjoyed working and planning, while Joe enjoyed practicing magic tricks and problem-solving.  After moving to Berkeley, California, Joe would do an illusion trick called black art, where an object painted half black and white looked like it was floating and disappearing when held under a white spotlight in front of a black background (Barton, 2009).  In 1933, Bod had an accident in a pickle and ketchup factory that caused him to have seizures and double vision.  Unfortunately, the accident ruined Bob's dream to become a doctor.  Due to the accident, Bob was forced to heal in the family's darkened basement.  In this basement, Joe and Bob started experimenting with black lights and flourescence.  They built a ultraviolet lamp and discovered a yellow glow after shining the light on a chemical-stained label on a bottle in their father's drugstore.  Eventually, the Switzer brothers invented a new color called Fire Orange that glowed in daylight.  This is how the "Day-Glo" colors came about.  During World War II, the military used these colors for different signals.  The Switzers' inventions helped the United States win the war.  After the war, Bob and Joe became rich.  Their colors were used in many ways including Andy Warhol's famous paintings.

• APA Reference of Book: 

Barton, C. (2009).  The day-glo brothers.  Watertown, MA:  Charlesbridge.

• Impressions:  I thought it was clever how the illustrator started off drawing the pages in black and white, and as the story developed as the Switzer brothers created colors, the pictures in the book also became colorful.  The gave lots of information about the Switzer brothers that was interesting and entertaining.  For example, I enjoyed reading about how both brothers' gifts and talents helped them create something spectacular!  My favorite part of the book was how the author ended it with, "One brother wanted to save lives.  The other brother wanted to dazzle crowds.  With Day-Glo, they did both" (Barton, 2009).  Very thoughtful way to sum up the Switzer brother's lives.

• Professional Review:  The True Story of Bob and Joe Switzer's Bright Ideas and BrandSNew Colors. illus. by' Tony Persiani. unpaged. CIP. Charlesbridge. 2009. RTE $16.95. ISBN 978-1-57091-673-1. LC 2008026959. Gr 4-6-Before 1935, fluorescent colors did not exist. Barton discusses how two brothers worked together to create the eyepopping hues. Joe Switzer figured out that using a black light to create a fluorescent glow could spruce up his magic act, so the brothers built an ultraviolet lamp. They began to experiment with various chemicals to make glow-in-the-dark paints. Soon Joe used fluorescent-colored paper costumes in his act and word got around. Through trial and error, the brothers perfected their creation. The story is written in clear language and includes whimsical cartoons. While endpapers are Day-Glo bright, most of the story is illustrated in black, white, gray, and touches of color, culminating in vivid spreads. Discussions on regular fluorescence and daylight fluorescence are appended. This unique book does an excellent job of describing an innovative process.-Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WI

Reference:  Callaghan, A.C. (2009).  The day-glo brothers.  School Library Journal, 55(8), p. 118.

Library Uses:  This book could be part of a STEM program.  The book gives lots of scientific information that educators could use about light, colors, and chemicals.  The library could host a science experiment day using this book as one example of how students can experiment with scientific chemicals and information.

Module 10: Shoeless Joe & Black Betsy

• Book Summary:  Shoeless Joe got his name from playing an entire baseball game in his socks.  Before becoming a major league baseball player, Joe went through a horrible hitting slump.  He tried different things like changing the way he stood at home plate, switching his left hand to his right, and even wearing glasses.  When all of these things didn't work, Shoeless Joe went to Ol' Charlie who was gifted at making bats.  Ol' Charlie made a bat for Joe, which he named Betsy, after Betsy Ross.  Unfortunately, the bat didn't help Joe get out of his slump.  Shoeless Joe asked Ol' Charlie to change how Betsy how Betsy was made to see if it would help him out of his slump.  Each time, Joe wanted Betsy to represent strong people and symbols from America's History.  For example, he wanted her to be made out of Hickory, after President Andrew Jackson.  He also wanted Betsy to weigh forty-eight ounces.  "One ounce for each state in America" (Bildner, 2002).  With the use of tobacco, Betsy was made big and black.  Shoeless Joe entered the minor league, and during his first year he had 120 hits in 87 games.  He was drafted by Philadelphia to play in the major leagues.  After a poor season, he was dejected back to the minor leagues.  Each time Joe was dejected from the major leagues back to the minor leagues, Ol' Charlie gave Joe instructions on how to take care of Black Betsy to help his swing.  He had to keep her warm by sleeping with her at night, oil her every night, and wrap her in cotton cloth.  Finally, Shoeless Joe had a great season in the major leagues in Cleveland, where, as a rookie, he had a record breaking 233 hits in only 147 games.

• APA Reference of Book:

Bildner, P. (2002). Shoeless Joe & black Betsy.  New York, NY:  Simon & Schuster.

• Impressions:  My favorite parts of Shoeless Joe & Black Betsy is how the author makes references to America's history when Ol' Charlie is trying to create the perfect bat for Joe.  For example, the first time Shoeless Joe went to see Ol' Charlie, he named Betsy after Betsy Ross, because he said, "Pitchers are going to honor and respect this bat the way they respect the flag Betsy Ross created" (Bildner, 2002).  I found this to be an interesting way to give the reader some facts about America's history.  This book is also had its funny moments.  You never knew how Shoeless Joe was going to ask Ol' Charlie how to make his bat to help him out of his slump.

• Professional Review:   Plummeting from star slugger to an outcast besmirched by scandal, Shoeless Joe Jackson is the eponym for baseball drama, but this tall-tale rendering of his early career zeroes in on the relatively tepid theme of Jackson's persnickety quest for the perfect bat, realized at last in the form of his fabled Black Betsy. Blaming each batting slump and subsequent fall from major-league grace on inadequate equipment, Joe continually consults Ol' Charlie, the consummate craftsman who not only fashions his forty-eight-ounce bats but also instructs him in their care and feeding: "When you get up north to Cleveland, you make sure you wrap her in cotton cloth every night. The South is the land of cotton, Shoeless Joe, and a good Southerner must always be true to his roots." Folksy idiom and repetition brush a folkloric patina over the proceedings, but the slim plotting cannot justify the rambling text; Payne's mixed-media illustrations capture flap-eared, ham-handed Joe at some startling and original angles, but they awkwardly cast the semi-tragic figure in a comic light. Four pages of concluding notes comment on the 1919 World Series debacle that saw Jackson tossed from the pros, and it's here that aficionados will find the satisfying intrigue. Readers sufficiently outraged by Shoeless Joe's banishment can pursue the closing reference (that seems to pass as a wildly biased source note) to his booster club at www.blackbetsy.com and nutz the Baseball Commissioner for Jackson's posthumous reinstatement.

Reference:  

Bush, E. Review of Shoeless Joe & Black Betsy by P. Bildner.  Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, 55(6), p. 200.

• Library Uses:  This book could be used to help students learn history facts.  A game could be played where students have to name how many times a history fact was mentioned and what has changed.

Module 9: The Trouble with Chickens

• Book Summary:  The Trouble with Chickens is a funny mystery about a retired rescue do named J.J. Tully.  He is approached by Moosh, the mother chicken who needs his help to find her missing chickens.  J.J. agrees to help in exchange for a cheeseburger.  J.J. sniffs for clues, and after finding a note, he is led into the owner's house where the vilian, Vince the Funnel (who is also a dog) resides.  Vince intellectually captures J.J. with the chicks' help.  J.J. soon finds out that it was the chick, Sugar, who caused him to be captured.  Sugar wrote the note and made a deal with Vince in exchange for reading books.  It seemed that Vince had won until, Dirt, the chick J.J. trained to rescue, comes up with a plan.  Very cleverly, the chickens rescue J.J. and trap Vince just as planned.  In the beginning, J.J. could barely tolerate the chickens, but by the end he gained a sense of belonging with them.

• APA Reference of Book:

Cronin, D. (2011).  The trouble with chickens.  New York, NY:  HarperCollins Children's Books.

• Impressions:  This book grabbed my attention from the beginning with its clever humor and dialogue.  I loved J.J. Tully's description of Moosh, the chicken when they first met.  "Her eyes were tiny and black, and set so close to each other they practically touched.  I'd be surprised if the right eyes could report back seeing anything other than the left eye" (Cronin, 2011, p. 2).  The book goes on with clever and humorous lines.  My attention was really alerted when chapter 10 switched to Vince the Funnel becoming the storyteller and giving his side of the story.  I loved how the story builds up to telling how the chickens were in on luring J.J. into the house so that Vince could trap him.

• Professional Review:   With its sharp wit and suspenseful mystery, Cronin's foray into the crowded chapter-book field is a crowd pleaser. Retired search-and-rescue dog J.J. Tully is enjoying the simple life on a farm when his world is turned upside down by an annoying hen, Moosh, and her two equally obnoxious chicks, Dirt and Sugar, who hound him to help locate Poppy and Sweetie. They fear that the missing chicks have been kidnapped and are being held hostage inside the house where ferocious Vince the Funnel -- an aptly-named canine-lives. When Moosh appears with a note stating it "behooves" the chickens to "rendezvous" to get back her peeps, J.J. muses about the likelihood of birdbrains with sophisticated vocabulary, and he must sniff out the true offenders. Cronin's tongue-in-cheek humor spills forward as the detective story unfolds, while the whodunit will keep readers guessing until the ending. Cornell's black-and-white cartoon illustrations add to the hilarity with bespectacled Sugar, cone-headed Vince the Funnel, and J.J. Tully's mismatched floppy ears. Teachers will embrace the story as a great read-aloud, while reluctant and nonreluctant readers will savor this quick read of a mystery and eagerly await the next case for J.J. Tully to crack.

Reference:  Shaw, M. (2011).  The trouble with chickens.  School Library Journal, 57(2), p. 78-78.

• Library Uses:  I would use this book to read to students and have them try to solve the mystery before getting to the end of the story.  This would be a great book to teach foreshadowing and drawing conclusions.

Module 8: Doll Bones

• Book Summary:  Doll Bones is a suspenseful story about three friends who enjoy playing pretend with their action figures and dolls.  The three friends, Poppy, Alice, and Zach, find themselves going on a real adventure when a spooky doll that sits in Poppy's mother cabinet starts to freak them out.  The friends call the doll the "Queen" when they include her in their make believe game.  They question if the doll is really haunted until one day, the three friends meet at 2:00 am to discover ashes and bones inside the doll.  Poppy tell her friends that she has been awaken at night by the doll's spirit, Eleanor.  Poppy convinces Alice and Zach that Eleanor's bones must be buried so that her soul can rest.  They soon find themselves on a real quest to bury the bones at Spring Grove Cemetery where Eleanor's grave should be.  On their journey they face trials and weird moments such as being harrassed on the bus by a strange man named Tinshoe Jones, having to sleep in the woods, scrapping up money to eat without spending their bus fare back home, falling into the Ohio River, and learning secrets about each other that caused some tension in their friendship.  Going on their quest to bury Eleanor's bones seemed hopeless until Zach found a plaque in the library that helped uncover some of the mystery of Eleanor's death.

• APA Reference of Book: 

Black, H. (2013). Doll bones. New York, NY:  Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division.

• Impressions:  With the exception of the creepy doll who the children call the Queen, and the main characters playing make believe with their action figures, the first four chapters of the book feels more like a mystery or teen novel than a Fantasy.  For example, chapter 1 ends with the character Zach starring at the Queen. "While he starred at her, trying to figure out if he was imagining things, her lashes fluttered once, as if stirred by an impossible breeze" (Black, 2013, p. 15).  This part of the book, left me wondering if the doll was possessed or not, but felt more suspenseful than fantasy.  The book gets more mysterious in the fifth chapter as the character discover ashes and bones inside the doll's body.  I enjoyed the way the author left room for the reader to decide if the events that the characters are going through are actually happening or not.  For example, there were many moments where Alice and Zach thought Poppy was playing a trick and making the story about Eleanor up.  As a reader, I continuously questioned if the characters were really being haunted of only dreaming or imagining scary moments.  Overall, this book kept me on the edge of my seat and guessing what would happen next.

• Professional Review:  Doll Bones Holly Black, read by Nick Podehl. Listening Library, unabridged, five CDs, 5.25 hrs., $ 35 ISBN 978-0-8041-2290-0When Zach's father insists that the games he--and friends Poppy and Alice--play with dolls must end, the three friends refuse to let their imaginations die. Instead, they set out on an epic adventure involving a china doll that just might be made from the bones of a murdered girl. And along the way, they discover that there could be more to what was once a simple backyard game. Narrator Nick Podehl delivers a fun- filled reading that will delight this audiobook's young- adult target audience. Podhel delivery is simple, his pacing steady, and his performance one that skillfully captures all the action of this imaginative tale. Ages 10- 14. A Margaret K. McElderry paperback. (May)

Reference:  Doll Bones (2013).  Publisher's Weekly.  260 (25), p. 168-169.  Database:  Book Review Digest Plus (H.W. Wilson).

• Library Uses - This book could be used during the month of October as a fun story for Halloween.  After reading the book, students could use this book as an example or guide to write their own scary story.

Module 7: Lexie

Module 7: Lexie

Book Cover Image:

• Book Summary:

Lexie is a 10 year old girl who is getting ready to visit her daddy at their beach house on the Jersey Shore.  Things are different this time around, because this is the first summer Lexie will visit the shore with her daddy since her parents' divorce.  Lexie is looking forward to spending time with her daddy until she discovers that they won't be at the beach house alone.  Lexie's daddy girlfriend, Vicky and her two sons join Lexie and her daddy for the week.  Lexie is disappointed as Ben, Vicky's teenage son is moody, and Mack, Vicky's three year old son is annoying as he makes messes and constantly make car sounds.  Lexie's patience is really tested when she finds out that her father has been keeping the secret of him getting married from her.

• APA Reference of Book

Couloumbus, A. (2011).  Lexie. New York, New York:  Random House Children's Books

• Impressions:  Lexie is a simple story with very few surprises.  This story is realistic so there's nothing that causes the reader to have to think outside the box.  The story does allow you to imagine spending a summer on a beautiful beach, and image what it would be like for a young child to discover sea life such as hermit crabs and sand sharks.  Overall, the story is sweet as it tells the story of a girl facing new discoveries in life.

• Professional Review:  Spending time at the beach house on the Jersey shore is filled with tradition and ritual, and 10-year-old Lexie has always loved it - until this year.  Its the first summer after her parent's divorce, and everything has changed, especially when she discovers en route that she and her dad won't be alone.  He neglected to tell her that his new girlfriend and her sons will be spending the entire week with them (Brautigam, 2011).

Reference:  Brautigam, F. (July, 2011).  School Library Journal. 57(7) p64.

• Library Uses:  This story could be used for 2-6 grade students to draw conclusions.  Students can draw conclusions about what will happen next in the story.

Module 6: The Day the Crayons Quit

Module 6:  The Day the Crayons Quit

Book Cover Image

• Book Summary: Duncan's crayons decide to write him letters explaining their different dilemmas of how they're being treated.  Some of the crayons protest that they're not being used enough while others fell they're being used too much.  To resolve the issue and make all of the crayons happy, Duncan decides to create a drawing where all of the crayons are being used perfectly.

• APA Reference of Book:  

Daywalt, D. (2013). The day the crayons quit.  New York, New York: Penquin Group Inc.

• Impressions:  I absolutely love this book as it gives the crayons real-life characteristics and personalities.  The writing is very funny as each crayon explains whey they want to quit.  I also like how the art work really looks like it was drawn and colored by a little boy with a big imagination.  My favorite part of the book is when the yellow and orange crayon argue about who is the true color of the sun.  This is a very unique and clever story.

•  Professional Review:  Duncan's crayons are on strike.  One morning he opens his desk looking for them and in their place, finds a pack of letters detailing their grievances, one crayon at a time.  Red is tired, Beige is bored.  Black is misunderstood.  The artist's indelible characterization contributes significant charm (Barthelmess, 2013).

Reference:  Barthelmess, T. (July, 2013). The day the crayons quit.  Booklist. 109(21) p77-78.

• Library Uses:  I read and used this book for 3-5th graders to discuss and write about persuasive writing.  Students wrote a persuasive letter to the class explaining why their favorite color should represent the class color.  Students took a vote based on who had the most persuasive letter.

Module 5: Zora and Me

Module 5: Zora and Me

Book Cover Image

• Book Summary:  The book starts off with Zora and her friend Carrie being eyewitnesses to a man being killed by an alligator called Ghost.  As a great storyteller, Zora expresses her emotions to her classmates and neighbors as she recall the events that happen around town.  Zora is drawn prove that she knows who killed a man named Ivory.  The only set back is that people aren't sure if they should believe Zora's stories or not.  Based on the childhood memories of Zora Neale Huston, this tale has mystery and adventure about a young girl and her friends in a small town.

• APA Reference Book:

Bond,  V. and Simon, T.R. (2010).  Zora and me.  Somerville, Massachusetts:  Candlewick Press.

• Impressions:  The authors of Zora and Me did a great job with giving detail of the adventures and mystery that happens throughout the story.  For example, when Teddy expressed that he had a secret, I was drawn in with anticipation of what the secret was (a mother and her pack of baby razorbacks).  I also enjoyed Zora's love for life.  She treated trees and flowers like human beings and appreciated their place in the world.  I believe this is why Zora took it personal to find Ivory's killer.  The friendship Zora, Carrie, and Teddy shared was also inspiring.  Children and young adults can learn and appreciate the example of friendship that the three friends shared.

• Professional Review:  What better way to celebrate local language than through the creation of a children's novel featuring folklorist and author Zora Neal Hurston?  Zora and Me by Victoria Bond and T.R. Simon portrays a fictionalized Hurston as a precocious and highly imaginative truth-stretching fourth grader (T.S. 2011).

Reference:  T.S. (2011). Journal of Children's Literature. 37(2) p44.

• Library Uses:  This book can be used to help students tell and retell a story.  Zora can be used as an example to show students how to use detail to write and tell a story.

Module 4: When You Reach Me

Module 4:  When You Reach Me

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• Book Summary:   When You Reach Me is about a twelve year old girl named Miranda who is living and growing up with her mom in New York City.  The book starts off with Miranda's mom practicing for a game show to win $20,000.  One day Miranda comes home and discover that the house key is missing and the first letter by a unknown person.  Miranda soon finds herself trying to solve the mystery of who is sending her the mysterious letters.  The laughing man, who does weird kicks and punches in the air, saves the life of Miranda's friend Sal.  After this incident, the mysterious letters start to make more sense.  Miranda puts the pieces together and discovers that the laughing man is the person sending her the letters.  Marcus is a kid who is into time travel, who ends up also being the laughing man traveling through time.
• APA Reference of Book:

Stead, R. (2009).  When you reach me.  New York, New York:  Random House Inc.

• Impressions:  When You Reach Me is a different type of story than I would normally read.  I found it interesting the way the author brought in the topic of time travel to captivate her audience.  The author wrote outside of the box.  For example when she stated "Marcus is the magic thread: You are the laughing man. You are Marcus.  Marcus is the laughing man" (Stead, 2009).  I enjoyed the way the author built her characters.  The characters Marcus, Julia, and AnneMaria weren't always who they seemed  to be.  For example, at the beginning of the story, Marcus seemed like he was the neighborhood bully, but he actually turned out to be a good and smart kid.
• Professional Review: 
  When You Reach Me
  Rebecca Stead. 2009. New York: Wendy Lamb.
  The year is 1979 and 12-year-old Miranda is facing a lot of chal-
  lenges in life. She is trying to help her mother prepare to compete
  and win on
  The $20,000 Pyramid
  television show by practicing
  The $20,000 Pyramid
  television show by practicing
  The $20,000 Pyramid
  with her every night, learning to navigate sixth-grade society, at-
  tempting to determine the qualities of true friendship, and struggling with a
  bizarre secret that defies explanation.
  When her best friend for life (she thought), Sal, seems to abandon her,
  Miranda is not only hurt but also frustrated by his strange behavior. A compli-
  cated chain of events begins when an older boy punches Sal as he and Miranda
  make their way home and ends as the story accelerates to its close. People are not
  always who they appear to be, and events that seem completely unrelated may
  have everything to do with each other when a final karmic event restores justice
  in Miranda’s world.
  Miranda’s favorite novel is Madeleine L’Engle’s
  A Wrinkle in Time
  , a story of
  travel and conflict across time and dimensions. Elements of L’Engle’s story work
  their way into Miranda’s own conflicts with an eccentric homeless man who in-
  habits her block on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, with other young women her
  age, with Sal, and with an anonymous stranger whom Miranda never sees but
  who manages to leave her notes that accurately predict events before they happen
  to her. The stranger claims to have come to save the life of someone Miranda
  cares about and seems to know much more about her than anyone possibly could.
  His only request is that she write him a letter about how the events of her life
  turn out, and this letter becomes the book’s narration premise.
  All will be explained in the end, but in the meantime, Miranda will help her
  mother become a successful competitor on
  The $20,000 Pyramid
  , work for free
  at Jimmy’s Sandwich Shop, come to terms with differences of race and socioeco-
  nomic status, explore the possibility of a stepfather, and figure out who her real
  friends are. Only at the very end will she learn what happened with Sal, why the
  homeless man spends so much time under the mailbox, who is leaving her the
  notes, and what all of this has to do with her life.
  Rebecca Stead brilliantly weaves details of setting from memories of her
  own teen years on the Upper West Side, including a strange individual and her
  mom’s appearance with Dick Clark on
  The $20,000 Pyramid
  . The story’s science
  fiction aspect will not become readily apparent until almost the very end, but it
  is crucial to the plot (Blasingame, 2011).
  Reference:  Blasingame,  J. (March, 2011).  When you reach me.  Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. 54(6) p461-464
  
  

  • Library Uses:  When You Reach Me could be used to have students discuss and write about the mysterious.  Students can research the topic of time travel.

Module 3: A Sick Day for Amos McGee

Module 3:  A Sick Day for Amos McGee

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• Book Summary:  Amos McGee is a zoo keeper who has animal friends who he has a special bond with.  Amos takes out time to do activities that each animal enjoys.  The elephant likes to play chess, the tortoise likes to race, the penguin sits quietly, Amos lends a handkerchief to the rhinoceros who has a runny nose, and owl likes to be read to because he's afraid of the dark.  Amos McGee and the animals enjoy each others' company at the zoo until one day Amos McGee is nowhere to be found.  The animals decide to take the city bus to check on their friend.  Once the animals make it to Amos McGee's house, they discover that he is sick.  Each animal take a turn caring for their friend in their own special way.
• APA Reference of Book:

Stead, P.C. (2010).  A sick day for Amos McGee.  New York, New York:  Roaring Book Press.

• Impressions:  A Sick Day for Amos McGee is an adorable book.  I like the way the book shows the relationship Amos McGee has with the animals he care for at the zoo.  Although Amos lives alone, he takes pride in his work, and has friendship with the animals.  My favorite part of the book is when the animals are waiting at the bus stop and then get on the bus to go see Amos McGee.
• Professional Review:  KITTY FLYNN
      by Philip C. Stead; illus. by Erin E. Stead
      Preschool Porter/Roaring Brook 32 pp. 5/10 978-1-59643-402-8 $16.99 g
      Kindly zookeeper Amos McGee is a creature of habit, much like his animal charges. Every day Amos follows the same morning routine; and when he gets to work, he "always [makes] time to visit his good friends." Amos has a special relationship with each one of his pals: he plays chess with the thoughtful elephant, races the tortoise "who never ever lost," quietly keeps the shy penguin company, has a handkerchief ready for the runny-nosed rhino, and reads stories to the owl "who was afraid of the dark." Erin Stead's attentively detailed pencil and woodblock illustrations reveal character and enhance the cozy mood of Philip Stead's gentle text. Wiry, elderly Amos has a kindly Mister Rogers air about him; the animals, while realistically rendered overall, display distinct personalities without uttering a word. When Amos stays home one day to nurse a cold, his friends have just the right medicine: they make time to visit their good friend. Two wordless spreads showing the animals (and one peripatetic red balloon) taking the bus to Amos' house have an almost surreal quality, which adds some low-key anticipation to the understated story (Flynn, 2010).

APA Reference:  Flynn, K. (May 2010).  A sick day for Amos McGee.  Horn Book Magazine. 86(3) p72-73.

• Library Uses:  I actually used this book to teach Pre-K students a lesson about characterization and the word "friendship."  Students were able to identify who the characters were in the story.  We also discussed new vocabulary words such as uniform, amble, handkerchief, achy, and polish.  As an extension activity, students drew a picture showing how a friend or loved one helped them when they were sick.

Module 2: The Snowy Day

Module 2:  The Snowy Day

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• Book Summary:  The Snowy Day is about a little boy named Peter who has adventures playing in the snow.  He steps in the snow and make footprints, he makes a snowman, and even slides down a hill in the snow.  Peter thought his snow adventures were over when he dreamed that the sun had melted the snow away.  He woke up to discover that new snow was falling and he was able to start a new day with his friend in the snow.

• APA Reference of Book:  

 Keats, E.J. (1962).  The snowy day.  New York, New York:  The Viking Press.

• Impressions:  The Snowy Day is a book that has no real excitement or surprises.  With the exception of Peter having a dream about the sun melting the snow away, the story is very predictable.  It was also hard to see the characters facial expressions through the art work.  Although this book is predictable, it is a cute book to share with younger students during the winter season.

• Professional Review:  In 1962, when Keats's The Snowy Day landed on book shelves, it became an immediate favorite of children and adults alike, received accolades from critics and reviewers, and was awarded the 1963 Caldecott Medal. The first full-color picture book to feature an African-American protagonist, the title placed Peter in that heightened hierocracy of children's book characters (Madeline, Eloise, Max) whose images need no further introduction. Nahson has brought together an inviting, informative, and charming (in all the right ways) book to coordinate with the exhibition, "The Snowy Day and the Art of Ezra Jack Keats," at the Jewish Museum in New York City. Accompanying Nahson's preface and essay, "Bringing the Background to the Foreground, or the Poetry of a Trash Can," is a piece by Maurice Berger, who traces Keats's background, civil-rights advocacy, and influence on the children's literature field. Thirty-one beautifully produced plates, which appear in the current exhibition, showcase Keats's innovative and exemplar)' illustrations. Throughout, this offering reflects a choice of high-quality paper and care in the printing process. Following the New York show, the exhibition will travel to the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA, the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, and the Akron Art Museum in Ohio. Handsome and readable, this volume is a joy from endpaper to endpaper. Libraries will want to have copies available for art and classroom teachers, students of children's literature, parents, and youngsters themselves to browse through and explore (Elleman, 2011).

Reference:  Elleman, B. (December, 2011).  The snowy day and the art of Ezra Jack Keats.  School    Library Journal.  57(12) p144.

• Library Uses:  This book could be used for younger grades (PreK-2) to discuss the winter season.  Questions could include, "Have you ever seen snow before or what does snow look and feel like?"  Older students could write about their first snow day.  If they have never experienced a snow day, they could write about what they think a snow day would be like.

Module 1: The Runaway Bunny

Module 1:  The Runaway Bunny


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·         Book Summary:  The Runaway Bunny is about a little bunny who is trying to run away from home.  To the little bunny’s surprise, everywhere the little bunny says he’s going to run away to, his mother has a solution and a way of becoming something to find him.  This book takes the reader on an adventure with the little bunny and his mother as they become characters such as fish, rocks on the mountain, to a tightrope walker.  By the end of the book, the little bunny gives up trying to run away as the mother bunny has proved her love for the little bunny. 

·         APA Reference of Book:

Brown, M.W. (1942).  The runaway bunny. New York, New York:  Harper Collins Publishers.

·        Impressions:  I think the Runaway Bunny is a heartwarming story that expresses the meaning of love between a mother and child.  The mother bunny shows the little bunny that she would go through all odds and across the world to express her love for him.  This book helps me understand that a mother’s love, in many cases, is unconditional.  Although the bunny had his reasons for wanting to run away, the mother bunny showed him that he was already in a safe pl

Professional Review: 

PreS-K--The three beloved stories on this CD are read by Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas and sung by baritone Mark Stone. Margaret Wise Brown's The Runaway Bunny is told by Zeta-Jones and the instrumentals are performed by Trio 21 on violin, piano, and cello. Jean de Brunhoff's classic The Story of Barbar is read by Michael Douglas with music by Francis Poulenc and Jason Worth on piano. Margaret Wise Brown's story is presented as Goodnight Moon: A Lullaby for Soprano and Orchestra, sung by baritone Mark Stone with music by Glen Roven. There are two additional tracks: a shorter version of The Runaway Bunny and a track of the Goodnight Moon lullaby sung by the GPR Festival Choir. At times it is difficult to understand the lullaby version of Goodnight Moon without having the book available, but this doesn't diminish the effectiveness of it as a lullaby. These soothing versions of classics can be used during preschool rest times. A portion of the profits from the sale of the CD will be donated to the Windward School in White Plains, NY, focused on helping students with language-based learning disabilities (Farnlacker, 2013).

Reference:  Farnlacher, S. (May, 2013).  School Library Journal. 59(5). P55.

·       

         Library Uses:  I could use this book for students to write and draw about their mother for Mother’s Day.  Students could write about how their mothers show them love.