Module 7: Lexie

Module 7: Lexie

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• 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

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• 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

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• 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.