Rosa

Rosa by Nikki Giovanni was the Coretta Scott King illustrator award winner for 2006. It was illustrated by Bryan Collier. It was also a Caldecott Honor book. This book is the story of Rosa Parks. It is written in an easy to read way and would be a great read aloud book for a class.

          The pictures in this book were amazing. They were done in painting, as well as, collage format. The pictures really added to the story. Rosa Parks has an amazing story all on her own, but the pictures made this book truly moving.

          One thing that I learned from this book was that a story does not have to be fictional for children to enjoy it. This was a true story of an amazing woman, but it was written and illustrated in a way that was fun and easy for children. I truly enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it for the classroom.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

I have recently begun reading the Harry Potter series to my son. Although most people have probably read this book and seen this movie before me I felt like I wanted to share my feelings about it.

All Harry wants to do is return to Hogwarts for his second year, but a few days before he is scheduled to leave a house elf appears and warns him not to return. He tells Harry that terrible things are about to happen at Hogwarts and he must not go back. However, Harry does return and disaster strikes when someone opens the chamber of secrets. When the culprit kidnaps Ron’s sister Harry, Ron and Hermione are determined to find out who it is. Harry soon finds himself in the chamber facing some of his worst fears. However, Harry is able to overcome his fears and once again save the day.

We learn through the author’s description of Harry that he is smart, talented, caring, and determined to do the right thing. Even though he sometimes breaks the rules he always has his friends and Hogwarts best interest at heart. This was an excellent book. It is the second in the Harry Potter series and is well written and holds the readers interest. It is easy to read, but is still entertaining for older readers.

I really found Harry’s determination to do what is right very moving. Even in the face of danger he still did what he knew was right. However, even more touching than that he was able to overcome his self doubt in order to do what was right. That is sometimes much harder than overcoming outside forces. When Harry thought that he might be the heir of Slytherin he did not let this overcome him. I found his determination to be very touching.

The movie was also well done. It is not often that you find a movie that follows a book so closely. Of course it seems that books usually have more detail, but nothing major was left out of the film. I am sure that most people have already read all seven books but if you have not I would definitely recommend them. I enjoyed the first book and movie as well.

Princess Academy

Princess Academy was written by Shannon Hale. It was a Newberry Honor book in 2006. Miri is a small girl who lives on Mount Eskel. Her community is small and she wants to contribute to it so much, but she is not allowed to work in the quarry like everyone else in her village. One day a message came to the village that the prince’s bride would be chosen from Mount Eskel and that an academy would be set up to train the girls. During their long stay at the academy the girls encountered many struggles and set backs, but Miri was strong despite her size and she was able to help the girls through all of the hard times.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was unlike other princess books that I have read. It was unique, had heart-warming characters, and an interesting plot. Although it had some elements of fantasy the characters and the story were still very real and you were able to see some of your own human behavior in the behavior of the characters. I would recommend this book to young adults and adults alike. It was very good. 

What reached me the most was Miri’s determination. There were several times when she felt down and useless, but she was able to pick herself up and accomplish great things for her village. She never gave up hope and she continued to push forward even when things got rough. She was a very strong female character.

Al Capone Does My Shirts

Al Capone does my shirts was written by Gennifer Choldenko. It was a Newberry honor book in 2005. Moose and his family move to Alcatraz Island in 1935 so his dad can be a guard. However, Moose’s sister Natalie has a condition (modern day autism) and with his parents working all the time Moose is left with the responsibility of taking care of Natalie. He tries his best to take good care of Natalie, but with the warden’s mischievous daughter around trouble always seems to find Moose.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked that it dealt with some really serious issues and themes, but it was also humorous. There were a lot of funny incidents throughout the book that really added to the story. I also liked the style that it was written in. The journal entry format was easy to read and really gave a lot of insight into the character of Moose and what he was thinking.

The relationship between Moose and his sister is what touched me the most. His love and devotion to her, even though sometimes it got in the way of his social life, just astounded me. To me this relationship is what made this book so great.

The Knee-High Man and Other Tales

The Knee-High Man and Other Tales is a collection of stories written by Julius Lester. The book was first published in 1972. Julius Lester was born in St. Louis in 1939 to a Methodist minister. He is the father of five children and currently lives in Massachusetts. His father was a storyteller and Lester grew up with a love for stories. In college he really began to look into stories and their meanings.

The book The Knee-High Man and Other Tales is a collection of six African American folktales. The stories included in the book are “What is Trouble?,” “Why Dogs Hate Cats,” “Mr. Rabbit and Mr. Bear,” Why the Waves Have Whitecaps,” “The Farmer and the Snake,” and “The Knee-High Man.” Each story has a lesson that it teaches or explains why something is the way that it is. The Mr. Rabbit character has its roots in the slave/ master experience.

This was not a book that I personally enjoyed. Many of the lessons were hard lessons to learn. They were not the kind of stories that turned out good in the end. Most of the characters were very dark and the good characters seemed to be brought down by the bad ones. However, despite my personal views I can appreciate the value that this book holds. It could be a great teaching resource when talking about African American culture.

Some other books that have been written by Julius Lester include To Be A Slave, Search for the New Land, Two Love Stories, The Tales of Uncle Remus:The Adventures of Brer Rabbit, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Black Cowboy, Wild Horses: A True Story, The Autobiography of God, Cupid: A Novel, and The Hungry Ghosts. These are just a few of the books that Lester has written. He has written many more books many based on African American traditions and customs.

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat was written and illustrated by Simms Taback. This book was the Caldecott medal winner in the year 2000. It is the story of Joseph and he has an overcoat that is worn out. He takes the overcoat and makes a jacket and when the jacket is worn out he makes a vest. As each item wears out he turns it into a new item until he has had a coat, jacket, vest, tie, handkerchief, and button. When he loses the button he writes a book about the ordeal proving that you can always make something out of nothing.

This book could create a real teachable moment. It is a good lesson on not being wasteful. Just because something does not look like brand new anymore does not mean that it should be discarded. It is also a tale of encouragement. Even when it seems as though you have nothing you can take your circumstances and turn them into something good.

This is also a great book to be used when discussing other cultures. This story is based on a Yiddish folk song. This would be wonderful to use if you were studying Jewish culture. The author adapted the song because it was one of his favorites growing up and he illustrated the character of Joseph to resemble himself.

The pictures in this book are beautiful. They are brightly colored and appear to be a collage type picture. There are cutouts on one page that become the item on the next which is fun for children. The pictures also show Jewish life by illustrating a wedding, home life, a men’s chorus and a fair. This is a very neat book that could be used in many ways in the classroom.  

When Sophie Gets Angry - Really, Really Angry...

When Sophie Gets Angry – Really, Really Angry… is a book written by Molly Bang. This book was a Caldecott medal honor book in 2000. It also won the Charlotte Zolotow award. It is a story about a little girl named Sophie who gets mad at her sister. When she is angry she deals with it by running and climbing a tree. She sits in the tree and enjoys nature until she isn’t angry anymore.

I love this book. It is a very easy book to relate to because everyone has been angry at one time or another. The story talks about how Sophie feels like she is going to explode. I think that is a feeling that all children and adults can relate to. It is also a wonderful teaching tool. We all get angry and we all handle anger in different ways. This is a great book to use when talking to your students about anger. Sophie was mad but she did not hit her sister or call her a bad name. Sophie left her sister alone and dealt with her anger. Once she had calmed down she came back and everything was fine. This is a good illustration of the proper way to handle anger and also to talk about forgiveness and not holding grudges.

The pictures in the book are wonderful. Colors are used to illustrate the emotions that Sophie is feeling. Warm colors are used in the illustrations where she is angry. Warm and cool colors begin to mix as Sophie begins to calm down and then the cool colors take over as Sophie is at peace. This is a wonderful book and teaching tool.