Name: Ivy Sebastian TEDU 386 Children’s Literature: Literary Tool Kit Genre/Type Title Author Diversity Grade(s 1 Alphabet Dr. Seuss’s ABC Dr. Seuss N/A Pre-­‐k -­‐ Kindergarten 2 Number Anno’s Counting Book Mitsumasa Anno Culturally neutral 3 Predictable Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? Bill Martin N/A 4 Wordless Journey Aaron Becker Culturally neutral 5 Historical 1 Bud, Not Buddy Christopher Paul Curtis Culturally Specific Ms. Blackburn Summary/Review/Teaching Idea Dr. Seuss uses his well-­‐known colorful illustration style and zany characters to go through the entire alphabet. Rather than just stating each letter on every page, he usually reserves two pages for each letter, and has a phrase to go with each letter. For example, “Big a, little a, what begins with a? Auntie Annie’s alligators, a-­‐a-­‐a.” Reading the book to the tune of the “alphabet song” makes it more fun and effective for young readers. This book is definitely a must for younger students who are still learning their ABCs. st
Pre-­‐k – 1 Using a folk art style, Anno introduces numbers through illustrations of buildings, animals, trees, cars, and people. The book starts with a winter scene that seems to have nothing to count; this is to illustrate zero. Each page afterwards builds on the preceding page, and readers can enjoy seeing the scenes unfold and change. A helpful tool that Anno uses is putting a row of blocks on the side, then highlighting the number of blocks that corresponds to the number on the page. Pre-­‐k – This book is perfect for emergent readers because they can Kindergarten join along in repeating the phrases, “what do you hear?” and “I hear…” The colorful pictures make the book very approachable. In addition, children are able to start learning about animals and the different sounds each one makes. Kindergarten Activity: Have students take turns narrating what is nd
– 2 happening on each page. This really helps with their comprehension skills because they are able to look at the picture, assess what is happening, then verbalize it in their own words. It also influences them to be creative because one student may have a different description than the other. Another plus is that it makes them feel like they are reading, even if they haven not quite mastered reading full sentences yet. rd
th
3 – 7 Set during the Great Depression in Flint, Michigan, this book follows the story of a young boy named Bud. He does not have a mother or a father, but he is on a mission to find his dad. The clues that his mother left him aid him in this search. He goes through many obstacles and meets many interesting people. The book has some serious parts, but they are accompanied with some good old-­‐fashioned humor. rd
th
th
th
nd
th
6 Historical 2 Out of the Dust Karen Hesse Culturally specific 3 -­‐7 7 Historical 3 Early Sunday Morning: The Pearl Harbor Diary of Amber Billows Barry Denenberg Culturally generic 5 -­‐9 8 Realistic 1 Ramona Quimby, Age 8 Beverly Cleary Culturally generic 2 -­‐5 9 Realistic 2 Some Birthday! Patricia Polacco Culturally Generic Kindergarten-­‐
nd
2 10 Realistic 3 Because of Winn Dixie Kate DiCamillo Culturally generic 3 -­‐5 rd
th
I really love the way this book is written in free verse. The short, simple lines make everything that Billie Joe is saying so powerfully raw. From the very first chapter, I was hooked because I loved the vivid way she described her life. Seeing her perspective really helped me visualize what it would be like to live during the Dust Bowl. Reading this book as a kid made me want to learn as much about the Dust Bowl as possible, and to this day I find that period in history absolutely fascinating. Activity: Have students pick any time period and write a diary entry as someone living in that time period. They should use a mixture of text and internet research on their chosen topic. Students will attend the library for a significant amount of time in order to find books on their subject as well as use the computers for research. With Mrs. Quimby working overtime to support Mr. Quimby’s dream of returning to college, Ramona finds herself struggling to make it through her third grade woes. She has to spend a lot of time with Grandma Kemp while she waits for her teenage sister, Beezus, to pick her up. Beezus is almost always in a bad mood, and she makes Ramona help her around the house, even though she is just a kid. She does not know anyone else who has to help cook dinner. In addition, she has a bully that constantly bothers her, and she seems to find herself in some pretty embarrassing situations. Patricia is excited about her birthday until she wakes up and no one wishes her a “Happy Birthday!” She believes that her dad, grandmother, and brother have forgotten her birthday. Then, to make matters worse, her dad announces that they are going to Clay Pit Bottoms, which is supposedly haunted by a swamp monster. They end up seeing the “monster”, but when they run home they soon discover that it was just their dad who fell into the lake. They bring out the birthday cake and give Patricia her presents. India’s mother disappeared when she was three, so she has always longed for a mother figure. Life doesn’t get any easier when she and her father have to move to Florida. Her father is a preacher, which occupies much of his time, leaving little time for India. One day when she is out for a box of macaroni and cheese at Winn-­‐Dixie (the local grocery store), a stray dog wanders in. India claims the dog as her own, and names him Winn-­‐Dixie. She learns the benefit of having an animal companion, and her dad learns how to better balance his time between work and family. 11 Traditional 1 Ninja Red Riding Hood Corey Rosen Schwartz Culturally generic Kindergarten-­‐
rd
3 12 Traditional 2 Cinderella Skeleton Robert D. San Souci N/A Kindergarten-­‐
nd
2 13 Science Fiction The City of Ember Jeanne DuPrau Culturally neutral 5 -­‐8 14 Fantasy 1 Into the Land of the Unicorns Bruce Coville Culturally neutral 3 -­‐7 15 Fantasy 2 Peter Pan J.M. Barrie Culturally neutral 3 -­‐7 th
th
rd
th
rd
th
This is a humorous spin on the classic tale of “Little Red Riding Hood”. The books starts talking about how the wolf has been taking karate so he can get some “red meat” since his “huffing and puffing” did not work. After encountering Red in the woods, he sneaks into her grandma’s house and awaits her arrival. She immediately knows something is up, and when he tries to karate kick her, she uses her karate skills to fight back. Eventually, grandma shows up, and they both defeat the wolf. This follows the traditional tale of Cinderella, except that Cinderella Skeleton lives in a graveyard. Instead of a fairy godmother using magic, she sees a witch who uses a spell. Rather than losing a glass slipper, she loses her entire foot bone. All the ladies in the graveyard break off their foot bones since the prince is trying to find a match for the found foot bone. Of course, he finds a match when he visits Cinderella Skeleton. Set in a post-­‐apocalyptic world, everyone dwells underground. Lamps light the entire city, but they are starting to die out. Lina, the main character, discovers a secret message that could save the city. Along with Doon, they attempt to decode the message and figure out how to save their city. Cara’s grandmother, Ivy, sends her on a mission into Luster AKA The Land of the Unicorns. Once she arrives there, a unicorn pierces her heart with its horn, which gives her the ability to communicate with other unicorns. Because an evil force is threatening Luster, Cara must work to uncover ancient secrets that will help save the magical land. Along the way, she discovers that her family has a long-­‐standing connection to Luster, and this connection could be the key to saving it. The three darling children are put to bed even though they don’t want to go to bed. Then, Peter appears in their window and sprinkles fairy dust on them to give them the ability to fly. They fly off to Neverland with Peter, where they meet the Lost Boys and Princess Tiger Lilly. Captain Hook is on the hunt for Peter because Peter cut Hook’s hand off. Peter and the children will have to fight him off among various other obstacles before the darling children return home. st
th
16 Informational 1 Dinothesaurus: Prehistoric Poems and Paintings Douglas Florian N/A 1 -­‐5 17 Informational 2 Weird-­‐But-­‐True Facts About the Human Body Lauren Coss N/A rd
18 Biography I am Albert Einstein Brad Meltzer N/A Kindergarten-­‐
nd
2 19 Autobiography Through My Eyes Ruby Bridges Culturally Specific 4 -­‐7 20 Poetry 1 Now We Are Six A.A. Milne N/A Kindergarten-­‐
nd
2 th
3 -­‐ 6 th
th
Using unique illustrations and rhyming verse, Florian explores various species of dinosaurs. This is a great informational book because it does not just list facts and figures. It makes the material more interesting by putting it into the form poetry. In addition, students will be able to remember the facts more easily since they rhyme. The end of the book has a “glossarysaurus” that further explains the information discussed in each poem. Because most children love to learn random weird facts, this is the perfect informational book to have in a classroom library. Coss provides various random facts about the human body in a simple format. Gallagher-­‐Cole’s illustrations make the book entertaining and help students remember the information more effectively. Student of various ages can enjoy this book. Meltzer provides a basic overview of Albert Einstein’s life by using a narrative style. Eliopoulos uses his cartoon illustrations to give information through dialogue, which is also entertaining and humorous for students. By showing the reader how curious Einstein was, Meltzer encourages readers to never stop asking questions. In addition, he reassures readers that it is ok to be unique or different. Ruby Bridges, most known for being the first African American to integrate into a white school, shares her story through her own words and actual pictures from the time. Though she was only six years old when she first attended a white school, she had to be escorted to school by federal marshals to protect her from a screaming crowd who believed in maintaining segregation in public schools. The other white students didn’t attend schools for days, but she went each and every day and had a teacher who believed in her. This book follows her journey and shows how she overcame racism and prejudice in order to spark a better education for generations of young African Americans. This is a book of verses by A.A. Milne, and it is part of the Winnie-­‐the-­‐Pooh series. A.A. Milne beautifully celebrates the joy of being a kid. Each poem has a very simple rhyming format that is very similar to nursery rhymes. Although the intended audience is early elementary students, children and adults of all ages can benefit by being reminded to find happiness in life’s simple pleasures. I remember reading this book when I was a kid, and I want my students to be able to cherish that memory as much as I do. rd
th
21 Poetry 2 Poems for Children Nowhere Near Old Enough To Vote Carl Sandburg N/A 3 -­‐8 22 Caldecott The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales Jon Scieska N/A Kindergarten-­‐
rd
3 23 Coretta S. King Knock Knock: My Dad’s Dream for Me Rita Williams-­‐
Garcia Culturally generic Pre-­‐k-­‐3 24 Newberry Shiloh Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Culturally generic 3 -­‐5 25 BBOAT Inkheart Cornelia Funke Culturally neutral 4 -­‐7 rd
rd
th
th
th
Sandburg’s simple verse works seamlessly with Banyai’s illustrations to paint the world more clearly for children to see. The first poem introduces the rest by declaring that everyone in life “is either a finder, keeper, giver, or loser”. Many of the other poems focus on various body parts and their functions. Others focus on more abstract concepts like music or nobodies. Some focus on concrete objects like pencils or chairs. The books ends with a poem that encourages readers to “think about wheels”. Scieska successfully deconstructs the typical story-­‐telling method and implements his own unique style. He gives a comical retelling of classic fairytales such as, “The Princess and the Bowling Ball”. It captures the readers’ attention the entire time, even with the table of contents, which falls from the sky, as told by Chicken Little at the very beginning. The narrator of the book, a young boy, talks about how his favorite time of day is when his dad comes knocking on his door in the morning. However, one day he no longer hears his dad’s knock on the door. He keeps hoping that his dad will return, but he soon realizes that he isn’t coming back. He writes a letter to his dad asking him to come back because he needs him to show him how to be a man. Then, the dad writes a letter back saying that he can’t come back, and he offers advice to console the boy’s worry. However, the boy ends up growing up to be a very successful, upstanding citizen. Marty struggles with the difference between right and wrong when he finds a dog named Shiloh that appears to be abused by his owner, Judd. Marty feels as though he would be better off living with him. After Shiloh runs away and finds his way to Marty’s house, Marty is not sure whether he should keep him or whether he should tell his parents. Naylor keeps readers on edge through the journey of Shiloh and Marty, as they anticipate what will happen next. Meggie lives with her father, Mo, and they both absolutely love to read. Books fill every corner of their house, stacked high to the ceiling. One night when Mo is reading Inkheart to Meggie, an evil figure leaps out of the book. Then he drags them into an adventure that leads them into the book – literally! They have to figure out how to get out of the book world and back into their own world. Along the way they meet characters that they thought they would only read about.