Flotsam

In this Caldecott award-winning picture book titled Flotsam, author David Wiesner tells a fantastical story only in pictures about a young boy who finds something magical washed up on the beach. Wiesner's picture book is a wordless story with breathtaking illustrations that depict a mystical underwater camera that still has film inside. Once developed, the pictures capture wondrous images of dreamlike scenarios: mechanical fish, starfish islands, and octopi reading books to their babies. Not only that, but there is also a picture with what is called the "droste effect", which means a picture inside of a picture - this time of children taking photos with the previous photo of a child holding a photo! This story ended up being my favorite I've read so far because it is such a unique story, much of which is left up to the imagination! This could be used in a classroom with younger students where they think of their own magical stories that happen during a seemingly normal activity. In Flotsam's case, an ordinary beach day turned into discovering an amazing treasure. Students can make their own fictional stories that follow this same design.

Wiesner, D. (2006). Flotsam. New York: Clarion Books.

Zen Shorts

Zen Shorts is an inspiring and whimsical tale of a giant panda bear named Stillwater and his three new friends Addy, Michael and Karl. Stillwater the bear has just moved in next door to the three siblings, and day by day each sibling goes to visit the panda. On each of their visits, Stillwater tells the children a story. His stories are filled with short meditations and concepts about life to think about, including giving without expecting to receive and carrying the weight of burdens that are useless to us. I really loved this book and think the messages that author Jon Muth relays are some of the most important to carry throughout life, and can be easily understood by young children. The characters, especially Stillwater, have something to teach everyone who reads this colorful story. I think this book could be used in every classroom regardless of age group because the messages are important for children and adults to understand. I imagine it being used as inspiration for students to create their own zen shorts: short stories that carry a big message. It's also a great tool to teach perspective in writing, or to look at character development with young children.

Muth, J. J. (2005). Zen shorts. New York: Scholastic Press.

Lunch Lady and the Picture Day Peril

Lunch Lady and the Picture Day Peril, a book from the Lunch Lady series, is a graphic novel written by Jarrett J. Krosoczka. Krosoczka tells a story of when picture day at Thompson Brook goes horribly wrong as famous photographer Stefani DePino arrives at the school with an evil plot to infect all the students with acne! DePino scams the students out of their money so she can rule the fashion world in Paris, but not before justice is served by the heroic Lunch Lady. I really enjoyed reading this book because it was relatable, funny, and the characters were comically fighting for a great cause. I like the idea of using graphic novels such as this one as a way to bridge the gap for reluctant readers between not wanting to read full novels and reading more complex literature. I can see this being used when learning about text styles and narrative structures, or it could be used as inspiration to re-write a piece of literature in comic form. Non-traditional texts can spark student interest because of the high level of illustrations and the more relaxed and sparse writing style, and can open the door to new opportunities for reading.

Krosoczka, J. J. (2012). Lunch lady and the picture day peril. New York: Random House.

Tears of a Tiger - Book Review 1

Draper, Sharon. Tears of a Tiger. 1994. 194 pp. $6.99 pbk. New York: Simon-Pulse Publishing. 0689806981

Grade Level: 8th-9th

Review: In Tears of a Tiger, Sharon Draper tells a heart-wrenching story about a seventeen-year old boy named Andy who is scarred with grief and remorse after he inadvertently kills his best friend in a drunk driving accident. The novel follows Andy’s transformation post-accident, telling his story through personal letters, poems, and newspaper articles. This style of writing is often appealing to struggling readers. Draper’s novel, told in alternative viewpoints and written in short chapters, is filled with intense emotion and life lessons that are important to the age group the book is directed towards. This realistic fiction novel deals with death, grief, racial issues, dysfunctional families, and suicide. Tears of a Tiger brings awareness to social issues and helps assist students in understanding that they can take control over situations in their lives with the decisions they make. Although this novel has won many awards, it is evident that it is controversial in nature and may spark debates among parents or members of the community. This story is based on the subject of underage drinking and driving which may not be appreciated by readers or parents, yet the consequences of this action are graphically pointed out and the novel heavily explores the ramifications of it. By reading this novel, students are subjected to real problems faced by young people today. By talking about them in a safe environment, students are able to learn about these life lessons and how to avoid being part of the negative consequences.

Recommendation: Recommended

Byline: Chelsea R. Bland, Graduate Student, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA.

Green

Laura Seeger's award-winning picture book Green is a fabulous sensory concept book that asks the question, "How many kinds of green are there?" Green showcases the homage of a single color in all of its multidimensional beauty, from the sea green of a turtle to the "slow-green" of an inchworm. This is a high-quality story that allows the reader to take a deeper look at the transformative powers of something as simple as color. My initial impression of this book was, "Wow!", due to the stellar and seamless illustrations accompanied with subtle cutouts on each page. There are hidden words in the pictures which make the book exciting and unique, and the author displays a wide variety of green and non-green things and places.

Green would be a great tool to use in Pre-K-3rd grade classrooms to ignite a curiosity to observe and explore the world around you. Students can create their own books using a different color for inspiration that showcases objects and places of all colors; a fun accompaniment would be to go on a scavenger hunt outside to find colorful examples. This is also a great book for studying adjectives and learning about all the different ways "green" can be "green". This book can help young students build a stronger vocabulary by examining all the ways can we describe the color green, or any color in the spectrum!

Seeger, L. (2012). Green. New York: Roaring Book Press.

A Ball for Daisy

In this bright and colorful wordless picture book A Ball for Daisy, author Chris Raschka tells the story of a little dog named Daisy and her favorite red ball. Daisy plays with the ball, sleeps with the ball and one day even takes it to the park. On that day, another dog takes Daisy's ball and accidentally pops it. Daisy leaves the park very sad and upset, and for the next few days mopes around the house longing for her lost ball. Then one day Daisy returns to the park where she finds the same dog who popped her red ball, but this time the dog has brought a new blue ball to replace Daisy's old one. Daisy has found happiness again!

This would be a great book to use when learning about making inferences and predictions while reading a story. An important step in learning how to be a good reader is learning to stop and ask questions while you're reading, and this being a wordless story is a great opportunity to try to make inferences about the character Daisy and how she is feeling as the story progresses. Alternatively students can write their own dialogue for this story to share with others.

Raschka, C. (2011). A ball for daisy. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books.

The Moon Over Star

The Moon Over Star, written by Dianna Aston and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, is a book set during the first moon landing on July 20, 1969. This book caught my eye because of my passion for astronomy and the accomplishments of our nation's space program NASA, but the story itself made me sure I wanted to read it. The Moon Over Star is about a young girl named Mae who, like the rest of the world on that day, had her eyes on the sky as Apollo 11 landed on the moon for the first time. Mae was inspired after that day to chase her dreams, no matter how big or small. This book captures the excitement and wonder everyone felt on that day, and would be an excellent addition to any classroom. I would use this book prior to having students write a prompt on a big dream or aspiration of their own, and how they think they can reach it. Or, you could use this story as a component of an earth science unit or as a timeline piece when learning about America's history and accomplishments.

This is a beautiful story of imagination, about the dreams we all hold inside, and the gathering of people to watch the most monumental moment in human history. This moment, captured in a picture book, was the most tuned-in television airing in the world at that time. It was a time for humanity to come together to witness what it looks like when a nation's aspiration to reach a goal is met.

Aston, D. (2008). The moon over star. New York: The Penguin Group.

Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom

Written by Shane W. Evans, Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom is a artfully illustrated and sparsely-worded picture book about a family's journey on the Underground Railroad. Underground speaks volumes about the struggle for many slaves to find freedom by escaping in the night, some alone and some with their families. Through their journey some of them found solace in kind strangers' homes, and some unfortunately were caught and brought back to their owners, but none could have survived without the Underground Railroad. This book has minimal dialogue but an expansive storyline that draws the reader in with every turn of the page. In the classroom, this book could be used as an introduction to learning about slavery in the United States or when concentrating on the stories of people affected by the Underground Railroad. It could be used in a history or literature class to include cross-curricular standards.

Evans, S. W. (2011). Underground: Finding the light to freedom. New York: Roaring Book Press

Kitten's First Full Moon

Kitten's First Full Moon is a picture book illustrated and written by Kevin Henkes. Henkes tells the story of a little kitten who spots the full moon in the sky for the first time. Since the kitten has never seen the moon before, she believes it to be a bowl of milk waiting just for her. The kitten stretches, climbs, reaches and chases the moon but can never reach it. Sad and tired that she couldn't reach the full moon, the kitten returns home to find a nice bowl of milk waiting for her on the front steps. The little kitten had quite a night! I loved this story and thought it was a cute way to portray many situations in life we all encounter: seeing new things for the first time and being unsure of what they are, or chasing after something that you can never truly grasp. This book could be used to teach cause and effect in not only an action causing a reaction, but how that can apply to people's feelings and moods too. For being aimed at younger children, I think this book does a great job with showing kids that sometimes in life you may not get things you want no matter how hard you want them, but you may find that sometimes life can surprise you in little unexpected ways.

Henkins, K. (2004). Kitten's first full moon. New York: Harper Collins.

Love That Dog

Love That Dog by Sharon Creech is a story about a boy named Jack who discovers his talent and interest in poetry while learning about poems in his class. The novel is written in stanzas in a conversational tone, which allows the reader to really feel like they are apart of Jack's journey of being exposed to different types of poems and writers. Jack first begins this story by showing little interest in poems after his teacher asks students to write their own. Slowly, Jack not only becomes inspired by poetry authors to write his own poems about his life, but learns to take pride and ownership of his work that gave him a voice. This book would be excellent to use as an intro to a poetry unit to help ease students into the topic or to help open students' minds to give poetry a chance. Many students are weary about the subject of poetry and this book allows students to see that inspiration can come from unexpected places. It should also work as a motif to carry throughout your classroom all year because of it's unique and subtle stand on gender roles and stereotypes. Personally when I read this book it reminded me of myself; I became enthralled with "making words into pictures" and typing them up because it really made it seem like my words were real poetry when I was younger. And I will admit, I may have shed a tear at Jack's final poem about Sky.

Creech, S. (2001). Love that dog. New York: Harper Collins.

The Lion and the Mouse

For my folktale picture book I chose to read The Lion & the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney. This book was a winner of the Caldecott Medal in 2010 and is a wordless story illustrated with beautiful artwork by the author. The Lion & the Mouse is a age-old folktale about the king of the jungle, The Lion, who gets caught in a tangled situation where only the smallest of friends, The Mouse, can help. The story is a tale of friendship of how even the quaintest of beings can be the ones to save you when you need help. This book can be used in many ways in the classroom, but I like the idea of incorporating it into a segment about storytelling and how there is more than one way to convey messages and meaning. I like the moral of the story that shows that everyone, big and small, needs help sometimes and how all characters have their worth. I feel like Pinkney did the original Aesop story justice when re-publishing it as a wordless book to create a sense of wonder and imagination, and the illustrations combined with onomatopoeias are enough to tell the story in a new way. You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours!

Pinkney, J. (2009). The lion & the mouse. New York: Little, Brown Books.

Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal Alphabet

Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal Alphabet, written by David McLimas, is a picture book that won the Caldecott Honor Award in 2007. Gone Wild takes you on an awesome alphabet safari to showcase some of the world's endangered species, like the Swan Goose and the Andean Flamingo, as letters of the alphabet. McLimas highlights the differences between critically endangered, endangered and vulnerable species before starting the alphabet, and uses bold illustrations to create animals out of letters. McLimas not only provides an endangered animal per letter, but also includes statistics and facts about each animal to create an enriching and exciting lesson. This book could be used as an introduction to learning about endangered animals and species of the world, as a component of a geography lesson that involves learning about which animals live on different continents, or as a resource for students looking to research an endangered animal. This picture book is very informative and I personally learned a lot that I didn't know before, and McLimas does a great job including animals from many unique parts of the world. My personal reaction to this book was that it made me immediately want to look up pictures and more facts about these rare and beautiful animals.

McLimas, D. (2006). Gone wild: An endangered animal alphabet. New York: Walker Publishing Company.