Henry's Freedom Box Written by Ellen Levine and Kadir Nelson Genre: Realistic Fiction Multicultural
Henry's Freedom Box is about a boy named Henry who is a slave in Virginia. He is a very hard worker. His master became ill so he had Henry work for his son. Henry spent years working hard as a slave. He didn't know when his birthday was. He said, "Slaves weren't allowed to know their birthdays." One day Henry meets Nancy. They get married and have children. One day Henry's wife and children are sold. Henry was lost. He asked for help from Dr. Smith and James. They help Henry escape from Virginia. Henry gets put in a box and is put on a train to travel to Pennsylvania where he would be greeted by Dr. Smiths' friends. After twenty-seven hours, Henry arrives in Philadelphia being greeted by the friends of Dr. Smith. Henry finally celebrated his birthday. The day he became free.
I thought this book was a great story about a person's journey to freedom. I can't imagine what it must have been like for Henry being int that box for twenty-seven hours. I can't fly on a plane for more than three hours and that's more spacious than a wooden box. It's difficult to connect with this story because I've never been through what Henry has. I didn't know his own birthday. Young children today are so eager to celebrate their birthdays. It's really sad that Henry did not have the opportunity to celebrate when he was young. One connection I can make is when Henry lost his wife and children to the slave market. He felt so lost. My father passed away many years ago and I felt that same loss. It is very difficult to lose people you care about. I think this story would be good to share in a classroom. During Black History Month you can talk about the underground railroad and Henry's journey to freedom. I felt that the illustrations really told alot about the story. They were very detailed. You can really see Henry's emotions. You can really see the loss in Henry's face when he lost his family.At the end of the story, you can see the happiness on everyone's face when Henry arrives. I can't imagine how Henry must have felt when they opened the box. Such excitement! Henry's Freedom Box is a story that teaches us about history, a boy's journey and the special gift of freedom.
This multicultural book is a wonderful piece of literature for children of all ages. It teaches children about the history of slavery and the Underground Railroad through Henry’s journey to freedom. The author truly captured the experience of slavery in the south through in depth conversations between Henry and his family, as well as with his master. What also helped depict life in slavery were the detailed illustrations. The pictures address so many feelings and emotions Henry was going through, especially the day his family was sold into slavery. What makes this story so unique is the way in which Henry escaped slavery. He travels in a tiny box to Philadelphia. The pictures really show Henry’s struggle to survive and make it safely to freedom. I think many children would find this part of the story fascinating. As a classroom teacher, I would enjoy reading this book during black history month, or for teaching a lesson on bravery. I think many young children could make connections to being brave. The factual information about slavery would be hard for young children to understand without a lot of background knowledge. Another multicultural book that discusses slavery and the Underground Railroad is The Patchwork Path: A quilt map to Freedom. This is wonderful story to read aloud to a young audience.
Table of Contents: Title: Hansel And Gretel By Rachel Isadora Publication Date:2009 Genre: Modern Fantasy
This book is a new spin on an old fairy tale. The author recreates the story of Hansel and Gretel through her own experiences of living in Africa. Although the story remains the same, the bold and bright illustrations bring a modern flair to this genre. The illustrations are very contemporary and the children are dark skinned with features that represent an African culture. The illustrations can also be scary for a young audience due the colors and images portrayed in the story. Today, many children are not exposed to fairy tales; therefore, it would be challenging to read a story like this in my own classroom without any background knowledge about fairy tales. Other stories such as Little Red Riding Hood or Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs would make for a good group discussion about good and evil. Unfortunately, many fairy tales have a scary character. What makes the author of this book so different is that she has recreated many fairy tales and incorporated her own multicultural experiences that allows readers to connect with their own cultures.
Julie, In response to Henry's Freedom Box. It is an excellent book to use during Black History Month. This book is devlopmentally appropriate for young students. The students can learn something new and also about being brave, as you said in your blog. I like your suggestion with another story use when discussing the underground railroad. I will definitely look for that book and share it with my class. In regarding young children and background knowledge, it is important as educators to provide our students with the background knowledge they need to understand a text. Using various stories about slavery and the underground railroad will help students understand the stories being told. I haven't really used alot texts during black history month. This year I would like to begin using Henry's Freedom Box as the first book to share with my class. This story can also be used to reinforce beginning, middle and end with the young children.
Julie, Responding to your Hansel and Gretel blog what stuck out to me the most was the imagery and the use of colors to represent feelings in the text. When the children are in the woods, it is dark. The children feel scared and the feelings are apparent in the use of the colors, such as black. When Hansel and Gretel meet the witch, she is very large and has black cape and a green face. This imagery must be scary for students. Just like we read in our textbook, author's use colors to represent feelings. Such as dark being evil and bright being the good. As you can see from Hansel and Gretel, the witch is in her dark clock. She is being portrayed as evil, although she is since her intentions are to eat the children. Yet, when the children are at their home, the colors are so bright. You can get an obvious sense that the children are happy. I really enjoyed reading Hansel and Gretel because it gives you a different view of the original fairy tale. It provides beautiful illustrations taken from the author's time in Africa.
Table Of Contents: Title: Ballots For Belva: The True Story of a Woman’s Race for the Presidency By Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen Publication Date: 2008 Genre: Biography
The story of Belva Lockwood is an inspirational and moving piece of literature. It is a captivating biography about an important figure in the women’s rights movement. It would be a wonderful book to have in a classroom library. What makes this story exceptional is that it is about a woman who is running for the presidency, during the 1880’s in a very male-dominate era of history. Throughout the text, Belva is viewed as a strong and determined woman. Her courageousness and perseverance is evident in the detailed pictures and patriotic symbols throughout the text. The illustrations also capture many emotions of both males and females during Belva’s historical speeches. What makes this story enjoyable to read is that the time-line of events are organized and easy to understand. Also, the factual information is not overwhelming. The author does a wonderful job describing the process of a campaign, using age appropriate vocabulary. Students will recognize Belva Lockwood’s legend because she was the first woman to officially run for President of the United States of America. Because of the content, I would recommend reading this story to an older group of students. They would be able to make connections and understand the political impact of the character that the book was written about. This story would have been fun to read during last year’s election, when Sarah Palin was running for vice president. And like Belva Lockwood, Sarah Palin also had a significant political part on the presidential election.
Julie, In response to Ballots for Belva. I also thought about the election last year when Sarah Palin was running for vice president. Ballots for Belva was an easy to read Biography. It gave rich details in Belva's life without it being overwhelming for me. It was very interesting to read this biography because I had never heard of Belva Lockwood in previous history. In her time she played a pivotal role as a woman and leader. I would really like to know what would have happened if the votes during her election were not thrown away or given to other candidates. Would we have had our first woman president back in the 1800's. I was very captivated by Belva's courage and motivation. She never gave up, even when there were mountains in her way. This story is excellent to teach children about not giving up as well as learning a piece of history. I would definitely like to share this book with my class and add to my classroom library.
Ballots for Belva many aspects of woman's suffrage. Women were not allowed to vote, yet were able to run for president. This is very interesting. After so many years of fighting for women's rights, it took until 2008 for a women to run for vice president. No other woman that I know of has run for president or vice president until Sarah Palin. Until recently I have never known about Belva Lockwood. I wonder if there are more women in history who made such an impact that I am unaware of.
Table of Contents: Title: The GingerBread Girl Author: Lisa Campbell Ernst Publication Date: 2006 Genre: Fantasy Choice Book #1
The Gingerbread Girl is a story about the Gingerbread boy's younger sister. The story begins describing what happened to the gingerbread boy. He escaped from the old man and woman and was eaten by a fox. This made the old man and woman feel lonely. They decided to make a gingerbread girl this time in hopes that she wouldn't run away like the gingerbread boy. While baking in the oven the Gingerbread jumps out and runs away. As she runs away she finds herself running away from farmers, a pig, an artist, a cow and her calf, a dog walker, children and the sneaky fox. When meeting the fox the gingerbread girl is a bit scared, but she manages to outsmart the fox by tying a a piece of licorice from her hair around his snout to avoid eating her. The gingerbread girl brings the fox back to the old man and woman's house. From then on the gingerbread girl taught the fox manners and rode him down the countryside. Also, the man and woman never felt lonely again.
I was not familiar with this story of the Gingerbread girl. I do remeber the story of the Gingerbread boy. This Gingerbread girl is described as much wiser than her brother and feels that she can outsmart anyone. She does! While outsmarting those that chased her she would say a little chant, "I'll run and I'll run with a leap and a twirl. You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread GIRL!" The Gingerbread Girl says this everytime she outran someone. When reading this story to young children they can repeat that part of the story. The repetition will help remember the quote and be able to read it. The gingerbread also recites a little poem as well as she runs away. On example was, "I can leap past piggy like all of the others. This story will not end like that of my brother's." These short poems contain rhyming words which the students can identify when listening to the story. I would love to read this story to the students in my class. They will find if funny, they will see rhyming words, repetitive sentences and a lesson taught. I would definitely recommend this book to others.
Table of Contents: Title: The Hello, Goodbye Window Author:Norton Juster, Chris Raschka Publication Date: 2005 Genre: Muliticultural
The Hello, Goodbye Window is a story in which a chilkd describes her Nanna and Poppy's house, escpecially the kitchen window. "It looks like a regular window, but it's not," according to the narrator. The child describes the fun things that happen in the kitchen, like Nanna playing peek-a-boo or making silly faces. The child, which I assume is a girl based on the illustrations, describes what the kitchen contains and what not to touch. Nanna tells her a story about how she bathed her in the sink when she was little. The girl now describes Poppy as a man who plays the harmonica. The young girl describes all the fun things she does with her Nanna and Poppy. The characters always seem to find themselves in the kitchen. The young girl believes the window is a magic window and anything happens around it.
This story shows the wonderful imagination that young children have. When she goes to the window in the morning, she sees the garden. At night she sees the stars when looking out the window. Throughout the story you can see the voyage this young girl goes through with her imagination. In the morning she says hello out the window at night she says goodnight to the stars at night. This story also depics the relationship between grandparents and grandchildren. The young girl looks to be having so much fun when she's with her grandparents. She describes all the fun things they do, like making silly faces, playing peek-a-boo, listening to Poppy play the harmonica, eating breakfast together and riding bikes. I can see how much fun she is having. I wish I had a relationship like that with my grandparents when I was young. I would love to have this kind of relationship with my future grandchildren as the characters did.
Table of Contents: Title: Mr. Putter and Tabby Make a Wish Author: Cynthia Rylant Publications Date: 2005 Genre: Chapter Book
Mr. Putter and Tabby Make a Wish is about Mr. Putter realizing one morning that it's his birthday while reading the paper with Tabby. He begins to remember what his birthdays were like as child. He thought of celebrating with friends, getting a cake with candles and presents, like a model airplane. Mr. Putter feels he is too old to celebrate his birthday. He doesn't want a cake, candles or presents. His cake would have so many candles, he'd need a fire hose to put out it out. In the second chapter, Mr. Putter decides he wants to celebrate his birthday. He calls his neighbor, Ms. Teaberry over for tea with her dog. Ms. Teaberry makes Mr. Putter and Tabby wait while she happens to be doing other things at her house. Mr. Putter begins to get frustrated and doesn't want to wait for Ms. Teaberry anymore. Finally in the last chapter, Ms. Teaberry finally comes over with a birhday cake with dozens of candles and her dog with a birhday present around his neck. The birthday present turned out to be a model airplane.
This story reminded me of being a child again on my birthday. My parents always had a themed birthday party for me. My family, friends and neighbors would come over. I always had the best time. As you get older sometimes birthdays don't feel the same. Like Mr. Putter not wanting to celebrate his birthday at first. As I get older I sometimes don't want to do much for my birthday either. Like Mr. Putter, you can change your mind. You can celebrate your birthday anyway you would like. Some people like to have parties, some like to lay low and go to dinner or just be surrounding by those who care about you. There is not wrong way to celebrate a birthday. You can never be to old either. This book is excellent for children and even for adults. Children love to think about their birhthays and what kind of party they will have or what presents they might get. When an adult reads this story, it can remind them that you're never to old to celebrate your birthday with those you care about.
Table of Contents Title: Bow Wow Meow Meow (It’s rhyming cats and dogs) By Douglas Florian Publication Date: 2004 Genre: Poetry
Books about poetry have never been my favorite stories to read. However, Bow Wow Meow Meow is a wonderful poetry book. There are twenty-one poems about animals, and all of them seem to appeal to young children. Each poem rhymes and contains factual information about a dog or cat. What I enjoyed most about this book was the witty vocabulary and detailed illustrations, both of which capture the attention of young children. My favorite poem from this book is called The Dalmatian. The poem is short and sweet. But what makes it stand out from the rest is that all of the letter “o’s” are filled in to look like black spots. That creative detail is one thing that makes the poem so special. In fact all of the visual elements of this book are appealing. The colors, shapes, and sizes are bold and bright and resemble the distinctive features of each animal depicted. Children are able to understand and make connections to the poems better because of the detailed illustrations. Even though this book is not multicultural literature, I would still use it in my classroom because it is well written. Each poem contains a variety of vocabulary and sight words. The content is appropriate for children and the short sentences make the book easy to read and keep the attention of a younger audience. I would highly recommend this book to my co-teachers for our poetry unit. It is entertaining book to read!
Table of Contents Title: The Gingerbread Girl By Lisa Campbell Ernst Publication Date: 2006 Genre: Modern Fantasy
One of my fondest memories in my childhood is when my parents read the story The Gingerbread Boy. It was an entertaining story that I grew to love. It wasn’t until 2006 that I received a copy of The Gingerbread Girl. I read the summary and realized it was the sister of the gingerbread boy. I immediately fell in love with the story line and illustrations. A month later I pulled out this book for a unit on modern fantasy that we call “runaway stories.” The book was a huge hit in my classroom. The children were extremely amused by the big, bright, and bold colors of the gingerbread girl who is constantly running away from the people and animals. Another great feature of the story is the rhythmic beat of the phrases and words, which helps move the story forward. The plot of the story hits its best moment when the gingerbread girl meets the devious fox that ate her brother. The gingerbread girl outwits the fox and goes back home to join the lonely old woman and the lonely old man. The ending was a big surprise that kept my students on the edge of their seats. The only problem I had with the story was the words “dumber” and “airhead” which was the way the fox viewed the gingerbread girl. I think the author could have improved the story by either choosing different words or totally eliminating the fox’s viewpoint. Other “runaway stories” I shared with my class were The Gingerbread Cowboy, Gingerbread Friends, and The Gingerbread Boy. With such a variety of characters and witty vocabulary, I gave my students the option to write their own “runaway story,” and they were the best pieces of writing of the year. Eventually all the stories were published and sent home to share with their family and friends. Every year I look forward to reading the Gingerbread stories to my students because it makes me feel like a child again.
Table of Contents Title: The Hello, Goodbye Window By Norton Juster & Chris Raschka Publication Date: 2005 Genre: Multicultural/The Caldecott Medal This award-winning book will touch the hearts of readers everywhere. It teaches children the importance of having a loving and supportive family and gives readers an idea of what four and five year old children think and create through life experiences. The main character is a little girl who spends time visiting her grandparents. While she is staying with them she becomes very intrigued by the window, which she refers to as the “the hello, goodbye window.” This window is where her imagination flows, her childish behaviors appear and her relationship with her grandparents blossoms. The illustrations in this book truly capture the world of a young child. The colorful drawings are cheerful and warm and remind me of watercolor paints which children love to use. The illustrations also reveal the interracial family makeup (Poppy has white skin and Nanna has dark skin). All in all the illustrations really make the story come to life.
Table of Contents: Title: Bookworms Inside Story Skyscraper By Dana Meachen Rau Publication Date: 2007 Genre: Informational Author Dana Meachen Rau writes wonderful informational books for children in kindergarten and first grade. The books are designed for little hands and active minds. What will immediately capture the attention of a five or six year old are the real life images of skyscrapers. These pictures allow young children to learn about skyscrapers and actually give a firsthand impression of them. Besides the magnificent pictures, the text also includes bold print and many “sight words” which is great vocabulary builders for beginning readers. Another exceptional feature is the layout of the pages. Both the pictures and writing flow nicely, using the page imaginatively. The book also includes a glossary, index, and challenge word list with pictures. Those challenge words would be great for advanced students and could be incorporated into a review lesson or activity. I would highly recommend this book to my colleagues. It is age appropriate and very informative. It would be great for a guided reading group.
Table of Contents Title: Mr. Putter & Tabby Make a Wish By Cynthia Rylant Publication Date: 2005 Genre: Modern Fantasy
Children are always searching for new and challenging stories to read. One series I highly recommend is written by Cynthia Rylant. She is the author of the Mr. Putter and Tabby stories, which are beginner level chapter books. What makes these stories attractive to readers are the humorous pictures which resemble cartoon-like drawings. The story line is easy to follow and the writing on each page is not overwhelming for young readers. One of my favorite stories is Mr. Putter & Tabby Make a Wish because its theme is about friendship. The main character, Mr. Putter, thinks he is too old to celebrate his birthday. Thanks to his dear friend, Mrs. Teaberry, he is overjoyed by her surprise birthday cake and present for him. Even though this book does not include multicultural references or considerations, it does a wonderful job emphasizing the importance of friendship and camaraderie. In my own classroom I have used this story at the beginning of the year to help promote the theme of friendship in my guided reading groups. My students have loved Tabby (the cat) because of his cute expressions and fun personality. Students also have a greater sense of appreciation for the elderly when they read this series.
In response to Mr. Putter and Tabby Make a Wish, I would highly recommend this book as well. this story is easy to follow and students will not become overwhelmed, as Julie said. This chapter book contains colorful illustrations and an appropriate amount of text for the younger audience. For my students in Kindergarten I thought this book would be an excellent source to refer to when making connections. The younger students would find alot in common with Mr. Putter celebrating his birthday. Incorporating this story as a lesson on friendship is also a great way to use this story in the classroom. Students will learn the lesson on how friendship is important, not only with peoople, but with pets. Mr. Putter loves Tabby as you can tell from the text as many other people care for their pets as well. I would definitley add this chapter book into my repertoire of classroom books. Another story by Cynthia Rylant is When the Relatives Came. Young students enjoy the humor in that story as well as Mr. Putter and Tabby Make a Wish.
In response to The Hello, Goodbye Window students are exposed to the loving relationship a young girl has with her grandparents. The theme of The Hello, Goodbye Window is mainly love and family. The young girl describes her grandparents in a very positive way and seems to know so much about them at the age of 4-5. At the age of 4-5, I couldn't describe my grandma the way this young girl did. I agree with you Julie about how this story does capture the mind of a young child. Children are so creative at such a young age. It's amazing what they can come up with. In the case of the young girl in the story, she feels that the window is magical. The illustrations are colorful and look as if painted. Thanks for pointed out the difference in skin color of the grandparents, I didn't even realize. This books would be an excellent read-aloud if you have a family day at your school to emphasize that loving relationship amongst family members.
In response to The Gingerbread Girl, I remember being in Kindergarten and listening to my teacher read the Gingerbread Boy. As an extension of the activity, we made gingerbread men cookies. I remember using raisins as the buttons. I would love to read the Gingerbread Girl to my class and have them make gingerbread girls or boys. The students can also write poems as you see in the book when The Gingerbread Girl gets away and sings her little poem about getting away. I never realized that there were so other Gingerbread stories other then the Gingerbread Boy and Gingerbread Girl. I definitely have to look those up. I want to add The Gingerbread Girl and Gingerbread Boy into my own classroom library to share with my students. I really like your idea of students writing their own runaway stories. It's kind of difficult for my students to write stories right now being it's still the beginning of Kindergarten, but I definitely would like to try that activity with my students in the middle of year when they have more exposure to writing.
Graciela, In response to Henry’s Freedom Box, I enjoyed reading your blog and connection to the text. Unfortunately, I also had a terrible loss in my family. My brother passed away four years ago in a car accident. Every day I feel the same emotions Henry went through the day his family was sold into slavery. The lack of energy saddens, and knowing that I would never see his smiling face again, just like Henry knew he would never see his family again. I thought this part of the story was extremely moving and the picture truly captured the emotions of Henry through the colors and the position of his body. I also thought the best part of the story was when Henry arrived in Philadelphia. He was finally free and was able to celebrate his birthday. Like you said, birthdays are an exciting time for children especially when they receive many gifts. For Henry, the best birthday gift for him was obtaining his freedom from slavery. I would also agree with you that this book would be great to read during black history month. However, would the concept be to challenging in Kindergarten? I know my first graders had little background knowledge on slavery. I had to build the children’s background knowledge through many pictures and classroom discussions. I also found the vocabulary in Henry’s Freedom Box was very difficult for my students to understand. One classroom activity that I did after I read the book was having them create a wooden box with popsicle sticks. They turned out great!
Graciela In response to Hansel and Gretel I agree with you that the imagery and the colors play an important role in the story, one color in particular was black. On every page it is the one color that significantly grabs the attention of the reader, especially the pictures of the witch. Throughout the entire story the witch is wearing a black robe that covers her entire body. Because of the way she looks, she is definitely being portrayed as an evil character. I personally thought the picture of the witch is too scary for young children. The other problem I have with this story is the concept of abandonment on the part of the parents. I think children should be taken care of and looked after. Graciela how do you feel about this?
Julie, In response to your question for the story Hansel and Gretel, I definitely believe that parent should look after their children. If the parents were unable to provide for their children, they should have found some other means to support them. When having children, you should be aware of the responsibilities it entails. I am not a parent yet, but I plan on having children soon and I will do my very best to provide for my children. I would never abandon my children.
Graciela: Response I also enjoyed reading this bibliography about Belva Lockwood. I thought her story was inspirational for women everywhere. She was a brave woman with many admirable qualities. I honestly didn’t know there was a woman that ran for the presidency (president or vice president), before Geraldine Ferraro. However, I think this is a great book that should definitely be shared with students in grades 4-6 because of the strong vocabulary and historical information being portrayed in this book. I also agree with you that this story encourages readers to always pursue their dreams, this is a great message to send to children. An excellent project to go along with this book would be to compare Belva Lockwood and Sarah Palin’s journey through politics by creating a large classroom Venn diagram. This would hopefully generate many interesting classroom discussions about women’s rights and politics. It would also be interesting to get students’ perspective on how they felt about Belva’s ballots being thrown away and what they think should have been done differently.
Graciela: Response I think your kindergartners will love this book! The pictures are so entertaining and enjoyable. The chant “I’ll run and I’ll run with a leap and a twirl You can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread GIRL!” was my student’s favorite part of the story. They quickly memorized the words and shouted them out loud with excitement in their voices. The poems that go along with each new character that the Gingerbread girl encounters are a nice addition to the story. I love how the poems rhyme! There are so many wonderful projects you can do with this book. For example, the students can make gingerbread cookies and decorate them with all yummy candies. Or, have students draw a picture of another animal or person that the Gingerbread girl could have out-chased. The best part of this story was definitely the ending. My students loved how the Gingerbread girl outsmarted the wolf.
Graciela: Response The first time I read the book, The Hello, Goodbye Window, I actually did a picture walk. The bright colors and childish drawings scattered around the pages were different and a bit confusing. As I studied the pictures, the pictures actually began to remind me of my own students’ artwork. The swirly lines and squared windows were definitely evidence of a child’s imagination and creativity. After I did my picture walk I read the book aloud and began to understand the connection between the pictures and the story. I thought it was a wonderful story that captured the young girls new discoveries and adventures of growing up. The other wonderful part about this story was the relationship that the little girl had with her grandparents. She loved spending time with her grandparents and they loved her. You mentioned in your blog that you didn’t have that kind of relationship with your grandparents. What kind of relationship do you see in your future with your grandchildren? Would you let their imaginations run wild? My favorite line from this story is on the last page. “ When I get my own house someday I’m going to have a special Hello, Goodbye Window too.” What a wonderful ending to an award-winning book!
Julie, In response to Bow Bow Meow Meow, I thought this was a great poetry book to use in the classroom. It gives descriptions of different dogs and cats in a humorous way. I did enjoy the dalmation poem with the little o's colored also. My favorite poem had to be the one of the poodles having oodles of curls, mainly because I have two poodles at home that I love. These poems will give children some background information about various cats and dogs, but will also make them laugh. As you said Julie, the poems contain rhyming words and sight words for children to identify. I would love to incorporate a poetry theme and include this book. The kids would really like it. The Illustrations also provide a great description of what the animals look like and also appeal to the younger audience.
Julie, In response to Skyscrapers, this is an excellent nonfiction text to use in the classroom. Skyscrapers provides students with information about skyscrapers with sight word support and colorful illustrations. I agree with you Julie about using this book with a guided reading group. I wouldn't be able to just yet with my kindergartners, but I would definitely use it in the future with them. Using informative texts like Skyscrapers provides young students to explore text features and what components are found within a text such as, glossary, index and table of contents. I have yet to begin teaching text features to my students, but I will eventually and this book would be a great way to start this.
Julie, In response to Henry's Freedom Box I would have to spend some time activating background knowledge and providing my students with alot of information. However, I could introduce the difficult vocabulary prior to reading the book. During guided reading I review the vocabulary in the text prior to reading the story. I could try this with Henry's Freedom Box. I do like your idea of the students creating a box out of popsicle sticks and making their own freedom box. That's very cute. That would be a good activity during Black History Month. Henry's Freedom Box is a wonderful multicultural text that should be read in several classrooms.
Graciela: Response I enjoyed reading your connection to the story Mr. Putter & Tabby Make a Wish. I agree with you that birthday celebrations are definitely more exciting as a child. However, when you hit a milestone such as ninety years old, which my grandmother turned yesterday, you are never too old to celebrate with friends and family. Today, you can find a variety of chapter books for children of all ages and reading abilities, such as Junie B. Jones, Magic Tree House and Henry & Mudge, but my favorite series continues to be the Mr. Putter & Tabby adventures. The books are not too big and the layout is age-appropriate for students in grades First through Third. Graciela, how do you feel about the Junie B. Jones series? I never recommend this series to my student’s parents because the grammar is horrible and I think the character Junie B. Jones is very disrespectful.
Graciela: Response Graciela, in kindergarten do you teach poetry? In first grade we do a short unit on poetry in June. We teach the students about different styles of poetry such as Haiku and Riddle poems. One of my favorite haiku poetry books is called Dogku, which is written by Andrew Clements. I highly recommend this book to your co-workers. Even though poetry is not my favorite genre, my most memorable reading experience is when I read the book, The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. This story is a poem about the gift of giving. I actually read this entire book to my first grade class. I was so proud of myself. It took many months and hard work to memorize all the lines. Therefore, in essence, poetry was where I found my confidence as a reader.
Graciela: Response Graciela, I was so excited when I found the Bookworms series in the library. I was like a little girl in a candy story! Every year I find myself searching for informational books that are appropriate for first graders. I often find myself relying on “Scholastic News” or “National Geographic,” which are great resources. However, the Bookworms series has jumped to the top of my list! I would love to have a class set for a guided reading group. The informational books I have been using in my guide reading groups came from the “Reading A-Z” website, which my school subscribes to. I found these books to difficult for my students because of the abundance of high-level vocabulary. My students also had trouble comprehending the text. Do you have any favorite informational books?
Graciela: Response Graciela, This evening I was re-reading the book, The Hello Goodbye Window, and was wondering why the author never gave the little girl a name. Do you think it was because the author didn’t want to focus on one particular girl, but more of a generalization on the concept of growing up and the adventures of a childhood? The other thing that caught my attention was the way in which Norton Juster incorporated some of the aspects of a window. For example, the little girl learns that when it is dark outside she can see her reflection in the window or that you see many things through the glass. It is amazing that when you re-reading a book, you always learn something new.
Julie, In response to your statement about Junie B. Jones, I would have to agree with you about her being disrespectful. She does use some vocabulary that I don't think is appropriate for young children, for example Junie B. Jones uses the word stupid. My students at this age think the word stupid is a bad word. I wouldn't want to expose them to literature that makes it ok to use vocabulary like that.
Julie, in response to your question about poetry. We do not teach poetry in Kindergarten. We have used poetry in a sense of teaching students rhyming words, but students don't get to write their own poems. Towards the end of the year, I would like to read some poetry to the students and have them write poems. I remember as a kid reading Where the Sidewalk Ends. I used to get it all the time from the library. I found the poems to be humorous and I always felt good when reading the poetry. I do have the Giving Tree in my classroom library and plan on reading it to my students at the end of the year.
Julie, in response to the Bookworms informational books, I have not seen them before until I found Skyscrapers. I also use Scholastic News and National Geographic when focusing on informational topics or nonfiction. I would definitely like to research this series further and find some books that are appropriate to use in my current Kinder classroom. The reading A-Z books, I usually send home for my students to practice with. In guided reading, I use our reading program books. We use the Rigby Literacy By Design Program. The books are 50% fiction and 50% nonfiction. Some books are informational, but not many. Besides Scholastic News and National Geographic I don't have much to use. I usually have to look for outside resources to provide for my students when it comes to informational books.
Graciela: Response Graciela, I agree with you that introducing the more difficult vocabulary in Henry’s Freedom Box prior to reading the story would be a good idea. Some of the words are extremely advanced for kindergartens and first graders. I don’t know if you have been on the Scholastic website recently but they have a wonderful lesson plan to go along with the text, although you might have to scale down on some of the activities to meet the needs of your students. Also, another website that I have used in the past is edhelper.com. This website also has activities to go along with Henry’s Freedom Box. I couldn’t agree more that Henry’s Freedom Box is an amazing multicultural piece of literature. Another wonderful multicultural book that you may enjoy reading to kindergarteners is Come On, Rain! By Karen Hesse. I read this book when we did our unit on weather. My students love to pretend to dance in the rain!
Graciela: Response Graciela, I liked your response to my question about parent’s abandonment of their children, which was a problem I had with the story, Hansel and Gretel. I agree that parents need to be ready to support, protect, and love their children unconditionally, even during the toughest of times. I read a couple reviews about this book online and to no surprise many people committed on the pictures of the witch. The witch looks very demoniac, which will definitely frighten kids under the age of three. I also found out that the author Rachel Isadora has retold and illustrated other fairytales such as The Princess and the Pea and Rapunzel. I wonder what the illustrations look like in those books. I was able to view the cover pages, which looked very similar to Hansel and Gretel.
Graciela: Response Graciela, after I read the book Belva Lockwood, I became a little more interested in her story, so I did some research. I found a great article from the National Archives (or www.archives.gov) that discusses her journey through law school, which was a significant part of the book. I think it is a great article that could be shared with older students. As a first grade teacher, I will admit that I don’t do a lot of read- alouds with bibliographies. My students are not as interested in learning about a specific person as they are with singing along to a modern fantasy such as the Gingerbread Girl. Often bibliographies address so many events that a person has gone through, which makes it challenging for students to comprehend the information. However, “Scholastic News” has included some wonderful bibliographies, such as Barrack Obama that are kid-friendly and age appropriate.
Graciela: Response Graciela if you get the opportunity this year, I highly recommend you reading Gingerbread Girl and the other Gingerbread stories to your students. Your children will want you to read these books over and over again. Last year I bought some of the Gingerbread stories with my scholastic points. I was then able to have them as part of my classroom library. The running away stories were a lot of fun but I can see how this may be too difficult for kindergartens. Maybe you could write a runaway story as a whole class or partner your kindergarteners up with an older student and have them create a runaway story together.
Graciela: Response Graciela, I know you don’t incorporate a themed unit on poetry, but how do you feel about this particular genre? I have expressed in my blogging that poetry books are not appealing to me. However, it is important that I expose children to all different types of genres, which include poetry. What types of activities might you do with Bow Bow Meow Meow? This website, http://ux1.eiu.edu/~psstorm/Mon06/bowwow.html had a variety of book activities to go along with Bow Bow Meow Meow.
Graciela: Response Graciela, I agree that Skyscrapers would be a little to advanced for your students at the beginning and even middle of the year. However, if you do have some students that are accelerated readers they may find these stories very intriguing. In first grade we teach the text features towards the middle of the school year. Over the past few years my advanced readers have started reading informative text sooner in their guided reading groups. With technology booming in the twenty-first century I think informative text could someday be replaced with live videos like ones you see on YouTube.
Graciela: Response Graciela, every year my parents ask me for suggestions on different types of chapter books. I always recommend looking up books on the Scholastic website but just recently I found a new website called Macmillan: Editor’s List: Chapter Books for First Graders. The address is http://us.macmillan.com/all/editorslist/Childrens/ChapterBooksforFirstGraders I love it! I know you previously taught first grade and I though you might like to check this website out. I also found one other website called greatschools. The address is http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/showarticle/623 I think you will also enjoy this website, especially since you can browse articles by grade level.
Julie, In response to your question for the Hello, Goodbye Window. I think the author wanted to focus more on the family relationship rather than giving the girl a name. The story makes a generalization about the relationship between grandparents and grandchildren. I think the child's name isn't really important. I really enjoyed how she describes her grandparents and the wonderful things they do together.
Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHenry's Freedom Box
ReplyDeleteWritten by Ellen Levine and Kadir Nelson
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Multicultural
Henry's Freedom Box is about a boy named Henry who is a slave in Virginia. He is a very hard worker. His master became ill so he had Henry work for his son. Henry spent years working hard as a slave. He didn't know when his birthday was. He said, "Slaves weren't allowed to know their birthdays." One day Henry meets Nancy. They get married and have children. One day Henry's wife and children are sold. Henry was lost. He asked for help from Dr. Smith and James. They help Henry escape from Virginia. Henry gets put in a box and is put on a train to travel to Pennsylvania where he would be greeted by Dr. Smiths' friends. After twenty-seven hours, Henry arrives in Philadelphia being greeted by the friends of Dr. Smith. Henry finally celebrated his birthday. The day he became free.
I thought this book was a great story about a person's journey to freedom. I can't imagine what it must have been like for Henry being int that box for twenty-seven hours. I can't fly on a plane for more than three hours and that's more spacious than a wooden box. It's difficult to connect with this story because I've never been through what Henry has. I didn't know his own birthday. Young children today are so eager to celebrate their birthdays. It's really sad that Henry did not have the opportunity to celebrate when he was young. One connection I can make is when Henry lost his wife and children to the slave market. He felt so lost. My father passed away many years ago and I felt that same loss. It is very difficult to lose people you care about.
I think this story would be good to share in a classroom. During Black History Month you can talk about the underground railroad and Henry's journey to freedom.
I felt that the illustrations really told alot about the story. They were very detailed. You can really see Henry's emotions. You can really see the loss in Henry's face when he lost his family.At the end of the story, you can see the happiness on everyone's face when Henry arrives. I can't imagine how Henry must have felt when they opened the box. Such excitement!
Henry's Freedom Box is a story that teaches us about history, a boy's journey and the special gift of freedom.
This multicultural book is a wonderful piece of literature for children of all ages. It teaches children about the history of slavery and the Underground Railroad through Henry’s journey to freedom. The author truly captured the experience of slavery in the south through in depth conversations between Henry and his family, as well as with his master. What also helped depict life in slavery were the detailed illustrations. The pictures address so many feelings and emotions Henry was going through, especially the day his family was sold into slavery.
ReplyDeleteWhat makes this story so unique is the way in which Henry escaped slavery. He travels in a tiny box to Philadelphia. The pictures really show Henry’s struggle to survive and make it safely to freedom. I think many children would find this part of the story fascinating.
As a classroom teacher, I would enjoy reading this book during black history month, or for teaching a lesson on bravery. I think many young children could make connections to being brave. The factual information about slavery would be hard for young children to understand without a lot of background knowledge. Another multicultural book that discusses slavery and the Underground Railroad is The Patchwork Path: A quilt map to Freedom. This is wonderful story to read aloud to a young audience.
Table of Contents:
ReplyDeleteTitle: Hansel And Gretel By Rachel Isadora
Publication Date:2009
Genre: Modern Fantasy
This book is a new spin on an old fairy tale. The author recreates the story of Hansel and Gretel through her own experiences of living in Africa. Although the story remains the same, the bold and bright illustrations bring a modern flair to this genre. The illustrations are very contemporary and the children are dark skinned with features that represent an African culture. The illustrations can also be scary for a young audience due the colors and images portrayed in the story.
Today, many children are not exposed to fairy tales; therefore, it would be challenging to read a story like this in my own classroom without any background knowledge about fairy tales. Other stories such as Little Red Riding Hood or Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs would make for a good group discussion about good and evil. Unfortunately, many fairy tales have a scary character.
What makes the author of this book so different is that she has recreated many fairy tales and incorporated her own multicultural experiences that allows readers to connect with their own cultures.
Julie,
ReplyDeleteIn response to Henry's Freedom Box. It is an excellent book to use during Black History Month. This book is devlopmentally appropriate for young students. The students can learn something new and also about being brave, as you said in your blog. I like your suggestion with another story use when discussing the underground railroad. I will definitely look for that book and share it with my class.
In regarding young children and background knowledge, it is important as educators to provide our students with the background knowledge they need to understand a text. Using various stories about slavery and the underground railroad will help students understand the stories being told. I haven't really used alot texts during black history month. This year I would like to begin using Henry's Freedom Box as the first book to share with my class. This story can also be used to reinforce beginning, middle and end with the young children.
Julie,
ReplyDeleteResponding to your Hansel and Gretel blog what stuck out to me the most was the imagery and the use of colors to represent feelings in the text. When the children are in the woods, it is dark. The children feel scared and the feelings are apparent in the use of the colors, such as black. When Hansel and Gretel meet the witch, she is very large and has black cape and a green face. This imagery must be scary for students. Just like we read in our textbook, author's use colors to represent feelings. Such as dark being evil and bright being the good. As you can see from Hansel and Gretel, the witch is in her dark clock. She is being portrayed as evil, although she is since her intentions are to eat the children. Yet, when the children are at their home, the colors are so bright. You can get an obvious sense that the children are happy.
I really enjoyed reading Hansel and Gretel because it gives you a different view of the original fairy tale. It provides beautiful illustrations taken from the author's time in Africa.
Table Of Contents:
ReplyDeleteTitle: Ballots For Belva: The True Story of a Woman’s Race for the Presidency
By Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen
Publication Date: 2008
Genre: Biography
The story of Belva Lockwood is an inspirational and moving piece of literature. It is a captivating biography about an important figure in the women’s rights movement. It would be a wonderful book to have in a classroom library. What makes this story exceptional is that it is about a woman who is running for the presidency, during the 1880’s in a very male-dominate era of history. Throughout the text, Belva is viewed as a strong and determined woman. Her courageousness and perseverance is evident in the detailed pictures and patriotic symbols throughout the text. The illustrations also capture many emotions of both males and females during Belva’s historical speeches. What makes this story enjoyable to read is that the time-line of events are organized and easy to understand. Also, the factual information is not overwhelming. The author does a wonderful job describing the process of a campaign, using age appropriate vocabulary. Students will recognize Belva Lockwood’s legend because she was the first woman to officially run for President of the United States of America.
Because of the content, I would recommend reading this story to an older group of students. They would be able to make connections and understand the political impact of the character that the book was written about. This story would have been fun to read during last year’s election, when Sarah Palin was running for vice president. And like Belva Lockwood, Sarah Palin also had a significant political part on the presidential election.
Julie,
ReplyDeleteIn response to Ballots for Belva. I also thought about the election last year when Sarah Palin was running for vice president. Ballots for Belva was an easy to read Biography. It gave rich details in Belva's life without it being overwhelming for me. It was very interesting to read this biography because I had never heard of Belva Lockwood in previous history. In her time she played a pivotal role as a woman and leader. I would really like to know what would have happened if the votes during her election were not thrown away or given to other candidates. Would we have had our first woman president back in the 1800's. I was very captivated by Belva's courage and motivation. She never gave up, even when there were mountains in her way. This story is excellent to teach children about not giving up as well as learning a piece of history. I would definitely like to share this book with my class and add to my classroom library.
Ballots for Belva many aspects of woman's suffrage. Women were not allowed to vote, yet were able to run for president. This is very interesting. After so many years of fighting for women's rights, it took until 2008 for a women to run for vice president. No other woman that I know of has run for president or vice president until Sarah Palin. Until recently I have never known about Belva Lockwood. I wonder if there are more women in history who made such an impact that I am unaware of.
ReplyDeleteTable of Contents:
ReplyDeleteTitle: The GingerBread Girl
Author: Lisa Campbell Ernst
Publication Date: 2006
Genre: Fantasy
Choice Book #1
The Gingerbread Girl is a story about the Gingerbread boy's younger sister. The story begins describing what happened to the gingerbread boy. He escaped from the old man and woman and was eaten by a fox. This made the old man and woman feel lonely. They decided to make a gingerbread girl this time in hopes that she wouldn't run away like the gingerbread boy. While baking in the oven the Gingerbread jumps out and runs away. As she runs away she finds herself running away from farmers, a pig, an artist, a cow and her calf, a dog walker, children and the sneaky fox. When meeting the fox the gingerbread girl is a bit scared, but she manages to outsmart the fox by tying a a piece of licorice from her hair around his snout to avoid eating her. The gingerbread girl brings the fox back to the old man and woman's house. From then on the gingerbread girl taught the fox manners and rode him down the countryside. Also, the man and woman never felt lonely again.
I was not familiar with this story of the Gingerbread girl. I do remeber the story of the Gingerbread boy. This Gingerbread girl is described as much wiser than her brother and feels that she can outsmart anyone. She does! While outsmarting those that chased her she would say a little chant, "I'll run and I'll run with a leap and a twirl. You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread GIRL!" The Gingerbread Girl says this everytime she outran someone. When reading this story to young children they can repeat that part of the story. The repetition will help remember the quote and be able to read it. The gingerbread also recites a little poem as well as she runs away. On example was, "I can leap past piggy like all of the others. This story will not end like that of my brother's." These short poems contain rhyming words which the students can identify when listening to the story. I would love to read this story to the students in my class. They will find if funny, they will see rhyming words, repetitive sentences and a lesson taught. I would definitely recommend this book to others.
Table of Contents:
ReplyDeleteTitle: The Hello, Goodbye Window
Author:Norton Juster, Chris Raschka
Publication Date: 2005
Genre: Muliticultural
The Hello, Goodbye Window is a story in which a chilkd describes her Nanna and Poppy's house, escpecially the kitchen window. "It looks like a regular window, but it's not," according to the narrator. The child describes the fun things that happen in the kitchen, like Nanna playing peek-a-boo or making silly faces. The child, which I assume is a girl based on the illustrations, describes what the kitchen contains and what not to touch. Nanna tells her a story about how she bathed her in the sink when she was little. The girl now describes Poppy as a man who plays the harmonica. The young girl describes all the fun things she does with her Nanna and Poppy. The characters always seem to find themselves in the kitchen. The young girl believes the window is a magic window and anything happens around it.
This story shows the wonderful imagination that young children have. When she goes to the window in the morning, she sees the garden. At night she sees the stars when looking out the window. Throughout the story you can see the voyage this young girl goes through with her imagination. In the morning she says hello out the window at night she says goodnight to the stars at night. This story also depics the relationship between grandparents and grandchildren. The young girl looks to be having so much fun when she's with her grandparents. She describes all the fun things they do, like making silly faces, playing peek-a-boo, listening to Poppy play the harmonica, eating breakfast together and riding bikes. I can see how much fun she is having. I wish I had a relationship like that with my grandparents when I was young. I would love to have this kind of relationship with my future grandchildren as the characters did.
The Hello, Goodbye Window won the Caldecott Medal.
ReplyDeleteTable of Contents:
ReplyDeleteTitle: Mr. Putter and Tabby Make a Wish
Author: Cynthia Rylant
Publications Date: 2005
Genre: Chapter Book
Mr. Putter and Tabby Make a Wish is about Mr. Putter realizing one morning that it's his birthday while reading the paper with Tabby. He begins to remember what his birthdays were like as child. He thought of celebrating with friends, getting a cake with candles and presents, like a model airplane. Mr. Putter feels he is too old to celebrate his birthday. He doesn't want a cake, candles or presents. His cake would have so many candles, he'd need a fire hose to put out it out. In the second chapter, Mr. Putter decides he wants to celebrate his birthday. He calls his neighbor, Ms. Teaberry over for tea with her dog. Ms. Teaberry makes Mr. Putter and Tabby wait while she happens to be doing other things at her house. Mr. Putter begins to get frustrated and doesn't want to wait for Ms. Teaberry anymore. Finally in the last chapter, Ms. Teaberry finally comes over with a birhday cake with dozens of candles and her dog with a birhday present around his neck. The birthday present turned out to be a model airplane.
This story reminded me of being a child again on my birthday. My parents always had a themed birthday party for me. My family, friends and neighbors would come over. I always had the best time. As you get older sometimes birthdays don't feel the same. Like Mr. Putter not wanting to celebrate his birthday at first. As I get older I sometimes don't want to do much for my birthday either. Like Mr. Putter, you can change your mind. You can celebrate your birthday anyway you would like. Some people like to have parties, some like to lay low and go to dinner or just be surrounding by those who care about you. There is not wrong way to celebrate a birthday. You can never be to old either. This book is excellent for children and even for adults. Children love to think about their birhthays and what kind of party they will have or what presents they might get. When an adult reads this story, it can remind them that you're never to old to celebrate your birthday with those you care about.
Table of Contents
ReplyDeleteTitle: Bow Wow Meow Meow
(It’s rhyming cats and dogs)
By Douglas Florian
Publication Date: 2004
Genre: Poetry
Books about poetry have never been my favorite stories to read. However, Bow Wow Meow Meow is a wonderful poetry book. There are twenty-one poems about animals, and all of them seem to appeal to young children. Each poem rhymes and contains factual information about a dog or cat. What I enjoyed most about this book was the witty vocabulary and detailed illustrations, both of which capture the attention of young children.
My favorite poem from this book is called The Dalmatian. The poem is short and sweet. But what makes it stand out from the rest is that all of the letter “o’s” are filled in to look like black spots. That creative detail is one thing that makes the poem so special.
In fact all of the visual elements of this book are appealing. The colors, shapes, and sizes are bold and bright and resemble the distinctive features of each animal depicted. Children are able to understand and make connections to the poems better because of the detailed illustrations.
Even though this book is not multicultural literature, I would still use it in my classroom because it is well written. Each poem contains a variety of vocabulary and sight words. The content is appropriate for children and the short sentences make the book easy to read and keep the attention of a younger audience.
I would highly recommend this book to my co-teachers for our poetry unit. It is entertaining book to read!
Table of Contents
ReplyDeleteTitle: The Gingerbread Girl
By Lisa Campbell Ernst
Publication Date: 2006
Genre: Modern Fantasy
One of my fondest memories in my childhood is when my parents read the story The Gingerbread Boy. It was an entertaining story that I grew to love. It wasn’t until 2006 that I received a copy of The Gingerbread Girl. I read the summary and realized it was the sister of the gingerbread boy. I immediately fell in love with the story line and illustrations. A month later I pulled out this book for a unit on modern fantasy that we call “runaway stories.” The book was a huge hit in my classroom. The children were extremely amused by the big, bright, and bold colors of the gingerbread girl who is constantly running away from the people and animals. Another great feature of the story is the rhythmic beat of the phrases and words, which helps move the story forward. The plot of the story hits its best moment when the gingerbread girl meets the devious fox that ate her brother. The gingerbread girl outwits the fox and goes back home to join the lonely old woman and the lonely old man. The ending was a big surprise that kept my students on the edge of their seats. The only problem I had with the story was the words “dumber” and “airhead” which was the way the fox viewed the gingerbread girl. I think the author could have improved the story by either choosing different words or totally eliminating the fox’s viewpoint.
Other “runaway stories” I shared with my class were The Gingerbread Cowboy, Gingerbread Friends, and The Gingerbread Boy. With such a variety of characters and witty vocabulary, I gave my students the option to write their own “runaway story,” and they were the best pieces of writing of the year. Eventually all the stories were published and sent home to share with their family and friends. Every year I look forward to reading the Gingerbread stories to my students because it makes me feel like a child again.
Table of Contents
ReplyDeleteTitle: The Hello, Goodbye Window
By Norton Juster & Chris Raschka
Publication Date: 2005
Genre: Multicultural/The Caldecott Medal
This award-winning book will touch the hearts of readers everywhere. It teaches children the importance of having a loving and supportive family and gives readers an idea of what four and five year old children think and create through life experiences.
The main character is a little girl who spends time visiting her grandparents. While she is staying with them she becomes very intrigued by the window, which she refers to as the “the hello, goodbye window.” This window is where her imagination flows, her childish behaviors appear and her relationship with her grandparents blossoms.
The illustrations in this book truly capture the world of a young child. The colorful drawings are cheerful and warm and remind me of watercolor paints which children love to use. The illustrations also reveal the interracial family makeup (Poppy has white skin and Nanna has dark skin). All in all the illustrations really make the story come to life.
Table of Contents:
ReplyDeleteTitle: Bookworms Inside Story Skyscraper
By Dana Meachen Rau
Publication Date: 2007
Genre: Informational
Author Dana Meachen Rau writes wonderful informational books for children in kindergarten and first grade. The books are designed for little hands and active minds. What will immediately capture the attention of a five or six year old are the real life images of skyscrapers. These pictures allow young children to learn about skyscrapers and actually give a firsthand impression of them. Besides the magnificent pictures, the text also includes bold print and many “sight words” which is great vocabulary builders for beginning readers.
Another exceptional feature is the layout of the pages. Both the pictures and writing flow nicely, using the page imaginatively. The book also includes a glossary, index, and challenge word list with pictures. Those challenge words would be great for advanced students and could be incorporated into a review lesson or activity. I would highly recommend this book to my colleagues. It is age appropriate and very informative. It would be great for a guided reading group.
Table of Contents
ReplyDeleteTitle: Mr. Putter & Tabby Make a Wish
By Cynthia Rylant
Publication Date: 2005
Genre: Modern Fantasy
Children are always searching for new and challenging stories to read. One series I highly recommend is written by Cynthia Rylant. She is the author of the Mr. Putter and Tabby stories, which are beginner level chapter books. What makes these stories attractive to readers are the humorous pictures which resemble cartoon-like drawings. The story line is easy to follow and the writing on each page is not overwhelming for young readers. One of my favorite stories is Mr. Putter & Tabby Make a Wish because its theme is about friendship. The main character, Mr. Putter, thinks he is too old to celebrate his birthday. Thanks to his dear friend, Mrs. Teaberry, he is overjoyed by her surprise birthday cake and present for him.
Even though this book does not include multicultural references or considerations, it does a wonderful job emphasizing the importance of friendship and camaraderie. In my own classroom I have used this story at the beginning of the year to help promote the theme of friendship in my guided reading groups. My students have loved Tabby (the cat) because of his cute expressions and fun personality. Students also have a greater sense of appreciation for the elderly when they read this series.
In response to Mr. Putter and Tabby Make a Wish, I would highly recommend this book as well. this story is easy to follow and students will not become overwhelmed, as Julie said. This chapter book contains colorful illustrations and an appropriate amount of text for the younger audience. For my students in Kindergarten I thought this book would be an excellent source to refer to when making connections. The younger students would find alot in common with Mr. Putter celebrating his birthday. Incorporating this story as a lesson on friendship is also a great way to use this story in the classroom. Students will learn the lesson on how friendship is important, not only with peoople, but with pets. Mr. Putter loves Tabby as you can tell from the text as many other people care for their pets as well. I would definitley add this chapter book into my repertoire of classroom books. Another story by Cynthia Rylant is When the Relatives Came. Young students enjoy the humor in that story as well as Mr. Putter and Tabby Make a Wish.
ReplyDeleteIn response to The Hello, Goodbye Window students are exposed to the loving relationship a young girl has with her grandparents. The theme of The Hello, Goodbye Window is mainly love and family. The young girl describes her grandparents in a very positive way and seems to know so much about them at the age of 4-5. At the age of 4-5, I couldn't describe my grandma the way this young girl did.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Julie about how this story does capture the mind of a young child. Children are so creative at such a young age. It's amazing what they can come up with. In the case of the young girl in the story, she feels that the window is magical. The illustrations are colorful and look as if painted. Thanks for pointed out the difference in skin color of the grandparents, I didn't even realize. This books would be an excellent read-aloud if you have a family day at your school to emphasize that loving relationship amongst family members.
In response to The Gingerbread Girl, I remember being in Kindergarten and listening to my teacher read the Gingerbread Boy. As an extension of the activity, we made gingerbread men cookies. I remember using raisins as the buttons. I would love to read the Gingerbread Girl to my class and have them make gingerbread girls or boys. The students can also write poems as you see in the book when The Gingerbread Girl gets away and sings her little poem about getting away.
ReplyDeleteI never realized that there were so other Gingerbread stories other then the Gingerbread Boy and Gingerbread Girl. I definitely have to look those up. I want to add The Gingerbread Girl and Gingerbread Boy into my own classroom library to share with my students. I really like your idea of students writing their own runaway stories. It's kind of difficult for my students to write stories right now being it's still the beginning of Kindergarten, but I definitely would like to try that activity with my students in the middle of year when they have more exposure to writing.
Graciela,
ReplyDeleteIn response to Henry’s Freedom Box, I enjoyed reading your blog and connection to the text. Unfortunately, I also had a terrible loss in my family. My brother passed away four years ago in a car accident. Every day I feel the same emotions Henry went through the day his family was sold into slavery. The lack of energy saddens, and knowing that I would never see his smiling face again, just like Henry knew he would never see his family again. I thought this part of the story was extremely moving and the picture truly captured the emotions of Henry through the colors and the position of his body.
I also thought the best part of the story was when Henry arrived in Philadelphia. He was finally free and was able to celebrate his birthday. Like you said, birthdays are an exciting time for children especially when they receive many gifts. For Henry, the best birthday gift for him was obtaining his freedom from slavery. I would also agree with you that this book would be great to read during black history month. However, would the concept be to challenging in Kindergarten? I know my first graders had little background knowledge on slavery. I had to build the children’s background knowledge through many pictures and classroom discussions. I also found the vocabulary in Henry’s Freedom Box was very difficult for my students to understand. One classroom activity that I did after I read the book was having them create a wooden box with popsicle sticks. They turned out great!
Graciela
ReplyDeleteIn response to Hansel and Gretel I agree with you that the imagery and the colors play an important role in the story, one color in particular was black. On every page it is the one color that significantly grabs the attention of the reader, especially the pictures of the witch. Throughout the entire story the witch is wearing a black robe that covers her entire body. Because of the way she looks, she is definitely being portrayed as an evil character. I personally thought the picture of the witch is too scary for young children. The other problem I have with this story is the concept of abandonment on the part of the parents. I think children should be taken care of and looked after. Graciela how do you feel about this?
Julie,
ReplyDeleteIn response to your question for the story Hansel and Gretel, I definitely believe that parent should look after their children. If the parents were unable to provide for their children, they should have found some other means to support them. When having children, you should be aware of the responsibilities it entails. I am not a parent yet, but I plan on having children soon and I will do my very best to provide for my children. I would never abandon my children.
Graciela: Response
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed reading this bibliography about Belva Lockwood. I thought her story was inspirational for women everywhere. She was a brave woman with many admirable qualities. I honestly didn’t know there was a woman that ran for the presidency (president or vice president), before Geraldine Ferraro. However, I think this is a great book that should definitely be shared with students in grades 4-6 because of the strong vocabulary and historical information being portrayed in this book. I also agree with you that this story encourages readers to always pursue their dreams, this is a great message to send to children. An excellent project to go along with this book would be to compare Belva Lockwood and Sarah Palin’s journey through politics by creating a large classroom Venn diagram. This would hopefully generate many interesting classroom discussions about women’s rights and politics. It would also be interesting to get students’ perspective on how they felt about Belva’s ballots being thrown away and what they think should have been done differently.
Graciela: Response
ReplyDeleteI think your kindergartners will love this book! The pictures are so entertaining and enjoyable. The chant “I’ll run and I’ll run with a leap and a twirl You can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread GIRL!” was my student’s favorite part of the story. They quickly memorized the words and shouted them out loud with excitement in their voices. The poems that go along with each new character that the Gingerbread girl encounters are a nice addition to the story. I love how the poems rhyme! There are so many wonderful projects you can do with this book. For example, the students can make gingerbread cookies and decorate them with all yummy candies. Or, have students draw a picture of another animal or person that the Gingerbread girl could have out-chased. The best part of this story was definitely the ending. My students loved how the Gingerbread girl outsmarted the wolf.
Graciela: Response
ReplyDeleteThe first time I read the book, The Hello, Goodbye Window, I actually did a picture walk. The bright colors and childish drawings scattered around the pages were different and a bit confusing. As I studied the pictures, the pictures actually began to remind me of my own students’ artwork. The swirly lines and squared windows were definitely evidence of a child’s imagination and creativity. After I did my picture walk I read the book aloud and began to understand the connection between the pictures and the story. I thought it was a wonderful story that captured the young girls new discoveries and adventures of growing up. The other wonderful part about this story was the relationship that the little girl had with her grandparents. She loved spending time with her grandparents and they loved her. You mentioned in your blog that you didn’t have that kind of relationship with your grandparents. What kind of relationship do you see in your future with your grandchildren? Would you let their imaginations run wild? My favorite line from this story is on the last page. “ When I get my own house someday I’m going to have a special Hello, Goodbye Window too.” What a wonderful ending to an award-winning book!
Julie,
ReplyDeleteIn response to Bow Bow Meow Meow, I thought this was a great poetry book to use in the classroom. It gives descriptions of different dogs and cats in a humorous way. I did enjoy the dalmation poem with the little o's colored also. My favorite poem had to be the one of the poodles having oodles of curls, mainly because I have two poodles at home that I love. These poems will give children some background information about various cats and dogs, but will also make them laugh. As you said Julie, the poems contain rhyming words and sight words for children to identify. I would love to incorporate a poetry theme and include this book. The kids would really like it. The Illustrations also provide a great description of what the animals look like and also appeal to the younger audience.
Julie,
ReplyDeleteIn response to Skyscrapers, this is an excellent nonfiction text to use in the classroom. Skyscrapers provides students with information about skyscrapers with sight word support and colorful illustrations. I agree with you Julie about using this book with a guided reading group. I wouldn't be able to just yet with my kindergartners, but I would definitely use it in the future with them. Using informative texts like Skyscrapers provides young students to explore text features and what components are found within a text such as, glossary, index and table of contents. I have yet to begin teaching text features to my students, but I will eventually and this book would be a great way to start this.
Julie, In response to Henry's Freedom Box I would have to spend some time activating background knowledge and providing my students with alot of information. However, I could introduce the difficult vocabulary prior to reading the book. During guided reading I review the vocabulary in the text prior to reading the story. I could try this with Henry's Freedom Box. I do like your idea of the students creating a box out of popsicle sticks and making their own freedom box. That's very cute. That would be a good activity during Black History Month. Henry's Freedom Box is a wonderful multicultural text that should be read in several classrooms.
ReplyDeleteGraciela: Response
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your connection to the story Mr. Putter & Tabby Make a Wish. I agree with you that birthday celebrations are definitely more exciting as a child. However, when you hit a milestone such as ninety years old, which my grandmother turned yesterday, you are never too old to celebrate with friends and family. Today, you can find a variety of chapter books for children of all ages and reading abilities, such as Junie B. Jones, Magic Tree House and Henry & Mudge, but my favorite series continues to be the Mr. Putter & Tabby adventures. The books are not too big and the layout is age-appropriate for students in grades First through Third. Graciela, how do you feel about the Junie B. Jones series? I never recommend this series to my student’s parents because the grammar is horrible and I think the character Junie B. Jones is very disrespectful.
Graciela: Response
ReplyDeleteGraciela, in kindergarten do you teach poetry? In first grade we do a short unit on poetry in June. We teach the students about different styles of poetry such as Haiku and Riddle poems. One of my favorite haiku poetry books is called Dogku, which is written by Andrew Clements. I highly recommend this book to your co-workers. Even though poetry is not my favorite genre, my most memorable reading experience is when I read the book, The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. This story is a poem about the gift of giving. I actually read this entire book to my first grade class. I was so proud of myself. It took many months and hard work to memorize all the lines. Therefore, in essence, poetry was where I found my confidence as a reader.
Graciela: Response
ReplyDeleteGraciela,
I was so excited when I found the Bookworms series in the library. I was like a little girl in a candy story! Every year I find myself searching for informational books that are appropriate for first graders. I often find myself relying on “Scholastic News” or “National Geographic,” which are great resources. However, the Bookworms series has jumped to the top of my list! I would love to have a class set for a guided reading group. The informational books I have been using in my guide reading groups came from the “Reading A-Z” website, which my school subscribes to. I found these books to difficult for my students because of the abundance of high-level vocabulary. My students also had trouble comprehending the text. Do you have any favorite informational books?
Graciela: Response
ReplyDeleteGraciela,
This evening I was re-reading the book, The Hello Goodbye Window, and was wondering why the author never gave the little girl a name. Do you think it was because the author didn’t want to focus on one particular girl, but more of a generalization on the concept of growing up and the adventures of a childhood? The other thing that caught my attention was the way in which Norton Juster incorporated some of the aspects of a window. For example, the little girl learns that when it is dark outside she can see her reflection in the window or that you see many things through the glass. It is amazing that when you re-reading a book, you always learn something new.
Julie,
ReplyDeleteIn response to your statement about Junie B. Jones, I would have to agree with you about her being disrespectful. She does use some vocabulary that I don't think is appropriate for young children, for example Junie B. Jones uses the word stupid. My students at this age think the word stupid is a bad word. I wouldn't want to expose them to literature that makes it ok to use vocabulary like that.
Julie, in response to your question about poetry. We do not teach poetry in Kindergarten. We have used poetry in a sense of teaching students rhyming words, but students don't get to write their own poems. Towards the end of the year, I would like to read some poetry to the students and have them write poems. I remember as a kid reading Where the Sidewalk Ends. I used to get it all the time from the library. I found the poems to be humorous and I always felt good when reading the poetry. I do have the Giving Tree in my classroom library and plan on reading it to my students at the end of the year.
ReplyDeleteJulie, in response to the Bookworms informational books, I have not seen them before until I found Skyscrapers. I also use Scholastic News and National Geographic when focusing on informational topics or nonfiction. I would definitely like to research this series further and find some books that are appropriate to use in my current Kinder classroom. The reading A-Z books, I usually send home for my students to practice with. In guided reading, I use our reading program books. We use the Rigby Literacy By Design Program. The books are 50% fiction and 50% nonfiction. Some books are informational, but not many. Besides Scholastic News and National Geographic I don't have much to use. I usually have to look for outside resources to provide for my students when it comes to informational books.
ReplyDeleteGraciela: Response
ReplyDeleteGraciela, I agree with you that introducing the more difficult vocabulary in Henry’s Freedom Box prior to reading the story would be a good idea. Some of the words are extremely advanced for kindergartens and first graders. I don’t know if you have been on the Scholastic website recently but they have a wonderful lesson plan to go along with the text, although you might have to scale down on some of the activities to meet the needs of your students. Also, another website that I have used in the past is edhelper.com. This website also has activities to go along with Henry’s Freedom Box. I couldn’t agree more that Henry’s Freedom Box is an amazing multicultural piece of literature. Another wonderful multicultural book that you may enjoy reading to kindergarteners is Come On, Rain! By Karen Hesse. I read this book when we did our unit on weather. My students love to pretend to dance in the rain!
Graciela: Response
ReplyDeleteGraciela, I liked your response to my question about parent’s abandonment of their children, which was a problem I had with the story, Hansel and Gretel. I agree that parents need to be ready to support, protect, and love their children unconditionally, even during the toughest of times. I read a couple reviews about this book online and to no surprise many people committed on the pictures of the witch. The witch looks very demoniac, which will definitely frighten kids under the age of three. I also found out that the author Rachel Isadora has retold and illustrated other fairytales such as The Princess and the Pea and Rapunzel. I wonder what the illustrations look like in those books. I was able to view the cover pages, which looked very similar to Hansel and Gretel.
Graciela: Response
ReplyDeleteGraciela, after I read the book Belva Lockwood, I became a little more interested in her story, so I did some research. I found a great article from the National Archives (or www.archives.gov) that discusses her journey through law school, which was a significant part of the book. I think it is a great article that could be shared with older students. As a first grade teacher, I will admit that I don’t do a lot of read- alouds with bibliographies. My students are not as interested in learning about a specific person as they are with singing along to a modern fantasy such as the Gingerbread Girl. Often bibliographies address so many events that a person has gone through, which makes it challenging for students to comprehend the information. However, “Scholastic News” has included some wonderful bibliographies, such as Barrack Obama that are kid-friendly and age appropriate.
Graciela: Response
ReplyDeleteGraciela if you get the opportunity this year, I highly recommend you reading Gingerbread Girl and the other Gingerbread stories to your students. Your children will want you to read these books over and over again. Last year I bought some of the Gingerbread stories with my scholastic points. I was then able to have them as part of my classroom library. The running away stories were a lot of fun but I can see how this may be too difficult for kindergartens. Maybe you could write a runaway story as a whole class or partner your kindergarteners up with an older student and have them create a runaway story together.
Graciela: Response
ReplyDeleteGraciela, I know you don’t incorporate a themed unit on poetry, but how do you feel about this particular genre? I have expressed in my blogging that poetry books are not appealing to me. However, it is important that I expose children to all different types of genres, which include poetry. What types of activities might you do with Bow Bow Meow Meow? This website, http://ux1.eiu.edu/~psstorm/Mon06/bowwow.html had a variety of book activities to go along with Bow Bow Meow Meow.
Graciela: Response
ReplyDeleteGraciela, I agree that Skyscrapers would be a little to advanced for your students at the beginning and even middle of the year. However, if you do have some students that are accelerated readers they may find these stories very intriguing. In first grade we teach the text features towards the middle of the school year. Over the past few years my advanced readers have started reading informative text sooner in their guided reading groups. With technology booming in the twenty-first century I think informative text could someday be replaced with live videos like ones you see on YouTube.
Graciela: Response
ReplyDeleteGraciela, every year my parents ask me for suggestions on different types of chapter books. I always recommend looking up books on the Scholastic website but just recently I found a new website called Macmillan: Editor’s List: Chapter Books for First Graders. The address is http://us.macmillan.com/all/editorslist/Childrens/ChapterBooksforFirstGraders I love it! I know you previously taught first grade and I though you might like to check this website out. I also found one other website called greatschools. The address is http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/showarticle/623 I think you will also enjoy this website, especially since you can browse articles by grade level.
Julie,
ReplyDeleteIn response to your question for the Hello, Goodbye Window. I think the author wanted to focus more on the family relationship rather than giving the girl a name. The story makes a generalization about the relationship between grandparents and grandchildren. I think the child's name isn't really important. I really enjoyed how she describes her grandparents and the wonderful things they do together.