Oscar's Half Birthday

Graham, B. Oscar’s Half Birthday. (2005). Massachusetts: Candlewick Press.

Lexile Score: N/A

Summary: It’s Oscar’s 6 months birthday so the family decides to go to the “half country”- a city park, and have a picnic. There, everyone in the park adores Oscar and joins in the celebration.

Evaluation: To begin with, the story is engaging and interesting to children. The characters definitely represent people from a variety of cultural groups and backgrounds. The mom is Black and the dad is White, which makes Oscar and his sister Millie mixed. Although the story is culturally diversified, there really aren’t lessons to be learned in the book. The story doesn’t offer children a variety of things to think about, to question, or to consider besides the characters’ backgrounds and culture.

The stories does, however, reflect a variety of settings. For example, the story begins at the house then talks about going to the country, but not really the country. More like a half-country called Bellevue Hill. They then travel on foot to this half-country place and must cross a busy highway that’s in the city. The urban, suburban, and rural settings are all represented realistically.

Literary Elements: Onomatopoeia- tickety-clack, tickety-clack, tickety-clack: the sound of the train

Setting- the house, the city, the half-country park called Bellevue Hill

Characters- Mom, dad, Millie, Oscar, and the dog, Boris

Mini Lesson: I would do a mini lesson on the settings in the story. I would have the students pick a setting that’s presented in the story and  explain in detail what the happens in that setting, what the setting looks like using imagery, and where they’ve seen that setting before in real life.

Target Audience: 2nd- 4^th grade because of the lengthy amount of text on the pages

 

Knock Knock: My Dad's Dream for Me

Beaty, D.,& Collier, B. Knock Knock: My Dad’s Dream For Me. (2013). NY: Little, Brown and Company.

Lexile Score: AD780L

Summary: A young boy wakes up every morning with a knock from his dad at his bedroom door. One day, he doesn’t receive that knock. At first, the little boy feels lost, but then he finds a letter from his dad on his desk. The letter is filled with advice to guide his son through the times that he cannot be there. After reading the author’s note, you find out that the dad was incarcerated.

Evaluation: This is a touching story about a father and son relationship even at a long distance. It brings up a subject that a lot of students go through on a daily basis. Readers are moved by the loss the child experiences without his father present to help answer life’s questions about how to trust and love and become whole, which also serves as the themes. There is definitely at least one conflict for children to explore. Mainly being the fact that the father has left the household.

The conflict does get resolved though at the end when the father gets let out of the prison. Plus, throughout the story, the young boy is able to receive letters of advice from his father until he get let out, so it rises us readers up to the overall resolution. The only criticism I have is that there is only one cultural group represented and there is a stereotype in the story. The stereotype being the fact that the Black father is the person in prison.

I really loved this story. I even shed tears a couple of times while reading because you can really feel how the boy is feeling. The illustrations really add to the tone. It gives a great life lesson to make life as beautiful as possible even given unfortunate circumstances like being a fatherless child.   

Literary elements: Illustrations- the illustrations basically tell its own story like when the boy’s father is no longer there, the boy’s rainbow falls, and his whole world crumbles beneath his feet. The art is created in watercolor and collage, which adds to the storyline and makes the story a lot more engaging for students.

Theme- The theme of the story is trust, love, and become whole

Symbolism- the sky in the art is not so blue, which symbolizes the boy’s loss.

Mini Lesson: I would have a mini lesson about the theme of trusting and loving family. I would discuss the different family types and include this family as an example. I also would educate my students on losses of a family member and how to handle that whether it be loss form incarceration, divorce, or even death and how this relates to the themes of the story.

Target Audience: 2^nd-5^th grade because of the touchy subject matter and understanding of the symbolism and themes.

The Desert is My Mother= El Desierto Es Mi Madre

Mora, P.,& Lechon, D. The Desert is My Mother=El Desierto Es Mi Madre. (1994). TX: Piñata Books.

Lexile Score: AD360L

Summary: This story is written as poetic depiction. It is about a desert that is described as the provider of comfort, food, spirit, and life. It is then tied to the metaphor, “the desert is my mother.”

Evaluation: Written as both a book and poem shows that this book is high quality literature. Also, it is written in both English and Spanish for the bilingual children, or a child trying to learn English or Spanish. Throughout the book it states ‘she’ meaning the desert and the comparison if it being her mother. It exemplifies first person point of view very well because it the narrator explains what effect the desert has had on her life like a mother.  

Looking at the lifestyle of the young girl, the reader can tell that she is very different from a typical American. Therefore, it’s a great book to learn about different backgrounds or where someone may come from. It’s also a very culturally diverse story seeing as how the young girl lives in the desert and is cared for by the desert. The only problem a reader may face with this book is the fact that the narrator says that the desert is her mother: her provider of food, comfort, spirit, and life. Men are typically seen as the provider, which is a huge stereotype, so this story definitely breaks the stereotypical boundaries.

Literary elements: Language- Each page is written as a poetic verse. Also, the story is written in both Spanish and English.

Metaphor- The whole storyline is a metaphor because it says the desert is my mother when a desert can’t actually be a mother. It’s just comparing it to a mother’s qualities.

Illustrations- They are perfect for young children; appealing, colorful, and simple, but quality.

Mini lesson: I would have a mini lesson on metaphors. Students would practice these by coming with quality comparisons such as a flower is the sun. Then, I’d have the children share some with the class and discuss what makes a quality metaphor.

Target Audience: K- 3^rd grade because of the simple storyline and poetic form.

 

Wemberly Worried Video #2

Henkes, K. (2000). Wemberly Worried. NY: Greenwillow Books.

Lexile Score: AD170L 

Target Audience: PreK-3rd grade

http://youtu.be/rHMUByz2Pds

Kevin Henkes Introduction Mentor Text Video #1

This is my first of five videos on Kevin Henkes and his books. This is just the intro video. You will learn about his inspiration and background information.

Also, what books I will be doing my next videos on.

Find out what my personal favorite is!!
 http://youtu.be/Cfb9EA5K4bw

The Tooth

Slodovnick, A., & Gauthier, M. (2010). The Tooth. OK: Kane Miller.

Read on Storylineonline.com

Lexile Score: N/A

Summary: When Marissa has a toothache, her mother decides to take her to the dentist. On the way there, Marissa notices a homeless man sitting on the sidewalk. After the dentist pulls her tooth out and tells her to put it under her pillow, she makes a thoughtful decision to give her tooth to the homeless man, so that he can get money from the tooth fairy. If only he had a pillow…

Evaluation: The one stereotype that I noticed was the typical older looking man being the “homeless man.” The emotions that are carried through this book are very prevalent. The tone alone allows readers to feel sorry for the homeless man and thankful for the young girl. The dark and depressing looking illustrations help add to this emotion.

The storyline is great because there are a lot of homeless people in the world and can be very relatable, especially to people that live in the city areas. It’s also a unique storyline in that it takes the reader from the dentist to a homeless man on a street. Most people would never think of connecting the two together or relating one to the other. The characters involved in this story are very different each other, the mother included.

There is a great lesson to be learned. Not that you should always give to homeless people, but to be grateful for what you have, and sometimes it is good to give to others who are less fortunate than yourself. It teaches children that sharing and giving can be done even when you don’t have a lot of money like how Marissa gave the man her tooth.

Literary elements: Setting- Marissa’s house, the dentist’s office, the downtown streets

Theme- Giving can be done at any age with any amount of money, or lack thereof.

Tone- The tone is sorrow, gratefulness, and giving based on the illustrations and overall theme.

Mini lesson: I would teach a mini lesson to my students about sharing and giving. We would talk about the less fortunate and how giving to others has a positive effect on not just that person, but it can be rewarding for yourself as well. We could discuss what to do if you see a homeless person and how to react. It would be an open class discussion.

Target Audience: 1^st- 4^th grade because this is the age range for children who will understand the importance of giving and the positive effect it has on society.