Hoop Queens

Title: Hoop Queens
Author: Charles R. Smith Jr.
Poetry grade level 6-8

     This book of poems is all about the best women in basketball.  Charles R. Smith Jr. wrote these twelve poems, each about a specific individual female professional basketball player.  He uses these poems to describe the players and their talents.  I really like how he uses different size text and forms the text in unique ways to enhance his poetry.  After reading all of these poems I feel like I have watched each of these women play for hours because I know their talents and exactly how they move on the court and affect each game.  The descriptions are detailed and make you feel like you are watching the play right in front of you.  This would be a great book for middle school girls and especially athletes.  Also, for boys who are interested in basketball.  The poems provide insight in a very strange and unique way about the game of basketball and how these women have come to be successful in it.

Gargoyle on the Roof

Title: Gargoyle on the Roof
Author: Jack Prelutsky
Poetry grade level K-2

     This book is a collection of poems about gargoyles, vampires, trolls, and other demons.  There are 17 different poems that kids will enjoy reading.  Though it is written at a primary grade level, I would suggest it to more upper adolescents to read.  Jack Prelutsky uses a lot of humor in the poems but some may still seem scary to younger readers.  Also, there is a lot of good vocabulary words that can be explored from this book such as: lament, sheathe, reprehensible, perennially, and many others.  I enjoyed these poems because a lot of them are funny and silly.  I think older elementary children would also enjoy reading them, especially boys because it does focus on darker and more evil topics.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Title: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Author: Sherman Alexie
Required Multicultural Text

     This book is written in the form of a diary from the point of view of Junior, a freshman boy in high school, living on an Native American reservation.  The format really reminded me of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Junior is a character similar to the main one in that story as well.  Junior was born with brain damage, and so he grew up as a bully target on the reservation.  However, he is really quite bright and finds he has talent in basketball.  

     Since it is written in first person from a teenage boy, the language is blunt and direct, and some might feel as inappropriate.  I think it just makes the story more realistic.  I was surprised though with the brutality and violence that Junior grows up around on the reservation.  His dad is a drunk, his sister doesn't leave the basement though he knows she's brilliant, and the majority of the rest of the tribe is extremely violent and addicted to alcohol.  Everyone is also extremely poor in this town and death is a frequent occurrence.  This story told me about a world I knew little about previously.  I never really learned too much about Indian Reservations, except that they existed.  I never realized how terrible their situations were and how prejudice they felt against white people.  In this story, a reservation teacher tells Junior that he needs to get out of the reservation, that he needs to be better and that staying in the reservation will only kill him.  Junior realizes this as well and immediately decides to transfer schools even  though he leaves his best friend behind.

     At the new school that is all white, Junior seems like a foreigner.  He doesn't fit in with the rich white kids who pick on him.  By punching the big popular jock and becoming friends with the most popular girl, he moves his way up through the school.  He makes the varsity basketball team and then has to face his best friend on the other side of the court.  In this freshmen year of high school, Junior faces enormous challenges, working hard to fit in at the white school, the death of three family/close friends, his best friend who now hates him, and his own tribe who sees him as a traitor.  Plus he has his own goals in basketball and in life.  

     Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to middle school aged children and boys in particular.  It gives a life story that is not well known and opens your eyes to a whole other kind of life in America.  I felt connected to the character as I laughed along with his jokes and sympathized with his struggles.

Esperanza Rising

Title: Esperanza Rising
Author: Pam Munoz Ryan
Required Multicultural Text

     This is an uplifting story about a young girl of 13 who must endure the difficult challenges she faces in her life.  Esperanza grew up on a wealthy ranch in Mexico, where she lives with her adoring father, mother, grandmother, and a family of servants.  When her father is suddenly killed, her evil uncles take over burning down their house, and indirectly forcing Esperanza, her mother and the servant family out of the country.  When they get to California, Esperanza's life is completely reversed.  She is no longer a princess who can wear pretty dresses and play with dolls all day, she is forced to be a field worker besides her friend Miguel, one of her previous servants.  This part of the book is very depressing as she struggles with the loss of her father and the transition into this new life.  She is forced to adapt to this hard working life as her mother is sick for months with Valley Fever.  Esperanza works to save her money to pay the hospital bills and to get her grandmother, who they left in Mexico, over the border.  Miguel secretly steals the money and brings her grandmother back with him as her mother returns to health.  This book ends with a very positive message as Esperanza is able to regain strength in her life and overcome life's obstacles.  I really enjoyed the main two quotes and themes throughout the story; "Wait a little while and the fruit will fall into your hand," "Do not ever be afraid to start over."  Both of these quotes are talking about the many challenges we face in life.  Tragedies and hard times will happen and sometimes come out of no where, but it is okay to start over, as long as you keep working, things will get better.  I think this book is great for the classroom because of the message and the struggle in historical context.

Giant Children

Title: Giant Children
Author: Brod Bagert
Poetry grade level 3-5

     This is a book of 23 poems for children to enjoy.  Every poem is about something most kids can relate to; school, siblings, pets, boogers, dreams, and fears.  The poems are silly and will certainly make kids laugh out loud.  All of the poems rhyme and help students learn some rhythm.  The entire book is geared directly to the child reader.  One of my favorite parts of the book is how there is a "Warning to all Children" on one page before the poem, Booger Love.  The warning instructs the reader that the poem will be gross and suggests that it is not repeated for adults to hear.  This simple aspect of the book keeps the attention on children and enforces that they are important to hear these stories, not adults.  It is cute and silly and makes the book fun.  Also, I like how the first poem, Giant Children, starts off the book and the last poem, Giant Hearts, connects back to the beginning to close the book.  Overall, it is a cute book that I would recommend to teachers to lighten the mood of a classroom and get students interested in poems and rhyming.

Charlie the Ranch Dog

Title: Charlie the Ranch Dog
Author: Ree Drummond
Illustrator: Diane deGroat
Picture Book

 

     Charlie tells the story about how he has to work so hard on the ranch and that his friend Suzie doesn't have to do much.  It is a silly little story as the pictures show what really happens and the words just tell Charlie's side.  He goes through the day, doing what he thinks is a lot but what appears to be not much at all, he gets tired and hungry often.  There is one point in the day where Charlie is able to be a big help, but I'm not sure it is noticed.  Young children will really enjoy this fun silly book that has beautiful and entertaining pictures to go along with it.  This book would be completely different without the accompanying illustrations to really narrate the story.  I enjoyed reading this book as much as I enjoyed the pictures.

A Bad Case of Stripes

Title: A Bad Case of Stripes
Author/Illustrator: David Shannon
Picture Book

 

     This is a beautifully illustrated book about a young girl who cares too much about what other people think.  I think this is a great lesson for children to hear because everyone encounters this issue at some point in their life. The moral of this story is that everyone is different and that we're all a little weird but that's okay because it makes us who we are.  The main character, Camilla, hides her originality in order to be liked by kids at school, but she soon learns the valuable lesson that it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks as long as she is happy.  I remember reading this story as a kid and I was always fascinated with the pictures.  They are so colorful, original, and beautiful that this became one of my favorite picture books simply because of the amazing illustrations.  I would read this to my classroom of young children because I think they would enjoy the story and pictures as much as I did.

Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse

Title: Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse
Author/Illustrator: Kevin Henkes
Picture Book

 

     This is a cute little story about a young girl who loves school and especially her teacher.  She does everything she can to be with her teacher because that is what she wants to be when she grows up.  However, when Lilly brings her new purse in and he asks her to wait to share it, she does something that she later regrets. This story would be great for young children because they will love the many pictures with many details about the characters.  I also like how the author uses repetition throughout the book that will help kids enjoy and learn the story.  The illustrations are simple and there are many to each page but they do aid in telling the story by expressing the characters and objects visually.  I would recommend this book to parents of and teachers of young children.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Author/Illustrator: Jeff Kinney
Graphic Novel

     I have never read a book quite like this one before.  Sure I have read books that are formatted as a journal but never alongside the comic book aspect, and I must say that I was a fan of this book.  It is a first person story about Gregory's life in middle school.  He is not a popular kid and goes through a lot of the same things that most kids do in middle school.  In my opinion, all kids are strange in middle school as they make the transformation from little kids in elementary school to teenagers in high school.  Everyone has issues with choosing friends, embarrassing parents, annoying siblings, and trying to be cool and popular.  That is why I think this book is great for middle school aged students, especially boys.  Everything Gregory talks about that is going on in his life, from his frustration with his baby brother Manny to being forced to try out for the school play to trying to win back his best friend Rowley after a mishap, could be related to the reader's personal middle school experience or someone they know.  Also, I think this book is targeted more for boys and the comic book aspect makes it a hit.  I did enjoy this book as well being a girl, but I know my thirteen year old brother and all of his friends read the book and saw the movie... and he never reads books.  This being the first book in a series, gives young middle school boys a great option of literature.  I do hope that I will one day read the rest of the series and also watch the movie based on this great book for kids.

Pig Kahuna

Title: Pig Kahuna
Author and Illustrator: Jennifer Sattler
Picture Book

     This is an adorable little picture book that I think many children would enjoy.  The story is about two pig brothers, Fergus and Dink, who love searching for treasures on the beach.  One day they find a surf board which completes their collection, but forces Fergus to confront his fears of the ocean water.  It is a cute and silly story about brothers, adventure, and overcoming your biggest fears.  I think this would be a great book to use in the classroom, either in a lesson or just for fun.  Younger students will definitely enjoy the humor and the beautiful pictures.  Jennifer Sattler does a beautiful job with acrylics and colored pencils to create vivid and colorful scenes of the two brothers and their adventures.  I would recommend this book for all primary level classrooms and students.  It would make a very fun and silly read-a-loud.

Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born

Title: Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born

Author: Jamie Lee Curtis

Illustrator: Laura Cornell

Picture Book

     I remember receiving this book as a present when I was little and it instantly became one of my favorites.  When my family adopted my baby brother someone gave me this book, and most likely in jealousy of all the attention the new baby was getting I clung to this book and thought the story was all mine to tell.  This is a cute little story about and from the point of view of a young girl who was adopted.  She loves hearing her parents tell her the whole story with all the details about the night she was born and taken home in their care.  To me at the time I first read it, I realized that adoption wasn't all too common but it also did not seem strange to my family.  Even more so looking back now, I realize how great this story can be for kids who are adopted as well as others to understand the simplicity of the situation and how great it can be.  

     Laura Cornell is one of my favorite children's book illustrators.  Her pictures are beautiful and tell a story of their own.  Each page is an adventure.  The text is simple to be read aloud, but the pictures allow the reader and especially young children to see the complete story at the same time.  There is so much color and detail, and I think this is one of the reasons why I loved her books as a kid because you could spend a while on each page taking in all the little things in background.  Each face's expression and little detail aid in telling the story.

The Girls

Title: The Girls
Author: Amy Goldman Koss
Genre Study: Contemporary Realistic Fiction grade level 6-8

     This book is perfect for middle school aged girls because I think it is a story they can all relate to.  However, I would not use this book academically for any reason more than simply something to encourage reading at that age.  This book tells the story of a group of average middle school girls and the drama that is oh so common.  I liked how each chapter is from a different point of view so you can really get a sense of who each character is and how they think.  It did take a little getting used to figuring out which girl did what and said what but by the end the reader knows each of the girls individually.  On the other hand, this was such a quick read that I feel like too big of a portion of the book was just a warm up and I felt there should have been more to the story than what it was left at.  The girls are very over dramatic and some are very mean but as I said, any girl who has been through middle school should be able to relate whether they have been any of the characters in the situation or know someone like them.  I did like the little bit of irony at the end and that some of the nice girls did not totally lose to the mean girl but it would have been better with more depth.  I would recommend this book to female students with the pure intention of trying to get them to read, and to enjoy reading.  Hopefully they would enjoy reading this story that could be easy to relate to.

Yellow Star

Title: Yellow Star
Author: Jennifer Roy
Required Multicultural Text

     This is an excellent story told from the point of view of a young Polish- Jewish girl growing up in the Lodz ghetto during World War II.  From the over 270,000 people that once settled in Lodz, Syvia was one of the only twelve children that survived out of 800 total.  The story is told in poetry form but is extremely effective.  I could not put this book down as I read this child's account in history.  It is told in simple language, that of a ten year old girl, but is very compelling.  Background information of what was going on from a more global standpoint is provided throughout the book and helps to keep the story line straight.  I was amazed many times over again through this story on the atrocities taking place and the brave acts of heroism that save so many lives.  Syvia, along with most if not all of the others that survive this ghetto, I would credit to one man, Syvia's father. 
     Though parts of the story are disturbing, and it is so much more disturbing coming from the eyes of a child, I think this is a great book for students and adults to read and learn about the history.  This time period for these people is very disturbing in general and so I believe it is done justice in this story.  I would suggest more research and background information to accompany this book in the classroom but I feel it would be great for students to try and relate to in the least bit.  It is one of the few stories from this area of history that does have a happy ending, but it pulls at many emotions.  I found myself crying and times and laughing through other parts of the book.  It is written beautifully and effectively for the reader to connect with the simple character but at the same time understand what is going on around the young girl even if she doesn't.  I would recommend this book to teachers to use in the classroom of upper elementary and middle school, but also to readers my age and older.  It is rare to hear this type of first-person story from such a young character, but it is a powerful book and one that you won't want to put down.

Matilda

Title: Matilda
Author: Roald Dahl
Book to Movie Comparison

          I recently read the book, Matilda, by Roald Dahl, and then proceeded to watch the 1996 movie based on the book.  I had seen the movie before but not for a long time so I could remember the general plot line but few details.  I had never read the book before and so I was excited to learn about the story that created the movie, since I often like reading the books after seeing the movie.  This story is about a young girl who is exceptionally brilliant in math and reading, even though she has a very difficult home life and soon a very terrible principle at school.  The young girl, Matilda, counters her rotten parents with many well planned practical jokes.  When she meets her loving teacher at school, they discover even more brilliance about Matilda and work to help each other out of the awful lives they were raised in.

          In my opinion, I think the movie did a decent job of sticking to the book’s original story line.  Frequently I noticed a lot of the same exact scenes that were described in the book and also some of the same lines used.  For example, Matilda gets her father back for his horrible attitude one time by putting some of her mother’s blond hair dye into his hair gel container.  In the morning when he usually greases up his hair, he ends up putting blond streaks in his full dark locks, causing a large scene in the kitchen.  This scene is extremely similar in the movie as it is written in the book.  Another example, is the scene where Miss Trunchbull, the school principle, has an assembly to force a young boy to eat an entire large chocolate cake.  Here at one point she says “…You sneaked like a serpent into the kitchen and stole a slice of my private chocolate chip cake from my tea-tray!  That tray had just been prepared for me personally by the cook!  It was my morning snack!”  For whatever reason, when I heard these words spoken in the movie, I remembered them being word for word written in the book.  However, at the same time this scene was changed for the movie to show Matilda as the heroine character.  In the book, a random student shouted to encourage the boy while the rest of the students remained silent till the end.  In the book this shouting came from Matilda as she gets the whole school out of their seats to cheer on the boy and then they are all kept after school for detention, which also does not happen in the book.  There were many small differences between the book and movie of course but the main ones I think are the fact that the book takes place I England, and the movie adds the most dramatic scene of Matilda and Miss Honey sneaking into the Trunchbull’s house, which never happens in the book.  A lot of the changes are to make the story more dramatic and focus more on Matilda’s special powers rather than her smart mind.

          Another slight difference the movie has to the book is some of the casting.  For the most part, I found the characters to be fitting of their description in the book except for Matilda’s parents.  The book describes a very skinny, mean man who can be intimidated by ghosts and teachers, and a large, bouncing, self-centered woman.  In the movie the father is instead short and plump, the mother very skinny.  These are only slight alterations I know, but at the same time, I think the actors portrayed the characters’ personality quite well according to the book.  So even though the physical descriptions may be a little off, I would not have changed the casting selections for this movie.

          Both the book and the movie, I found enjoyable so it would be hard for me to pick between the two.  To me, as an adult I like the book better because it is less dramatic and unrealistic compared to the movie.  Though these are both geared for children, I believe kids would enjoy the movie better.  The movie adds more dramatic scenes to the stories and really pushes Matilda’s special powers, which as a kid I remember being my favorite parts of the story.  Re-watching the movie at my age now, I still enjoyed but also found humor in some of the unbelievable aspects of the movie.  Though there were some of these parts in the book as well, they were less emphasized and more plausible written than on film.  It is difficult to chose one over the other, but I believe the distinction would be because of age; adults would enjoy the book more and children will love the movie.

          I would give the movie a positive rating because it was pleasing and entertaining.  In a lot of ways the movie stuck to the script of the book, but also in a lot of ways many alterations were made in order to better hold the interest of the young viewers.  As a kid, Matilda was a movie I truly loved because I liked the magical aspect and thought I was just like her.  This is a great movie for children because of the fantasy aspect of powers all kids want mixed with a life and problems sometimes felt to be reality.  From an educator’s standpoint, I think the book would also be great for kids, however, issues may arise with some the English culture within the text that even I did not fully grasp.  This is a great reason for the book to be made into a movie in the first place.  It is a great story that all kids can relate to and would enjoy, and the movie made it easier for American children to relate to, while at the same time juicing it up with extra drama and magic.  This is a great story for children in form of a novel and a movie.