The Listeners

The Listeners

Gloria Whelan

Illustrated by Mike Benny

2009

Ella May, Bobby and Sue are the Listeners.  They listen and masters window each night to carry news, good and bad, back to their parents and the other slaves so they know what may be coming for them next:  who will be sold or what changes are in store.  It was during this listening that Ella May found out that her father would not be sold, and that President Lincoln was elected.  During one of the Listening sessions, Mistress Louise asked if she could educate the slave children only to be reminded that it was against the law to do so. 

The illustrations were warm and showed so much expression.  I read Homeless Bird by the same author, Gloria Whelan,  so it was cool to see her in another writing form.

Zen Shorts

Zen Shorts

By Jon J. Muth

2005

AWARDS: Caldecott Award Winner

What a fascinating read tying western culture with eastern culture.  The illustrations are endearing and vibrant!  I love the water color and ink fusion.  I love the facial expressions and body language that the author/ artist was able to show.

Stillwater is a Giant Panda with Buddhist beliefs and a warm way of sharing lesson stories with his new young friends Addy, Michael and Karl.  The book shares a moment, good or bad, in one of children’s lives and Stillwater is able to tell them a similar Zen story full of love and patience to help them through it. 

I have never read any of the Zen books…..but I will now!

Miracle on 49th Street

Miracle on

49^th Street

By Mike Lupica

Miracle on

49^th Street

is a feel good story about a little girl who needed peace and the chance to meet her dad, after the passing of her mother.  Young Molly Parker lost her mother to cancer and has learned the identity of her basketball star father.  While living with her mom’s college friend, Barbara and her family, Molly sets out to let Josh Cameron know that she was his daughter.  Her buddy Sam helps her along the way , as does her new found friend Mattie, of self discovery and what it means to have a family again.  Molly is an independent young girl on a path of no return, but will she be able to convince Barbara and more, Josh, to let her seize her opportunity to feel wanted again and the chance she desperately needs to connect to her father? 

I loved this sweet little story!!  I loved the strength and independence in the characters. I can see this book being a wonderful tool for kid feeling lost or abandoned and the discussions the students could have with one another would be incredible!

Chains

Chains

Laurie Halse

A book that focuses on a time in our history that was so horrific and tumultuous for so many, the Revolutionary War.  The writing was so clear that at times, I truly felt like I was there. As I read,  I often had a hard time believing that it was written for children.  The story of young Isabel took place in less than a year, which seems so crazy given the amount of obstacles, heartbreaks and change that she had to endure. I liked the book talk in the back of the book for student lead discussions. This story was heartbreaking.

I will not read the second book, I was hanging on my seat until the very end, hoping that Isabel would somehow be freed or even reunited with her baby sister Ruth.  The book contained pieces of historical fiction, and the writing was poetic, I found it difficult and sad to read. We did have a nice discussion about it.

OK GO!

OK GO!

Carin Berger

This was a picture book that showed pictures of Recycled materials to drive a point home.  “In a world of GO! GO! GO! GO! GO!  It’s time to STOP! And find a new way.” 

The dedication in the book states  “……….and to all of those who work to make it a better, fairer, and more hopeful place. ….”     The author has used these recycled materials to create collages showing car travel, and greener options by walking or riding bikes.  It is almost wordless, but the pictures are so incredible. 

Kerri Wenger handed me this book for my unit, and I wasn’t crazy about it at first.  But I read it and reread it and a third time.  I read every little caption and summary…the book ends the text within the pictures, the dedications and the fine print.  I can appreciate where the author Carin Berger was going with this book and the impact it had on my students. This was a book I left back on our table after we read it, so that they could take the time with the pictures and gather their own appreciation for it as well! 

Wangari’s Trees of Peace, A True Story from Africa

Wangari’s Trees of Peace, A True Story from Africa

Jeanette Winter

Wangari was only a girl when she was awarded a  scholarship to study in the United States, so she left her beautiful home in Kenya, Africa only to return six short years later to barren land and devastation to her once rich, green community.  Wangari received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for world peace through the Green Belt Movement she began in 1977 on World Environment Day.  Wangari’s struggles to repopulate the once red, rich soil of her homeland with the green, lush trees that provided for so many became her quest and it began with 6 seedlings planted in her own back yard.  Soon after, women all over Kenya began planting “Symbols of Peace” together, which became known as the green belt. 

This was a wonderful addition to our unit “Human Effects on Our Environment”. The students listened so intently to Wangari’s story and the peace that her efforts brought to her own community, and her country, and our world.  The illustrations are full of color, and vibrant hope! 

Energy Island

Energy Island

By Allan Drummond

Mr. Drummond wrote a beautiful tribute to the community of Samso in Denmark and their combined efforts the harness the wind to save energy.  Samso is an island in the middle of Denmark that had oil shipped over to them in large oil tankers and electricity sent to them from the mainland through underwater cables in the ocean.  The book beings reminding the reader that Samso is just an ordinary island, with ordinary people, and ordinary children and ordinary lives.  The island was incredibly windy, so an idea came to these ordinary folks about “harnessing the wind to change their world” and become energy independent.  Huge wind turbines were placed on the island and the energy became so abundant that the little island was able to send their excess to the mainland!!

This tribute is a tough picture book to read aloud.  It names the citizens of Samso that were instrumental in various ways on nearly every page.  The book becomes hard to read and the children can get lost in the process.  While I loved reading about the process and effort the small community had to go through, I found it a difficult book to share with third graders.

Jabberwocky

Jabberwocky (Original by Lewis Carroll)

Reimagined and Illustrated by Christopher Meyers

Christopher Meyers is able to give a colorful retell of Lewis Carroll’s poem.  The vibrant jacket on the book summons you to pick it up, and the vivid pictures throughout keep you entranced. ‘Twas Brillig, and the Sithy Toves did Gyre and Gimble in the Wabe…’ opens up with kids in the projects jumping rope.  The Jabberwock is portrayed as a large black man with orange eyes and a basketball.   ‘The Claws that Catch’ are his huge hands, with 7 fingers and illustrated in such a way that they nearly jump off the page of the book.  The presence of the new kids on the basketball court was signaled as ‘Beware of the Jub Jub Bird’.  The Jub Jub Bird challenged the Jabberwock to a game of street basketball, “One, Two! One, Two!”…hoops scored, game won, “Jabberwocky Slain by the Beamish Boy”!

I not only loved the Picasso-like Cubism style of art of this book, but I loved the idea of taking a poem known to us as children and spinning the words into a relatable story for today’s children. 

Heartbeat

 I wept through this entire book......was is because my three little girls are now 12 years old like Annie?  Was it because through the torment of my father's brain tumor, I watched the brilliant, full-of-so-much-life man that I deeply loved become weak, confused and scared, much like Annie's grandfather? Was it because we all know a "Max" for whom we can do nothing to help?  Was it because I grew up a nurturer and still to this day have an ingrained sense of responsibility to everyone around me, much like Annie?  I can't be sure why this book touched my heart the way it did, but it is well worth the time to read.  I am currently reading it to my daughters at bedtime.  Annie's story is written in poetic form and helps us as the reader discover, right along with Annie, the many moments in life that can change things forever.  You have GOT to read this Book!!

I have never read Sharon Creech, but what a joy!  Even the tears were worth it.  I get the impression that she truly loves children, she writes to them, not for them.  The nature of the book may appeal more to older children, maybe 4th- 7th grade.  It is likely that it may be enjoyed more by girls than boys, but it really could be for everyone.  This book could be a real asset to the classroom because it uses beautiful language to describe the daily struggles that face many kids today: Family dynamics, friendship, school challenges, and watching life change before our very eyes. 
Sharon Creech is becoming a favorite author for me, and I can hardly wait to share her with my future students!!

A Dog's Life: The Autobiography of a Stray

This is a beautiful story told from the perspective of a stray dog named Squirrel.  Ann M. Martin captures our hearts in the very beginning with the birth of Squirrel and her brother Bone in a wheelbarrow in an old abandoned gardening shed shared with cats and mice.  Life begins for Squirrel in that shed and so do her adventures.  As her story unfolds, we become aware of the goodness and the sorrow Squirrel faces as a stray, the people and other dogs who enter into her life and the masterful way she adapts to survival.  Friendship gets her through!!

I love this book!  It has been a long time since a book has made me cry, it was incredibly well written.  The author speaks so sensitively to the needs and feelings of this poor little stray. Squirrel's story will tug at your heart from the first chapter.
I chose the book because of the cover!  I adopted my border collie from the human society after she had spent time on the road alone.  She was torn and tattered when I brought her home and 10 years later, she remains by my side!!  Chloe is my Squirrel.
I think this story could be enjoyed by either boys or girls, in grades 4th through 7th.  I feel like the story captures the essence of being rejected, being alone, being lost.....and being found.  It is truly a story of strength and ultimately, friendship.  It will be one I keep in my classroom library!!