The Sea is Calling Me

The Sea is Calling Me, written by Lee Bennett Hopkins and illustrated by Walter Gaffney-Kessell, is a poetry picture book for kids. This is a book full of the most calming poems I've seen in a while. The images are boring enough, a lot like the style of the Two voices; all ink lines, and no color. The text is almost like a Haiku, but without the three line and syllable rules. This book is very good at finding a voice that describes the sea, nature, and the world's rhythm. I'm not sure what else I could say about these poems, I mean they are good and everything, and are good examples of voice in poetry, but they do seem a little bit boring. I mean, they are pretty, but I do not live by the ocean, and have had only one occasion in my life to see it, so it makes these poems a bit unrelatable, they are ideas and voices that I can only imagine from a faint memory. It could be a cool jumping off point, have kids write poems in that style, but about settings or memories that they are more closely linked to. I suppose one should never overlook the traditional stylings of poetry, I just would want my students exposed to a larger variety of poetry to give them more options.

The Tamarindo Puppy

The Tamarindo Puppy, is a compilation of poems by Charlotte Pomerantz and illustrated by Byron Barton. This book is so cool! Not only does it have poems for kids in it, but along side each poem is it's equivalent written in Spanish! The poems are a lot like Love That Dog, in that when read altogether they tell a story about a puppy. The images that accompany these poems are a lot like the A Year on My Street, very cartoonish and colorful. I like the use of the Spanish version side by side next to the English version of the text, it seems very useful for English Language Learners in particular. When I was working with Kindergartners, I remember trying to explain the concept of rhyming words to a boy from Russia, who was still learning English; I found that the best way to explain this concept was to use words from the Russian language to help him understand. Experiences like this remind me that there are words that cannot be roughly translated to another langage and still keep the meaning intact. Poetry is notorius for phrasing words that are difficult to translate into other languages, so having the two languages side by side helps not only in language learning, but also the meaning.

Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices

Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices, is a poetry book written by Paul Fleischman and illustrated by Eric Beddows. We have all heard about the miraculous Paul Fleischman from our opening obsessed Block A classes, but I was unaware that he was a poet until recently. The poems in this book are simple, nature focused poems, particularly about insects that are only in our company during the summer. I really liked how the poems are set up, with two distinct voices that go back and forth in each stanza, so that the poems operate perfectly for any kind of reader's theater. The pictures in this book are simple line and ink drawn images of various insects, but the way the text is arranged brings me back to my thoughts of images as poetry. The text is almost like two serpents that go back and forth, fighting for the reader's attention. The inclusion of two voices rather than a sole reader brings new life and meaning in these poems that celebrate the summer night music of these most unappreciated life forms. I think that if the book's poems were not arranged in this unusual format, that it would not be nearly as interesting, but it does, and is a successful example for kids to see yet another way how poetry could look.

Soul Looks Back in Wonder

Soul Looks Back in Wonder is a poetry book illustrated by Tom Feelings, with a compilation of some of the most inspirational black poets of the 20th and 21st century, including Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou. I really liked this book, both for the poetry and for the amazing art work. While reading this book to my reading study child. When my young student looked at the art work, she commented that she believed that maybe art was a form of poetry. I thought this to be a beautiful notion, what a great thing to say to someone in the art department. Art as poetry, when we originally defined poetry, we decided that poetry was simply an author using the words to create images in the readers' head to get their message across to the reader. Thinking about this I wonder, why not? Is art not simply poetry put into the visual realm of being? and do not some poets shape the words to create a literal image or picture of what their poem is about? I originally brought poetry into my reading workshop in order to shift our focus into writing, but I am beginning to think of writing, and even reading as a more ambiguous concept that humans are naturally inclined to participate in. While my reading child was not fully familiar with the likes of Langston Hughes or Maya Angelou, or even the fight for human equality in which their works or so pron to represent, she was able to see the images and find meaning in them as windows into the human self. So why are schools cutting art departments?

A Year on My Street

A Year on My Street is a poetry book written by Mary Quattlebaum and illustrated by Cat Bowman Smith. Okay, so I actually read this book with my reading practicum child in 2nd grade, and she really loved it. The poems are simple, fun, and very relatable for children, especially those living or who have lived in urban areas. There is a particular poem in their that my reading child liked about a girl going out in her new red boots. With this poem, I was able to get my child to think about the new coat she had just gotten and what made it so special to her, and from that a new poem began to emerge about what she loved about her new coat. The book follows the events of an urban neighborhood from spring until winter. The pictures are bright and interesting for the reader to look at, and relate well to the poems written. I'm not sure what else there is to say about this particular book, it's a picture book, it's a poetry book, it's meant just for kids! Use it, your kids will love it, and they will see how poetry can look, not just rhyming words together.

Love that Dog

Love That Dog, by Sharon Creech, is a novel written in poetry. This is the hurtle every literature teacher must go through at some point in their career, convincing boys that poetry is cool and okay to like. The poetry that composes this story is more of a prose or journal entry rather than the conventional notion of what poetry is. I did think that it was a little mellow dramatic about how the boy, Jack, obsessed over the blue car that killed his dog, Sky. It must have been a really recent incident for a young boy to obsess like that, else it seem too dramatic. Other than some skeptical drama, I thought the build up to the blue car was brilliant. I liked the William Blake poem that was included in the student's poetry study, but the rest seemed rather like the traditional Elementary School required poetry reading. I'm secretly glad that Walter Dean Meyer came to see Jack's class, I mean, I know it's a bit unrealistic, but it's a guilty pleasure when the main character does get what they want. I think that I'm going to show this book to my classroom kids to show them another way poetry can develop, and also so they can feel the wonderful rhythm of the way the sentences flow.

Babushka's Doll

Babushka's Doll, written and illustrated by Patricia Polacco. So I love this story, because of how mischievous each of the characters behave. This is a story about a little girl, of course, and her Babushka. Sound familiar? So the premise is that the little girl is a little bit of a brat, nagging and whining at her Grandmother to do various tasks for her amusement. Where things get interesting is when the little girl notices a doll belonging the Babushka. When the little girl decides to play with the doll while Babushka leaves for the market, the little girl discovers why Babushka only played with the doll once before retiring the doll to its' shelf in the kitchen. This story is a bit different in that it is more in the style of an old Slavic folk tale. This is a great book to tell a class of rowdy kids, it's funny and magical; very high energy. If nothing else it's a book that when you read it to kids, they'll have a great time acting out what they would do with a magic doll, and be able to make great text to self connections. I hope that my giant dose of Patricia Polacco works has given you a good insight on Polacco as a writer; she is very strong in her notions on tradition and relationships, especially family. I'm still unsure about the illustrations, but as I have said before to each his own, my anti-Norman Rockwell style is a personal taste that I have developed over the years. Polacco is a great writer and illustrator, and if you like the sounds of the books I have told you about, I would encourage you to go ahead and share these books with your classroom kids, they'll really enjoy them.

Thunder Cake

Thunder Cake, written and illustrated by Patricia Polacco. Okay, do you remember the movie Poltergeist? Well that is kind of what I think of with this book, you know the scene where the boy is afraid of the storm, so the father tells him to count the seconds in between the lightning and the thunder? Well this book has that same notion of storm tracking, but with time that is much better spent, making a cake! During the storm Babushka takes her Granddaughter around her farm to gather all the ingredients to make a homemade thunder cake. I like this notion, because kids can see where their food comes from, something kids miss out on knowing more and more as urban sprawl begins to take over our lives. I remember in forth grade we read this story during our science unit on storms. We used the counting in between lighting and thunder hypothesis, and explored the mathematical formula that was used to actually track the eye of the storm. In traditional Polacco style, Thunder Cake is told from the perspective of a girl of about ten or so, who is having the experience with her Grandmother. There is of course the ever present goat who watches over the Polacco characters, and a reason for the character to become stronger and overcome her fears of thunder.

The Keeping Quilt

The Keeping Quilt, written and illustrated by Patricia Polacco, is a story about heritage. This story is pretty cool, the first immigrants of Patricia's family come to America and create a quilt out of the leftover fabrics worn by lost family members still in the old country. The quilt is passed down through several generations, including Polacco's own children. This is a good book for discussing family heritage and traditions, providing a wonderful opportunity for text to self connections for the kids. What's really interesting about this book is that it's a prefect example of Polacco's work, taking influences from family, tradition, and of course, goats! I find that the more I read Polacco's books, the less I have to say, it just all sounds the same. I suppose what I could talk about is the illustrations, as they are very evident of her artistic influences from Norman Rockwell. Personally, I am very afraid of Rockwell's style, it just sticks me as a bit unnerving. It's not necessarily the rough pencils sketches that are allowed to remain on the finished piece, but more of the texture of how the skin is portrayed, it reminds me of a ghost or maybe a zombie. I know that things can't all be visually perfect, but maybe that's all in the eye of the beholder, to each his own!

The Lemonade Club

The Lemonade Club, written and illustrated by Patricia Polacco, is a story based from true life, specifically Polacco's daughter, Traci, when her best friend, Marilyn, gets Leukemia. The teacher of the two girls has a basket on her desk full of lemons, so that when kids have a bad say, she tells them that lemons may be sour, but then you can make lemonade. So when Marilyn finds out she had cancer, her classmates all group together to make lemonade out of the seemingly impossible situation. Obviously this would be a good book to talk to kids about cancer and illness of loved ones, but I worry that the ending was too perfect. I know it is a true story and all, but after losing my father last year to cancer, it seems too perfect an ending for a diagnoses that ends hundreds of others lives every year. I think that any kid who has ever gone through this disease before will know that things don't always go that perfectly and smoothly, that some times it's scary, and all to often, it ends in tragedy. I remember a kid from my elementary school who had cancer in Kindergarten, he preferred to leave that detail of his life out of conversation. I don't blame him, that's a huge obstacle for a small child to try and overcome, especially during his first year of formal education. I think I would use this books to talk to kids about issues of illness and death of loved ones, but I would want to be very clear that things don't always go as smoothly in real life as they did in the book, and then have a real and honest conversation about death and dying. It's a difficult topic in general to talk about with kids, but I think if it's one that needs to be talked about, then it should be talked about and the adults should be ready for any questions they might have, kids will surprise you if you give them the chance.

My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother

My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother, written and illustrated by Patricia Polacco, is a cute story about sibling rivalry. In the story a little girl seemingly the persona of the author, tries to find something that she can do better than her rotten redheaded older brother. In the end it is her brother who helps her after a merry-go-round accident, ending in the typical heart warming ahh moment. I remember reading this story as a kid, I think I liked it because it was silly, and I had experience with sibling rivalry with my younger sister. It is kind of fun to talk to kids about the kinds of relationships that kids have with one another, but I am unsure that it would be a great book for anything other than a 'just for fun' book, I would still include this book in an author study, if nothing, but to show the fun and wacky side of Polacco's writing style, goats and all.

Year of Impossible Goodbyes

Year of Impossible Goodbyes, written by Sook Nyul Choi, is the same war that dictates the story events of, So Far From the Bamboo Grove, however, instead of the story being told from the point of view of a Japanese family,Choi speaks from a voice often left out in the history books, the Korean nation which was under the Imperial Japanese rule. It was so interesting after reading So Far From the Bamboo Grove to hear the story from the Korean point of view. The best part about this book was that it did not stop with the Japanese surrendering to America, but went on to talk about how the Russian Marxist parties essentially claimed North Korea as their territory. If I were teaching this book I would want to point out what the Russian people were experiencing during this time, so they get a better understanding of how extremist such as the Reds were only a small number of people, and that the Russian people were actually starving and trying to escape out of Russia. I believe that by showing kids a broader view they will see a consistency tied to war and conflict as being initiated by a minority, and is not representative of the nation as a whole. There is so much to discuss about the multi-sidedness of war, there simply is not enough time or words to describe the impacts. What I can discuss immediately are some of the comparisons I made with this book and Watkin's. Near the end of Choi's book she describes escaping across the 38th parallel; I just remember Watkin's account of how her and her sister and mother crossed the same rail road track to freedom, and how later her brother had to swim the river to get across. What's really interesting is how the rails are described as being so far apart; it's uncanny how similar both authors felt about that railroad track. It's funny how in Watkin's book, from the Japanese perspective, the Koreans were so joyful and almost riotous, but that must have been further south, because Choi paints a picture of scared caution followed immediately by the invasion of communism. I think after reading both books I would want my students to read both and see the differences and similarities of the two "sides", and also to show again that the purposed "bad guy" of the war isn't an entire nation, but merely a few extremists, that these kinds of wars destroy the people and families on both ends, maybe then they could do better than the past and try to see things from other point of views.

The Wall

The Wall, written by Eve Bunting and illustrated by Richard Himler, is a story about a father and son who go to Washington D.C. to visit the Vietnam Veterans' memorial. The father and son are looking for the son's Grandfather's name, but trying to find the name among the hundreds of names lined up on the wall proves to be an overwhelming task. The Vietnam War is a definite challenge to talk about with children, especially considering how none of the Americans at home understood the deception and mind tricks that the American Soldiers based their decisions on. I know that I have always said that the best way to talk to kids about war is to be direct, but after talking so heavily about World War II, it seems that the results of Vietnam is more important, but that may be because that is what the government wishes the country to focus on, because of America's defeat. It might be interesting to see the kids opinions on Vietnam after look at World War II; will they see this war as unnecessary? will they create any connections to the war in Iraq? the topic of war is very dense, and deserves as much class discussion as the class deems as necessary. It's part of our humanity, and we need to learn our children to learn what's at stake with this kind of fighting.

The Butterfly

The Butterfly, written and illustrated by Patricia Polacco, is yet another book that looks at the hardships that people underwent during World War II, this time, instead of an Asian voice, it is in the French and European perspective. We learned in Rose Blanche, how the concentration camps weren't publicly known to the European people, but as we learn in The Butterfly, some families living under the Nazi regime, would hide people whom the Nazi's viewed as a threat to the Aryan race. This story is told through the view of a little French girl named Monique, who late one night discovers that her mother has been sheltering a little girl named Sevrine and her family, plus many others from being taken away by the Nazi army. This book relates really well to Rose Blanch, because obviously it discusses the same side of the issues being dealt with during World War II, but also because of how it's ominous and subtly hints tell much more about what exactly people were afraid of during a period of severe mistrust. This book also fits into my Patricia Polacco study, which is interesting, because she usually depicts a Ukrainian family, and here she tells a story of war through the French perspective, perhaps due to France's deeper involvement into World War II, Ukraine had their own issues being under Russian rule, much like the Korean-Japanese relationship at the time. But that's beyond what kids really need to know in order to grasp the point of this story.

Rose Blanche

Rose Blanche, written and illustrated by Roberto Innocenti, is a story about a little girl living in World War II Germany, who discovers one of the secrete concentration camps and the people trapped in it. This book was very interesting both in text and image. For one thing the text changes from first person narrative to a an anonymous 3rd person narrative. Some possible theories that I have talked about with others who have read the book is the possible emotional withdrawal of Rose Blanche, after she witnesses the brutality of the Nazi army towards a little boy. There does not seem to be a real good reason as far as I could find to explain this sudden change in narration, but it is interesting. The most captivating part of this story is the images. The images are done from real photographs that were taken during Hitlers' reign over Germany; finding the photographs of these images could really bring this story to life for kids, to just know that these people actually lived. The other part of the images to which I am personally drawn to is how the colors change from a rather gray and dreary antiqued tone to splotches of bight and vibrant color in very specific places. Most notably, Rose Blanche leaves a deep purple flower on a ruined barbed wire fence, as a mark of remembrance after the trapped people in the camp had all mysteriously vanished. The last page of the book is were the concentration camp had once stood, but is now a bright and vibrant field of red poppies. While there is nothing graphic in the images or text which alludes to the goings on of the Holocaust in this story, I think that it's lack of explicitness creates an ominous tone which kids will really understand. I would read this story in a small group to kids, because I think there will be a lot of questions, and they should all be heard while kids try and make sense of one of history's greatest atrocities, this story is a tough one, but the subject is tough at any age, but the message in which it pleads is one that should never be chickened out on teaching to kids.

Shin's Tricycle

Shin's Tricycle, written by Tatsuharu Kodama and illustrated by Noriyuki Ando, is a true story about a Japanese family caught in the nightmare of the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. In the story Shin wants nothing more than a tricycle, a real rarity, considering all of the metal was being put towards the war efforts. When Shin does get his tricycle, the atomic bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki were soon dropped over Shin's family, killing Shin and his best friend, Kimi. This is a story about a father's heartbreak, and is yet another tribute to the innocent people whom war kills, despite their lack of involvement. What is really hard about this book, is when the parents' decided to move the bodies to a proper burial ground, uncovering the Shin's prized tricycle. War books are very hard for adults to read and discuss with children, but it's an important part of understanding the part of humanity that suffers when humans fight at this large scale. It's part of their growth into knowledgeable and thoughtful citizens who can think about and consider the consequences.

Faithful Elephants

Faithful Elephants, written by Yuko Tsuchiya, translated by Tomoko Tsuchiya Dykes, and illustrated by Ted Lewin, is a story about the affects of World War II on animals. I think that talking to kids about how war effects the citizens of countries at war is one view of war for kids to try and understand, but when animals are deliberately left to die in a war in which they have no part in, I think that is what will really touch kids. It is just absolutely heart breaking as the war goes on, how the zoo keepers are unable to keep feeding the animals. Eventually the elephants are so starved they die, in the position of a famous trick that they were taught in order to receive food. Even as an adult there are so many questions and discussions on the ethics of war that I long to have with another person, and this book is a great jumping off point for those kinds of discussions. This is a really difficult book to read with kids, but the most important lesson that I would try to get my kids to understand is that there are multiple perspectives in times of war, sometimes war hurts those who have nothing to do with the war, maybe get into ethics if the class stayed respectful of one anothers' view points.

So Far From the Bamboo Grove

So Far From the Bamboo Grove, written by Yoko Kawashima Watkins, is about a Japanese family escaping North Korea, during the time of the Japanese surrender of World War II. Okay, so this was the saddest book ever, and I am not sure if I would have been able to handle it as a child or even how I felt reading it now as an adult. I believe that with testimonies and stories like these, it's best for kids to simply hear the truth from someone who lived it first hand. Kids are just as capable as adults when dealing with topics such as civilian casualties; the fact is there is not any age where one is mentally prepared for stories likes the ones remembered by Watkins. I felt a real connection to the character Ko; I am an the eldest sister too, and there have been times where I have felt the pressures of taking care of my little sister, but I could never imagine the kinds of pressure Ko was under, not even when my father died, and my mom was emotionally spent. I think that it would be a really powerful thing for kids to hear the kinds of things that Yoko and Ko did to stay alive and stay in school, I can imagine lots of conversation coming from this book. I just remember that after I would finish a chapter, how deeply I would think about the kinds of resources and technologies were at my fingertips. I think I would do this story with my class as a read aloud, stopping periodically to have a group discussion and or journaling. This is defiantly something to explore and discuss as a large group, this topic and the multiple perspectives are just too big for one person to comprehend.

Author, Poet, Illustrator update

Okay, so for my Author, Poet, Illustrator assignment, I thought it would be fun to go back to an old childhood favorite, Patricia Polacco. I remember that I have always liked Polacco's stories, because I felt a connection to my own Russian heritage, (even though she's Ukrainian) but I never realized how many goats were actually included in the stories. Okay, so goats are common pets in Russia, but it seems odd when considering that the majority of Polacco's stories take place in Michigan and are often times based off her own childhood memories. I guess my favorite story is Babushka Baba Yaga, because it shows a completely new dimension of a fearsome childhood fear, to think that Baba Yaga has the ability to show kindness and motherly love. There seems to be a repeating theme that involves the value of tradition and respect for the roots of ones' heritage. Friendship is also a very prevelant theme in Polacco's stories.
I am finding tons of resources on Polacco, with tons of video interviews, I would recommend these three sites in particular:
http://comminforutgers.edu/professional-development/childlit/Feminist/polacco.html - this cite goes into things such as theme and comes from the perspective of a professional teacherhttp://www.patriciapolacco.com/ -this cite is a link to Polacco's Facebok page. This cite discusses Polacco's latest projects, News updates and biographical information. http://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews/polacco this is an interesting cite to glance over, it has all the biography info, but not as good as Polacco's facebook cite. The reason I included this cite is because it has video interviews with Polacco about her books as she talks about theme and characters. http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=996 This is the cite every novice teacher looks for, the lesson plan page. This cite has some really cool lesson plan ideas for incorporating Patricia Polacco books into the classroom, best of all, you can get your own ideas for author/Illustrator studies for a variety of different authors, illustrators, or poets.

Check out Patricia Polacco; she's pretty traditional in her art, but I think that kids will still enjoy her books, and they provide great opportunities to talk to kids about tough topics.

Experience at Midterms

Midterms is a time for pulling hair, all nighters, and generally feeling huge amounts of stress. I must say that I am certainly feeling the pressure myself, but this is one of my three classes that I haven't wanted to throw my text book at my husband in a fit of anxiety. While studio art and orchestra have helped channel my angst, I find that Children's literature has aided my academic work, beyond simply unwinding. This class has guided me in finding great books to share with my case study child for block A; I don't know if I would have picked up the books that she has enjoyed the most without the research that I have done for this class. I also have noticed that it has been a wonderful opportunity to indulge in the privilege of reading for pleasure; I am a sucker for children's novels. I feel so lucky that this class has such a relaxing and carefree environment when all around me is the swirling stress of Praxis II, student teaching applications, and reading profiles, I really look forward to Wednesday nights. I love the technique of blogging responses to books rather than typing up a dry two page paper, it's really reassuring to be able to see how my peers are interpreting literature, and to see what they are reading. This class really is great, even my husband has begun to surprise me with children's books from class, so that I may include them in my future class library, which my nieces and nephew love to explore. I'm having a good time so far.

The Rabbits' Wedding

The Rabbit's Wedding, written and illustrated by Garth Williams, is a beautiful children's book whose theme touches lightly on interracial marriage. As silly as it seems, some people view this as controversial, because a white rabbit and a black rabbit get married. For children, I hope this story is just a story about two rabbits who love each other and get married. We are all different, but that does not mean we can't love each other because we're different. It would be nice if we could read stories like this to our kids, and simply integrate it into their schemas of how the world looks, that families and couples are different everywhere you look. I think that it would be pretty hard for a parent to have a complaint about this book honored, at least in Iowa City, because isn't the goal of a well rounded education to show kids new possibilities? I think that as teachers sometimes it's important to choose books like this, but to not necessarily exploit the book for messages; just make it a book to be read and shared to kids, let it become part of their schema. The message can sink in over time.