Title: Rosa (Caldecott Honor Book, Coretta Scott King Award)
Author: Nikki Giovanni
Illustrator: Bryan Collier
Publisher & Publication Date: Scholastic Inc., 2005
Genre: Biography, picture book
Grade Level: 2-4
Summary: This picture book biography is about Rosa Parks and the stand she took on the bus in Alabama. She was asked to move from the neutral section of the bus for a white person and she decided she was tired of doing everything for white people so she said she would not move. They had her arrested and the women of the Women's Political Council held a meeting to talk about what happened and what they should do. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was asked to come to speak with them and he did. They boycotted the buses until they were given permission to sit where ever they wanted.
Response: I thought this was a wonderful biography picture book. The text was simple and easy to read. The illustrations were amazing. The images were produced using watercolor and collage. The illustrator said he used yellow and dark hue to create the feeling of heat through his illustrations, because the heat was the main thing he noticed when he visited Montgomery, Alabama. They were almost full double-page spreads, but the text was set in a column to the side of the illustration. I was inspired by this book and I think anyone who reads it would be also. I felt the emotions of the text and images and was angry when Rosa was angry. I really enjoyed reading and learning from this book. It may seem like a simple picture book, but it is so much more!
Teaching Ideas: When I was in fifth grade my class used the whole black history month to focus on several different prominent African Americans. We had to research important African Americans in the United States and find books about them. Then we had to write a paper about their life and the things they are famous for doing. It was called a "Who Am I?" paper. We then had to dress up like the person and read our paper to the other upper elementary classes and they would try to guess who we were. I was the only student to memorize my two page paper and I was awarded extra credit. That is an option that applies from teacher to teacher. This would be a great idea for upper elementary classrooms. Rosa is a well known historical figure and this book would be a great resource for starting the unit plan.
Showing posts with label Caldecott Honor Book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Caldecott Honor Book. Show all posts
Monday, April 7, 2008
Monday, February 4, 2008
Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom
Title: Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom (Caldecott Honor & Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award)
Author: Carole Boston Weatherford
Illustrator: Kadir Nelson
Publisher & Date of Publication: Jump At the Sun, 2006
Genre: Historical fiction, Picture book, *Multicultrual
Grade Level: 2-4
Summary: Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom is a historical fiction, picture book of the amazing Harriet Tubman and her journey on the Underground Railroad. The book starts with a Foreword describing slavery and giving details of slaves and slave life. The story begins with Harriet praying to God asking to be free. God speaks to her and she follows his directions. He gives her signs to look for and follow, then guides her and keeps her safe. She makes it safely to "Free Soil" and then decides to go back for her family. The whole time she is still talking to God and listening to what he tells her to do so she will stay safe. She goes back and gets her family and other slaves and takes them to freedom. They refer to her as the Moses of her people. At the end of the book there is an author's note giving more in-depth information of Harriet's life and accomplishments.
Response: I enjoyed reading this book. It is very informative and is a great book for young learners. I thought the information at the beginning and the end were good to help students understand slavery and the life of Harriet Tubman. I really liked the double page spreads because they made the story flow. Some of the words would flow from the first page to the second and I thought that was a good way to get the children's eyes to look over the whole picture. After reading it I felt more informed of Harriet's life and had a better understanding of the impact slavery had on a person. The only thing that some teachers might have trouble with is that fact that it is a spiritual book and Harriet speaks to God in it. Some teachers might be afraid to use it in their classroom. I would have no problem using it as a learning activity, because God was something Harriet believed in to gain her freedom. It was her beliefs and it is not trying to convert others with the story, it is only telling of how she believed.
Teaching Ideas: Before you read the book with the class have the students make a list of all the things they know about slavery or Harriet Tubman. Then read the book as a class. After you read the book, ask the students to make another list of the new things they learned about slavery and Harriet Tubman. Once they have made the two separate lists have them get into small groups and compare the lists they made. Have them ask each other questions like; "How did you know about that?" or "Where did you learn this?" to make the group discussion flow. After the group discussion have each group come up with a list of facts and write them on a big piece of paper. Then have the students present the combined list to the rest of the class. Once everyone has shared hang the lists up around the room so the students can look at them in their free time.
Author: Carole Boston Weatherford
Illustrator: Kadir Nelson
Publisher & Date of Publication: Jump At the Sun, 2006
Genre: Historical fiction, Picture book, *Multicultrual
Grade Level: 2-4
Summary: Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom is a historical fiction, picture book of the amazing Harriet Tubman and her journey on the Underground Railroad. The book starts with a Foreword describing slavery and giving details of slaves and slave life. The story begins with Harriet praying to God asking to be free. God speaks to her and she follows his directions. He gives her signs to look for and follow, then guides her and keeps her safe. She makes it safely to "Free Soil" and then decides to go back for her family. The whole time she is still talking to God and listening to what he tells her to do so she will stay safe. She goes back and gets her family and other slaves and takes them to freedom. They refer to her as the Moses of her people. At the end of the book there is an author's note giving more in-depth information of Harriet's life and accomplishments.
Response: I enjoyed reading this book. It is very informative and is a great book for young learners. I thought the information at the beginning and the end were good to help students understand slavery and the life of Harriet Tubman. I really liked the double page spreads because they made the story flow. Some of the words would flow from the first page to the second and I thought that was a good way to get the children's eyes to look over the whole picture. After reading it I felt more informed of Harriet's life and had a better understanding of the impact slavery had on a person. The only thing that some teachers might have trouble with is that fact that it is a spiritual book and Harriet speaks to God in it. Some teachers might be afraid to use it in their classroom. I would have no problem using it as a learning activity, because God was something Harriet believed in to gain her freedom. It was her beliefs and it is not trying to convert others with the story, it is only telling of how she believed.
Teaching Ideas: Before you read the book with the class have the students make a list of all the things they know about slavery or Harriet Tubman. Then read the book as a class. After you read the book, ask the students to make another list of the new things they learned about slavery and Harriet Tubman. Once they have made the two separate lists have them get into small groups and compare the lists they made. Have them ask each other questions like; "How did you know about that?" or "Where did you learn this?" to make the group discussion flow. After the group discussion have each group come up with a list of facts and write them on a big piece of paper. Then have the students present the combined list to the rest of the class. Once everyone has shared hang the lists up around the room so the students can look at them in their free time.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Owen
Title: Owen (Caldecott Honor Book)
Author: Kevin Henkes
Illustrator: Kevin Henkes
Publisher & Publication Date: Greenwillow Books, 1993
Genre: Traditional Literature, picture book
Grade Level: K-1
Summary: Owen is about a young mouse that carries around his favorite blanket all the time. His parents try to get him to stop carrying it around before he has to start school, but he refuses. They go to their neighbor for advice and she gives them different ideas, but nothing seems to work. Finally, his mother comes up with her "absolutely wonderful, positively perfect, especially terrific idea" of making the blanket into a handkerchief. Owen is satisfied with this solution and then begins to take his handkerchief everywhere like he did the blanket.
Response: I love Owen! I remember reading this book in elementary school. I would make my mom listen to me read it all the time. I had completely forgotten about it until I selected Kevin Henkes as my author/illustrator study. Reading it brought back all the childhood memories of looking forward to reading circle in Kindergarten and of all the countless times I read it on my own or to my family. I never realized how much a simple item meant to a young child when I read it when I was younger, but now that I am grown and I understand things better I understand the idea of the story. I never really had an item that I was so attached to that I wouldn't give it up for anything. I do however have a few blankets that I like to take with me everywhere I go (college, home, vacation). I am not attached to it, I just really like it and it is really warm. I associated this book with the other mouse books that Kevin Henkes wrote, like Chrysanthemum and Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse.
Teaching Ideas: A simple activity that you can use in your classroom would be to have your students bring in their favorite blanket for show-and-tell. Then design a sheet with different shaped "blankets" with the names of different colors in each of the shapes. Have your students color the "blankets" correctly and then have them show you which "blanket" is the same as Owen's and which "blanket" matches the color and shape of like their favorite that they brought in for show-and-tell. This helps students learn how to spell and recognize colors and match shapes of things.
Author: Kevin Henkes
Illustrator: Kevin Henkes
Publisher & Publication Date: Greenwillow Books, 1993
Genre: Traditional Literature, picture book
Grade Level: K-1
Summary: Owen is about a young mouse that carries around his favorite blanket all the time. His parents try to get him to stop carrying it around before he has to start school, but he refuses. They go to their neighbor for advice and she gives them different ideas, but nothing seems to work. Finally, his mother comes up with her "absolutely wonderful, positively perfect, especially terrific idea" of making the blanket into a handkerchief. Owen is satisfied with this solution and then begins to take his handkerchief everywhere like he did the blanket.
Response: I love Owen! I remember reading this book in elementary school. I would make my mom listen to me read it all the time. I had completely forgotten about it until I selected Kevin Henkes as my author/illustrator study. Reading it brought back all the childhood memories of looking forward to reading circle in Kindergarten and of all the countless times I read it on my own or to my family. I never realized how much a simple item meant to a young child when I read it when I was younger, but now that I am grown and I understand things better I understand the idea of the story. I never really had an item that I was so attached to that I wouldn't give it up for anything. I do however have a few blankets that I like to take with me everywhere I go (college, home, vacation). I am not attached to it, I just really like it and it is really warm. I associated this book with the other mouse books that Kevin Henkes wrote, like Chrysanthemum and Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse.
Teaching Ideas: A simple activity that you can use in your classroom would be to have your students bring in their favorite blanket for show-and-tell. Then design a sheet with different shaped "blankets" with the names of different colors in each of the shapes. Have your students color the "blankets" correctly and then have them show you which "blanket" is the same as Owen's and which "blanket" matches the color and shape of like their favorite that they brought in for show-and-tell. This helps students learn how to spell and recognize colors and match shapes of things.
What Do You Do With A Tail Like This?
Title: What Do You Do With A Tail Like This? (Caldecott Honor Book)
Author & Illustrators: Steve Jenkins & Robin Page
Publisher & Date of Publication: Houghton Mifflin Children's Books, 2003
Genre: Informational, Picture book
Grade Level: K-3
Summary: What Do You Do With A Tail Like This? is an informational, picture book about different animals and their body parts. A question is asked and the body part of the animal that the question is asking about is illustrated. Then on the following page the answers to the questions are given. The questions asked are; "What do you do with a nose like this?", "What do you do with ears like these?", "What do you do with a tail like this?", What do you do with eyes like these?", "What do you do with feet like these?", and "What do you do with a mouth like this?", in that order. At the end of the book descriptions and information is given about the different animals that were asked about in the book.
Response: I think this is a wonderful and very informative book for growing minds. I liked the illustrations of the different animals. I also liked the way uncommon animals were used in the book. Young children have probably never heard of some of the animals so this book is a great learning experience. I even learned from the book, so I know my students would learn a lot from it. I could see myself reading this to my class and being surprised at the things I learned from it. It made me feel young and innocent again, because of the information that I did not already know that I learned from the simple picture book. The book kind of reminded me of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? I think it was because of the animal associations and maybe because of the illustrations.
Teaching Ideas: Have your students draw an animal that they have made up. Make sure they draw the body parts from the book; nose, tail, eyes, feet. Then have your students describe the animal to you, and then tell you what each body part is used for. For older students (second and third grade) have them write down their description and the uses of the body parts. For younger students (Kindergarten and first grade) have them tell you and then have them write down their favorite body part and what it does.
Author & Illustrators: Steve Jenkins & Robin Page
Publisher & Date of Publication: Houghton Mifflin Children's Books, 2003
Genre: Informational, Picture book
Grade Level: K-3
Summary: What Do You Do With A Tail Like This? is an informational, picture book about different animals and their body parts. A question is asked and the body part of the animal that the question is asking about is illustrated. Then on the following page the answers to the questions are given. The questions asked are; "What do you do with a nose like this?", "What do you do with ears like these?", "What do you do with a tail like this?", What do you do with eyes like these?", "What do you do with feet like these?", and "What do you do with a mouth like this?", in that order. At the end of the book descriptions and information is given about the different animals that were asked about in the book.
Response: I think this is a wonderful and very informative book for growing minds. I liked the illustrations of the different animals. I also liked the way uncommon animals were used in the book. Young children have probably never heard of some of the animals so this book is a great learning experience. I even learned from the book, so I know my students would learn a lot from it. I could see myself reading this to my class and being surprised at the things I learned from it. It made me feel young and innocent again, because of the information that I did not already know that I learned from the simple picture book. The book kind of reminded me of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? I think it was because of the animal associations and maybe because of the illustrations.
Teaching Ideas: Have your students draw an animal that they have made up. Make sure they draw the body parts from the book; nose, tail, eyes, feet. Then have your students describe the animal to you, and then tell you what each body part is used for. For older students (second and third grade) have them write down their description and the uses of the body parts. For younger students (Kindergarten and first grade) have them tell you and then have them write down their favorite body part and what it does.
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