Giovanni,N. (2005). Rosa. NY: Holt.

(Required Reading List)

In this book the author brings to life the story of Mrs. Rosa Parks and the events that led up to  December 1, 1955.  The day starts out  like any normal day as everyone is getting ready for work  and waiting in anticipation for Christmas.  Mrs. Parks is a superb seamstress and she takes great pride in her work. The staff worked so hard  that they became ahead of schedule, and her supervisor said she could go home early. Her husband went to work early because they needed an extra hand at the base, so smiling at the fact she would get home early and make his favorite meal meatloaf.  As the story goes on Rosa takes a seat in the neutral section of the bus, where anyone could sit and she is asked to give up her seat by the bus driver. The other African- Americans on public transportation moved as the driver said because they did not want any trouble. They always knew Rosa had every right to sit in the seat she was in.  Mrs. Parks was resilient in standing up for herself and what was right. The story ends with Mrs. Parks being arrested and the Women’s Political  Council along with Dr. King staging and carrying out a walk out for an entire year until justice was served.  This book is  great for kindergarten through fifth grade reading. This book can definitely be used during a Black History Month lesson , but also when teaching a lesson on characteristics and right and wrong.

 

 

Singer,M. (2010). Mirror, Mirror. NY: Harper Collins.

(Required Reading List)

This book  took a very different approach on some classic fairy tales.  This is a collection of some very well known poems written in reverso. When we read poems we read them going down, but in reverso you change the capitalization and the punctuation and the poem takes on an entirely different meaning .  I like how the poems tell two sides to the story.  In one poem “Bears in the News”, the first poem tells the traditional story of Goldilocks and the three bears.  Goldilocks ate the porridge and broke the chair, and broke into their house Goldilocks was startled by the bears returning home. In reverso ,  the same events happen but the bears were startled by Goldilocks being in their house.  This is a great book for younger elementary students when starting to introduce prose and poems.  The illustrator of the book did a great job in actually reversing the picture to match the poem. Her work is compared that of Stefano Vitale because they both used paints with woodworking.

 

Bragg, G. (2011). How they croaked: The awful ends of the awfully famous. NY: Walker

(Required Reading List)

This book is not for the faint at  heart. It is a collection of stories about famous people and how they died. The diseases and illness  at those particular times did not have a name, and the doctors did not know how to treat the people. Had these diseases occurred in modern times some of these people would still be alive today. The antiquated methods that the doctors used in those  times helped aid in killing the people and not helping them. There was no such thing as antibiotics or  antiseptic technique, or cleanliness. One person in the book was Beethoven, who we all know was deaf. Interestingly enough he did not start losing his hearing until thee age of 27 and then by the age of 45 he was completely deaf.  His stomach started filling up with nasty pussy fluid and they stuck a hose in him with no pain medicine and drained the substance out of him three times. Many years later it was discovered that his illness occurred because he had massive lead poisoning.  This book is really not a children’s book. This book is for a middle school aged student or higher. I was not fond of this book at all. This book can be used  for reading material as well as tying the different people into a history  lesson.

Deedy, C.A. (2007). Martina the beautiful cockroach. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree

(Required Reading List)

This book is a Cuban folktale about a green cockroach who has become of age and is ready to find a suitor.  Martina  is 21 days old and it is time for her to be married. So in preparation for for her search , her mother gave her a lace shawl, her aunt  gave her a seashell comb for her hair , and lastly her grandmother gave her not an item but a piece of advice. Martina’s grandmother told her to perform the coffee test and the reaction to  that will let her know how the man will treat her. The first suitor that comes is the rooster and Martina decides he is much too cocky. Next, the pig comes and he smells bad and she does not like his attitude. The third suitor was the lizard and  she spills the coffee on him. The lizard reveals in his angry that he had planned to eat her. The story ends with Martina just about to give up when her grandmother tells her to go talk to the mouse in the courtyard. Just as Martina is about to spill the coffee he beats her to it.  The mouse knew what to do because he also has a Cuban grandmother. This book is for an older elementary school student. The book has a humorous side but it also shows you will miss out on something or somebody good if you mistreat people. The  book would go along great with a lesson about manners.

Sendak ,M. (1963). Where the wild things are. NY: Harper Collins

(Required Reading List)

This book is about a little boy named Max who gets sent to bed with no dinner because he is disrespectful to his mother. Max is dressed in his favorite wolf suit. Max is in such a rage  that he falls asleep and then his bedroom starts to turn into a jungle and the walls dissolve, he makes for a sailing boat on the edge of the ocean. He sails for more than a year to the land where the wild things are: huge monsters with claws, fangs and big scary eyes. But Max is not frightened of anything, not even wild things, and he stares them down and orders them to “Be still.” The wild things agree that he is the wildest of all of them, so they make him their king and give him a crown . Max decrees “Let the rumpus begin,” and he and the wild things dance in the moonlight, hang from the trees, and generally run riot, until Max realizes he misses his mother’s love and wants to go home. When he returns he realizes his mother is showing love by giving consequences, but she still cares because his food is on the nightstand and it is still warm. This book is a great read for any elementary school student. It shows when you doing something wrong there are consequences to go along with your actions.

Smith, L. (2011) It’s a book. NY: Roaring Brook

(Required Reading List)

This book is about a monkey, a mouse, and donkey. The story starts when the over-sized monkey is reading a book , and the donkey starts asking a millions about the book , which is foreign to him. The monkey keeps answering the questions in the simplest way but yet the donkey does not accept those answers as truths. The donkey keeps equating the book to some kind of electronic device, by asking what does it do , can it tweet, text etc. The story goes on and the donkey wants to look at the book . The illustrator shows many clocks to show the donkey looked at the object hours upon hours trying to figure it out. The story ends with the monkey asking for his book back and the donkey says no. The donkey says he is going to charge it when he is done and the monkey says no need to do that. The monkey says he is going to the library and bids the donkey good day , and the mouse say, “it’s a book jackass” like duh we have said that a million times already. The is book is good for a older elementary student and  the author makes a very simple point. We as a society are so plugged into the internet, all the numerous devices that are out, that we have forgotten about the old fashion  way, which is a good book.  We have gotten away from  doing things by hand and so we lose those valuable skills.

Klassen ,J. (2012) This is not my hat. Boston, MA: Candlewick Press

(Required Reading List)

This book is a funny piece of literature narrated by the small  fish in the story who has stolen a small bowler hat from a much larger fish. The small fish just knows in his mind that he is going to get away with his bad deed. When he initially took the hat the much larger fish was sleeping. “It was too small for him anyway,” the little fish sniffs. “It fits me just right.”  The fish is headed to the place where the plants are big and tall and surely no one can find him. As the story goes on the little gray fish swims by a red crab  who he thinks will not give away his position, but the little red crab betrays him.  The story ends with the large fish swimming right into the place where the plants are big and tall , and coming back out with his hat back in its rightfully place. The ending of the book almost kind of insinuates that the large fish ate the small fish because the pages in the book are black. This use of coloring  makes you think it is not going to have a good ending. This book is for a preschool to early elementary student. When you think you are outsmarting someone, sometimes you get outsmarted.

Barnes,D. (2017). Crown: an ode to the fresh cut. NY: Denene Miller Books

(Required book list)

This  book is about how the barbershop makes you feel after you have had a fresh cut and it makes you feel brand new. When you look good a person has a sense of boldness and confidence in themselves. “When your barber is done, you’ll feel like a million dollars—and some change!” The targeted audience for this book is young African-American boys and their experience in the barbershop. The book goes into great detail about the different steps it takes to complete a fresh cut.  There are not very many picture books about African-American boys and the illustrator really does a good job depicting what happens inside a barbershop. This book would be great for any older elementary school child  because the book has great illustrations, vibrant colors that make you feel what’s going on. The book can teach several things to the reader , it teaches culture because going to barber is like a rites of passage for African-American boys. The book teaches you to take pride in your appearance, and as long as you think you look good nothing else matters.