Hurricane Dancers: The First Caribbean Pirate Shipwreck

To be honest I don’t think I ever would have read this book if I didn’t find it on the MSU Pinterest page, however, I am so glad that I did! This book is filled with so many themes such as having the strength to not lose hope. The main character, Quebrado is part of the first Caribbean Ship Wreck. He quickly has to put others before himself to help save everyone from this disastrous encounter. This book is filled with such detailed illustrations; they are honestly amazing. I spent a lot of time just observing all the details that went into it. Not only is the content of the book really good, so are the pictures. This should be a book that everyone should read.

Engle, Margarita. Hurricane Dancers: The First Caribbean Pirate Shipwreck. New York: Henry Holt, 2011. Print.

Just Ducks!

You don't have to love ducks to enjoy this book!  I loved the illustrations, it made you feel like you were actually there. They were very detailed and I really liked the colors that were used, also I liked how the font changed throughout the story.  I like how the author chose a city setting for the story, however it didn’t feel like the girl lived in a city when she was with the ducks. She hears the ducks quack in the morning and goes outside to observe them. It is a really easy read, but the illustrations add so much more to the book. Although it is a simple concept, a girl observing ducks, the authors keeps it interesting! 

Davies, Nicola, and Salvatore Rubbino. Just Ducks! Somerville, MA: Candlewick, 2012. Print.

Wonder

My neighbor who is currently a student teacher in a 3rd/4th grade split class recommended this book to me. When I first started reading this book I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it. I felt really bad for the main character, August. He was born looking different than most people, and most people were scared just from his appearance. Despite the fact that he was ridiculed by others at school, it didn’t stop him from liking school. This made me feel really sad and I found myself having a lot of compassion for August. As I kept on reading I began to realize that this really is a good book! There are so many lessons to be learned. One of the biggest lessons in this novel is: we are who we are. It is easy to look at others and place judgment on them without really getting to know them, but it is important to realize that we are all different and if we all looked the same, the world would be a pretty boring place. I admire August’s mind-set and how he didn’t let his outward appearance control his life because it was something that he couldn’t control. This shows how strong of a character he truly is and how he doesn't let others get in the way of his happiness. I also really like how this book is set up because there are different narrators throughout the book. As the reader, you get to see other characters and their perspective of what is going on throughout the story, I thought this was a creative idea and it helps to bring different perspectives to the storyline. I feel the authors purpose was to create a character like August to show how strong a person can be even though the easy solution is to give up.  This is a book that I feel any young adult should read, because the underlying theme is a valuable one … it is important to realize that we are all different and we need accept people for their inner qualities rather than their outward appearance.

Palacio, R. J. Wonder. Alfred A. Knopf, 2012. Print.

The Year of Billy Miller

When I was going through the library trying to figure out which book I should pick for the Newbury Award category, one particular cover really grabbed my attention. Although the cover is very simple, I was drawn by how the title flowed on the page. I know it is a common phrase to “not judge a book by its cover”, however, in this case, I liked the book just as much as I liked the cover. Although this chapter book had a substantial amount of pages, I was able to breeze through it fairly quickly. I thought that the author did a good job of keeping the reader engaged and giving a very in-depth description of the main character, Billy Miller. Billy is just starting his second- grade school year and explains how nervous he is about going back to school because he now looks different due to the fact that he got into an accident over summer and hurt his head. He is worried that the other students will make fun of him and that his teacher will be mean. I could relate to this because at the beginning of my fourth grade school year I had broken my nose and my nose was not centered in my face for a couple weeks before I had surgery.  I was so nervous as to what my classmates were going to think of me.  It ended up being okay, thankfully, but I remember being so scared.  I feel that children are always nervous about how they will be perceived at the start of a school year because acceptance and “fitting in” are very important to them. In the case of Billy, the reader is able to see that he becomes stronger and more mature as the accident helps build his character. Although things are not always easy for Billy, this book provides a strong message that is good for any child to learn. This book is a good transition from picture books to chapter books because one of the challenges for children to grasp is that they now they need to form their own mental image instead of seeing pictures that they were used to as children. Kevin Henkes makes this transition for children easier as he places little black and white pictures on several of the pages. I really liked this idea because there are still some little pictures, but it still qualifies as a chapter book. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and was glad that I found it!

Henkes, Kevin. The Year of Billy Miller. 2013. Print.

Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker

Josephine Baker is truly someone to look up too. Listening to her life story was honestly humbling. I had never heard of Josephine Baker until reading this book, but I feel like she was such an amazing and brave person and someone I wish I would have known about earlier in my life. Everything that she went through and how she persevered and became such a hero is honestly breathtaking. Although the illustrations in this book were not my favorite, I feel that the book flowed exceptionally and this made up for the illustrations. This book gives a very detailed description of her life and shows how you can achieve anything that you put your mind too. What a great message and what a powerful person.

Powell, Patricia Hruby, and Christian Robinson. Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker. 2014. Print.

Because of Winn-Dixie

As a child, Because of Winn Dixie was one of my favorite movies. I was fascinated with the relationship between the main character Opal and the dog she found, Winn-Dixie. I was able to relate to this movie because during my childhood years I had such a strong relationship with my dogs. As I was looking for another book to read, I was surprised to see that Because of Winn-Dixie was originally a book, so it peaked my curiosity to read it after I had seen the movie. Although I am not too surprised to say this, I found the book to be much better than the movie. It made me wish that I had read the book as a child and then watched the movie. Some parts of the book were not portrayed well in the movie, and also as a reader you get to understand how Opal is feeling on a more personal level. I love Opal’s personality and how she treats people around her. For someone who has been through the hardship of not having a mother to depend on, Opal does her best to keep her chin held up. Although Opal tries her hardest to be positive, it is obvious that something is missing in her life and the light at the end of the tunnel is finally found through Winn-Dixie. While reading this book I realized that there are some mature topics and for some children it may be too much for them to handle. Although the language is fairly easy to read, profanity is prevalent throughout the book. Additionally, it may be hard for some children to grasp the concept of Opal not having many friends and Gloria’s addiction to alcohol. All this aside, I think this book has a strong and positive underlying message … even when you are lonely, there may be someone who can walk into your life and help fill the void, just as Opal found Winn-Dixie in a grocery store. I am so glad I was able to relive my childhood and finally read this amazing book. Even though it may be considered a children’s novel, I think everyone can find something in this book that they can relate to.

DiCamillo, Kate. Because of Winn-Dixie. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick, 2000. Print.

The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend

This book is adorable and definitely one I will have available in my classroom as a future teacher one day! Although the story is told in third person, I love that you can really connect to Beekle and hope that one day he will find a friend. I also really liked how the human wasn’t searching for a friend throughout the whole story, instead the “imaginary” friend was doing the searching. I really enjoy books that can be expressed in as little words possible, but still carry a strong message, and that is the case for this book. Everyone deserves a friend, and you never know who may come into your life. I am not surprised that this book won a Caldecott Medal.

Santat, Dan. The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend. 2014. Print.

Peppe The Lamplighter-Teacher Reading Journal

Peppe The Lamplighter may be one of the best children’s literature books I have ever read!   As I started reading through the pages I was drawn to the beautiful illustrations, they were very captivating.  I really liked how even though this is a children’s book, the concept of the American dream is something that any age group can relate too. For me personally, my grandparents moved from Greece to America with hopes to find the American Dream. I appreciate the struggle and hardships they went through to provide not only a better for themselves, but for their children and grandchildren.  Peppe and his family moved  to America to have more opportunities and to live a better life.   I viewed Peppe as an admirable character, even though he was young he wanted to work to provide for his family.  My admiration for him continued as he didn't give up to find a job and viewed being a lamplighter as a great job!  Even though Peppe’s father didn’t appreciate him being a lamplighter, other people appreciated his work and through that his father came around, and Peppe was able to be happy being a lamplighter. 

Bartone, Elisa, and Ted Lewin. Peppe the Lamplighter. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1993. Print.

"Books Too Good to Miss - Peppe the Lamplighter by Elisa Bart." The Reading Teacher 48.1 (1994): 70. ProQuest. Web. 14 Feb. 2016.

Where the Wild Things Are- Teacher Journal

I know this may sound crazy, but this was my first time ever reading Where the Wild Things Are! If I would have read this as a kid, I know it would have been one of my favorite childhood books.  I found this story to be very relatable to children because most kids get sent to their room at least once in their lives without being able to eat dinner, I know I have!  I love Max’s imagination and how when he meets all the wild creatures and gets them to be tame by looking them in the eyes.  Even though there are not many words on the page, the illustrations are so detailed that as you are reading this book you are able to use your own imagination to interpret things how you want too.

Sendak, Maurice, and Maurice Sendak. Where the Wild Things Are. New York: Harper & Row, 1963. Print.

Livingston, Nancy, and Catherine Kurkjian. "Where the Wild Things are." The Reading Teacher 57.1 (2003): 101. ProQuest. Web. 14 Feb. 2016.