Tag Archives: Fiction

Pilar’s Worries

Posted on December 5, 2018 by sluce | Comments Off

Title: Pilar’s Worries

Author(s): Victoria M. Sanchez

Illustrator/Photographer: Jess Golden

Publisher and Year: Albert Whitman & Company; 2018

Number of Pages: 30

Tags: Emotion, Family, Fiction, Fine Art, Friendship, Picture Book, K-5, Sarah Luce

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Descriptive Annotation:

Pilar’s Worries is a story about a young girl who struggles with childhood anxiety but loves to dance. One day, she has a rough day at school because she messes up a few small things and begins to worry. However, when she gets to dance class, her anxiety goes away for the hour and she relaxes. There are dance auditions the next day, and Pilar wants to audition but is scared. With encouragement from her mother, Pilar decides to audition and makes it into the winter show. Students would need a basic knowledge of some dance terminology (like “plié” and “sashay”).

Classroom Application:

This book would be a good text to use when addressing mental illness, either specifically or generally. If talking to younger students, it can be simplified to be a lesson on how to deal with feeling nervous and “having butterflies.” For older students, if talking about anxiety specifically, this story shows it in a way students can understand, and there is a page in the back with an Author’s Note and Resources about anxiety.

Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Analysis:

Pilar’s Worries represents a culture of people who have mental illnesses like childhood or social anxiety. It describes the symptoms of anxiety in a way that children can understand and relate back to themselves. It uses language like, “Her heart beats so fast it scares her” (page 8) to explain what children might be feeling in a way they can comprehend. The story also gives good advice on doing scary things anyway, when Pilar’s mother says, “But usually when you are doing what you love, the good feelings are so big that the bad feelings become small” (page 15). Depending on the age of the students I am teaching to, I might introduce the book as a story about a girl doing something, even though it makes her nervous.

Illustration:

Comments Off on Pilar’s Worries

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged Emotion, Family, Fiction, Fine Art, Friendship, K-5, Picture Book, Sarah Luce

A Storm Called Katrina

Posted on December 5, 2018 by sluce | Comments Off

Title: A Storm Called Katrina

Author(s): Myron Uhlberg

Illustrator/Photographer: Colin Bootman

Publisher and Year: Peachtree Publishers; 2011

Number of Pages: 37

Tags: Animals, Culture, Diversity, Emotion, Family, Fiction, Picture Book, 2-3, 4-5, Sarah Luce

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Descriptive Annotation:

In A Storm Called Katrina, a young boy and his family try to survive Hurricane Katrina when it hits their home. They travel through the rising waters to get to the Superdome. When they get there, conditions worsen and Daddy can’t find Louis Daniel and Mama. Daddy eventually finds his family when Louis Daniel plays his cornet in the middle of the Superdome. Special features include information about Hurricane Katrina in the back of the book. Students might need background information about the hurricane to fully understand the story.

Classroom Application:

This story could be used to teach students about the detrimental effects of hurricanes in a science lesson. The story shows the effects the hurricane has on the main character’s home and town, and the statistics in the back of the book give students information about hurricane destruction as well. It could also be used to teach perseverance and bravery in the face of crisis. The family braves a massive, historical storm and still decides to return to their home to face the aftermath of the storm.

Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Analysis:

A Storm Called Katrina represents the culture of the people of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. There were a lot of emotions surrounding this time and region and so it follows that there were many responses to the event. Some people were angry and worried about taking care of themselves, like the “men that started fighting over a water bottle” (page 23). There were also people who were helping as many as they could. There were people who evacuated, but also people who never expected the storm to get so bad. One woman said, “I’ve lived around these parts for fifty years…and I ain’t ever seen nothin’ like this” (page18). I would introduce this book to students, asking who has ever heard of Hurricane Katrina or knows anyone who was affected by it.

Illustration:

Comments Off on A Storm Called Katrina

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged 2-3, 4-5, Animals, Culture, Diversity, Emotion, Family, Fiction, Picture Book, Sarah Luce

Ned the Knitting Pirate

Posted on December 5, 2018 by sluce | Comments Off

Title: Ned the Knitting Pirate

Author(s): Diana Murphy

Illustrator/Photographer: Leslie Lammle

Publisher and Year: Roaring Book Press, 2016

Number of Pages: 31

Tags: Adventure, Fantasy, Fiction, Fine Arts, Picture Book, K-5, Sarah Luce

Genre: Fiction

Descriptive Annotation:

Ned the Knitting Pirate has a consistent rhyme to the story and it keeps the story rolling and moving along, much like the pirates the story is about. The story is about a group of pirates who do daily pirate activities, except Ned. Ned likes to knit and it makes some of the other pirates very angry. Ned is eventually banned from knitting, until his hobby saves the ship from an attack by a sea monster. After that, all of the pirates learn how to knit and it is an accepted pirate activity.

Classroom Application:

This text can easily be used to reinforce the idea of breaking gender roles. Boys are often laughed at when partaking in traditionally “female” activities, such as things like knitting. In actuality, there is nothing that says knitting should only be for girls, and this story shows boys that there is nothing wrong with being creative, a typical “girl” trait.

Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Analysis:

This book represents a culture of breaking gender roles. Ned is a boy that likes to knit and the lesson in this story is that that is okay. The captain of the ship at first tries to enforce these roles, saying, “‘A scurvy pirate doesn’t knit, nor wear a fuzzy hat’” (page 8). However, after Ned’s knitting saves the ship, the captain changes his mind. By the end of the story, all the pirates helped fix the sail with knitting “while wearing fuzzy hats and scarves, and knitted pirate booty” (page 30). I might introduce this book by showing the class pictures of my brother and the scarf he knit himself, showing them that boys actually do knit, and it isn’t just something in the story but something that is acceptable in life.

Illustrations:

Comments Off on Ned the Knitting Pirate

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged Adventure, Fantasy, Fiction, Fine Arts, K-5, Picture Book, Sarah Luce

A Gift From Abuela

Posted on December 5, 2018 by sluce | Comments Off

Title: A Gift from Abuela

Author(s): Cecelia Ruiz

Illustrator/Photographer: Cecelia Ruiz

Publisher and Year: Candlewick Press, 2018

Number of Pages: 30

Tags: Culture, Diversity, Family, Fiction, Picture Book, K-1, 2-3, Sarah Luce

Genre: Fiction

Descriptive Annotation:

This book is written mainly in English but it has some Spanish vocabulary throughout the story. A Gift from Abuela is about a grandmother and granddaughter who spent a lot of time together when Niña was a little girl. As she got older, they grew apart and Abuela wanted to get Niña a present, so she tried to save a little money each week but eventually she fell on hard times, did not have any extra money to save, and forgot where she had hidden her saved money. The currency in Mexico changed, and the money Abuela had saved became worthless. One day, Niña found the worthless money and she and Abuela used it to make a craft they used to make when Niña was a young girl.

Classroom Application:

This text could be used in the classroom to reinforce a lesson on Mexico or a lesson on basic Spanish vocabulary. At younger ages, many students may have never left the country, so this story could give them a glimpse into Mexican culture. It could also give an insight into Mexican history, as the book mentions life in Mexico becoming increasingly difficult and the government changing the currency.

Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Analysis:

This book clearly represents the culture of Mexico and the people who live there. The illustrations show a Spanish town with shops that have Spanish names, while the story tells of favorite things to do and eat in Mexico. Abuela “liked teaching Niña how to make papel picado banners” (page 5) and at the end, “with the old bills, Niña and Abuela made the most beautiful papel picado banners” (page 27). I would ask the students if anyone had ever been to Mexico or knew someone from Mexico, or ask if anyone could speak Spanish or knew a few words of it. I could also simply just ask the class what prior knowledge anyone has about Mexico.

Illustrations:

Comments Off on A Gift From Abuela

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged 2-3, Culture, Diversity, Family, Fiction, K-1, Picture Book, Sarah Luce

Ida, Always

Posted on December 5, 2018 by sluce | Comments Off

Title: Ida, Always

Author(s): Caron Levis

Illustrator/Photographer: Charles Santoso

Publisher and Year: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2016

Number of Pages: 37

Tags: Animals, Emotion, Fiction, Friendship, Picture Book, K-5, Sarah Luce

Genre: Fiction

Descriptive Annotation:

Ida, Always is based off a true story of two polar bears in the Central Park Zoo. The story introduces the reader to Ida and Gus, two polar bears who played together, ran together, and dreamed about New York City together. Ida taught Gus about the city’s heartbeat, and how it was always around them and with them. One day, Ida got sick, and the zookeeper told Gus that Ida would die soon. Gus and Ida spent all of Ida’s remaining days together, working through their feelings; some days growling, other days laughing. Eventually, Ida died, and Gus learned how to accept her being gone, while still remembering her and feeling her heart beat there with his.

Classroom Application:

This text would likely be used best with teaching children about death, loss, and grief. While heavy topics that may not necessarily come up in curriculum and standards, they could be important to discuss depending on student experiences or situations within the classroom. Many students encounter the death of a loved one or classmate at an early age, and a book like Ida, Always could be a good tool.

Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Analysis:

This book is set in the Central Park Zoo in New York City. Many students may have never been to a big city, so the illustrations and some of the text may give students an opportunity to experience the culture of a big city. Most suburban and rural areas have a lot of land that is green and natural, but many cities do not have landscapes like this. The illustrations in Ida, Always portray the landscape of big cities, where there are lots of buildings and skyscrapers surrounding the relatively small area of natural land. The polar bears also talk about the noise of the city as “the city’s heartbeat” and how “they added their snores to the sounds of their city”. I could introduce the book by asking students if they have ever been to a big city and what they noticed about the landscape there. I could also ask the students if they have ever been to a zoo and/or if they have ever seen polar bears.

Illustration:

Comments Off on Ida, Always

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged Animals, Emotion, Fiction, Friendship, K-5, Picture Book, Sarah Luce

Eraser

Posted on December 5, 2018 by sluce | Comments Off

Title: Eraser

Author(s): Anna Kang

Illustrator/Photographer: Christopher Weyant

Publisher and Year: Two Lions, 2018

Number of Pages: 38

Tags: Fiction, Fine Arts, Friendship, Picture Book, K-1, 1-2, 2-3, Sarah Luce

Genre: Fiction

Descriptive Annotation:

Eraser is a story about school supplies that all work together to create projects and complete homework, but Eraser feels left out and unimportant. Many of the other utensils exclude Eraser from meetings and activities so she eventually decides to run away. She meets the Rough Drafts and they all admire her and show Eraser her worth and how useful she is. The rest of the school supplies also realize their need for Eraser and she comes back to the desk and is included into the group. Students reading this book will enjoy it more if they have a grasp of puns and word play.

Classroom Application:

This text could easily be used to reinforce inclusion within the classroom. Nearly all students are aware of the importance of erasers and they understand that all their school supplies have individual uses. That can be a great way to show that just like school supplies, all students are unique and bring different talents and valuable experiences to the classroom.

Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Analysis:

This book represents a culture and an atmosphere of inclusion. I could easily open with an activity, asking students to use a pencil with no eraser to do something where they would need to erase. After reading the book, I would also focus on the idea that all students can be included because they all bring something useful to the classroom, just like Eraser says, “I DO create. I create second chances” (page 24). The setting and characters allow the book to be easily related to, as most, if not all, students have experience using school supplies. The story is also funny, holding students’ attention, like when Scissors says, “I don’t run. EVER” (page 7).

Illustration:

Comments Off on Eraser

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged 1-2, 2-3, Fiction, Fine Arts, Friendship, K-1, Picture Book, Sarah Luce

Roxaboxen

Posted on December 5, 2018 by sluce | Comments Off

Title: Roxaboxen

Author(s): Alice McLerran

Illustrator/Photographer: Barbara Cooney

Publisher and Year: Lothrop, Lee, & Shepard Books, 1991

Number of Pages: 27

Tags: Adventure, Emotion, Family, Fiction, Friendship, Picture Book, K-5, Sarah Luce

Genre: Fiction

Descriptive Annotation:

Roxaboxen is a story based on the childhood experiences of the author’s mother growing up in Arizona. It is about young kids who would play in the desert across the street from their homes as they created a town and their own little society. They made houses, streets, and businesses, had cars and horses, and even had a mayor and policeman. As the children grew into adults, they still carried their memories of Roxaboxen with them, and it was still there years later, physically and in spirit. There is an author’s note at the end, commenting on the origins of the story and how her mother’s memories helped the author and illustrator create the book.

Classroom Application:

This book could be used in classrooms to reinforce lessons about desert areas, such as Arizona, where this story originated. The illustrations depict the landscape and flora quite accurately. The book could also be used as an example to show students how to work well together in creating something. Like the children in the book played together and created a town, so could students learn to work together on things like projects and tasks in the classroom.

Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Analysis:

Depending on where one lives, this book could give a class insight into what it is like to live in a desert area. It looks much different than living in the Midwest, and there are lots of different cultures in the Western United States that are not as common in places like Illinois. It could also be used to show the culture of times in the past. In today’s society, children have many things that keep them occupied inside, like phones and tablets and television. Back in 1991 when this book was written, children entertained themselves a lot by playing outside and using imagination. This book gives insight to children who grew up being creative and inventive with what they could find outside, like “a tin box filled with round black pebbles… [that] were the money of Roxaboxen” (page 6) or creating cars out of “something round for a steering wheel” (page 15). I might introduce this book by asking my students to imagine living before a lot of technology and I might ask them what things they could do to have fun without tablets and televisions.

Illustration:

Comments Off on Roxaboxen

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged Adventure, Emotion, Family, Fiction, Friendship, K-5, Picture Book, Sarah Luce

This One Summer

Posted on December 5, 2018 by sluce | Comments Off

Title: This One Summer

Author(s): Mariko Tamaki

Illustrator/Photographer: Jillian Tamaki

Publisher and Year: First Second Books, 2014

Number of Pages: 319

Tags: Emotion, Family, Fiction, Friendship, Graphic Novel, 6-8, 8-12, Sarah Luce

Genre: Fictional Graphic Novel

Descriptive Annotation:

This graphic novel is about a young teenage girl and her family who go up to their cottage on a lake every summer. The story follows the girl, Rose, and her friend, Windy, as they spend their days at the beach and their nights watching horror movies from the local store. The girls are exposed to many adult things as they hang around the store where the older kids hang out. Rose’s family is also going through a rough patch that summer and Rose learns of the secret behind her mother’s new negative attitude towards the lake. This book has a lot of crude language and mature themes that are not acceptable for students younger than high school age, if not older.

Classroom Application:

This book could be used to discuss life issues in a high school setting. Some students who read this book might be introduced to topics they have had little experience with, if any at all. It is important to use this book as a discussion starter, instead of simply a “free reading” book, as it could stir up strong feelings within students.

Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Analysis:

This One Summer represents the teenage culture around the “coming of age” period in adolescents’ lives. It was published in 2014, so the portrayal is similar to today’s experience. The story is a graphic novel, so most of the dialogue is through speech bubbles and a lot of the plot is carried through the illustrations. In one scene, the young girls are talking about the older kids they ran into at the store, and it is clear they are impacted by the teenagers’ actions. Rose and Windy start talking about them once they get home saying, “‘Oh my god those girls are sooo loud. I bet you they were drunk. They’re like, DRUNKS’” (page 40). I would introduce this story to my class with a warning of the maturity of its content and language. The story not only deals with intense topics, but also situations where families are apart, like when Rose’s mom says to Rose, “‘I know you’re angry. Rose. I didn’t send your dad away’” (page 224). It gives students an insight into what life is like for families that may be different than their own.

Illustration:

Comments Off on This One Summer

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged 6-8, 8-12, Emotion, Family, Fiction, Friendship, graphic novel, Sarah Luce

Waiting for Normal

Posted on December 5, 2018 by sluce | Comments Off

Title: Waiting for Normal

Author(s): Leslie Connor

Illustrator/Photographer: N/A

Publisher and Year: Harper Collins, 2008

Number of Pages: 290

Tags: Award Book, Chapter Book, Emotion, Family, Fiction, 2-3, 4-5, Sarah Luce

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Descriptive Annotation:

A young teenage girl, Addison, and her mother move into a trailer in a rundown area outside of the city after Mommers, Addison’s mother, divorces Addison’s stepfather. The story follows Addison for about a year as she navigates a new place, new school, and changes in her family dynamic. The story touches on things such as perceived mental illnesses, physical illness like cancer, and learning disabilities, giving students a glimpse into what life is like for people who deal with those things. It also has characters that are deep and are not featured much in literature, like families dealing with divorce and separation, as well as characters that are a part of the LGBTQ+ community. Students reading this book may encounter bigger words they do not know (as the main character keeps a vocab notebook) but the words are often defined and explained as a part of the plot.

Classroom Application:

This book would be more useful in teaching life lessons to students, rather than academic lessons. It could teach inclusion of others, through looking at the inclusion of a character that is gay or the way Addison is accommodated and included in her Stage Orchestra class, given her dyslexia. It could also be used to discuss more deep things, such as the affect of cancer on a person, the pain of grief, or the impact of a family being split apart.

Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Analysis:

This story represents the culture of being poor in a rundown town in America. It gives the reader a look at what it is like to live check to check from Addison’s perspective, like when she says to her hamster, “‘Well, Pic, given the size of me and the size of you, if food is wealth, you’re the queen today’” (page 238). It also shows one perspective of what it is like to live with a person who potentially has a mental illness. I would have this as a book in my classroom library and explain it to students as a book that talks about real-world experiences that many people face in their lives, like cancer. Soula, one of Addison’s friends from the corner minimarket, tells her, “‘You’re seeing the worst of it, Cookie…This is cancer. And it stinks’” (page 65). This book was written relatively recently (2008) so it is more intentional about discussing big topics in today’s society, such as mental illness and inclusion.

Illustrations:

Comments Off on Waiting for Normal

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged 2-3, 4-5, Award Book, Chapter Book, Emotion, Family, Fiction, Sarah Luce

Grandmother’s Dreamcatcher

Posted on December 5, 2018 by ewhite5 | Comments Off

Title: Grandmother’s Dreamcatcher

Author: Becky Ray McCain

Illustrator: Stacey Schuett

Publisher and Year: Albert Whitman and Company, 1998

Number of pages: 32

Tags/Themes: Culture, Family, Fiction, 2-3, Evan White

Genre: Children’s, Cultural, Realistic Fiction, Picture Books, Native Americans, Family

Descriptive Annotation: A little Chippewa girl is dropped off at her grandmother’s house while her parents look for a new house. While the girl stays over, she has night terrors. Her Chippewa grandmother decides to teach her granddaughter how to make a dream catcher. As they were crafting the dream catcher, the grandmother told a story about how the dream catcher came to be. The “Great Spirit” sent a vision to a tribal member on a spider creating a giant web to catch all the bad dreams. Once they made a dream catcher, the little Chippewa girl stopped having night terrors and made two more dream catchers for her parents. At the back of the book, there are instructions on how to make a dream catcher.

Classroom Application: I would use this text to reinforce art and culture of Native Americans. I think this book tells a feel-good family story that teaches about the significance of dream catchers. In the story, the grandma explains how the dream catcher is important to their family and cultural roots. Then I would teach the students the differences between Native American dream catchers and American dream catchers. Typically, American dream catchers are more complex and flashier, while Native American dream catchers have beads and feathers, nothing flashy or anything for aesthetic purposes. This could be a good time to talk about respecting Native American culture and how making dream catchers more ascetically complex is disrespecting their culture. I also think this story would be really good with compare and contrast. There are different origin stories for the dreamcatcher, and it could be a fun compare and contract unit to read different stories on how the dreamcatcher was created.

Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Analysis: This story represents Native American culture but more specifically the Chippewa story of the dream catcher’s origin story. This story fosters a respect for Native Americans and respect to their values and little aspects of their culture. The students would learn a little history of the origin of dream catchers . “So her grandmother did what our people still do. She asked the Great Spirit for help, and she was given a vision of a dreamcatcher circle. It had feathers on it just like yours and mine, but inside was empty. When this grandmother hung the dreamcatcher above the grandchild’s head, a spider came down and made the web inside. All the child’s dreams were then caught in that web to go to the Great Spirit. Only the sweet dreams were permitted to go back to the girl” (16). I think you can have a discussion on how values and cultural ideas get passed down to continue and how individuals can support cultural values, like how the grandma taught her granddaughter . Then in the story, the little girl makes a dreamcatcher for her parents to continue their cultural values. “Each day, Grandmother and I are busy with our work. We sew beads on leather to make hair ties for Mama. Grandmother takes me fishing, and I find a special feather just for Daddy. We make a dreamcatcher for mama and Daddy” (27). To introduce this book, I would ask the students what they know about dream catchers and their origins and how they imagine them. They could draw or describe what they have seen in their lives. The drawings or description can be used to compare after the book and looking at traditional dream catchers.

Comments Off on Grandmother’s Dreamcatcher

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged 2-3, Culture, Evan White, Family, Fiction

Tag Archives: Fiction

Archives

Meta

Tags