Unusual Creatures: A Mostly Accurate Account of Some of Earth's Strangest Animals

          Unusual Creatures: A Mostly Accurate Account of Some of Earth's Strangest Animals by Michael Hearst is a humorous look at some of the strangest creatures you probably didn't know about.  This book covers a wide variety of animals that can be located in diverse habitats.  The book features fifty unique creatures that can be found around the world. There is the blobfish that lives of the coast of Australia.  The blobfish is a gelatinous mass whose body construct allows it to float above the sea floor without using energy:

          Unusual Creatures  is illustrated by Arjen Noordemen, Christie Wright, and Jelmer Noordemen.  The pictures feature scientific classification information, in addition to a map of the area the animal can be found.  Many of the illustrations are cover the page.  Not only does the book offer information and illustrations about strange creatures around the world, but one can find true and false questions and answers as well as pop quizzes.  

         Perhaps as strange as his creatures, Michael Hearst is a song writer and musician that is originally from Virginia Beach.  Hearst has composed songs for these unusual creatures for PBS Digital Studios.  Short informational clips on these animals can be found on YouTube, along with compositions inspired by the animals.

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Bugs A to Z

          Bugs A to Z is an informational book by Caroline Lawton on a favorite topic of children...bugs!  The book goes through the alphabet offering examples of bugs that start with each letter. Each page offers two bugs that begin with that letter of the alphabet.  "A" shows us two important sentences on both ants and aphids.  The close up pictures give us eye appealing examples of each bug.

          The simple text of the book using two to three sentence descriptions of each bug makes it easy for the youngest readers to navigate alone.  Important and unique information is offered about these bugs in the text.  The letter of each page is emphasized with a large, colorful picture placed in the corner.  

          

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National Geographic Readers: Caterpillar to Butterfly

          National Geographic Kids: Caterpillar to Butterfly by Laura Marsh is an informative book about the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly.  The book using simple text and bright colored photos to offer examples.  The book begins with a riddle that asks, "What starts as an egg, then walks on many legs, and then uses wings to fly?"  The main content of the book, however, is on the stages of the butterfly's life: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly.  The book also discusses what butterflies eat, offers some cool facts about butterflies, and explains the differences between moths and butterflies.  The book offers children a list of ways to encourage butterflies to come to their backyards by creating a butterfly garden.

          The photographs in the book provide beautiful and close-up examples of the subjects.  Some photographs are labeled to show the names of parts.  The pictures serve to extend the information provided in the text.

          National Geographic is a trusted source of non-fiction information and Laura Marsh has written several children's books for them.  All of her books are highly rated by its readers.

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Scaly Spotted Feathered Frilled

          I found this book strolling down the non-fiction aisle pulling out titles that were interesting.  I know, not the best way to select a book.  When I sat down and opened this book I was absolutely amazed by the illustrations and the topic of the book.  Catherine Thimmesh's Scaly Spotted Feathered Frilled book examines the methods that paleoartists use to recreate the images of dinosaurs.  In a description of the book on her website, Thimmesh invites the reader to "follow a paleoartist through the scientific process of ascertaining the appearance of various dinosaurs from millions of years ago to learn how science, art, and imagination combine to bring us face-to-face with the past."  I was blown away at the concept of a paleo-artist reconstructing the image of dinosaurs by analyzing evidence.  Many times these paleo-artist are scientists as well.

          The book not only talks about the process that paleo-artists go through in order to interpret the appearance of a dinosaur, but the difficulties in trying to make these pictures.  One interesting problem is determining color.  As it is impossible for paleo-artists to determine this, any colors they use are purely speculative.  In another example, Stephen and Sylvia Czerka's discussed how their life-sized reconstruction of the dinosaur Deinoychus was incorrect as a model for the raptors in Jurassic Park.  Although the constructed they dinosaurs with scales, it was later discovered that there is strong evidence these dinosaurs were feathered.

          In addition to it's interesting information, Scaly Spotted Feathered Frilled has full bleed images that are a feast for the eyes.  This is to be expected as the book is about artists.  The end of the book features a list of the artists used, their credentials, and addresses for their websites.

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My First Biography: Benjamin Franklin

          My First Biography: Benjamin Franklin written by Marion Dane Bauer and illustrated by Anthony Lewis is a book geared toward the youngest readers (4-8 years).  The book features colorful illustrations that dominate the pages and are accompanied by one or two lines of simple text.  The book shares information about Franklin's family and upbringing, his brief education, and his accomplishments as an adult.  

          Marion Dane Bauer has written an extensive number of children's book.  Twenty-five of her books have been non-fiction.  Her My First Biography books are highly rated by readers.

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How Did Amelia Earhart Make History?

     
          How Did Amelia Earhart Make History? is a biographical book that was written by Jane Sutcliffe.  This book documents the life of the first woman pilot to cross the Atlantic Ocean.  Sutcliffe begins the book by introducing the date and place of Earhart's birth followed by the statement, "When Amelia was growing up, little girls were supposed to behave like young ladies.  But Amelia didn't."  What follows is the story of how Amelia Earhart became interested in flying, her start in air shows, her first flight across the Atlantic, and her developing thirst for record breaking.
          Jane Sutcliffe's biography of Amelia Earhart is filled with interesting photos of Amelia throughout her life interspersed with cartoon images.  Tan boxes with doted lines denote anecdotes about Earhart are included every couple of pages. Sutcliffe's arrangement of text, photographs, and humorous stories are visually appealing.
         Janes Sutcliffe has written over two dozen non-fiction books for children.  Her books are highly rated by readers.

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Polka Bats and Octopus Slacks by Calef Brown

          Calef Brown's Polka-bats and Octopus Slacks is a humorous collection of rhyming story-poems.  The subjects of these poems are often nonsensical and disturbing, a fun combination for children and adults.  Brown's strange pairings leave you shaking your head.  One of my favorite poems is about octupus slacks:

Kansas City Octopus

is wearing fancy slacks.
Bell-bottom,
just got 'em,
fifty bucks including tax.

Red corduroy,
and boy-o-boy,
they fit like apple pie.
Multi-pocket snazzy trousers
custom made for octopi.

Fantastic plastic stretch elastic
keeps 'em nice and tight.
Kansas City Octopus
is looking good tonight!

Brown's poems have a nice rhythm that make for an appealing read aloud.

          The illustrations of Polk-bats and Octopus Slacks serve to enhance the text.  His illustrations alternate between full bleed across either one or both pages.  The colors serve to highlight the topics of the poem.  For example, in Lonely Surfer, a sun-burned surfer who makes his home in the desert for fear of sharks is shown with his surfboard atop a prickly pear in shades of yellow and orange that give us the sensation of warmth and heat.

          This collection of poems is strange and fun rolled into one.  The odd topics will have you shaking your head even as the catchy rhymes will stick in it.

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The Giver

          The Giver by Louis Lowery takes place in a community that is devoid of suffering, hunger, poverty, and war.  Through Jonas we learn about how things are done in the community: the importance of precision of language, the selection of future careers at the age of twelve, the pills that are given to control emotions and urges, and the release that is given for members that deviate from the norm or have outlived their usefulness.  We are introduced to Jonas as he faces anxiety about his assignment for life at the Ceremony of Twelve.  

            Though Jonas appears to have a typical family (a concerned mother, a nurturing father, and an impatient sister) we find that families are awarded one boy and one girl upon application.  Children are born from birth mothers, women whose specific job it is to carry children, and then they are cared for until they are one at the Nuturing Center.  On their first birthday children are given their name and assigned to a family during the Ceremony of One.  Each birthday signifies an increase in independence from the community until at last they are ready to take their place in it as an apprentice at twelve.  

          Jonas' unexpected assignment as the new Receiver of Memory leaves him nervous and ambivalent.  As Jonas begins working with the Giver he finds that his new job is to receive the memories of the community going back before its present peacefulness.  As Jonas starts to receive memories that inspire awe, happiness, and suffering, he begins to see that his community is not quite the perfect place he thought it was.  After asking to watch the tape of a release his father was involved in as a nuturer, Jonas' world falls apart as he knows it.  Jonas and the Giver devise a plan to share their wisdom and experiences through memory with the community.  The plan takes an unexpected turn when Gabriel, a young child his father has been bringing home from the Nuturing Center in order to help, is assigned to release.

           Lowery's book is a strong warning against the dangers of taking away choice and differences in order to create a community free of conflict.  Jonas' community is full of rules for the protection of its citizens and those who do not follow the rules are removed by the community through death.  Individuals are parts of units, belong to careers, and are no longer recognized as significant for who they are.  In the end we realize that sometimes the compromise is not worth the reward.

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A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

          The first story in the A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning starts, “If you are interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other books. In this book, not only is there no happy ending, there is no happy beginning and very few happy things in the middle.”  True to it's warning there are no tidy, happy endings for Violet, Claus, and Sunny Baudelaire.  The book begins with the children being informed of the untimely death of both of their parents.  Mr. Poe, who manages the children's fortune, does not mince words when he tells the children their parents both died in a fire.  He informs them that they will come stay with him until he figures out where their closest relative living in city lives.  Ultimately the children end up at the doorstep of Count Olaf, a distant relative who lives in an empty, foreboding house filled with images of eyes.

          The characters of The Bad Beginning are developed through shared information by the narrator, their dialogue, and striking descriptions.  Violet, the oldest at fourteen, is an inventor and has a love of taking things apart and putting them back together.  Claus, twelve, has a love of reading.  Sunny, the baby, has the typical and humorous love of biting.  Count Olaf is a peculiar and menacing character that leaves lists of impossible tasks for the children to complete during the day.  We see just how dangerous Olaf when his first violent act is toward Sunny, "With an inhuman roar he picked her up in one scraggly hand and raised her so she was staring at him in the eye."

          The main setting of the story is in Count Olaf's house.  It is a large, dilapidated house with blackened bricks and a worn door carved with an ominous eye.  Above the only two windows in the house rises a tower.  Inside the house is dimly lit and poorly furnished.  Pictures of the eye are found in several rooms.  The bizarre, dark setting creates a feeling of discomfort for the sweet children that are forced to share a mattress on a filthy floor.

          When the children botch a dinner party for Count Olaf, making pasta and puttanesca sauce instead of roast beef (which Count Olaf did not indicate he wanted) things start to go south for the youngsters.  The conniving, malicious man he is begins to show itself clearly.  After the children make a trip to talk to Mr. Poe about their guardian, Olaf wastes no time in putting his diabolical plan into motion.

     The grim, no nonsense narration of Lemony Snicket who tells the story from a first person standpoint that is privy to everything that goes on lends to the feeling that nothing will go right for these children.  True to his opening statement, one misfortune after another befalls the children until the reader is desperate to keep reading in the hopes that something will change.

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One Crazy Summer by Rita Garcia-Williams

          One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia is the story of three young girls who were abandoned by their mother, Cecile, at a young age being forced to spend a month with her in Oakland, California years later.  Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern know better than to expect a happy reunion with their mother but harbor young girls' hopes in their hearts.  Their life with their mother during that month is awkward and Delphine continues to do what she has always done, watch out for her sisters.  While Cecile writes poetry and works in the kitchen, denying the girls access, and pushing them out the door during the day, the girls begin to spend time at the People's Center joining their summer camp.
          The People's Center is run by the Black Panthers but the girls are just looking for a meal and a place to hang out.  Over time as they spend their days at the center, the girls learn more about the Black Panthers work and message.  When their mother is arrested after being coerced to do work for some members of the Black Panthers group, the girls are taken in by another member of the People's Center and looked after.  Delphine refuses to contact her father, wanting to wait to see how long her mother will be in jail.  In the meantime, the girls continue to work to help spread the message of the People's Center and finally agree to participate in a rally by reciting a poem of their mother's.
          The characters of One Crazy Summer are all distinct, vibrant personalities whose words and interactions bring the story to life.  Delphine, eleven going on twelve, is the care-taker and as a result assesses with a protective, responsible eye.  Vonetta, nine, is the scene-stealer and given to exaggeration.  Fern, seven, is the innocent and the baby, eccentric and forthright.  Their mother Cecile is unabashedly determined to ignore their presence and does not deny the inconvenience of having them there.  The dialogue has a unique dimension of its own and goes a long way to giving us insight to the characters.
          The story is set in Oakland during 1968.  The setting serves to highlight the differences in how African-Americans are treated.  Living in Brooklyn, the girls were not as aware of racial differences and through their experiences in California the work of the Black Panthers slowly comes to have meaning in their lives.  It is through this connection that the girls eventually come to make a connection with their mother.
          One Crazy Summer has been received numerous awards including being a finalist for a National Book Award, winning the Coretta Scott King award, the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, and being a Newbery Medal Honor book.

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Esperanza Rising

          Esperanza Rising is a historical fiction book by Pam Munoz Ryan set after the Mexican Revolution and during the Great Depression of the United States.  After Esperanza's father is way laid and killed by bandits, Esperanza and her mother lose everything when the untoward interest of her seedy Tio Luis turns to marriage shortly after.  Tio Luis' attempt to force Ramona's hand in marriage culminates in a fire that destroys their home and crops.  During the fire, Esperanza's grandmother is injured and forced to part ways with Ramona and Esperanza to recuperate with her sisters at a nunnery. In a desperate attempt to escape being forced to marry and loosing her daughter to boarding school, Ramona makes plans to secretly travel to the United States with her housekeeper, Hortensia, and her husband, Alfonso, who have plans to work as migrant farmers in California.  Esperanza struggles to deal with the loss of her father and the reversal of fortune she faces.  When the group, now including relatives of Alfonso's, reaches the San Joaquin Valley, they find bone-weary work awaiting them for pennies.  Just when Esperanza thought she had lost everything, her mother falls sick after a dust storm and struggles to recover.  In her determination to see her mother recover, Esperanza begins working in earnest.
          It is Ryan's expertly developed characters that elicit emotional investment from the reader.  From the start we feel the bond between Esperanza and her father, and the strength of love between Ramona and her husband.  We are heart-broken with his death.  Through her thirteen-year-old thoughts and words, we identify with Esperanza as a typical teen aged girl albeit one that has lead a sheltered life before her father's death.  Her mother, Ramona, carries her through the whirlwind of events with dignity and affection that continues even as she struggles to work in the sheds packing grapes.  Abuelita is a woman of strength and determination whose words and actions follow Esperanza in her thoughts that tell her, "Do not be afraid to start over."  Miguel, Esperanza's childhood friend and Alfonso and Hortensia's son, is filled with quiet strength and determination.  His conversations with Esperanza serve to guide her thinking about her actions and how her old attitudes no longer fit her new life.
          Set in the Joaquin Valley farms during the early 30's, the setting serves to frame the changes in the lives of the Ortega women.  Whereas they used to live on a ranch of a thousand acres, in a large house with a beautiful rose garden, their surroundings in California are barren despite the crops they harvest.  Miguel has saved seedlings from the rose garden that serve as the only connection that exists between their old life in Mexico and their new life.  Esperanza and her mother share a bed in housing that is packed with Alfonso, Hortensia, Juan, Josephina, and their three children.  Dust storms rise up and swallow the landscape, the fields, and the workers leaving them in a film of white.  The setting is as bleak as the possibilities for their futures working long hours with the difficulty of saving money.
          Ryan's plot provides the catalyst for changes in Esperanza that transform her from the privileged daughter of a ranch owner to a hard-working capable teen aged girl determined to be the provider in her mother's time of need.  After Ramona falls ill, they find that she is slow to recover and requires a stay in the hospital.  Determined that her mother will get better, Esperanza believes that bringing Abuelita to the United States is what is needed to turn Ramona's health around.  Though she is not old enough, Esperanza finds a way to become employed in the packing sheds and works her fingers raw to save her family.
          This is one of the most heart-wrenching stories I've read in a long time and has become one of my favorites.  Esperanza Rising is a highly regarded book and has received numerous awards including a Pura Belpre.

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The Secret Garden

 
          The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson-Burnett is a well loved story that was first published in the early 1900's.  A young girl, Mary Lennox, becomes an orphan when her parents contract cholera and die.  Mary is sent to live with her uncle Achibald Craven on the moors of Misslethwaite Manor in the English countryside.  As Mary slowly learns independence and cultivates a love of the outdoors, not only her health but her manner changes.  When her maid, Martha tells her of a secret garden that has been closed off for ten years, Mary's interest awakes for something more than self-centered causes.  When Mary discovers her bed-ridden cousin, Collin, she shares her stories of the secret garden inspiring the same spark of interest.  While the children of Misslethwaite work to revive the garden and bring things back to life, their own lives are revived with purpose.
          The characters of The Secret Garden are well developed through their interactions with each other.  Mary's spoiled, inconsiderate manner when she first arrives at Misslethwaite is evident in her fits of temper, her inability in accomplishing the smallest tasks herself, and her belief that servants around her are meant to do her bidding.  Mary's cousin Collin suffers from a similar attitude, having grown up like Mary, neglected by his father with only the company of servants who feared a turn in his health.
          Every scene in The Secret Garden serves the purpose of contributing to the plot.  It is with some sense of mystery and the Gothic that Mary arrives at the large, fairly empty house in the middle of the night.  Her curiosity grows with her surroundings as she encounters secrets that must be solved: the garden and the soft crying that floats in the hallways.  As the secrets are solved, the darkness of the house gives way to the hope and light of spring.  It is through determination and hearty involvement in creating change that a transformation takes place not only in the garden but in the house and it's inhabitants as well.
         The story is told from an omniscient third-person point of view which becomes important as characters have vastly different personalities and others change drastically.  Burnett's writing has elements of Romanticism and the Gothic in it.  The lonely manor sitting in the midst of the moors filled with locked rooms in which you can occasionally catch the sound of soft sobbing in the empty hallways is a Gothic image.  The growing independence of the children and the emphasis on nature and it's healing powers are Romantic images.  By cultivating these images of light versus dark throughout the story, Burnett emphasizes the transformations taking place.
          Although The Secret Garden was well received when it was first released in print, it's popularity waned until the 60's when it experienced a resurgence of popularity.  The Secret Garden is a heart-warming story of personal growth and transformation that any child or adult could appreciate.

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Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson

          Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by E. B. Lewis, is a realistic fiction book that addresses the cruelness that young children can dole out so easily.  Maya is a new girl that tries as hard as she can to become friends with Chloe, Kendra, and Sophie.  She shares smiles, starters for conversation, and invitations to games without success.  Instead Chloe and her friends make disparaging comments about the condition of Maya's clothes and the strangeness of her lunch contents.  When their teacher Ms. Albert does an activity on kindness and Chloe can't think of a single kind thing that she's done to share, Chloe begins to think of Maya and reflect on ways in which she can be kind to her.  Unfortunately for Chloe, Maya's family moves away and her opportunity to return a friendship is missed.
          The illustrations of Each Kindness by E. B. Lewis contribute to the alienation and cold-shoulder the close friends show towards Maya.  The majority of the realistic illustrations are full-bleed images that provide powerful pictures to the text.  In an aerial view the children stare at Maya judging her second-hand clothing while her hands are clasped behind her back in a gesture of shyness.  When Ms. Albert announces that Maya will not be returning to school, we get a two page spread of her empty desk.  While Chloe throws stones in the lake, one for each kindness she wishes she could have shown Maya, we see her small figure with head down in regret and reflection.  The use of point of view in the illustrations is another striking way in which E. B. Lewis emphasizes the feelings or actions of the children.  When Maya first arrives to school and we see her chin down as she stands in the doorway.  We are only privy to her face because the point of view of the picture is from the ground up and serves to highlight how reluctant or scared Maya is to be introduced to the class.
          The characters in the book are developed through their actions.  In Maya we see invitational smiles and good-natured offerings of friendship to Chloe, Kendra, and Sophie.  Each interaction between the girls and Maya causes our heart to sink a little with disappointment.  Though Maya is consistent in her friendliness, Chloe offers her silence and ridicule behind her back, and shares in name calling with her friends.  It is an eye-opening moment when Ms. Albert, Chloe's teacher, tells the children that kindness can ripple like stones in the water and gives them all a stone to place in a fish bowl after they have shared something some kindness they spread.  Maya cannot think of a single kindness, despite Ms. Albert's encouragement that, "Even small things count."
          The story is set at the children's school which invites us to remember all the mean things we suffered as young children and how deeply it hurt our feelings no matter how small.  Young children are vulnerable, and even more so than to their peers.  It is a self-conscious, magnified hurt we feel when we suffer rejection or eyes of others on us when we sit alone at lunch or play by ourselves at recess.  As someone who moved several times because my father was in the military, I remembered the desperate hope that I would make one friend easily who could make the transition smoother.
          This story received excellent reviews and was a Coretta Scott King Honor and a Jane Addams Peace Award recipient.  Librarians, teachers, and counselors love this story that can be used to discuss how we treat others.  Though the girls in the story don't bully Maya and their comments are usually made behind her back, we feel the effects of rejection and the sadness that comes when others withhold friendship despite Maya's admirable dignity throughout the whole story. Even if the concept of regret is one that young children will have a difficult time identifying with, every child understands what it feels like to want to play with someone and not have that feeling returned.

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A New York Times review of "Each Kindness"
   
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Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night

        Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman is a collection of poems on creatures that rule the night.  This collection of poems contains not only nocturnal staple animals as topics but things that can occur with other natural subjects such as trees and mushrooms.  Each poem is accompanied by factual information afterward that expands the imagery of the poetry with an understanding of how this happens naturally with the subject.
        Sidman changes her style of writing with each poem sometimes rhyming and sometimes using free verse.  Every poem is heavy with imagery that creates feeling for the senses.  For example in  Oak after Dark, we learn that even the trees are busy in the night.  Sidman personifies the oak tree giving us the image of a mother almost who is finishing up her tasks while young ones move around her feet:

As nighttime rustles at my knee,

I stand in silent gravity

and quietly continue chores

of feeding leaves and sealing pores.

        The illustrations by Rick Allen were created using linoleum prints and gouache.  The use of heavy dark lines and color reflect vision in the darkened forest.  The images and colors lend to a magical darkness that corresponds with the fantastic sensory pictures being created by the poet.  The author creates a mystery and magic by sharing interactions of the animals with its environment.  This is an interesting dichotomy when paired with the factual information that follows to demystify creatures of the dark.

     Joyce Sidman's poems introduce to the hidden things that move at night we fear.  Her collection of poems works to engage the reader through the senses while illuminating the backgrounds of the animals that come out at night in the forest. It has the potential to serve as an interesting potential for science and creative writing combined.

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The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963

     Christopher Paul Curtis' The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 is a historical fiction book that develops around a close knit family dealing with the rebellion of the oldest child.  The story unfolds in Flint, Michigan and is told through the voice of the youngest boy, Kenny.  Through the thoughts of this ten-year-old boy we get a glimpse into the life of an African American family struggling to deal with the defiance and mean-spirited manner in which his oldest brother, Byron, is living his teen age years.  In the end it is a family trip to Birmingham, Alabama where their Grandma Sands lives that serves as a turning point.  In Birmingham the family suffers an eye-opening close call that changes the two boys in the family drastically.

     The story takes place in Flint, Michigan.  From the first chapter we are introduced to the domineering winters in Flint as the family sits huddles together in as many clothes possible.  Kenny tells us, "The thermostat was turned all the way up and the furnace was banging and sounding like it was about to blow up but it still felt like Jack Frost had moved in with us." Just as mother nature is inhospitable and testy, so too is school for Kenny or any child that stands out.  Bullying is rampant and the children in the school jump on opportunities that arise to make fun of others, whether because of their clothes, their looks, their participation in school, or their lack of money.  Through descriptions of the neighborhood, school, and Watsons' home life we develop a feeling for the predominant struggle for money that is ongoing in Flint.

     The plot of the story centers around the Watsons' relationships with each other.  Through Kenny's eyes we see the closeness of his parents and their love for their children.  We also see that there is no love lost between the oldest and youngest sons.  Byron, a bully with no remorse, escalates his acts of defiance eventually driving the parents to drastic measures.  When Wilona and Daniel resolve to take Byron to Birmingham and leave him there with Grandma Sands for the summer, the well planned trip goes awry and a moment at a dark rest area, in which the children, unused to rural life, foreshadows further moments of fear waiting for them.  The family trip becomes a jarring event that introduces them to death.

     The characters in The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 interact to give us a distinct feel for the family in which we can easily relate our own experiences.  The parents, Wilona and Daniel, care deeply for each other and for their children.  Humorous moments are woven in with concern and times when frustration and discipline are doled out.  Through Kenny we see what it means to be the middle child that stands out for his intelligence and physically for a lazy eye.  Meanwhile, Byron serves as the predominant antagonist constantly engaged in tormenting his brother and others.

      Curtis' style of writing in the story lends to the authenticity of the time and it's characters.  The language is clear and concise in keeping with the voice of an intelligent ten-year-old boy.  It's through the feelings, observations, and questions of this voice that we frame the story.  In keeping with the time period and backgrounds of the characters, 60's jargon and dialects make their appearance throughout the text.

     As Curtis is writing on a time period, place, and culture in which he grew up it is easy for us to trust his authority on the subject.  At the end of the story, the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing serves as an awakening for the family and Kenny in particular has a difficult time processing his feelings about the event.  Originally Christopher Paul Curtis had the Watsons traveling to Florida where Grandma Sands lived but changed the story when his son came home with a poem by Dudley Randall entitled, "Ballad of Birmingham."  Curtis borrowed images of the poem as inspiration for the end of his story.  The last line of the poem laments, "O, here's the shoe my baby wore, but baby where are you?"  When Kenny enters the church believing his sister was inside, he rustles with death in the form of the Wool Pooh only to walk away with a small black shoe.  

     The Watsons go to Birmingham - 1963 is a work of historical fiction that does touch on racism and the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing.  First and foremost, however, it is the story of a families shared humor and struggles in the 1960's in Flint, Michigan.  It is this concentration on the development of the characters and their relationships with each other that draw us into the family and create an investment of emotion for what they are going through.  In this family we see connections to our own and are introduced to one African American families exposure to violence and racism in a family visit to the south.

The One and Only Ivan: A Reader Response

     The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate is the story of Ivan, a silverback gorilla and feature attraction of the Exit 8 Big Top Mall & Video Arcade.  From  the beginning Ivan is developed as intelligent and observant, although his years in captivity have developed a complacency with life.  The One and Only Ivan opens our eyes to animal captivity, its cruel aspects and the consequences for the victims of it.  This novel develops the story of a great silverback gorilla, who ironically is nothing to fear or respect, and how a tragic loss and consequent promise spur him on to become the leader necessary to ensure a better future for a helpless baby elephant.

     The story is set at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall & Video Arcade, a sad highway attraction with a handful of animals to attract passersby.  The choice of the setting fits along with the character of its owner and contributes to the seediness the animals live in as a consequence of greed.  The peculiar combination of shops, aracade, and animal show attractions strengthen the disgrace of the animals captivity.  

     The plot of the novel unfolds a series of believable events though wrapped in fantasy.  We are introduced to the animals who have grown accustomed to their lives of performing.  Ivan's drawing develops into painting, a natural seeming thing considering his thoughtful and introspective nature.  It is with the introduction of a new animal and the death of his closest friend that Ivan for the first time in years begins to question animal captivity, thoughts he had long put out of his mind in order to survive.  

     The characters develop in a consistent direction throughout the story to support the plot.  Ivan's character, however, is the only one to grow.  While we were initially introduced to a silverback gorilla that showed none of the fierceness of his kind, and in fact demonstrated quite the opposite, at the end we are relieved and excited that he has returned to his roots.  Ivan's memories consist of those with Mac and his friends at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall & Video.  He purposefully does not think about memories of home because they are painful and he associates them with the death of his sister, Tag, who was unable to survive being captured.  Through Ivan's promise to Stella and conversations with Ruby, he starts to retrieve these memories.  He struggles with his captive self and the majestic gorilla he's supposed to be.

     Katherine Applegate does an excellent job of developing the plot and her characters with simple words that pack strong images.  The book is very easy to read and it's easy to find yourself moving through the pages quickly.  She doesn't waste any words and every paragraph contributes to moving the story along, drawing sympathy and anger from us, until finally we feel a sense of happiness and comfort that the victims in the story have all found their havens.

     The One and Only Ivan is a strong statement against animal captivity and cruelty.  It is also the story of finding the courage to do something right for someone else, even if you can't do it for yourself.

Wonder: A Reader Response

     Wonder by R. J. Palacio is the story of a unique ten-year-old boy's transition from homeschooling to a private middle school, the struggle he faces to fit in, and how he grows as a person through his experiences in that first year of school.  Through August we experience the pain of childhood as a child that stands out but longs to be ordinary.  We commiserate with the desire for friends while understanding the undesirable attention of peers that can be cruel.  In the end we celebrate Auggie's last year as his experience with his first year of middle school changes not only him but the people he is in contact with.
     Palacio's characters are developed through dialogue and actions that breathe life into them.  As the novel progresses, we grow to admire Auggie's loving family, full of humor and strength.  They serve as an anchor for Auggie's struggles with accepting the circumstances of his physical appearance and consequently low self-confidence.  Auggie's parents, Nate and Isabel, serve as supporting characters.  We know through conversations with their children and other characters' descriptions of them that they are protective and loving toward their children.  Auggie's older sister, Olivia, opens our eyes to the difficulties siblings can have when the other child requires so much more attention and support.  Later we are introduced to students that affect Auggie's first year for good and bad.  Palacio goes so far as to give us insight into these children's thoughts and families as well.
     The book begins with August Pullman setting the stage for the events that will later unfold as he shares his life as it currently is.  Auggie hints that his appearance is shocking to others, and even replusive, although the extent of his abnormalities are sprinkled as information throughout the book.  We get a sense for how supportive and loving his family is, but also develop the feeling that Auggie is intensely lonely.  Before school, he tells us his close friends are people he no longer spends significant time with and the one friend he feels closest to lives an hour away.  He equates friendship with the birthday parties he's been invited to, suggesting he is still somewhat immature in thinking and that there is an importance to friendship that is shared publicly.
     Before enrolling in Beecher Prep, Auggie Pullman was homeschooled by his mother, Isabel.  When his parents decide that it is time for him to join other children at school Auggie, a somewhat shy child anyways, feels a hightened sense of fear at having to deal with a school of people that will inspect and judge him based on his appearance.  Despite his fears, Auggie meets a couple genuine friends that grow to love his company and him for who he is.  In addition, the book deals with bullying as Auggie faces one child who is malicious and determined to turn everyone in the school against him.
     Perhaps one very interesting and important feature of the book is that not only do we hear from Auggie's perspective, full of upfront practical information and heart-wrenching interpretations, but we also hear from those children closest to Auggie through their own perspective on events that unfold.  This feature becomes important in understanding the thought processes of the children involved with Auggie and how it affects their interactions with him.  All of these voices are developed in a way that seems authentic and contributes to the overall movement of the novel.
     Palacio's novel is an eye-opening perspective for children on how standing out can make us feel and how other children can react in ways that are mean or thoughtless, whether intentional or not.  In addition, we see that children can all have different home lives that affect how they make decisions and perform at school and with each other.  In the end we see that how strong the effect of not just being a good friend but a good person can be, whether its with an individual, a class, or even a school.

Smoky Mountain Rose: An Appalachian Cinderella

     Alan Schroeder's Smoky Mountain Rose: An Appalachian Cinderella is a rural take on the old tale.  Brad Sneed who illustrates the book depits the characters with elongated bodies reminiscent of the tall tale of Paul Bunyan.  The step mother and sisters are show with long, sharp features that are a physical manifestation of their internal malevolence.  Using a perspective that elongates the figures already covering the length of a page, we view the story from standpoints near Rose, whether from her place scrubbing the floor to stare up at her arguing stepsisters or from the ground to pay homage to her sparkling glass slippers.

     This Smoky Mountain version of Cinderella uses dialect that we would expect with the inhabitants of the mountains and familiar aspects of the story are changed to reflect the culture.  Instead of being a merchant or businessman, her father is a trapper.  Rose takes care of the animals of the house, roaming around with a straw hat and torn overalls to complete her chores.   After her father dies, the family receives an invitation to a "fancy" party from a man whose rich from sowbellies and grits.  Other exchanges that contribute to the feeling of being the Smoky Mountains include the log cabin Rose and her family live in, the wagon the use to get around, and instead of a fairy godmother, Rose has a magical hog that looks out for her.

     When Rose enters the barn, all eyes turn her way and we view this moment from the back of the room seeing the crowd turn to stare at her.  One difference in this Appalachian version is that the prince or rich man, Seb, is doubtful of the sisters claim to the shoe.  He recognizes the girl he spent the night dancing with doing chores in the distance and encourages her to try the slipper.

     This is a fun tale that gives us a unique perspective on the Cinderella tale.  We get a insight into Appalachian culture through the text and illustrations combined.

Cinderella: A Reading Response

     In this retelling of the classic tale by Sarah Thomson is based on the story by Charles Perault.  This version draws influence from the court of Louis XIV and is evident in the illustrations by Nicoletta Ceccoli.  From the title page we get a glimpse of Cinderella's true nature as a small dark waif holding a broom garbed in worn clothing stares into a mirror and sees a princess staring back.  The illustrations in the book are soft, yet colorful lending a surreal feeling to the story.  Cinderella is depicted with a child's face holding wide vulnerable looking eyes.

     We see her suffering and loneliness, evident in a picture of the young girl with a white face sleeping on the floor in front of the fireplace while a red-eyed rat lurks in the background.  The magic moment when her fairy godmother answers her tears with magic is a two page spread that depicts the vines of the pumpkin curling into the semblance of a couch.  Cinderella looks on with hands clasped, a mixture of fear and awe in her small face.  As she makes her way to the ball, her carriage begins up a road that winds to the top where a castle stands pennants flapping in the breeze.  A single sentence marks this momentus trip that would change her life forever, "Cinderella promised to come home by midnight and rode off to the ball."  Thomson and Ceccoli repeat this often to emphasize the importance of the event, the minimal use of words and the grandeur of the image spread across the pages.  In another example, the prince and Cinderella dance on the balcony with onlookers while the sky and moon dominate the page adding to the dreamlike feeling.  

     Nicoletta Ceccoli's illustrations evoke the vulnerability and sadness of Cinderella's life, while lending a fantasy feeling to what is happening page by page through soft color and blurry detail.  In the final page that shares the prince and Cinderella seated embracing beneath a flowering tree in the shape of a heart with white birds escaping, we know that Cinderella has not only love but peace.

Grimm's Fairy Tales

     Grimm's Fairy Tales, illustrated by Scott McKowen, is an original collection of tales from Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm translated by Lucy Crane.  In this collection we find the 52 original tales from the Grimm brothers in all their glory.  There are minimal illustrations in this collection and the tales stand out for themselves eliciting a wide range of reactions through their sometimes appalling, fantastic, or mesmerizing stories.

     In particular, the story of Aschenputtel has been an inspiration for various other versions with the better known name of Cinderella.  In Jakob and Wilhelm's story, Aschenputtel endures the malice of stepmother and sisters after convincing her father to remarry after the death of her beloved mother.  When her father takes a trip, her only request for a present is the first twig that strikes his hat.  She plants this present at her mother's grave and a tree grows.  Throughout the story the tree and the white birds, symbols of hope and peace, answer Ascheputtel's tearful wishes culminating in her attendance at the king's ball.

     The spiteful comments of her step-family and the gruesome acts they commit to deceive the prince make this story more appropriate for an older audience.  Though a happy ending is found for Aschenputtel, the very birds that were so helpful through her trials exact a retribution on her sisters that is heinous.