23. Aquila's Drinking Gourd (A story of the Underground Railroad)

23. Aquila's Drinking Gourd

Author: Pamela Dell

Tradition Books Publishing, 2003

47 pages
Historical Fiction

I chose this book because the story of the Underground Railroad is one of my most favorite events in history to read about. This book is about a girl named Aquila who was sold as a slave and separated from her family. Aquila's father would tell her stories of the Underground Railroad and how one day they would all escape and be reunited there. Aquila's drinking gourd was given to her from her father for her eleventh birthday and she used it. Aquila's drinking gourd had a special meaning to it and always provided her with hope whenever she saw the message carved into the back of the gourd by her father.

The illustrations in this book are a combination of pictures with captions describing the photographs from the actual Underground Railroad and maps, hand sketched drawings with pencil, and illustrations done with watercolors and oils. The text is placed on the sides of the paper creating a space in the middle for the illustrations. There is no negative space on any of the pages and the colors used are cool colors such as: browns, blues, purples, and greens.

This book is one that should be in a classroom because it can be incorporated into a language arts lesson or a social studies lesson. For social studies the students will be introduced to the slavery movement and how the Underground Railroad led many slaves to a life of freedom. In language arts the students could write an essay about an African American who changed history for the slaves and was a leader in the movement or students could research information about the Underground Railroad and details about how the slaves used it to gain freedom. This book is one that I want to have in my own personal classroom library because of the relationship Aquila has with her father. I am close with my father and could relate to the gift that Aquila received. This book does not have any awards, but does have a vast amount of facts and information on each page and would be great to use as a resource.

22. Liams Watch (A strange story of the great chicago fire)

22. Liams Watch

Author: Pamela Dell

Tradition Book Publishing, 2003

47 pages
Historical Fiction

         I chose this book while I was in the library because the librarian had just got a whole new shipment of books in and this book was a historical fiction book. The story is about a male named Liam who was woken early in the night when the Chicago fires broke out. The boy wakes his family up, but his family does not heed his warning and then is caught at the last minute trying to escape the fires. The story describes the mystery behind the supposed fireproof buildings collapsing and the safes exploding, but one artifact was spared.

         The illustrations in this book are beautiful. The text surrounds the pictures on the edges. Some of the illustrations are done across the entire spread of both pages while others are only on one side or the other. The illustrations are photographs  that have been inserted into the pages surrounded by true facts about each picture. Some of the illustrations are done with very fine lines that are sketched using pencils and colors from the warm end of the spectrum.

         This book would be a great book to use in the classroom for a Social Studies lesson. The book introduces the topic of the Chicago fires and could lead into a lesson about the events surrounding the fires. In a language arts lesson this book could provide the opportunity for students to write about how they would respond to the fires or how they would warn their family and friends if they were Liam. This is one of my favorite genres to read because I enjoy reading about past events that affected history. This book does not have any awards or honors.

21. Coming on Home Soon

 21. Coming On Home Soon

Author: Jacqueline Woodson

Illustrator: E.B. Lewis

G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2004

29 pages

 Historical Fiction

          I chose this book because the mother in this story reminded me of my mother who would willingly pick up as many jobs necessary to provide for me and my siblings. At one time she worked three different jobs just so we could do the extra curricular activities we desired to participate in during school. The story is about a little girl named Ada Ruth whose mother is leaving the family to go work during wartime while the men are away fighting. The grandmother is left to care for Ada and daily they would wait for a letter from momma saying she was coming home. Finally one day a letter arrived and the letter said that momma would be coming on home soon.

          The illustrations in this book are done in watercolor on Arches paper. The illustrator uses vignettes throughout the story to bring the mood into reality. The colors throughout are warm except for the use of negative space that depicts the snow and the cold climate. In the middle of the story an illustration is used to show that time has passed that uses the space of two pages and the font changes and the text is written in formal style throughout the book. This book has no honors or rewards.

         This book would be appropriate for thrid through fifth grade students in a classroom. This book could be used in a social studies lesson to discuss wartime. The book is a great story of sadness, missing loved one, and most of all hope in the end. This book could also be used for character development to help young girls understand the importance of women in our society especially during wartime. This story could be used to show responsability to our country for all staudents. I think this story showed a great relationship of a grandmother and grandchild who leaned on eachother during a hard time and pulled through the season of life and found hope and strength in eachother. The story is very heartwarming and would be one I will add to me classroom.

20. The Biggest Apple Ever

 

# 20 The Biggest Apple Ever

Author: Steven Kroll

Illustrator: Jeni Bassett

Publisher: Scholastic Inc, 2011

28 pages

Fantasy

            I chose this book because it is a book that I have in my classroom at the preschool I work at. All of the children love to eat apples during snack time and this is a book I brought and read to the class one day when I knew we would be having apples for snacks. The book is about two mice that fall in love with the same apple pie. The two mice meet because there is a contest at school to see who can bring the biggest apple to the teacher. The two mice spot the same big apple at the same time and bump heads trying to get the apple and decide to bring it in together. When they saw others had apples bigger than theirs they decided to take all of the apples they had picked and decided to make the biggest apple pie.

            The illustrations in this book are made up of bright colors. The medium used is watercolors and the lines in the book help to bring definition to the expressions on the faces of all of the mice. The illustrations use very little negative space and are full of life from page to page. Some of the illustrations contain thought bubbles that are incorporated smoothly into each page.

            This book would be appropriate for kindergarten through second grade. The story could be used in a social studies lesson to discuss the topic of producers and consumers. This would be a great book to use for a character development lesson in teaching students to work together and think outside of the box when making decisions for a project. This book has no awards or honors, but is a great gift idea for any teacher.

19. Medio Pollito

# 19 Medio Pollito

Author: Amanda StJohn

Illustrator: Sue Todd

Publisher: Peterson Publishing Company, 2012

24 pages

Fantasy

I chose this book because it was the book one of the EL students in my class was reading and always wanted to talk about the story with me when we had one on one time. The story is about a baby chick that was born with one eye, wing, and leg. His mother named him Medio Pollito, which means half chick. Medio had all the attention because he was the youngest and his siblings thought he could not do things on his own. Eventually Medio began tot hinkt he world revolved around him. Medio traveled one day to the governor to see if he could help in any way and on the way there the story tells of the different things he tried to help such as the river, the wind, and the campfire. Medio is mistaken for the governors dinner and calls on his friends he previously helped to help him.

The illustrations in this book are created with dark bold lines. The lines are curled and whispy. The colors come from the warm side of the spectrum with oranges, reds, and yellows. The story is a Mexican folk-tale and the use of colors and arrangements in the illustrations create the latin feel throughout the story. The text is on one side of the page while the illustrations are on the other side.

            This book is appropriate for all grade levels to be used in the classroom that introduces different cultures. Having this book in a classroom will not only incorporate another heritage, but include any ELL students in the classroom. This book could be used in a social studies lesson for students to research a different culture and the stories children their age in another culture grew up hearing. The book could introduce a character development lesson showing students that what goes around comes around and the seeds they sow they will one day reap. So if they sow generosity they will reap generosity in their time of need. The books could be used in a science lesson to study the growth of baby chickens before they hatch This book has no awards or honors.

18. The Red Book

#18 The Red Book

Barbara Lehman

Houghton Mifflin, 2004

28 Pages

Fantasy

            I chose this book because it was recommended to me while I was at the library. I asked for books with different types of mediums used and this book was one of the librarians favorites. The illustrations in the book reminded me a lot of my dads doodles he does on scrap pieces of paper at home. The story is about a young girl walking down the sidewalk in the winter and finds a small red book in the snow. While the girl is in class she opens the book and sees a boy on an island finding a red book and opening it up to see the city and the girl sitting in her classroom looking at him. The girl goes and buys helium balloons after school and lets the balloons carry her into the sky, while floating she drops her book, while the boy watches her float out of the picture. The boy watches as she floats out of the picture and becomes very sad. When the book lands the pages show the girl floating down onto the island next to the boy. The book ends with another little boy picking up the book to read.

            The illustrations in this book are done with gouache, watercolor, and ink. The minimal use of text on the illustrations keep the reader focused on the story and allows the reader to use their imagination. The bright colors increase the intensity and warm feeling of the little boys surroundings on the beach, while the use of grays and browns create the feeling of winter for the little girl. The characters are very simple, but the balloons and other parts of the book use bright colors that add to the fantasy feeling of the book.

            This book could be appropriate for any age level in elementary school. The books encourages students to think and be creative with their imaginations. A language arts lesson could be created using this book to have the students write the story about themselves. If they could choose to visit someone else how would they travel besides using helium balloons and where would they go. The text could be used in an art lesson to have the students develop the next phase of the story. The students could draw the illustrations for the boy who picked up the book at the end of the story. This book has not received any awards.

17. Paul Bunyan

# 17 Paul Bunyan

Author: Sandra Becker

Publisher: Weigl Publishers Inc, 2003

24 pages

Traditional Literature

Paul Bunyan was a story I had to reenact when I was in high school and we had to come up with a different ending to the story. I chose this book because it is a story that everyone is familiar with and has been told for ages. The story starts out with Paul who as a baby was put in a cradle and floated down the river. Paul was a huge man who could cut hundreds of trees at once. The story is about Paul and his life as a lumberjack.

The illustrations in this book are very realistic. The colors are soft greens, browns, and blues. The illustrations look as if they are hand drawn. The hair on Paul’s head is realistic looking as well as the details in the wood that makes up the forest.  The illustrations are full page with text boxes on the picture that tells the facts about Paul and his life as a lumberjack.

This book is appropriate for any grade level. The book could be used in a social studies lesson to introduce Paul as a folk tale hero. The book provides many facts about the legend and a time line of where the story originated.  The story of Paul Bunyan can introduce a language arts lesson to provide the students for the opportunity to change the story of Paul Bunyans life and where he came from. This book has no awards or honors, but is great to use as a resource in the classroom because of the facts, history, and details about Paul Bunyan it contains.