Ms. Rubinstein's Beauty--Angela McKenzie

Ms. Rubinstein's Beauty

Ms. Rubinstein's Beauty is all about a woman who is very beautiful in every aspect except she has a beard. However, since Ms. Rubinstein has a beard no one sees her beauty until she meets Mr. Pavlov who no one notices because of his elephant trunk. They see each other's beauty and fall in love.

I think this is a very cute book to introduce to children. Although the title may appeal to girls I think the book can appeal to both females and males because of the characters being both male and female but also the circus theme usually appeals to all children. On top of appealing to both genders the book sends a great message in a fun and creative manner. It lets children know that it is ok to be different. I love that it encourages children to like people who are different and gives children who feel out cast a sense of hope that they are wonderful people and will be noticed and that they can fall in love too. The illustrations aren't amazing but they are very eye catching because of all the reds and blacks the illustrator uses.

I think this book would be ok for a classroom but not my first choice. It is a very serious book and may lose the attention of some of the boys because the whole first half of the book talks about Ms. Pavlov. Also, I think that if you use this book with the wrong age group children won't be able to relate to the charters because they are so old. Nonetheless, the book does send a very important message to children that I really like. So, in my opinion I would have this in my class library and encourage children to pick it up but probably not use it as a class during story time.

Montserrat, Pep. Ms. Rubinstein's beauty . New York, N.Y.: Sterling Pub., 2006. Print.

How I Became A Pirate--Angela McKenzie

How I Became A Pirate

I chose to review this book because I actually considered using it with a class a while back. The book is about a boy who goes to the beach and meets a group of pirates while he is there. The pirates invite him to go along on an adventure to bury their treasure.

I like this book because it is just a fun read. It's very relate-able for children because it talks about all kinds of things that kids do in everyday life. It also talks about all the things kids wish they did not have to do like brush their teeth or eat their carrots. On top of that it lets kids use their imagination as they learn all about how to be a pirate. I don't know how much learning a child would get from just reading the book but an adult could definitely guide their learning by talking about the scenarios in the book. For example, the adult could talk about why we have to eat our carrots and brush our teeth. So overall I think it is a great book to introduce to children just for fun and to get them reading and using their imagination but probably not a lot of real learning going on from this book so I probably wouldn't try to make this into a unit but possibly use it as part of unit or theme. I also think the pirate theme would be useful as part of a unit to draw in boys' attention.

Long, Melinda, and David Shannon. How I became a pirate . San Diego: Harcourt, 2003. Print.

Pirates Don't Change Diapers--Angela McKenzie

Pirates Don't Change Diapers

I chose to read Pirates Don't Change Diapers because I really enjoyed the book How I became a Pirate. I must say I was disappointed in this book. It was funny and fun but it was not as exciting as the first book at all. I think children would enjoy reading the book if hey had already read the first book. I say this because the first book really introduces the pirates and tells how Jeremy meets the pirates and becomes one. Without the background I do don't think the story would be as fun to read. It's all about a kid whose mother leaves him home to babysit his sister. While he is babysitting his pirate friends show up to look for their treasure. However, they end up waking up the baby. This means that the pirates have to help babysit before they can find the treasure. Through the book the boy is teaching the pirates how to babysit. They use a lot of play on words to add humor. Like when the pirates think that babysitting means sitting on a baby. I did really like this aspect of the book because it would be great to teach kids about how words can have different meanings. However, there really was not a suspenseful adventure throughout the story like there was in the first book.

Long, Melinda, and David Shannon. Pirates don't change diapers . Orlando, Fla.: Harcourt, 2007. Print.

Kibitzers and Fools: Tales My Zayda Told Me--Angela McKenzie

Kibitzers and Fools: Tales My Zayda Told Me

I chose to read this book simply because it looked fun and I had never heard of it before. This is a book with 13 separate stories that were supposedly told to him by his grandfather who spoke Yiddish. Each story as a funny but true moral at the end.

To say the least I absolutely loved this book. Every story is humorous with an eye catching picture. On top of this the book teaches you new Yiddish words in each story. At the end of the book it has a glossary of all the Yiddish words and their meanings that you learned in the book.

Yiddish is such a fun and silly sounding language that I think kids would love trying to learn the words and use them. On top of that it points out some Yiddish words that we already use in the English language. Even more the book shows what it means to have a moral to a story and some of the pages teach valuable life lessons like how to read a thermometer. Overall, I think this would be a great book to use in a class room both as a group read and an individual read.

Taback, Simms. Kibitzers and fools: tales my zayda (grandfather) told me. New York: Viking, 2005. Print.

Jungle Song-Angela McKenzie

Jungle Song

I chose to read Jungle Song because I really like music and I think music is great to use in the classroom. This is a children's book about a little tapir who goes on an adventure through the jungle listening to the beat of the jungle. The entire book except for the begging and end are in song.

I enjoyed reading this book. This book is a great opportunity for children to learn about all the different creatures in the jungle or rainforest. Making learning into a song and adventure allows children to learn without even realizing they are learning. I thought that the illustrator also did a great job at including pictures of each animal on every page. The illustrations were fun to look at and try to find each animal the song is talking about. Another thing I really enjoyed about this book was that it had an underlying moral that we should not wonder away from our parents and also that our mothers love us very much.

You could do so many activities with this book. It would be easy to create a unit around this book. You could teach the class the song. Use the book to introduce different creatures in the jungle. You could find all kinds of crafts to go with the book. You could even have the children write a song about what the song of their “jungle” sounds like. Overall, I think this would be an excellent book for the classroom but it would have to be read as a group because there are a lot of semi-complicated words and children may not understand the the book is a song unless you explain it to them or sing them the book.

Moss, Miriam. Jungle song . New ed. London: Frances Lincoln, 2005. Print.

Holes- Stefanie Dimofski

Holes- by: Louis Sachar

Summary: The book, Holes,by Louis Sachar is about a young boy named Stanley Yelnets and his endeavors at a juvenile delinquent camp. Stanley is unjustly accused of a crime and sent off to Camp Green Lake in order for him to be disciplined. The disciplining at this camp includes all the young boys having to dig huge holes in the ground. Stanly believes that he is at the camp due to his bad luck, which is from a family curse dating back to his great- grandfather. Stanley begins to realize that the Warden at the camp is actually having the boys dig holes because she is looking for something. As the story goes on, Stanley makes friends with a guy named Zero, and together they overcome the powers of the warden. Eventually Stanley lifts his family's curse and he and Zero serve justice to the campers of Camp Green Lake.

Review: Growing up, Holes, was definitely one of my favorite books. I thought that it had all the great elements to make a story and had plenty of action, drama, and relationships that were tested. After re-reading this book, I definitely was able to pick up on some more less detailed parts of the book which I normally would not have in the past. I think that the book nicely blends the past in with the present and the story truly is written well to tie in Stanley's family curse with the present day time and the location of the camp. I was really impressed at how well written the plot was and how much sense everything made in terms of Stanley's great- grandfather and everything in between. I feel as though even minor details such as the onions and the healing powers of them, to the yellow spotted lizards, all had a proper place within this book.

Throughout this book I noticed a few themes that struck me as very important. The first was the truth within friendships. I believe that Stanley and Zero were such an odd pair of friends at first, but as they struggle with one another throughout the book, their friendship truly makes sense. They are definitely one another's support system and could not have survived without one another. I believe that this book allows kids to realize what a true friend should be and how much one should be able to rely on that friend. I believe that in a classroom setting, it would be beneficial to use this idea of friendship and point out qualities in a good or bad friend. A bad friend example, would be the character X-ray. Students would be able to write out good qualities in which they are looking for within a friend and maybe base some of these qualities even off of Stanly or Zero.

Another theme in which I noticed was how important history was within the book. There are so many stories tied into one and they all build off one another. It is important that Stanly knows these stories from his great-grandfathers past in order to help him in the present. This sense of history also ties in with the idea of fate and how Stanley is destined to go to this camp and break the family curse. Reading this book now made me pick up on some more minor details of the past within Stanley's life and I was able to draw into deeper connections between the stories being told from the past and the present story in which I was reading.

I believe that this book could be used for an older elementary school classroom and even be read by middle school aged children who could analyze the text a little more thoroughly. There could be many activities done with this book and as a class students could compare this book to other folk-tales and analyze the reality of these folk tales and the idea of the Yelnets curse. I also think it would be interesting to see how if we as a class changed parts of the folk tales, how it would affect Stanley throughout the book. For example, if Stanley didn't know certain parts of stories he had heard of his great-grandfather, would he still be successful in breaking the curse? Overall, the story can be analyzed and would provide for an enjoyable read and great discussion within a classroom.


Sachar, Louis. Holes. Turtleback, 2003. Print. 

So Far from Home: The Diary of Mary Driscoll, an Irish Mill Girl- Gillian M.

Summary: Mary Driscoll is a 14 year-old girl living in Ireland in 1847 during the potato famine with her parents. She grew up hearing stories about America and the wonderful opportunities there. Mary finally gets the chance to go to America when her Aunt and older sister (both of whom live in America) sent her a ticket. After almost a month long voyage to America alone, Mary lands in America and soon realizes the hard work she must endure in an overcrowded cotton mill to raise enough money to send her parents over to America so her entire family can be together again.

Review: Mary Driscoll has bittersweet feelings about leaving the only home she has ever known in Skibbereen, Ireland. While she realizes Ireland is not a good place to be because of the famine and the increasing poverty, she does not want to leave her parents in such a bad position. After receiving an invitation and ticket to come to America from her Aunt, Mary’s mother decides it would be best for her to go. Mary gets on a boat for about a month and finally arrives in Boston. Mary’s sister is a housekeeper for a rich family in Lowell, Massachusetts and gets Mary a job as a spinner in a cotton mill nearby. Mary is happy she is somewhat independent and is not just cleaning for a rich family all day. Mary works hard so she can eventually raise enough money for her parents to join her in America.

I would recommend this novel for grades three to five. I was first drawn to this series because it involved history which one of my areas of concentration. This series has diaries for many girls from different time periods, such as the Civil War, Trail of Tears, and the Industrial Period. A downside of this book is that it is told from a girls’ perspective, which may be hard to encourage boys in this age rage to read. Besides this, I found Mary’s diary very informative about the time period and gave good insight into the struggles that immigrants faced when first coming to America. In Mary’s case, many of her co-workers in the factory disliked the Irish because they worked for less money which caused the owner to hire more and worsen the working conditions so he could make a larger profit.

If I were a teacher, I would recommend this book for my history class, or any book in the series depending on what material we were learning. Although it is not a real diary it does contain many facts about the time period in the story, and even pictures from the time period in the back. For example, Lowell, Massachusetts was actually the center of textile manufacturing in 1847. I would also take the time to discuss discrimination with this novel in the class. I could use examples from the text and discuss stereotypes Mary’s coworkers had about her before even getting to know her. Overall, I enjoyed this book, and I found the diary entries made it easy to read.



Citation:

Denenberg, Barry. So Far from Home: the Diary of Mary Driscoll, an Irish Mill Girl. New York: Scholastic, 1997. Print.

Second book review: Holes by Louis Sachar Maleah O'Neal

For the second book review, I chose to read Holes  by Louis Sachar. I read this novel when I was in fifth grade, but I was not very fond of it. My objective with reading the novel for the book review was to see if I understood it better and if I enjoyed reading it as an adult.

Stanley Yelnats is the main character in the novel. He is falsely accused of stealing a pair of shoes that were donated by a basketball legend to a celebrity auction, when in reality, the pair of shoes mysteriously fell from the sky. Stanley is given a choice of sentences for his "crime" - to either go to jail, or go to bootcamp, Camp Green Lake. Stanley chose to attend camp, where he is directed by the warden to dig holes every day that are 5 feet wide and 5 feet deep. The book details Stanley getting to know other inmates and getting used to the dreadful work life, but he is suspicious of the warden's directing. Although it is said that the holes help to build character within the camp inmates, Stanley believes the warden has other motives- to find something. The book is based around Stanley unraveling the mystery of the holes, what Stanley's family curse from his "dirty-rotten-pig-stealing great grandfather"truly means, and the legend of Kissing Kate Barlow.

When I read this book in fifth grade, I was not genuinely interested in it. The fact that I did not enjoy reading may have played a part, but the main reason was because of the characters. The main characters were inmates, and this did not appeal to me- I did not care if they were innocent or guilty. I was, however, fond of Zero, an inmate at Camp Green Lake and Stanley's friend. His mysterious character attracted me the most- he never smiles, and fought often. I liked that he stuck up for Stanley when need be, and that he always finished digging his holes first. I really liked the fact that he was one of the most important characters and served a major purpose in the conclusion of the book.

Reading Holes as an adult is much more intriguing than as a child. Although it is a child's read, I found myself understandind the concepts of the story much better than I did before. For instance, the holes symbolize the negativity of Camp Green Lake. They are called graves throughout the book. The boys that dig them hate the holes because they are a symbol of punishment. I understood that the holes were looked at as punishment when I was younger, but I did not grasp the concept that metaphorically, all the holes needed to be filled in order for the story to end happily. This was one of the first concepts I thought about when analyzing what I read. I also realized how the setting of where the characters were affected their personality when re-reading the novel. The boys at Camp Green Lake were very unhappy and more prone to violence when they were in the desert digging holes (honestly who wouldn't be unhappy digging holes in the heat?). When Stanley was away from the desert, he was more content, and satisfied. The landscape affected all of the boys' attitudes, something I did not notice when I first read the book.

I think this novel would be a good read for children ages 9 and up. There are some concepts of the book that are hard to grasp, and I realized this when I re-read it. Summary dialougue and discussion is important surrounding the book because children may need assistance in understanding the themes and the vivid descriptions of characters. I also think it is important for parents to read along with their children because there is some mentionings of past and present racism throughout the story. Overall, the book is humorous and creative, and it would make a good addition to a book club. It would also be good to compare the novel to the movie that was created, recognizing differences between print and screen play.

Michael Chinn - Book Review 2

Osborne, Mary Pope. Magic Tree House #2: The Knight at Dawn New York: Scholastic, 1993. Print.

This is the second book in the Magic Tree House series with Jack and his sister Annie. This time they visit a castle in Medieval times. The story follows a similar pattern as the first book where they choose a book and visit that location. The difference being this time that the time of day is different than the last book.

This book and the other books in the series are a great foundation for generating interest in history. Rather than history being a boring list of facts, names, and dates to be memorized using these books as a foundation to build interest could bring history to life. The book could be done as a read aloud or possibly in small groups and then based on the reading choose a facet of Medieval times that interests them and research it. This gives students an opportunity to explore an aspect of history that interests them rather than what a school board or curriculum determines they should learn. Students could also compare and contrast how closely the book matches what actual history is thought to have been like.

The research might even be expanded into a project where students create a presentation and educate the class on the aspect of Medieval times they learned utilizing the student as expert idea. The students could research an a facet or facets of Medieval times alone or in groups and compare what the book said about that aspect and how experts generally think it was.

This book provides a wide variety of choices for teachers to incorporate activities into history and change history from a dry, boring subject into a lively, interesting one. The book lends itself directly into history as it focuses on many of the aspects of history that might interest students.

Second Book Review- My Name is America: The Journal of James Edmond Pease. - Kellie V.

Summary:

James Edmond Pease is a sixteen year old orphan during the American Civil War. He discovers that his Aunt and Uncle do not want to keep him and decides to lie and say he is eighteen so he can join the Union Army. He seems to have good luck while in battle and has good hand-writing so his commanding officer designates him as their scribe. His job is to write a description about each man in their party and write about any skirmish that they get in with the Confederate Army.

Theme:

For my two reviews, I chose two novels which both had male protagonists and were set up to be read like a journal.



Analysis:

Absence of Female Characters:

While reading this novel, I noticed that there was only a few female characters while there were countless male characters presented.

Normally, I would not agree that a book should have an absence of either gender; but, in this book, the omission of female characters presents a sense of camaraderie amongst the male soldiers. The main character begins by describing each of the men in their company in a very indifferent manner while towards the end of the story he feels protective of them and thinks of them as his brothers.

There are two females which really stood out while I was reading the book. The first is James' distant love interest named Sarah. She is actually one of the other soldier's sister who begins to write James after she hears about his close encounter with an enemy soldier. Throughout the novel, we never actually meet Sarah or read her letters, James simply states that he receives letters from her and then tells us what he writes back to her. I believe her absence from James is used to represent the possibility of what his life can be if he can only make it out of the war.

The other female character is a slave named Sally who nurses James back to health after a battle that left him very weak and unable to find food. While Sally is actually there taking care of James, she speaks French instead of English so James is unable to communicate properly with her. After he has regained his health, James' inability to make a connection with Sally allows him to leave her easily in order to find out what happened to his friends.

Discussions:

Historical Accuracy:

Since I want to be a History teacher, I think it would be interesting for my students to delve deeper into the text by researching what actually happened during this war and then trying to find any inaccuracies in this novel.

Journal Style of Writing:

I would like my students to discuss whether they enjoyed reading from a novel that is set up like a journal or whether they prefer books that are presented in the normal style. I would then have a discussion about whether they would like to write journals of their own.

Age:

I would use this text in 5^th or 6^th grade. That way the students probably already know something about the Civil War and we can use that background knowledge to expand upon what is already present in the text.

Citation.

Murphy, J. (1998). My Name is America: The Journal of James Edmond Pease, A Civil War Union Solder. New York: Scholastic Inc.

Second book review - Maggie D.

Ivy and Bean Take Care of the Babysitter

By: Annie Barrows and Sophie Blackall

Summary:

In this book Bean’s parents decide to go to a play one Saturday afternoon; but unfortunately, their usual babysitter is not available. The parents decide to let Bean’s older sister, Nancy, babysit her, but Bean is not happy about this. As Nancy is putting on makeup, Bean sneaks her best friend, Ivy, over and the two of them climb into the attic and get stuck. Eventually Nancy helps them out and Bean and Ivy decide they basically babysat themselves all day. Nancy tells her parent she is not ready to babysit again.

Review:

I would use this book for a group of second grade females to read individually or with a partner. Then I would have my students do projects and have discussions to reflect and interact with the text. I found this book to be very cute and entertaining with a lot of life lessons throughout it. I know I would have enjoyed this book as a second grade girl.

            This book is a chapter book, but there are pictures on every page. I think this is very helpful for children. I feel like kids understand stories a lot more clearly when they can read the words, comprehend them, and see a picture of what is going on in the story to clarify what they read. For example, when Beans and her friends are pretending to play volcano, the picture is of a huge mound of dirt. I love using pictures to interact with text. After every chapter I would have my students draw a picture of themselves or their family or friends doing something that relates to the characters and the story. It is very important for children to make these connections. I think a lot of second graders would be able to relate to not liking a babysitter, putting on their mom’s makeup, or playing pretend with their best friend.

            I believe this book would create a lot of discussion amongst second grade girls. I would want to come together as a group after every chapter and discuss what the students had read individually. I would want them to talk about what happened in the chapter, why the characters did what they did, what they were feelings, the consequences of their actions, and/or how they can relate. I want them to tell me how they feel about the book, if they like the plot, the pictures, etc. For example, I want them to tell me if it was a good idea for Ivy and Bean to go up into the attic when they knew they were not allowed. Then I want them to acknowledge that because they broke the rules, their consequence was getting stuck up there.

            The last major activity I would want my group of students to do with the book is to make a storyboard as they read the story. I think it is sometimes hard for children to remember what they read previously in a book, especially in a longer book like this one. This way before they begin reading each day they can look back and see the plot so far. I would want them to draw a small picture and write a sentence for each main part of the plot that took place. For example, I would want them to draw Bean’s parents leaving her with Nancy to babysit. They would write what was happening in the same box.  I feel like children would find this very beneficial to look back on and it will also help them comprehend what they read.

            I really enjoyed reading this book. I think it was a fun story that a lot of students will be able to relate to. I liked that it was long and a chapter book, but also had pictures on each page. There are many activities I could do to help my students interact with the text. I would highly recommend this book to any teacher of early elementary school female.

Citation: 

Barrows, Annie, & Blackall, Sophie. Ivy and Bean Take Care of the Babysitter. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 2008.

Second Book Review - Kaelie C.

Goosebumps: Attack of the Jack-O-Lanterns Book Review

Introduction:

            Goosebumps: Attack of the Jack-O-Lanterns is one of many books in the R.L Stine series that involves mystery, crazy twists, and science fiction. Because this book is mainly about friendship, revenge, and jack-o-lanterns, it would be a great read for the fall season. Students, at the appropriate age level, can gain satisfaction through literature and a sense of adventure. Even with the exciting adventure and mystery, the story also includes social aspects, especially with friendship. While teaming up, Drew and Walker experience many crazy twists and scary situations throughout the story.

Summary:

            The Goosebumps book series encompasses many different mystery, science fiction, and fantasy aspects. In Goosebumps: Attack of the Jack-O-Lanterns, the main character named Drew Brockman gets revenge on the other kids for a practical joke played on them last Halloween. Drew and her best friend, named Walker, put pumpkins on their heads to go scare the jokesters. All of the sudden, the pumpkins seem scarier and actually turn into monsters that shoot fire and hiss. Drew and Walker began to wonder if this has to do with two other friends, Shane and Shauna. Eventually, they find out that it was Shane and Shauna scaring the jokesters and that they are aliens. The story ends with Drew seeing if Shane and Shauna are joking about eating humans.

Critical Thinking:

Friendship and Bullying

            In the beginning of the story, the reader is introduced to Drew and Walker who had a practical joke played on them during Halloween. Since they are such close friends, they decide to get their revenge on the jokesters by scaring them with pumpkin heads. Ultimately, with the help of Shane and Shauna, they were able to really scare the kids. Since this book is appropriate for middle school and late-elementary ages, the reader can gain a sense that he or she is not the only one getting singled out. The reader is eager to learn what happens because the book is written in Drew’s perspective, especially since she wants revenge. By using pumpkin heads to scare the jokesters, a young reader will gain satisfaction and understanding. Through the dialogue, friendship is made to seem important and meaningful. The alien fantasy twist at the end of the book helps to completely establish adventure and mystery for the reader. This final point of the story can encourage readers to pick up and read more Goosebumps series books.

Book Format

            Goosebumps: Attack of the Jack-O-Lanterns is one of many books in the series and is an example of how formatting can affect the reader. In this book, chapters are very short and packed full of action and twists. For instance, chapter 27 summarizes the climax where Tabby and Lee (the jokesters) are terrified and run away in fear. The chapter ends with the lines: “’Please –!’ I begged. ‘Please – no!’”; these chapter-ending lines give the reader immense excitement and definitely peaks his/her curiosity about the next chapter. Even though this book is completely science fiction and fantasy, it really helps the reader keep reading until the very end of the story. The font is also friendly to younger readers, especially with the italicization to describe important story aspects. Also, having chapters short helps to give readers satisfaction and motivates him or her to finish. At the appropriate age level, readers could compete to finish the book or discuss among each other what happens in each chapter. The book covers, both front and back, seem to have many advertisements for other Goosebumps products such as with trading cards, the fan club, and television shows.

Possible Teaching Moments/Class Activities

            Since this book series includes advertisements and attention drawn towards younger ages, they would be a great introduction for students to media and social relationships. Having situations in the book involving friendship and bullying helps readers to learn what is appropriate language and behavior. If a teacher wants to use this book, I think it would be great if he or she had the students first analyze the book covers and advertisements and discuss what it means to them. Then at the end of the book, the teacher could have students discuss if getting revenge is appropriate or not in different situations. It would be great to use this book during the late October month since it would get them thinking about Halloween, friendship, and having fun. Also, this might be a good bridging tool to use; if a teacher is trying to teach space or astronomy subjects, the aliens at the end could expand students’ curiosities. This book could also be used as a comparison book; a teacher could use this book to compare against a non-fiction book. Students could look at differences in perspective, tone, plot, and characters.

Appropriate Age/Grade Level

            The Goosebumps series definitely attracts many different type s of readers. I think the most interested type of reader would be a young age/grade level. Specifically, fourth, fifth, and sixth grade would be appropriate grade levels for this book series. In these years, students still embrace a sense of adventure and fantasy. Their comprehension skills are further developing in this period, but being a kid is also important. At this developmental stage, children are starting to see value and meaning with friendship and doing things together. Friendships begin to be taken more seriously so if a student were to read Goosebumps: Attack of the Jack-O-Lanterns, this would be further supported and implemented. Even with the outrageous fiction aspects of aliens and pumpkin-head monsters, students can still learn to further embrace friendship. This book series would probably be a good bridge to more complicated fiction or non-fiction such as Lord of the Rings. More complicated books introduce extensive vocabulary and  plot, which can further develop in seventh through twelfth grades.

Holidays as Fantasy

            Goosebumps: Attack of the Jack-O-Lanterns poses a huge issue: whether holidays are too fantastical. Just from looking at the book covers, one will know that this book focuses on Halloween and how Halloween can ‘go wrong’. Obviously, this book would be a good tool during the fall season, but it seems to support that Halloween is fantasy and science fiction. The aliens being the pumpkin-headed monsters ties in fantasy with science fiction. This perspective can give readers a false perspective on holidays, especially Halloween. Some readers might be scared by this story while others thoroughly enjoy the book and get excited about Halloween. While going through all the different Goosebumps series books, I noticed that they all have exotic science fiction/mystery plots. This can be problematic, especially for readers that take things very literally.

Final Thoughts

            This Goosebumps book was a great, exciting read overall. I really enjoyed the outrageous fantasy and science fiction aspects. This book definitely peaked my curiosity and would be awesome to read during the fall. At the end of the book, I was disappointed to see that their friends, Shane and Shauna, were aliens and they helped the main characters with their plan. Other Goosebumps books that I have read were very exciting and scary, especially when I was younger. Since there are many crazy twists and science fiction, there can be many ways to incorporate this series, especially Goosebumps: Attack of the Jack-O-Lanterns, in the classroom. R.L. Stine is a talented science fiction and mystery author and would be a great author to choose from for fourth through sixth grade levels. The many aspects and issues that this book introduces should definitely be considered when choosing this book.

Citation:

Stine, R.L. (1996). Goosebumps: Attack of the Jack-O-Lanterns. New York: Scholastic, Inc.

Novel Review #2 Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes

Kim Smith
EDU T&L 467
Monday Class

Summary

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes is a true story about Sadako, an eleven year old japanese child who was alive and living in Hiroshima during the United State’s Hiroshima bombing. Sadly, as a result of what Sadako refers to as the “thunderbolt,” Sadako is suffering from leukemia and the illness is causing her body to become weak. While coping with her illness, Sadako attempts to make one thousand paper cranes because she has heard that anyone who does so is granted one wish. Sadako dies before she can finish making all one thousand cranes, but after her death people begin to make origami themselves with Sadako in their thoughts. Sadako is then buried with all one thousand paper cranes and the people create a statue of her as a way to commemorate those who lost their lives as a result of the bombings. The statue also serves to advocate peace worldwide.

Analysis

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, written by Eleanor Corr, is a novel much different than the light hearted books often incorporated into young children’s literature. Unlike elementary school favorites like the Clementine series, Judy Bloom books, or the Magic School Bus series, Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes presents itself as a historical novel with depth. The novel touches on sensitive subjects that are more likely to be censored in schools, like death and pain. The emotional connection linked with the novel is both strong and lingering. Though the book based on a true story does not boast of humor, children are still able to enjoy this read with its refreshingly unique context.

I would most likely incorporate this book into a fourth grade curriculum. Due to the topic of the book, I think that students would get the most out of it if it were directed to the class as a read aloud. I would plan to first talk to students about the events of WW2. This would allow the students to have a sense of background before diving into the book, as the book itself directly mentions the bomb falling as well as people being stricken with illness and dying. This book would be even more so beneficial if it coincided with our class history lessons. Having an even greater understanding for what was going on during Sadako’s lifespan and during the setting of the book would only enhance student’s comprehension. 

After each reading of the book, I would allow time for class discussion. In order to ensure that students are engaging with the text, I would make sure to ask questions. Questions about what they think about Sadako, and similarities between students lives and Sadako’s may help give students direction. Perhaps the students will note that they too have a collection of some sort, just as Sadako is collecting paper cranes. If students needed additional help to make connections between their lives and Sadako’s, I would ask questions and have students raise their hands if the question applied to them. For example, I would ask, “how many of you guys have a best friend, like Sadako?” “Go to school?” “Have a brother or sister?” It is important that students know that they aren’t so different from this foreign character living decades before them.  

By the end of the book, I would question students about the importance of peace. This book should act as a reminder to students that wars do have consequences and that human life is fragile. Though it should be expected that if this book is read to fourth graders, as oppose to being taken home and read by sixth graders, the analysis of the book will vary. It would be assumed that different age groups would take away different things from the book and appreciate it in their own ways. The idea of peace being imperative, however, should be a central concept to all age groups.

To further children’s connection with the book, I would have my fourth grade class attempt to make origami themselves. In doing so, the students would feel more actively engaged with the text as a whole. Assuming that most students will struggle with the task, and that the process of making origami will take up a decent amount of class time, I would then ask students to try to relate with Sadako and her dream of making one thousand paper cranes. Students will get the sense that the task itself is difficult, and that Sadako was very determined. Students should be reminded that Sadako’s battle with leukemia enhanced the difficulty of the task. In addition, it should also be noted that the challenge of making all one thousand paper cranes helped Sadako to keep distracted from her illness as well as to find the strength to continue to fight for her life. At the end of class, I would collect all the paper cranes and explain to the students that we will be using them again at a later time, but explain that they won’t know when we use the paper cranes again until the book is completed.

After finishing the book, students may be a little uneasy because the book doesn’t end with Sadako surviving. However, the book does not end graphically, which is another reason why I believe that the book is not too advanced for a group of fourth graders. Eleanor Corr chooses to narrate Sadako’s death by explaining that the girl fell asleep and did not wake up. It may also be interesting to challenge the students understanding of the book by questioning weather they believe that the book had a happy ending or not. Though the main character did die, it is relevant that after her death, people were moved and began to show their support. Her story became inspirational, and Sadako’s death initiated what could be explained as a peace movement. I would explain that paper cranes are sent to Hiroshima annually in remembrance of Sadako and those who died because of the bombings. After explaining this, I would pull out the paper cranes collected earlier, and ask the students if they’d like to send their paper crane to Hiroshima as a symbol of peace.

Citation

Coerr, Eleanor, and Ronald Himler. Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. New York: Puffin,

        1999. Print.