Module 5: Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom - Other Award Winners

Book Summary:

This is the story of Harriet Tubman and how she escaped from slavery and her journey to freedom.  She was a very spiritual woman who prayed and listened for guidance from God.  She knew that He protected her and provided the way for her and her family members to be free.  The first journey was the most difficult because she was alone, but she knew that she would be protected until she reached safety.  She made nineteen trips to help other slaves find freedom away from slavery.  She was modern day Moses as she led people to their freedom.

APA Reference:

Weatherford, C.B. (2006). Moses: When Harriet Tubman led her people to freedom. NewYork, NY: Hyperion.

Impression:

It was refreshing to read a book where the main character is a spiritual person and had a personal relationship with God.  She listened to his promptings and knew the moment when the timing was right to escape to freedom.  The illustrations enhance the lyrical text and bring a feeling of peace and hope into the story.  There is one painting where she is sleeping in a field and she is being watched over by the animals.  This was a beautiful illustration of her faith that God would not leave her alone.  When she obtained her freedom, she knew that it would not be compete freedom without her family, so she once again prays for guidance and is given strength and courage to return for her family and friends.

Professional Review:

Weatherford’s poetic telling of Harriet Tubman’s role as a conductor on the Underground Railroad combines with Nelson’s larger-than-life illustrations to portray the spiritual life of the African American visionary. The story takes readers from Tubman’s early days as a slave, through her decision to escape, and into her life as a free person who detested the institution of slavery so vehemently that she returned to the South nineteen times to free some three hundred slaves, including her family members. Weatherford uses three different narrative voices to explore Tubman’s relationship with God: a third-person narrator, telling of her life and trials; the voice of Harriet herself, who (in an italicized font) speaks her doubts and pleas directly to God; and God’s words to Harriet—“HARRIET, I WILL MAKE A WAY FOR YOU”—set in large, translucent type. The interaction between these narrative voices makes clear that it was Tubman’s strong faith that sustained her on the freedom journeys so dramatically evoked in Nelson’s richly atmospheric nightscapes. Several key scenes bring Harriet in close visual proximity to the reader to emphasize both her emotional turmoil and her strength. Moses offers a visual and literary experience of Tubman’s life on a par with Alan Schroeder and Jerry Pinkney’s Minty.

Martin, M. H. (2006). Moses: When Harriet Tubman led her people to freedom. Horn Book Magazine, 82(6), 737-738.

Library Uses:

This book could be used in a library book display or could be paired with other books to be used during Black History Month in February. During the month books and other library materials could be used and found to help celebrate the contributions that African Americans have made to American history in their struggles for freedom and equality and deepens our understanding of our Nation's history.

Module 5: Chato's Kitchen - Other Award Winners

Book Summary:

Chato the cat invites his new mice neighbors to dinner, where they will be the main course.  The mouse family thinks that the cat is being a friendly neighbor welcoming them to the Barrio. They remember that their friend, Chorizo, is coming for a visit that same night, so they ask if he can come also come to dinner.  Chato is planning a wonderful meal with many traditional Mexican foods on the menu. His cat friend, Novio Boy, comes to help Chato prepare for their feast. When the mice family arrives with Chorizo, the cats are in for a surprise.

APA Reference:

Soto, G. (1995). Chatos's kitchen. New York, NY: G. P. Putnam's Sons.

Impressions:

This was a fun book that had the color and beauty of Mexican culture, language and foods.  The illustrations were an array of bright colors and the pictures of the fruits, vegetables and the prepared food dishes were brilliant and added to the story.  The mice children were dressed in more modern westernized clothing but the mice parents were dressed in more traditional clothing.  The blending of the two languages is a great way to help unite and bring together individuals from different cultures.

Professional Review:

Chato, a "low-riding cat with six stripes," spends an afternoon in the kitchen along with his best friend, Novio Boy, a cat with "the loveliest growl in the barrio." They prepare a mouthwatering array of dishes, including fajitas, enchiladas, and chiles rellenos, but the heartlest dish is yet to come, for Chato has thoughtfully invited his new neighbors - a "tasty" family of mice. When the rodents arrive and announce that they've brought Chorizo, the cats think that the guests have come with even more treats: "Sausage! Chato and Novio Boy . . . gave each other a 'low four.'" However, the cats are in for a surprise. Chorizo, it turns out, is an old family friend from the old neighborhood, and he's neither sausage nor mouse. He's a dog -"a low, road-scraping dog." Chato resigns himself to a mouseless meal, comforted that dinner will still be pretty good because, "after all, it came from Chato's kitchen." Humorous details abound in Guevara's richly colored artwork, which portrays the characters with affection and authenticity. The illustrations convey the cats' cool and confident attitude - Chato has a gold hoop in one ear and wears his baseball cap backward, while Novio Boy, bandanna round his head, has a flashy cross dangling from his cat collar; both cats sport pencil-thin mustaches. Soto's fresh and satisfying fare is distinctively seasoned with the sights and sounds of East Los Angeles; the sprinkling of Spanish words and phrases adds the perfect flavor. A glossary - including the items on Chato's menu - precedes the story.

Brabander, J. (1995). Chato's kitchen. Horn Book Magazine, 71(5), 591-592.

Library Uses:

This book could be used to teach about different cultures, traditions and languages.  My school is a Spanish immersion school, so this could be used to introduce new vocabulary and create a project by using the new Spanish words.

Module 4: Dead End in Norvelt - Newbery Winners

Book Summary:

This story takes place in Norvelt, Pennsylvania during the summer months after Jack fires his father's Japanese sniper rifle at the Drive Inn movie screen.  As punishment he is grounded for life but he is sent by his mother to help their elderly neighbor Miss Volker write obituaries for the town newspaper. Jack uncovers and solves the murder mysteries of many elderly citizens in his town. Jack, a history lover, learns about American history that he has never been taught in school by Miss Volker's chats. Jack helps his father re-build a plane, which they have an adventure with paint balloons at the end of the story.  Eleanor Roosevelt was also an important part of the history and background of their town because she helped Norvelt survive by helping the people get into homes.  Miss Volker made a promise to Eleanor that she would keep the medical and death records of the original town members, which meant that she would have to outlive the originals that were introduced to the town.

APA Reference: 

Gantos, J. (2011). Dead end in Norvelt. New York, NY: Farrar Straus Giroux.

Impressions:

This a wonderful example of a young boy who serves and assists an elderly neighbor and helps her perform her daily tasks.  He learns the value and importance of history and keeping accurate records. The value of knowing what happened in the past so that precious memories and experiences will not be lost or forgotten. Jack learns the value of making and keeping deadlines and the importance of being a dependable worker. The lesson of hard work provides the means to earn money to purchase and fix up a car.  There are many lessons of compassion, friendship and history that might not be interesting for younger readers and the humor might go over their heads.


Professional Review:

In 1962, Jack accidentally discharges his father's war relic, a Japanese rifle, and is grounded for the summer. When a neighbor's arthritic hands get the best of her, his mother lifts the restriction and volunteers the 12-year-old to be the woman's scribe, writing obituaries for the local newspaper. Business is brisk for Miss Volker, who doubles as town coroner, and Norvelt's elderly females seem to be dropping like flies. Prone to nosebleeds at the least bit of excitement (until Miss Volker cauterizes his nose with old veterinarian equipment), Jack is a hapless and endearing narrator. It is a madcap romp, with the boy at the wheel of Miss Volker's car as they try to figure out if a Hell's Angel motorcyclist has put a curse on the town, or who might have laced Mertie-Jo's Girl Scout cookies with rat poison. The gutsy Miss Volker and her relentless but rebuffed suitor, Mr. Spizz, are comedic characters central to the zany, episodic plot, which contains unsubtle descriptions of mortuary science. Each quirky obituary is infused with a bit of Norvelt's history, providing insightful postwar facts focusing on Eleanor Roosevelt's role in founding the town on principles of sustainable farming and land ownership for the poor. Jack's absorption with history of any kind makes for refreshing asides about John F. Kennedy's rescue of PT-109 during World War II, King Richard II, Francisco Pizarro's conquest of Peru, and more. A fast-paced and witty read.

Reutter, V. (2011). Dead end in Norvelt. School Library Journal, 57(9), 154.

Library Uses: 

This book could be used when discussing Newbery award winners and the criteria and selection process when choosing a winner each year.

Module 4: Missing May - Newbery Winners

Book Summary:

Summer goes to live with her Aunt May and Uncle Ob when she is six years old.  She finally has found a home where she feels loved and accepted.  Aunt May dies when Summer is twelve years old and it is difficult for Summer and Ob to overcome their grief.  Ob has a more difficult time because he does not believe that he has the capabilities to raise Summer properly on his own without the help of May.  Ob feels May's spirit and they go in a journey to meet with the Reverend Miriam Young, with Cletus, a strange boy from school, who has been spending time at their house. They get some shocking news when they get to the Reverend's house, but they continue their journey to the West Virginia State Capitol. Ob and Summer learn to overcome their grief and know that May will always be with them in their hearts.
 
APA Reference:

Rylant, C. (1992). Missing May.  New York, NY: Yearing.

Impression:

This is a beautiful book about overcoming grief and loss.  The love that Summer's aunt and uncle give her is more valuable then the material possessions that they could have given her if they had the money.  The tenderness that Ob displays to Summer when he begins to learn to cope with the loss of his beloved wife.  The owl that May and Summer see when she was little and the owl that Summer, Ob and Cletus see when they come home from the Capitol was a sweet part in the story to remind those left behind that their loved ones are still with them in their hearts and memories.

Professional Review:

In this haunting first-person narrative, Cynthia Rylant gives substance to the abstract concept of love which philosophers have so often attempted to define. Orphaned at six, raised by an elderly West Virginia aunt and uncle with more devotion than money, Summer is twelve years old when Aunt May dies. Although Summer's grief is profound, it is Uncle Ob who seems unable to go on living without his beloved companion; that is, until he decides that her presence still lingers nearby and that somehow he can contact her. With the help of another loner, Cletus Underwood, one of Summer's schoolmates, the two leave the dilapidated trailer which is their home and journey to another county in search of healing at the Spiritualist Church of Glen Meadows. But their quest seems doomed when they learn that the preacher they hoped to meet had died several months earlier. Then, as if in answer to Summer's silent prayers, on the return journey Ob chooses life over mourning, freeing both of them from months of longing for the impossible. The final scene is a triumphant catharsis as they find consolation in their memories and in each other. Although the focus is the time following May's death, Rylant skillfully interweaves scenes from the past to re-create her personality so that the grief of the survivors is both comprehensible and compelling. The book explores internal rather than external changes — a focus which is exactly right for its theme.

M. M. B., (1992). Missing May. Horn Book Magazine, 68(2), 206.

Library Uses: 

This book could be used along with a dictionary lesson, either in book or online format.  The student could look up meanings of words that are unfamiliar to the students like a whirligig. The book has a very strong theme of grief and how to overcome a time of grieving, It could be used to help students understand and find the dominant theme of a book.

Module 3: Locomotive - Caldecott Winners

Book Summary:

The book chronicles the journey of a mother and her two children as they leave Omaha, Nebraska heading west to meet their father in California where they will make their new home. The book talks about the workers and passengers who are on the train.  The book train journey describes the way that the train functions and the  job responsibilities of the train workers so that the journey is safe.  The illustrations are used along with the text to tell the story and educate the reader about the history of the Locomotive and its place in this countries history and growth.

APA Reference:

Flocam B (2013). Locomotive. New York, NY: Antheneum.

Impressions:

This is a beautiful book and what a great way to teach children about the history of trains in the United States.  The illustrations are beautiful and they add so much texture to the story.  I learned  a lot about trains while reading this book.  I knew the story about Promontory Point and the joining of the two railroads, but I did not know very much about the workings of the steam engines. For example, I did not realize that some ran on coal and some on wood.  I was also impressed and grossed out by the restroom situations but I guess it would have been better just to have the hole empty out onto the tracks as they traveled along.  The endpapers which are a reproductions of a newspaper advertisement were another added bonus and it was awesome to see the routes and read about the cities.  The back has a drawing of a steam engine with the part labeled and a description given of their importance and the role that they play in the workings of engine.

Professional Review:

Talk about a youth librarian’s dream come true: a big new book about those ever-popular trains from a bona fide picture-book-nonfiction all-star. Striking cinematic endpapers lay the groundwork, describing the creation of the Transcontinental Railroad in the 1860s. Then, in a sort of historical fiction-meets-travelogue narrative, Floca zeroes in on one family’s journey from Omaha to San Francisco. Floca excels at juxtaposing sweeping panoramas with intimate, slice-of-life moments: here a widescreen shot of the train chugging across the Great Plains; later a vignette at a “dollar for dinner” hash house (“If the chicken tastes like prairie dog, don’t ask why,” cautions the narrator). Varied font sizes and styles on the large pages beautifully capture the onomatopoeia (“Hisssssssss”; “huff huff huff ”; “chugchug chug-chug chug-chug”) of the train and the feel of the Old West. One spread finds the train precariously crossing a trestle (“The train is so heavy, the bridge is so narrow, and rickety rickety rickety!”); the concluding ricketys are displayed in an appropriately jarring shadowed font alongside a picture of passengers shaking—and praying—in their seats. Luckily, our family makes it safely to its destination: “the country’s far corners have been pulled together… thanks to the locomotive.” An author’s note and thorough discussion of the sources used are included, and don’t miss the back endpapers—the steam power diagram would make David Macaulay proud.

Bloom, S. (2013). Locomotive. Horn Book Magazine, 89(5), 121.

Library Uses:

This book could be used to teach basic research skills about how to extract information from informational text.  This book could also be used to demonstrate what onomatopoeia with all of the sounds that are used to for the train.

Module 3: This is not my hat - Caldecott Winners

Book Summary:

A little fish has stolen a hat from a big fish.  He has a conversation with the reader as tells the reader why he should have the hat and that he will be able to avoid detection if he can only make it to the tall, dense plants.  The big fish is very aware of who has stolen his hat and he sets out to retrieve his stolen property.

APA Reference: 

Klassen, J. (2012). This is not my hat. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

Impressions:

This is such a dark book. The little fish tries to rationalize and explain that he should have the hat because it fits him better.  This is human nature to try and make excuses for our wrong doings instead of facing the consequences of our actions.  The book never comes out and says that the big fish ate the little fish, but revenge is not a pretty picture and sometimes consequences are painful.

Professional Review:

The eyes have it in Klassen's latest hat book. Klassen manages to tell almost the whole story through subtle eye movements and the tilt of seaweed and air bubbles. The wide-eyed little fish on the cover looks guilty. He is. He has taken the tiny bowler from the head of a large sleeping fish and pleads his case to the reader. He explains why he will never be caught—the fish is asleep; he won't wake up or notice the missing hat; and he won't know who took it or where the thief has gone. The culprit continues to flee the scene of the crime, moving to "where the plants are big and tall and close together." Once he reaches his destination, the reader sees the little guy for the last time, disappearing amidst the "safety" of the seaweed. The final spread is laugh-out-loud funny: the large fish now sports the teeny hat, eyes closed and relaxed in slumber. The seaweed wafts innocently, and the air bubbles calm. Since every claim the little fish makes is belied by the pictures, the reader is in on the joke, by turns rooting for him to get away and nervously hoping he is caught. Klassen continues to be the master of black and brown, and the viewer will not tire of the palette. Little eyes will pore over the end pages, looking for evidence of foul play, but all the interaction between the two characters takes place where the plants grow tall and close together, obscuring the view. Darkly hilarious.

Smith, R.L. (2012). This is not my hat. Horn Book Magazine, 10(12),  66-67.

Library Uses:

This book can used to teach inference and to speculate what the big fish did to the little fish.

Module 2: Madeline - Classic Children's and Young Adult Literature

Book Summary:

The book depicts the daily life of Madeline, her classmates and Miss Clavel.  The girls have a certain routine that is followed everyday, rain or shine.  Madeline is the smallest girl but she is not afraid of anything and is a typical young curious girl.  She gets sick one night and has to go to the hospital for an operation.  Her classmates visit her in the hospital and after they see her presents they all want to have an operation.

APA Reference: 

Bemelmans, L. (1939). Madeline. New York, NY: Puffin.

Impressions:

The simple rhymes and muted illustrations make this book a classic that is sill loved by children, especially little girls. I loved this book as a child and I love it as an adult. I always wanted a yellow rain coat and hat to wear outside. I was sick as a child and I remember asking my parents why I did not get candy and toys like Madeline when she was in the hospital. I actually did get stuffed animals and blankets. Reading this book as an adult I enjoyed looking at the famous Paris buildings and landmarks.

Professional Review:

Kirkus, June 15, 1939

 Yes, it will sell:- (1) because it is Ludwig Bemelmans and a beautiful book; (2) because Bemelmans' sense of humor tickles the risibilities of adults and they buy books. Children may like the absurdities, but actually, the appeal is not juvenile. The charm of the pictures (other than the coloring itself) lies in the identification with familiar and recognizable objects. And the text is not keyed to the interests or understanding of the average child.

Madeline, (1939). Bulletin from Virginia Kirkus' Bookshop Service.

Library Uses: 

The students can seek information and learn from the illustrations in the book.  The can locate and name the different building in France that the illustrator uses in the book.  The students can use books or the internet to to research.