Olive's Ocean

Title: Olive's Ocean
Author: Henkes, Kevin
Publisher and Date: Harper Collin's Children's Books, 2003
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Range:4th-6th
2004 Newberry Honor Book

Summary: This book acts as a dairy, recording a week in the life of a young teenage girl named Martha Boyle. Martha has red out of control hair, loves the Atlantic Ocean, and dreams of one day becoming a writer. When the book begins Martha is packing for a week at the beach with her beloved Godbee (grandmother). Throughout the course of the story Martha has to deal with all kinds of issues such as dealing with the death of girl, Olive Barstow, she and her classmates barely knew, getting her first kiss and surviving her first heartache, and learning to get along with her family.These book is a hilarious and realistic view into the life of a young teenage girl. At the end of the story Martha has opened up to her family, found a boy who is truly worth liking (Tate), and finally put away the guilt she felt about Olive's death.

Response: I really liked this book. It is a very definite change from the fantasy books I have been reading recently. I felt like Kevin Henkes did an excellent job of accurately describing the feelings and anxieties of a twelve-year-old girl; I have a twelve-year-old sister and she like Martha is in love with so many boys in such a short period of time and she also wonders where she belongs within our family. I think this book is just perfect for any fourth through sixth grade boy or girl. It teaches kids that it is ok to question things, to get hurt, and to just live your life. The ending of the book is so perfect. After Martha accomplished all her goals and solved all her crisis' she realizes one thing, she's glad to be back home where everything makes sense and where she is safe and loved. As the book ends she loudly proclaims, "I'm Home!"

Teaching Ideas: This book would be a great book to just read to the students in class. They could keep a running journal about their own daily concerns and compare them with the concerns and crisis' Martha experienced. The students could also write an entry about the qualities they most admired about Martha andwhether or not they felt she handled her problems successfully. These two activities would keep the students involved, help them think critically about the reading, and allow them to apply it to their own lives. Another good way to use this book is to read it in class when you specifically see that a child in your class is being overlooked. This book focuses on Olive Barstow, a girl who everyone ignores until it is too late. Maybe this book along with some help from the teacher would prompt some students to reach out.

Feel free to check out more of Kevin Henke's great books!

The Princess Knight

Title: The Princess Knight

Author: Funke, Cornelia

Illustrator: Meyer, Kerstin

Publisher and Date: Scholastic Inc., September 2004

Genre: Picture Book

Age Range: K-3rd

Summary:

This book tells the story of a young princess named Violetta. She is the only daughter of the king, and she has three older brothers. Her mother died when she was very young and the king has no idea how to raise a girl. He decides to raise Violetta in the same way he raised his sons: riding and jousting, fighting with swords, and good table manners. Fueled by her brother's teasing, Violetta becomes determined to be an excellent knight. When he father announces that he is going to hold a tournament and that HER hand in marriage is the prize, she secretly enters the tournament and WINS! From then on she decides who she will marry. At the end of the book she ends up marrying the rose gardener's son. :-)

Response:

I LOVED this book! Who does not love a story about a princess, especially one who's so unique! I loved the way this book challenged the way princesses are typically portrayed. Usually in any "good" fairytale, the princess is the "damsel in distress" who needs her prince to come and save her. In The Princess Knight however, Violetta excels at unladylike qualities, such as jousting and sword fighting, and is able to save herself. This book reminded me of another book by Cornelia Funke, Princess Pigsty, because they both challenge the role of a traditional princess and the roles of girls in general.

Teaching Ideas:

I think it would be a good idea to use this book when discussing gender roles. It would be neat to use this book in a comparison and contrast project with traditional fairy tales. ReadWriteThink.org had a great activity in which the students thought about traditional Disney movies and fairy tales such as Cinderella and Snow White answered the following questions to help them critically think about the fairy tales. The questions are as follows: 1. What are their physical attributes? ,2.How do they relate to the male characters, 3. What do they seem to want out of life, and 4. Do they seem realistic? I think it would be great to use this activity and have the students answer those questions about the traditional fairy tales as well as The Princess Knight. After they are finished the students should compare and contrast the two sets of answers. It will help the students realize that sometimes girls are portrayed unfairly in literature, but they do not have to succumb to those stereotypes in real life! This is a fun book to read and it teaches a great lesson!

check out Cornelia Funke's website for other books!!!

Carnival at Candlelight

Title: Carnival at Candlelight
Author:Osborne, Mary Pope
Publisher and Date :Random House Inc., 2005
Genre: Fantasy
Age Range: k-3rd

I really enjoyed reading Carnival at Candlelight, and I felt that it had a lot to offer to kids and adults alike. The book centers around a brother-sister pair who are asked by Merlin to carry out a rescue mission. In this particular book Merlin asks Jack and Annie to travel to Venice, Italy, to help save the city from a flood. The children travel through the city learning facts about the city, meeting intersting historical figures( such as Tiepolo the painter), and learning the value of patience and following directions.


Some of the positive aspects of the book that I noticed were that it encouraged children to interact with their siblings in a positive manner. The book potrays a healthy yet believable sibling relationship; Jack and Annie encourage and support each other throughout the book. They help one another learn to be patient and to look for creative solutions to their predicaments. The book also allows and encourages kids to use their imaginatons. Even as an adult reading Carnival at Candlelight I felt myslef being drawn into the magic of the traveling tree house, the excitement of the adventure, the thrill of riding on the back of a winged lion, and the responsibilty of carrying around a magic spell book. I read the entire book through without putting it down; elementary school age children I believe would be led to do the same. Another positve aspect of the book was that it encouraged kids to make a difference. The story centers around two young children who are called upon to save an entire city. Children are shown through this that the world they live in is not just for adults, they too can make a difference in it. The final and most exciting aspect of the book for me was that it used bold paragraphs interspersed throughout the book to teach actual history about the city of Venice. Mary Pope Obsborne did a great job with this. She blended the excitement of the adventure with the educational aspect of the city. The bold paragraphs were not just filler parts of the story that did not belong, they were an intergral part of the mission. The children needed to learn about the city in order to save it; throughout the book they learned everything they need to know from gondolas and waterways to the famous painter Tiepolo. The children are aslo briefly introduced to Greek mythololgy with the statues in the palace of Mars and Venus, and with Neptune, ruler of the seas.


All in all I thought this was a great book! It was easy to read to read and educational at the same time. I could definitely see myself using it in the classroom someday. Whether I included it in a geography lesson about Italy or if I used the series as a end of the day treat. I had a wonderful teacher who would reward us with a chapter from a book at the end of the day. I was an avid reader even at a young age so this really appealed to me. I hope to be able to instill the love of reading in my students, and I think the Magic Tree House books are a fun way encourage kids to read. Mary Pope Obsborne is a great author and an interesting person. I look forward to usung her books and resource books in the years to come.

The Thief Lord

Title: The Theif Lord

Author: Funke, Cornelia

Publisher and Date:First Scholastic Paperback Printing, September 2003

Genre: Magical Realism

Age Range: 4th-6th

I absolutely LOVED Cornelia Funke's The Thief Lord. It is one of the best pieces of children's literature that I have ever read. The setting is phenomenal, the characters are unforgettable, and the story itself is amazing. After reading all 345 pages of the book, I still craved more.

The imagery that was used throughout the book was fantastic. Funke used rich descriptions to help the reader envision everything about the city of Venice from the pastry shop beside Barbarossa's store to the giant horses at the Basilica. You could hear the lapping water of the canals, see the freshly fallen snow, and feel the pelting of the large raindrops. The imagery of the story could capture any reader young or old and bring the city of Venice to life in their minds. One of my favorite descriptive passages from the book is on page 275, when Scipio and Prosper finally see the magical merry-go-round. Funke describes the characters as such: "They each hung on their pole beneath the wooden canopy, and seemed to float. The merman held his trident in his wooden fist, the mermaid looked into the distance out of pale green eyes, dreaming of the waters of the open sea. The sea horse with its fish tail was so beautiful, that it made you forget that there were horses with four legs at all." The way Funke used realistic elements and fantastical elements in the books created a perfect blend of realism and fantasy that is sure to capture the imagination. Venice is such and extraordinary place that elements of fantasy are to be expected.

The characterization used in The Thief Lord is also phenomenal. At the end of the novel, I felt like I had six new childhood friends. I could not pick just one favorite character from this book; I just had to choose all six. There is Scipio, who embodied every child's fantasy of living a secret life, Prosper, the protective older brother who would sacrifice everything he had for his brother Bo, Bo, the naive and lovable "angel" of the group, Hornet, the avid reader and level-headed thinker, Roccio, the "hedgehog" who just could not keep his hands out of other people's pockets, and Mosca, a lover of the water and his boat.

The themes highlighted in The Thief Lord were all very applicable to fifth graders and up. The first theme that I noticed was the importance of family. Funke did a great job of establishing that family is not just flesh and blood relatives. Family is anyone you can count on, and who loves you and you love them. I think the children themselves were a family for each other. They all looked out for one another and worked to provide for all their needs. The next theme I noticed was that of lying and stealing. I thought it was interesting that Funke never came out and said that these things were wrong. She alluded to it several times through adults such as Ida and Victor, but she never stated it outright. I think this would be a good teaching tool to use when discussing moral values and dilemmas, and what the kids think of as right and wrong. In fifth grade most students would have the capacity the judge situationally what is right or wrong, and not just go by the rules. I also thought it was great that Funke focused her story on the plight of runaways and orphans. It was neat to see how she handled an often overlooked situation. Fifth graders reading this book could relate to these kids and could experience firsthand the dangers of being own their own.

I think that The Thief Lord definitely fits the Temple text's definition of an outstanding piece of literature.

"Good books expand Awareness." The Thief Lord excelled in this category. I learned much about the culture and the city of Venice just through the descriptions in the story. It was also neat how Funke incorporated Italian into the story. The glossary at the end of the book was very handy for translating. :-)

"Good books provide an enjoyable read that does not overtly teach or moralize." As I mentioned before I thought Funke did a great job with this. She never stated a theme in the entire story; the book was clear enough however that fifth graders could pick out the themes and morals.

"Good books tell the truth." I think that every character and situation that was introduced in the book had truth in it and was relatively realistic. (apart from the merry-go-round.)

"Good books embody quality." From the first sentence of the book to the last this book embodied quality. The imagery and descriptions used in this novel were outstanding enough to keep this young adult fully engaged.

"Good books have integrity." The characters, the imagery, the setting, and the plot all meshed well together, and made this book quite an enjoyable read.

"Good books show originality." This was definitely true of The Thief Lord. The situation of a band of orphans and runaways having adventures in Venice was different from anything I have ever read.

I can tell you for certain that this book will be used sometime during my teaching career. I loved everything about it. It opened my eyes to the beauty of the city of Venice and it opened my heart to care for six needy children. I cant wait to see what's in store for us next week!