The House

Title: The House
Author: J. Patrick Lewis
Illustrator: Roberto Innocenti
Publisher: Creative Editions, 2009
Genre: Picture Book, Poetry
Age Range:2nd and up

Summary and Response:

This is the "House of twenty thousand tales...." Built in 1656, this house has seen it all-marriage, birth, death, and even war. It has been deserted and remclaimed over the centuries of it's life. The book begins with the story of the house in 1900. In the century that the book covers, the house bears witness to many, many events and goes through some major changes.

Although the text seems on the surface to be simplistic, Lewis' quatrains have a depth and complexity that the oldest of readers will appreciate. The book is written from the perspecitive of the house, which I feel gives it a very unique perspective that is suprisingly poignant.

Innocent's illustrations are (as usual) fantastic. The illustrations that he has created for this book have the feel of a classic painting, and are oh so detailed. You can literally spend an hour peering into one of his double page spreads and still not notice everything. Innocenti includes a small illustration that correpsonds with the text on the opposite page, and follows each quatrain with the amazing double page spreads that I have just mentioned.

It was fascinating to notice not only the changes to the house through the century, but also the changes of the house's inhabitants as well.

Teaching Ideas:

This book is an example of high quality and complex poetry that would be an excellent example for both the teaching of poetry (especially quatrains or I-poetry) and also perspective and voice.

Check out Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast for another excellent review of this book.

Rose Blanche

Title: Rose Blanche
Author: Roberto Innocenti and Christophe Gallaz
Illustrator: Roberto Innocenti
Publisher: Creative Editions, 1985
Genre: Picture Book, Historical Fiction
Age Range:2nd grade and up

Summary:

Rose Blanche is a young girl who is living in Germany during the time of WWII. Things have changed in her town; trucks rumble past carrying soldiers to unknown destinations. Rose Blanche is curious about all of these changes. One day Rose witnesses a little boy trying to escape from one of the trucks that always pass by. The young boy looked frightened; his escape was stopped by the Mayor and he was roughly returned to the truck. At this point, the story begins to change. Rose decides to follow the truck with the young boy.

What she discovers is a terrible place where men, women, and children are trapped behind a high electric, barbed wire fence. After this discovery, Rose begins conducting her own secret trips out of town to this mysterious, terrible place. Rose gives all of the food she can carry to these strangers in striped clothes wearing yellow stars. For these unknown people she is willing to sacrifice her safety and comfort, often going hungry herself.

Time passes and changes come to Rose's town again. New soldiers come and the people of the town flee. Rose Blanche, however, is nowhere to be found. Rose has gone on her mission. Rose soon discovers that town is not the only thing that has changed.

Response:

This is such a powerful, haunting book. One most powerful parts of the book is the illustrations. Innocenti tells an unwritten story through the details in his illustrations; a story that the reader must pay careful attention to as he or she turns each page of the text. The book begins with color and celebration; Rose blanch wears a red bow in her hair and proudly holds a Nazi flag. Once Rose encounters the young boy in the truck, you will notice that color in Rose's bow and in the pages of the book begins to fade. Toward the end of the text, the reader can see that Rose is no longer wearing her bow. I think this symbolizes her recognition of the Nazi party's role in these unknown people's fate and her defiance and courage to help these people. Rose's appearance also begins to change during the course of the book; her facial expressions now show sadness and worry where before she wore a smile. Rose's figure has also begun to change; she is becoming more and more gaunt as the story progresses.

The final pages of the book are again in color; the end of the darkness has come and life can begin anew. On the right hand side of the page, Innocenti includes a cross of sorts; I believe that this picture is symbolic of Rose's sacrifice.

Also, pay close attention to the narration throughout the text and you will notice that halfway through the text it switches. At the beginning of the text, Rose is our narrator (first person narration). After she discovers the camp, the narration switches to third person. This switch is important because it shifts the focus from Rose (a focus on herself) to a focus on others.

As you can see there are so many things to notice about this moving text!

Teaching Ideas:

In addition to reading the text for Rose Blanche, you MUST read the author's note that is included on the book jacket. It gives background on Innocenti's life and into the character of Rose Blanch. Did you know that Rose Blanche was named after a group of German citizens who protested the war? Eventually all of them were forced to give up their lives for their cause. You can read more about their story here.

Here are some other child friendly resources on the Holocaust.

http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0215466/the_holocaust.htm

http://library.thinkquest.org/07aug/00117/holocaust.html

http://library.thinkquest.org/05aug/00331/Camps.htm

I used Rose Blanche in connection to the novel The Guardians of Ga'Hoole: The Capture. You can check out connections between these two texts and explore the rest this unit here.

Erika's Story

Title: Erika's Story
Author: Ruth Vander Zee
Illustrator: Roberto Innocenti
Publisher: Creative Editions, 2003
Genre: Picture Book, Informational Text
Age Range: 2nd and up

Summary:
Erika doesn't know her real name, her age, or the makeup or her family. The only thing she knows for sure is that on her mother's way to death, she threw her to life. Erika's family was Jewish and like so many of the Jewish people during the Holocaust,her family was mistreated and misled. Erika imagines her final days with her family. Their sadness at being forced from their home into a ghetto filled with misery and sickness. The twinge of hope they must have felt when they were told that they were to be relocated. Would this relocation be to a better place? The packed cattle car in which her parent's realization of where they were headed ultimately saved her life. It was on this train ride to death that her mother gave her life. She threw Erika from the train. Erika was taken to a kind woman who named her, raised her, and risked her life to keep her.

Response:
Although this true story is laced with sadness, it's message of hope is still able to shine through. In the midst of death and despair, a life was saved. Through a combination of extordinary circumstances Erika was saved and was able to live, marry, and have children and grandchildren of her own. When so many of the yellow star's light went out, hers continued to shine. This book is just phenomenal. It's sparing text tells the story of the horror and hope that existed side by side in those tragic years of the Holocaust. Roberto Innocenti has created stunning artwork to accompany this extrodinary story. Erika's story in pictures is told in grim shades of gray that are only relieved when Erika's mother tosses her from the train. Through a glimspe of her pink blanket on the gray background we are able to feel a glimspe of hope for her survival. The final illustration shows Erika as a young girl in a world full or color. The gray has lifted, and life (and color) have begun anew. The illustrations at the beginning of the text are haunting. The gray backgound highlights the shining yellow stars on the clothing of the Jewish people. The significance of these stars are further shown on the last page of the book, where the author has included a powerful line of text, "My star still shines."

Teaching Ideas:
This true story would be a powerful addition to any unit on WW II or the Holocaust. Be sure to notice the author's note at the beginning of the book. In this note, Ruth Vander Zee tells her story of how this story came to be.

Check out this Teaching Guide created by Ruth Vander Zee.

Blackbeard The Pirate King

Title:Blackbeard The Pirate King
Author: J. Patrick Lewis
Publisher:National Geographic Society, 2006
Genre:Informational Text, Poetry
Age Range: 4th grade and up

Summary and Response:

"Some Tales at once excite you
Some tales told twice are true.
Come with me, I invite you
Along for a ride of derring-do-
To a tale as keen as a cutlass
That no man dares impeach.
A tale to billow a pirate's sail
Is the tale of Captain Teach."

Wow! This is the invitation that Lewis gives to the reader at the beginning of the book. Who could resist?

This book takes you though the life of Blackbeard or Edward Teach, exploring the fact, fiction, and unknown. The whole book is written in free verse and each page of the book has a verse covering a part of Blackbeard's life. One of the things I found most fascinating from the book was the naming of Blackbeard's ship. The end of Queen Anne's War left many seaman out of job. It was in this time of desperation that many seaman turned to piracy. When I read about Blackbeard's acquisition of the Conqueror and his renaming of it Queen Anne's Revenge, the connection finally clicked! Blackbeard was making a statement about the state of seaman after Queen Anne's war! This book is FULL of exciting connections, facts, and discoveries. You will be able to consider Blackbeard as you have probably never considered him before.

One other aspect of the book to note is the illustrations. The illustrations are all drawings of Blackbeard that the author has assembled together. These drawings date from six years after Teach's death (in 1718) to the present. Neat, huh?

Teaching Ideas:

This book is a teacher's dream! At the bottom of every page, extra information is given that deals with the topic of the page. Also in the back of the book, Lewis includes a note from the author and a time line of Blackbeard's life. Both of these MUSTS to check out!

Here are a few websites on pirates:

http://library.thinkquest.org/03oct/00492/page51.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/J0110360/biography2.htm
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pirates/bbeard.html
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pirates/
http://bestoflegends.org/pirates/blackbeard.html

Happy pirating! Arrrgh!

Look! New Blogs!

Here are two other blogs that I have created:

http://thebookcornerblog.blogspot.com/
http://kerrycrosbysmith.wordpress.com/

Check 'Em Out!

A Sick Day for Amos McGee

Title: A Sick Day for Amos McGee
Author: Philip C. Stead
Illustrator: Erin E. Stead
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press, 2010
Genre: Fiction, Picture Book
Age Range: All ages
Awards:Cadecott Medal (2011)

Summary: Amos McGee is a lovable zookeeper who always makes time for his zoo animal friends. One day however, Amos McGee does not show up to the zoo and all of his friends are worried. They discover that Amos McGee is sick and all band together to take care of Amos in the same way in which he cares for them.


Response: This is a "feel good" read through and through! Not only are the illustrations stunning, but the simplistic text is suprisingly moving as well. The theme of friendship shines in this book! Philip Steads use of repetition in the text is another noteworthy feature. This repetition of ideas can help even the youngest reader to hang onto the text.

Check out the Wall Street Journal's interview with illustrator Erin E. Stead:

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2011/01/14/caldecott-winner-erin-e-stead-on-a-sick-day-for-amos-mcgee/

Can you beleive she's only 28! WOW!

Elijah of Buxton

Title: Elijah of Buxton
Author: Christopher Paul Curtis
Publisher: Scholastic Inc., 2007
Genre: Historical Fiction
Age Range: 3rd grade and up
Awards: Newberry Honor Book(2008)and Coretta Scott King Award(2008)

Summary: Eleven-year-old Elijah Buxton is the first free born child in Buxton, Canada, a settlement of runaway slaves just over the border from Detroit. Elijah is best known around the settlement as a “fra-gile” boy who is scared of snakes and talks to much. His other claim to fame is that he threw up on Frederick Douglass as a baby (gross, I know).

Elijah wishes that people could see him for his full potential-the best rock chunking and fish catching boy in the whole of Buxton. Elijah works hard to improve his “fra-gile” status throughout the book, and as fate would have it a rare opportunity arises in which Elijah could rid himself of his “fra-gile” title once and for all.

A former slave, the Right Reverend Zephariah W. Connerly the Third, cons Elijah’s friend, Mr. Leroy, out of all of the money he has been saving to buy his family out of slavery. Mr. Leroy “kidnaps” Elijah and takes him on a journey to the United States that will forever change his life. This poignant tale is a MUST read!

Response: Woo-wee! What a terrific book! No wonder this book was a Newberry Honor Book and Coretta Scott King Winner. Christopher Paul Curtis writes in way that will have the readers laughing along with his humor one moment and crying as the plot takes a heart wrenching twist in the next. The best word I can think of to describe this book is “inspiring,” and even that does not do it enough justice. This book opens the eyes of ALL readers to the reality of slavery. The reader experiences the horrors of slavery firsthand right along with Elijah. One of the most important and poignant aspects of the novel is that despite all of the horror experienced, Curtis manages to end the novel with a message of hope. This hope is what keeps the reader pondering and remembering long after the novel is finished.

Teaching Ideas: This would be a fantastic book to include in a unit on slavery. Just think of the important people, places, and ideas introduced in this text. From this text alone, students would be spurred to research Buxton (a REAL place-how cool is that!), the Underground Railroad, Reverend King, Frederick Douglass, and John Brown.


For other teaching ideas check out these websites:

http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/book.jsp?id=4743 (Sound to Sea does a recreation of the Underground Railroad with kids in addition to A LOT of other cool things.)