Clementine book review

Pennypacker, S. (2006). Clementine. New York: Scholastic, Inc.

Just like Clementine discovered that "the most exquisite words in the world are on labels you will find in the bathroom”, I have discovered an exquisitely funny book that I can read over and over and still find new laughs. Pennypacker writes with such simplicity and with the beguiling outlook of a third grader. The fact that she plans to smoke cigars, but not have a husband, only adds to her hilarious outlook on life. The book is entertaining without pushing the fact that it is actually a children’s book. Pennypacker adds small details like Clementine’s attention “problem” (she IS in fact paying attention…to everything) and adults’ expressions. Clementine has her own way of recognizing and naming these expressions, and she is right on target with each one. The illustrations only added to the humor and brilliant expression in the book.

http://www.amazon.com/review/product/0786838833/ref=cm_cr_pr_link_2?%5Fencoding=UTF8&pageNumber=2

Sheldon Alan “Shel” Silverstein was born on September, 25, 1930 in Chicago, IL. He grew up there and attended the Chicago School of Performing Arts and other schools surrounding the Chicago area. Shel went on to have two children, Shanna and Matt. Shanna died at the age of 11 due to a cerebral aneurysm, and Matt was born in 1983 and presumed to still be alive. Shel died during the weekend of May 8, 1999 of a heart attack. Shel was a composer, an artist, and the author of numerous books of prose and poetry for younger readers.
Shel’s writing started kicking off when he was in the military in the 1950s. He wrote adult cartoons for the newspaper, Starts and Stripes. Some of his classics include:
Uncle Shelby’s ABZ Book (1961)
Uncle Shelby's story of) Lafcadio: The Lion Who Shot Back (1963)
The Giving Tree (1964)
Where the Sidewalk Ends (1974)
A Light in the Attic (1981)
Falling Up (1996)
Runny Babbit (2005) (published posthumously)
Don't Bump the Glump! and Other Fantasies (2008, originally published in 1964)

A Light in the Attic was actually the first children’s book to be on the New York Times best sellers list, and it stayed there for 182 weeks. Publishers Weekly did an interview with Shel on February 24, 1975 where he mentions when he was a young adolescent he wanted to be a star baseball player or a hit with the girls. However, he wasn’t great at either one so he started to draw and write, and that is when he developed his own style and own talent. He definitely has a unique one! Here is a list of some of the awards and honors Shel accomplished in his life:
1974 New York Times Outstanding Book Award for Where the Sidewalk Ends

1980 Michigan Young Readers’ Award for Where the Sidewalk Ends
1981 School Library Journal Best Books Award for A Light in the Attic
1982 International Reading Association’s Children’s Choice Award for The Missing Piece Meets The Big O
1983 Buckeye Award for A Light in the Attic
1984 George G. Stone Award for A Light in the Attic and Where the Sidewalk Ends
1984 William Allen White Award for A Light in the Attic
1985 Buckeye Award for A Light in the Attic

Shel was known and appreciated by many children as well as adults. People saw him as both wicked and giddy. His work is seen as sly and serious, and gruesome as well as just plain old silly!

Bibliography

Books:

Silverstein, Shell. Uncle Shelby’s ABZ Book. Simon & Shuster: New York, NY. 1961.

Silverstein, Shell. Uncle Shelby’s story of Lafcadio: The Lion Who Shot Back. Harper & Row :New York, NY. 1963.

Silverstein, Shell. The Giving Tree. Harper & Row: New York, NY. 1964

Silverstein, Shell. The Missing Piece. Harper & Row: New York, NY. 1976

Silverstein, Shell. Where the Sidewalk Ends. HarperCollins: New York, NY. 1974

Silverstein, Shell. A Light in the Attic. Harper & Row: New York, NY. 1981

Silverstein, Shell. Falling Up. HarperCollins: New York, NY. 1996

Silverstein, Shell. Runny Babbit. HarperCollins: New York, NY. 2005.

Silverstein, Shell. Don’t Bump the Glump! and Other Fantasies. HarperCollins Publishers. New York, NY. 2008.

Essays:

Thomas, Joseph T. "Reappraising Uncle Shelby". Horn Book Magazine. May/Jun 2005, Vol 81 Issue 3, p.23-293.

Myers, Mitch. "Shel Silverstein". Rolling Stone. June 1999, Issue815, p26.

Interviews:

Lingeman, Richard. "The Third Mr. Silverstein". New York Times Book Review. April, 30, 1978.

Mercier, Jean. "Shel Silverstein." Publisher's Weekly. Feb., 24 1975

Revised Lit Auto

Ever since I was a little girl, I read. I was a little nerd. My parents and my grandparents also read to me all the time. I still love the feeling of starting a new book.I think a big benefit for me was that my mom is a second grade teacher. She loves to read, and she passed that love to me. I took a book everywhere with me. I used to read at the dinner table too. I got in trouble a few times for that. To this day I still read when I eat at home. It is about the only time I can find to read something that is not a textbook.I read all kinds of books when I was younger. When I started I read Dr. Seuss and Disney books. My mom told me about a time when I was in her classroom when I was about 3. She said one of her kids saw me "reading" a Dr. Seuss book. She told them that I really just had the book memorized because she had read it to me so many times. She read me my favorite Dr. Seuss books. I am pretty sure I picked out the same few books over and over. One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish was one of my favorites. I read Baby Sitter’s Club, Goosebumps, and Nancy Drew. I liked going to the library to check out books too. My favorite kinds of books to check out were science books. I know I checked out a book about the Bermuda Triangle a lot. I loved reading the stories about the unknown. I remember having that book and then figuring out that my parents were going on a trip and they were going to fly through the Bermuda Triangle. I was so scared that they were going to disappear. I still like hearing or reading about things that are unexplained.

We had the AR reading program in my elementary school. I actually enjoyed it. I liked reading and I was always a few levels above. I do not know if it was supposed to be a competition, but I felt like it was and I liked that. I was on a basal ball team in elementary school. Basal ball is a reading competition. We read words out loud from a screen. The words were on different levels of difficulty. Some were first base words, second base words, and so on. We also had home run words. I loved this competition. We scored points for every time we crossed home base. We traveled around and competed against other teams. I learned a lot of words through this competition.

In junior high I began to read more difficult books. I read John Grisham’s A Time to Kill and loved it. It was so intense and I loved the trial aspect of it. I still read a lot on my own, but we also started reading out loud in literature and language arts classes. The only thing I can remember reading specifically in class was The Odyssey and a lot of Greek mythology stories. I was not a fan. We also memorized poems and the Preamble to the Declaration. We did read some Edgar Allan Poe poems and I started reading some of his work on my own.In high school we read so much Shakespeare, I could care less to ever read another work by Shakespeare again. I did actually like to read the plays out loud. I also read "The Great Gatsby" and "To Kill a Mockingbird". Those are two of my favorite books now. I hated reading "The Metamorphosis", and I had to read it again in an Introduction to Fiction class three years ago. I still do not see the beauty or brilliance of this story. I hate that reading in high school somewhat darkened my view of reading. I really enjoy poetry, but I hated over-analyzing and memorizing it in class. We could not just read it and appreciate it; we had to find iambic pentameter and deeper meaning in the words. I still to this day cannot figure out why that was necessary.Although now about the only time I read for pleasure is to read children’s books, I still love to read. I love opening a book for the first time and that feeling of finishing a good story.

Clementine - Sara Pennypacker

I read Clementine by Sara Pennypacker as my ninth book. I thought it was one of the funniest books I've read in a long time. It reminded me of Junie B. Jones, and I loved those books as well. My mom and I talked about Clementine, and we couldn't stop laughing as we recalled some of the funnier points in her story. I would definitely read this book to my kids because she is around the age the kids I will teach will be.

Chapter 17 - Motivating Kids to Read

Finding children's interests is crucial to motivating them to read. I can fully relate to disliking reading, for the first time ever, in middle school when I had to read something I didn't care about. I had to memorized things and actually pay attention to minute details that I didn't care about. I don't want to do that to my students, ever. I know assessment and teaching classics is important, but I would want to do it in an interesting way.

Craft Lesson - Zoom

The focus

Because of the focus on the earth itself at the end of the book and the fact that Earth day is approaching, I would like to have a craft lesson that works around that aspect of Zoom within a "Go Green" unit. Recycling and "Going Green" are such big issues now that it would be great to tie this in and relate to the kids' lives.

How To Teach It
One lesson would be to clean up campus and maybe do a writing activity about it. We could also create a comic book about a "Captain Planet" style superhero (maybe even watch a few "Captain Planet" episodes....). I would also have the kids create a brochure for parents and families, and possibly other classrooms, about the things they could do and steps parents could take to make their lives a little greener.

Chapter 16 - Controversial Books

Tunnel, M.O. & Jacobs, J.S. (2008). Children's Literature, Briefly. Pearson: New Jersey

The opening line of this chapter was very attention-grabbing. "Books are dangerous. They can undermine morals, fuel revolution, and indoctrine our children." I thought this was poignant. I do feel that certain things should be kept from children simply because of age, but to ban books seems wrong. I found the list of incidents with controversial books very interesting. The one about the woman who thought she was a witch and complained about a Halloween book was especially interesting to me. I just think she sounds ridiculous. I think it's funny that so many books considered classics and honorable are currently or were very controversial in their time.

Banvai - "Zoom"

I personally was not a fan of this book. I understood somewhat the ideas behind it ( I think ), but I didn't even really like the artwork in it. This might be a good book for a lesson with inferencing or creating your own storyline, but otherwise, this is not a book I would choose to utilize in a classroom.

Craft Lesson - Babymouse

I had trouble coming up with something for this, but I used the comic aspect to build a bigger lesson.

I would start a class newspaper after this book. We could have different "cartoonists" every week, as well as writers, editors, etc.

Chapter 15 - Multicultural and International Books

Tunnel, M.O. & Jacobs, J.S. (2008). Children's Literature, Briefly. Pearson: New Jersey


This chapter was pretty interesting for me, especially since I am considering teaching a dual language classroom one day. In the world today, i think it is necessary to have multicultural books in the classroom simply for exposure and to help children understand the world they live in.

Craft Lesson - Stuart's Cape

This story was filled with such creativity and imagination, I would want to do something with it that would allow children to use their imaginations and be creative. Tapping into this will be so beneificial for children later on.

The Project

Stuart made a cape out of ties that took him on all kinds of adventures. He didn't worry about school or friends, he could fly and played hide-and-seek with animal friends. To begin, I would have the children discuss ideas for great adventure they would want to have. This would just to get their imaginations going and help out children who may struggle a bit with coming up with ideas. Either I or the children could write their ideas down. They will then write a page or so about their adventure. Included in this would be emphasis on organization, description, and use of action verbs. Along with this, I think I would like to find old ties, cloth scraps, wallpaper scraps, construction paper, anything the kids could use to make their own mini-capes.

Stuart's Cape

I forgot about Stuart's Cape! However, I did read it, and I thought it was wonderful. I love all of these books that have a child with a bright imagination as the main character. His worries were so normal for a child his age, and I loved his creativity in making a cape out of ties. His parents played well into the story as well. You almost couldn't tell whether they were just playing along or whether it was just a natural thing for all of these things happen. I also loved his Aunt's character ( I cannot for the life of me think of her name). She was a great aspect of creativity and zaniness, and fit in well with Stuart's adventures.

The illustrations fit with the story so well. The picture of the animals "hiding" made me laugh out loud. I also noticed, when Stuart saw the storage space where the trash man was hiding all of his things, that the artist had drawn a half-covered book titled Stuart's Cape. I thought this was funny as well.

Babymouse - Our Hero

I loved this book! I haven't read comic books in so long, and this one was very entertaining and funny. When I was younger, I found a box of Archie comics that belonged to my mom and aunt. I loved reading those comics. I'm very drawn to pictures and art, and always have been. With Babymouse, I had to read some of the pages twice. I had to get back into following a comic book format. I thought the point brought up about the question of who the narrator was is an interesting point for the classroom. I heard the narrator as a deeper, manly voice. I guess I just associate that with comics. I liked the message in Babymouse. I liked that she never gives up and how imaginative she is.

Ch 14 - Informational Books

I liked the books they discussed by David Feldman. In their example from How Do Astronauts Scratch an Itch? (1996) sounded humorous and interesting for younger readers. Informational books have so many uses and lots of great information and facts, but they are not really considered enjoyable reading. I think by considering the aspects covered by Tunnel and Jacobs, you could find books that you could use in class and children would enjoy.

Read Aloud Journal

I read Lucha Libre to a small group of third graders. They really liked the story and I liked reading it to them. I asked lots of prediction questions before and throughout the story. One boy had seen a Lucha Libre match and had a mask. The kids loved talking about what characters they would be and comparing it to wrestling on TV. The kids made predictions and figured out the story. I was really impressed with their conversation throughout.

Biography - Ch 13

Biographies can be tricky with younger children. Learning about the lives of famous and influential people can be very interesting. You have to choose people that children know or will find interesting at their age. I think it's also important to consider people relevant to children's culture and topics you may be discussing in the classroom.

Chapter 9 - Traditional Fantasy

I think children can read traditional fantasy stories as long as they have a good grasp of reality. This is part of parents' and educators' jobs to make sure children can read fantasy that's appropriate for their age and comprehension level.

Ch 12 - Historical Fiction

History can be extremely boring for some kids. Some kids love it, and others can't stand it. I personally liked history, but like Tunnel and Jacobs said, textbooks just cover too much. They're not very interesting. I think these historical fiction books are some of the best ways to get kids interested in historical events. I like that it talked about not "sugarcoating" history. Telling the truth outright is the best way to gain understanding and really learn history. I also liked that Tunnel and Jacobs said that history should come to life from the author.

Ch 11 - Contemporary Realistic Fiction

I think these types of books have always been some of my favorites. I read Nancy Drew and Baby Sitter's Club, and I loved sports books. I like books that aren't too far fetched.

Sidewalk Circus

I liked this book okay. I liked the idea behind it, but I don't like that it doesn't have words. It has good artistic value though. I really like that the shadows of the characters looked like circus characters. I also liked how their actions represented things you would usually see in a circus.

Craft Lesson 6 - Fleischman

The idea of a story without words can be extremely confusing to younger children. I would do a lesson to teach fluency, comprehension, and let children use their imagination. I would have a copy of the book, either one per group or child, or one big book. Then, the children would write one or two sentences per page and tell their interpretation of the pictures.

Poetry...

I have always had an appreciation for poetry. With my mom being a second grade teacher who also loved poetry, it came pretty easy for me. The earliest poems I can remember are from Shel Silverstein. My mom had books of his poetry and I loved looking through them and looking at the illustrations. When I was telling a guy friend (who happens to be a journalism major) about this poetry folder I was working on. He told me he knew a poem I needed to put in. It happened to be Ebenezer Bleezer by Jack Prelutskey. When I told him I already had it in there, he thought it was funny because no one else knew that poem. It was so interesting to hear that. So here is my collection of new, old, and completely random works of poetry…my poetry date.

Wong, J.S. (2007). Twist: Yoga poems. New York: MKM Books
Low Crow – Janet Wong
Janet Wong’s poems are so profound, even if they are short like this. I like the underlying message from this poem because it does not just apply to the yoga pose.

http://www.poetry-online.org/childrens_poetry_resource_index.htm
A Song from the Suds
a poem by Louisa May Alcott
I think this poem is simply entertaining.

http://www.ricw.state.ri.us/lessons/143.htm Angelou, M.
LIFE DOESN’T FRIGHTEN ME
By: Maya Angelou
This poem is just inspirational. It could simply be a read aloud and it would have an impact. It could bring some really in depth questions.

Silverstein, S. (1981). A Light in the Attic. New York: Harper & Row.
No Difference – Shel Silverstein
This poem has such a good message for a classroom

http://www.cswnet.com/~erin/child.htm Carrol, L., Taylor, J.
The Star - Jane Taylor
Every child learns “twinkle, twinkle”. I think teaching the whole rhyme would be great and it could a great craft lesson.

http://www.cswnet.com/~erin/child.htm Carrol, L., Taylor, J. 
Jabberwocky - Lewis Carroll
I don’t know how to use this specifically in the classroom, but I just think this is so interesting.

 Nesbitt, K. (2008). www.poetry4kids.com/index.php
You Can Argue with a Tennis Ball – Kenn Nesbitt
This poem just looks funny to read to children in the
classroom

http://www.poetry-online.org/childrens_poetry_resource_index.htm
A Light Exists in Spring – Emily Dickinson
I think this has words that kids may not know or understand, so I could use it for vocabulary purposes. It could also be used for a seasonal lesson

Hoberman, M.A. (1991). Fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers: A collection of family
poems. New York: Scholastic.
When I Grow Up – Mary Ann Hoberman
This is a fun poem to read in the classroom. It could be an extension of an activity about what the students want to be when they grow up.

Lewis, J.P. (1998). Doodle Dandies: Poems that take shape. New York: Aladdin
Paperbacks
A Swing and a Miss – J. Patrick Lewis
I really like this poem because I think it could reach out to boys, and even some girls, in elementary school.

Lewis, J.P. (1998). Doodle Dandies: Poems that take shape. New York: Aladdin
Paperbacks
Big Cat – J. Patrick Lewis
This had such a cool picture. This could be really great for a rainforest themed unit or when teaching about animals.

Katz, A. (2003). I’m still here in the bathtub: Brand new silly dilly songs. New York:
Scholastic
He’s Got the Whole Beach in His Pants – Alan Katz
(to the tune of “He’s got the Whole World in His Hands)
This is entertaining to read or have the children read or sing aloud in the classroom.

Silverstein, S. (1981). A Light in the Attic. New York: Harper & Row.
Ations – Shel Silverstein
You could do more than one lesson with this poem. The –ation words would be good for a vocabulary or phonics lesson. It is also good for teaching social skills.

http://www.poetry-online.org/childrens_poetry_resource_index.htm
If No One Ever Marries Me - Laurence Alma-Tadema
This is humorous to me now. My roommate and I liked this so much, I had to add it. It is from a children’s poetry website, so I think it qualifies.

Silverstein, S. (1981). A Light in the Attic. New York: Harper & Row.
Prayer of a Selfish Child – Shel Silverstein
I just think this is funny. It could be a funny part of a lesson about sharing.

Silverstein, S. (1981). A Light in the Attic. New York: Harper & Row.
No Difference – Shel Silverstein
This poem has such a good message for a classroom.

Prelutskey, J. (1984). The New Kid on the Block. New York: Scholastic.
Bleezer’s Ice Cream – Jack Prelutskey
I remember chanting Ebenezer Bleezer after I heard this poem. It was one of my favorites.

Prelutskey, J. (1984). The New Kid on the Block. New York: Scholastic.
I’m the Single Most Wonderful Person I Know – Jack Prelutskey
I remember this poem from when I was young. My mom has always read Jack Prelutskey poems to me and I always enjoyed them so much.

Prelutskey, J. (1984). The New Kid on the Block. New York: Scholastic.
You’re Nasty and You’re Loud – Jack Prelutskey
This poem is humorous to me. I think if read in a classroom the kids would laugh but maybe even think a little bit about how they treat others.

Prelutskey, J. (1984). The New Kid on the Block. New York: Scholastic.
I Should Have Stayed in Bed Today – Jack Prelutskey
I like this because not only is it funny, it also has a fun message. Everyone has bad days, and I think this could be used as a funny way to just remind kids that it will be okay.

Craft Lesson - Que Rico!

This book opens up many opportunities for various lessons. I would use it for cultural purposes and to let the children experience new things.

I would have a variety of foods for them to sample. After trying the food, I would have them write down 2 to 3 adjectives about it. I would want them to try as best they could to not use the same word more than twice. Then, they could use these words and write a sentence about it. For each sentence, they could create a picture. I think I would like to use watercolors or paints to create picture as vivid and bright as the ones in the book. After each one is done, we can bind them somehow and they could have their own Yum book.

I could use this same activity for a dual language classroom. The children could come up with adjectives in Spanish. They could look up words if necessary but I would like to have a big word bank that they could use as well. This could teach grammar and build children's Spanish vocabulary.

Lit Festival..from a long time ago...

Not really knowing what to expect, I went to the Literacy Festival at the Student Union on Friday. It was a unique opportunity to hear some incredible authors speak and to go to sessions to increase our knowledge on other topics.
I liked hearing the two elementary school children recite their poems. They were so adorable! I really admire their teacher, and I hope someday I can inspire kids the way she does every day. We also heard a women recite her own rendition of a Langston Hughes poem. Next, Janet Wong spoke. She was so funny and animated. She told of how she switched careers from a lawyer to a writer. I liked that she was so honest about how difficult it was to get published and that she struggled some. I liked her story about the poetry class. No one could guess that she did not like poetry and it did not come naturally or easily. When the class of kids walked in late, she just told them to come on in and have a seat on the floor. I thought that was great. She was so laid back.
My favorite part of her time was when she got the suitcase with props and had the kids come up and choose an object. Each object related to one of her favorite poems. I really enjoyed that. I think her idea would be great in a classroom. She discussed this as well. Having some sort of “prop trunk” for children to use in a classroom would be an interesting and fun way to incorporate poetry into the everyday. You could have the children read the poems or you could read to the class. She also had another idea for incorporating poetry. She read a poem about her dad being grumpy, and then turned it into a different activity. She had an idea to change it and have children write a loving poem about a family member. This would be great for holidays. I especially liked her idea to have children find their own props for poems.
After Janet Wong spoke, I went to the first break out session. The particular session I chose was one on ESL teaching in the classroom. Mrs. Stocks provided some really great information for helping ELL students in the classroom. Her strategies were so good and they could be used in a regular classroom as well.
I am really glad I had the opportunity to attend the Literature Festival. I wish I could have stayed longer, but I had to go to class and work. Janet Wong was entertaining, and I really enjoyed the breakout sessions. This is an event well worth the time and I think it was a great event.

Craft Lesson - Many Colored Days

I wanted to do something different than just working on colors. My lesson is more for grades 3-5. One my favorite aspects of the book, besides the illustrations, was the use of strong verbs. He used verbs such as kick, jump, and flap. This lesson would not only be entertaining, but also teach grammar.

Read the story to the children. Then discuss the different moods and days. I would like them to create their own versions. They could change the colors and use different verbs. We could focus on nouns and adjectives as well. They would create their story then paint pictures to match their own many colored days.

Yumm Mmm Que Rico!

I really liked this book, despite the fact that haiku is not one of my favorite poetry styles. I loved the illustrations and colors. I thought the book was informative without being boring. I liked that it had so many different foods and flavors and combined cultural aspects together.

Reading Plan

Reading Plan
Lucha Libre: The Man in the Silver Mask
A bilingual cuento written and illustrated by Xavier Garza

For a 2nd or 3rd grade dual language (or regular) classroom

If it is in a dual language class, I would want them to comprehend the Spanish and English. I would hope that they would enjoy the story and put the pieces together.

Bibliography

Ever since I was a little girl, I can remember reading. I read everywhere I went. I was a little nerd. My parents and my grandparents read to me all the time. I still love the feeling of starting a new book.
I think a big benefit for me was that my mom is a second grade teacher. She loves to read, and she passed that love to me. I took a book everywhere with me. I used to read at the dinner table too. I got in trouble a few times for that. To this day I still read when I eat at home. It is about the only time I can find to read something that is not a textbook.
I read all kinds of books when I was younger. When I started I read Dr. Seuss and Disney books. My mom told me about a time when I was in her classroom when I was about 3. She said one of her kids saw me "reading" a Dr. Seuss book. She told them that I really just had the book memorized because she had read it to me so many times. I read Baby Sitter’s Club, Goosebumps, and Nancy Drew. I liked going to the library to check out books too. My favorite kinds of books to check out were science books. I know I checked out a book about the Bermuda Triangle a lot. I loved reading the stories about the unknown. I remember having that book and then figuring out that my parents were going on a trip and they were going to fly through the Bermuda Triangle. I was so scared that they were going to disappear. I still like hearing or reading about things that are unexplained.
We had the AR reading program in my elementary school. I actually enjoyed it. I liked reading and I was always a few levels above. I do not know if was supposed to be a competition, but I felt like it was and I liked that. I was on a basal ball team in elementary school. Basal ball is a reading competition. We would read words out loud from a screen. The words were on different levels of difficulty. Some were first base words, second base words, and so on. We also had home run words. I loved this competition. We scored points for every time we crossed home base. We would travel around and compete against other teams. I learned a lot of words through this competition.
In junior high I began to read more difficult books. I read John Grisham’s "A Time to Kill" and loved it. It was so intense and I loved the trial aspect of it. I still read a lot on my own, but we also started reading in out literature and language arts classes. The only thing I can remember reading specifically in class was The Odyssey and a lot of Greek mythology stories. I was not a fan. We also memorized poems and the preamble to the Declaration. We did read some Edgar Allan Poe poems and I started reading some of his work on my own.
In high school we read so much Shakespeare, I could care less to ever read another work by Shakespeare again. I did actually like to read the plays out loud. I also read "The Great Gatsby" and "To Kill a Mockingbird". Those are two of my favorite books now. I hated reading "The Metamorphosis", and I had to read it again in an Introduction to Fiction class three years ago. I still do not see the beauty or brilliance of this story. I hate that reading in high school darkened my view of reading somewhat. I really enjoy poetry, but I hated over-analyzing and memorizing it in class. We could not just read it and appreciate it; we had to find iambic pentameter and deeper meaning in the words. I still to this day cannot figure out why that was necessary.
Although now about the only time I read for pleasure is to read children’s books, I still love to read. I love opening a book for the first time and that feeling of finishing a good story.

My Many Colored Days

This board book by Dr. Seuss was unlike anything I've ever seen from him. It still had the same creativity and great story, but the pictures were so different. I truly enjoyed this book. The colors were incredible and I liked its message. The pictures were so great as well. You could read this book for years, regardless of the fact that it's a board book.

M&J Craft Lesson

Wong, Janet. “Minn and Jake.” Frances Foster Books. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003

Creative Writing Activity

Discussion

Writing can be tedious for some children. However it is something that they must learn to at least appreciate. At the third grade level an on, they must be able to write to pass the TAKS to continue on in school. Instead of strictly teaching TAKS writing, teachers should encourage every kind of writing. For creative writing, concepts such as a beginning, middle, and end are important. Also, vocabulary, parts of speech, and other grammar techniques can be incorporated into the activity.

How to Teach It

Wrap the top of kids’ desks with paper. Have the child sitting at the desk start their story. They are only to write the beginning, maybe a few sentences or a paragraph. Then, have children switch desks. The next child picks up where the last left off. They continue on until the story is finished.
This activity can teach beginning, middle, and end and also various parts of a story. You can use a prompt or just let children write whatever they want.
This activity can be used any time, not just for Minn and Jake, but if done after reading the book, you can use aspects from the book as the basis for your activity. For example, write a story about animals, lizards, or being different. I think it might be better to use a prompt with older kids.

Creative Responses

Tunnell, Michael O. and James S. Jacobs. Children's Literature, Briefly. 4e. Upper Sadle River NJ: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall, 2008.

Using different types of activities to talk about book is a great way to make kids excited about what they're doing. Book reports and papers get really tiring and kids generally dislike doing things like this. I think using artistic methods is one of the best ways to get kids to really pay attention to what they're reading. I remember doing dioramas in school to model a part of a book. I loved doing things like that.

Minn and Jake

Wong, Janet. “Minn and Jake.” Frances Foster Books. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003

I really enjoyed this book. Wong plays out Minn and Jake's friendship and how they interact with the others so well. I was so proud of Jake when he called for help and rescued Minn, and so mad and Henry and Vik for being upset.

Lola annoys me. I know there was at least one girl like that in my school and I couldn't stand her! I just avoided her. I liked that Wong had that kind of character because I think everyone can relate to some experience with someone like that.

I still can't decide if I like the ending. It eventually turns out okay, but I would have liked to know if Minn did get to go see Jake in LA. I also had to re-read the part about Henry and Vick becoming invisible.

Craft Lesson 2

Wong, Janet. “Buzz.” Voyager Books. Orlando, Austin, New York, San Diego, Toronto, London: Harcourt, 2000.

Discussion

Onomatopoeia is a word that imitates a sounds. This can be a useful tool in writing. This lesson uses Buzz to teach what it means and how to use sound words.

How to Teach It

After reading the book, have children call out things they can remember from the story that made the sound. Then, have them come up with more sound words. For the actual activity, choose one word (or a variety) to create a class story and have children illustrate the story. They can choose or the teacher can assign pages.

Craft Lesson 1

Wong, Janet. “Apple Pie Fourth of July.” Voyager Books. Orlando, Austin, New York, San Diego, Toronto, London: Harcourt, 2002.

Discussion

Cultural differences are a part of life in today's time. Children need to understand differences in order understand their peers. This lesson focuses on cultural differences by looking at holidays celebrated around the world in different cultures.

How to Teach It

After reading Apple Pie, children can discuss the book itself and then discuss different holidays they know about or celebrate. Then, have coloring activities or pictures and discussions about different holidays around the world throughout the year. For example, students can learn about Dia de los Muertos, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, etc. They can focus on rituals, symbols, and how others celebrate these holidays.

Poetry...

Poetry is one of those things that make most people groan. It can be a beautiful thing, but I think studying it in school can cause students to start to loathe it. I love reading poetry until I had to memorize poems in middle and high school. Jack Prelutskey and Shel Silverstein were some of my favorites. I think poetry can be a fun thing. I liked activities where we could write our own poems because we were free to do what we wanted. I liked reading the poems in the chapter. I liked haikus. We got to create our own in middle school and that was one of my favorite things. When teachers try to make students understand the poem and start getting into iambic pentameter and other aspects, it really devalues the poem. I remember flying through poems by Maya Angelou, Edgar Allan Poe, and Emily Dickinson and not getting anything out of them because I was too busy searching for terms and the pentameter of the poems. I read them by myself later and loved them. I know that's not the intention of most teachers, but it's hard to really appreciate poetry just like it's hard to appreciate good stories if you can't just read them.

Picture Books

I love picture books. My favorite part about this chapter is the list of books at the end. I can't wait to start getting and reading some of these, and I remember reading some of them when I was younger. Participation books were some of my favorites. I had so many "Where's Waldo?" and "I Spy" books. Alphabet City was one of my favorites. I loved looking for the letters in the book. Of course, I knew the alphabet by then but I loved the pictures.

Genre

I've never really thought much about genres in children's literature. I know the books fall into these genres, but it's not something I really think about. I liked the flow chart that chapter 6 illustrated.

Minn and Jake Part I

We only had to read to page 72, but I couldn't stop! It was so cute. I liked how the story was in a verse format. My favorite part was when Jake compared the kids in class to animals in a past life. Later, while Minn and Jake were catching lizards, Minn compared herself to a squid, which is exactly what Jake thought she was.

BUzzzzz

I read Buzz and really enjoyed it. I think it's really great for kids to read it and use their imaginations. She describes the action and then the sound and you can put yourself there and hear it in your head.

Wong, Janet. “Buzz.” Voyager Books. Orlando, Austin, New York, San Diego, Toronto, London: Harcourt, 2000.

Apple Pie

Apple Pie 4th of July - Janet S. Wong

I really enjoyed this book. I think the message in it may be too much for younger children. They may only see the parts they really know, like the fireworks, the parade, and apple pie. I talked to a girl who read it to her 4 year olds, and the only message they understood was apple pie. The book has a good ending. I think it's important to read books with a global perspective to children. They need to understand where other people from other parts of the world come from.

Wong, Janet. “Apple Pie Fourth of July.” Voyager Books. Orlando, Austin, New York, San Diego, Toronto, London: Harcourt, 2002.

trescuatrocinco

Chapter 3: I found the section on unexpected insights particularly interesting. I think when a book can make you think it's really good for you. I liked the passage from Charlotte's Rose (on page 26) about the Welsh woman and baptizing babies. It was really funny. Insights from children's books are sometimes the most funny ones.

Chapter 4: Illustrations are really important to books. I enjoyed looking at the examples they had in the book. I think the illustrations in Judith Viorst's Alexander series are really great for the stories as well.

Chapter 5: I like reading stories from years ago. It's interesting to see how things have changed and what messages books put out there for children.

What is a good book?

Chapter 2 discusses the question of what is a good book. Quality of the book was a major point. Different elements are evaluated. These elements have to come together in order for a book to have real quality. I think as an educator you have to consider a child's taste as well.

Capitulo Uno

Romeo and Juliet should be read with emotion and interest. Unfortunately, when read in the classroom, it can be boring and frustrating. The chapter brought up this point. Teachers can unknowingly create unengaged reading with their students. I don't want to do that to my students.