Module 15

Summary

Draw Me a Star by Eric Carle is a story about an artist and his art work. This book begins with the artist in the story drawing a star. In the book the artist next draws the sun, a tree, a human couple, a house, dog, cat, bird, butterfly, flowers and many more items that surround us on our planet. In this book, the artist draws many beautiful things that give meaning to our lives.

Impressions

This book was very interesting to me. I like it because it is a very soothing and calming book. I felt like the artist was getting directions from someone or something outside himself. I believe this book could be controversial because some might assume that God is telling the artist what to draw. The artist basically could be drawing the creation story just not in exact order. The renderings of the man and woman could be controversial as well. Distinctive male and female parts are part of the drawing. Some may not want their child to see so much detail. I think Eric Carle has created yet another great book – using imagination and imagery to make you think and consider.

Reviews

From Amazon.com Customers

This is one of Eric Carle's best works, and can be enjoyed by many ages and at many levels. First, there's the art, which is as bright and bold as his later works (Papa Get Me the Moon, and Slowly, Slowly, Slowly, Said the Sloth). I think that the rainbow picture in this book would make an excellent print, as well as the flying Artist and star page.

Then there's the simple story of creatures asking for other creatures to be made with child-like associations (dog asks for a cat, cat asks for a bird, bird asks for a butterfly), and the neat cycle of starting and ending with a star.

Then there's the whole creation myth aspect. Not "The Creation Myth" which starts with darkness, but one that starts with the need to create the heavens; darkness comes much later in this story. The Artist ages as the world is being created. Could he be the embodiment of Time itself?

Or is the Artist Mr. Carle? I cannot read this without wondering if Mr. Carle is contemplating his life and work. If so, Mr. Carle, grab that star. By wayn3

The paintings/illustrations in this book are classic Eric Carle and are actually on a bigger scale than many of his books. They are glorious and beautiful and in his completely unique style.

The story flows really well and can easily be seen as a religious tale. But, like the Chronicles of Narnia, it can be read just as a straightforward story, too.

Yes, the first time you read the story, if you aren't ready for it, the picture of the naked couple will catch you off guard. That isn't the usual fare for a children's book (although potty training books have no problem showing the same thing on children). The drawing is not highly detailed and almost impressionistic. So, if you are worried about that, be sure to preview it before you buy it and read it to your child. If you aren't aware of it, your reaction might only emphasize it more for your child and then they will focus on it, possibly in a way you don't want.

If you like Carle and his style, you'll probably like it, especially the drawings. The story is simple but can lead to discussion with older children about its meanings. By S. A. Johnson

From Publishers Weekly

During his youth, this gifted author artist explains in his newest book's afterword, his German grandmother would often draw him a star while chanting a nonsense rhyme. Taking that symbol as his foundation, Carle here creates a world pulsating with life and color-a world that bursts forth from a good star sketched by a young artist. This kaleidoscopic pentagram requests a sun from the artist's pen; the sun asks for a tree, and so on until a man and woman are living happily among Carle's characteristic collages-flora and fauna of all shapes, sizes and vivid hues. Meanwhile the artist, now a bearded old man, continues to draw and create. This unusual, practically plot less work seems to embody a personal scenario close to the artist's heart. His unadorned language, pulsing with a hypnotic rhythm, adroitly complements the familiar naive artwork. Though some may be disturbed by similarities between Carle's evolving world and the biblical creation story (the unclothed male and female figures, for example), this tale of imagination and creativity pays homage to the artist within all of us-and may well fire youngsters' imaginations. Ages 4-up.

Library Setting

I would use this book as a read aloud with younger students due to some illustrations. I would not make a big deal out of it because if you do than the students will pick up on it. I would use this because it has great illustrations and introduces space for a science lesson because there are stars, clouds and the moon to discuss from this book. Then I would have the children tell me the parts of space and illustrate it.

Module 14

Summary

For the poetry and story collections this week I read My Dog, My Hero by Betsy Byars, Betsy Duffey and Laurie Myers. There is a My Hero Award, and eight dogs are featured in the book. Each person submitted a story of how and why their dog was a hero to them. Submitters were children, adults or next door neighbors telling the story and each dog did something for the person in the story. The stories vary from the dog saving their life to just being a companion. In the end one dog is given the My Hero Award, but every dog in the short stories receives an award.

Impression

I enjoyed these stories because they were fun to read and they also had great things to tell about dogs. I could tell in the tone of the writteres how much these dogs ment to them and how they changed their life for the better. I really felt like I knew these dogs and I just wanted to give them all a hug. I love dogs and this is a child friendly book for any age.

Reviews on Amazon.com

From School Library Journal

Gr 3-6-Byars and her daughters set up this collection of eight stories as though a contest for the "My Hero" award were underway and they were serving as judges. A cross-section of citizens enter, each relating a story of one canine's valiant behavior, from rescuing a baby to restoring joy to a lonely person's life to finding people trapped after a tornado. Happily, not a single dog is lost in the process. The authors provide a distinct voice for each narrator and a distinct personality for each animal while highlighting the common themes of gratitude, admiration, and love. The short-story format and popular topic make this a sound choice for older reluctant readers as well as for younger children. A full-color painting and a cameo portrait of the pet accompany each selection.-Pat Leach, Lincoln City Libraries, NE

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 3-6. Newbery Medal-winner Byars and daughters Betsy Duffey and Laurie Myers--dog lovers all--collaborate for the first time in this collection of eight stories about extraordinarily heroic dogs. Each of the first-rate tales is told from the point of view of a contestant entering a dog in the My Hero contest. Among the entries is one from a gruff gardener who has no use for dogs until one alerts him to a poisonous snake lurking in his petunias. In another, a 93-year-old woman relates how a dog's cold nose and loving touch transformed her after she'd given in to depression in a nursing home. Drama, humor, excitement, and love fuel these short, well-written stories that are certain to be relished by dog lovers. The selections can also provide students in English classes with excellent examples of point of view, characterization, and plot construction. Loren Long's evocative full-color artwork not only shows off each canine but also invites readers into the crises and emotions of the episodes. Ellen MandelCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Lesson

In a classroom I would use this book as a read aloud each day. Then I would have them think of an animal or person they think is a hero to them. I would have them write and illustrate their own story about “their hero”. Once the stories were complete I would take the finished product and make a book for the class.

Module 12

Redo due to corrections

Summary

This week in module 12 biographies, I chose to read Rosa by Nikki Giovanni and illustrated by Bryan Collier. This book is the story of Rosa Parks, who, on December 1, 1955, refused to give up her seat at the front of the bus. Ms. Parks defied the norm and brought to a head segregated seating on public transportation during the Civil Rights Movement. This story talks about how she was arrested because she would not give up her seat and the start of the Montgomery Bus Boycott which lasted almost a year, until November 13, 1956. That day in November 1956 the United States Supreme Court ruled against segregation on buses just as they had ruled against school segregation. The message was loud and clear – all persons were to be treated with dignity and there was no room in the United States for second class citizenship.

Impression

This story has great illustrations and the story flows very cleanly. It is very accurate with its historical information, and has feeling to it. Rosa inspired me in how to treat others and she influenced the civil rights campaign that will never be forgotten. I liked the way the author and illustrator told the story as their styles complement each other. This book also earned a Caldecott Medal for illustrations and the Coretta Scott King Award for literature.

Review fromAmazon.com

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-5–Rosa Parks's personal story moves quickly into a summary of the Civil Rights movement in this striking picture book. Parks is introduced in idealized terms. She cares for her ill mother and is married to one of the best barbers in the county. Sewing in an alterations department, Rosa Parks was the best seamstress. Her needle and thread flew through her hands like the gold spinning from Rumpelstiltskin's loom. Soon the story moves to her famous refusal to give up her seat on the bus, but readers lose sight of her as she waits to be arrested. Giovanni turns to explaining the response of the Women's Political Caucus, which led to the bus boycott in Montgomery. A few events of the movement are interjected–the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, the aftermath and reactions to the murder of Emmett Till, the role of Martin Luther King, Jr., as spokesperson. Collier's watercolor and collage scenes are deeply hued and luminous, incorporating abstract and surreal elements along with the realistic figures. Set on colored pages, these illustrations include an effective double foldout page with the crowd of successful walkers facing a courthouse representing the 1956 Supreme Court verdict against segregation on the buses. Many readers will wonder how it all went for Parks after her arrest, and there are no added notes. Purposeful in its telling, this is a handsome and thought-provoking introduction to these watershed acts of civil disobedience.–Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Lesson

I would use this book for a read aloud for research on prominent African American persons during African American History Month. The students would then choose their own person of note and we would use computers, books, encyclopedias and other research media to find information on their person of interest.

Module 11

Redo due to corrections

Summary

For Informational books, which were in the nonfiction section of my library in Dallas, I chose to blog about Harvesting Hope: The True Story of Cesar Chavez by Kathleen Krull and Illustrated by Yuyi Morales. This is a true story about Cesar Chavez who, as a man stood up for the plight of the migrant farm worker. Chavez wanted the migrant workers to receive fair wages and to have decent living conditions. The land owners that the workers labored for would not pay a decent wage a day for picking the produce. Cesar Chavez started the National Farm Workers Association after organizing and facilitating peaceful protest marches all over the State of California. After a horrific struggle, The NFWA finally was able to get decent living and working conditions with good pay and contracts. Chavez literally changed thousands of lives for the better and used peaceful marches as his tool. He died at the age of sixty-six in 1993.

Impression

I was first blown away by the illustrations as they were so vibrant and detailed – the drawings really helped tell the story. I liked the story because it tells how Cesar made the American dream come true for him and many other people. He was born in America and lived on a farm as a young boy and then his family had to become migrant workers to earn a living. This book really shows that adversity can be overcome and that one person can make a difference and be a catalyst for change.

Reviews from Amazon.com

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6-The dramatic story of Chavez's 340-mile march to protest the working conditions of migrant farmworkers in California is the centerpiece of this well-told biography. Readers meet Chavez at his grandparents' home in Arizona where he lived happily amid a large extended family. His childhood was cut short when, due to financial difficulties, the family was forced to move to California to seek employment. After years of laboring in the fields, Chavez became increasingly disturbed by the inhuman living conditions imposed by the growers. The historic 1965 strike against grape growers and the subsequent march for "La Causa" are vividly recounted, and Chavez's victory-the agreement by the growers granting the workers better conditions and higher pay-is palpable. While sufficient background information is provided to support the story and encourage further research, focusing on one event makes the story appealing to younger readers. The text is largely limited to one side of a spread; beautifully rendered earth-toned illustrations flow out from behind the words and onto the facing page. A fine addition to any collection. Sue Morgan, Tom Kitayama Elementary School, Union City, CA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 2-4. When Cesar Chavez was 10 years old, drought forced his family to leave its Arizona ranch and move to California. The family became migrant workers, poorly paid and badly treated. As an adult, Chavez organized a nonviolent revolt, culminating in a 300-mile protest march that produced the first farmworkers' contract. Krull's language demonstrates a poetic sensibility ("The eighty acres of their ranch were an island in the shimmering Arizona desert, and the stars were all their own."), but the vocabulary will challenge young children, and a few socio-cultural details aren't made clear: some kids will wonder about the "White Trade Only" signs and why Chavez couldn't speak Spanish in school. But Morales' gorgeous paintings, with their rounded, organic forms and lush, gemstone hues, more than make up for glitches as they draw children deeply into an inspiring picture-book account of a young boy who grew up to change the world. Traci Todd
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Lesson

In the library setting I would use this book to keep Chavez’s story alive. Sometimes people forget about how people struggled to feed their families and still do today. I would read it aloud to the children and then have them draw and write a summary of what they learned. I would particularly use this book during Mexican American Heritage month.

Module 10

Redo due to corrections

Summary

The Historical Fiction story I read this week for my blog was called The Wall: Growing up behind the Iron Curtin by Peter Sis. Peter Sis is from Prague, Czechoslovakia and he tells the story about his life in Communist Czechoslovakia as a young child, a teen and a young adult. He vividly tells his story using dates and art from his own diary. His story tells about how he lived, what his education was like and how no one had the right to express their own view point. Mr. Sis includes his own art work from his childhood and pictures of him growing up in the book.

Impression

I liked the book and how it was written. It was very personal for him to write this story and I sensed that it gave him closure to be free of the past. The historical facts of his story really kept me reading and held my interest. I can’t begin to imagine what it must be like to be told what to believe, how to think and how to act. He made me thankful to be an American.

Review from Amazon.com

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Born out of a question posed to Sís (Play, Mozart, Play!) by his children (Are you a settler, Dad?), the author pairs his remarkable artistry with journal entries, historical context and period photography to create a powerful account of his childhood in Cold War–era Prague. Dense, finely crosshatched black-and-white drawings of parades and red-flagged houses bear stark captions: Public displays of loyalty—compulsory. Children are encouraged to report on their families and fellow students. Parents learn to keep their opinions to themselves. Text along the bottom margin reveals young Sís's own experience: He didn't question what he was being told. Then he found out there were things he wasn't told. The secret police, with tidy suits and pig faces, intrude into every drawing, watching and listening. As Sís grows to manhood, Eastern Europe discovers the Beatles, and the Prague Spring of 1968 promises liberation and freedom. Instead, Soviet tanks roll in, returning the city to its previous restrictive climate. Sís rebels when possible, and in the book's final spreads, depicts himself in a bicycle, born aloft by wings made from his artwork, flying toward America and freedom, as the Berlin Wall crumbles below. Although some of Sís's other books have their source in his family's history, this one gives the adage write what you know biting significance. Younger readers have not yet had a graphic memoir with the power of Maus or Persepolis to call their own, but they do now. Ages 8-up. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* In an autobiographical picture book that will remind many readers of Marjane Satrapi's memoir Persepolis (2003), Sís' latest, a powerful combination of graphic novel and picture book, is an account of his growing up in Czechoslovakia under Soviet rule. Written in several stands, the somewhat fragmented narrative never dilutes the impact of the boldly composed panels depicting scenes from Sís' infancy through young adulthood. Throughout, terrific design dramatizes the conflict between conformity and creative freedom, often through sparing use of color; in many cases, the dominant palette of black, white, and Communist red threatens to swallow up young Peter's freely doodled, riotously colored artwork. The panels heighten the emotional impact, as when Sís fleeing the secret police, emerges from one spread's claustrophobic, gridlike sequence into a borderless, double-page escape fantasy. Even as they side with Peter against fearsome forces beyond his control, younger readers may lose interest as the story moves past his childhood, and most will lack crucial historical context. But this will certainly grab teens—who will grasp both the history and the passionate, youthful rebellions against authority—as well as adults, many of whom will respond to the Cold War setting. Though the term picture book for older readers has been bandied about quite a bit, this memorable title is a true example. Mattson, Jennifer

Lesson

I would use this book for a history lesson dealing with the cold war as an introduction to the unit. I would assign the students’ a research group project about The Cold War that would include all the countries affected by this period of history.