Module 15 - The Golden Compass

Lyra, a young child, starts on a journey, meets friends and enemies and begins to understand the power she has over them.

Pullman, P. (1995). The golden compass. Knopf Books for Young Readers, ISBN: 0679879242

Impressions: This is a great fantasy book. It is the first book of a series and now I want to read the rest of the series! There is just enough fantasy and science fiction to make it appealing without annoying.

Review:

Susie Wilde (Children's Literature)

Phillip Pullman has begun a new fantasy trilogy with The Golden Compass, a book that's been selling well to both child and adult readers. The story takes place on an alternate earth in a time that seems similar to the late 19th century. In this world, science and magic vie for power and each human possesses a daemon, a being in animal form who is powerfully linked to its owner. The main character is Lyra, an innocent, who is determined to rescue children who have been snatched for mysterious scientific purposes. She also wants to free her father from a race of warrior polar bears, and discover her place in the world. The story's cast is varied, but always fascinating, including witches, poor folk with rich hearts, and protective academivs. Pullman unites adventure, scientific inquiry, and magic in ways that are fresh and thought provoking. 1996, Knopf, $16.00 and $5.99. Ages 12 up.

(Retrieved from Children's Literature Reviews, Children's Literature Comprehensive Database)

Suggestions for library/classroom use:

This would be a good book to use in a fantasy unit. A library could have a movie night and show the movie adaptation of this book. The patrons could either read this book before or after they watch the movie.

Module 14 - Once I Ate a Pie

This poetry book for young readers, showcases 17 dogs and their unique personalities through fun text and illustrations.

MacLachlan, P. and MacLachlan, E. (2006). Once I ate a pie. Joanna Cotler Books, New York, NY.

Impressions: The paintings of dogs are charming and the poems fit the breed of dog perfectly! Being a dog-lover myself, I enjoyed this book. The text of the poems can help children understand what the poem means, with words such as "big" written in big text, and "running" written spread out across the page.

Review:
Nancy Krial (Kunztown University Book Review, Spring 2007)
This book contains free verse poems about fourteen different dogs which are all different breeds. Each page is highlighted with a beautiful illustration and an engaging poem told from the dog's point of view. The fonts and type size change to reflect the poet's words. This book gets its title from the poem about a pug called Mr. Beefy who relays that he is not thin but he is beautiful and once he ate a pie! The illustrations alone are reason enough to buy this book but the verse holds up its end as well. Open the pages and meet Darla, Maude, Abby, Wupsi, etc. each page makes you laugh at the mischief and movement of these canines. I recommend this book strongly as a read aloud for the very young and as a must have for elementary libraries! Category: Animal Story-Poetry.. 2006, Harper Collins Publishers, $12.95. Ages 5 to 9.
(Retrieved from Children's Literature Reviews, Children's Literature Comprehensive Database)

Ideas for classroom or library use:
This would be an excellent book to use as part of a poetry unit. The children can read the poems out loud in a reader's theater setting. This book could also be used for an animal unit, such as learning about different types of dog breeds or animals.

Module 13 - Rapunzel's Revenge

Rapunzel, after being locked up and away from the world for years and years, finally takes matters into her own hands and, with the help of a friend, rescues the town and her mother from the wicked step-mother and finds love in the end.

Hale, S. and Hale, D. (2008). Rapunzel's ravenge. Bloomsbury Children's Books, New York, NY.

Impressions: The illustrations of this graphic novel are great! I loved the twist on the traditional fairy tale of Rapunzel. Shannon and Dean Hale did an excellent job of writing a graphic novel that is appropriate for all ages.

Review:

Phyllis Thompson (The ALAN Review, Winter 2010 (Vol. 37, No. 2))

If you loved The Goose Girl and Book of a Thousand Days, you are in for another treat. In Rapunzel's Ravenge, author Shannon Hale partners with Dean Hale and Nathan Hale to retell the Grimm's classic as a graphic novel. This is definitely not your grandmother's Rapunzel - the quietly submissive, longsuffering princess, waiting for the prince to rescue her. The Hale's updated teenager-in-a-tower has a big heart, strong braids, and a swashbuckling, high-energy, big-adventure story to tell. This Rapunzel is "WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE for horse thieving, kidnapping, jail breaking, and using her hair in a manner other than nature intended!" While Rapunzel's Revenge is definitely the stuff of high adventure and the old West, it is very much a story about growing up female, taking chances, negotiating potentially dangerous landscapes, confronting cruelty and loss, and re-finding the nurture and comfort that can be had in love. Category: Adventure/Growing Up/Self. YA - Young Adult. 2008, Bloomsbury, 144 pp., $14.99. Ages young adult. Johnson City, TN

(Retrieved from Children's Literature Review, Children's Literature Database)

Suggestions for classroom/library use:

This book would be a great source for a fairy tale unit, especially one that showcases stories that are a twist on fairy tales.

Module 12 - The Wall

Peter Sis explains through pictures and text about growing up in Czechoslovakia.

Sis, P. (2007). The wall: growing up behind the Iron Curtain. Frances Foster Books, New York

Impressions:I was very impressed with the detail of illustrations and the symbolism of drawing in his book. He includes portions of his journal and his actual childhood drawings, which add to the effect of a autobiography. Not only are there illustrations, but actual photographs from Sis's life as well.

Review:

CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices 2008)

Renowned author and illustrator Peter Sis' brilliant authobiographical exploration of the creative spirit offers his trademark blend of intricate visual images and narrative. Sis was born in Communist-controlled Brno, Czechoslovakia, in 1949 and displayed artistic interests from very early on. His talents were indulged and encouraged within his home. At the same time, creativity and freedom of thought were being repressed in his school and throughout his homeland as the Iron Curtain rose and the Cold War escalated. Sis beautifully outlines the tension between socio-political repression and creativity through journal excerpts, actual drawings from his developing years as an artist, and hauntingly complex images outlining the historical context of turbulent times in Eastern Europe. Each image underscores how he questioned the world around him as a developing child and adolescent, especially as news of Western popular culture filtered through the curtain. Creative expression and opportunity exploded for the author in the spring of 1968, only to be crushed quickly by the totalitarian strong arm. Sis was able to hold on to his dreams, however, fueled by his indomitable spirit and the force of his own imagination. CCBC Category: Historical People, Places. and Events. 2007, Frances Foster Books/Farrar Straus and Giroux, 48 pages, $18.00. Age 9 and older.

(Retrieved from Children's Literature Reviews, Children's Literature Comprehensive Database)

Suggestions for classroom/library use:

I would use this book for older readers, middle school or high school students, when teaching about the cold war. It would be a great resource for personal insight into how people lived in the Eastern Bloc. It would also be a good book to use when introducing graphic novels.

Module 11 - An Egg is Quiet

The characteristics of an egg are shared in this book through gentle illustrations and informative text.

Aston, D.H. (2006). An egg is quiet. Chronicle Books.

Impressions: This is a gentle book that is great for young readers and also for older readers looking for something easy yet informative to read. The illustrations are amazing and life-like. However, some of the wording can be confusing, such as "an egg is noisy!" once the egg hatches. It's actually the chicks that are noisy, not the egg, but children will probably not be confused by this oversite.

Review: From School Library Journal
Kiindergarte-Grade 2-An exceptionally handsome book on eggs, from the delicate ova of the green lacewing to the rosy roe of the Atlantic salmon to the mammoth bulk of an ostrich egg. Aston's simple, readable text celebrates their marvelous diversity, commenting on size, shape, coloration, and where they might be found. The author occasionally attributes sensibilities to eggs (An egg is clever, for example). Still, her quiet descriptions of egg engineering and embryo development (no mention of mating) are on the mark, and are beautifully supported by Long's slendid watercolor depictions of a wide variety of eggs. (One teeny carp - Steller's jays are not spelled with an ar, though they are stellar performers when wheedling for your lunch at a campsite!) A beautiful guide to the unexpected panoply of the egg - Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY
Copright (c) Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Suggestions for use in a classroom/library setting:
Good for a life-cycle unit, for reptiles or birds, in a biology class.
Could also be read in the spring time, when eggs and baby animals are more prevelant.

Module 10 - Apples to Oregon

A father loads up his precious fruit trees and vines and travels across five states to settle in Oregon. His children help protect the trees when storms and drought threaten the flora.

Hopkinson, D. (2004). Apples to Oregon: being the (slightly) true narrative of how a brave pioneer father brought apples, peaches, pears, plum, grapes and cherries (and children) across the plains. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, New York, NY.

Impressions: This book made me want to eat apples! The illustrations are delightful, simplistic and show the spirit of the book. There is an "author's note" at the end that explains the story behind the story.

Review:

Emily (BookHive (http://www.bookhive.org/))

What happens when a family with eight children travel from Iowa to Oregon with small apple, peach, pear, plum, grape, and cherry trees? Not only must the family and the plants fight the elements of drough and frost bite, but they also must deal with other travelers who insist the plants will not survive the journey. Can the family make it to Oregon with the plants intact? Detailed end pages add to this story and show the trip from Iowa to Oregon that the family traveled. Humorous illustrations show the various antics of the family as they climb over rocks and swim across rivers. Category: Humor; NCCBA. Grade Level: Primary (K - 3rd grade); Intermediate (4th - 6th grade). 2004, Antheneum Books for Young Readers. Ages 5 to 12.

(Retrieved from Children's Literture Reviews, Children's Literature Comprehensive Database)

Suggestions for classroom/library use:

This would be an excellent book to use while studying the Oregon trail or pioneers. Also, agriculture or farmers in America.

Module 9 - Down the Rabbit Hole

Ingrid is a girl who can't seem to stay out of trouble. First with her parents, siblings and then with the neighbors. But when she stumbles across the murder of the town's crazy lady, she decides to put her own sluething skills to use.

Abrahams, P. (2005). Down the rabbit hole: an Echo Falls mystersy. HarperCollins

Impressions:
I wasn't super sold on this book. It was ok, but I got bored half-way through. Since it's a series, it probably gets better, but I think a middle-school-aged child would enjoy this book.

Review:
Susie Wilde (Children's Literature)
It is hard for adult writers to make the leap to children's book. Abrahams, a best-selling author, has made a graceful entry with his first young adult novel. He develoips an intriguing character in Ingrid, an eighth grader who is obviously brilliant and , just as obviously, stubborn about where she is going to focus her mind. While she devours and thinks about Sherlock Holmes constantly, she is not going to buckle into the authority of a math teacher who seems pleased to give her failing grades. Not is she going to admit to a police chief (and father of her first potential boyfriend) that she was at a crime scene just before a woman was murdered. When she discovers she left her red track shoes at the scene, she steals out of the house to reclaim them, linking herself to the crime and strengthening her resolve to discover the real culprit. There are lots of questions, some innocent sleuthing, and action from beginning to end. 2005, HarperCollins, $15.99. Ages 11 up.
(retrieved from Children's Literature Comprehensive Database, Children's Literature Reviews)

Library or Classroom Use:
What makes a mystery?
Sherlock Holmes.