Fiesta Babies

Fiesta Babies was written by Carmen Tafolla and is a Pura Belpre nominee.

Tafolla, C. & Cordova, A. (2010). Fiesta babies. Berkeley, CA: Tricycle Press

This is a bright and cheerful book introducing Latino traditions and celebrations. In the book the babies and their families celebrate Fiesta activities; piñatas, marching on parade, singing mariachi songs, dancing, and taking a siesta. There are Spanish words sprinkled throughout the story, introducing not only the culture but the language as well.

Illustrations:

The illustrations are bright and lively. They set a tone of festivity that complements the theme of the happy “Fiesta babies.”

Grandma's Gift

Grandma's Gift  was written by Eric Velasquez and is a 2011 Pura Belpre award winner.

Velasquez, E. (2010). Grandma's Gift. New York, NY: Walker Publishing Company.

Eric, the main character, must spend his Christmas holiday with his grandmother in El Barrio, a part of the city. Eric has an assignment that take shim to the MET, where he discovers a love for art. Eric’s parents join them for Christmas Eve dinner, and his grandma gives him a sketchbook and colored pencils to aide in his journey toward becoming an artist.

Illustrations:
The illustrations in this book are realistic and well planned. Colors are vibrant and pull your eyes in to study the pictures as you read. You receive a great portrayal of different lifestyles and cultures.

The Lion and the Mouse

The Lion and the Mouse was written by Jerry Pinkey and won a Caldecott Medal in 2010.

Pinkney, J. (2010). The Lion and the Mouse. New York: Little Brown Co.

Exposition:

The main characters are a tiny field mouse and an arrogant lion that live in Africa.

Conflict:

The tiny mouse has many predators and wants to survive, but knows he must especially watch out for the lion.

Rising Action:
The lion catches the mouse under his paw, but decides to let it go. The mouse promises to help the lion in the future.

Climax:

The lion is cought in a hunter’s trap and cannot free himself.

Falling Action:

The field mouse finds the lion trapped and chews the through the rope.,

 Resolution:

The mouse frees the lion, following through on his earlier promise to help the lion for not eating him.

Illustrations:

The illustrations are very well drawn and sequenced to help the struggling reader understand the story. Students enjoy watching the story unfold through the pictures as well as the text. I love this book and the lesson it teaches. It is very simple to use in a lesson with lower grade levels, and they understand the moral of the story.

THe Polar Express

The Polar Express was written by Chris Van Allsburg. It is a Caldecott Winner, and has now been turned into a movie. I use this book and film in my classroom every year in December! :)

Van Allsburg, C. (1985). The Polar Express . Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Exposition:
The story takes place on Christmas Eve and is primarily on the Polar Express train, followed by arriving at the North Pole.

Conflict:
A little boy is told by a friend that there is no Santa Clause; he vows to prove the friend wrong by waiting up for Santa.

Rising Action:
A train arrives and the boy boards. He rides the Polar Express to the North Pole with other chosen children.

Climax:
Santa give s the boy the first gift of Christmas; the gift is a bell. When he reaches in his pocket to show the other children, he discovers that it is missing.

Falling Action:
the boy returns home and opens gifts on Christmas morning. His sister Sarah finds one last gift for him beneath the tree, that none of the family put there.

Resolution:
The boy opens the gift and it is the bell Santa gave him. Only those who believe in Santa can hear the bell ring, so some think it is broken.

Illustrations:
The illustrations in this book are breathtaking. They are very detailed and rich in color. Children will love poring over the pages of this book do take in all that the illustrations offer.

Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type

Cronin, D. (2000). Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type. New York: Simon & Schuster Books.

Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type was written by Doreen Cronin. It is a hilarious book that is one of my favorites, and won the Caldecott award in 2001.

Exposition:
The story is set on a farm, with the characters being the typing Cows, Farmer Brown, and other farm animals.

Conflict:

The cows on the farm have a typewriter and write Farmer Brown letters of demands (that he must meet) if he wants them to keep producing milk for him.

Rising Action:
Farmer Brown Refuses and the other animals begin to make demands and stop producing also.

Climax:

Farmer Brown demands that the animals begin producing again and the animals propose a truce—production for electric blankets.

Falling Action:
Duck, the “mediator,” takes the message to Farmer Brown who agrees to the deal.

Resolution:

Duck decides to keep the typewriter (after the cows give it up) and writes a letter demanding a diving board for the pond. The last page shows a duck diving into the pond, alluding to the thought that Farmer Brown agreed to the demand.

Illustrations:
The illustrations are bright and enjoyable to view while reading. The reader can watch the story unfold primarily through illustrations, even if they cannot read the text.

One Crazy Summer

One Crazy Summer was written by Rita Williams-Garcia and won the Coretta Scott King award.

Williams-Garcia, R. (2010). One Crazy Summer. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc

Exposition:

Set in the summer of 1968,  Delphine, Fern, and Vonetta are sent to Oakland, CA to stay with their mother (Cecile); the same mother that deserted them years ago.

Conflict:

Cecile wants nothing to do with the girls and sends them to a Black Panther summer camp.

Rising Action:

The girls learn about the Panthers, participate in the education provided and contribute to the movement in small ways.

Climax:

Their mother is arrested and neighbors take the girls under their wing.

Falling Action:

The girls participate in a rally right before going home and Fern discovers and reveals a snitch in the organization.

Resolution:

It is time for the girls to head home and they realize that Cecile is not such a horrible person, just not cut out to be a good mother.

Literary Qualities:

Full of unexpected insights, One Crazy Summer is a great read! The girls learn things beyond their years like coming to the realizations that not all adults are “grown up” and their mother isn’t so bad, just not cut out to be a mother.

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games is a science fiction novel written by Suzanne Collins; it is the first book in a trilogy.

Collins, S. (2008). Hunger Games. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc.

Exposition:
The story is set in a futuristic nation known as Panem. The main characters are Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark. They are both participating in the Hunger Games in District 12, the area in which they live.

 Conflict:

A boy and a girl from each district are chose every year to participate in the Hunger Games, where the participants must fight to the death until only one remains (survives).

Rising Action:
At the start of the games, 11 of the 24 contestants are killed.  Peeta and Katniss are able to survive even as the death count climbs.

Climax:

The rules are changed and it is announced that 2 contestants from the same district can compete as a team. Katniss searches for Peeta and finds him wounded.

Falling Action:
Katniss must nurse Peeta back to health so they can continue the game. They win as a team, but then the game officials change their mind about two people being able to win.

Resolution:

They both decide they should eat poison berries so that they do not have to kill each other, and it declared that there are two winners of the Hunger Games.

Literary Qualities:

The imagery in this text is unbelievable as she carries your through the games and pulls you into the world described. Symbolism is prominent in its similarity of the Hunger Games to reality television and others hurt and anguish as entertainment.

Twilight

Twilight was written by Stephanie Meyer and is part of a four book saga.

Meyer, S. (2005). Twilight. New York: Little Brown and Company.

Exposition:

The story unfolds in  current day Forks, Washington. Bella Swan has just moved there to live with her father. The two main male characters are Jacob and Edward Cullen. Some others included in the book are James (a bad vampire), Bella’s father, and the Cullen family.

Conflict:

Bella discovers that Edward enthralls her, but he is a vampire. Jacob is very jealous of Bella’s budding relationship with Edward.

Rising Action:

Edward swears he will protect Bella (from himself and other vamps) even though he is a vampire. They are too in love to stay away from each other, which angers Jacob.

Climax:

One of the ruthless vampires, James, tricks  Bella into coming to “save” her mother. James tries to kill Bella, but she is saved by the Cullen family, who kill James.

Falling Action:

Edward tries to convince Bella that she will be safer away from him, but they cannot bear to be apart. They continue their forbidden love.

Resolution:

They return to Forks and attend prom like a normal high school couple. Bella expresses that she wants to become a vampire, but Edward refuses to let this happen.

Literary Qualities:

There is a vast amount of imagery used when describing beauty of the vampires and the love between Edward and Bella.  Mood is the most important theme addressed in the text; taking you from drama, to horror, and romance within a few pages.

Holes

Holes is a John Newberry award winner, written by Louis Sachar.

Sachar, L. (1998). Holes. New York: Dell Yearling.

Exposition:

Stanley Yelnats, who is followed by bad luck and a family curse, is sent to Camp Green Lake.

Conflict:

Stanley is convicted of a crime he did not commit and sentenced to time at Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention center in Texas digging holes for the warden.

Rising Action:

Stanley digs the holes as he is told to do while making friends with some of the other boys. He realizes that the digging is not just punishment, and warden is looking for something.

Climax:

Stanley escapes to rescue another boy, Zero, and they both come close to dying. The rescue breaks the Yelnats family curse and the boys discover the treasure that the warden has been searching for. The warden finds them right as they discover the treasure.

Falling Action:
Stanley’s attorney arrives to declare his innocence and rescues him and Zero from the warden. Stanley’s name in on the suitcase treasure, so it is claimed as rightfully his.

Resolution:

The suitcase turns out to belong to Stanley’s great-grandfather. It is full of valuable items that Stanley has rightful claim to. The juvenile detention center is shut down.

Literary Qualities:

Irony is very prevalent in Holes; the characters overlapping and all being interrelated and intertwined histories. There is also a tone of understatement, with the reader experiencing Stanley’s story and attempting to solve the “mystery” as they read.

Sarah, Plain and Tall

Sarah, Plain and Tall is written by Patricia MachLachlan and is a Newberry Medal winner in 1986.

MacLachlan, P. (1985).  Sarah, Plain and Tall. New York: HarperTrophy.

Exposition:
The story is set in Kansas in the year 1910. The main characters are Jacob Witting (the dad), Anna and Caleb Witting (the children), and Sarah Wheaton.

Conflict:
Jacob decides he cannot handle raising his children on his own and gets a mail-order bride, Sarah Wheaton, from Maine.

Rising Action:
Sarah arrives in Kansas and is very homesick and tries to win the children over as she battles with adjusting to farm life.

Climax:
Sarah leaves to go to town, not telling the Wittings what she is going for. They wonder if she will return.

Falling Action:
Sarah returns home to the farm with a package. She has brought the “sea” to the farm by way of colored pencils to make a picture.

Resolution:

Sarah says she wants to stay because she would miss the family more than she misses home now. Her and Jacob will get married in the near future.

Literary Qualities:

There is a great deal of character dialogue in the novel. The reader does not have to “guess” what is going on with the characters, it is clearly stated. The element of unexpected insight is a major theme in this storyline. Readers are accustomed to the “boy meets girl and falls in love” norm, which is a far cry from mail-order bride business transaction depicted in Sarah, Plain and Tall.

Charlotte's Web

Charlotte’s Web was written by E.B White and illustrated by Garth Williams in 1952. It is a John Newberry award winner.

White, EB. & Williams, G. (1952). Charlotte’s Web. New York: Harper Collins.

Exposition:

This story starts at the Arable farm, and the moves to the Zuckerman farm, where most of the story takes place. There is also some time spent at the County Fair. The characters are Wilbur, Charlotte, Templeton, Fern, the farm animals, and the Zuckermans.  

Conflict:

Wilbur is in danger of being slaughtered.

Rising Action:

Charlotte begins to spin words of praise describing Wilbur in her web trying to convince Homer of his worth so he will not slaughter Wilbur.

Climax:

Wilbur and Charlotte go to the County Fair where they win a prize. Charlotte has reached the end of her life and dies.

Falling Action:

Wilbur must return to the farm without Charlotte, but takes her sac of eggs back with him to be born at the farm.

Resolution:

Charlotte’s babies are born and most of them move off. Three stay with Wilbur at the farm, even though they cannot replace Charlotte.

Literary Qualities:

The precise vocabulary in this story enchanting and engages the reader from the beginning.  There are many unexpected insights throughout the storyline that are surprising to find in a children’s novel. The lesson that friends can come in all shapes and sizes, and may appear to be nothing alike is invaluable.

Before John Was a Jazz Giant

Before John Was a Jazz Giant is written by Carol Boston Weatherford and illustrated by San Qualls. It was a Coretta Scott King winner.

Weatherford, C.B. & Qualls, S. (2008). Before John Was a Jazz Giant. New York: Henry Holt and Company.

This story takes place in the South during the 1930s and describes John Coltrane before he was a jazz legend. Young John hears many sounds that guide him to music: family members playing instruments, sounds in nature and the world surrounding him, singing in choirs and the music on the radio. One day John picks up a saxophone and begins to blow; turning all of the sounds he has heard into music. The text has a repetitive “music in the language” that lulls you while you read.  

Illustration:

The illustrations are vibrant and bold, yet simple. They enhance the text on each page  by offering  the reader and wonderful visual image of what the text is describing.

Snowflake Bentley

Snowflake Bentley, written by Jacqueline Briggs Martin, is a Caldecott Award winner from 1999.

Martin, J. B., & Azarian, M. (1998). Snowflake Bentley . Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Exposition:

Set in Jericho, Vermont on a family farm in the heart of the “snowbelt.”  The story begins in 1865 when Wilson (Willie) Bentley is born and continues throughout his life. Wilson’s family and neighbors are also minor characters in the story.

Conflict:

Willie wanted to be able to share snowflakes the same way he could share the other beauties in nature.

Rising Action:

His family did not understand his need to “share” snow, but supported him and bought Willis an expensive camera to help him attain his dream.

Climax:

After many failed attempts, Willie was able to capture the beauty of a snow crystal on film; some winters he was only able to produce a dozen pictures, others he produced hundreds.

Falling Action:

Willie so loved nature that he took pictures in all seasons. His work was published and he became known as “the Snowflake Man.”

Resolution:

With financial help from other scientists, his best work was published in a book. Six weeks later, Willie died from catching pneumonia during a walk in a blizzard

Illustration:

The illustrations in this book are beautiful and muted. The snowflakes framing each side of the pages enhance the story and display the unique qualities of flakes as it is discussed in the text. The heavy use of blue tones is calming as the reader follows Willie’s story.

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler was written by E.L. Konigsburg and is a winner of the Newbery Medal.

Konigsburg, E. L., & Konigsburg, E. L. (1967). From the mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, ([1st ed.). New York: Atheneum.

Exposition:
The main characters, Claudia and Jamie Kincaid live in Greenwich, Connecticut with their family. The setting then changes to New York City when Jamie and Claudia travel there, and then returns to Connecticut.

Conflict:Claudia feels unappreciated by her family and decides to runs away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, inviting her younger brother Jamie to go with her.

Rising Action:

Claudia and Jamie take off for New York City and live at the museum exploring and become fascinated by angel statue. They decide to go to see Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, who sold the statue to the museum.

Climax:
The kids travel to Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler’s house and go on a search in her home to find the answer to the statue mystery.

Falling Action:
Claudia and Jamie decide to keep their discovery secret and Mrs. Frankweiler sends them home to their parents.

Resolution:

The kids return home to their worried family with a different perspective then before running away.

Literary Qualities:

I haven’t read this book since I was in elementary school, and had a great time following Claudia and Jamie’s journey again!  This is a great story to introduce different types of point-of-view to students as Mrs. Frankweiler leads you through the adventures of the children. There was also a great deal of foreshadowing that Mrs. Frankweiler’s files would hold the answer to the mystery.

Bridge to Terabithia

Written by Katherine Paterson, Bridge to Terabithia was published by HarperCollins in 1977. It won the Newbery Award in 1978 and is on the 100 Challenged Books List.

Paterson, K., & Diamond, D. (1977). Bridge to Terabithia. New York: Crowell.

Exposition:

The setting is laid in a small town during the 1970’s. The main characters are Leslie Burke and Jess Aarons with their families and other children from school as supporting characters.

Conflict:

Jess and Leslie are two lonely children that both struggle to fit in with their schoolmates and everyday life.

Rising Action:

A new girl, Leslie Burke, moves to town and they (Leslie & Jess) befriend each other. The two create a fantasy-world, Terabithia, where they spend all of their time to forget their real-world issues.

Climax:

Jess goes to Washington to tour art galleries with Miss Edmunds, the music teacher. He comes home to find out that Leslie attempted to visit Terabithia on her own and has drowned in the creek.

Falling Action:

Jess tries to deal with the loss of Leslie and sinks back into his old fears and insecurities.

Resolution:

The Burke’s decide to leave town and Jess uses wood from their porch to build a bridge to Terabithia. He makes his sister, May Belle, the new Queen of Terabithia.

Literary Qualities:

This author uses powerful similes for vivid descriptions. The mood, tone and themes of loneliness and personal experience provide opportunity for personal connections while reading.