Book Reflection Assignment

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Author: Mike Thaler/ Illustrator: Jared Lee

Date of Publication: 1997, March

Title: Cinderella Bigfoot

ISBN: 0-590-89826-4

Grade: 2^nd

Summary:

In the land of Make Believer there is Cinderella and her stepmother and three stepsisters. The stepsiblings were all beautiful and perfect while Cinderella had humongous fee. Her huge feet were always a problem with activities such as ballet and hopscotch. The prince was soon having a ball and was going to choose his bride at the upcoming ball. Cinderella wasn’t going to join her stepsisters to the ball until a Dairy Godmother by the name of “Elsie” arrives. The Diary Godmother puts Cinderella in a sparkly new dress and glass sneakers sending her on her way to the ball on the bus. Cinderella starts dancing with the Prince but abruptly has to leave by midnight. The Prince Smeldred finds her glass sneaker which is left behind and starts going around the Land of Make Believe looking for the owner letting every maiden in town try it on. Finally Cinderella tries the glass sneaker on and it fits. The prince and Cinderella get married in the end and live happily ever after.

Themes:

• self-identity (explain how we are all unique and special in our own ways. Also focus on letting your colors shine and not to be ashamed of the way we look.
• patience and being a good friend (focus on compassion and being caring and kind to everyone
• “laughter is key” (teach that it’s ok to make-believe and know the difference between having fun with made up stories but to remember the real world is not like this)

Comments:

I think this takes a great spin on the classic cinderella tale while being short enough and funny enough to keep younger readers attention and interest.

 

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Author: Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm/Illustrator: Dorothee Duntze

Date of Publication: 1998

Title: The Six Swans

ISBN: 1-55858-982-1

Grade: 4th?

Summary:

A king is hunting in a great forest and becomes lost. His only escape is a witch who offers to show him the way out if he agrees to marry her daughter. The king already had six sons and a daughter whom his new wife did not like. She casts a spell on the sons turning them into swans. The sister sees what happened to her six brothers and becomes determined to save them. She searches for them finding the now swans at a local hunting lodge. The brothers explain to their sister that the only way the spell will be erased is if she doesn’t speak for six years and makes each of them a shirt made of starflowers. The sister leaves determined to help them and hides in a tree in the forest where she is found by another king. Even  through she doens’t speak he falls in love and wants to marry her. Once married they have a child. The king’s evil mother sets the sister up by stealing the baby accusing the sister to have eaten the baby. The mother frames the sister two more times until the sister is set to burn at the stakes. The brothers fly over now that six years are up and before she can be burned to death the spell is broken and they all live happily ever after.

Themes:

• courage (Discuss sacrifices and what really makes someone a hero. Also have students learn about real life heroes from the past and present in today’s society.)
• family (Discuss what makes a strong relationship. Have students describe what brings each of them closer to his or her family)
• lying/evil (Discuss how lying is bad and ask students how it makes he or she feel) Also discuss how to avoid evil in the world and how to avoid peer pressure.

Comments:

I don’t know if I would necessarily recommend this book to everyone. If this book were to be used in the classroom I would focus on some of the key messages it offers and only offer the book to older grades. I only mention these comments due to some of the details that are a bit graphic.

 

****

 

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Author: Jennifer Donnelly/ Illustrated: Stephen Gammell

Date of Publication: 2002

Title: Humble Pie

ISBN: 0-689-84435-2

Grade: 2^nd

Summary:

The story begins with a little boy named Theo who is very greedy. Theo never helps his family or the community with anything and only does what he pleases. Theo’s grandmother who lives across the woods knew Theo was very spoiled and needed to learn a lesson. One day he starts running from his parents after getting into trouble once again. Theo goes through the woods to his grandmother’s house where he finds her making a humongous pie crust. The grandmother tells him she is making a very special humble pie and has him help her fill the crust with fruit filling. Since Theo is very greedy he wants some of the pie right away. When he leans over to get some of the pie he falls into the center and is sealed in, trapped in the pie. The grandmother knows Theo needs a taste of his own medicine, or humble pie, so she sends the pie rolling through the city with little Theo trapped inside. He comes across several friends who would not let him out since he had been mean to them before. He also comes across his house and the animals outside, yet they too had been badly treated by Theo so instead of helping they send him on his way. Finally Theo arrives to a different town where the townspeople have no food. The pie is a blessing and about to be baked in the firey pit until Theo gets their attention and jumps out just in time. The pie ends up being enough to feed the people for a years. Theo races home in the end having gotten his piece of “humble pie” and having learned his lesson from being a mean, selfish little boy.

Themes:

• respect and kindness (teach students good manners and have them practice in an activity where they can compliment other classmates)
• “recipe for a good friend” ( have students think of the “ingredients” the make up the recipe for a good friend and then maybe do an activity where they get to bake muffins and give them to other teachers or family members, or others in the community as a service project.)
• trust and telling the truth (teach students what it means to be trustworthy and why it is important to tell the truth always so that they can keep that trust. Also could tie in the story “The Boy who Cried Wolf”)

Comments:

I think this book is perfect to be used in the classroom. It is very age appropriate for younger grades and teaches a very important lesson. The lesson to tell the truth and to be kind to others is important to teach at a young age and this book does a great job and tells it in a very fun, kid-friendly way.

****

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Author: Susan Lowell/ Illustrated by: Randy Cecil

Date of Publication: 2001

Title: Dusty Locks and the Three Bears

Grade: 1st

ISBN: 0-8050-5862-1

Summary:

Out west a family of bears lived in a tidy cabin. One evening they decide to make red hot beans for dinner. The bears were too hot to eat so the bears decide to take a hike to let them cool. Meanwhile a very naughty little girl named Dusty Locks decided to run away and stir up some trouble. Dusty was very dirty and always up to no good. Dusty Locks stumbles upon the bears’ cabin noticing no one inside. Th minute  she enters the home Dusty Locks immediately finds the steaming plates of beans. Dusty, who happened to be very hungry decides to try all and ends up liking baby bears enough to eat the entire plate. Next Dusty Locks tries all three chairs again liking baby bears the best. The only problem was that Dusty was too large and broke the chair to pieces. Lastly Dusty Locks decides to take a nap and after trying all three beds, settles on baby bears’ bed. While napping the three bears return from their hike dismayed at the mess throughout the cabin. Finally the bears find Dusty in baby bear’s bed. Dusty wakes up to the outraged bears adn runs out the window home to her mother and a clean bath. The bears never see or recognize her again.

Themes:

• “watch your actions” (have students learn about consequences and how being responsible for their actions is important.)
• Manners (Have students learn etiquette and the proper ways to act when a guest in someone’s house, also have students read the traditional Goldilocks and the Three Bears)
• Personal Hygiene (Emphasize how important it is to keep up with personal hygiene. Go over fun tips for making bath time and washing hands fun. example: the abc song while washing hands or do the glitter game where students get messy with glitter and then follow the steps with soap to completely get their hands clean. Also discuss how Dusty Locks could have “cleaned up her act” and behavior on top of keeping up with her hygiene by bathing when her mother asked her to. )

Comments:

I would recommend this book for use in the classroom. It provides a great twist to the classic tale while also adding a little humor and a greater emphasis on the lesson being taught.

 

                                                ****

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Author: Karen Stanton/ Illustrated By: Rene King Moreno

Date of Publication: 2001

Title: Papi’s Gift

Grade: 1st

ISBN: 1-5907-8422-7

Summary:

Papi’s Gift begins with a young girl named Graciela who is about to have her seventh birthday. Graciela lives with her family in Mexico while her Papi is in California picking fruit so that he can provide for their family. Graciela’s Papi promised her a little package on her birthday tied in her favorite color red. The package would arrive through the mail so every day Graciela would wait outside looking for the postal truck. She would dream about the box being filled with fancy party dresses, shiny new shoes and a tiny doll. On Graciela’s birthday she gets a phone call from her Papi. Papi says tells Graciela that the package must be lost in the mail since it has not arrived yet. Graciela becomes very upset that her package isn’t coming. While Graciela was very down and upset her mother gave her a package with a homemade doll. After having her birthday dinner, Graciela stops thinking about her package that never arrived. Instead of wondering and wishing her package had arrived Graciela wishes her Papi was here with her on her birthday and not in California. The next day Graciela decides to mail the homemade doll from her mother to her Papi so that he would not be alone. She tells her doll that she will see her again when the rain comes when her Papi could return from having to pick crops in the states. After mailing the doll Graciela notices the weather has changed and clouds start to form. Then Graciela looks down the road and sees her Papi walking up the road.

Themes:

• pin-pals (for this activity students can participate in a pin-pal activity. They would either be pin-pals with local students in the area or students from other states and countries. Through this activity they would learn about other student’s hometowns and values while also  being able to tell about their own.)
• embracing culture (for this activity students would be put into different groups where each group represents a different culture. After learning about the culture each day the students would get to present to the class what they learned. A later festival could take place where all of the groups come together and have flags and food and customs displayed for parents and other students and faculty to embark upon.)
• family values- (students would create a family tree project. Students would also have the option to do a family crest instead. For the tree they would sketch their family members out the trunk with branches that have words to describe each member. The crest would be similarly devided into the different compartments that make up a crest with each having a family member and then pictures within that describe that person. Students would share and discuss how important family is.

Comments:

Overall this book is very good especially with implementing diversity into the classroom. The story is relatable for young children and shows very realistic situations. Children can learn alot from the story and  also place themselves in someone else’s shoes.

****

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Author: Mary Hoffman/Illustrated By: Karin Littlewood

Date of Publication: 2002

Title: The Color of Home

Grade: 2nd

ISBN: 0-8037-2841-7

Summary:
The story is about a little boy name Hassan. Hassan’s family had to move from Somalia to the United States where he starts attending school. Unfortunately Hassan knows very little English which makes his first day a bit difficult. He is also very homesick and can’t stop thinking about the tragic death of his uncle by Somalian soldiers. On the first day of school Hassan has trouble communicating and understanding his peers and teacher. The teacher does give him supplies to paint a picture. His picture begins to look very colorful and pleasant until he covers it with the anger and sadness left from the tragedy from back home. The teacher realizes there is a powerful story here and that Hassan needs something to help ease the pain of change present in his new home of America. The next day a woman wearing the Somalian headwrap like the one Hassan’s mother wears is in his class. She begins to translate for him and sits with him and the teacher discussing his painting. Hassan gets the chance to paint another painting realizing the positive and colorful opportunities that his new home and school hold. Overall Hassan learns to adjust and love his new environment while still holding his last home within his heart.

Themes:

• “Home is where the Heart is”  (Have students discuss their hometowns and maybe where they were born. Have them create a collage or symbolic representation that represents their homes. Emphasis how it doesn’t matter where you live it only matter whos you are with.
• The meaning of “Color” (Have students think of their favorite colors and what certain colors make them happy or sad. Also talk about color representation and how certain colors represent different things. Then discuss how the color of someone just makes us unique and represent who we are. Possibly activities could involve painting a butterflylike the one in the story or creating an abstract self portrait. For the abstract self portrait students would draw how they see themselves and color the picture with the colors that represent certain feelings, qualities, and things that make them who they are. The pictures should come together showing how everyone is different and alike.
• Understanding Language (Students would take a day to “walk in someone else’s shoes”. For this day they would pick a partner, hopefully someone very different from themselves. For one day each partner would try and do activities like the other person would normally do them. Although this activity does not involve speaking a different language or going to another country, students would experience how it feels to experience things differently and how it feels to be out of their normal environments and procedures. The black and white experience could also be used where two students look at a ball except with one side black and the other side white. The teacher would ask what color each student sees and then have the two explain why he or she is right. The lesson should show how no one is better or more correct over the other and how it may feel to feel lost or out of one’s elimate like the character of the book.

Comments:

Overall this book is great for teaching students the importance of accepting everyone despite one’s color or ethnic background. The book is very appropriate for the classroom and provides experiences that many younger children may be able to relate with and learn from.

****

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Author: Carol Crane /Illustrated By: Gary Palmer

Date of Publication: 2003

Title: T is for Tar Heel

Grade: 3rd or 4th

ISBN: 978-1-58536-082-6

Summary:

T is for Tar Heel is a book with beautiful pictures and important, interesting information about sites throughout North Carolina. The beginning of the book starts with the Appalachian Mountains. The spread covers two pages with a watercolor picture of the great outdoors. The beginning starts with “A is for Appalachian Mountains, trees, trails, animals, birds, and flowers.” The other side of the book provides vital information about he Appalachian Mountains with several important facts. The book could be used for younger and older learners since it provides both easy reading and longer, extensive reading. The book covers every letter of the alphabet while each represents a different landmark in North Carolina. C stands for Cape Hatteras Lighthouse while D represents the famous Dogwood and E represents the official state reptile the Eastern Box Turtle. Grandfather mountain is discussed for G and information about the mile high swinging bridge and the history of settlers from the Blue Ridge Mountains is provided. The Outer Banks and information about the Wright Brothers provide informative and interesting reading. The book ends with Z representing NASCAR. It is interesting how so many differnet aspects of North Carolina culture and history are provided within this book. The book is informative, interesting, historical, current, and structured for helping students with their reading.

Themes:

• N.C. History ( Have students pick one of the many historical landmarks mentioned throughout the book and then do more research on the place or thing. Students can do a KWL chart mentioning what they knew before reading, what they learned from reading, and what they still want to know and can maybe find out in their extensive research.)
• “Making Little History (For this activity students would research the history and intersting facts about their current hometown whether it is Boone or wherever. Once finding out new information have them create an Alphabet letter book for their town. They can use historical facts, favorite restaurants and even friends and family members names.
• Acrostic N.C. (Have students create poetry from the facts presented in the book. They can make acrostic poems from the words North Carolina or create other forms of poetry. These can be written and presented on drawings or figurines created to represent one of North Carolina’s many famous landmarks.

Comments:

This book was very creative and inspiring. It is great for younger grades and older grades, especially 4th since it teaches North Carolina history. The book provides a wide variety of facts yet non of them are outdated. Also since the book goes throughout the alphabet the smaller text provided is great for younger readers who are trying to work on sounding certain letters out.

****

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Author: Julia Donaldson/Illustrated by: Axel Scheffler

Date of Publication: 2005

Title: Charlie Cook’s Favorite Book

Grade: 1st

ISBN: 0-545-11032-7

Summary:

The story begins with a boy named Charlie Cook and his favorite book. The book begins with a story about a pirate and then leads directily into Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Goldilocks ends with the bears finding Goldilocks reading their favorite book. This book ends up being about a knight and a dragon which leads to another favorite book. The knight starts to read the dragon his favorite book before they fight. The knight’s favorite book ends up being about a frog who liked to jump and who ends up jumping into the library for his favorite book. The book he ends up jumping to is about a tree of birds where one bird lays in a nest of book pages. The book pages end up being from another favorite  book. This book is about a girl who sees a flying saucer in the sky with aliens. When the little girl goes to tell her mother the mother is currently reading her favorite magazine. The magazine is about a wicked person who steals the king’s best crown. The person gets stuck behind some sheep and gets caught and thrown into prison. While in prison the crook gets to read his favorite book which is about a crocodile. The story is about a crocodile who gets tired of eating fish and looks around for something else to eat. He ends up at a bookstore where he begins reading an encyclopedia. The encyclopedia talks about the biggest birthday cake in the world made for the queen. The cake is so delicious that a spaceman takes a slice to Jupiter along with his favorite book. His favorite book is about a ghost who haunts a castle and carries around candles everynight while she sits to read her favorite book. Finally the story ends with the ghost’s favorite book being about a little boy named Charlie Cook. The book is tricky, silly, and interesting while presenting poetry at its finest.

Themes:

• Tongue Twisters (Have students create their own tongue twisters and then recite them to the class seeing who can do it best without messing up. Introduce some of the classic tongue twisters as well such as “Sally had a seashore, and Peter Piper”. Let students get into small groups taking turns with their tongue twisters and with experimenting with different sounds and where their tongue hits their mouth when saying them.
• Classic Fairtales (For this activity students would pick three classic fairytales. Then students would take different parts of each to create their own mixed version. Lastly students would read their own personal creation to the class which would end up being a fun activity. If they would also want to get some classmates together and act out the fairytale mixed versions they could.
• Poetry Fun (Students would take their first and last names and create a poem that follows just like the book does with Charlie Cook’s name. Students could take a theme and connect it to their name or take past fairytales or events and incorporate these factors. This exercise would practice poetry and writing while also requiring creativity and thought.

Comments:

This book is fun and great for young ages. It is especially great for helping students with learning more about how words rhyme and sound when spoken and written. This would be a great book to begin with when trying to help students learn to read and it also incorporates classic fairytales and characters that students would be familar with.

 ****

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Author/Illustrator: Gene Barretta

Date of Publication: 2007

Title: Dear Deer (A Book of Homophones)

Grade: 1st

ISBN: 0-545-20644-8

Summary:

The book begins with an insert that explains to the reader the difference between homophones and homonyms. Then the story begins with a letter from an ant who is an aunt to a deer. The letter begins “Dear Deer I now live at the zoo. Wait until you hear what goes on here.” Then the ant who is also an aunt tells about all of the animals at the zoo and what they do beginning with a moose that loves to eat mousse. She later talks about a horse that is hoarse from singing and a monkey that likes to read and can tell a tale from his tail. She also talks about the whale that likes to whale really loud and the elephant that threw a pale through a bale of hay. In the end the giraffe gets to choose what he chews and the bee flew away because he had the flu. The last page is a letter like the first. The letter this time is to Aunt Ant and from her dear deer. The deer tells her about his new neighbor the hare with no hair.

Themes:

• Homophone Hopping (The students can participate in this game which has them stand on a hopscotch mat with different words on the mat. The students have to think of the homophone’s partner and spell it correctly telling what each is and the difference. Some words on the mat may not be homophones and it is up to the student to be able to pick out the ones that do no belong. If a student chooses correctly and can explain the correct answer then they get to hop to the next level. Students will take turns and whoever gets to the end first when and is the Homophone Hero for the day.
• The Right time to Write (Students would write letters of their own to either a friend or family member or to the teacher. For this activity they would write a letter similar to Aunt Ant’s to Dear Deer. The letter would not have to be long but should include at least 5 homophome pairs and each pair should tie together with the next creating an actual understandable story. The story can of course be funny or silly but should make sense and be in complete sentences and also use correct homophomes.

Comments:

Dear Deer is a great tool for teaching homophones to younger students. It also is an interesting story which would be very interesting and helpful for younger readers. The story is intertaining and creative while imaginative which could be very inspiring for many students.

****

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Author (Retold By): Arlene Mosel/Illustrated By: Blair Lent

Date of Publication: 1972

Title: The Funny Little Woman

Grade: 2nd

ISBN: 0-14-054753-3

Summary:

The story begins with a funny little woman who liked to laugh and make dumplings out of rice. Once morning she is making her dumplings and one begins to accidently roll down the floor down into a hole. She goes to get her dumpling yet falls into the hole. Once in the hole she finds herself on an unfamilar road with hills and many statues of the gods. She keeps looking for her dumpling and eventually comes to a statue and asks if it has seen her dumpling. The god says that it had seen the dumpling roll by but that she better not continue looking for it becasue of the evil “oni” down the end of the road. She says that she’s not afraid and keeps looking while stopping to ask another god. He says that he too has seen it but that she better watch out for the evil oni. She keeps looking and then stops to ask another god whoo warns her the same thing. She finally reaches the evil oni who grabs her and says he is going to take her home and cook her for dinner. The little woman gets taken to the oni’s evil house where she is told to cook the rice  with his magic paddle. Weeks and months passed as she cooked rice for the evil oni. Eventually she began to miss her house and decided to return yet also decided to take the magic paddle with her as well. She ran while looking for the evil oni making sure he was no where to be seen. She reached the middle of the river before the oni realized she was missing. Since oni’s do not swim they all went to the sides of the river and began drinking the water trying to stop her. Soon the little woman’s boat was stuck and so she jumped out and began to run while falling in the mud. The little woman looked very funny all covered in mud so the oni began to laugh letting all of the water they had drank out. Finally the little woman returned home with the magic paddle and began making even more dumplings and even became the richest woman in Japan.

Themes:

• The Golden Rule (Discuss the Golden Rule with students and also discuss good manner. Emphasis how important it is to treat others with respect. Also you could discuss karma and the legends discussed about the theory of karma. Show how the little woman was kind to others and in the end she got passed the bad people in the situation.)
• Ancient Japanese (Possibly find other folktales from other countries. Have students research about Japanese and different customs for the culture. See if students can find things in the story that relate or are derived from the Japanese culture. Students could make a True/False chart and make predictions on what they think was true from the story and what was fiction.
• Recipe Rice Cakes (Have students research recipes for the rice dumplings like in the story. Do a  math lesson with measuring and fractions and then have student write their own versions of the recipe. Students can then bring in a favorite recipe of their own from home and show how much of each ingrediant would be used in relation to measurement when baking. Lastly students would do research of other traditional Japanese recipes and one day the class could come together and make their own creation.

Comments:

This story is a classic tale with factual and fictional twist. The story teaches morals and a lesson in the end and also presents a fun, entertaining story.