Rapunzel's Revenge

Hale, Shannon and Dean Hale. 2008. Ill. Nathan Hale. Rapunzel's Revenge . New York, N.Y.: Bloomsbury.

Plot summary:

Once upon a time there lived a young girl named Rapunzel in a castle with her mother. But, her mother wasn't really her mother. And, the castle wasn't all it was cracked up to be, so the young girl got bored and tried to escape. Her mother, who wasn't her mother, didn't like that her darling daughter, who isn't her daughter, tried to escape and banished her to a small room at the top of a tree and cursed her with hair that grew and grew and grew. Sounds sort of familiar, right? Wrong! This smart young girl doesn't need anyone to save her! She uses her hair as rope and the adventure begins with one more caveat: this isn't some magical fairytale castle world, it's the wild west where the hero is a horse thief, Mother Gothel puts a price on Rapunzel, and Rapunzel is determined to get rid of Mother Gothel.

Critical Review:

First and foremost, Rapunzel's Revenge is a graphic novel, one of the better ones I've read. The illustrations and incorporation of text make this novel engrossing, interesting, and, at times, hysterical because Rapunzel's Revenge takes the Rapunzel myth and turns it on its head. Hale's illustration (by the way, the illustrator is NOT related to the authors) flow through the story using detail and color effectively to convey the action and the setting. Hale makes the setting look both beautiful and desolate in turns, which reinforces that this is not the typical Rapunzel story.

Rapunzel herself is quite different. Disney's recent portrayal of Rapunzel in Tangled (which, right now, is both my daughter's and son's favorite movie), showed her to be somewhat courageous, but mostly dependent (on a man), and, in my opinion, slightly air headed. Yes, she saves her life and Flynn's, but ultimately, she needs Flynn. This Rapunzel is none of those things. She frees herself, defends herself, and doesn't need a Flynn to save her. Instead, she saves the boy this time; a boy named Jack with a goose (that lays an egg...Mother Goose anyone?) and they team up to return to Gothel's castle in order to defeat her, free Rapunzel's real mother, and end Gothel's harsh rule of the land.

The story of Rapunzel and Jack's return to Gothel is complicated by kidnappers, villains, wild dogs, and more. They also save other people and villages along the way back to Gothel, which again, reinforces how different this Rapunzel really is from the Rapunzel myth because she does the fighting instead of relying on luck and a man to fight for her.

The hardest part of this book is letting go of the typical Rapunzel and becoming part of this Rapunzel myth, but this story is so appealingly different that letting go of the blonde-haired, girly-girl princess Rapunzel doesn't take more than the first few pages. This red-haired, smart as a whip, creative, courageous Rapunzel who takes no prisoners or guff from anyone is a refreshing break from the Tangled Rapunzel. She's not a tomboy, and she's not a princess, but she is a mix of the two. This Rapunzel balances the best of female heroines.

Happily-ever-after comes at the end of the adventure. Rapunzel frees her mother, gets rid of Gothel, kisses the boy and lives happily-ever-after in this book, but what a different ride (literally) to get to the happily-ever-after.

What I loved about Rapunzel's Revenge is that after having the Disney version shoved down my throat nearly everyday for the last several months (because I am a sucker and let my children whine and cajole their way into watching the movie constantly), I found a Rapunzel I could admire and one I can show my daughter to show her that Rapunzel doesn't always need to be saved. Sometimes, Rapunzel saves herself and a lot of other people, too.

Review Excerpts:

"Starred Review. Grade 5 Up–This is the tale as you've never seen it before. After using her hair to free herself from her prison tower, this Rapunzel ignores the pompous prince and teams up with Jack (of Beanstalk fame) in an attempt to free her birth mother and an entire kingdom from the evil witch who once moonlighted as her mother. Dogged by both the witch's henchman and Jack's outlaw past, the heroes travel across the map as they right wrongs, help the oppressed, and generally try to stay alive. Rapunzel is no damsel in distress–she wields her long braids as both rope and weapon–but she happily accepts Jack's teamwork and friendship. While the witch's castle is straight out of a fairy tale, the nearby mining camps and rugged surrounding countryside are a throwback to the Wild West and make sense in the world that the authors and illustrator have crafted. The dialogue is witty, the story is an enticing departure from the original, and the illustrations are magically fun and expressive." Cara von Wrangel Kinsey, New York Public Library, School Library Journal

"This graphic novel retelling of the fairy-tale classic, set in a swashbuckling Wild West, puts action first and features some serious girl power in its spunky and strong heroine. Young Rapunzel lives a lonely life, never knowing what lies beyond the high garden walls of her mother’s royal villa until one day she climbs the wall to see what’s on the other side. When she finds that the world outside is a dark place oppressed by her mother’s greed for power and uncovers the real secret of her own birth, she is imprisoned in a magic tree tower. In her years of captivity, she learns a lot about self-reliance and care for her exceptionally long hair, and eventually she is able to escape, vowing to bring down her mother’s cruel empire. Hale’s art matches the story well, yielding expressive characters and lending a wonderful sense of place to the fantasy landscape." Tina Coleman, Booklist

Awards:

ALA Notable Children's Book (ALA)

Amelia Bloomer Project Selection (ALA)

Cybils Award (Graphic Novels)

Great Graphic Novels for Teens (YALSA)

Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults (YALSA)

Connections:

This is a book I would love to see someone do a brown paper bag book report over just to see what all they put inside the bag. I would put a crown, a lock of hair braided into a rope, a horse, a witch, and Jessie from Toy Story 2 (simply because that's the only cowgirl in our house and the red hair would fit!).

A comparison and discussion of the Rapunzel myths would be appropriate after reading this tale of Rapunzel.

The Graveyard Book

Citation note: I am not entirely sure how to cite how I "read" this book. Here is the book citation:

Gaiman, Neil. 2008. Ill. Dave McKean. The Graveyard Book . New York: Harper.

However, I listened to the book at MouseCircus, read by the author himself. The citation for the website is below:

Gaiman, Neil. "Neil Gaiman’s MouseCircus.com | The Graveyard Book Video Tour Readings." MouseCircus.com Home – The Official Neil Gaiman Website for Young Readers. http://www.mousecircus.com/videotour.aspx (accessed August 8, 2011)

Plot Summary:

On a terrible night, the man Jack slaughters an entire family with one exception: the toddler boy who slipped out the door and into a graveyard. With his family murdered and no one around to raise him but in a graveyard full of ghosts, the ghosts take the boy into their "home" (the cemetery), give him a name, Nobody "Bod" Owens, and do their best to raise him.

Critical review:

The Graveyard Book is not your typical children's tale of family, friends, hearth, and home. The book begins with the terrible murders of Bod's family at the hands of the man Jack. There goes the typical, nuclear family! Bod unwittingly escapes Jack by crawling out the front door and ends up in a graveyard where the ghosts basically adopt him. Mr. and Mrs. Owens become Bod's parents and Silas, a character who is neither living nor dead but inhabits the graveyard, serves as a bridge between the living world and the graveyard world for Bod.

Inside the graveyard, Bod learns from Silas, Mr. and Mrs. Owens, and the other inhabitants, but like any child, Bod longs to explore his world outside the graveyard. Though he is forbidden, like all children forbidden something, it becomes sweet, and Bod travels, briefly, outside the only "home" he's ever known. Along his adventure, he befriends a young girl and he meets the man that killed his family. For a brief time, Silas consents to allow Bod to attend school because, like all children, Bod has a desire to learn and understand, but that turns into a disaster because Bod really knows nothing of how the world is outside the graveyard.

The irony of this book is that the graveyard is safe for Bod. It is his home. It is not scary; it is not the stuff of horror stories even though it IS the stuff of horror stories. In it, Bod has parents, friends his own age, a community, and even a mentor. Outside the graveyard lurks the man Jack whose determination is to finish the job he started so long ago. Bod's life is under constant threat from Jack. But, Bod learns not to fear death or the unknown, even the impossible, because he is surrounded by it all everyday he lives in the graveyard. He learns ghostly talents (how to fade, for example) just as he learns his ABCs and 1, 2, 3's. The mixing of the natural with the supernatural in what should be a frightening setting is the irony: The setting is not frightening and the supernatural is the natural...for Bod, anyway.

As he grows, Bod must come to terms with the fact that he cannot continue to live, forever, in the graveyard. Once the threat posed by Jack has been dealt with, by Bod, and Bod can leave the graveyard, he still stays. It is safe, familiar, and it is where his family and home are. As much as he loves the life he has in the graveyard, another problem arises: time. As time passes and Bod grows up to a young man, he finds himself having trouble seeing the ghosts and wanting to experience life beyond his home and family, as all children are supposed to do.

While Bod's family is trapped in the graveyard, Bod is not, and in the end, Bod chooses to leave and grow up, exploring the possibilities available to him as part of the living world and not the ghostly, graveyard world. The Graveyard Book is a coming-of-age story, seemingly unconventional, yet totally conventional. The backdrop of the graveyard, instead of serving to frighten Bod, serves to enlighten Bod: the ghosts are dead; he is not, but obviously, life is finite and growing up surrounded by the dead enforces the preciousness and shortness of life. It is a carpe diem story of the best kind because the message is so understated, as all good themes should be.

Review Excerpts:

"Somewhere in contemporary Britain, "the man Jack" uses his razor-sharp knife to murder a family, but the youngest, a toddler, slips away. The boy ends up in a graveyard, where the ghostly inhabitants adopt him to keep him safe. Nobody Owens, so named because he "looks like nobody but himself," grows up among a multigenerational cast of characters from different historical periods that includes matronly Mistress Owens; ancient Roman Caius Pompeius; an opinionated young witch; a melodramatic hack poet; and Bod's beloved mentor and guardian, Silas, who is neither living nor dead and has secrets of his own. As he grows up, Bod has a series of adventures, both in and out of the graveyard, and the threat of the man Jack who continues to hunt for him is ever present. Bod's love for his graveyard family and vice versa provide the emotional center, amid suspense, spot-on humor, and delightful scene-setting." Megan Honig, New York Public Library, School Library Journal

"*Starred Review* While a highly motivated killer murders his family, a baby, ignorant of the horrific goings-on but bent on independence, pulls himself out of his crib and toddles out of the house and into the night. This is most unfortunate for the killer, since the baby was his prime target. Finding his way through the barred fence of an ancient graveyard, the baby is discovered by Mr. and Mrs. Owens, a stable and caring couple with no children of their own—and who just happen to be dead. After much debate with the graveyard’s rather opinionated denizens, it is decided that the Owenses will take in the child. Under their care and the sponsorship of the mysterious Silas, the baby is named “Nobody” and raised among the dead to protect him from the killer, who relentlessly pursues him. This is an utterly captivating tale that is cleverly told through an entertaining cast of ghostly characters. There is plenty of darkness, but the novel’s ultimate message is strong and life affirming." Holly Koelling, Booklist

Awards:

2009 Newbery Medal Winner
2009 Hugo Award for Best Novel
2009 Locus Award
2010 Carnegie Medal

Connections:

First off, this book begs to be read aloud or listened to, and there is no better source than MouseCircus for this book. Those who choose this route can listen to the author read the book and answer questions about it. Discovering this website was a delight to me because it was such a unique way of using an "audiobook."

Many readers/listeners who enjoy The Graveyard Book should also look at Gaiman's other works, particularly Coraline if they enjoyed the Gothic atmosphere of The Graveyard Book.

The Graveyard Book would make a really interesting Reader's Theater. I would love to see an upper elementary school or middle school class/group of kids do something like it with the book.

Speak

Anderson, Laurie Halse. 1999. Speak. 10th anniversary edition ed. New York City: Square Fish.

Plot Summary:

After calling the police the night of the "big" summer party, Melinda finds herself an outcast as she enters 9th grade. Everyone considers Melinda a social pariah who ruined everyone's fun. What everyone doesn't know is what happened to Melinda that night in the woods to make her call the police.

Critical Review:

Speak is the story of Melinda's first year of high school and tracks her academic progress at school through the reporting of each marking period. Once a good student with several friends, Melinda becomes quiet, actually selectively mute, and withdrawn. Melinda's former friends turn their backs on her and her new classmates make everyday a living hell for her because she's the girl who called the cops to the end of the summer party. No one knows why Melinda called the police; everyone assumes she did it to be a jerk, but the simple fact is that Melinda was slightly drunk and raped by an older classmate, but she told no one what happened.

Melinda does what many rape survivors do and keeps quiet, and the silence she imposes on herself and the struggle to keep what happened to herself begins to eat at her, especially when she's forced to see IT, as she refers to the senior who raped her. With the inability to cope with what happened to her and no one to really talk to, Melinda acts out. Her parents are self-absorbed in their jobs and don't notice until she becomes a problem for them. Melinda becomes depressed, skips classes, and toys with cutting. The only class she rarely, if ever, skips is art because in art, she can explore the feelings eating her up inside as she struggles to complete her year long project: Making a tree become art by relaying emotion through her impression of a tree. Her first attempt, using bones and a body-less Barbie, has her teacher pronounce that it shows pain. Considering the emotional pain Melinda endures everyday, it is unsurprising that pain is the emotion conveyed by her art.

Melinda's art class also gives her a chance to reconnect with a girl she had been friends with in middle school. Ivy slowly reaches out to Melinda throughout the book as they both struggle in art class (Ivy has a fear of clowns and her year old project involves clowns.).

In the end, Speak is not just about surviving rape. It is about finding your voice, which Melinda does towards the end of the book when her former best friend begins dating IT. Speak is about high school and surviving the cruelty and alienation high schoolers inflict on each other. At one point in Speak, Melinda makes the comment that becoming an adult is the reward for surviving high school and the reward better be worth it. As a high school teacher, I see examples of the cruelty kids use against each other, I remember what it was like to be in high school, and while I know surviving high school was worth becoming an adult, I worry about the experience my students have and that my own children will have. And, the experiences Melinda has make Speak. It isn't just the assault that she survives and overcomes. It's how Melinda grows from all the experiences she has. Melinda's emotions are never hidden as she goes from experience to experience. Readers truly see her pain, her anger, her amusement, her derision, her fear, and her loneliness.

Review Excerpts:

"Divided into the four marking periods of an academic year, the novel, narrated by Melinda Sordino, begins on her first day as a high school freshman. No one will sit with Melinda on the bus. At school, students call her names and harass her; her best friends from junior high scatter to different cliques and abandon her. Yet Anderson infuses the narrative with a wit that sustains the heroine through her pain and holds readers' empathy. A girl at a school pep rally offers an explanation of the heroine's pariah status when she confronts Melinda about calling the police at a summer party, resulting in several arrests. But readers do not learn why Melinda made the call until much later: a popular senior raped her that night and, because of her trauma, she barely speaks at all. Only through her work in art class, and with the support of a compassionate teacher there, does she begin to reach out to others and eventually find her voice." Publishers Weekly

"A frightening and sobering look at the cruelty and viciousness that pervade much of contemporary high school life, as real as today's headlines. At the end of the summer before she enters high school, Melinda attends a party at which two bad things happen to her. She gets drunk, and she is raped. Shocked and scared, she calls the police, who break up the party and send everyone home. She tells no one of her rape, and the other students, even her best friends, turn against her for ruining their good time. By the time school starts, she is completely alone, and utterly desolate. She withdraws more and more into herself, rarely talking, cutting classes, ignoring assignments, and becoming more estranged daily from the world around her. Few people penetrate her shell; one of them is Mr. Freeman, her art teacher, who works with her to help her express what she has so deeply repressed. " Kirkus Reviews

Awards:

ALA Best Book for Young Adults
ALA Top-10 Best Book for Young Adults
Michael L. Printz Honor Book (American Library Association)
National Book Award Finalist

Connections:

LSU has a lesson plan for teaching Speak in a 9th grade honors class that has the students do several of the activities Melinda did in school (research suffragates, choose something to depict in art, etc.)

The National Council of Teachers of English has a podcast interview with Laurie Halse Anderson in which she relates a poem she wrote on the 10th anniversary of Speak. The podcast itself is mostly about Wintergirls, another novel of survival (the main character has an eating disorder) written by Anderson.

Chains: Seeds of America

Anderson, Laurie Halse. 2008. Chains: Seeds of America. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN-13: 978-1416905868

Plot Summary:

Chains: Seeds of America. tells the story of Isabel, a slave in America in 1776, and her little sister, Ruth. Despite their owner's freeing them in her will, their owner's only living relative sells them. Their new owner and his wife take Isabel and Ruth to New York City as the American Revolution begins. Liberty by the Patriots sounds like a great idea to Isabel, but her Loyalist owners cling to the British, who also promise freedom. The American Revolution begins and sides must be chosen, but does Isabel really have a choice?

Critical Analysis:

Chains handles the American Revolution differently than any book I've ever read about it. I am not a history person, but Anderson easily sucked me into the early beginning of the American Revolution through the story of Isabel and her sister. Isabel is a strong force to be reckoned with throughout Chains. When she realizes the freedom she was promised will not happen, her focus becomes keeping her five year old sister, who suffers from "fits" (seizures) with her. For awhile, Isabel is able to keep Ruth safe, but one horrible night, Isabel's worst nightmare comes true and her new owner's wife, who believes Ruth is demon possessed, drugs Isabel, and sells Ruth. At that moment, Isabel commits to freeing herself from her Loyalist owners and finding freedom. Most books I've read about the American Revolution do not discuss the effect of the war on slaves or even how slaves played into it. Anderson skillfully weaves Isabel and slavery seamlessly into the Revolution so that it is no longer just about the British and the Colonists. It is about freedom, but what will it take to be free and who gets to be free?

This question is partially answered by the actions Isabel takes as she tries to gain her freedom. Isabel is befriended by a Patriot slave when she first arrives in New York, and she agrees to pass along any useful information against her Loyalist owners. She is promised her freedom, and when her owners devise a plot to kill Washington that she overhears, Isabel immediately turns them into the Patriots. However, she does not gain her freedom, so she turns to the British, but again, Isabel finds disappointment. It seems that freedom does not apply to her situation. The British will not free her because she is the property of Loyalists. The Patriots use her for information but also will not interfere with her owners.
Chains shows the reader that freedom, even then, was highly subjective and practically non-existent.

Anderson obviously researched the time period extensively. The details of New York City are perfect and historically accurate as is the depictions of the Patriots, Loyalists, and the British. The abuse Isabel and Ruth suffer at the cruel hands of their owners is not downplayed and again is historically accurate. While the abuse does not make for a pleasant read, it is necessary in the novel for accuracy.

Ultimately, Chains is more than history in action. Chains looks at what it was like to be a young slave in a time period where no one, really, cared about how the Revolution would affect them and freedom, for them, was an illusion. The reader knows Isabel cannot succeed in her bid for freedom; but still, you hope she finds it, and in the end, the reader and Isabel are rewarded. Isabel is a character that should be celebrated and young readers should look at her experience not as a microcosm of the American Revolution but as universal to any experience they may have where failure seems a given.

Review Excerpts:

"Set in New York City at the beginning of the American Revolution, Chains addresses the price of freedom both for a nation and for individuals. Isabel tells the story of her life as a slave. She was sold with her five-year-old sister to a cruel Loyalist family even though the girls were to be free upon the death of their former owner. She has hopes of finding a way to freedom and becomes a spy for the rebels, but soon realizes that it is difficult to trust anyone. She chooses to find someone to help her no matter which side he or she is on. With short chapters, each beginning with a historical quote, this fast-paced novel reveals the heartache and struggles of a country and slave fighting for freedom. The characters are well developed, and the situations are realistic." Denise Moore, O'Gorman Junior High School, School Library Journal

"The specifics of Isabel’s daily drudgery may slow some readers, but the catalogue of chores communicates the brutal rhythms of unrelenting toil, helping readers to imagine vividly the realities of Isabel’s life. The story’s perspective creates effective contrasts. Overwhelmed with domestic concerns, Isabel and indeed all the women in the household learn about the war from their marginalized position: they listen at doors to rooms where they are excluded, and they collect gossip from the streets. Anderson explores elemental themes of power (“She can do anything. I can do nothing,” Isabel realizes about her sadistic owner), freedom, and the sources of human strength in this searing, fascinating story." Gillian Engberg, Booklist

Awards:

2008 National Book Award finalist
2009 Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction
2009 American Library Association Notable Children's Books

Connections:

The end of the book provides an extensive explanation of parts of the Revolution that readers may be unfamiliar with and readers would highly benefit from exploring and discussing what Anderson explains perhaps before reading the book.

Chains now has a companion novel called Forge. For readers who enjoy Chains, they should explore Forge.

Chains will cause questions for readers and teachers should allow ample time for discussing the novel whether it be through set discussion questions from the teacher or a student led discussion. I am a proponent of student led discussions and would go that route in my classroom.

Lily's Crossing

Giff, Patricia Reilly. 1999. Lily's Crossing. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Book for Young Readers. ISBN-13: 978-0440414537

Plot Summary:

Lily is an 11 year old girl living with her grandmother in America during World War II. In 1944, that fateful summer, Lily and her grandmother go, as they do every summer, to Rockaway, where Lily meets Albert, a Hungarian refugee her age with a secret. That's okay because Lily has a secret, too.

Critical Analysis:

Using the beach as a backdrop, Giff immerses the reader in the world of Rockaway, New York in 1944 and World War II. Rationing is alive and well and the war affects nearly everyone Lily knows. Margaret's, Lily's best friend, brother is missing at Normandy and her family moves so that Margaret's father can help the war effort in America, and Lily's own beloved Poppy joins the army to assist with the war effort in Europe.

While in Rockaway, alone with her grandmother, Lily meets Albert, the nephew of one of her neighbors. Seemingly very different and off to a rocky start, Lily and Albert forge a bond that begins with a drowning kitten that they save. As they care for the kitten and are forced together by their families, Lily and Albert tell each other about their lives, eventually becoming best friends.

Throughout the novel, Lily struggles with a problem she recognizes: She lies constantly and her lies put Albert at risk. She tells him that she's going to take her boat and swim to the military boats constantly leaving the ports of New York and go to her father in Europe. Albert immediately seizes on the idea of returning to Europe because of guilt. He left his younger sister behind in France. Lily teaches Albert to swim, but she makes him promises not to try to get to the boats. She confesses to him her problem with lying. Still, Albert takes the boat out during a horrible storm nearly costing him, Lily, and the kitten they saved their lives.

Giff immerses the reader so skillfully into Lily's life that it is easy to identify with her and to see her, and Albert. While the problems Lily and Albert deal with are definitely adult situations, they deal with them like kids who aren't quite children but aren't yet teenagers. They experience the fear of children, but they manage to work through their problems with the problem solving skills of older children. The emotions that the characters experience are real and so true to children...Albert's longing for his family and the heart-wrenching tale he tells Lily of his parents and grandmother, Lily bringing a star off her ceiling at home to Rockaway every summer as a way of remembering her mother, who is dead, no matter where she is.

The backdrop of the beach and of the war make this book engrossing and engaging, and the ending of the book is enough to bring tears (truly!). It is the perfect, happy ending to this wonderful book.

Review Excerpts:

"Set during World War II, this tenderly written story tells of the war's impact on two children, one an American and one a Hungarian refugee. Lily Mollahan, a spirited, sensitive youngster being raised by her grandmother and Poppy, her widower father, has a comfortable routine that includes the family's annual summer migration to Gram's beach house in Rockaway, NY. Lily looks forward to summer's freedom and fishing outings with Poppy. She meets Albert, a Hungarian boy who is staying at a neighbor's house. At first, her fertile imagination convinces her that perhaps Albert is a Nazi spy, but eventually the two become good friends. The war interferes directly with Lily's life when Poppy, an engineer, is sent to Europe to help with clean-up operations. History is brought to life through Giff's well chosen details and descriptions. Both children suffer from the separation from loved ones, and both live with guilt for not having said proper good-byes. Albert even feels that he in some ways betrayed his sister Ruth, who was too ill to make the transatlantic journey. The developing friendship between Lily and Albert, and Albert's plan to swim to Europe to find Ruth, will grab readers' attention and sustain it to book's end. Despite convenient plot twists to reach a happy ending, Giff's well-drawn, believable characters and vivid prose style make this an excellent choice." Renee Steinberg, Fieldstone Middle School, School Library Journal

"In 1944, Lily's eagerly awaited summer vacation becomes a time of anxiety when her widower father, Poppy, announces that he's off to Europe with the US Army Corps of Engineers. Lily's lonely in Rockaway with both her father and her summer friend, Margaret, gone, until she meets an orphan from Budapest living temporarily with her grandmother's neighbor. At first she responds coldly to Albert, but is soon drawn to him by his awkward dignity and his tragic tale of dead parents and ill sister, Ruth, left behind in France. As they care for an abandoned kitten together and wistfully watch ships passing on the horizon, a solid friendship develops, and by the time they part, Lily and Albert have helped each other through difficult times." Kirkus Reviews

Awards:

1998 Newbery Honor Book
1998 Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards
1998 ALA Notable Books for Children Award

Connections:

Lily's Crossing could be used at the beginning of the school year (or the end) to explore summer vacation.

An interesting lesson for fourth graders has them working in teams to produce a newspaper for Rockaway that involves researching the time period.

Lily's Crossing can supplement and enhance social studies lessons about World War II for older elementary school students.

The Wednesday Wars

Schmidt, Gary D. 2007. The Wednesday Wars. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN-13: 978-0547237602

Plot Summary:

In 1968, Holling Hoodhood is a 7th grader convinced that his English teacher, Mrs. Baker, comes to hate him on the very first day of school. He's not Jewish, nor is he Catholic, which means on Wednesday afternoons, his teacher is stuck with him (or is he stuck with his teacher?) while half of his class goes to Catholic school and the other half goes to Jewish school. To make Wednesday afternoons pass by, Mrs. Baker assigns Holling various works of Shakespeare, which cements Holling's belief that Mrs. Baker despises him. While the war wages in Vietnam and the country begins to rebel against the status quo, Holling learns Shakespeare knew something about life and learns there is more to Mrs. Baker, as a person, than just sentence diagramming.

Critical Analysis:

The Wednesday Wars is a funny, coming-of-age story set during the Vietnam War. Holling Hoodhood is an anomaly in his 7th grade class. He name does not end in "berg" or "zog" or "stein" nor does it end in "elli" or "ini" or "o." So, from the moment Mrs. Baker calls the roll on the first day of class she knows Holling will not attend religious classes on Wednesday afternoons. He will need a place to stay and that place is in her classroom. The look in her eyes at that moment convinces Holling that she immediately hates him and Holling is put on guard for retribution, which comes in the form of Shakespeare after a disastrous attempt to feed Mrs. Baker's rats and the accidental destroying of Mrs. Baker's cream puffs.

Shakespeare's plays provide a link for Holling between what is going on in his home and in the world to what is going on for him at school. Through Shakespeare's plays, Holling learns the importance of being who you are, who you want to be, and not doing what everyone expects of you. He sees his family members in some Shakespeare's characters. Holling's mother is spineless, his father is apathetic, his sister is a budding flower child, and he is the somewhat unwilling heir apparent to his father's architecture firm. His father and sister argue, sometimes fiercely, about the events in Vietnam and the opposition in the country as Walter Cronkite narrates the nightly news.

Also, Holling is enchanted with the curses he learns and uses them, liberally, while at school, and just like at most schools, the only person (or people) that really get his curses is his English teacher, who as the year goes on, Holling comes to see she doesn't hate him. They have interesting discussions over The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing, Julius Caesar, and The Merchant of Venice.

Mrs. Baker's push for Holling to learn Shakespeare puts him in an awkward position when he's cast as Ariel for the community play. Holling prays no one from his school will find out, but of course, Mrs. Baker encourages everyone to attend. Holling's brief foray into acting occurs on a singularly important night in his life: Mickey Mantle is appearing at a local sporting goods store (owned by Mrs. Baker's brother-in-law) and he is Holling's idol. But when Holling comes into the store, late, wearing his fairy costume, Mantle takes one look at him, makes a comment about not giving his autograph to fairies, and leaves, breaking Holling's heart on a night where he has already suffered from his father's apathy towards his only son. His parents skip their son's acting debut and then his father forgets to pick him up afterwards leaving him on his own to make it to see Mickey Mantle.

The only character in the book that seems too good to be true, at times, is Mrs. Baker, and for me, the way she intervened and had two of the Yankee players come to Holling's school to play ball with him after his disappointment in Mantle is one of those times. The other is when she appeals to the Yankees to use another architecture firm in town to repair and rebuild Yankee Stadium so that another student of hers father has a job. However, I identified with her sometimes snarky and smart-aleck teacher humor. She reminded me of me as a teacher because I've often rolled my eyes at something my students have said or made a smart comment I probably should have kept to myself.

Thematically, the book explores the importance of friendship, the effects of betrayal, love, family, education, prejudice, and tolerance of differences. The use of humor throughout the novel makes the characters real, identifiable, and enjoyable. There are moments in the novel that elicit laughter (the rats in the ceiling, anyone? Or, Doug's brother's list of a ways to get a teacher to hate you?) and there are moments that make the reader smile, not because something is funny, but because something is right (Holling meeting the Yankees and running the bases at Yankee Stadium or standing up to his father after Holling's sister runs away and calls home, crying, ready to come home but needs help and their father refuses or Mrs. Baker's husband found safely in Vietnam and coming home).

The Wednesday Wars does everything right. It is funny, it is serious, it is realistic. We all went to school with a Holling (or were Holling!), and we all had (or I hope we did) that teacher that tried their best to make a difference in our lives. It is a memorable coming of age novel that all middle schoolers should have the opportunity to read.

Review Excerpts:

"Still, while “The Wednesday Wars” was one of my favorite books of the year, it wasn’t written for me. Sometimes books that speak to adults miss the mark for their intended audience. To see if the novel would resonate as deeply with a child, I gave it to an avid but discriminating 10-year-old reader. His laughter, followed by repeated outbursts of “Listen to this!,” answered my question. Best of all, he asked if I had a copy of “The Tempest” he could borrow." Tanya Lee Stone, Sunday Book Review, The New York Times

"Schmidt...seamlessly knits together the story's themes: the cultural uproar of the '60s, the internal uproar of early adolescence, and the timeless wisdom of Shakespeare's words. Holling's unwavering, distinctive voice offers a gentle, hopeful, moving story of a boy who, with the right help, learns to stretch beyond the limitations of his family, his violent times, and his fear, as he leaps into his future with his eyes and his heart wide open." Engberg, Gillian, Booklist.

Awards:

2008 Newbery Honor Book
2008 ALA Notable Children's Book
2008 ALA Best Book for Young Adults
2007 Booklist Editors' Choice
2007 Book Sense Award Finalist

Connections:

The Wednesday Wars would enhance any unit over the late 1960s. It discusses nearly every world important event of that time period.

In a classroom, students should have the opportunity to explore the Shakespeare plays mentioned throughout the novel.

Using discussion questions found on the internet could enhance any exploration of the novel.

Lincoln Tells a Joke

Krull, Kathleen and Paul Brewer. Ill. Stacy Innerst. 2010. Lincoln Tells a Joke: How Laughter Saved the President (and the country). Boston, Mass.: Harcourt Children's Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Plot Summary:

Lincoln Tells a Joke: How Laughter Saved the President (and the country) is a unique biography of Abraham Lincoln and how his sense of humor and laughter helped him survive some of the more difficult aspects of his life. From joking about his height, losing elections and his mother, and even joking about the difference between him and his wife, readers are presented with a different look at president most known in history for the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation, his monument, and his face on the penny. As Kathleen Krull and Paul Brewer show readers through this biography, though, one of Lincoln's most memorable, yet least known, aspects was his sense of humor and ability to laugh.

Critical Summary:

Throughout Lincoln Tells a Joke: How Laughter Saved the President (and the country) readers learn, or are reminded of, some fairly commonly known facts about President Lincoln. He was born in a log cabin; his mother died when he was nine; he was a voracious learner but couldn't attend school; he was a lawyer; he married Mary Todd; and, he became the 16th President of the United States. These facts are dry, but Kathleen Krull takes these dry facts and makes them fascinating through her irreverent tone, exploration of Lincoln's sense of humor, use of jokes attributed to him, and incorporation of lesser known facts (Lincoln kept a scrapbook of favorite words! As an English teacher, I love this and didn't know this!), and combined with Stacey Innerst's illustrations, the book becomes an engaging (not boring) biography of Lincoln.

The biography is organized in chronological order through Lincoln's life, beginning with his birth in the log cabin to his assassination, but the true connection in this book is Lincoln's humor and use of language. No matter where readers begin reading Lincoln Tells a Joke: How Laughter Saved the President (and the country), they will learn about President Lincoln through his sense of humor. Lincoln's sense of humor, in the darkest times for him, makes him more human and approachable for readers today who are so often just taught the historical Lincoln, the great speaker who managed to save the United States and was so unexpectedly and horrible assassinated. This biography makes Lincoln more understandable, even contemporary as a comedian, for young readers who only know him from history books.

Not only does the biography take the reader through Lincoln's life, but it also teaches readers about Lincoln's sense of humor and his love of language. Learning is emphasized. For young readers, this serves a dual purpose: Not only do they learn about one of the most famous presidents in US history, but they are also exposed to the idea of constant learning and the importance of reading. Readers learn that Lincoln loved to read and write so much that "he would stand on a tree stump and read aloud" to his friends, that "he wrote his first nonsense poem at age eleven" (Abraham Lincoln/ His hand and pen/ He will be good but/ God knows when), and that "at age seven [Lincoln] learned to write [words]" and "kept a scrapbook of his favorite words." Many young children will relate to Lincoln through this information, because those who are outgoing and enjoy performing will connect to Lincoln by learning this about him.

In our society that sometimes downplays the importance of learning, of education, and of language, this biography of Lincoln shows young readers the importance of them. It is a funny, engaging, and unique look at Lincoln's life that is enhanced through Innerst's illustrations. According to the cover information, the illustrations in the book are acrylics done on illustration board. The illustrations add to the humor of the biography and pair well with the text. One of the layouts shows the White House on one side and a picture window with Lincoln in the background. Lincoln is rocked back in a rocking chair with his mouth open in obvious laughter, but surrounding the illustration of the White House and the window is the word "Ha" in various fonts. The information on these pages concerns Lincoln's election to the White House and how negatively the "proper folks" viewed him because of his sense of humor. The illustration that stands out the most to me, though, is the double layout of a serious Lincoln sitting at a desk, a pen in his hand, obviously writing something. The text on the page discusses Lincoln's gift of language "and how it can inspire people." The background of the page looks like parchment, and scrawled across it are some of Lincoln's most famous words: "Four score and seven years ago our fathers..." It is truly a breathtaking illustration when combined with the facts on the page and the reminder of Lincoln's gift for words.

At the end of the biography, the authors provide a bibliography of sources. The only issue in authenticity arises with the jokes attributed to Lincoln throughout the book. The authors state: "Lincoln's jokes in this book are from collections complied by a variety of people, often after his death. Some of his clever remarks were passed on by eyewitnesses; some are second-hand, third-hand, or further removed." Still, whether the quotes are Lincoln's words or not, it does not diminish the fact that this is a Lincoln readers don't often see, and the facts are historically accurate.

Review Excerpts:

"The legends that endure about Lincoln are many: his log-cabin childhood, his honesty, his eloquence. What is less-often discussed is how he used humor to diffuse tense political situations, disarm critics, and undo the stresses of running the country. His love of words in general, and jokes and humor more specifically, helped him throughout his life when things were difficult, uncomfortable, and downright dire, as they often were during the Civil War. Krull is an expert at teasing out the fun, quirky sides of her subjects and sharing them in a way that is both genuine and engaging." School Library Journal, Jody Kopple, Shady Hill School, Cambridge, MA

"Krull and her husband, Brewer, begin this unique portrait of Lincoln by cataloguing the reasons he had to be depressed (“His childhood was harsh. He looked homely and he knew it”). Subsequent pages proceed to tell Lincoln's story through the lens of his antidote for these disappointments: humor. Whether finding it in joke books or by making fun of his ungainly frame and snobby in-laws (“ 'One d is enough for God, but the Todds need two,' he wrote”), this chronological biography shows how the president used his sophisticated wit and penchant for wordplay to salve hardships and soothe foes." Publishers Weekly

Awards:

2011 ALSC Notable Children’s Books – Nominated Title
2010 Cybils Nominations: Non-Fiction/Informational Picture Books

Connections:

After reading Lincoln Tells a Joke: How Laughter Saved the President (and the country) a great idea would be for children to make a collage. Children could make a powerful and informative collage using pictures of Lincoln, the US, etc. and words or phrases from Lincoln's speeches and letters.

The biography could supplement elementary (or even middle or high school) textbook information about President Lincoln. Social studies teachers could use it or English teachers could use it if they study Lincoln's speeches. (I use Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address with my AP students, and I am seriously considering just showing some of the illustrations from this book on my projector to lighten the mood as we read through and annotate his address.)

Teach with Picture Books has a great lesson plan to use with the book and connects it to persuasive writing. This lesson could be modified to fit most grade levels.

Biggest, Strongest, Fastest

Jenkins, Steve. 1995. Biggest, Strongest, Fastest. New York: Ticknor & Fields Books for Young Readers.

Plot Summary:
In Biggest, Strongest, Fastest, Steve Jenkins introduces children to "fourteen members of the animal kingdom" that are all the best at a unique characteristic. Using interesting facts and paper collage illustrations, Jenkins' informational text teaches young children about these animals with facts they can relate to like comparing the size of an animal to a teaspoon, or the span of another's jump to a tall building.

Critical Analysis:

Young children are endlessly fascinated with the world around them and the animals in it. Biggest, Strongest, Fastest uses a child's natural curiosity about animals to teach them the facts of particular animals by teaching young children about characteristics unique to that animal that it is the best at in the animal world.

The book begins with African elephants: They're the biggest land animal in the world. To help children relate to this fact, at the bottom the page, Jenkins includes a brief blurb about the largest elephant ever (13 feet tall and 22,000 pounds) and how much an elephant eats every day. The nuggets of information are small enough for a young reader to remember about their favorite animal, and these little facts are presented in a way that are appealing to the reader and do not interfere with the main text of the page.

The reader's eyes are drawn to the information by small, black, ink-blot like illustrations on the page. The illustrations depict the animal in comparison to whatever piece of information is presented about the animal. For example, the sun jellyfish is placed next to a tiny speck of a human to emphasize for a young reader how long the sun jellyfish is (200 feet long, by the way).

The animals themselves are illustrated in a colorful paper collage technique against a background color designed to for the image to pop against the page. The giraffe, beautifully colored in beige and brown, is on a background of green; the multi-colored bee hummingbird drinks from a red flower against a backdrop of sky blue. The animal illustrations dominate the pages, but they do not overwhelm the reader. The illustrations, facts, and ink-blot illustrations all blend together to create a wonderful, fun way for youngsters to learn more about the animals they love.

At the end of the book, Jenkins provides a chart of the animals discussed throughout, the facts of each one, and adds their diets, and where the animal's natural habitat is. At the beginning of the book, Jenkins provides a bibliography of sources for the information found throughout the text. The sources prove the book to be well researched and accurate.

Review Excerpts:

"Large, clear print; fascinating facts; and beautiful, detailed, cut-paper collages make this excellent title a delight. One main fact is presented per spread about each of 14 animals, e.g., "The Etruscan shrew, the world's smallest mammal, could sleep in a teaspoon." Two more relevant facts are given in smaller print. Silhouette drawings show comparative sizes?the blue whale is shown next to an adult human. The realistic, inventive, textured illustrations, mostly double spreads, flow smoothly from page to page. A helpful chart at the end contains further information about each creature, such as diet and habitat. An all-round superlative effort." School Library Journal, Jan Shepherd Ross, Dixie Elementary Magnet School, Lexington, KY

"Beautiful double-page-spread cut-paper collages illustrate a picture book about "some of the biggest and smallest, fastest and slowest, strongest and longest" record holders in the animal world. The facts are amazing. Their juxtaposition makes you gasp, not just about size and speed but about comparative wonders. Right after the African elephant, which eats more than 300 pounds of grass and leaves every day, there's a close-up two-page picture of an ant, which turns out to be the strongest animal for its size: it can carry five times its own weight. The book's design makes it accessible at many levels. The youngest can identify the various creatures. Preschoolers can enjoy the one-sentence descriptions in large type ("The cheetah can run faster than any other animal. . . . The flea is very small, but it is the world's best jumper"). Older kids will love thinking about the additional facts regarding scale and proportion that are printed in small type, accompanied by a tiny silhouette in the corner of each picture ("If a 5 1/2-foot-tall woman could jump as well as a flea, she could leap to the top of a 65-story building"). Here's proof that power isn't just about size and that science can be a lot of fun." Booklist, Hazel Rochman

Awards:

1998 Washington Children's Choice Picture Book

Connections:

This book would make an excellent companion for young children prior to a trip to the zoo. Children, whether they've been to the zoo before or not, would all benefit from the facts of the novel before a visit.

Inviting a zookeeper or wildlife expert to speak to children is another way this book could be used. I've been to several children's birthday parties where the parents have hired a wildlife expert to come speak to the kids and bring along some animals to show the children. Not only were the kids fascinated by the information and pictures the expert brought with her, but the hands on experience of the animals reinforced what they learned.

Biggest, Strongest, Fastest lends itself to a "did you know" display. Whether in a teacher's classroom or in a library, a display of the animals in the book along with some of the facts would be very effective and engaging. The display would draw children to it and would educate them with the facts from the book.

Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow

Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. 2005. Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler's Shadow. New York: Scholastic Nonfiction. ISBN-13: 978-0439353793

Plot Summary:
Susan Bartoletti tells the reader at the beginning of Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler's Shadow that the book is not directly about Hitler. Instead, this is a book about the children of the Nazi Youth, how they came to follow Hitler, and the effect Hitler had on their lives. Bartoletti uses this informational young adult novel to show that these children were not the cruel, cold blooded, automatons that history sometimes shows them to be. Bartoletti shows them to simply be children who were inspired by propaganda and a man that managed to convince and coerce a nation into doing the unthinkable.

Critical Analysis:

Any author that chooses to examines Nazi Germany must take care in their approach of the subject matter. Bartoletti handles the subject matter with care by focusing on a microcosm of Hitler's regime and counter balancing her exploration of these youth with stories of Jewish children as well. Through her writing, she even manages to evoke sympathy in the readers for the children of Hitler's Youth. Bartoletti shows that the children in the pictures at the beginning of the book were human and fell victim, as so many did, to Hitler. She draws the reader to these children with the pictures and with brief explanations of how each child came to Hitler Youth and how each participated in the Hitler Youth. Their stories are told throughout the book and woven together with information found through Bartoletti's exhaustive research.

Authenticity is given to Bartoletti's text through her obvious, in-depth, research and the occasional use of the German language that appears through the book. She presents a Germany not often seen in other informational texts through her use of primary sources. The use of interviews of Hitler Youth, examination of books written by the children of the youth regime, articles from the 1930s, and her own visit to Germany to see the location of Nazi atrocities not only show the depth of her research but gives the book credibility. At times, informational books fall into a trap of becoming boring through the use of such primary sources because the details overwhelm the reader in dry facts; however, Bartoletti's book does not fall into this trap. She uses the facts of the primary texts and the interest in the subject matter to immerse the reader in Germany during Hitler's rise to power. Her writing has an emotional tone that appeals to the reader and makes the presentation of facts and details interesting. The reader becomes invested in the history and considering that the targeted readership may not know that much about Hitler, other than he was bad, and Nazi Germany, her way of drawing the reader into the text through emotional appeals is good because it keeps the reader's attention.

While I consider myself fairly educated about World War II having had several family members who fought in Europe and Japan during the war, I learned quite a bit from this book. I am also generally not a fan of non-fiction (although, I'm converting to the "dark side" thanks to a good friend who is a rhetoric professor in the DCCCD) because of the usual dryness of the subject matter, but not only is Baroletti's book interesting, it is educational, even for those that think they know a great deal about Hitler, Nazi Germany, and even the Hitler Youth, which, admittedly, I did not know that much about...I thought they were heartless children who did Hitler's bidding without a second thought. Through the presentation of these children and their stories, I learned why they chose to do what they did and why they followed him. It is an eye-opening exploration of this part of Nazi Germany and of the power of propaganda and rhetoric.

Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler's Shadow is a heart-wrenching and view changing look at this part of Hitler's regime. It forces readers (like myself) to question their beliefs about this sect of Hitler's Nazi Germany and proves the stereotypes associated with the children of Hitler Youth to be incorrect. These children were victims of Hitler, too.

Review Excerpts:

"Hitler's plans for the future of Germany relied significantly on its young people, and this excellent history shows how he attempted to carry out his mission with the establishment of the Hitler Youth, or Hitlerjugend, in 1926. With a focus on the years between 1933 and the end of the war in 1945, Bartoletti explains the roles that millions of boys and girls unwittingly played in the horrors of the Third Reich. The book is structured around 12 young individuals and their experiences, which clearly demonstrate how they were victims of leaders who took advantage of their innocence and enthusiasm for evil means. Their stories evolve from patriotic devotion to Hitler and zeal to join, to doubt, confusion, and disillusion." School Library Journal, Andrew Medlar, Chicago Public Library, IL Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information

"Formed in 1926, the Hitler Youth involved seven million boys and girls by 1939 and was instrumental in Hitler's rise to power. Bartoletti makes it clear what appealed to youth: "Excitement, adventure, and new heroes to worship," hope, power, and the "opportunity to rebel against parents, teachers, clergy, and other authority figures." She covers Hitler Youth, the resistance movement among young people and the de-Nazification process after the war in this study of Hitler's horrifying 12 years and the courageous moral stance of those who resisted. Case studies of actual participants root the work in specifics, and clear prose, thorough documentation and an attractive format with well-chosen archival photographs make this nonfiction writing at its best." Kirkus Reviews

Awards:

2006 Newbery Honor Book
2006 The Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
2006 Orbis Pictus Honor

Connections:
Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow would complement any unit about World War II or Nazi Germany.

The intended age group usually reads The Diary of Anne Frank, and Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow would present another view of being a young person in Nazi Germany. Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow does discuss life for Jewish children as well as the individuals singled out as part of the youth regime.

Older readers exploring Night would also benefit from Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow. An interesting lesson for Night on readwritethink.org has students create photomontages over symbolism. The pictures in Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow, while not a photomontage, would give students a visual lesson of the youth in Nazi Germany.

Book Trailer for Cousins of Clouds: Elephant Poems

As part of my class, I had to create a book trailer for a book of children's poetry. I chose Cousins of Clouds: Elephant Poems since my daughter loves elephants.



ETA: On this video file, I forgot to add my citation for Soundzabound on my credits slide. That has been updated on the video I submitted to my professor. The citation for my music is: Cobb, James. “Flat Calm.” Volume 6 nature Instrumental Acoustic. Soundzabound Royalty Free Music, www.soundzabound.com. (Accessed July 8, 2011).

What My Mother Doesn't Know

Sones, Sonya. 2001. What My Mother Doesn't Know. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN: 978-0689855535

Plot Summary:

Sophie is a teenage girl. She's slightly boy crazy, she's a little confused, and she's torn between her two best friends and her heart. What My Mother Doesn't Know is a touching look at the life of a typical teenage girl who is trying to make sense of her changing emotions and view on what love really is. What separates this story from countless others with the same theme and subject matter is the storytelling. Sonya Sones writes Sophie's story in verse, and nearly every page is a new free verse, narrative poem relating Sophie's thoughts and feelings with the events occurring at that time.

Critical Analysis:

Many adults reading What My Mother Doesn't Know will see themselves as a teenager in Sophie just as teenagers reading the book today will identify with Sophie. Sones uses the verse novel technique to draw readers into Sophie's story with emotionally charged language, strong imagery, and fairly short poems that quickly give readers an insight into Sophie. The free verse poems reflect the confusion Sophie feels as she tries to sort through her lessening attraction to her boyfriend and her growing attraction to a boy no one at school would ever think of dating all while chatting online with another boy. It is not difficult to see Sophie (or yourself as a teenager) breaking up with her boyfriend, feel the terror she feels as she struggles to tell her friends about her new boyfriend, or feel and see the horror as Sophie finds out what the mysterious Chaz (her online friend) does in libraries. The verse novel makes these experiences more captivating for the reader because there is no extraneous language or information as there can be in traditional novels. The free verse poems get right to the point of Sophie's experiences, thoughts, and emotions.

Another way Sones grabs the reader and makes the novel more personal is once Sophie begins to date the new boy in her life and realizes how much she cares for him, a cartoon-like doodle appears in the bottom corner of the book pages. The doodle builds upon itself and becomes a flip-art picture of a man and woman (in old-fashioned looking dress) kissing. As a teacher, I often see these little drawings in my high school students' in-class journals. It is one more mark of personality that not only draws the reader more into Sophie's world, but it makes the book seem less like a commercial work of fiction and more like a personal journal or diary.

Teenagers today will identify with Sophie and her use technology as a means of communicating with her friends and strangers alike since most of them use text messaging, Facebook, and Tumblr as a primary way of communication. My seventeen-year-old sister-in-law is rarely without her iPhone where she constantly chats with her friends through text messaging and posts updates for her friends to read to her Tumblr. Teenagers will also identify with the emotions Sones so compellingly details in Sophie as all teenagers experience the highs of love and lows of life that Sophie goes through in these pages. The verse novel style will also keep their attention by allowing them to read Sophie's thoughts in short bursts of information. Also, Sones uses the verse novel style to create a more personal mood allowing teenage readers to feel like Sophie could be any girl they know.

Personal Note:

When I told my teenaged sister-in-law that I choose this book from our list to read she told me over and over that I would love the book, go buy the sequel to it, and that I would see myself as a teenager in Sophie. She was right, and this is a book that will be added to my in-class library as soon as school starts back in August.

Review Excerpts:

"A story written in poetry form. Sophie is happily dating Dylan, "until he's practically glued himself to my side." Then she falls for cyberboy ("if I could marry a font/I'd marry his"). Imagine her surprise when he becomes downright scary. In the satisfying ending, Sophie finds the perfect boyfriend-someone she's known all along...Sones's poems are glimpses through a peephole many teens may be peering through for the first time, unaware that others are seeing virtually the same new, scary, unfamiliar things (parents having nuclear meltdowns, meeting a boyfriend's parents, crying for no apparent reason)...Sones's book makes these often-difficult years a little more livable by making them real, normal, and OK." -- School Library Journal, Sharon Korbeck, Waupaca Area Public Library, WI

"In a fast, funny, touching book, Sones uses the same simple, first-person poetic narrative she used in Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy (1999), but this story isn't about family anguish; it's about the joy and surprise of falling in love...The poetry is never pretentious or difficult... Sophie's voice is colloquial and intimate, and the discoveries she makes are beyond formula, even while they are as sweetly romantic as popular song. A natural for reluctant readers, this will also attract young people who love to read." --Booklist, Hazel Rochman

Awards:

International Reading Association Young Adult's Choice 2003
ALA Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers 2002
ALA Best Book for Young Adults 2002
Booklist Editor's Choice 2001

Connections:

After reading What My Mother Doesn't Know, one of the natural questions is "What happens with Sophie and Robin?" Sonya Sones answers that question in her 2008 free verse novel What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know, written from Robin's perspective as a teenage boy who is ridiculed by his classmates. While boys may not identify as easily with Sophie, they might identify more with Robin and his story.

Readers who enjoy Sones verse novel style of writing but aren't necessarily interested in reading more about Sophie and Robin should go to the author's website (http://www.sonyasones.com/) and read more about her novels or look for suggestions of what to read next.

Teachers could use excerpts of the novel to teach narrative, free verse poetry. Students could relate an experience of their own in a free verse poem, or students could keep a journal over a set time period in free verse poems in imitation of Sophie and Sones' writing style.

A Dazzling Display of Dogs

Franco, Betsy. Ill. Michael Wertz. 2011. A Dazzling Display of Dogs. Berkeley, CA: Tricycle Press. ISBN: 978-1582463438

Plot Summary:

A Dazzling Display of Dogs is the newest book of concrete poems from Betsy Franco and is a follow up to her award winning collection A Curious Collection of Cats. In A Dazzling Display of Dogs, readers are treated to 32 poems of different breeds of dogs going through daily adventures, and the poems are written in a style that mimics whatever the dog is doing. The dogs do just about everything a reader can associate with dogs, from the endless in-and-out's of Gwen to Coco circling on the rug to find just the perfect spot to sleep.

Critical Analysis:

For a reader who has never reader who has not read anything by Betsy Franco and Michael Wertz before, the first page of poetry is an assault to the senses with the shapes and colors and jumble of words, but once the reader's senses adjust, they find themselves immersed in the world of dogs. This book of children's poetry should not be just directed to children but to anyone, no matter their age, that loves dogs or that loves shape poems, concrete poems, haikus, and cinquains or all of the above!

The writing style of the poems is reminiscent of EE Cummings' poetry in the way that the lines of many of Cummings' poetry formed the shape of the subject matter of that poem. In A Dazzling Display of Dogs, the lines of the poems form shapes or are in the shape of the subject of that poem. Mathilda wears a white plastic dog cone collar, presumably from surgery, and the lines of her poem fit inside the cone. Miss Olive sleeps with a teddy bear, and the poem about her bear is inside the cut out of a teddy bear. Jake, a Jack Russell Terrier, barks at everything, and the lines of his poem shoot out from around his open muzzle giving off the impression of loud barks. Jazzy jumps on his owner and the lines of his poem wave giving the reader the sensation of a dog jumping up and down and then on his owner.

The bright colors and writing style appeal to young and older readers alike, and since most of the poems are concrete poems, even the youngest readers would have no trouble reading and understanding the poetry in this collection. Also, the upbeat and sometimes silly rhymes and use of alliteration throughout the collection keeps the reader's attention and add to the humor of the poems.

The illustrations throughout the book are eye-catching and enhance the poems. According to the cover information, "The illustrations in this book were started in pencil and finished using monoprints and Adobe Photoshop," but to me, the illustrations look like the layouts of an intricately done scrapbook. In fact, my first thought upon opening the book was that I have scrapbooking paper that looks similar to the book's illustrations that I used throughout my son's baby book. The illustrations and page layouts draw the reader's eye to take in the entire page and not just the words of the poem. The poems and the illustrations work together to create an interconnected and beautiful work of art.

Review Excerpt:
"This follow-up to A Curious Collection of Cats (Tricycle, 2009) is dazzling indeed. Each of the 34 poems features a different animal, most of them engaged in true dog behavior. From farting in the car to wheezing and snoring while sleeping, these pups are funny and lovable even when they're being annoying. The verses and the book's design are beautifully matched. In "Emmett's Ode to His Tennis Ball," the text is enclosed in a circle held firmly in the dog's mouth. It begins, "Slobbery, sloppy, slimy, sphere—oh, tennis ball, I hold you dear…." Like the poems, the pictures are funny and dynamic. The pages are definitely full, yet careful use of color, typeface, and detail means they never look chaotic." Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL, From School Library Journal

"The creators of A Curious Collection of Cats (2009) offer another volume of concrete poems filled with playful action. Elementary students will pick up the wry wordplay, but younger children will have trouble deciphering the words amid the packed, digitally touched artwork. The poems do capture familiar scenes with pets, such as a dog playing with a tennis ball (“sloppery slippery slimy”) and the pitfalls of car trips with a pooch: “The very worst part / without a doubt / is when Cassandra / makes a fart.” Both silly and on-target, the slapstick rhymes are good choices for family sharing." --Hazel Rochman, From Booklist

Awards:

starred review in School Library Journal

Connections:

Another book of poems about dogs that children might enjoy is Little Dog Poems by Kristine O'Connell George. The book follows one dog, and the voice of the poems is his owner, a young girl.

While not all children own a dog, most have a pet or have friends with pets. After reading A Dazzling Display of Dogs, children could discuss (or older children could journal) experiences with their pets and how those experiences are similar to the ones detailed in A Dazzling Display of Dogs.

Children who really enjoy the style and illustrations of A Dazzling Display of Dogs would also enjoy reading A Curious Collection of Cats.

Button Up!: Wrinkled Rhymes

Schertle, Alice. Ill. Petra Mathers. 2009. Button up!: Wrinkled Rhymes. New York: Harcourt Children's Books/ Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN: 978-0152050504

Plot Summary:

Button Up!: Wrinkled Rhymes is a collection of 15 mask poems for children written by Alice Schertle and illustrated by Petra Mathers. In these poems, articles of clothing have a story to tell of the experiences they have had with their owners. From shoes to coats to bicycle helmets to frilly underwear to soccer uniforms and a hand-me-down hoodie, the reader experiences what it is like for these articles of clothes, and the reader learns about each owner, who are all animals, through the clothing.

Critical Analysis:

Schertle's poems induce laughter and smiles from children as the articles of clothing relate their tales. One of the most interesting and engaging aspects of this collection is that every article of clothing has their own distinctive voice. My five-year-old daughter laughed as we read "The Song of Harvey's Galoshes" and "Tanya's Old T-Shirt" because of the unique voices of each poem and the fact that the owners are animals.

I enjoyed the petulance I heard in Tanya's t-shirt as she complained that it is her owner's fault she is now a dust rag. After all, as the shirt says, her owner grew, not her! The shirt says, "I didn't shrink," and in the book, the "I" is in a bolder print than most of the other text. For a reader, the bolding indicates a stronger emphasis should be placed on that word, so the reader hears a longer, more pronounced word at the beginning of the line than the rest of the line. That bolded "I" lends to the surly, petulant voice of the t-shirt. The voice is similar to the young children these poems are written for and the way young children sulk and pout when they are told they are too little (or too big!) to do something they want to do. The watercolor illustration of the old t-shirt evokes a bit of sympathy from the reader because the t-shirt is in an old metal bucket in a closet under the stairs. The shirt looks old, faded, and dirty as it sits in its dark and lonely home. But, above the bucket, is a thought cloud with a brightly colored illustration of a day at the beach in an obviously happier time as Tanya wears the t-shirt at the beach. The reader can't help but feel some sympathy for the shirt even as it complains about its new role in the family.

The language of the poems is varied and easily understandable for young readers. The use of onomatopoeia in "The Song of Harvey's Galoshes" helps young readers identify with Harvey's shoes because what young child hasn't (to their parents' chagrin) jumped into a mud puddle and made the "squash-galosh, squash-galosh, through the slime" with glee and laughter? The watercolor illustration of Harvey, who is, fittingly, a pig, and his galoshes dancing in the mud is just fun. The delight on Harvey's face is the glee we see on young children's faces as they do just what Harvey does in the mud. And, for Harvey, it's okay to dance in the mud because he is a pig, and we all know, pigs (and young children) love playing in mud.

One of the last poems in the collection, "Hand-me-down Sweatshirt" has a different tone to it as compared to the other poems. This poem is less humorous and the illustrations emphasize the more somber tone. In this poem, the sweatshirt has no complaints or any funny stories to relate. Instead, in this poem, the sweatshirt is just happy to still be "a friend of the family" after he has been passed down from family member to family member. The poem has a much slower pace to it. The animal that owns it stands off to the side. There is no action in the illustration save for the waves. The slower pace and lack of action create a calm mood that the other poems in the collection do not have. The illustration of this poem is a seaside scene with dark colors of moss green, grey, and brown with touches of white in the sea foam and hints of blue in the cloudy sky. The brightest spot in the illustration is the bright red sweatshirt on a figure standing on a rock looking out over the waves. As the sweatshirt says, he is "still looking good" even after so many owners and adventures. He is durable and loyal to his family.

Review Excerpt:
" these creatures have personality, exuberance and high style that perfectly match the verses. Loads of fun."--Kirkus, starred review

"From delicately comical to downright funny, the art perfectly reflects the contagiously rhythmic, playful verse. Made for sharing, and worth learning by heart, too."--Horn Book, starred review

"Playful spreads and spot art suit the small, snappy verses beautifully. This whimsical little volume will make a delightful addition to poetry collections."--School Library Journal, starred review

Awards:

2010 Hopkins Poetry Award Winner
NCTE Poetry for Children at Its Best: 2009 Poetry Notables

Connections:
The poems in this collection would be a great way to use Tonya Rodriguez's "Three Minutes a Day" poetry project, even for kindergartners like my daughter. The catchy rhymes in the poems, the actions of the animals, and the word plays would keep their attention, and kindergartners could easily focus on one of these poems for three minutes over a three-week period.

Children could have a very fun discussion of any of the poems in the collection. Asking them: "What did you see or imagine when we read this poem" (Vardell p.133) would give readers a chance to personally identify with the poems. I asked my daughter this after we read "Emily's Undies" and her answer was simple, but funny: She grinned and said "me."

The Three Pigs (Wiesner)

Wiesner, David. 2001. The Three Pigs. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN: 978-0618007011

Plot Summary:

David Wiesner's The Three Pigs tells the story of the three little pigs. As in other versions of the story, there are three pigs who build houses and a wolf that comes to blow the houses down. However, the storyline veers from what is familiar. The pigs are blown out of the pages! Suddenly, the pigs take a paper airplane ride and meet the cat and fiddle and a dragon guarding a golden rose. Joined by the cat and the dragon, the pigs return to the brick house. The wolf comes, but he does not blow the house down. Instead, the dragon scares the wolf, who runs away. The book ends with the pigs, the cat, the dragon, and the golden rose "liv[ing] happily ever after."

Critical Analysis:

Wiesner skillfully combines the the story of The Three Pigs, The Cat and the Fiddle, and fairy tale with a dragon and a golden rose to create a new story and adventure for the pigs. It is a funny and very different look at the traditional story. This version of the story requires readers to suspend their previous experiences with the story and join the pigs in a fantastical ride.

The Three Pigs begins predictably, but after the first few pages, the traditional story is no more. Through the use of text or thought bubble, Wiesner fractures the fairy tale. Children who are used to the classic story will wrinkle their foreheads in confusion (as my five year old daughter did!) as the pigs fly and sneak off the pages and use their new-found freedom to literally fly into other stories. My son and daughter enjoyed the pigs' adventure, but my daughter, who knows the traditional story and the story of The Cat and the Fiddle, needed me to stop after the pigs met the cat and explain what was happening.

The varied type of illustrations used throughout the tale also reinforce the fracturing of the story. At the beginning, the illustrations are line drawings typical to children's picture books, but as the story progresses and the fracturing begins, the illustrations change. The pigs take on a more realistic quality while the wolf remains a typical line drawing. As the pigs enter into the various other tales in the story, the illustrations change again. When they meet The Cat and the Fiddle, the illustrations become cartoon like, but when they meet the dragon protecting the golden rose, the drawings become black and white pencil sketches until the pigs invite the dragon to join them. Then, the dragon takes on a more realistic texture, just like the pigs, as they leave the dragon's fairy tale. Finally, the book returns to the traditional drawings of the book's beginning at the book's end as the dragon, cat, and pigs sit around eating bowls of soup.

The panel style of story telling in the book is reminiscent of comic books, which goes along with the chat or thought bubbles the characters use to communicate with one another.

Review Excerpts:

"In Tuesday (Clarion, 1991), Wiesner demonstrated that pigs could fly. Here, he shows what happens when they take control of their story. In an L. Leslie Brooke sort of style (the illustrations are created through a combination of watercolor, gouache, colored inks, and pencils), the wolf comes a-knocking on the straw house. When he puffs, the pig gets blown "right out of the story." (The double spread contains four panels on a white background; the first two follow the familiar story line, but the pig falls out of the third frame, so in the fourth, the wolf looks quite perplexed.) So it goes until the pigs bump the story panels aside, fold one with the wolf on it into a paper airplane, and take to the air. Children will delight in the changing perspectives, the effect of the wolf's folded-paper body, and the whole notion of the interrupted narrative. Wiesner's luxurious use of white space with the textured pigs zooming in and out of view is fresh and funny. They wander through other stories-their bodies changing to take on the new style of illustration as they enter the pages-emerging with a dragon and the cat with a fiddle. The cat draws their attention to a panel with a brick house, and they all sit down to soup, while one of the pigs reconstructs the text. Witty dialogue and physical comedy abound in this inspired retelling of a familiar favorite." School Library Journal, Wendy Lukehart, Dauphin County Library, Harrisburg, PA

"Even the book's younger readers will understand the distinctive visual code. As the pigs enter the confines of a storybook page, they conform to that book's illustrative style, appearing as nursery-rhyme friezes or comic-book line drawings. When the pigs emerge from the storybook pages into the meta-landscape, they appear photographically clear and crisp, with shadows and three dimensions. Wiesner's (Tuesday) brilliant use of white space and perspective (as the pigs fly to the upper right-hand corner of a spread on their makeshift plane, or as one pig's snout dominates a full page) evokes a feeling that the characters can navigate endless possibilities--and that the range of story itself is limitless." Publishers Weekly

Awards:
2002 Caldecott Medal
2002 ALA Notable Children's Book

Connections:

Fractured fairy tales are fun for readers. Children who find this version of The Three Pigs enjoyable would also enjoy reading The True Story of the Three Pigs and learning the wolf's side of the story.

Teachers in Texas might use the lesson "Cowboys and Castles: Interacting with Fractured Texas Tales" found on readwritethink.org. This lesson uses children's knowledge of traditional fairy tales to introduce fractured fairy tales and has students read fractured fairy tales with a Texas connection such as Bubba the Cowboy Prince.

Beautiful Blackbird

Bryan, Ashley. 2003. Beautiful Blackbird. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 978-0689847318

Plot Summary:

Ashley Bryan's Beautiful Blackbird is based on a folktale with origins in the Ila people of Zambia (Bryan 2003). In this story, the birds of Africa are many bright colors, but they are all one single color. There is no variation in their feathers. Ringdove, a grey bird, calls the birds to meet by the water and while the birds look at their reflections in the water, Ringdove asks the birds what bird is the most beautiful of them all, to which, the other birds reply, "Blackbird!" The birds begin to dance and sing and during the song, Ringdove takes Blackbird aside and asks Blackbird to color him black, to which Blackbird agrees, but only after telling Ringdove that "Color on the outside is not what's on the inside." By the end of the book, all the birds ask Blackbird to paint them with black paint.

Critical Analysis:

Ashley Bryan invokes the people of Africa through the use of rhythm, chants, and tribal dancing throughout the entirety of the story. He uses the background lore of Zambia to tell a story with a message that is important for all children to hear and understand: Beauty is on the inside and be proud of who and what you are. No matter what ethnicity children are, this lesson is paramount for children to learn and embrace, especially in our society that puts such value on outward appearance. Even though the birds do change their appearance by adding color to their feathers, they are still what they once were. Children need to understand that you can change your appearance, you can alter the outside, but you will always be who you are on the inside and nothing can change that, so embrace it and be proud of who you (or what) you are.

The illustrations in the book are very different from other illustrations I have seen in children's literature. The pictures are not drawings. Instead, they are paper cut outs put together to form intricate colleges that work together to create incredibly vivid landscapes. The double layout where the birds meet at the water use paper strips to create the water and a double amount of birds to create the birds' reflections. Even the type of illustration used reinforces the story's moral because the illustrations are so very different from those in other works of children literature.

Review Excerpts:

"Bryan's collages make up for it with their exhibition of colorful splendor and composition. Scenes of the rainbow of wings are outdone only by a lakeside view of their colors intricately "mirrored in the waters." And Bryan's lilting and magical language is infectious." Publishers Weekly

"The story line is simple and the rhythmic chants of the flock frequently interspersed throughout the text add drama and a rapper's cadence. The cut-paper silhouettes are colorful but static, effectuating a stylized formality. The endpapers include an image of the scissors used to create the collages and reinforce the physical process behind the art. This unusual and little-known pourquoi tale may supplement larger collections..." Carol Ann Wilson, Westfield Memorial Library, School Library Journal

Awards:
2004 Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration
2004 Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts, NCTE Children's Literature Assembly

Connections:
Beautiful Blackbird would benefit from being heard by being read aloud so that children get a sense of the rhythm of the words. Ashley Bryan has the book on audio so that a teacher or children's librarian could play the book for the children while showing them the book.

Cutting shapes out of paper and putting them together to make a design is fairly easy for children. Children could use this technique to illustration their own stories. Something that a teacher might do would be to have children think about the folktales of their family (tribe) and use cut outs from construction paper to make their own collages to tell their story. (I have done this activity before with high school juniors after reading Native American folktales. It is an activity that my teenage students really enjoy completing. I expect elementary school students would enjoy it just as much.)

The Lion and the Mouse

Pinkney, Jerry. 2009. The Lion & the Mouse. New York: Little, Brown and Co. Books for Young Readers. ISBN-978-0316013567

Plot Summary:

Winner of the 2010 Caldecott Medal, The Lion and the Mouse is a mostly wordless retelling of Aesop's fable by the same name. In this fable, a mouse comes upon a lion and disturbs him. The lion catches the mouse and instead of eating the mouse, the lion makes the decision to let the mouse go, and the mouse scurries home. In the meantime, trappers set a rope net trap that the lion accidentally becomes caught in as the lion roams about the desert. The mouse overhears the lion's roars of frustration and fear and finds the lion tangled in the trapper's trap. Under the lion's watchful eye, the mouse climbs the trap and gnaws at the rope, eventually weakening the rope enough that the trap breaks and the mouse sets the lion free. The lion and the mouse exchange a look, and the book ends with the moues taking a piece of the rope trap back to her nest.

Critical Analysis:

Aesop's The Lion and the Mouse fable teaches a story that values the weak. The mouse is obviously inferior to the lion, but the mouse triumphs over the lion by choosing to save the lion's life because the lion showed mercy to the mouse.

Pinkney's retelling of Aesop's fable enables the reader to look at this classic moral story in a different way because of the lack of words. The only words used in the story are onomatopoeia from the animals and the sound of the jeep in the desert. Readers are required to use inference skills in order to make assumptions as to the motivations of the lion and the mouse. Through our studies of science, we know that lions are predators at the top of the food chain and mice are an appetizer for the king of the jungle. While children may not know traditional science, children do know from cartoons and other stories that lions can be vicious and brutal. The logical assumption to make, for anyone, is that the lion will kill the mouse. Pinkney's story challenges that assumption because readers must use the pictures and what they perceive from those pictures to tell the story.

Throughout the book, the illustration are beautiful and extremely detailed line drawings and what appear to be watercolors. Here the lack of text in the fable allow the reader to see the lion more kindly because of the illustrations. In other retellings of this fable, the lion is arrogant, but the illustrations in this retelling do not support that characteristic. Instead, the drawings and paintings show the lion's majesty and ferocity. Before the lion is caught in the trapper's net, the lion stands in the desert, surrounded by other animals who watch him warily, and the lion's majesty is emphasized through the watercolor painting. The double layout where the lion holds the mouse in his paws is breathtakingly beautiful, and the reader cannot help but look at the details of the lion's face as he stares at the prey in his hands. There is deadly beauty in the sharpness of the lion's teeth, but there is also a sense of compassion in the lion's eyes as he looks at the mouse that cowers in his paws. From this illustration, the reader is led to believe the lion is not the deadly beast he is, and the illustration of the lion on the next page reinforces that assumption. The lion releases the mouse, and the detailed drawing of the lion's face shows the lion's curiosity with a hint of a grin in the lion's eyes and on his mouth. There is no arrogance or egotism in the lion's expression anywhere in Pinkney's illustrations.

Review Excerpts:
"This story starts on the cover with the glorious, golden countenance of a lion. No text is necessary to communicate the title: the direction of the beast's gaze and the conflicted expression on his tightly cropped face compel readers to turn the book over, where a mouse, almost filling the vertical space, glances back. The endpapers and artist's note place these creatures among the animal families of the African Serengeti. Each spread contributes something new in this nearly wordless narrative, including the title opening, on which the watchful rodent pauses, resting in one of the large footprints that marches across the gutter. In some scenes, Pinkney's luminous art, rendered in watercolor and colored pencil, suggests a natural harmony, as when the cool blues of the sky are mirrored in the rocks and acacia tree. In other compositions, a cream-colored background focuses attention on the exquisitely detailed and nuanced forms of the two main characters..." Wendy Lukehart, School Library Journal, Washington DC Public Library END

"Here, Pinkney is audacious, courageous, or simply imaginative enough to retell the classic Aesop fable without text. Very few natural sound effects like the hoot of an owl, the scratching of the mouse's teeth as it chews the ropes and the "RRRRRROAARRRR" of the captured lion are all that are necessary. His animated renderings of the African animals along with the two hunters draw us immediately into the familiar story...The illustrations range from double-page spreads to framed or unframed images on single pages. They vary in size but not intensity. The close-up of the lion in the trap is almost a psychological study. As a master of the media, Pinkney handles pencil and transparent watercolors with added colored pencils to create naturalistic characters while avoiding the strictures of photorealism. This is a stunning tour de force." Children's Literature Review

Awards:
2010 Caldecott Medal winner
2010 Horn Book Awards Honor Book Boston Globe
2010 Best Illustrated Books The New York Times
2010 Book of the Year Winner, New Picture Book The Lion and the Mouse, Indies Choice

Connections:

The Lion and the Mouse lends itself to several activities for young children.

In a classroom setting, a teacher could utilize a K-W-L chart to help young readers hone their knowledge of lions and mice, but it would also have them begin to make inferences about the story just based on what they see in the illustration on the book's cover (which is gorgeous).

Another activity children could complete with this fable is a retelling of the moral by using other animal pairs that are opposites like the lion and the mouse. Once children choose an animal pair, they could mimic Pinkney's wordless style and retell the fable through pictures of their own using their chosen animal pairs.

After reading and discussing The Lion and the Mouse, children might want to explore some of Aesop's other fables. For young children, The Tortoise and the Hare or The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse are other fables by Aesop they could easily identify with and would enjoy.