Module 6 Review - Mr. Lincoln's Way

Mr. Lincoln's Way / by Patricia Polacco.

Bibliographic Citation:

Polacco, P. (2001). Mr. Lincoln’s way. New York, NY: Philomel Books.

Summary:

Everyone thought Mr. Lincoln was the coolest principal ever, except for “mean Gene” the school bully. “Mean Gene” was always in trouble for being mean to the other kids and rude to the teachers. Mr. Lincoln thought and thought of a way to get through to him. One day, Mr. Lincoln saw Eugene “Mean Gene” looking at the birds in the school’s atrium. Mr. Lincoln asked Eugene about birds and Eugene said his grandpa taught him. Eugene helped get all the right plants into the atrium so more birds would come and was very excited to see the result. Eugene has stopped being mean until one day in the lunch line when he was bullying two kids from Mexico. He told Mr. Lincoln it was because he got in trouble for being late coming home after helping Mr. Lincoln with the birds in the atrium. Mr. Lincoln asked Eugene how he could love all the different kinds and colors of birds but hurt other people because they were different colors. Eugene began to understand that differences aren’t bad.

Impressions:

Mr. Lincoln shows that all children can be reached if you take the time to figure out what makes them tick. Eugene’s love for birds and the school atrium gave Mr. Lincoln the right combination for how to reach and teach Eugene about loving the differences in people just like the birds. By taking time with Eugene, Mr. Lincoln also showed him that he was important also. When Eugene leads the ducks out of the atrium and through the school to the pond at the end of the book, you see how much he has changed due to the influence of a caring principal.

Library Use Suggestions

Discussion about ways you can show kindness to other people.

Felt board of the school – students can help show the path of the books from out of the atrium all the way to the pond by placing felt ducks on the map.

Reviews:

A "cool" principal helps a bully become a model citizen and conquer his racism by capitalizing on the boy's interest in birds. Although the illustrations are engaging, the story of the bully's transformation is both sanctimonious and unconvincing. Eugene is too self-aware for his age, and Mr. Lincoln is too flawless to be interesting.

(2001, January 1). [Review of Mr. Lincoln’s Way]. Horn Book Guide. Retrieved from http://bookverdict.com/details.xqy?uri=hbg/14211.xml In her many books, Polacco has dealt sensitively with a broad spectrum of circumstances and issues. Here she tackles both intolerance and bullying. Mr. Lincoln is the "coolest" principal: he is Santa at Christmas, lights the menorah at Chanukah, and wears a dashiki for Kwanza and a burnoose for Ramadan. The author chronicles his attempt to reclaim "Mean Gene," a child who sasses his teachers, picks on other children, and makes ethnic slurs. "He's not a bad boy, really, ' Mr. Lincoln said. Only troubled.'" However, the distinction is not clarified. When the principal discovers that the boy is fond of birds, he capitalizes on this interest. He involves him in attracting the creatures to the school atrium while at the same time showing him that just as the differences in the birds render them beautiful, so do the differences in people. While the theme is an important and timely one, Polacco has allowed her message to overwhelm both plot and character development. The story emerges as didactic, laden with heavy-handed metaphor, and too simplistic a solution to a deep-rooted problem. The book may be useful to schools in need of a springboard for discussion of the topic and is graced with impressive watercolors, but it is not up to the author's usual literary standards

Module 5 Review 2 - One Crazy Summer

One Crazy Summer / by Rita Williams-Garcia.

Bibliographic Citation:

Williams-Garcia, R. (2010). One crazy summer. New York, NY: Amistad/HarperCollins.

Summary:

Three little girls, Delphine, Vonetta and Fern take off from New York City and head to Oakland, California to spend 30 days with the mother who abandoned them seven years earlier. When they get to California, their mother, Cecile, does not rush forward to claim the girls as they had hoped, but reminds them that she did not ask for them to come. They follow her home by taxi and bus, where they are basically left to fend for themselves. Cecile will not let them in her kitchen and seems put out when they ask for dinner. She gives the girls money and gives them directions to get take out from Ming’s Chinese. The next morning, she sends them to the community center for breakfast and tells them to stay gone all day. Delphine, who has long assumed the role of mother to her younger sisters, makes sure they stay out of Cecile’s way and are gone as long as possible. The community center turns out to be a children’s camp run by the Black Panther’s. Vonetta is drawn to the other girls and is willing to go along with whatever is happening. Delphine is a little more cautious about getting involved and Fern stays close to her biggest sister. Their time with their mother slowly progresses and the girls all become more involved in the activities of the Black Panther camp. One day, the girls decide to take a trip into San Francisco to do some sightseeing. When they return, the see their mother being arrested along with two members of the Black Panthers. The mother of one of the boys at the day camp lets the girls stay with them. The girls perform one of their mother’s poems at the Black Panther rally and Fern recites her own poem. Their mother sees them and shows a small bit of pride. When the girls are at the airport, getting ready to board the plane, Fern runs to her mother and gives her a hug and the other two follow, acknowledging that a mother’s hug is what they needed.

Impressions:

The author does an excellent job of defining the three girls and their differences in regards to their feelings of abandonment by their mother. At the beginning of the story, Delphine, the responsible, mother-like, oldest sister thinks a lot about what Papa and Big Ma would say if they could see how Cecile is treating them. As the story progresses, you see subtle changes in Cecile and each of the girls, and Papa and Big Ma become less of a focus for Delphine. The Black Panthers day camp provides a backdrop for the activities the girls are involved in over the summer and how these new thoughts and experiences shape the girls while there are away from Papa and Big Ma’s influence.

Library Use Suggestions:

For older students, research can be done on the beliefs and actions of the Black Panthers and how these actions were similar and different from those of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X.

Reviews:

A flight from New York to Oakland, Calif., to spend the summer of 1968 with the mother who abandoned Delphine and her two sisters was the easy part. Once there, the negative things their grandmother had said about their mother, Cecile, seem true: She is uninterested in her daughters and secretive about her work and the mysterious men in black berets who visit. The sisters are sent off to a Black Panther day camp, where Delphine finds herself skeptical of the worldview of the militants while making the best of their situation. Delphine is the pitch-perfect older sister, wise beyond her years, an expert at handling her siblings: “Just like I know how to lift my sisters up, I also knew how to needle them just right.” Each girl has a distinct response to her motherless state, and Williams-Garcia provides details that make each characterization crystal clear. The depiction of the time is well done, and while the girls are caught up in the difficulties of adults, their resilience is celebrated and energetically told with writing that snaps off the page.

(2010, January 15). [Review of One Crazy Summer]. Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/rita-williams-garcia/one-crazy-summer/

Module 5 Review 1 - Esperanza Rising

Esparanza rising / by Pam Munoz Ryan.

Bibliographic Citation:

Ryan, P.M. (2000). Esperanza Rising. New York, NY: Scholastic Press.

Summary:

Esperanza Ortega is a budding young woman of means in Aguascalientes, Mexico. The day before her thirteenth birthday, she pricks her finger on the thorn of a rose and remembers the superstition of bad luck. She brushes it off until later in the evening when her father has not returned home from mending fences with the vaqueros. A search party turns up her father and the vaqueros, dead at the hands of bandits.

Esperanza and her mother are to retain the house, but her Tio Luis received the land. Tio Luis proposes marriage to Esperanza’s mother, Ramona. When Ramona declines, their house is burned down after Tio Luis’ menacing warning. With the help of a neighboring farmer, Alfonso, Hortensia and Miguel, a family of three that had served the Ortega’s for years, Esperanza and her mother make their way to California to work in the fields with other poor, migrant families.

With her father gone, her house and things burned to ashes, a move to California and learning to work are difficult changes for Esperanza, who still feels like a young woman of means. However, after her mother falls ill with Valley Fever and a bout of depression lands her in the hospital, Esperanza begins to recognize the importance of having her family in spite of what she has lost. She goes to work in order to pay her mother’s medical bills and saves up her money to bring her Abuelita from Mexico.

Through it all, with the help of Alfonso, Hortensia, Miguel and her new friends, Esperanza learns to flourish without her riches. Her mother eventually comes home from the hospital and her Abuelita arrives from Mexico, raising the family from the ashes of tragedy.

Impressions:

With loving care, Pam Munoz Ryan wrote a wonderful tribute in honor of her grandmother, Esperanza Ortega, the muse of the story. The images of the farm and migrant workers in the work fields of California’s San Joaquin Valley during the Great Depression give the story historical significance. The tragedy Esperanza faces, and the changes she has to make and endure, provides a personal connection. While the reader may not have encountered tragedy of the same nature, the hope that comes from watching Esperanza rise above her tragedy with strength, courage and grace is inspiring.

Library Use Suggestions:

Discussion about losing someone important such as a grandparent, parent or sibling. Those that have lost someone, if willing, share feelings and challenges faced in the following days and months after the loss.

Reviews:

The author of Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride (1999) and Riding Freedom (1997) again approaches historical fiction, this time using her own grandmother as source material. In 1930, Esperanza lives a privileged life on a ranch in Aguascalientes, Mexico. But when her father dies, the post-Revolutionary culture and politics force her to leave with her mother for California. Now they are indebted to the family who previously worked for them, for securing them work on a farm in the San Joaquin valley. Esperanza balks at her new situation, but eventually becomes as accustomed to it as she was in her previous home, and comes to realize that she is still relatively privileged to be on a year-round farm with a strong community. She sees migrant workers forced from their jobs by families arriving from the Dust Bowl, and camps of strikers—many of them US citizens—deported in the "voluntary repatriation" that sent at least 450,000 Mexicans and Mexican-Americans back to Mexico in the early 1930s. Ryan's narrative has an epic tone, characters that develop little and predictably, and a romantic patina that often undercuts the harshness of her story. But her style is engaging, her characters appealing, and her story is one that—though a deep-rooted part of the history of California, the Depression, and thus the nation—is little heard in children's fiction. It bears telling to a wider audience.

(2000, October 1). [Review of Esperanza Rising]. Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/pam-munoz-ryan/esperanza-rising/

Module 4 Review 2 - Holes

Holes / by Louis Sachar.

Bibliographic Citation:

Sachar, L. (1999). Holes. New York, NY: Frances Foster Books.

Summary:

Holes is about a middle school age boy named Stanley Yelnats, who is wrongly convicted of stealing a famous athletes stinky shoes that had been donated for a charity auction. Stanley’s story is interspersed with the story of his ancestors. He is a boy with a history of being bullied at school and he blames all of his misfortune on his “no-good-dirty-rotten–pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather.” After his conviction, Stanley is given the choice of going to jail or going to Camp Green Lake. He chooses to go to Camp Green Lake.

Camp Green Lake is not really a lake and not really a camp. The boys at Camp Green Lake have been relegated to a barren desert where they have to dig a 5 foot hole every day. Stanley is assigned to D tent with five other boys who have nicknames such as X-Ray, Armpit, Zero and Zigzag. One day Stanley is digging and he finds something shiny and he slowly comes to realize that the holes being dug are not to teach the boys a lesson as they have been told, but to help the warden find something she has been looking for for many years. Stanley, nicknamed Caveman, strikes a deal with Zero for an hour of reading teaching for an hour of digging. During an altercation between Stanley and Zigzag, the deal Stanley and Zero made is made known to the warden who demands that it end. Zero runs away into the mountains and the next day Stanley follows behind. After a week, both have regained their strength and they make a plan to find whatever the warden is looking for, so they return to Camp Green Lake at night to search. They finally find the treasure and are caught by the warden. There is a stand-off between Stanley and Zero and the Warden and the Camp counselors. Stanley is later exonerated and he gets to keep the treasure because it had his name on it. Once they are back home, he and Zero, along with their families, discover the significance of the buried treasure and unfold the connectivity of Stanley and Zero’s family histories.

Impressions:

I found myself rooting for Stanley from the beginning when he was wrongly convicted. Stanley was an unlucky boy who found himself in a bad situation. Stanley changed from a weak boy at the beginning of the story to a strong almost-man at the end. As difficult as his time at the camp was, the changes it afforded him made him stronger physically, but also gave him self-confidence he lacked.

Library Use Suggestions:

Sections at the beginning of this book can be used to illustrate to students what bullying looks like.

They can compare the interpersonal relationships Stanley has at school with his peers and even his teachers with the relationships that develop in the D tent at Camp Green Lake. How did Stanley change and what effect did those changes affect his interpersonal relationships with the other boys at Camp Green Lake.

Reviews:

Sentenced to a brutal juvenile detention camp for a crime he didn't commit, a wimpy teenager turns four generations of bad family luck around in this sunburnt tale of courage, obsession, and buried treasure from Sachar (Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger, 1995, etc.). Driven mad by the murder of her black beau, a schoolteacher turns on the once-friendly, verdant town of Green Lake, Texas, becomes feared bandit Kissin' Kate Barlow, and dies, laughing, without revealing where she buried her stash. A century of rainless years later, lake and town are memories--but, with the involuntary help of gangs of juvenile offenders, the last descendant of the last residents is still digging. Enter Stanley Yelnats IV, great-grandson of one of Kissin' Kate's victims and the latest to fall to the family curse of being in the wrong place at the wrong time; under the direction of The Warden, a woman with rattlesnake venom polish on her long nails, Stanley and each of his fellow inmates dig a hole a day in the rock-hard lake bed. Weeks of punishing labor later, Stanley digs up a clue, but is canny enough to conceal the information of which hole it came from. Through flashbacks, Sachar weaves a complex net of hidden relationships and well-timed revelations as he puts his slightly larger-than-life characters under a sun so punishing that readers will be reaching for water bottles. Good Guys and Bad get just deserts in the end, and Stanley gets plenty of opportunities to display pluck and valor in this rugged, engrossing adventure.

(2000, June 15). [Review of Holes]. Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/louis-sachar/holes/

Module 4 Review 1 - Island of the Blue Dolphins

Island of the blue dolphins / by Scott O'Dell.

Bibliographic Citation:

O’Dell, S. (1960). Island of the blue dolphins. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Summary: 

Island of the Blue Dolphins is based on the life of a young woman who lived alone on an island off the coast of California for 18 years. The story begins with a tribe of natives living on the island when the Aleuts come to hunt seals. When the Aleuts are leaving, they refuse to give the natives what was promised and a fight ensues that kills most of the native men. The following spring white men come on a ship and take the natives away from the island. The main character jumps of the boat and swims back to the island when she realizes her younger brother was left behind. Shortly thereafter, her brother is killed by the wild dogs of the island and the girl is left alone on the island. At first she waits for the white men to return, but when they do not, she settles into a way of life by building a home, fashioning clothes and weapons out of raw materials, hunting, and many other things needed to survive. She tries to kill the leader of the wild dog pack that killed her brother, but her spear only injures him. She takes him home in his weakened state to nurse him back to health. He remains her faithful companion for many years. After her faithful dog dies, she finds his son and tries various ways to capture and tame him. She finally does and has a new companion. After 18 years alone on the island, white men finally come back and take her away from the island. When she reaches the Mission at Santa Barbara, she finds out that the first ship, 18 years ago, sank at sea before it reached land, so all her people had perished.

Impressions:

This book grabbed my attention from the moment I opened it. The historical and cultural aspect was intriguing. It wasn’t until I finished the book that I read the author’s note and learned the story was based on the Lost Woman of San Nicolas from the 1800’s. This fact gave the story much more meaning.

I cannot begin to understand the fortitude it took to survive alone, on an island for 18 years, but as I was reading, I imagined myself as the young woman and what I would have done had it been me left on that island. The emotions this book brought to the surface were many including fear, loneliness, hope, love, and joy.

Library Use Suggestions:

The book could be used to introduce the genre of historical fiction and discuss novels can be developed around the events of a real person’s life.

Reviews:

An outstanding new edition of this popular modern classic (Newbery Award, 1961), with an introduction by Zena Sutherland and a dozen compelling full-page watercolor illustrations to enchant new readers and old friends.

(2000, November 1). [Review of Island of the Blue Dolphins]. Kirkus Review. Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/scott-odell/island-of-the-blue-dolphins/

-        I would give students the creative opportunity to discuss, write, and illustrate what they would do to survive if they were left alone on an island for years and years.

Module 3 Review 2 - A sick day for Amos McGee

A sick day for Amos McGee / by Philip C. Stead.

Bibliographic Citation:

Stead, P.C. (2010). A sick day for Amos McGee. New York, NY: Roaring Book Press.

Summary:

Amos McGee is an old man who gets up every morning, has tea and breakfast, and takes bus 5 to go visit his friends as the zoo. He spends time playing chess with the elephant, racing the tortoise (who always wins), sitting quietly with the shy penguin, wiping the nose of a sniffly rhinoceros and reading stories with the owl who is afraid of the dark. One day Amos McGee wakes up with his own sniffly nose and stays in bed. The animals are worried about where he is and decide to go visit him. They leave the zoo and take bus 5 to Amos McGee’s house. Amos McGee plays chess with the elephant, hide-and-seek with the tortoise, naps with the penguin sitting by him, gets his nose wiped by the rhinoceros, and after having tea, the owl reads stories and they all settle down to sleep.

Impressions:

This is such a sweet story of friendship. The illustrations are beautifully done. They intricate detail to Amos McGee and his animal friends makes them appear so expressive and life-like. Even if there were no words, I believe the facial expressions and visible emotions would tell the story of love and friendship.

Library Use Suggestions:

This book has a fairly simple sequence, so I would have younger students act out the sequence to show the progression of the book. For older students, I would have them work in pairs or triads to create a written sequence of the book.

Reviews:

Amos McGee, an elderly man who works at the zoo, finds time each day for five special friends. With empathy and understanding he gives the elephant, tortoise, penguin, rhinoceros, and owl the attention they need. One morning, Amos wakes up with a bad cold and stays home in bed. His friends wait patiently and then leave the zoo to visit him. Their trip mirrors his daily bus ride to the zoo and spans three nearly wordless spreads. Amos, sitting up in bed, clasps his hands in delight when his friends arrive. The elephant plays chess with him, and the tortoise plays hide-and-seek. The penguin keeps Amos's feet warm, while the rhinoceros offers a handkerchief when Amos sneezes. They all share a pot of tea. Then the owl, knowing that Amos is afraid of the dark, reads a bedtime story as the other animals listen. They all sleep in Amos's room the rest of the night. The artwork in this quiet tale of good deeds rewarded uses woodblock-printing techniques, soft flat colors, and occasional bits of red. Illustrations are positioned on the white space to move the tale along and underscore the bonds of friendship and loyalty. Whether read individually or shared, this gentle story will resonate with youngsters.

Smith, M. J. (2010). [A sick day for Amos McGee]. School Library Journal, 56(5), 92.

Module 3 Review 1 - Grandfather's journey

Grandfather's journey / by Allen Say.

Bibliographic Citation:

Say, A. (1993). Grandfather’s journey. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Summary:

The author reflects on the journey his family has made back and forth between Japan and North America. He looks back at his grandfather’s desire to travel the world and his exploration of North America, his return to Japan to marry and start a family, his return to California and then back to Japan again. The author follows in his grandfather’s footsteps and travels to see California, a place dear to his grandfather’s heart. He comes to love it as his grandfather did. He too goes back and forth, saying that as soon as he reaches one, his heart longs for the other.

Impressions:

The illustrations are beautiful and give life to the story the author is telling about his grandfather’s journey between Japan and North America. The love and respect the author holds for his grandfather is evident in the tone of the story and illustrations. The draw of this book was the historical aspect as well as the look at a grandfather’s legacy being passed down to grandson. As was the author, I was very close to my grandfather, and after his passing I found solace in retracing the steps of his life and visiting people and places of importance to him.

Library Use Suggestions:

I would start a conversation with students about their grandparents. Questions: how did the author portray his grandfather? Why do you think the author wrote about his grandfather’s journey? What are some things you know about your grandparents? What do you like doing with your grandparents?

After discussing, I will provide students will paper to create their own illustration depicting a grandparent. They will then write a sentence or up to a paragraph (depending on grade level) to describe their illustration.

Reviews:

"The funny thing is, the moment I am in one country, I am homesick for the other," observes Say near the end of this poignant account of three generations of his family's moves between Japan and the US. Say's grandfather came here as a young man, married, and lived in San Francisco until his daughter was "nearly grown" before returning to Japan; his treasured plan to visit the US once again was delayed, forever as it turned out, by WW II. Say's American-born mother married in Japan (cf. Tree of Cranes, 1991), while he, born in Yokohama, came here at 16. In lucid, graceful language, he chronicles these passages, reflecting his love of both countries--plus the expatriate's ever-present longing for home--in both simple text and exquisitely composed watercolors: scenes of his grandfather discovering his new country and returning with new appreciation to the old, and pensive portraits recalling family photos, including two evoking the war and its aftermath. Lovely, quiet- -with a tenderness and warmth new to this fine illustrator's work. (Nonfiction/Picture book. 4+)

(1993, October 1). [Review of Grandfather’s journey]. Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/allen-say/grandfathers-journey/