A View from Saturday

By E. L. Konigsburg

    I really enjoyed this book a lot. At times it was somewhat slow, but overall I loved all the connections between the characters. It also discusses a lot of different issues that are prevalent in many children's lives. At first it reminded me of the misfits as well since it is a group of four kids who call themselves The Souls. They are a group of sixth graders who with the help of their teacher Ms. Olinski make it to the state championship bowl. Many people ask her why she chose this group of students, seeing as most groups competing were made up of eighth and ninth graders. She gave many solid answers, but of course we don't know the true answer until the end, because at first she doesn't even really know why she chose them. She discovers why throughout the story though. It's a funny book with a lot of twist and told from all different characters perspectives.
       I would definitely use this book in my classroom since it does cover so many topics. There is moving, divorce, family issues, going through puberty, not fitting in, being the underdog and the list goes on and on. Each of these students though had taken their life experience and learned from them. This is part of the reason why they did so well in the academic bowl. They were able to recall different memories where they learned something new. Kind of like the movie Slum dog Millionaire. As a whole group I would have students make a character web. On a big poster board we would write down all the characters names and circle them. Then with string or drawing a line we connect them and write down how they are connected. Since there are a lot of odd relationships and connections that develop through the book. Also they could do a journal entry on how they relate with a character. Also keeping a character list would be important. Since there is many things going in this book I think for every three chapters or so I would have them do a save the last word. Pick out a quote and have them do small group discussions this way.

Miss Nelson is Back

By Harry G. Alard Jr.
Illustrated by James Marshall
Published in 1982

    This is a book about a classroom and having a substitute. It has happeend to all of us I'm sure many times in our educational careers. I know as a student substitutes always meant you were a little louder, and out spoken, and pretty much a whole different class. I honestly would dread being a substitute knowing how me and my fellow classmates were as kids. In this classroom they hear of a particularly horrible substitute named Miss Swamp. She is said to be a with. When Miss Nelson their teacher leaves they are lucky to see that the principal is actually their sub. It turns out though he is as exciting as a bump on a log, maybe even less exciting then that. So they take matters into their own hands and pretend to be Miss Nelson and dress up, they get caught in the act though and lets just say this class learned their lesson!
     As a reader I like reading this book to myself. I read it aloud though once to a girl I babysit and I found the constant dialogue and repetitions of names somewhat tiring. Overall though I really enjoyed the story and think it is something all students can relate to. In my classroom I would have this as one of the free read options for my students. If I wanted to have them do a response I think this one would be fun to do a readers theater or act it out. Only a section though or make it a lot shorter since it is a long book.

"Grandfather's Journey"

By Allen Say
Published in 1993

   I chose this book not only because it received a Caldecott award but also because the cover intrigued me. It seemed as if it was a small boy wearing a suit for a man with a bowler hat. Which aren't really in style anymore. So this story is told from the voice of the little boy. At first he tells of his grandfathers life until he is born and includes some of his life as well. It tells of his journey as an immigrant migrating to the United States. What I thought was interesting too was that his life when he came to America wasn't extremely difficult or filled with hardships like many of the books we read. I enjoyed this. He longs for his homeland though and with his own family now he goes back to Japan. They even touch on the War and how it destroyed his house. Now as a man the young boy visits were his grandfather did in America, and feels like he now understands his grandfather as a person. Always homesick for some place.
     For some age groups I would read this book aloud and then have the students share something they have similar with one of their family members (since not every may have grandparents). Also it could be a could time to share or have them go home and find out where their ancestry is from, their heritage. This book can also be used for a text connection if we are discussing World War II.

"If You Were a Penguin"

By Wendell and Florence Minor
Published in 2009

        This book is a cute book that rhymes and tells you all the cool things that penguins can do. Like they can swim in the water, have funny names, wear tuxedos, eat squids and fish, etc. At the end though it says the best part is that they can do lots of things that we can do too, and it shows two penguins hugging. What I really enjoyed about this book was how it flowed and the rhyme scheme. Also the pictures depicted the type of weather (cold or warm). They also did a great job of illustrating the type of penguins they were talking about. For example some live underground which I did not know, and these penguins are more of a brown color. I have never seen this type before and it made me want to know more.
       Besides giving all these fact about penguins I think the reader can get a lot more out of this book. For their response i would have each student take a page of the book and try to find out what type of penguin they are describing. For some of them there is definitely more then one type. I want them to focus on one type and come to class the next day with some fun facts, or a picture of this type of penguin. Also have them make a journal entry of all the things they think penguins do that they do. Then write all the things they wish they could do that penguins do and why.

"The Great Monster Hunt"

By Norma Landa and Tim Warnes
Published in 2010

     I couldn't help but smile when I read this book. It all starts when duck hears a noise under her bed going "pshh pshh." She then tells pig, who tells bear, who tells wolf, who tells owl, and by the end the noise under the bed sounds like this "psh pshh, grrr, bang bang, wham wham, grrrowl, ooooooo." Just your classic but adorable story of how things can change from the truth when traveling by word of mouth. At the end my favorite part when they are about to trap this horrible monster under the bed they look and it is only a mouse!
    This story could be used to show how rumors are spread, or how when we tell each other a story we heard sometimes we change it without even knowing it. Just look how the sound developed throughout the book. This could be used for young or older children alike. A follow-up activity that would be fun is having them play telephone. Give them a message to pass around and see how much it changes by the end!

"A Child's Calendar"

By John Updike
Illustrated by Trina Shart Hyman
Published in 1999

     This book is a book of poems for each month of the year. I really liked how there were pictures in color to go along with each poem, depicting a certain description. Although all the poems were very good there was no variety in the style of poems. There was a lot of personification which i think added to illustrating the poems in our minds.
     I would use this book and read from it each month. I would ask the students in a class discussion if they agree or disagree with the description? Or maybe there are just certain parts they would change? Then spilt them up into small groups and each group has to come up with one or two stanzas that they think describe the month we are in. Then we will put every ones together to have our own class month poem book!

Before there was Mozart: A Story of Joseph Boulogne, Chevlaier de Saint-George



By Lesa Cline-Ransome and James E. Ransome
Published in 2011

        With my text set I had really gained an appreciation for biographies with children's books. Before reading the story I went through and looked at all the pictures. I loved how the colors brought out the season and I feel like with each of them I could tell the mood of what was going on. By the end I knew it was a story of a boy from birth and how learned to play the violon. He must have gotten really good becuase soon there wre not just African Americans in teh pictures but high class whites as well. There he stayed until he got older performing for what seemed may be royatly.
    After reading the book I could tell my guess from the illustrations were not so far off. This goes to show how wonderfully they aided the text. One thing that I had noticed and could not explain was why he was able to learn music. It turns out the white male in the pictures was actually his father. He was a biracial child.
    This book has a lot to offer. As i stated before it is of a boy from with a biracial background. It would be interesting to see if this was something that was accepted during the time of themid 1700's in the West Indies and France. I would have students respond to this book is with the post-it note activity. Since it is a biography they take not of facts, questions, and their over-all response. Also I think it would be cool to actually listen to one of Joseph Boulogne's pieces in class.