Pin 9: Biography

The story I chose this week is called, "Papa Is a Poet," by Natalie S. Bober. This is a picture book biography and was published in 2013. It was written about Robert Frost and I believe the author did a splendid job writing in first person from Leslie Frost's perspective. Mainly, the story is about a fifteen year old girl sharing her experience growing up with Robert Frost who happens to be her father. She shares how he taught her to read and type on the typewriter. She shares how her father saw the world creatively and poetically. In the story there are times when Leslie mentions how her father had critics who didn't think being a poet was worth his time. Robert Frost published his first two books in England while he lived there for two and a half years. However, he did not get paid for his work, therefore he moved back to America where he resided in New Hampshire. He lived on a farm with his wife, Leslie, and his other three children. Leslie's parents both taught her and her three younger siblings because their school was too far from their house. Overall, the story really shows the journey of how a poet never gave up on his dreams and how finally he had a big break that helped him to be remembered for generations.

Something I admire about this story takes a "hero-worship" stance on a famous poet. I like how the author did her research on Robert Frost and she interviewed Leslie Frost. I enjoyed how details and facts were incorporated into the story without specific dates. In addition, I love how the author incorporated Robert Frost's most famous poetry into her book from his perspective. Whenever Robert Frost's character spoke in the story his words were only quotes from his most famous poems. It made this book unique because Robert Frost said those words, just not that exact moment. To whoever is reading my blog, I encourage you to read this book, if you want to understand what I just shared. In addition, this book has more information on the life of Robert Frost and his most famous poetry is in the back of the book. Moreover, Natalie S, Bober was a genius in the way she played with first and second person within her story.

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jamie_lipp/week-9-juvenile-biography/

Pin 8: Informative Books- The American Flag Topic

 The American Flag is one of many great American Symbols. It's apart of our American history and is an amazing story of how different ideas changed the design of our flag, until there was an agreement for us to settle for the American Flag we see today. This is something children will enjoy learning. The following paragraphs will be about three books that I believe are great for children on the history of The American Flag. Overall, all of these books have a glossary and an index. It's interesting to compare them to see how they all define the same words and concepts. 



 "Why are there stripes on the American Flag?" by Martha Rustad
This particular book has cartoon like pictures and characters. It's a story about a teacher who has curious students that are interested in learning about the existence of the American Flag. They ask a lot of questions and he gives a lot of facts about who made the flag, why it was made, and what do we do to show respect towards the flag by placing our hands over our hearts. Furthermore, there are activities on how to design your own flag, websites, and resources in this book.










 "Our American Flag," by Mary Firestone
This is a great book. The illustrations are 3d images and the figures look wooden. It's very informative about the American Flag. Also, the illustrations are drawings of famous people who inspired the existences of the American Flag. It shares how the American Flag has changed over the last century. The flag has changed from 13 stars and 13 stripes, until the flags design began to be too big. A group of people overtime had new ideas that were becoming to complicated, and then finally the flag we have to today was the best choice. We have 13 stripes for the first 13 colonies and 50 stars for our 50 states. In addition to this book, it shares the guidelines in which the flag should be properly taking care of and respected. The flag can't be in bad weather and needs to be in a bright area at night. Also it should not touch the ground.



"From Cloth to American Flag," by Martha Rustad
This book explains how The American Flag is made. It explains the type of materials used to make and the process it takes to create the flag. Parts of the flag are sown together and hand-stitched. It's interesting to see how it is made. Also some small facts are given about the American Flag a part from how it is made.

I have a variety of resources, activities, and additional books on this topic. Click on this Pinterest link:

Pin 7: Historical Fiction

 

Summary

 

This week I chose the book, "Pilgrim Cat," by Carol Antoinette Peacock. It's a fictional story about a young girl named Faith who befriends a cat she names Pounce on The Mayflower, which is a historical ship that was used in the 1600's. Faith is a pilgrim who leaves England with her family, so they can worship and express their faith freely in America, or what Faith calls "The New World".  On the ship Faith gets sick  and Pounce is right by her side the entire time. Half of the people who traveled with Pounce, Faith, and her family dies during the trip to America. The Mayflower stops at the shore of Plymouth, Massachusetts and Faith's family resides on the Plimoth Plantation. Faith meets two Native American's and their names are Samoset and Squanto.  They are from the Wampanoag Tribe and Faith was nervous about them because she's heard scary rumors about them in England. She soon realizes they are nice individuals. Faith becomes friends with the Native Americans and they teach her community how to harvest crops. Later, in the story Pounce is no where to be found leaving Faith sad. Eventually, Squanto finds Pounce and her kittens. Faith is relieved her friend is safe and then the entire Wampanoag Tribe visits Faith's community. They all have a delicious feast together and everyone gives thanks for their food.

My Review

"Pilgrim Cat" is a great story because it is a fictional story with a lot of historical facts. There was a lot of research put into this book. There are dates in this book which indicates the time period of the Pilgrims' Immigration and the first Thanksgiving. There are facts about how Native American's would use herrings (or fish) to plant with kernels to help vegetables and crops grow. The fish was used as fertilizer for crops. Also even some of the language and the types of food both the Pilgrims and Natives ate is unique to their time period. The mentioning of the Mayflower, Plimoth Plantation, and Plymouth, Massachusetts all have historical significance and was used in the story. In addition, I loved the illustrations. They looked like drawings that were painted. There was a lot of detail put into the facial expressions of individuals and the illustrator captured the essence of the story. The clothing and every detail in the characters wardrobes looked authentic to what was worn during that time in history. This is a story many people will enjoy!

There are a lot activities for children on Pilgrims, Native Americans, and Thanksgiving. I have a Non-Fiction PB and you can find more information on activities to implement with this book. Click on: https://www.pinterest.com/tru3jewelsangel/jewelicias-non-fiction-pb/


I also have several of the same pins on our classrooms private Week Seven- Historical Pinterest Site; https://www.pinterest.com/jamie_lipp/week-7-historical-fiction/

Pin 6: Modern Fantasy

        Ella Enchanted Summary:  A Long Book with Many Good Details

        "Ella Enchanted," by Gail Carson Levine is almost a Cinderella story, accept darker with humorous elements. The main character is Ella she was blessed with a gift, which ends up being a curse from a fairy named Lucinda. Ella's mother and her are very close.  Ella's father is always working.  She has the gift of obedience, which makes her obey direct orders. The problem is her direct orders can cause harm to herself or others. Ella's curse could permit her to kill someone. A girl who wasn't really her friend first took advantage of her and made Ella eat too much cake, because she realized Ella followed all demands. Ella then, promises her mother and her maid Mandy that she would not tell anyone about her secret. Ella's mother dies and she keeps her mothers pearl necklace. Mandy feels bad and wishes she could have saved Lady Eleanor from death, since she's a fairy. Ella's father didn't seem too bothered by his wife's death. Ella meets Prince Charmont who is the son of King Jerrod. Ella mostly calls him Char.

          They have a connection and letters are exchanged throughout the story between them. Ella's father is always complaining about how she needs to be more lady-like, Ella's kind of rebellious, and he wants to ship her off to boarding school. Also she is clumsy at times. Ella can't tell her father about her curse because she made a promise to her mother. Ella moves into a new place with her step family and her father Sir Peter. Ella's step mother isn't welcoming or anything like her mother. Ella's receives letters from her father like places and things he's experienced. Her father dies. Ella's father always traveled for work, which made her sad. Ella's step sister's Olive and Hattie were bratty and disrespectful to her. Ella leaves home to find Lucinda to change the curse and Mandy didn't want her to go.
           Ella comes across magical creatures throughout the entire book. She came across Ogres who knew secrets just by looking at humans. In addition, they mostly enjoyed tricking and eating humans. Centors are half human- horses and parrots can speak different languages both humans and magical creatures. There are elves and a giant wedding. There's a lot of other magical creatures also. Overall, Ella finds Lucinda and she ends up being punished and turns into a animal. Lucinda learns her lesson and no longer will bless anyone with her unfit gifts again. Ella ends up breaking her curse by refusing to marry Char, because she loves him. She wants to save her prince and doesn't want any harm to come to him due to her curse. Char and Ella agree to marry each other, since the curse is broken. Therefore, they live happily ever after.

          What can be learned from the plot, the characters, and the setting?  I think the plot teaches about having courage and loving yourself in spite of your situation. It's about a teenage girl named Ella who overcomes her fears and test her limits, even though odds are stacked against her. I believe this story teaches resilience, remembering not let your circumstance define you, or disable you from progressing. Students can learn from Lucinda's characteristics. Lucinda was pompous and irresponsible. She cursed Ella as a child for not stopping her tears. Patience is important and being considerate of others is a lesson that Lucinda needed to learn. Prince Char teaches us about having unconditional love and courage. Overall, this was a great story and I hope others will read this book.

Pinterest Link: https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8920501542421152794#allposts/postNum=0

Pin 5: Traditional Literature

The book I chose for this week is called, "Why Mosquitos Buzz In People's Ears," by Verna Aardema. It is a West African Tale with characteristics of traditional literature. If you read the book you will notice that it is a fable for several reasons. This story was meant to entertain because it's a brief tale with talking animals. The characters all act like humans or satirize human conduct. There is allegorical significance in this story which explains the reason for mosquitos buzzing in ears. In addition,  it also plays with the idea that a problem in nature affects the world. The owl stops the sun from coming up because the loss of her owlet. The King Lion and other animals look for the truth to see how they can resolve the problem of finding out why this tragic accident occurred. After having a discussion the characters realize the mosquito is to blame for the chaos in nature.  Overall, the mosquito is seen as the annoying problem starter who is trying to buzz in someone's ears for no reason; which in the end, someone gets hurt. Moreover, there is a light and comical exaggeration to this story that children will enjoy. This fable never gave a true explanation for why mosquitos buzz in people's ears, only a tale that can spark a curiosity to find a valid reason. Therefore, I consider this story to be a great introduction for learning and researching on mosquitos.

Pinterest link: https://www.pinterest.com/jamie_lipp/week-five-traditional-literature/

Pin 4: Award Winning Picture Books

"The Snowy Day," by Ezra Jack Keats was a winner of The Caldecott Medal in 1963. This book's artistic style is primitive/ folk art. It's artistic media is made up of paper construction and water color. I believe this book won an award for being one of the only African American books of its time to be universal. Race and ethnicity did not matter in this book. Moreover, this book was about a child who enjoyed playing in the snow.

"The Adventures of Beekle The Unimaginary Friend," by Dan Santat won The Caldecott Medal in 2015. The artistic style is surrealistic. It looks strange and dreamlike. Mostly the illustrations are fantasy images. The artistic media is computer generated water color and pencil drawings. I believe this book won an award because of it's universal story-line about friendship and it's illustrations. It is a myth or fantasy which really shares the importance of feeling wanted and being open to having a friend.

"My People," by Charles R. Smith Jr. won a Coretta Scott King Award winner in 2010. The artistic style is realistic. The artistic media of this book is made up of photos. I believe this book won an award because it took a popular Langston Hughes poem and turned it into a beautiful picture book with realistic images. All of the characters in the story are African American and all of their poses artistically captures the essence of having confidence and pride. What is interesting about this book is it never defines the individuals as black. It has a general poem that can be positively used to describe any group of people.  The pictures tell a story. In a way it is almost universal, which is why I think this book received an award.

"Feathers Not Just For Flying," by Melissa Stewart won the Teacher's Choice in 2015. The artistic style is abstract.The artistic media of this book is oil painting or water color. I believe this book won an award because it was very informative. This book is full of comparisons and similes. It shares how humans live in comparison to birds and their feathers. This is why I think the book won an award.

"Knuffle Bunny Too," by Drew Daywalt won a Children's Choice in 2008. The artistic Style of this book is realistic and surrealistic.This book's artistic media is made up of pencil, computer generated watercolor, and photos are used. I believe this book won an award because of its appealing to children. It has cartoon characters with realistic photo backgrounds. The story-line is very universal to what children go through when a problem occurs. This story captures realistic emotions of what happens when you lose something important. Overall, this is probably why it won an award.


*Pinterest Blog for this week: https://www.pinterest.com/jamie_lipp/week-four-award-winning-picture-books/

Week #3: Realistic Fiction

Literary Analysis

In the book, "Junie B. Jones Is Almost A Flower Girl," by Barbara Park there are about ten characters with speaking parts. There is Junie B. Jones, her mother, her father, her grandmother, Grampa Miller, Aunt Flo, Bo, Lucille, Grace, and Ricardo. In this story Junie B Jones is the main character. In the beginning of the book she is upset and jealous that her boyfriend Ricardo is spending time with another girl named Thelma. Junie shares her concerns with her mother and others. Her mother tried to explain to her that she is too young to have a boyfriend, yet Junie wants to have a boyfriend like her friends. Mostly, she really wants to be grown or adult like. Junie B. Jones ends up confiding in her friends  Lucille and Grace for advice on being a flower girl, because to her it is a grown up role. She even tries to surprise her Aunt Flo by inviting herself to be the flower girl in her aunt's wedding. Although, she ends up getting in trouble because she went behind her grandfather's back. Junie even, tries to wish Bo, the grooms sister would sick, so she can be the new flower girl. Towards the end of the story, Junie  tries to take Bo's pedals during the ceremony. Nevertheless, all in the end Junie becomes Bo's friend and proves to herself that she can be just like adults.

Throughout the plot Junie B. Jones is working hard to prove to her parents and others that she is grown. The settings in the story takes places at Junie's school, her house, and her Aunt Flo's wedding. The style and the language of the story is semi figurative language. There are a couple of metaphors used in the story. One of the examples of a metaphor Junie uses in the story is, "I've got loose feet, just like you said." (This is found on page 68 or the last page in the book. The tone of the story provides many descriptive words. It explains what people look like and it shares the sounds they make when in a certain mood. It really illustrates a picture of what is happening in the story at a particular moment.  The mood of the story is happy and sad. Junie B. Jones often finds herself very excited or extremely disappointed. The illustrations in the book are drawings, as if created from pencil strokes. There are not a lot of pictures. This book has one picture for every several pages. The point of view is shown from a 3rd person.

This is a fictional story however, there are some elements which makes this realistic. I believe the author effectively conveys these elements of the Junie B. Jones character. The characteristics of Junie B., is realistic to what some young girls can be like.  She had to be the center of attention and often seemed bossy. Overall, the theme or the central message of the story is that it's important to have patience. Throughout the story Junie B. Jones tries to take matters into her own hands, and it usually backfires on her. If only she would remain patient and not worry about trying to be like some else, she would not end up getting her feelings hurt.