Book #24 - The Invention of Hugo Cabret

"I have to be here for some reason..."

Title: The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Author: Brian Selznick

Illustrator: Brian Selznick

Publisher: Scholastic

Date of Publication: 2008

Genre: Fiction

Readability Lexile: 820L

Summary: 

This is the story of a 12 year old orphan named Hugo Cabret who lives and works behind the walls of a train station in Paris, France. Since his uncle died, he had to begin taking care of the station's clocks to make sure they are always on time so he is not discovered. Hugo's father died in a fire not to long ago but left him a manual to a mechanical man he was working on before he passed away. Hugo's quest to fix this mechanical man leads him to steal parts from an old many who sells toys in the train station. When Hugo is caught by this old man he has no idea that the old man's past and Hugo's future are so intertwined. Hugo knows that the mechanical man will write a secret message once it is fixed... will the message be a note from his father or will it be something else that changes Hugo's life forever? Hugo meets many other interesting people along he way like Isabel, the toy-maker's niece who helps Hugo once he realizes that he can trust her. This story is told almost entirely in illustrations.

Evaluation: 

This an excellent story! The book itself is so unique compared to others. The story is told in mostly pictures with some pages of text to support them. Hugo, is a multi-dimensional character that goes through up and downs throughout the book and in the end learns that he always did have a place in the world - it just took a little longer than he expected to figure out what it was. The characters fit with the plot, setting, and language used. The setting that the author chose is authentic to the time period and place that the story takes place in. It would be more difficult to imagine this story even taking place in New York City rather than Paris. There is something more mysterious about Paris that adds a lot to the story. This story is relevant to many children because it is all about finding your place in the world. 

Literary Elements:

1. Theme: One of the themes of this story is that everyone has a place in the world. Another theme is that somethings and some people are not as they seem. Hugo learns both of these lessons in this story.
2. Setting: The setting is super important to this book. It just wouldn't be the same if Hugo lived in an orphanage instead of a train stage behind the clocks. The setting helps to develop the story and put us in the same shoes as the main character, Hugo.
3. Tone: The author uses tone to set the stage for the plot, setting, and characters in this story.The tone is kind of dark at some parts but then very lighthearted at other parts. Overall, I would say that this is a mysterious story.

Illustrations:

The illustrations don't just support the story, they tell it! This book is filled with 284 pages of original drawings by Brian Selznick. These pencil drawings walk the reader through different parts of the story with lots of detail. When I first started reading this book I wasn't sure how I would like having to create the story on my own using the pictures as a guide but in the end I loved it! I was really fun and much more engaging than regular text.

Mini-Lesson Idea: 
I would use this book to teach wordless (or nearly wordless) books. Students could develop their own kind of book that is told with pictures. They would need to figure out how to tell their story, make it make sense to others, and show the same amount of details that text can create.

Book #23 - The Boy Who Was Raised by Librarians

"He wanted to know a little...no...a lot about everything."

Title: The Boy Who Was Raised by Librarians

Author: Carla Morris

Illustrator: Brad Sneed

Publisher: Peachtree Publishers

Date of Publication:2007

Genre: Fiction

Readability Lexile: Not Found

Summary:

Melvin says that he lives in the Livingston Public Library... but he really just spends a lot of time there. He loves learning and he loves the library for so many different reasons; the order, the  books, the events, but most of all he loved the librarians. The three librarians that he knew the best were Marge, Betty, and Leeola. They helped with with all kinds of research questions, find resources on the topics he was interested in, and even helped him classify his bug collected and prepare for his role in the school play. 

Melvin grows throughout this book from a first grader to an adult and these three librarians stay by his side and become like family to him. We find out at the end of the story that Melvin decided to become a librarian too! Melvin say numerous times in this story, "That's just how librarians are." as he outlines the things that Marge, Betty, Leeola, and all other librarians do to make the library an amazing place to learn!

Evaluation: 

This is a very touching story, especially for someone who works in a library. I liked this story because all the things that might seem stereotypical of librarians in this story are just plain true. They really do love helping people learn and find resources to make that learning fun. Plus, this book is written by a librarian therefore the librarians and library are accurate depictions of the career of a librarian. The characters in this story were very like-like and realistic. By the end of the story you could easily talk about each of their personalities because the author does a nice job of developing the characters in such a short story. Melvin doesn't go through any really huge problems in this story but he works through many wonders and questions he has with the librarians. The events that take place in this story are also realistic; I could see this actually happening in real life. The setting of this story is really important and it the Livingston Public Library. Melvin spends so much of his life in the library so it good to describe and illustrate an authentic looking library that would be a place that someone would want to spend their time. The author doesn't use an offensive language in this story. This book would most interest kindergartners through fourth graders.

Literary Elements:

1. Theme: I think the theme of this story is that learning, wondering, and questions is super important in life but the people who help you to learn, wonder, and question are sometimes more important. The librarians, teachers, parents, friends who help us through life with the questions we have really do add so much to our lives and learning.

2. Setting: The setting of this story is very crucial to this story because the author must create a place that a little boy would like to spend a lot of his time. The Livingston Public Library looks like a typical ordered library but has cool things like the Reading Castle where children can go to read and use their imagination and fish tank to help questions and wonders grow. The librarian help to create this learning rich space for children. They are always there to help with questions. The illustrations show the library as a cozy, happy place full of color!
3. Plot: The plot of this story comes full circle by the end. It starts out with a little curious boy who loved to learn and loved the library and the librarians who worked there. In the end the little boy becomes a librarian at the same library. It is fun to see Melvin in 1st grade grow into the adult at the end of the story.

Illustrations:

The illustrations of this story are really cool! They are full of color, awesome facial expressions, and they help to tell the story and extend the meaning of the text. One can see the different personalities of the three librarians and Melvin just by looking at their faces in the pictures. The author does a nice job of aging Melvin over the years. We are able to see the differences in his physical appearance from page to page as he grows up. You can also see the love and excitement that the librarians have for Melvin as he grows and accomplishes the many different things in his life.

Mini-Lesson Idea:

I would use this book to teach about the idea of loving to learn and finding those in your life that will help you learn, ask questions, and wonder about life and the world around you. I would also use this book to teach a plot that comes full circle by the end. Students can develop they own stories and link the conclusion back to something important from the beginning or middle of the story. This helps to sum up the story and makes the story more meaningful.

Book #1 - Miss Rumphius

 

"The Lupine Lady lives in a small house overlooking the sea."  

Title: Miss Rumphius

Author: Barbara Cooney

Illustrator: Barbara Cooney

Publisher: Viking Penguin

Date of Publication: 1985 

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Readability Lexile: 680 L

Interest Level: K-2

Summary:

This book tells the story of Alice Rumphius who comes to be known as "The Lupine Lady". As a child, Alice spent a lot of time with her grandfather who was an artist that painted pictures of sailing ships and places across the sea and carved figureheads for the prows of ships. Alice's grandfather was an immigrant to America and spent much of his life traveling the world but now that he had grown old he lived beside the sea. Alice told her grandfather, "When I grow up, I too will go to faraway lands, and when I grow old, I too will live beside the sea." Alice's grandfather told her that this is good but she must also do a third thing; Alice must do something to make the world more beautiful.
 

Cooney's book travels through time as Alice Rumphius grows older. She leaves home to visit faraway lands, makes friends she would never forget, and when she grows old she buys a beautiful house beside the sea. Though she has accomplished her first two tasks, she finds the third to be the hardest of all.
When Miss Rumphius first moved into her house she planted some lupine flowers in the rocky soil. Later that winter she grew sick but wished she could plant more flowers. Spring finally came and to her surprise lupines had grown all over her yard because the wind and birds had spread the seeds. Miss Rumphius decided to carry lupine seeds where ever she went and plant them all around the small town she lived in. The blue, purple, and pink flowers grew everywhere she had thrown seeds. Miss Rumphius had finally done what she had set out to do; make the world a more beautiful place. From then on everyone who knew her called her The Lupine Lady.

Characteristics of High Quality Children's Literature:
Based on Donna E. Norton's Literacy Criticism: Questions to Ask Myself When I Judge a Book from her book Through the Child's Eyes: An Introduction to Children Literature I would say that this is a high quality children's book. The story is believable meaning that I could actually see this story played out in real life. The main character, Miss Rumphius, overcomes a problem but not too easily. I thought the characters seemed very real. Both Miss Rumphius and her grandfather seem like people I could actually know. Miss Rumphius grew throughout the story. She traveled, met new people, and worked hard in order to reach her goals in life. The setting went well with the story and the characters and though it is not exactly specified the time and place are believable with the story. The way that the author/illustrator wrote about and painted the scenes of the story I did feel like I could have been in that place and time. The dialogue is realistic, natural, and fits with the characters. The themes in this story are meaningful and important for children to experience. The only thing that I thought this story did not do was have a character that had both strengths and weaknesses. Miss Rumphius was slightly one dimensional but if the story was longer I feel the author would have gone more in depth with her personality, history, and strengths and weaknesses.
 

Characterization:
Though this story is very short and spans a large amount time I think the author does a nice job of developing the main character, Miss Rumphius. You see Miss Rumphius as a young girl spending time with her grandfather, traveling the world and working as a librarian as a young woman, and living in a home by the sea and planting lupine flowers all where ever she goes. I think the author shows the things in her life that make her what she is at the end of the story; a compassionate old woman who wants to something to make the world a more beautiful place.  

Setting:
Though the time and place of this story is never exactly specified, based on the illustrations and the style of dress that Miss Rumphius wears I would think that it is set during the early to mid 1900s. The story also takes place in a coastal area and again, based on the illustrations I think it is set in Maine. I visited Maine two summers ago and the pictures in the book really look like the scenery I saw in Maine, including the lupines. Each of the promises that Miss Rumphius makes to her grandfather have to do with a setting. First, she says she will travel to far way lands, next she promises to have a home by the sea, and finally she vows to make the world a more beautiful place. Each of these settings are shown in this book and really add to the story. The change of the seasons is also an important part of the telling of story and the author/illustrator does an excellent job of showing this through the pictures.
 

Theme:
When I was finished reading this book I found there to be three important themes. The first is about the significance of keeping a promise to someone. Miss Rumphius up holds the first two promises that she made to her father but had to work hard to complete the third promise. In the end she felt content with herself and her life because she kept her promise to her beloved grandfather. The second theme is about determination and never giving up on something important. Miss Rumphius could have given up on the third promise she made to her grandfather but instead she worked harder and did not give up. The third theme that I found in this story is about caring for the earth and doing your part to make it more beautiful. Such a simple act of planting flower seeds where ever she went made such a different to the beauty of the community that Miss Rumphius lived in. If everyone had this same goal in life the world would be a much more beautiful place.
 

Illustrations:
 I think the illustrations play a huge part in this book. The colors and style of the illustrations truly depict the coastal setting of the story. The detail that the illustrator puts into her paintings adds to the time line of the story. For example, the detail on Miss Rumphius helps to show that she is aging throughout the story. Many of the pages in this book are those that you can look at for a lot longer than it would take to read the words on the page. There are so many little things that one may not catch at a glance.

Book #22 - Eek! Creak! Snicker, Sneak!

"When all the town is fast asleep, two little creatures crawl and creep."

Title: Eat, Sneak, Snicker, Sneak!
Author: Rhoda Gowler Greene
Illustrator: Jos A. Smith
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Date of Publication: 2002

Genre: Fiction
Readbility Lexile: Not Found

Summary:

This is the story of two monsters, Bugbear and Bugaboo, that travel to the house of a little girl and boy to scare them at night. They make all kinds of scary noises and play sneaky tricks on them. They little boy and girl get scared and tell they mother and father. Their parents come up with all kinds of excuses for what the noises might be. They finally figure out what is playing on the tricks and making all the scary noises. They decided to get pay back! They sneak outside and scare Bugbear and Bugaboo. They run away and never come back.

Evaluation:

This is a twist on the “monster in your closet” type of story. This is a good story because it is imaginative, a little creepy, and pretty silly. They author uses so many onomatopoeia words  to describe all the scary sounds the two little monsters are making. These monsters are just trying to go about their scaring business when the two children in this story do some scaring of their own. The little boy and girl in the story overcome their fears of nighttime and darkness and realize that they the sounds like hear at night are not really that scary. The setting of this story is the house and the yard surrounding the house. The monsters creep around until the boy and girl work up their courage to scare them away. The language and actions fit well with the characters and help to add meaning to the story. The sequencing of this story is also helped by the connection between the illustrations and text.

Literary Elements:

1. Rhyme: This story is like one long, rhyming poem. Some of the words they rhyme are asleep and creep; top, plop, stop; small and all; jump and bump; breeze and sneeze; and so many more. The rhymes in this book make it really fun to read aloud. 

2. Onomatopoeia: There are so many onomatopoeia words in the book. The little monsters like to make creepy noises to scare the children. It really adds to their characters because they it wouldn't be the same if the author just wrote, "then the monsters made some scary noises". The actually noises written out in word for helps the reader to understand that these monsters are trying to be scary. 

3. Theme: The theme of this story is that it is okay to be afraid and that everyone gets scared from time to time. This book also teaches us that sometimes it is important to face your fears. The children in this book to this by confronting and scaring away the monsters at the end of the book. 

Illustrations:

This book needs illustrations because we don't necessarily know what a bugbear or a bugaboo look like. The pictures help readers to visualize that the monsters look like and what their actions are. The pictures also help to portray the emotions that the children and the monsters in this story are feeling at different times throughout the plot. 

Mini-Lesson Idea:
I would use this book to teach onomatopoeia because it has the most and most unique sounds words of the books I've read. After reading this book and having different students take turns saying the sounds that the monsters make in this book we would develop our own monsters and the students would have to figure out what kind of sounds their monster would make and how they would spell those sound words. They would have to take into account their monsters personality and demeanor.

Book #21 - David Gets in Trouble

 "I didn't mean to..."

Title: David Gets in Trouble
Author: David Shannon
Illustrator: David Shannon
Publisher: Blue sky Press
Date of Publication: 2002

Genre: Fiction
Readability Lexile: Not Found

Summary:
This is a story about David, a little trouble maker who has all kinds of excuses to the naughty things he does on a daily basis. Some of these classic reasons are, “My dog ate my homework.”, “I didn’t mean to!”, or “Dad says it!”. In the end David learns to say that he is sorry and tells his mom he loves her.

Evaluation:
This story is super relatable for students and parents. Students can recall times that they got in trouble and the excuses they tried to get them out of trouble. Parents can see they own little troublemakers in David. The setting of this story is David’s house, school, and backyard; the three places that a little boy spends most of his time. David must realize throughout this story that he needs to say he is sorry and that he loves his mother after he is naughty. The author doesn’t use any offensive, degrading, or stereotypical language or illustrations in this story.

Literary Elements:
1. Theme: In this story, David learns how to say he is sorry for being so naughty and his mother forgives him because she loves him and knows that he is just a troublemaker. His mother loves David for who he is.
2. Tone: The author uses tone to make this story what it; a funny story of one little boy’s quest to not get in trouble. This is a light-hearted, silly story.
3. Characterization: Even though this story is very short and doesn’t have very many words, you really get the idea of who David is. The pictures also help to describe David as a person.

Illustrations:
The illustrations in this book are silly and over the top! The text rarely tells you anything about what David is doing but the pictures fill in the blanks. For example, when David says, “But Dad says it!”, without the pictures we would wonder what that means but then in the picture we see David sitting in the bathroom with a bar of soap in his mouth, therefore we know he said a swear word.

Mini-Lesson Idea:
I would use this book to teach students how to create text that is largely supported by the illustrations. I would have students use this book as a resource see how this author’s picture and text rely on each other to tell the story. Then we would develop out own David-like story.    

Book #20 - Duck for President

"VOTE DUCK! For a kinder, gentler farm!"

Title: Duck for President

Author: Doreen Cronin

Illustrator: Betsy Lewin

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Date of Publication: 2004

Genre: Fiction

Readability Lexile: 680L

Summary:
This is the story about one duck who doesn’t like his status or chores on the farm. He decided to hold farm election to get rid of Farmer Brown  and in place,  Duck will be the new farmer… if he can win the race. All the farm animals vote and its unanimous, Duck is the new farmer. After doing all of the farmer’s usual chores he decides that being a farmer is too hard and no fun. Duck decides to run for governor. He wins but decides that being governor is too much work and is not fun at all. Duck decides to run for president and after he wins, once again, he decides that he doesn’t like his new job. He puts a classified out in the newspaper for a duck to fill in his place as president and then goes make to the farm to write his autobiography.

Evaluation:
This is a funny and silly story about one duck’s quest for a better life on the farm and turns into so much more than that. Even thought this story is pretty unrealistic since farm animals can’t actually run for political office, the idea of campaigning, voting, and democracy is very realistic. The main character, Duck, must overcome some problems in this story. He decides that he doesn’t like his farm life and goes on to actually do something about it. He works hard to get votes and run the farm, state, and country. In the end Duck learns that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.  The setting of this story is Farmer Brown’s farm, the campaign trail as Duck runs for office, and the Oval Office of the White House. The setting adds a lot to the story because it makes it silly and fun. I mean, who would ever think they would see a duck in the Oval Office running the country? The author does a nice job of keeping the main character’s actions and language relevant to his personality. This book would best be suited for kindergarten through  third grade students but the  political element could be used with other students as well.

Literary Elements:
1. Personification: The author uses personification to make this book engaging and funny for students to read. We all know that ducks can’t actually decide to quit working on a farm, kick out the farmer, run for political office, and eventually before the President of the United State of America. The author could have easily written this story about a human character but I think, by making the main character at fed up duck, students find it more interesting and silly.
2. Tone: This book is meant to be funny and the personification of the duck helps to make that happen. Even though this book has realistic topics, the use of a duck as the main character create a comical tone to the story. The illustrations also help to make this story lighthearted and silly.
3. Theme: As I said before, Duck learns that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side or that you don’t miss what you have until it is gone. Duck wants a different life but when he gets it he wishes he was back on the farm, doing his chores, and being covered with grass and Espresso beans.

Illustrations:
The illustrations in this book are created by using watercolors. They will draw in kids and parents alike wither their funny  portrayals of Duck, Farmer Brown, and the other farm animals and their clever use of secondary text to tell the story and spread meaning beyond the main text of the book. The illustrations also do a nice job of showing the emotions of Duck as he lives on the farm and eventually moves to the White House and everything in between.

Mini-Lesson Idea:
I would use this book to teach about campaigning, voting, and electing. I include these ideas in with literacy I would group students and have them develop they own class president campaign. Using Duck’s example from the book, students would decide what issues they would focus on and how they would want to present their campaign. What kind of things would they promise to the classroom public? What would get them elected? How would they keep those promises?

Book #19 - The Cow that Laid an Egg

  "I don't feel special, said Marjorie."

Title: The Cow that Laid An Egg

Author: Andy Cutbill

Illustrator: Russell Ayto

Publisher: HarperCollins

Date of Publication: 2006

Genre: Fiction

Readability Lexile: Not Found

Summary:
Marjorie is a cow who lives on the farm with lots of other farm animals. One day, while talking with the chickens she decides that she  doesn’t feel special because she can’t ride bikes or do handstands like the other cows. She feels so ordinary.  The chicken develop a plan to make her feel better. One night the place a chicken egg under Marjorie while she is sleeping. The next morning  Marjorie wakes up and to her surprise finds an egg. I’VE LAID AN EGG, she yells. Everyone , including the farmer and his wife get super excited about Marjorie’s new skill.  The other cows however don’t believe that she actually laid the egg. She waits and waits until the egg hatches to prove to them that she did lay the egg. When  it finally hatches  the little chick has quite a surprise for everyone.

Evaluation:
This is such an cute story! Though this story wouldn’t actually happen in real life , the theme very worthwhile for students. The feeling that Marjorie has in the beginning this story is one that many people have from time to time; a feeling of being unspecial or too ordinary.  Also, the action of the chickens is similar to something that a good friend would do for another friend. The characters  fit well with the story and the language fits well with the characters. The setting of this story is the farm in which Marjorie lives.  The setting seems authentic for the plot and the types of characters. The author doesn’t use any offensive, degrading, or stereotypical language or illustrations.

Literary Elements:
1. Theme: The theme of this story is that everyone is important and special but that sometimes it takes a friend, or a bunch of chickens, to remind us or help us to realize it. I think most people go through a time when they feel like Marjorie did but with friends by your side they can make you feel much better.
2. Multi-Modal Text: The book uses many non-typical kinds of text. The look of the text is used to show the emotion of the words being read and they also help to extend the meaning of the story. When Marjorie finds the egg under and she says “I’ve laid an egg!”, the words almost take up the entire page because she is so surprised and excited.
3. Onomatopoeia: Since this book is all about farm animals, there are many words that represent the sounds that the animals make such as moo and cluck and also the sounds of the egg cracking – tap, tap, tap and crack.

Illustrations:
The illustrations are really fun and use many different mediums. They are a little over the top and silly but they make the story fun and engaging for students. The illustrator uses photographs, paint, pencil, and many other elements to create these outstanding illustrations.

Mini-Lesson Idea:
I would use this story to teach the use of multi-modal texts in writing to enhance and extending the emotion and meanings of the text. I would pair students up and give them a copy of this book or other books that have looks of examples of multi-modality in the writing and have the students read the book in the way that they think it should be read based on the look of the text. Then after the teacher has also modeled expressive reading the students could start to write their own stories that use multi-modal text.