A Light in the Attic

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A Light in the Attic

Silverstein, S. (1981). A light n the attic. New York, NY: Harper Collins.

Age Level: 4 and up

Genre:  This is a book of poetry. 

Summary:

 This zany collection of poetry by Shel Silverstein includes several poems written in verse about ordinary situations that have been twisted just enough to be humorous and off the wall. Silly and zany are the two words that come to mind when thinking of this collection. Each poem introduces the reader to a new character to fall in love with!

Reflection:

After reading this collection I had a smile on my face. Each poem is fairly short in length and easy to read and follow. The illustrations are simply drawn in black ink. 

Some poems have short lines, which create a faster rhythm while other poems consist of lines comprised of several words creating a slower pace or rhythm. 

One of the included poems is written in a concrete style. At first glance I thought it was merely an illustration until I started reading the signs and realized that it was a poem written in rhyme. It is pictured below...

I like how each of the poems are stand alone and have their own style, format, and subject. However, each poem is humorous and will leave you with a smile.

The Faithfull Friend

The Faithful Friend

San Souci, R. D. (1995). The faithful friend . New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.

 Age Level: 5 and up

Genre:  This is a retelling of a Traditional Tale and Picture book

Summary:

This narrative takes place on the beautiful and magical island of Martinique. A young man Clement falls in love with a young girl and asks his friend Hippolyte to join him on a journey to ask her to marry him. The young girl is delighted to marry Clement and follows him and his friends back to their home. The young girl’s uncle is enraged and makes his niece pay for her defiance by making their journey home filled with tricks and traps that force Hippolythe to choose between his friend’s safety and his own. Will they make it through the journey alive? This tale is a true test of friendship and love.    

Reflection:

This retelling of a traditional tale from the French West Indies is brightly illustrated using scratchboard and oils. The illustrator did an excellent job of showing emotion on the characters’ faces. You can really get a sense of fear in the eyes of the young girl as seen below.

There is a significant use of French in this picture book. The author provides a word guide in the beginning to guide the reader on pronunciation and meaning. The use of the French language gives the book color and character. It helps characterize the setting of the story. 

This book would be great to use for reading comprehension as there is a clear order of events that take place. Along the journey back home the friend encounters three "zombies" that cast different spells on the travelers. Students could fill out a sequence of events chart to check for comprehension. 

Test-to-Self Connections

Test Quote: “Your willingness to sacrifice your life for your friend gave me the power to break the spell.”

This reminds me of... This quote defined the true theme and lesson of this story. This reminds me of how truly blessed one is to have true friends. True friends are those who will go out of their way to help you when you are in need. It also reminds me that to be a good friend is just as important as having good friends. It goes both ways.

Monster

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Monster

Myers, W. D. (1999). Monster. New York, NY: Harper Collins.

Age Level: 12 and up

Genre:  Multicultural

Summary: 
             This multicultural charm follows a 16 year old boy Steve Harmon as he sits trial for accomplice to murder. Told from his point-of-view and in a screen play format the reader is thrown into the courtroom as the trial unfolds. Will he get acquitted or will he spend the rest of his life in prison? What lessons did this young man learn from the decisions he made on that one unforgettable night of his life?

Reflection: 
             What an interesting book! Everything from the different font styles used, the photographs, the screen play format, to the journal entries shown as if they were hand written right onto the pages, made this book interesting.

The author uses type face print to show the reader when the screen play is being used and hand writing to show when journal entries are being used. There are also times when the author uses gigantic bold font to suggest emphasis. These text changes make the book easy to follow and intriguing to the eye.

There are several photographs included in the text. I like how they add a realistic touch to the already realistic dialogue. These photographs allow the reader to visualize the main character and the situations he was put in. We get to see pictures of his mother, his mugshots, and even surveillance pictures of his involvement with the crime. Pictured below are surveillance pictures.

 This book has a VERY powerful message or theme. 

*There are serious consequences for the decisions you make in life. 

What a powerful lesson to teach students. 

Test-to-Self Connections

Test Quote: “I’m just not a bad person. I know that in my heart I am not a bad person.”

This reminds me of... So many young people get hooked up with the wrong people and get put in situations they should not be in. This quote reminds me that we all have choices in life that we have to live with. It is our job as parents/teachers to steer our youth in the right direction in hopes that they never have to prove to anyone that they “are not a bad person.”

The Devil's Arithmetic

The Devil’s Arithmetic

Yolen, J. (1988). The devil's arithmetic. New York, NY: Viking Penguin

Age Level: 10 and up

Genre:  This is Modern Fantasy

 

Summary:

Hannah is tired of hearing her family speak about the Holocaust and her family’s involvement in it. During every Jewish holiday Hannah is forced to hear the same stories. She wonders why she must hear them. During Seder she is asked to open the door to welcome the prophet Elijah into the home (a tradition done at every Seder). When she opens the door she is transported to a different time and place. She is in Poland during the Holocaust. Her new experiences teach Hannah a lesson she will never forget. 

Reflection:

We must not forget the past. If we forget it, we may not learn from it. That was one of th4 most important lessons I learned from this novel.

I was immediately drawn to this book because I have a fascination with the Holocaust and Jewish history. I myself am not Jewish but have always been dumbfounded that something like the Holocaust could take place. The book itself starts very slowly and does not pick up steam until chapter 4. The earlier chapters set up the scene allowing the reader to feel Hannah’s boredom with the family’s stories. This becomes important towards the end of the book.

            The novel is categorized as modern fantasy because the main character’s time travel back in time. Because time travel does not exist, it is fantasy. Some might feel as though it is historical fiction because it deals with the Holocaust. However, the time travel aspect makes it fantasy.

            The story’s setting is integral because the story would not be the same in another setting. The story has to take place in concentration camps for it to make sense. The imagery the author use to describe the conditions of the concentration camp gave this novel emotion. I felt the pain Hannah was feeling.

            The Devil's Arithmetic would be great to use to introduce the concept of the Holocaust and the Jewish culture to students. It has just enough action to keep the reader’s attention. I enjoyed reading this novel!  

The House in the Night

The House in the Night

Swanson, S. M., & Krommes, B. (2008). The house in the night. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Age Level: 2 to 8

Genre:  This is a picture book.

Summary: The story follows a young child as light transcends out of the dark. In the lighted house appears a bed. On the bed lays a book. In the book is a bird which allows the child’s imagination to take flight through the night sky.

Reflection:

This patterned picture book for young children is full imagination. The illustrations take the reader on a journey through the night sky. It is a wonderful book to use for pre school aged children to identify all things associated with the night. It could also be used to teach patterns and sequencing. This book would be classified as a cumulative pattern book.

The artistic media used was scratchboard and watercolor.  These glowing illustrations were colored in black and yellow. The yellow was used to show light. 

The artistic style used is surrealistic due to the pictures of the child riding a bird out a window and into the night sky. 

The simplistic text makes it an easy read and a great bedtime story!

The Gettysburg Address

The Gettysburg Address

Lincoln, A., & McCurdy, M. (1995). The Gettysburg Address. Boston, Ma: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Age Level: 10 and up

Genre:  This is a picture book.

Summary: The infamous Gettysburg Address Abraham Lincoln gave during the conclusion of the battle at Gettysburg is illustrated smartly giving the reader a refreshing look at the events that took place during the Civil War. 

Reflection:

What a great way to introduce this infamous text to young students without creating confusion. The language and meaning of the text is difficult for a child to decode and understand. The illustrations in this book do exactly what they are supposed to do in a picture book: they support the text. Without the illustrations the book would not exist. They not only support the text, but help the reader decipher the meaning of the text. Michael McCurdy does an excellent job telling the story through pictures.

            The artistic media used was pen and ink and was drawn using only black ink.

The double spread book layout helps to give the illusion of the openness of the battlefields. 

            The Forward written by Gary Wills provides the reader with a general overview as to why Lincoln wrote and gave this speech. The afterword was written by the illustrator Michael McCurdy. He explains why he decided to illustrate this book and his passion for the Civil War. You can see his passion in the facial expression used in his artwork. 

           What a great way to introduce this address to young students!

 

Flotsam

Flotsam         

Wiesner, D. (2006). Flotsam. New York, NY: Clarion Books.

Age Level: 4 and up

Genre:  wordless picture book.

Summary:

The word “flotsam” can simply mean, floating objects. This wordless picture book starts with illustrations depicting a curious boy examining ocean life and other objects that have been washed up on the shore. He quickly discovers an antiquated camera that appears to have been in the ocean for years. After taking the film to be developed the boy discovers bizarre pictures of sea life and aliens in uncommon places. The film also reveals pictures of other children posing holding pictures taken of other children with the same camera. The boy leaves his mark by taking pictures of himself and then casts the camera back into the ocean to see what new adventures it takes on!

Refection:

While reading this wordless picture book I found myself narrating it in my head. The bright and vivid illustrations are sequenced in just the right way to keep the reader interested. Watercolor is the illustrator’s artistic means of choice and the artistic style appears to be realistic in the beginning...

and then surrealistic in the middle of the book with the inclusion of pictures of sea creatures in non realistic settings.

 The illustrator chose to change the color from vivid bright colors which show fantasy to black and white to show a change in time. The black and white colors are used to show the pictures of children that were taken in the distant past.

 

This Caldecott Medal Award winning book can be used with many different age groups. Being that it is wordless, pre readers would be able to enjoy this book. Having the students make up their own story to this book would be a great lesson.

The concept of perspective or point of view shown towards the end of the book (shown below) would make a great lesson for older students. This book would also serve as a great art lesson on perspective. I love how this book inspires me as a teacher! There are so many different things you can do with this book!