The Red Comb
Title: The Red Comb
Author/ Illustrator: Fernando Pico, Maria Antonia Ordonez
Genre: Fiction/Historical Fiction/ Culture Diversity
Date of Publication: 1991
ISBN: 0816735395
Scholastic: 4.5
Guided Reading Level: P
Lexile Level: 860L
AR Level: 0.5
Summary:
This book takes place in 19th century Puerto Rico. It starts off telling about Pedro Calderon. He catches runaway slaves and receives money for each slave he catches. He is a very wealthy man and is very admired by many people in his town. Sina Rosa is an older woman who lives in the village is not happy with Pedro. Vitita is a young girl who lives beside sina Rosa; her mother died and is alone a lot because her dad goes to work. One morning Vitita found an African slave woman under her house stealing one of her eggs. She got scared and the slave ran back into the woods. When Vitita told sina Rosa about the slave she found under her house she told her not to tell her father about it and to each night leave food and drink in the mango tree. Vitita did exactly what she was told and she would check every morning. She left a comb one night for the woman. For the next few days Pedro wanted to try and camp out to try and find the runaway. When sina Rosa found out about it she did everything in her powers to keep Pedro away from her runaway, even if that meant playing tricks on him. Later on you find out the sina Rosa’s niece is coming to stay with her. She looked just as the runaway did; she was actually wearing the same red comb Vitita gave her.
Response:
I really liked this book; sina reminded me of my grandmother she seems like the type who would play jokes on someone to help someone out. I was not expecting the story to be like it was when I picked it out. This story really teaches about all the different cultures and the hard times during them. It’s a new look on slavery other than what we usually see and learn about. This also teaches about the different cultures, what they eat and how they survived during this time.
Curriculum Connections:
Competency Goal 1 The learner will apply key geographic concepts to the United States and other countries of North America.
1.07 Analyze the past movement of people, goods, and ideas within and among the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Central America and compare it to movement today.
The Empty Pot
Title: The Empty Pot
Author/ Illustrator: Demi
Genre: Cultural Diversity
Date of Publication: 1990
ISBN: 0590233998
Scholastic: 3.5
Guided Reading Level: M
Lexile Level: 630L
AR Level: 0.5
Summary:
“The Empty Pot” is a story that takes place in China and about a little boy named Ping; he loves to grow flowers and is one of the best gardeners around. Ping’s Emperor is getting old and shares the same love for flowers as Ping does, so the Emperor decides he will give each child a seed to plant a flower, and the best flower will be rewarded with the entire kingdom in one year. Ping got his seed and put the best soil in a pot and watered it every day. Months and months passed and nothing had grown, he changed pots and put it in a bigger one with better soil, and still nothing. When it was time to show the Emperor the children’s flowers’ everyone had big beautiful flowers and Ping’s pot was empty. Ping’s father told him he should not be ashamed of his empty pot and should go show the Emperor anyways. When the Emperor came to Ping and saw nothing he told him that he would be rewarded with the kingdom because he gave out already cooked seeds and they should not have grown, Ping being the only honest one he got the reward.
Response:
This book was really cute; I wasn’t expecting it to be about flowers. It tells about honesty and not to be ashamed about your own work. I would read this book to my class when I get to become a teacher. I really liked all the colors and pictures. When the father tells him to go ahead and take it to the Emperor and not to be ashamed of his work was good encouragement, many children do not get that kind of support from their parents these days.
The Cage
Title: The Cage
Author: Ruth Minsky Sender
Genre: Non-Fiction, Culture Diversity
Date of Publication: 1986
ISBN: 069881321
Scholastic: 5.5
Guided Reading Level: Z
Lexile Level: 500L
AR Level: 6.0
Summary:
This book is about a young girl named Riva. She lives in Poland during the time of the Holocaust. When her mother is taken away by the Nazis she and her brothers and sisters struggle to stay alive during the hard times. They all battle sickness and famine, but all overcome it. Soon they were all separated and sent to different concentration camps. Riva becomes very ill and almost dies but is saved when she is given surgery. This story shows the courage and hope Riva and her family continue to give when all else is gone.
Response:
This was also a book I had read when I was in middle school. I loved reading about the Holocaust when I was younger and still to this day love learning about this awful time during our history. Two summers ago I got to visit Washington D.C. and go to the Holocaust Museum. That trip gave me a whole new respect for this time. After visiting that and reading this book it really made me appreciate my freedom more and more. I really liked how Ruth Sender wrote things for example “Only one week ago I came to this hell in a cattle car, but I was in the train with my brothers. I still had hope. I still could feel the warm touch of their hands in the darkness of our prison. I’m all alone. There is no one to live for. What difference does it make if I live or die? There is no one. I am alone. All alone.” I just found that so sad, I could not imagine being ripped away from my family and would maybe never see them again.
Stinky Cheese Man
Title: The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales
Author: Jon Scieszka
Genre: Fiction, Caldecott Honor
Date of Publication: 1992
ISBN: 067084487
Scholastic: 3.9
Guided Reading level: P
Lexile Level: 520L
AR Level: 0.5
Summary:
It all starts out with the main character Jack, from “Jack and the Beanstalk”; he is the one who tells the story. Little Red Hen from the book “Little Red Hen” she is complaining because no one is helping her make her bread. Next is Little Red Running Shorts which is a play off of “Red Riding Hood” Jack ends up telling her the story, including the end and she then says that she doesn’t want to be in it anymore. “The Gingerbread Man” also has a counterpart, which is the Stinky Cheese Man, he thinks that everyone wants to eat him so he is deathly afraid to be around anyone, but in reality everyone is running away from him because he smells so badly. When Jack starts telling his story the giant comes down from the beanstalk to tell him he doesn’t like the story. It soon starts to go into more and more stories such as “Cinderumplestiltskin” which combines the classics such as Cinderella and Rumplestiltskin. In the end Jack puts the giant to sleep and right as he was about to get away the Little Red Hen shows up and wonders why she didn’t get her story in the book and asks who will help her eat the bread. About that time the Giant wakes up and use the bread to make himself a sandwich out of the Hen and Jack runs away.
Response:
This book was very interesting to say the least. I thought it was very funny. This book has really no storyline and is mostly just for laughs. Don’t get me wrong I love all the original fairy tales and love to hear them now that I’m older, but when I read this I just thought it was hilarious. Sometimes it’s just better to get a good laugh in when you’re reading books, especially if you’re reading to younger children. I really like how the author uses old children’s stories and changes them up a little, for example “Stinky Cheese Man” which is like the “Gingerbread Man” but a little different.
Song of the Swallows
Title: Song of the Swallows
Author/ Illustrator: Leo Politi
Genre: Realistic Fiction, Caldecott Metal
Date of Publication: 1987
ISBN: 0689711409
Scholastic: 3.8
Guided Reading Level: O
Lexile Level: 620L
AR Level: 0.5
Summary:
This story starts off about a young boy named Juan, he had an older man named Julian who rang the bells and kept the garden up for the Mission church. Juan loved to hear Julian tell the story about how that land had become their home. He also liked to go into the garden and feed the birds with Julian; his favorite birds to feed were the swallows. The story goes on to tell you more information about the habits of these birds, for example they built houses out of mud and clay against the beams of the foundation. The swallows always leave in the late summer to go south, Juan was very upset because he loved each and every one of the birds and didn’t want to see them go; but he knew they would be back next year. When the winter months grew to an end they had a big fiesta to welcome the swallows back. During the winter months Juan had made a garden for some swallows to live near his house, when he returned home he had two swallows living in his garden.
Response:
I didn’t know much about swallows before I had read this book. It gives you a lot of information about the kind of bird and it helps you learn a little more about the different kind of cultures. For example, you learn about St. Joseph’s Day that is celebrated each year. I think each student should learn about the different cultures that are in America today. By having them read about them in different forms would help. I also liked how the author used the Spanish words too. Another thing I really liked about this book is that the illustrations used to portray the different scenes. It’s not like any other kind of pictures.
Number The Stars
Title: Number The Stars
Author: Lois Lowry
Genre: Historical Fiction
Date of Publication: 1989
ISBN: 0440403278
Scholastic: 5.2
Guided Reading Level: U
Lexile Level: 670L
AR Level: 4.0
Summary:
“Number the Stars” is a story told by Annemarie, a ten year old little girl from Copenhagen, Denmark. She has a best friend named Ellen, who is Jewish. When Peter, a man Annemarie’s late sister was supposed to marry before she died; came and told her family more about the war and Ellen’s family needs to leave as soon as possible. Ellen’s family leaves Ellen with Annemarie and her family. Later on that night they get bombarded by the German’s and demand that Annemarie’s father tell them where Ellen’s family went. They see that Ellen is dark headed and don’t believe that she is actually part of the family and really a Jew. When Annemarie’s father shows a baby picture of Annemarie’s sister they believed him and left. The next day Annemarie’s mother takes everybody to her brother’s house where he is a fisherman. While there they said that Annemarie’s great aunt had died to sneak Ellen’s family into a boat to take them to Sweden. In May the war ends and Annemarie is waiting for Ellen and her family to return.
Response:
This book was very sad, but any book you read about the Holocaust is very upsetting. But I think every student should have to read about what happened during that time in history. Younger children these days don’t know much about what happened during this time.
Curriculum Connections:
Competency Goal 4 The learner will trace key developments in United States history and describe their impact on the land and people of the nation and its neighboring countries.
4.05 Describe the impact of wars and conflicts on United States citizens, including but not limited to, the Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Persian Gulf War, and the twenty-first century war on terrorism
Nettie’s Trip South
Title: Nettie’s Trip South
Author/ Illustrator: Ann Turner and Ronald Himler
Genre: Culture Diversity
Date of Publication: 1987
ISBN: 0590427210
Scholastic: 3.8
Guided Reading Level: O
Lexile Level: 860
AR Level: 0.5
Summary:
The story starts out with a young girl going to visit the south with her family. She was ecstatic about the trip because she had never seen that land or the slaves. She was going before the war broke out. She is writing to her friend Addie telling her all about the trip. She was told that a slave is only three-fifths of a person, and she wondered what was missing, like an arm, or leg. Her brother took her to a slave auction because he was writing a story about it. She got sick from seeing all the slaves being treated so badly and her brother decided it was time to leave, and that he had seen enough. The family loaded the train and went back home, Nettie wrote Addie and told her she would tell her more when she got home.
Response:
I liked reading this book, not so much hearing about it because it made me sad to think of all those innocent people being treated like that. I like learning about the history of our country. Children need to know about our history and how badly slaves were treated. By Nettie being so young and not fully understanding everything she sees it helps children grasp things better I think.
Curriculum Connection:
Competency Goal 3: The learner will examine the roles various ethnic groups have played in the development of the United States and its neighboring countries.
Objectives
3.01 Locate and describe people of diverse ethnic and religious cultures, past and present, in the United States.
Competency Goal 4 The learner will trace key developments in United States history and describe their impact on the land and people of the nation and its neighboring countries.
4.05 Describe the impact of wars and conflicts on United States citizens, including but not limited to, the Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Persian Gulf War, and the twenty-first century war on terrorism.
4.06 Evaluate the effectiveness of civil rights and social movements throughout United States’ history that reflect the struggle for equality and constitutional rights for all citizens.
Henry’s Freedom Box
Title: Henry’s Freedom Box
Author/ Illustrator: Ellen Levine
Genre: Non-Fiction, Historical
Date of Publication: 2007
ISBN: 9780439928756
Scholastic: 2.3
Guided Reading Level: None
Lexile Level: 380L
AR Level: 0.5
Summary:
This book is about the true story of a young boy named Henry during 1849. When he was little his master dies and he is taken away from his mother. After that he is put to work into a tobacco factory. Later on he has a family of his own. When his wife and children were sold into slavery he thinks up a way to ship himself in a wooden box from Richmond, Virginia to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to escape the slavery.
Response:
I’m not a big history person so I wasn’t too excited about reading this book when I picked it out. But I didn’t know anything about the Underground Railroad except for Harriet Tubman. So when I read this book I actually learned a lot. I learned that he actually mailed himself from Virginia to Pennsylvania. I never knew anything about this. This book can also be a little scary for very young children, because it talks about being separated from their mother and family. It could be very traumatic for a very young child.
Curriculum Connections:
Competency Goal 4 The learner will trace key developments in United States history and describe their impact on the land and people of the nation and its neighboring countries.
4.06 Evaluate the effectiveness of civil rights and social movements throughout United States’ history that reflect the struggle for equality and constitutional rights for all citizens.
Hatchet
Title: Hatchet
Author: Gary Paulson
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Date of Publication: 1987
ISBN: 0439192862
Scholastic: 6.3
Guided Reading Level: R
Lexile Level: 1020L
AR Level: 7.0
Summary:
Hatchet is about a thirteen year old boy named Brian; he lives in New York City and plans to go see his father in northern Canada. Brian boards the small plane just him and the pilot. With his parents recent divorce weighing heavily on his shoulders, and can’t seem to shake “The Secret” that’s always in the back of his mind. The pilot gives Brian a few pointers on flying when they first take off, while in the air the pilot starts complaining about paint in his shoulder and stomach. Not long after that the pilot is dead and Brian is forced to fly the plane. Crashing in a lake Brian is stranded in the northern woods of Canada. He has to learn how to defend himself with only a hatchet. Many problems come up and his life is in danger numerous times but end the end he is saved.
Response:
I had read this book many years ago when I was in middle school and I loved it. I actually had to do a project on it. This book not only girls like it but boys love it because it is about a boy around their age in the woods all alone. While I was rereading this book I got more into it since I was older. I could actually see and picture everything. I could see him diving down in the lake to get the emergency kit, and seeing the dead pilot; I could see him getting hurt by the porcupine. I just love how Gary Paulson writes and I actually want to read the other books he has written. I will most likely use this book when I get into my own classroom.
Everybody Cooks Rice
Title: Everybody Cooks Rice
Author/Illustrator: Norah Dooley
Genre: Realistic Fiction/ Culture Diversity
Date of Publication: 1991
ISBN: 0876145918
Scholastic: 4.4
Guided Reading Level: M
Lexile Level: 690L
AR Level: 0.5
Summary:
The story starts out with Carrie, who is like normal looking for her little brother because he is late like usual. While on her journey to find her little brother she gets to sample each house near her for dinner. By the time she finds her brother she has discovered all kinds of different rice recipes’, showing that not just one specific culture cooks rice, a lot of them do.
Response:
This book was so cute! Even I sometimes catch myself thinking that only one specific culture cook rice more than others, but by reading this book I found myself learning also. I liked all the different ethnic names and dishes. This book really shows young children how people can come together as one. I liked how at the end of the book there were all the different recipes for you to try them on your own.
jessicakharris 