Module 7: The Penderwicks on Gardam Street

Citation:

Birdsall, J. (2008). The Penderwicks on gardem street. New York, NY: Knopf Books for Young Reader

Summary:

This book is about a family of four girls and their dad. The mother gives birth and dies from cancer within the first chapter. The family struggles with their father dating and the girls decide to set him up on dates that will be horrible. During all of this there is a new neighbor that moves in; two of the sisters do homework for each other and switch; Tommy, a neighborhood boy starts dating a girl from school, and the youngest sister, who is only four gets in a lot of mischief. In the end all trouble is settled, the father gets married to the neighbor and many confessions are made. This family struggles to adjust to life without their mother but in the end there are many happy endings.

My Opinion:

This book deals with many issues and the plot is extensive. I enjoyed the storylines and the happy ending. There was a lot of foreshadowing and character development. I feel that because of some of the vocabulary used in the book, I would recommend it for the higher end of middle school and high school. Overall, I enjoyed the book and feel like it would be a better choice for girls.

Reviews:

Wadham, T. (2008, March 1). [Review of the book The Penderwicks on gardam street by Jeanne Birdsall]. School Library Journal Online. Retrieved by http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6537040.html

School Library Journal (March 1, 2008) Gr 4–8—The Penderwick sisters are back. Their Aunt Claire has come for a visit, bringing with her a letter from their late mother that encourages their father to date, and an immediate crisis ensues, as the girls assume that this is the first step on the treacherous road to having a stepmother. After frantic consultation, they implement the "Save Daddy" plan, designed to set him up with perfectly dreadful women so that he will not want to date again. Numerous subplots add to the domestic drama. Skye struggles with her temper on the soccer field. Rosalind and neighbor Tommy experience a frustrated romance. Skye and Jane switch homework assignments, leading to a school performance of Jane's Aztec drama, with everyone thinking that it was penned by Skye. While the solution to the dating dilemma can be seen from the beginning, the sisters are so caught up in their drama that they can't see who's right next door. Laugh-out-loud moments abound and the humor comes naturally from the characters and situations. Especially funny is the scene in which the youngest Penderwick hides in the car hoping to spy on one of her father's dates. Like much of the book itself, this scene resolves itself in a tender moment between father and daughter. This is a book to cherish and to hold close like a warm, cuddly blanket that you draw around yourself to keep out the cold.—Tim Wadham, Maricopa County Library District, Phoenix, AZ Uses for the library: I would use this book for a middle school book club pick. I would meet with the group and discuss main points of the book and see how it made the students feel. I would also discuss the many story elements going on in the book.

Module 6: Not a Box

Citation:

Portis, A. (2006). Not a box. New York, NY: HarperCollins Children’s Books.

Summary:

This book is about a rabbit with a large imagination. The rabbit insists that he/she is not just “standing on, squirting, or wearing” a box. Instead he is putting out a fire, or riding in a space ship or standing on top of a mountain.

My Opinion:
This book has such a simple idea and very simple wording but it speaks volumes. The illustrations help to convey the story clearly. I read this book to my own children and they just loved the imagination behind this. I will definitely use this book for lessons in my library.

Reviews:

McClelland, K. (2007, January, 1). [Review of the book Not a Box by Antoinette Portis]. School Library Journal Online. Retrieved by http://titlewave.com/search?SID=ca52adf923e23f42ecc6d793f5721453

School Library Journal (January 1, 2007) PreS-Gr 1-In bold, unornamented line drawings of a rabbit and a box, the author-illustrator offers a paean to the time-honored imaginative play of young children who can turn a cardboard box into whatever their creativity can conjure. Through a series of paired questions and answers, the rabbit is queried about why he is sitting in, standing on, spraying, or wearing a box. Each time, he insists, "It's not a box!" and the opposite page reveals the many things a small child's pretending can make of one: a race car, a mountain, a burning building, a robot. One important caveat: the younger end of the intended audience is both literal and concrete in their approach to this material. The box itself, drawn as a one-dimensional rectangle, will be perceived by preschoolers to be flat and not readily understood as three-dimensional. Furthermore, those children are likely to interpret the "box's" transformation to be "magic," while five- and six-year-olds are able to make the cognitive conversion from flat rectangle to three-dimensional box and to understand that the transformation has been made by the rabbit's own imagination. Both audiences will enjoy the participatory aspect of identifying each of the rabbit's new inventions. Knowledgeable adults will bring along a large box to aid in understanding and to encourage even more ideas and play.-Kate McClelland, Perrot Memorial Library, Old Greenwich, CT Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

Uses for the library:
This would make a great read aloud for my younger students. I would also like to have 2^nd graders write their own version of this book.

Module 5: Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Citation:

Rhodes, J. (2010). Ninth Ward. New York, NY: Little Brown Books for Young Readers.

Summary:

A 12 year old, orphan named Lanesha, who currently lives with the midwife who delivered her, named Mama Yaya. Lanesha lives in the 9^th Ward area of New Orleans. Lanesha sees ghosts and Mama Yaya is known as a Metaphysical type of a person. Mama Yaya has raised Lanesha and taken care of her since the day she was born. Lanesha is a curious, thoughtful and mature teen. Lanesha gets trapped in the hurricane Katrina storm and survives with her friend, but Mama Yaya doesn’t. Throughout this ordeal she becomes stronger and leads Spot (her dog) and her friend to safety with her strength, courage and a row boat.

My Opinion:
This is such an amazing read. The character development in the story is descriptive and you feel as though you know the characters. The storyline is adventurous and fun. This is a must read for an older student and anyone who may want to know what hurricane Katrina was like. The survival and change that Lanesha goes through is a wonderful transformation. I feel that this books is well written and a wonderful story.

Reviews:

Auguste,M. (2010, August, 1). [Review of the book Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes]. School Library Journal Online. Retrieved by http://www.libraryjournal.com/slj/printissue/currentissue/885752-427/grades_5__up.html.csp

RHODES, Jewell Parker. Ninth Ward. 217p. Little, Brown. Aug. 2010. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-316-04307-6. LC number unavailable.
Gr 5-8–Communicating with ghosts, including the spirit of her mother who died giving birth to her, is a gift that Lanesha, 12, has had for as long as she can remember. The girl's beloved caretaker, Mama Ya-Ya, a midwife and healer, has a gift that allows her to predict the future. When she begins to sense that a big storm is coming to their much-loved New Orleans neighborhood, both she and Lanesha must trust in their senses and in one another to survive. Lanesha is a wonderful character who exudes resilience and fortitude in the face of a catastrophe as well as a personal vulnerability in terms of her status as an orphan and an outsider. Words, numbers, and colors as seen through her eyes show the magic and wonder that exist in everyday things. The unique writing style even allows the unlikely combination of elderly Mama Ya-Ya's heady scents of Vicks Vapor Rub and Evening in Paris perfume to seem wonderful and inviting. Although the outcome of Hurricane Katrina is known, the clever writing allows the unavoidable tragedy to unfold in such a haunting and suspenseful manner that the extreme sense of foreboding and ultimate destruction is personalized and unforgettable. Heartbreak and hope are reflected in Lanesha's story, which will capture even reluctant readers due to the inventive storytelling and the author's ability to bring history to life.–Margaret Auguste, Franklin Middle School, Somerset, NJ

Green, B. (2010, October). [Review of the book Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes]. Library Media Connection. Retrieved by http://titlewave.com/search?SID=cad11c6c0f98469632be59ce2df939f7

Library Media Connection (October 2010) Released in time for the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Ninth Ward is the story of a young girl, Lanesha, who lives in the Ninth Ward neighborhood of New Orleans. Ninth Ward is set over nine days (chapter headings are days of the week). Lanesha decides to ride out the storm as many of the residents of New Orleans did. Lanesha prepares food, making sure to board up the windows and get bottled water and other provisions, since folks in New Orleans are sure that this storm will ?be like all the others.? The spirit of Lanesha?s dead mother comes to her assistance when Lanesha is forced to leave her home once the floodwaters have overtaken it. Rhodes has done a wonderful job of giving young readers a personal look into what happened in New Orleans during August 2005. This would be an excellent resource to use when students are researching different types of weather, especially since the main character is younger, and her point of view is one that many children can identify with. Recommended. Beth Green, School Library Media Specialist, Wappingers Junior High School, Wappingers Falls, New York [Editor?s Note: \Also available in eBook format.]

Uses for the library:
This would be a wonderful book to introduced and then later discuss in a book club. I would love to be able to sit with a group of students and discuss their feelings and see what they thought about the character development and the role that the characters play in each others lives. I would also like to discuss the elements of the storm and the death of Mama Yaya.

Module 5: Chato's Kitchen by Gary Soto and Susan Guevara

Citation:

Soto, G. (1995). Chato’s Kitchen. New York, NY: G.P. Putnam’s Sons.

Summary:

A new family of mice moves into Chato’s (a cat) neighborhood. Chato sends a letter over to invite the mice family to dinner and the mice family accepts but asks if they can bring a friend. Chato and the mice family cook dinner. Chato and Novio Boy (Chato’s friend who is also a cat), are excited and prancing around talking about how they are going to eat the mice for dinner. When the mice family shows up they bring Chorizo (a dog) and scare the cats. Eventually they all end up eating dinner together.

My Opinion:
This is a wonderfully colorful book, not only is the text rich and fun the artwork is brilliant. There are many Spanish words scattered throughout the text. The pictures are so vivid and tell the story well. This book would make a wonderful read aloud. This would also be a great story for a student who is learning Spanish or one who is bilingual. (and I not just say this because my last name appears on the back cover in the illustrations)

Reviews:

Rochman, H. (1995, March,1). [Review of the book Chato’s Kitchen by Gary Soto]. Booklist Online. Retrieved by http://www.booklistonline.com/ProductInfo.aspx?pid=632513

Chato thinks he’s the cool cat of East Los Angeles, and when a family of small mice moves next door to him in the barrio invites them over for dinner--to be his dinner. With his flashy pal Novio Boy, Chato cooks a delicious spread to go with the tasty morsels of mice. But when his guests arrive with their friend from the old neighborhood, the tables are turned: Sausage turns out to be a long, low-riding, skinny dog, and it’s the cats who quake in fear. Kids will get a lot of fun out of the sweet reversal and the comic storytelling. There’s a glossary of Spanish words, but it’s the characters and their talk that give the story its special flavor. Guevara’s very bright illustrations extend the situation comedy with zany details of magic realism. These animal characters are very human: the mouse teenager talks on her mobile phone; Chato’s friend mambos to his boom box. Best of all is the fun with scale, especially in a story where the small creatures win. (Reviewed Mar. 1, 1995)— Hazel Rochman

Turner, M. (1998, Novemver,3). [Review of the book Chato’s Kitchen by Gary Soto]. Publisher Weekly. Retrieved by http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childens/childrens-book-news/article/3196-children-s-book-reviews-.html

Guevara's (Chato's Kitchen) gentle acrylics temper 26 poems about war by Johnston (P Is for Piñata, reviewed above), whose imagery pulls no punches. Many of her poems are set squarely in the middle of combat, addressing victims (“Child on the other side of the world.../ I am calling”) or describing their surroundings. The poet sharply invokes the products of war: poverty (of a dog: “His ribs are the slats of a small ark”), violence (“ The body remains,/ crumpled in the street”) and grief. Guevara, painting on rough canvas, declines to show the most frightening scenes. Instead of the child on the other side of the world “in your little torn shirt,” she paints a small girl clinging to the back of a flying dove; instead of the crumpled body, she paints an angel. Quick brushstrokes and pastel shades soften the blow, and the images register as memories or dreams. The final poems pray for peace, but Johnston's sobering portraits make forgiveness unexpectedly difficult to imagine. Ages 10--up. (Dec.)

Uses for the library:
I would use this story to do a puppet show or a readers theater. This would be a fun story for the students to act out. I would also discuss the use of Spanish and the setting where this story takes place.