Focus Question

 How does knowing about literary elements impact understanding a story?

When I think back to elementary school and the projects and activities that went along with reading a particular book the only thing that comes to mind are worksheets or book jackets where we were told to fill out the basics: characters, plot, setting, and mood.  Although these are essential literary elements, we were never encouraged to use them in a way that made the reading as meaningful as possible to us.  We were only obligated to scratch the surface of these elements but never truely think about them and their impact in the reading.  While reading, the reader should always be thinking about each literary element, character, point of view, time, place, plot, mood, symbol, and theme, however, just thinking about these on the surface is not enough.  In order for readers to dive deep into the story being read, thinking, discussing, and connecting these elements needs to be done.  In my opinion, discussion is key.  This allows students to hear differing points of view on the story and relate them to their own ideas and through this process deeper meaning is drawn from the text and ultimately a stronger understanding of the authors message is achieved.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Picture Book
Title: The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Author: Eric Carle
Age Level: 3+
Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary
This book follows a caterpillar around for a week and we are able to see the different foods that the caterpillar eats such as apples, pears, plums, strawberries, oranges, and a lot of junk food.  The caterpillar grows from a little caterpillar to a big fat caterpillar and takes a break to make a cocoon where he can rest for two weeks.  When he decides to come out, we find that he has turned into a beautiful, colorful butterfly!

Opinion
The Very Hungry Caterpillar is just another memorable book from my childhood by Eric Carle.  This book is on my top 10 list of books I loved while growing up.  Again, in this book, Carle uses collage art in an outstanding way that gives such uniqueness and appeal to his work.  Although his illustrations are quite simple, the colors are so vibrant, your eye immediately is drawn towards them and you brought into the world of the caterpillar.  Another unique element in his book is the flaps where the fruit he eats is shown.  The flaps start with one apple, then two, pears, three, plums, four strawberries, and five oranges.  Having these flaps allows for the reader to become actively engaged in the story which I think is very important and is something that, in my opinion, holds the readers attention.  I think that Eric Carle is one of the best authors of children's books because he incorporates important lessons into his stories that readers pick up on and are able to practice while reading.  In this book, he introduces sets of objects up to ten, the fruit he ate, as well as the names of the days of the week.  Along with these, he is able to tell the amazing and interesting story of the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly.  All of these lessons are incorporated very harmoniously into a truely memorable book.

This book would definitly be a part of my curriculum because I think that it encorporates so many essential lessons for young readers and is one that children will really enjoy reading.  I asked my child study student what her favorite books were and The Very Hungry Caterpillar was first out of her mouth.  A fun activity to do with this book would be having a real caterpillar in class and watching it turn into a butterfly  over time.

Froggy Goes to Camp

Picture Book
Title: Froggy Goes to Camp
Author: Jonathon London
Illustrator: Frank Remkiewicz
Age Level: 3+
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary
In this book, it is the beginning of summer and Froggy is very excited and anxious to go to Camp Run-A-Muck for the first time.  He forgets to pack his bathing suit and sleeping bag so the trip to camp takes longer than expected but upon his arrival he is greeted by his friendly counselors and bunkmates.  Throughout Froggy's time at camp he finds himself in food fights, overturning kayaks on the lake, and messing with his principal.

Opinion
I chose this book because my child study student's favorite animals are frogs and this author has a series of books about Froggy and his adventures so I thought I'd give them a shot.  I thought that the illustrations in the book were very inviting with the use of cartoon art as the design style.  I think that using this art style in picture books is very captivating for young readers and create excitement while viewing the text.  I also liked how the author used catchy phrases throughout the story such as, "At sunrise, a bugle blasted--da-da ta-DOT ta-daaa!", and "Froggy hopped out of bed, got dressed--zap! zip! zoop! zup! zut! zut! zut!--".  Even while I read this I found myself chanting these lines in my head the way a young reader would say them while reading this book.  I think having dialogue like this, where the action happening or the sound happening is written in sort of a musical way, really draws the reader in and can allow for more interaction with the book if reading in a classroom setting.

I thought that this book was very well written and aesthetically inviting but I would only use this book in younger grades because I do not think there are many meaningful activities you could do along with it.  The books content is one that most children can relate to and they can draw upon personal experiences that were fun, exciting, and memorable while at summer camp.  My goal with this book would be to have students relate to the experiences they have had and maybe write short stories based off of them.

Flotsam

Picture Book
Title: Flotsam
Author: David Wiesner
Age Level: 4+
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary
This picture book is about a boy who finds a washed up Melville underwater camera while he is playing at the beach.  He takes the camera to the photo shop to get the film developed and is amazed at the pictures he finds of robotic fish, octopuses reading books, little aliens riding fish and, most interesting, other children holding pictures of previous children who have found the camera washed up on shore.  Following the tradition, the boy takes a picture holding the other pictures and throws the camera back into the ocean for the next person to come across the treasure.

Opinion
The reason I was so drawn into this book was because it was like no other book I have read.  It is a no-word picture book that is filled with creative and compelling illustrations that tell a story all on their own.  The style of the illustrations in this book are based on impressionism and the unique layout of the illustrations help the reader connect meaning to what is trying to be conveyed through the pictures.  There is no consistency with how the illustrations are shown in this book and I think that that aspect makes this book so visually pleasing.  Some pages are completely covered from end to end with the illustration while others have borders and the most unique pages look like a collection of photographs collaged together.  I think all of these design styles in this book work very well together.  It was a fun experience looking through this book because I, as the reader, was forced to translate each illustration into text and ulitmately determine what I interpret is happening within the story.

I would use this book in my future classroom because I think that it allows students to really be creative and think for themselves while reading.  The book shows how experiences can be passed on from one person to another and I think that children will find this book really appealing and will be able to think of how they can share their experiences in their own lives.  I would have students bring in pictures or souvenirs from a time that was special to them and have them show them to the class.  This will be a great way for them to get to know each other as well as work off the content within this book.

 

A House for Hermit Crab

Picture Book
Title: A House for Hermit Crab
Author: Eric Carle
Age Level: 4+
Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary
A House for Hermit Crab is a wonderfully written story with beautiful illustrations about a hermit crab who is encountering change in his life.  He is growing to big for his shell so he needs to find a new one.  When he finds a new shell he also picks up a few new friends on his year long adventure through the bottom of the ocean.

Opinion
I remember growing up reading a lot of Eric Carle books and as I am reading them now I still find them to be very enjoyable books that send great messages to the reader.  I thought that the book, A House for Hermit Crab, was very well written and had eye-catching illustrations that are appealing to any reader.  The illustrations were done in a collage style with vibrant colors and unique design that I think is a trademark for many of Eric Carle's books. I also liked how the dialogue was somewhat repetitive in the sense that the crab's course of action for each month was relatively similar to the last, just different sea creatures being found.  I think that when children start reading, repetitiveness in the text is helpful for them. This is not to say that I like books that are  completely repetitive from page to page but the way Eric Carle does it works well in this picture book.

I would definitly use this book in my class because the message being portrayed is one that any child could relate to.  The message being read is that change is not frightening and that it is a part of growing up.  This book could be useful to help students who are adjusting to a new situation or are struggling with the change that comes along with getting older.  An activity I could do with this book would be a writing activity where I have each student write about a time where they had to deal with change in their lives and how they felt during this situation, for example, transition from grade to grade, house to house, or school to school.  I would use this book in a unit about animals also because there is great information about different sea animals and life under the ocean within this book that children could learn from.

The Little Island

Picture Book
Title: The Little Island
Author: Margaret Wise Brown
Illustrator: Leonard Weisgard
Age Level: 5-8
Rating: 3 out of 5

Summary
The Little Island is about life on a secluded island.  The book describes the activity that happens on the island and the changes that come with different seasons and night and day.  A little kitten comes to the island and is very intrigued by the fact that the island considers itself part of the rest of the land that makes up the world.

Opinion
I chose to read this picture book because it won the Caldecott Medal and I was searching for a book about the ocean for my child study student.  I thought that this book had very appealing illustrations which look to be done with watercolors or paint. The illustrations are very bold and draw your eye in which allows you to really paint a mental image of what is going on in the book.  The book is set up with the text on the left page and the images on the right page which allows for consistency in reading which is something that I think is important for early readers.  On some of the pages with text, there are also black and white pictures in the bottom corner which add a unique element to the illustrations.  I did think that some of the dialogue in this book was a bit confusing.  I didn't like how the author worded some of her sentences because they were really choppy and didnt flow which made understanding what was happening more difficult and this may be a problem for younger students.

Although this is a Caldecott winning book I do not think I would use it in my classroom as a future teacher.  I did not find this reading to be very meaningful and I don't think that I could draw future discussion from the content in this book.  I read this book with my child study student and she found it a bit difficult to understand.  When I asked her to summarize what she thought the book was about she was not able to do this accurately.

Author: Karen Hesse

Karen Hesse is an award-winning author of many childrens literature and young adult books.  She was born in 1952 and grew up in the town of Baltimore, Maryland.  While growing up she realized that she had a way with words and enjoyed writing very much.  It was said that she would hide in her closet after school and write poetry in a notebook for hours.  She got her inspiration and support from her fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Datnoff, who instilled the belief that she could and would become a professional writer some day.  In 1969 she attented Townson State College in hopes of being a theater major but just two semesters later she transfered to the University of Maryland.  There she recieved her B.A. in English along with two minors in Psychology and Anthropology.   She has dabbled in many different job areas including being a book reviewer, waitress, typsetter, advertising secretary, proofreader, agricultural laborer, substitue teacher, and mental-health-care-provider.  During her work in all these jobs she claims she never lost focus from writing poetry, stories, and books.
She later went on to write and publish 18 books which have been translated into several different languages such as Chinese and Spanish.  She also recieved awards and honors including the International Reading Association Children's Book of the Year, National Jewish Book Award, Sydney Taylor Award, and Best Books for Young Adults and Notable Books selections.
I have never heard of Karen Hesse until I started researching for this project and I was amazed at some of the work she has accomplished.  I think that her story is inspirational in that she never gave up her dream of being a writer and looked to those who gave her support and hope and ultimately reached her utmost goal in life.  I was very impressed with her writing skills and story line in many of her books.  She uses her excellent writing abilities to convey messages that challenge the readers.  She has stated that her books are absolutly suitable for young readers because they provide substance and a chance for the reader to relate outside ideas and concepts to what is being read.  Something that I picked up on as I read some of her work.

I particulary liked the book Lavender becuase it tackled a topic that many young children may be facing; the fear of change.  Codie has a very strong relationship with her aunt Alix but her aunt is now pregnant and Codie fears that aunt Alix will no longer have time for her.  I thought that this was a great book that can show kids that change is sometimes wonderful which, I know from experience, is something that many children have problems with.  The storyline also encounters the importance of family and this was something that I was able to easily relate to and something that children will be able to relate to also.
A lot of Karen Hesse's books would be very beneficial to use in the classroom for children in 4th-6th grade.  Her books tackle concepts that deal with the dust bowl, being human, the importance of family, and other historical issues.  Any of her books could be the center of a unit and much discussion could be held from the content of them.

Information from:
http://www.edupaperback.org/showauth.cfm?authid=56
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/contributor.jsp?id=3214

Abel's Island

Novel
Title: Abel's Island
Author: William Steig
Age Level: 8+
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary
Abel's Island is a story about a mouse, Abel, who lives in Mossville with his wife, Amanda.  They live a very easy and taken for granted life that is soon turned upside down.  One stormy August day, Abel and Amanda set off on a picnic but are faced with a huge storm and are forced to find shelter in a cave.  While Amanda is peering out from the cave her scarf gets blown away and, by nature, Abel leaps out to grab it.  He is carried down the river in the flood to an unihabited island.  He is stuck on this island for a full year and is forced to acquire survival skills to stay alive and try to find a way off the island.  During his journey on the island he discovers a new way of life and finds new talents and skills in himself that he did not know he had.  When he ultimately finds his way off the island he has a new perspective on life and finds pleasure in new things.

Opinion
Abel's Island was one of my favorite novels growing up.  I remember reading it in my 4th grade class and really enjoying the activities that we did along with it.  This is a book that stands out most in my mind when I think back to my favorites during elementary school.  This book won the Newbery Honor award and I think it really deserved it.  The writing in this book is very descriptive and also is a bit challenging which allows students a chance to use their literacy skills in finding meaning to words and sentences.  I think  that having pictures in black and white on a selection of pages in the book really helps the reader paint a picture of what is actually going on and gives them more insight into the struggles and journeys that abel encounters.  The book also portrays the message of never taking anything for granted and the importance of survival skills.  Also, throughout abel's journey he finds new talents and skills that make him very happy and excited and I think that this shows kids that if they step outside of their element they can find things out about themselves that they never knew.

I think that this would be a great novel to use in a classroom with 4th or 5th grade students.  Some of the language in this novel is difficult so those in upper elementary would be more likely to understand it better.  An activity that I would do with this book would be having the children put on a puppet show that represents one of the scenes in the book where Abel uses a survival skill or finds a new talent in himself.  I think that this would be a fun activity for the students and allow them to be creative and connect with the material in a way that is different from what normally is done in the classroom.

I am TOO Absolutely Small for School

Picture Book
Title: I am TOO Absolutely Small for School
Author/Illustrator: Lauren Child
Age Level: 4-7
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Summary
I am TOO Absolutely Small for School is a book about Lola and Charlie who are siblings.  Lola, the younger sister, is very skeptical about attending school.  She does not know why she needs to be able to count past ten, write letters, and read words.  It is up to Charlie to convince Lola that school is fun and a worthwhile place for learning all the things she will need to know in the future.

Opinion
I think that the message of this story is one that would be very beneficial to teach kindergarteners or those that are just entering school.  Many kids have a hard time getting adjusted to the new lifestyle of having to go to school, me being one of those kids, and this book may relieve some of those fears about being in an atmosphere they are not familiar with.  Reading this book on the first day of kindergarten or first grade would help those who are not feeling comfortable in the classroom see why school is so important and how it can be a lot of fun, too.  Although the book had a good message for young learners, I did not like how the book was set up.  The illustrations were eye-catching and related to the images found in the television show about Charlie and Lola that children may be able to relate to, but the text was portrayed in a very confusing style that I think would be difficult for children to read and understand.  On many of the pages the text was swirled around the images or went from the top of the page, swirling down to the bottom of the page, jumping from place to place and it was even confusing for me to find where I was supposed to read next so I cannot imagine the difficulty a beginner reader would have with this book.

I did like the message that this book sent and I do think that this book would be useful in the classroom on the first day of school for kindergarteners or first graders.  I would read this book and provide a discussion about all the fun things that the students will be doing during school, in hope that they will find school less scary and more exciting.

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat

Picture Book
Title: Joseph Had a Little Overcoat
Author: Simms Taback
Age Level: 2-7
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat shows how Joseph turns an old, shabby jacket into something new and when that something gets old and shabby, he turns it into something else.  As you flip the pages, holes are cut out that show what Joseph will make next, until he has nothing left, which he ulitmately makes into a book to show that you can always turn nothing into something special.

Opinion
I thought that this was one of the coolest illustrated books I have read recently.  I remember hearing about this book but do not remember reading it as a child.  The placement of a whole on every other page where the new item will be as you turn to the next page was a creative way to hold childrens anticipation and allow them to see that you can take something and make it into a completely new item just by thinking outside of the box and using your imagination.  This portrays a great message to children that with a creative eye you can turn anything around into something great.  What really caught my eye in this book was that the representational style was present but very minimally.  On each page, for example, there would be objects such as fruit, patterns on the clothes and rugs, pictures on the wall, flowers, and people in the crowd that were real pictures which added an additional element to the illustrations and made them stand out.

I think this book would be an introduction to a fun lesson for younger children on being resourceful and turning something old into something new.  I would probably give kids fabric and ask them to use the fabric to make three different things.  I would not expect them to go in detail with their creations but it would be interesting to see all the ideas that the children come up with.

The Very Busy Spider

Picture Book
Title: The Very Busy Spider
Author: Eric Carle
Ages: 2-6
Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary
The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle is about a spider who diligently works on creating her web, however, animals  from the nearby farm try to distract her but she refuses to answer and continues to work until it is complete.  When she finishes her web she shows how useful her web is and that it allows her to catch her meals.

Opinion
This book was one of my favorites growing up.  Although I am not a big bug fan, I always loved having my parents, brother, or babysitter read it to me.  The texture that the web has in the book always caught my attention and I was very interested in seeing what a spider web felt like.  As I am reading this book now, I think the author was very smart and provided a lot of great lessons from this book.  The repetition of the line, "The spider didn't answer.  She was very busy spinning her web", alows this book to be successfully used with beginner readers because according to,  Mem Fox: Reading Magic, by Judy Horacek, repetition in reading for beginners is essential and a   useful for them to pick up sounds and words.  I also think that the use of the different farm animals in the pictures and their designated sounds helps the reader learn about these animals in a fun way.  The illustrations were repetitive also and I think it worked in this particular book.  Normally repetitive books seem somewhat boring, especially to us as we read them but I think that the dialogue and pictures in this book worked out well.  On one page there is a large representation of the animal and on the other page is the spider making its web, which grows as the pages turn.

I would definitly use this book in my classroom because I think it is a great beginner book and allows children to learn about different animals, their sounds, and their characteristis.  I would use this book as an introduction to a unit on animals.  I think an appropriate activity for this book would be a matching game where they would match up a particular animal with its sounds.

Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type

Picture Book
Title: Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type
Author: Doreen Cronin
Illustrator: Betsy Lewin
Age Level: 3-7
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Summary
Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type is a Caldecott Honor book that is about a farmer, Farmer Brown, and his animals.  His cows love to type on a typewriter and find it funny to send Farmer Brown typed messages that they want an electric blanket because they are cold and refuse to give milk until they get it.  The hens then refuse to give their eggs until they get blankets, also.  When they make an agreement to trade the blankets for the typewriters the middle man, duck, sneekily takes the typewriter and the book ends with the ducks typing away, asking Farmer Brown for a diving board for their pond.

Opinion
I thought this book was extremely well illustrated and would draw any readers attention in.  The use of watercolor and bold drawings made the story come to life and all the focus was on the illustrations.  This was a fun book to read because of the humor in the storyline and I think many kids will find it very engaging.  The line that is used throughout the book is "Click, clack, moo" and it was a pretty catchy phrase and one that I found myself repeating.  Although the book was esthetically appealing, the story didnt seem to have any important message being conveyed and I did not find much meaning behind the text.

Although I could not find much underlying meaning within the text I would use this book in my classroom as a teacher because I think it would be a fun and engaging book for the students.  Having the kids recite the repeated lines with me would be a good way to keep them interested and interactive.  I do not see this book fitting in well with any particular unit of study so I think this would be a fun book to read during a reading time or at the beginning of class to get the kids excited and laughing.

One Fine Day

Title: One Fine Day
Author: Nonny Hogrogian
Age level 1st-3rd
Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary
One Fine Day tells the story of a greedy fox who takes a trip to a forest and becomes thirsty so, without thinking, drinks from a pail of milk that an old woman had set down while she was gathering logs.  The old woman cuts off the foxes tail and forces him to go find her more milk if he wants his tail sewn back on.  He then sets out on a journey to find milk but everyone he runs into expects a favor in return for their services so he becomes very frustrated and ultimately learns an important message.

Opinion
I thought this was a very appealing and beautifully illustrated book.  The message of never taking what is not yours is a strong message that is important for children to understand and this storyline and illustration portrays that successfully.  I really liked the use of expressionism in the pictures because while reading your eye was more focused on the illustrations than on the text and it allowed you to become enthralled in the atmosphere of the story.  I also liked how the author made each character request something in return for what the fox was asking for.  This relays the message to the reader that doing one wrong may lead to a lot more problems than expected and that if the fox did not take what was not his in the first place all those problems would have been avoided.  The author began the illustrations before the actual book even started and I thought that was a great way to draw the readers attention and allow the reader to paint a mental picture of what the story was going to look like before they began reading.

I would definitly read this story in my class as a future teacher.  I think the message being sent is critical for children to learn and this book would be a great way to express it.  I would probably read this book to 1st or 2nd graders in the beginning of a unit about behavior or working with others.  My hope would be that this book would stir up a realization of what happens when you take what is not yours and the consequences of that action.

The Berenstain Bears

From what I can remember while growing up my parents always had a hard time getting me to sit down and pick up a book for fun.  I never really got excited about reading until my aunt got me the book, The Berenstain Bears: Trick or Treat.  This is the book that helped me become more interested in reading because it was one book out of a large collection of Berenstain Bears books and, according to my mom, I had to have the whole collection.  This series of books was written by Stan and Jan Berenstain and each book tells a different story about the adventures of the Berenstain bears.  The family is made up of Papa Bear, Mama Bear, Brother Bear, and Sister Bear and it was always fun to find out what adventure, or trouble, they would come across in each book.  Along with being so enthralled with the book series I loved watching the Berenstain Bears TV show.  These books are ones that I like to read to kids I work with and they seem to love them too!