The Misfits
Written by James Howe
Children's Novel Ages 10-14
Rating: 4.5/5

Four misfits ban together at school and become the "No Name" party running for school elections! Can the anonymous and unpopular gang make the cut and run the school?

Opinion: I really liked this book! I have to admit the idea seemed a little cliche at first: a group of "uncool" friends get sick of being mistreated and attempt to take down the "in-crowd." It just seems like I have heard the plot line many times before. Sort of good vs. evil middle-school version. Though the story line is cliche and some of the lines seem familiar, Howe is a very detailed and descriptive writer and makes up for it with the development of his characters. Bobby is a wonderful narrator and paints a true, down-to-earth picture of what it is like to live in his shoes. The language is great: EVERY single thing he describes is "show, don't tell." The Gang of Five's Friday Forum is a brilliant way to switch up the style and tone of the piece without over-engaging in heavy dialogue. It also really helps the reader get to know the characters, and it is funny! Howe lets us feel what it's like to be these characters, and get to know them in a way that is very touching. "And I'm thinking there's a lot more to all of us than the names we're called or what we show on the outside." Page 180 had me choking back tears: "Dad and me. Hammer and Skip. We have a good cry." Tastefully done, Howe!

Curriculum Connection: This would obviously be great to use in any middle school classroom, because its funny and relatable. It can also be a good example of character development and descriptive language in a Language Arts lesson. 5th and 6th graders could read it in preparation for middle school, and maybe brainstorm on ways to "survive" it or to respect each other. I think it can really open up some good dialogue because it does have some heavy topics squeezed in there: homosexuality, death, bullying, teen romance, etc. I would definitely recommend it for older kids, though.

The Jacqueline Woodson Experience

From reading If You Come Softly, some of her children's picture books in class, and hearing about other people's experiences with Woodson novels, it is apparent that she has some major themes that come through in her writings. In class we compared and contrasted If You Came Softly with I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This. In I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This, a Black girl and a White girl become friends, which causes issues. It tackles tough topics such as interracial relationships, income level, sexual abuse, death, and abandonment. If You Come Softly tackles many of the same issues: interracial relationships, death, abandonment, homosexuality, and police brutality. Here is what I have gathered about Woodson from discussing and reading her work.

-Common themes she likes to tackle are:
1. Tough/controversial topics
2. Power struggle between races (Specifically Black and White)
3. Conflict between races (Friendships, relationships)
4. Abandonment (Split families, mothers leaving, family members dying)
5. Sad endings! (Death, etc)
6. Death and its affects

That being said, I think she is a great writer and obviously is informed and understands the work that goes into writing about darker topics. It makes me wonder what her life was like growing up that made her decide to be an author of such controversial work. While I can appreciate her themes, I would like to read a story with a different tone and style, which I'm sure does exist. That is probably her trademark though so, what can I say? It was definitely an experience and I commend her for writing about things that are taboo or difficult to talk about.

Where the Wild Things Are
Written and Illustrated by Maurice Sendak
Children's Picture Book Ages 4-9
Rating: 4/5

Max chooses to play in his room instead of eating dinner, and before he knows it his bedroom turns into a magical forest where wild things live! They have a "wild rumpus" until it is time for Max to go home.

Opinion: I remember reading this when I was very little, but when I read it now all I can think about is the movie! The imagination and the illustrations are great in this book, although I do think the wild things might scare younger children. Max's imagination is very apparent in this book and the reader is taken on the journey with him, which is great. I love how Max makes himself the king of all of the wild things, it really shows how bossy and egocentric kids can be! Near the end there's a a couple of pages with no words and just pictures of their adventures, which i think is a nice change of pace and keeps the story fresh.

Curriculum Connection: This can be used as an opening to get children's imagination going for a writing project, or as an art project where they have to draw their own "wild thing," name and biography included. I think whatever it is used for kids will really like it because of the fantasy vibe it possesses.

One Fine Day
Written by Nonny Hogrogian
Children's Picture Book Ages 4-7
Rating: 4/5

A tale about a fox who drinks an old woman's milk and must journey through the entire forest on a "wild goose hunt" to get her the milk back, in exchange for his tail!

Opinion: The book is very good at building tension. The fox must get milk for the woman, but when he asks for favors they keep piling up until he has to get a bead for a maiden, an egg for a peddler, some grain for a hen, some grass for a cow, and so on. I feel very sorry for the fox who got his tail cut off! The illustrations really showed his emotions throughout the story, even though they are relatively simple. This book also won the Caldecott Medal, which is notable. At the end he got everything he needed and got his tail back, but the book never really reinforced what the moral was or had a clever punchline at the end...It just sort of ended!

Curriculum Connection: This book could be used in a lesson on borrowing or even stealing, as the fox drinks the milk that isn't his. The old man at the end is very generous and gives the fox grain without asking for anything in return, so generosity could be a topic. There are also a lot of parts to this story so it could be used in a listening activity, like "What did the maiden need?" "How about the hen?" And see how much the kids can remember.

If I Had a Dragon: Si Yo Tuviera un Dragon
Written & Illustrated by Tom & Amanda Ellery
Children's Picture Book Ages 3-7
Rating: 4/5

A little boy dreams about what it would be like if his "boring" baby brother were a dragon!

Opinion: This book is very humorous and has great illustrations that really show expression and detail throughout the story. The little boy lists all the things he could participate in if his brother were a dragon: Play hide and seek? Go for a swim? Go to the movies? The only problem is that the dragon is large, clumsy, and accidentally breathes fire, which messes with the boy's motives! The dragon and his mannerisms remind me of the book Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile by Bernard Waber, which I absolutely love. The thing that is great about this book is that underneath the English lines the book is written in Spanish, which is great for ELL learners or for children who only speak Spanish. As a reader, I very much enjoyed this book and the ending was satisfying: he'd rather play with the baby!

Curriculum Connection: This book is great for both Spanish speakers and non-Spanish speakers. It can transfer both ways; Children learning English can compare the words because they are written right next to each other. Seeing it like this is very good for visual memory and can help the child process it step-by-step. The subtle hint of multiculturalism is just enough to get keep kids interested without overshadowing the plot line.

Anansi the Spider
Written by Gerald McDermott
Children's Picture Book Ages 4-7
Rating: 4/5

A retold folktale from Ghana about Anansi and his 6 spider sons that go on a treacherous journey. The story ends up explaining how Ghanaian people believe the moon came to be what it is today.

Opinion: The book is very rich in terms of culture and is interesting to read. It also won the Caldecott Honor award due to its simplistic yet colorful illustrations. Anansi's son's names are great: See Trouble, Road Builder, River Drinker, Game Skinner, Stone Thrower, and Cushion. Can you guess what they are going to do in the story? Their journey to save their dad is inspiring, and you kind of forget that they are just spiders!

Curriculum Connection: This book is a great multicultural book, mainly because it comes from Ashanti, an area in Ghana, Africa, and can give a lot of details about their culture and traditions. I used this book in a curriculum transformation assignment for social studies to use in a unit on Ghana and to have the kids write their own folktale and to understand the traditions on Ghana. It is very creative so I think the kids can glean a lot of ideas from it.

My Friends
Written By Taro Gomi
Children's Book Ages 3-6
Rating: 3/5

This book details how a little Japanese girl learned to do simple tasks from her friends in nature!

Opinion: This book is okay, pretty simple, most likely for toddlers. Every two pages there is one line of print that repeats: "I learned to ____ from my friend _____." Somewhat predictable and not entirely interesting, but for young kids it will be helpful for them in identifying what animals can do that is similar to us. It would be easy for them to finish the sentences after reading it a couple of times too. What I liked about this book is that the little girl in the book is Japanese and all of her friends at school are Japanese as well, so there is a bit of multiculturalism thrown in there.

Curriculum Connection: I almost brought this as my 'window' book for class, because all of the characters (besides the animals) are of an ethnicity other than my own, but it doesn't necessarily talk about Japanese culture so I was unsure. This could be in a discussion about animals and nature, or how we can learn from places outside of school. It could also be used as an opening or as a writing activity and the students could write their own sentence, "I learned how to ___ from my friend ____," maybe even using each other's names and write down what each of their peers has taught them. On the first day of class this could be read and the class could make a chart that says "My Friends" with pictures of everyone or of statements of what it means to be a friend to refer back to later.