Thomson, Sarah L. Stars and stripes: the story of the American flag. Harper Collins. New York 2003.
Summary:
Sarah Thomson gives a look into the history of the American flag and the changes that it underwent over the years. This book takes a brief look into American history as well in order to explain the birth of the flag and the reason that this symbol was so important to the American people.
Author: Sarah L. Thomson
Illustrator: Bob Dacey and Debra Bandelin
Illustrations: Illustrations appear to be acrylics or oils. No information found about the medium the artists use.
Access Features: Notes on the flags, What about Betsy Ross?
Grade Level: PreK-3
Awards: Notable Social Studies Trade Book 2004
Curriculum: Social Studies
Classroom Use: This would be a wonderful resource to use in a unit about national symbols.
Book Design: Cover is a long rectangle like the flag and has an illustration of the flag that appears to be waving. The end pages are bright red like the red on the flag and all the pages have a blue outline with stars at the top of the page with the writing on it. The red, white, and blue are much brighter than the other colors in the illustrations to make these colors stand out more.
Writing Style: This bok is very simple and is written using easily understood language. It is definitely written for children and Thomson uses very few terms that she has to explain. However, she does give an accurate account of the history of the flag and the changes that it underwent over the years.
Credibilty: In her acknowledgements, Thomson thanks a man at the Flag Research Center for his time and review. It appears that he is an expert on the subject of the flag and he helped Thomson with the facts she used while writing this book.
Standards: Social Studies-Standard 1: Culture; Standard 2: Time, Continuity, and Change
Related Texts: The Flage we Love-Pam Munoz Ryan; Stars and Stripes Forever: The History, Stories, and Memories of our American Flag-Richard H. Schneider; F is for Flag-Wendy Cheyette Lewison; Long May She Wave: A Graphic History of the American Flag-Kit Hinnichs
Response:
This book is such a great read. It is an amazingly accurate account of the history of the flag and all the changes that the flag went through before it came to it's present state. It is a short and simple read that would be wonderful to read aloud. It also addresses the issue of Betsy Ross and the role that she played (or did not play) in the creation of the American flag. I reallyenjoyed reading about the controversy that surround the flag and the time it took to decide how the flag would look and the uniform laws that govern it.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Coming to America: A Muslim Family's Story (bk1) (45 pgs.)
Wolf, Bernard. Coming to America: a Muslim family's story. Lee and Low Books Inc. New York, 2003.
Summary:
Coming to America is a simple story about how one Muslim family came to live in America. This book takes you through a typical day with this family and also tells a little about it's Muslim tradition. The reader is taken on a journey through the lives of a family that spent four long years trying to get to America and the struggles that they face with finances, language, and homesickness now that they are here.
Author: Bernard Wolf
Illustrator: Bernard Wolf
Illustrations: Photographs of the family throughout their daily rituals.
Access Features: Afterword
Grade Level: 3-5
Awards: Notable Social Studies Trade Book 2004
Curriculum: Social Studies
Classroom Use: This book could be used as a resource for studying cultures and different customs of those cultures.
Credibility: There is no mention of the research Wolf did for this book but he does tell about the weeks he spent with the Muslim family in order to photograph them and tell the story of their lives and faith. He has also written 20 photo documentaries for children that emphasize issues in social studies.
Book Design: The book is a long rectangle with a picture of the family on the front of the book. The end pages are yellow (perhaps to resemble sunshine and hope) and the book is full of photographs. Sometimes the photographs take up a whole page and sometimes they take up two pages and there is very little writing. The photographs correpsond with what is written in the text. When Wolf starts a new section of his documentary it is set off by a larger, red capital letter in the first word of the first sentence.
Writing Style: Wolf uses very simple language to help make the book easier for younger audiences and also explains many of the terms he uses that may be confusing. He writes on a child's level in order to attract children to the book.
Standards: Social Studies-Standard 1: Culture; Standard 5: Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
Related Texts: My Name is Yoon-Helen Recorvits; Goodbye 382 Shin Dang Dong-Frances Park; My Name is Bilal-Asma Mobbin-Uddin
Response:
This is a really easy read and would be a very fast book to read aloud. I enjoyed reading it because it was interesting to see the struggles that immigrants go through when they move to the United States. The family has a very strong bond and Wolf does a wonderful job of expressing just how close the family is. The book was a touching tribute to the families that come over and struggle to make ends meet but survive so hopefully their families will have better lives in the future. Wolf tells all about the hardships this family faces but also tells of the plan that the father has to give his family an easier life. He offers hope for many immigrant families by showing that they can survive if they have the drive and desire.
Summary:
Coming to America is a simple story about how one Muslim family came to live in America. This book takes you through a typical day with this family and also tells a little about it's Muslim tradition. The reader is taken on a journey through the lives of a family that spent four long years trying to get to America and the struggles that they face with finances, language, and homesickness now that they are here.
Author: Bernard Wolf
Illustrator: Bernard Wolf
Illustrations: Photographs of the family throughout their daily rituals.
Access Features: Afterword
Grade Level: 3-5
Awards: Notable Social Studies Trade Book 2004
Curriculum: Social Studies
Classroom Use: This book could be used as a resource for studying cultures and different customs of those cultures.
Credibility: There is no mention of the research Wolf did for this book but he does tell about the weeks he spent with the Muslim family in order to photograph them and tell the story of their lives and faith. He has also written 20 photo documentaries for children that emphasize issues in social studies.
Book Design: The book is a long rectangle with a picture of the family on the front of the book. The end pages are yellow (perhaps to resemble sunshine and hope) and the book is full of photographs. Sometimes the photographs take up a whole page and sometimes they take up two pages and there is very little writing. The photographs correpsond with what is written in the text. When Wolf starts a new section of his documentary it is set off by a larger, red capital letter in the first word of the first sentence.
Writing Style: Wolf uses very simple language to help make the book easier for younger audiences and also explains many of the terms he uses that may be confusing. He writes on a child's level in order to attract children to the book.
Standards: Social Studies-Standard 1: Culture; Standard 5: Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
Related Texts: My Name is Yoon-Helen Recorvits; Goodbye 382 Shin Dang Dong-Frances Park; My Name is Bilal-Asma Mobbin-Uddin
Response:
This is a really easy read and would be a very fast book to read aloud. I enjoyed reading it because it was interesting to see the struggles that immigrants go through when they move to the United States. The family has a very strong bond and Wolf does a wonderful job of expressing just how close the family is. The book was a touching tribute to the families that come over and struggle to make ends meet but survive so hopefully their families will have better lives in the future. Wolf tells all about the hardships this family faces but also tells of the plan that the father has to give his family an easier life. He offers hope for many immigrant families by showing that they can survive if they have the drive and desire.
The Voice That Challenged a Nation (LDG)
Marian Anderson has to be one of the bravest people I have heard of. For her to be able to just go to Europe and trust the people there so explicitly is just amazing to me. The fact that she reaches such an esteemed status in Europe and was still not allowed to sing where she wanted to in America was such a tragedy. She obviously had an amazing voice and she was being censored simply because of the color of her skin. I was especially appalled by the decision of the Daughters of the American Revolution when they said she couldn't sing at Constitution Hall. She was easily one of the most famous performers of her time yet they would not let her sing because she was black. Eleanor Roosevelt needs to be applauded for her decision to stand behind Marian and withdraw her membership from the DAR. It really is a shame it didn't make them see the huge mistake they were making. The concert at the Lincoln Memorial just amazed me. I couldn't believe there were really 75,000 people there. Most of those people probably couldn't even see her, just hear her voice. What do you think about the decision of Eleanor Roosevelt? I think she took a big risk especially at that point in American history.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
It's Back To School We Go! First Day Stories from Around the World (bk 1) (32 pgs)
Jackson, Ellen. It’s back to school we go! first day stories from around the world. Millbrook Press. Minneapolis, 2003.
Summary:
This book tells a story about a child’s first day of school in selected countries. It outlines the different traditions exercised in each country and compares them to each other. While the children in the story are fictional they are based upon actual children. The facts on each page about the traditions on the first days of school are also factual.
Author: Ellen Jackson
Illustrator: Jan Davey Ellis
Access Features: Author’s Note, Map, Bibliography, Web Resources, About the Author, About the Illustrator
Illustrations: The mechanics were not mentioned in the book but the illustrator traditionally uses oil, watercolor, pencil, or a combination of all.
Curriculum: Social Studies
Use of book in Classroom: This would be a good resource to use when discussing different cultures and societies.
Book Design: This book is very tall, rectangular shaped. Each two-page spread contains the story of the child’s first day of school on one page while the other page has the facts about school days in that country. The end pages are orange and each two-page spread is outlined with an image of something that is significant to that area of the world, such as bamboo or snow flakes.
Writing Style: The writing in the book introduces some of the language in those parts of the world and translates them for the reader. Jackson uses very simple language to make the book easy to understand.
Credibility of Author: Jackson has written more than 50 books for children and has many award winning books to her credit. She lists all her bibliographic information which includes many books about the different regions presented as well as web resources including the National Geographic website.
Grade Level: PreK-3
Awards: Notable Social Studies Trade Book 2004
National Standards: Social Studies: Standard 3: People, Places, and Environments; Standard 4: Individuality and Individual Development; Standard 5: Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
Related Texts: A Fine, Fine School –Sharon Creech
Response:
It was really interesting to read about the different ways school is handled in different countries. I really had no idea that it was so different. I also enjoyed reading about the different subjects that are studied in all the countries in the book.
Summary:
This book tells a story about a child’s first day of school in selected countries. It outlines the different traditions exercised in each country and compares them to each other. While the children in the story are fictional they are based upon actual children. The facts on each page about the traditions on the first days of school are also factual.
Author: Ellen Jackson
Illustrator: Jan Davey Ellis
Access Features: Author’s Note, Map, Bibliography, Web Resources, About the Author, About the Illustrator
Illustrations: The mechanics were not mentioned in the book but the illustrator traditionally uses oil, watercolor, pencil, or a combination of all.
Curriculum: Social Studies
Use of book in Classroom: This would be a good resource to use when discussing different cultures and societies.
Book Design: This book is very tall, rectangular shaped. Each two-page spread contains the story of the child’s first day of school on one page while the other page has the facts about school days in that country. The end pages are orange and each two-page spread is outlined with an image of something that is significant to that area of the world, such as bamboo or snow flakes.
Writing Style: The writing in the book introduces some of the language in those parts of the world and translates them for the reader. Jackson uses very simple language to make the book easy to understand.
Credibility of Author: Jackson has written more than 50 books for children and has many award winning books to her credit. She lists all her bibliographic information which includes many books about the different regions presented as well as web resources including the National Geographic website.
Grade Level: PreK-3
Awards: Notable Social Studies Trade Book 2004
National Standards: Social Studies: Standard 3: People, Places, and Environments; Standard 4: Individuality and Individual Development; Standard 5: Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
Related Texts: A Fine, Fine School –Sharon Creech
Response:
It was really interesting to read about the different ways school is handled in different countries. I really had no idea that it was so different. I also enjoyed reading about the different subjects that are studied in all the countries in the book.
Everybody Works (bk 1) (32 pgs)
Rotner, Shelly and Ken Kreisler. Everybody works. Millbrook Press. Brookfield, Connecticut, 2003.
Summary:
Everybody Works is a very short and quick read. The pages are filled with pictures of people doing work and the actual writing is only a sentence or two for each two page spread. It outlines the different types of work and gives examples of what work might be using the pictures.
Author: Shelley Rotner and Ken Kreisler
Illustrator: Photographs by Shelley Rotner
Access Features: No access features
Illustrations: Illustrations are pictures of people at work
Curriculum: Social Studies
Use of book in Classroom: This would be a good resource to use when discussing society and the different roles of people within society.
Book Design: This is a very small book and is really very basic. The end pages are red and every page in the book is a different color. Usually that color is just an outline for the pictures and enhances the color in the pictures. The writing is large and block style for easy reading for younger students.
Writing Style: Very elementary. Sentences are short and precise. Easy language that describes the pictures in general.
Credibility of Author: Shelly Rotner is a former elementary school teacher and has written over 20 award-winning children’s books.
Grade Level: PreK-1
Awards: Notable Social Studies Trade Book 2004
National Standards: Social Studies: Standard 4: Individuality and Individual Development; Standard 5: Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
Related Texts: Send It! -Don Carter; What Color is Nature? -Steven R. Swinburne; Why Do Kittens Purr? -Marion Dane Bauer
Response:
I really enjoyed the pictures in this book. They are very colorful and using color outline for the pictures is very helpful in making those pictures stand out. I also really liked the big writing that makes it easy to see and the short simplistic language that makes it easy for younger students to read and understand. Rotner does a wonderful job of explaining that work is many different things, not just a job.
Summary:
Everybody Works is a very short and quick read. The pages are filled with pictures of people doing work and the actual writing is only a sentence or two for each two page spread. It outlines the different types of work and gives examples of what work might be using the pictures.
Author: Shelley Rotner and Ken Kreisler
Illustrator: Photographs by Shelley Rotner
Access Features: No access features
Illustrations: Illustrations are pictures of people at work
Curriculum: Social Studies
Use of book in Classroom: This would be a good resource to use when discussing society and the different roles of people within society.
Book Design: This is a very small book and is really very basic. The end pages are red and every page in the book is a different color. Usually that color is just an outline for the pictures and enhances the color in the pictures. The writing is large and block style for easy reading for younger students.
Writing Style: Very elementary. Sentences are short and precise. Easy language that describes the pictures in general.
Credibility of Author: Shelly Rotner is a former elementary school teacher and has written over 20 award-winning children’s books.
Grade Level: PreK-1
Awards: Notable Social Studies Trade Book 2004
National Standards: Social Studies: Standard 4: Individuality and Individual Development; Standard 5: Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
Related Texts: Send It! -Don Carter; What Color is Nature? -Steven R. Swinburne; Why Do Kittens Purr? -Marion Dane Bauer
Response:
I really enjoyed the pictures in this book. They are very colorful and using color outline for the pictures is very helpful in making those pictures stand out. I also really liked the big writing that makes it easy to see and the short simplistic language that makes it easy for younger students to read and understand. Rotner does a wonderful job of explaining that work is many different things, not just a job.
A Sweet Year: A Taste of the Jewish Holidays (bk1) (32 pgs)
Podwal, Mark. A sweet year: a taste of the jewish holidays. Random House. New York, 2003.
Summary:
Mark Podwal visits the Jewish faith with this small book that outlines all the Jewish holidays that involve food. This short read goes through the year explaining the significance of the food eaten for that holiday and even has a section at the end that gives further explanation of the holiday itself.
Author: Mark Podwal
Illustrator: Mark Podwal
Access Features: Section that explains the holidays, Bibliography, Author’s Note
Illustrations: Illustrations are gouache and acrylic paintings that illustrate the important role food plays in Jewish traditions
Curriculum: Social Studies
Use of book in Classroom: This would be a great resource to use in a discussion of the different holidays associated with different types of people and cultures.
Book Design: This is a very small book and is really very basic. The end pages are white and the pages in the book are white with the writing on one side of a two page spread and the illustration on the other. The only design element that I saw was the first letter of every page is larger than the rest and is a color out of the painting on the opposite page, usually a major color in the painting.
Writing Style: Podwal uses very simple language making the book easy to understand. He also uses the Jewish names for the holidays and food but translates and explains what they are.
Credibility of Author: In the author’s note, Mark Podwal explains that he was asked to create an exhibit for a library for this specific purpose. He includes his bibliography with the sources he used to write the book. All of these were books written about Jewish foods or the holidays.
Grade Level: PreK-3
Awards: Notable Social Studies Trade Book 2004
National Standards: Social Studies: Standard 1: Culture; Standard 5: Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
Related Texts: Apples and Honey: A Rosh Hashanah Story -Jonny Zucker: The Sounds of my Jewish Year -Marji Gold-Vukson; The Shapes of my Jewish Year -Marji Gold-Vukson
Response:
A Sweet Year is a very short book, but it is also very interesting. I had no idea that food played such an important role in the Jewish faith. It is very educational and will definitely hold interest because it’s not a subject that many people know much about. The illustrations are also very interesting. They depict the words in the story but not exactly. Podwal incorporates the foods into the paintings in some very unique ways.
Summary:
Mark Podwal visits the Jewish faith with this small book that outlines all the Jewish holidays that involve food. This short read goes through the year explaining the significance of the food eaten for that holiday and even has a section at the end that gives further explanation of the holiday itself.
Author: Mark Podwal
Illustrator: Mark Podwal
Access Features: Section that explains the holidays, Bibliography, Author’s Note
Illustrations: Illustrations are gouache and acrylic paintings that illustrate the important role food plays in Jewish traditions
Curriculum: Social Studies
Use of book in Classroom: This would be a great resource to use in a discussion of the different holidays associated with different types of people and cultures.
Book Design: This is a very small book and is really very basic. The end pages are white and the pages in the book are white with the writing on one side of a two page spread and the illustration on the other. The only design element that I saw was the first letter of every page is larger than the rest and is a color out of the painting on the opposite page, usually a major color in the painting.
Writing Style: Podwal uses very simple language making the book easy to understand. He also uses the Jewish names for the holidays and food but translates and explains what they are.
Credibility of Author: In the author’s note, Mark Podwal explains that he was asked to create an exhibit for a library for this specific purpose. He includes his bibliography with the sources he used to write the book. All of these were books written about Jewish foods or the holidays.
Grade Level: PreK-3
Awards: Notable Social Studies Trade Book 2004
National Standards: Social Studies: Standard 1: Culture; Standard 5: Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
Related Texts: Apples and Honey: A Rosh Hashanah Story -Jonny Zucker: The Sounds of my Jewish Year -Marji Gold-Vukson; The Shapes of my Jewish Year -Marji Gold-Vukson
Response:
A Sweet Year is a very short book, but it is also very interesting. I had no idea that food played such an important role in the Jewish faith. It is very educational and will definitely hold interest because it’s not a subject that many people know much about. The illustrations are also very interesting. They depict the words in the story but not exactly. Podwal incorporates the foods into the paintings in some very unique ways.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
The Voice That Challenged a Nation (LDG)
I was really impressed with the perseverance of Marian Anderson in the first few chapters of this book. It's also very disturbing how the North and South could be so different with the segregation of race. Another aspect that really impressed me was the fact that she shared all of her earnings with her family. It wasn't that she had to but she did so they could be a little more comfortable because of her. What do you think about that? Russell Freedman gives such vivid description of her voice and the conditions in which she had to travel during her tours in the South. I think she had to be a quite a strong person to handle all the challenges she faced after living in Philadelphia.
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