The Giver

The Giver by Lois Lowery

Novel for Children Ages 9-12

5 Out of 5 Stars

As Jonas is approaching the Ceremony of 12, where he is given his career assignment, he has no idea what the future has in store for him. Little does he know that he is about to receive all of the memories of the time before Sameness and that his new knowledge will lead him to flee from his community in order to allow the life of choice, love, and freedom to return to his people once again.

The Giver represents a phenomenal book that teaches a valuable lesson to people of all ages. The literary elements help to bring this book to life. The place of the story becomes more and more developed as the story unfolds. The community of Sameness is just what the title states, all the same. No color exists; nobody has a birthday, only a year category until they hit their twelfth year; each family unit consists of a mother, father, and a maximum of two children which are not conceived by the mother and father; choice is not an option, your spouse, children, job, home décor, and food is all chosen for you. All of the characters in this story stay the same except for Jonas, the main character of the story. Since Jonas is the only dynamic character in the story, he has a large impact on his community full of citizens who are all the same. Similar to this fact of Jonas being the only dynamic character comes the reasoning for the story to be told in third person limited. Since Jonas is the main character and the only character that grows throughout the story, it makes sense to have the story told only through the view of Jonas. Symbolism is another huge part of this story. The color red represents the intense feelings of fire, passion, and anger. Jonas learns about all of these feelings during his time with the Giver. He also learns to see the fiery red hair of the girl, Fiona, which he is attracted to. The sled represents another symbol as it not only is the first memory ever given to Jonas, it also represents his experiences of being the Receiver. The baby Gabriel is another important symbol in the story. Gabriel represents hope for the future because of the fact that he is a baby, he is receptive to the memories that Jonas transmits to him, unlike anyone else in his community who has grown accustom to the life of Sameness. Also, Gabriel represents the change that Jonas wants to bring to the world. Once Jonas heard that Gabriel was going to be released, only because he did not sleep at night, Jonas knew he must save him, so he chose to risk his own life, change the premade escape plans, and flee with Gabriel in hopes of reaching the community of Elsewhere. Jonas did not want to settle for the release of babies like Gabriel, so he wanted to change that on top of many other things. All of the other literary elements can be found in The Giver but they all tie together into the ones already stated to make this novel as well written as it is.

If I am allowed to read this book with my future class of students, I most definitely will. The life lessons that this book teaches its readers are wonderful. Anyone who reads this book will really learn to appreciate the small things that our world has to offer. For example, halfway through the story, Jonas begins to discover that the world really is not black and white, but that it has color. What a beautiful thing color is, imagine a world without it. How terrible! Also, the idea of choice is something that all readers should learn to appreciate. Because the people in Sameness are not allowed to make any choices for themselves, readers learn how important it is to appreciate their ability to make choices and learn that they should make their choices wisely since it is a privilege that not everyone gets to exercise. While reading this book with a group of students, I would have a lot of discussion time put in place in order for students to share their feelings and interpretations of the story. I would also probably implement a writing assignment or two into the readings as well in order for students to share what they have learned and what they think life would be like if our country implemented a form of Sameness. All in all, this book was a spectacular read, even with the controversial topics within it, and I would like to share it with many other people.

Space Case

Space Case by Edward Marshall, pictures by James Marshall

Picture book for children ages 4-8

4 out of 5 stars

A little robot from outer space comes down to Earth to learn about the natives. Although he is called home after only a few days on Earth, he is so intrigued that he wants to come back for another visit!

This simple science fiction book is filled with fun and laughter. Only a sentence or two exists on each page, along with the picture. But this simplicity fits in perfectly with the story. This alien comes from outer space to investigate our world on Earth. He knows nothing except for what he sees or hears other people say, since he does not learn English until the night that he does not sleep and studies the dictionary. Because the alien is simple, the book should be simple as well. The fact that the pictures give away more about the story than the text does, also fits this trend because again the alien must learn about this new world based on his surroundings. The pictures compared to the text on the page also bring comedy into the story, like when the alien tries to talk to a pumpkin or when he calls a lady nice even though she is dressed as a monster for Halloween. Due to the simplicity of the story, as well as the hilarity on many of the pages when comparing the text to the pictures, this book is considered a well written book and one that many young children would enjoy.

If I were teaching a primary grade class, I would definitely use this book, especially around the time of Halloween because that is the day in the story in which the creature from outer space arrives. Also, this book would fit well into a unit on immigration. The little robot thing comes to Earth knowing absolutely nothing about it, not even the language. Even though it is easy for the robot to pick up the language, because he is a robot, he faces many other hardships during his first few days on this new planet. Similar to the way that the alien had trouble adjusting to this new world, immigrants also have a hard time adjusting when they leave their familiar homeland and move to a new one. Students could read this story, then doing a writing activity about what they think it would be like to move to a foreign country, or even to a foreign planet.

Space Case is a Reading Rainbow book, click on the link to find out more about the Reading Rainbow books and the television series.

The Monster Who Did My Math

The Monster Who Did My Math written by Danny Schnitzlein,  illustrated by Bill Mayer

Picture book for children ages 7-11

5 out of 5 stars

When a little boy is scared of math, a monster comes and does his homework for him, which the little boy finds to be great at first, until he discovers that he does not learn anything this way.

The Monster Who Did My Math is a picture book written in poem form. The literary elements of rhyme and figurative language color the pages of this book. Due to this fact, the text has good musical flow, making it easy to read and fun to listen to. The figurative language enriches the text by drawing connections between words in the book and concepts out in the real world. This helps readers gain a deeper understanding of the text and exactly what it is that the author wants to convey. Lastly, the wonderful illustrations in this story mirror the emotions described within the text of the book. For example, the text on pages three and four describe how the little boy procrastinated doing his homework until late Sunday night and how the anxiety set in when he realized that he had no other choice but do his dreaded math homework. The anxiety and fear of math homework were clearly shown in the illustration of the boy’s face while he was looking at his math book. From the illustrations to the correct use of literary elements, The Monster Who Did My Math definitely falls under the category of a well-written book.

The Monster Who Did My Math would be a great addition to any curriculum because it teaches valuable life lessons on more than just math. The Monster in the story comes to the boy who is having troubles doing his math homework and offers to do his homework for him. The boy quickly agrees to pay for the Monster’s services later and becomes overwhelmed with joy when he receives an A+ on the homework assignment. The teacher must eventually catch on to the situation as she calls the boy to the board to demonstrate his knowledge. This is where the boy begins to learn his lesson, that he did not learn anything by having the Monster do his homework for him. Even though he did not learn anything about math from the Monster, he still had to pay the Monster his charge of sixty four dollars. In the end, the boy comes to the realization that shortcuts do not exist in life because you will always have it to “pay it later.” And he did eventually come to understand and even enjoy math too. I would read this book as a cross-curricular connection in a language arts class during a poetry unit, since this whole book could be considered a poem. Or I would use it to teach a lesson on cheating and how the students will not gain anything by cheating and that in the end they will always have to “pay it later”. Lastly, I could use it in my math classroom during a time that students are struggling to learn a new concept, and I could act as the Math Monster who doesn't do their homework for them, but as the Math Monster who helps them tackle their homework problems and understand them.

If You Come Softly

If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson

Novel for ages 10 and up

5 out of 5 stars

A white girl and a black girl discover what it means to fall in love, even if it means doing what the whole world seems to not want them to do.

If You Come Softly is a phenomenal book. It touches upon the real life issues of diversity in our world and the unfortunate consequences that can often result from it in the form of a love story. Most teenagers, girls especially, would enjoy this book because of the fact that it is a romance novel, so they are drawn to read it from an aesthetic stance. What they will come to learn as they read is that they are also reading from the efferent stance because they are gaining information about real life issues and how to deal with them. The way that If You Come Softly can be read from both stances represents Lousie Rosenblatt’s theory of transaction, where she claims that books are not read just for information or just for enjoyment, but that they are read on a continuum between the two stances. This theory of transaction, where both the reader and the book bring something to the table, is easily shown through this book. While reading this story, I connected with the text on an emotional level. This was especially true when Miah, the black boy, is killed. I have experienced death of family members as well as friends and all of those feelings came rushing back as I read about the feelings of Ellie, the white girl. I connected with the characters. I also learned a new perspective on what it would be like to live in New York and date a black man, as a white girl. My past experiences and my prior knowledge made the book as moving as it was for me. Other people would definitely enjoy this book, but probably in not the exact same way that I did. This idea is exactly what Louise Rosenblatt is conveying in her transactional theory.

I would definitely want to read this book with a group of students, but unfortunately I do not know if I would read it with 10 year olds. Ages 10 and up is what the book cover says the age level is for this book, but I think I would only read this book with middle school upper level readers or high school lower level readers due to the heavy content in this book. Because of the fact that the main characters in this story are high school students, and the fact that this story could actually happen, I do not think it would be appropriate for any elementary school student to read. But if I were to read this with my students, I would not make them do any activities while reading the story, just discuss the book. Often times, students will automatically be turned away from a book because of the fact that they have to read it for school and do homework. This would take away a lot of the meaning in If You Come Softly. The main discussions of this book would revolve around the issues of diversity in our society. If I could find an appropriate group of students to read this book with, I would love to use it in my classroom.

Each Peach Pear Plum

Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet and Allan Ahlberg

Picture Book for children ages 2-6

5 out of 5 Stars

Readers will play the game ‘I spy’ while paging through this infusion of the most popular nursery rhymes into an all new nursery rhyme.

Each Peach Pear Plum is a fun story to read for people of all ages, but especially for very young children as they enjoy hearing the rhyming words of the text as well as searching for their favorite nursery rhyme characters in the illustrations. The reason why this book is so great is because of the interaction between the text and the playful cartoon like illustrations. The title page of this book captures the reader interest right away by stating, “In this book With your little eye Take a look And play ‘I spy’”. From the get go the reader is interacting with the story. This is important for young children to do as it gets them interested in books. Based on the experiences gained from playing a game within Each Peach Pear Plum children will be more interested in reading other books in the future, in hopes to get the same enjoyment from them, although it will be in a different way.

I would use Each Peach Pear Plum during any poetry unit. First of all, it describes many different familiar nursery rhymes all in one. Second, the whole book put together could be considered a poem itself. Because of these two observations, this book could be used as an introduction to a poetry unit or as an example of rhyming used in poetry. Also, teachers could use this as a frame of reference for an activity where they write a poem and then create a short picture book based on their poem. Lastly, this book is important to use with young students, as it shows them a different kind of book. Because this book asks the readers to play the game of “I spy” in it, the children will discover a new kind of aesthetic value in reading books, which will lead them to want to see what other books in the world have to offer, and this is an important thing that we want all teachers to do.

Scholastic and Bright Hub have their own fun ideas on how to incorporate this book into classrooms as well!

Amelia Bedelia

Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish, Pictures by Fritz Siebel

Picture book/short novel for children ages 7-10

5 out of 5 stars

Amelia Bedelia is recently hired to work as a housekeeper for Mr. and Mrs. Rogers. On her first day, Amelia takes everything written down on her to do list in the literal sense when she changes the towels and dusts the furniture, along with many other chores. Thankfully her lemon meringue pie is delicious as this is what allows her to keep her job!

I find this story absolutely hilarious. This story is brought to life mostly through the illustrations, as they give away what Amelia is truly up to. For example, when Mrs. Rogers asks Amelia to dress the chicken, we know that Mrs. Rogers wants her to get the chicken ready to be cooked, but instead Amelia gets out some fabric and creates an outfit to fit the chicken, and literally dresses the chicken. The reader would not know this if he or she did not have the illustrations to accompany the text because all the text states is, “ ‘Now I must dress the chicken, I wonder if she wants a he chicken or a she chicken,’ said Amelia Bedelia. Amelia Bedelia went right to work. Soon the chicken was finished.” (Parish, 42). Without looking at the picture of Amelia Bedelia cutting fabric and creating an outfit for the chicken, the reader would not understand what exactly is going on. Any book that has interaction between text and illustrations makes it an enjoyable read. The wonderful and hysterical story line of Amelia Bedelia would make any reader, new or experienced want to read. Due to the connection between the illustrations and the words on the pages, the illustrations serve as scaffolding for those readers who are just learning how to read.

I remember reading this particular story along with many others in the Amelia Bedelia collection and enjoyed the experience each and every time I read them. Due to this fact, I definitely want to have this book as a part of my personal classroom library in the future. Any book that helps students really enjoy reading is a book worthy of place in my classroom. If I am teaching second or third grade I might use this book in literature circles for the appropriate reading level groups. Students would read this story, possible along with other Amelia Bedelia books, then the students would think of many different tasks or words that take on multiple meanings. This connection could also be made to a lesson on homonyms. Regardless of the way this book gets used, it will always have a place in my heart and in my classroom.

Check out this great website that has everything to do with Amelia Bedelia!

How Many Days to America

How Many Days to America by Eve Bunting, Illustrated by Beth Peck

Picture Book for Children Ages 7-11

4.5 out of 5 stars

After soldiers come calling upon a boy and his family, the father informs his family that they must immediately pack one bag to leave for America due to the disagreement between the family’s beliefs and that of the government. Although the boat ride to America is not an easy one, they are welcomed into America, on Thanksgiving Day, with open arms.

How Many Days to America describes a tale of a family of present day refugees fleeing to America, similar to the way that the Pilgrims first did many years ago. These refugees are from the Caribbean, so their journey, although still hard, is much shorter. Based on the fact that this story has many historical connections, this book represents a good social studies tool, which also makes it a book commonly read from the efferent stance. While reading from the efferent stance, readers will learn reasons why refugees leave their countries to come to the free land of America. They will also learn the hardships faced by these refugees on their journeys. For example, lack of food, being denied entrance into other countries, and strong winds on the sea. According to Louise Rosenblatt’s transactional theory, the reader and the story both contribute to enjoyment of the story. Based on the reader’s previous experiences and his or her own personality, reading this story might stir up some different feelings. Many readers of How Many Days to America may have family members who are refugees of some kind, and this story could have an emotional affect on them because of this fact. Equivalently, students could be reading this story because they are curious about how refugees make the trip to America, similar to that of the Pilgrims. These two different approaches to reading the story represent the way that reading this story is on a continuum from the efferent, information gather, stance, to the aesthetic, reading for emotional reasons, stance.

Eve Bunting’s story How Many Days to America is filled with curriculum connections. First off, this story could be read as an extension from a lesson on the First Thanksgiving as it describes another refugee group’s story and the continual celebration of Thanksgiving. It would be a perfect book to read during the week of Thanksgiving regardless of the current Social Studies unit as well. Lastly, this story could be a pre-reading for a discussion and activity about refugees. Students could make and then discuss reasons of their own as to why they would leave their life behind in one country to move to another. From here a simulation activity could be done representing the hardships of leaving a country in a small boat with limited resources. This activity or lesson should end with a discussion on being thankful for what we have here in America. Using the strong emotions depicted in this story would help the students create a personal connection with the story and hopefully grow from reading the story and participating in the post-reading activities.