Paddington Bear Animal Fantasy Literature Selection

 

Summary:

I read the book Paddington Bear, by Michael Bond.  The book is about a bear that had been left at the train station.  Mr. and Mrs. Brown found Paddington Bear while they were waiting for their daughter at the train station.  They decide to take Paddington Bear home and he gets into a little mischief as he makes himself at home.

Evaluation of genre:

This book’s genre would be animal fantasy. Paddington bear wears a hat and a coat Paddington Bear can walk and talk just as if he was human.  Paddington Bear is a cute little bear that young readers love because he is a bear.  The illustrations in Paddington Bear are by John Lobban.  Mr. Lobban used an outlining style to create Paddington Bear as a caricature.  Mr. Lobban also used bright colors for Paddington Bear and dull colors for the background areas.  The bright colors that the illustrator used for Paddington gives the bear life and a focal point for the reader.

 

Questions to Ask:

Do you have a teddy bear?


How is Paddington Bear like us?

Who has been to a train station?

Have you ever seen anything strange at the train station?

Do you think Paddington Bear was being naughty when he over flooded the bathtub?

What was your favorite part in the storybook?

Do you think it is possible for a teddy bear to eat and drink like you and I?

Do you think Paddington Bear would make a good friend?

What did you not like about the story?

Activities:

A motivational activity for the children would be for the children to write a different ending for Paddington Bear.  Instead of taking Paddington Bear home, maybe Mr. and Mrs. Brown left Paddington Bear at the train station and he found anther set of parents waiting for their children.  Maybe the children could have Paddington Bear ride the train to another location, in the story Paddington Bear had just came from Peru, so maybe Paddington Bear would like to go on another adventure.

The children could create a scrapbook for Paddington Bear with his adventures at the train station waiting on someone to take him home. The children could start the scrapbook with how they thought Paddington Bear got to Paddington station along with the dates. Then the children could create pictures of Paddington Bear eating in the cafeteria.  The children could draw pictures along with the date that Paddington Bear met the Browns.  The scrapbook would be a little memory book for Paddington Bear to remember how he met the Browns.  Since Paddington has one scrapbook already he probably would LOVE to have another one.

 

My Thoughts:

My younger son and I read Paddington Bear together and as he realized the Paddington Bear was moving he said, ”WHOAH, that bear is moving!”  I laughed because I did not expect him to say that.  Paddington Bear was a fun book to read with my son, I enjoyed hearing him say, “Paddington Bear was making a mess and he would not do that”.  Paddington Bear allows the reader to get lost in the fantasy imagining that a teddy bear can talk and walk.

Michael Bond lives near the Paddington station in London.  He is married and has two adult children.  Mr. Bond had his first story published in a magazine called London Opinion in 1945.  A Bear called Paddington was Mr. Bond’s first book and that was published in 1958.  Mr. Bond has written a series of the Paddington books.  The series was very successful, and Mr. Bond was able to leave his job and focus on writing full-time.

References

Bond, M. (1972). Paddington Bear. Harper Collins. Great Britain.

Bond, M. (2013). Michael Bond. Retrieved from http://www.paddingtonbear.com/thenandnowmichaelbond.html

Cullinan, B. & Galda L. & Sipe L. (2010) Literature and the Child. 7^th Ed. Belmont, CA. Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Uncle Jed's Barbershop Historical Fiction Literature Selection

Summary:

The book I read today was Uncle Jed’s Barbershop, it was written by Margaree King Mitchell.  This book was about Sarah Jean’s Uncle Jed.  Jedediah Johnson, aka Uncle Jed, was a barber and he traveled all across the country to cut hair because he did not have his own barbershop.  Uncle Jed dreamed of owning his barbershop and his dream finally becomes a reality through overcoming the obstacles that were laid before him and hard work.

Evaluation of genre:

The genre for this book would be historical fiction.  This setting of this book takes place in the South where most individuals where sharecroppers at the time. For the individuals that were able to own their own land, they were just trying to keep their land and their home.  The plot has a few twists and turns that the author has put in the book and they are plausible.  In the book Uncle Jed traveled all over the South to cut people’s hair that needed a haircut.  Before Uncle Jed started being a traveling barber Sarah Jane’s dad had to travel over 30 miles for a haircut.  The author’s authenticity of the details allows the reader to know that the setting affects the plot and the characters.  James Ransome painted the illustrations in the book.  Mr. Ransome used oil paint on paper to create the rich detail, which helps enhance the characterization, plot, and detail of the story.  In one part of the book Sarah Jane becomes ill and has to be taken to the doctor’s office, Mr. Ransome’s illustration of the black families waiting in the doctor’s office with worry on their face, as they wait for all of the white patients to be seen.  The illustrations along with the words capture the true essence of this place and time in history.

 

Questions to Ask:

Who has been to a barbershop?

When you grow-up what career/job would you like to have?

How many of you save your money?


What did you like the least about the story?

How did Uncle Jed help Sarah Jean's parents and Sarah Jean?

Do you think it is important to have dreams (or rather things that you would like to do one day)?

In the story Uncle Jed rode a horse to get from town to town, how did we get from one place to another now?

In the illustrations how are the clothes different than how we dress today?

Have you ever helped someone that needed help?

How did helping that person make you feel?

Activities:

One motivational activity would be to create a 3D present for Uncle Jed for his barbershop.  The children could make “clippers”, “comb”, or ”broom” articles a barber may need.  The children could make the gifts maybe out of play dough or other miscellaneous items they could find that maybe in their classroom and present the gifts to Uncle Jed. The gifts would be accompanied with a short essay to explain why they choose the gift (s) that they would like to give him.

Another motivational activity would be for the children to create a newspaper about the opening day of Uncle Jed’s Barbershop.    The front page would be “Uncle Jed’s Barbershop Now Open”.  The editorials in the newspaper would explain the obstacles Uncle Jed overcame, how long he waited to finally be able to open his barbershop, and how Uncle Jed never gave up on the dream of owning his own barbershop. The advertisements could be for half -priced haircuts, or grand opening specials.  The newspaper would reflect that this was a special day for Uncle Jed, and it was a reason to celebrate.

My Thoughts:

This was a great book!  This book was very inspirational.  I think the author and the illustrator captured the essence of never giving up on one’s dream no matter how many obstacles are put in front of you.  I also believe that the author captured the family spirit and what it means to sacrifice for others and even when you know you may never get it back in return.  Before having to take this class I would have never thought of the genre and I would have probably never checked this book out of the library, but this really is a great book.   What makes this a great book in my opinion is back in that day and time those individuals had less than what we have right now, and Uncle Jed through perseverance accomplished the goal of owning a barbershop. 

Margaree Mitchell King was inspired to write Uncle Jed’s Barbershop, after a visit to her son’s elementary school in Mississippi back in 1993 and realizing that children in her son’s first grade classroom that the children in her son’s classroom did not appear to have any self-esteem and that they did not have support from their homes.  Some of these children had not seen a book.  Mrs. Mitchell felt that if she could write a book that would inspire the children about achieving dreams this would help motivate them to continue with school so that they would have a better life (Olemiss 2007).  Mrs. Mitchell has also written Granddaddy’s Gift and she is doing research for her next project on Buffalo Soldiers.

References

Cullinan, B. & Galda L. & Sipe L. (2010) Literature and the Child. 7^th Ed. Belmont, CA. Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Mitchell, M. K. (1993). Uncle Jed’s Barbershop. Simon & Shuster. New York, NY.

Mitchell, M.K. (2007) Margaree King Mitchell.  Retrieved from http://www.olemiss.edu/mwp/dir/mitchell_margaree_king/

 

Maybelle in the Soup Animal Fantasy Literature Selection

 

Summary:

I read Maybelle in the Soup, by Katie Speck.  The book is about a cockroach named Maybelle who decides she no longer wants to taste the crumbs of the food from the plates that hit the floor. Maybelle wants to eat real food from the plates before it hits the floor.

Evaluation of genre:

Maybelle in the Soup would fall under the genre animal fantasy.  In this story the author uses insects that act like humans as they are having conversations with one another and they insects have ideas and thoughts.  The genre is great because the author allows the reader to see how the cockroach and the flea interact with one another just as we may interact with each other.  The author portrays Maybelle (the cockroach) and Henry (the flea) as two close friends having a conversation concerning Maybelle wanting to be able to taste food while it is on the plate instead of eating crumbs form the floor and Henry warning her that Maybelle being seen in the light is not a good idea because the humans will try to kill her.   The illustrations in the book are by Paul Ràtz de Tagyos.  The illustrations are not very big but the reader can tell what Maybelle and Henry are doing in the book.  The illustrator only used color on the cover of the book the rest of the book’s illustrations are black and white. It looks like the illustrator used the outlining style and the colored in his illustrations using watercolors and then copied them to black and white pictures.  Mr. Ràtz’s illustrations are very simple and very cute. I believe that may be because this book is better suited for an intermediate reader who will not need as many illustrations to assist with the story.

Questions to Ask:

How did you like the story?

Have you ever seen a cockroach?

Do you think Maybelle acted like the cockroach you have seen?

How was Maybelle like a human?

Do you think it is possible for a cockroach and a flea to go on vacation together?

Do you have a friend like Henry?

What did you like the  least about the story?

What did you like the most about the story?

Do you think a cockroach would make a good pet? Why? Why Not?

Activities:

The children could create 3D present for Maybelle.  They could take a paper plate and create “food” out of play dough.   They can shape different color play dough into food and write and essay of what food they decided to leave Maybelle and why they thought she would like that food.

The children could also write an once/now essay. The essay would began by explaining how once Maybelle wanted to eat food from plates and what she did to try to get real food and what happened.  The children would continue with their essay and explaining how now Maybelle has decided to eat the crumbs from the floor because it is safer than trying to eat food from the plates.

My Thoughts:

             This book is a very good book for older readers.  I think that the author was being very creative with this book.  Mrs. Speck described how the “rules” for the cockroach in the first chapter of the book that if was light outside or if there were lights on Maybelle could not bee seen and she had to hide.  Maybelle also knew that she had to hide from humans and their feet. Mrs. Speck described, creatively, the actions of a cockroach to the reader. Mrs. Speck also foreshadowed what would be happening in this cute book.  This book is a great intermediate book.  The chapters are not too long.  I believe I read this book in less than an hour.  I feel that this book had the right amount of humor and it made a really good animal fantasy book.  I do not really consider a cockroach or a flea as an animal, but I feel that the author did a really good job with this story.
 

About the Author:

Katie Speck was raised in New Orleans and she grew up around a lot of cockroaches.  Back then it was hard to control the cockroaches so her grandmother would give the cockroaches names as they would see them and tell Katie stories about the cockroaches.  Her grandmother gave all the cockroaches they encountered the name “Maybelle”.  Mrs. Speck is married and she has a daughter and her name is Maybelle.  Mrs. Speck carried the tradition telling her daughter Maybelle stories about cockroaches and her daughter encouraged her to write the stories down.  Mrs. Speck had wanted to be a writer for a long time, but like many of us was afraid she would fail.  Through her daughter’s encouragement (Mrs. Speck would say “nagging”) she began writing her story on 3x5 index cards so that she did not have empty sheets of paper, which cultivated into books.

References

Cullinan, B. & Galda L. & Sipe L. (2010) Literature and the Child. 7^th Ed. Belmont, CA. Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Speck, K. (2007). Maybelle in the Soup. Henry Holt an Co. New York, NY.

Speck, K. (2013). Katie Speck. Retrieved from http://www.katiespeck.com/katiespeck/Katie_Speck.html

Toothpaste from Start to Finish Nonfiction Selection

Summary:

I read Toothpaste from Start to Finish, by Tonya Lee Stone.  The book is a nonfiction book and explains to the reader how toothpaste is made from the beginning (when it is first created), to the end (once it is packaged and placed on the shelf).

Evaluation of genre:  

The genre for this book would be nonfiction.  This book was very informative on how toothpaste is made.  The author, Tanya Lee Stone used the Tom’s Toothpaste manufacturing company to explain to the reader how they make their all-natural toothpaste.  The book is very informative of how process begins, how the process progresses, and how the toothpaste is filled in the tubes and packaged to be shipped to be placed on the shelf.   Jill Brady was the photographer for this book, she took many pictures to accompany the words so that the reader would be able to not only read about how toothpaste is made, but they could also see the process.  I believe her pictures were perfect. 

Questions to Ask:

Have you ever heard of Tom's All-Natural Toothpaste?

What toothpaste do you use?

Do you know of any other all-natural products?

What did you like about the book?

Why do you think it is best to use all-natural products?

Do you think there is a different taste between the toothpaste you use and  Tom's all-natural toothpaste?

Motivational activities:

The children could create a newspaper with the headlines “The Day We Went To Tom’s”.  The children could write an editorial on which toothpaste is better all-natural toothpaste or toothpaste made with ingredients that we are unable to read.  The children could create advertisements for the different flavors for the all-natural toothpaste.  And the children could pretend that they went to Main and visited the manufacturing company and interviewed the founders of Tom’s all-natural products Tom and Kate Chappell, and “interview” them as to why they decide to create this great all-natural product.

            The children could write an Once/Now essay explaining how once on the grocery shelves there were only toothpaste products that had ingredients that we were not sure what the ingredients were made of or how to pronounce the names of the ingredients. The children could explain why this product would not be such a good idea to use.  Then the children could write their Now part of the essay explaining how there is Tom’s toothpaste which is all natural.   The children could explain what the ingredients are in Tom’s toothpaste and why they think that this toothpaste is better to use.

My Thoughts:

This is a great nonfiction book!  I think this book is the equivalent of taking a field trip without actually going on a field trip.  This book also opens up children’s minds to know that there are careers that they could one day have when they are older.   I also liked this book because it interviewed the founders of Tom’s toothpaste Tom and Kate Chappell and allowed them to explain why they started their all-natural business.  I think that this is great for children to see that they if they are worried about how something may affect them they can make changes.  This was a very good book because the book not only explained the how something is made, but it also explained the why behind it.

Tanya Lee Stone writes many nonfiction books.  She was raised in a home that was filled with books.  When she was growing up she would write stories and draw illustrations that would go along with the stories.  Miss Stone went to Oberlin College where she studied English once she graduated she moved to New York and became an editor.  She has written many nonfiction books and she has also written fiction books and poetry.

References

Cullinan, B. & Galda L. & Sipe L. (2010) Literature and the Child. 7^th Ed. Belmont, CA. Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Stone, T.L. (2001). Toothpaste: From Start to Finish. Blackbirtch Press. Woodbridge, CT.

Stone, T.L. (2013). Tonya Lee Stone. Retrieved from http://www.tanyastone.com/bio.html

 

Cocoa Bean To Chocolate Nonfiction Selection

Summary:

I read the book Cocoa Bean To Chocolate, by Julie Murray.  This nonfiction book is about chocolate.  Ms. Murray explains to the reader what plant chocolate is from, where the plant is grown, what the farmer has to do to the chocolate before it can be shipped to the factories, and how the chocolate is manufactured.

Evaluation of genre:

I think that this book fits the criteria of a nonfiction book. The information that is in the book explains to the reader the beginnings of chocolate.  This book gives a young reader just enough information to satisfy the curious mind, but it does not overwhelm a young child with too much information.  Ms. Murray gives the reader facts about how chocolate was used for kings, and queens.  Ms. Murray also gives a few facts about the maker of Hershey’s chocolate, Milton Hershey.   The book is full of different photos of chocolate through the various stages of chocolate.  From the cacao plants that grow the pods that hold the cocoa beans, to the tempering process of the chocolate being prepared for packaging.  The pictures fit nicely by the information so that the reader will understand the information the author is conveying.
 

Questions to Ask:

Who likes chocolate?

Before reading the book did you know where chocolate came from?

Have you ever seen the cacao plant?

Have you ever seen cocoa beans?

Do you remember the last time you had something chocolate?

What did you like the least about the book?

What did you like the most about the book?

Activities:

A motivational activity would be to have the children write an once/now essay for chocolate.  They explain what the learned from the book about how the chocolate was once a pod on a cacao tree and explain the process the coco bean has to go through before it becomes a chocolate bar.  Once they get to the chocolate bar part the children can explain in their essay that now they have a chocolate bar because of the cacao plant and cocoa beans.

The children could write a chocolate cookbook.  Recipes such as:

Chocolate Sundaes:

2 Scoops of chocolate ice cream  

Whip cream

Drizzle chocolate syrup

1 cherry (optional)

Directions:

1.     Place ice cream in a bowl.

2.     Add whip cream

3.     Drizzle chocolate

4.     Add cherry

5.     Eat

Dirt Cups

4 Cups Crushed Oreos

2 Cups Chocolate Pudding

1 Cup Whip cream

4 Gummy worms

4 Clear cups (4oz)

Directions:                                                                                                    

 

1.     Place 1 TBS. crushed Oreos in clear cup.

2.     In a large bowl fold in whip cream in chocolate pudding

3.     Place 2 TBS of chocolate pudding mix over crushed Oreos in the clear cups

4.     Repeat steps 1 and 2 once more.  Place one more layer of crushed Oreos on top.

5.     Insert worms in Oreo pudding mixture so that the worms hang out a little.

6.     Refrigerate for one hour.

7.     Eat

Chocolate pudding pops:

1 package of chocolate pudding (any brand will do)

12 paper cups

2 Cups cold milk

12 Popsicle sticks

 

 Directions:

1.     Prepare the pudding as the direction state on the box with the 2 cups of cold milk.

2.     Stir with whisk until the pudding thickens.

3.     Place pudding in the paper cups making sure there is the same amount of pudding in all the cups.

4.     Place Popsicle sticks in the pudding that is in the cups.

5.     Freeze for 3-6 hours.

6.     Take out the freeze and pull off the paper cup.

7.     Eat and Enjoy!

The children could put these recipes in a cookbook (and anymore they could think of) and explain how these recipes would go great with the book Cocoa Bean To Chocolate in an essay. The biggest reason of all would be because it is chocolate of course!

My Thoughts:

Nonfiction books are great especially for younger children because they explain things so simplistically.  This book was not any different.  I love chocolate so when I found this book it was purely for selfish reasons that I decided to check it out from the library.  I think that the book gave the right amount of information for a young reader so that they are not too overloaded with chocolate information.  I could not find much information on Julie Murray.  What I did find is that she has written a lot of nonfiction book from animals to fruit and places to travel.

References

Cullinan, B. & Galda L. & Sipe L. (2010) Literature and the Child. 7^th Ed.

Belmont, CA. Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Murray, J. (2007) Cocoa Bean to Chocolate. ABDO Publishing. Edina

 

Clever Beatrice and the Best Little Pony Folklore Literature Selection

Summary:

For my collection blog this week I read Clever Beatrice and the Best Little Pony, by Margaret Willey. The book was about a little girl and her mother who lives alone in the woods on a farm in France. They discover along with bread maker from Quebec Monsieur Le Pain that an old folklore may be true.

Evaluation of genre:

This book would fall under the genre of folklore.  The folklore was about a little creature called a “Lutin”.  Monsieur Le Pain’s uncle René had told him about a Lutin. That had been in his (Uncle René’s) stable and bothered his pony.  Monsieur Le Pain never said if his uncle had seen the Lutin. No one had ever seen or heard of a Lutin before (except for Uncle René), so no one knew if a Lutin truly existed.  Folklores are thought to be stories that are told by word of mouth and passed down from generation to generation. 

            The illustrations in the book are quite beautiful. The illustrator, Heather M. Solomon created her illustrations by making a collage and using acrylic, oil and watercolor paints.  I believe that the illustrator used the outlining style along with representational and impressionistic art.  I loved turning the pages and of the book and looking at the details that Mrs. Solomon placed in her illustrations.

Questions to Ask:

Have you ever heard of  folklore?


Do you think a Lutin is real?

Have you ever been on a farm?

Have been on in a  bakery or a bread shop?

What was your least favorite part of the story?

Do you think that Monsieur Le Pain was any help?

What was your favorite part of the story?

Activities:

A motivational activity for the children to do would be to create a new ending for Clever Beatrice and the Best Little Pony.   In the end of the story Beatrice and Monsieur Le Pain catch the Lutin and they carry him to a field on the far side of the woods and set him free.  The children could rewrite the ending giving the book another ending instead of setting the Lutin free, maybe Beatrice and Monsieur Le Pain let the Lutin stay and the Lutin decided to help Monsieur Le Pain in his bakery. Or maybe Beatrice and her mother could keep the Lutin and he could help out in the stable.

Another motivational activity would be to have the children create a newspaper.  The headline would be that “Monsieur Le Pain and Clever Beatrice Caught a Lutin”. The editorials could be someone describing all the havoc the Lutin caused and what the village thinks of Lutins.  The could create an advertisements for Monsieur Le Pain and Beatrice as Lutin Catchers, and how much they would charge to catch a Lutin.  There could be an ad in the paper for Monsieur Le Pain’s Bakery selling his bread and also there could be an ad for horse riding lessons with Beatrice and her pony.

My Thoughts:

This book was not what I thought as a folklore story.  I liked this book because it was different.  I think that if I had not been paying attention I would have missed that this book would fall under the folklore genre.  I think that I was under the impression that folklores had to be a certain way, for example an older person sitting in a rocking chair spinning tales.  It truly never occurred to me that different countries would have their own folklores, but this was a pleasant lesson to learn from such a cute book.

Margaret Willey was born in Chicago, Ill.   Mrs. Willey is married and has two children.  Mrs. Willey has been writing for over thirty years in different genres.  She started writing folktales about Clever Beatrice and created sequels for the character.

References

Cullinan, B. & Galda L. & Sipe L. (2010) Literature and the Child. 7^th Ed. Belmont, CA. Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Willey, M. (2004). Clever Beatrice and the Best Little Pony. Atheneum. New York, N.Y. 

Willey, M. (2013) Margaret Willey. Retrieved from http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/549800.Margaret_Willey

Willey, M. (2013) Mararet Willey. Retrieved from http://www.margaretwilley.com/