Where the Sidewalk Ends

Silverstein, S. (1974). Where the sidewalk ends. New York: Harper and Row.
I spent a little more time this week selecting a book, because I wanted it to be something that I can use in my own classroom and see the connection for others. I chose Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein since I have it in my personal collection and I have found them entertaining since I was a child. This collection of poems are entertaining for both adults and children. They include topics such as anxiety to nose picking with many underlying themes.

One of the poems I really like is the first one in the book titled "Invitation."

Invitation
If your are a dreamer, come in,
If you are a dreamer, wisher, liar.
A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer...
If you are pretender, come sit by my fire,
For we have some flax- golden tales to spin.
Come in!
Come in!

In the poem there are several points of repetition. For example, dreamer and come in are repeated. This emphasizes the point of the book being based on the dreams of the poetry and continuously invites others to experience these.

The poem "Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout" provides examples of alliteration with the s sound being repeated.

I also like how all the poems center around the theme that anything can happen. These poems are inspiring as a whole. I love to read, but reading books based on poetry is sometimes difficult. This is one that I can easily pick up, be entertained, and actually walk away with something.

Coming On Home Soon

Woodson, J. (2004). Coming on home soon. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.
Age Range: This book is appropriate for children in kindergarten through third grade.
Summary: The main character Ada must face the challenge of her mother leaving to find work. Ada and her grandmother are left alone while her mother heads to Chicago to find work. They help each other while they wait for the letter saying that "mama" will be home soon. Knitting and giving a stray kitten milk keeps Ada going, but for some time no money or a letter arrives. The illustrations by Earl B. Lewis are what make this book unique. They create anticipation throughout the story.

For example, in the picture above the illustrations show how Ada and her grandmother support each
other.


The illustration above shows both characters desire for "mama" to come home.
Reflection: This would be a great book to share on the importance of family relationships, because of how Ada and her grandmother support each other during the mother's absence. It could also benefit children who go without seeing their parents for some time. For example, children who have parents that travel for their jobs or children with parents in the military could relate to this book.

Monster

Myers, W. D. (1999). Monster. New York, NY: Harper Collins.
Age Range: This book is appropriate for students in grades seven and up.
Summary: "Sometimes I feel like I have walked into the middle of a movie. Maybe I can make my own movie. The film will be the story of my life. No, not my life, but of this experience. I'll call it what the lady prosecutor called me ... Monster." This quote gives deep insight into one of the major themes of Monster by Walter Dean Myers, which involves introspection. In the book the main character Steve must come to terms with his actions. Steve is 16 year old that is accused of being the lookout for a robbery gone bad and is imprisoned as a result of the murder of the store owner. While awaiting trial for murder he uses a screenplay format and journals to make since of his life; including the things he has done and has not. The justice system and race play a major role in an additional theme as well. Due to the fact that Steve is black the justice system already assumes he is guilty, because the witness and his arrest. The font in the book also plays an important role for the reader. Myers changes the font to make certain words stand out, which makes it easier for readers to distinguish Steve's thoughts. Myers also draws in readers through the script style writing, which helps readers connect with the text and feel as though they are with Steve throughout the trial.
Reflection: I think this book is overall challenging, especially for younger students. It has so many underlying emotions and meanings that it suits older children best because they could relate with Steve's overall focus of questioning who he is. A few of my students have read it and some did not like the script format, because they felt that it was confusing or made it easy to lose focus. I thought that it was good because it's different, but I don't prefer it. I did like how the author put the reader in Steve's shoes throughout the trial and allowed readers to follow him and his thoughts.
Big Questions:  This book raises several questions that I have and that students could focus on about our society. First of all, should people we say are presumed innocent until proven guilty be held in prison? Also, is it okay for every individual to be punished for a crime that they did not actually commit even though they may have been involved?

Life as We Knew It

Life as We Knew It

Pfeffer, S., B. (2006). Life as we knew it. New York, NY: Harcourt Children's Books.

Age Range: This book is suitable for readers twelve and beyond. It can capture the interest of any reader, even adults.

Summary: This book is written in a first person point view from the main character Miranda. She documents her and her family's journey of survival after a world-wide catastrophe in a journal. Miranda is an average teenage girl who begins the book with only boys and sports on her mind, but after the moon is knocked off its axis by an asteroid, food and warmth are all anyone cares about. One of the most important parts of this book is how the setting impacts the characters and the plot. Struggling to survive readers see normal people that they could relate to change into animals and criminals. Things that would have been illegal before the big event are now widely accepted, because of the current situation. There are also several flashbacks to what life was like before the big event. For example, the main character remembers being a child and only worrying about boys, the movies, and ice skating instead of worrying about a can of beans. Miranda also realizes that she has had the opportunities to enjoy life, but her younger brother will never get the same opportunities. Readers can easily relate to this book, because they understand all of the wonderful opportunities they have to be children, and it's scary for them to think of being forced to grow up too soon. It is also so realistic. Knowing that the events in the story could become a reality is what keeps readers going.

Reflection: This book is amazing. It is the first novel that my seventh graders read in my class. I chose it because it can easily draw in the most reluctant readers. It has connections to science, history, family, relationships, and especially survival. What is really important in the book is how characters change throughout the text. Neighborliness is out of the door when stockpiling and wood stoves are the only means of survival. Its journal format makes it an easy read for any reader. There is only one drawback to the book, which is that extreme means of survival only kick in at the beginning and end. The second and third books in this series are strictly devoted to living, instead of the big event. After reading this book or any in the series your whole mindset on preparation changes. I truly felt myself wondering if I should by more canned goods and bottles of water after reading this!



Big Questions: How do the characters change from the beginning until the end? How is staying together a method of staying alive? How does the big event impact the entire world? What will life be like after the big event? How would prepare? What would you do if you were in this situation?

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.1 Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.3 Analyze how particular elements of a story or drama interact (e.g., how setting shapes the characters or plot)

The Giving Tree

Silverstein, S. (1964). The giving tree. New York: Harper & Row.
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein is a great book for all ages, even students in the older grades. The tree in the story represents more than just an average tree. It does more than just give, it teaches.
The story centers around a tree and a boy who continuously wants more from the tree. As the story goes on his needs grow. The tree wanting to make this boy happy continues giving all that she has. In the beginning the tree is happy about this, but when she realizes this does not keep the boy around, her happiness soon disappears.

Younger children could learn about giving and being selfish from the story. They could also examine plot sequence. Older children can use this story to examine theme. They could look at a themes dealing with sacrifice and greed. Students could simply read the story or analyze its underlying meaning.

The book is illustrated with simple line drawings. It is written in a straightforward language.

This is a great book for all ages.

The Grouchy Ladybug

Carle, E. (2010). The grouchy ladybug. Washington D.C.: Teaching Strategies.
I chose this book because it is timeless. Children loved it when I was a child and continue to love it today. This book is appropriate for children in grades Pre-K to third grade. There are several topics that all grades could examine when reading this story including friendship and sharing.
This book centers around a ladybug who is selfish and brags about himself/herself a little too much. The ladybug attempts to intimidate everyone in sight, but fails. This bad-tempered ladybug eventually becomes well behaved. The summary overall shows why this would be a great book for teaching sharing and friendship. In the story the ladybug is rude to other ladybugs and other animals. Eventually the ladybug returns to the other ladybug and is forgiven. This part shows the theme of finding in friends in odd places.

Another important aspect of this book are the pictures. The other gradually leads up to larger animals. This would be great to use for comparing and contrasting. Pages in the text are also broken up to represent the whale's flapping tale. Pages are also broken up to represent time as the ladybug attempts to intimidate other people.

Overall this is a great book to share with younger children, especially when exploring social behavior.

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig

Steig, W. (1969). Sylvester and the magic pebble. New York: Windmill Books.
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig won the Caldecott Medal in 1970. It was one of my favorite books as a child. I love sharing it with my middle school students, because it can be a vital resource for teaching the elements of fiction. It is also such an interesting story; it keeps readers on the edge of their seats.

This book is appropriate for children in kindergarten through high school. There are so many ways to tie this book in with the elements of fiction. For example, students could simply study the plot and character or even analyze how the character changed.

The book centers around the main character, Sylvester. He is a pebble collector, and is specifically interested in pebbles with unusual shapes and colors. He finds a very special pebble that can make wishes, but before he can use the magic to do good, he accidentally changes himself into a rock to escape a lion. The book goes on to follow Sylvester's depressive state due to being separated from his parents and coming to terms with living out his life as a rock.

This is a great story that follows a chronological plot. There are two main types of conflict in the story, which are person versus self and person versus nature. The person versus self conflict is evident in Sylvester's depressive state where he blames himself for being a rock, his family missing him, and his struggle with being separated from his family. This would be an excellent example for middle and high school students to look at when studying how characters struggle in with internal conflicts and change as a result of them. The person versus nature conflict occurs between Sylvester and the lion, which would be an excellent example for elementary students to look at. The conflict between Sylvester and the lion is external, so it is fairly easier for readers to identify it and explain how it changed Sylvester's life.

Unlike most children's book, this book truly lets you understand the characters feelings. The author does this through a strong use of characterization. The author fully describes Sylvester's inner thoughts during his struggle of being a rock and actually hearing his family around him. There are also descriptions of Sylvester by his parents, descriptions of his senseless actions with magic, dialogue from him explaining his feelings, and his physical appearance is shown through the illustrations.

This book is also useful for teaching theme. I used it last year with my sixth graders when we were learning about theme and they really enjoyed it. It was amazing all of the themes they came up with and evidence to back it up. One of the most popular themes across all of the classes was "sometimes people have all that they need, a family that loves them." They felt that they could really relate to this, because like most kids today they always want more. This story is overall a great example of the importance of family.

The story is also an easy read with straightforward language that explains each event; furthermore, the sentences and organization flow easily, which makes it appropriate for all ages. The illustrations in the book are also realistic with a twist. Everything except the animals in clothing is a replica of a real town. For example, the houses, the clothing, the police, and natural elements are represented in a realistic form.


This story has so many details in this story that can be analyzed by students. Some big questions that students can focus on are:
1. How does Sylvester change throughout the story? Give evidence from the text to support your answer.
2. The author uses pigs to represent the police. How does our society use pigs to symbolize the police? (This is a controversial question that is most appropriate for older students. It also relates to how the police in the story react to Sylvester's disappearance.)
3. How does the author show how dangerous power can be in the wrong hands? Give evidence from the text to support your answer.
4. How does the topic of family develop throughout the text?

Common Core Standards that this story connects to are:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.1 Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.3 Analyze how particular elements of a story or drama interact (e.g., how setting shapes the characters or plot).