Book Talk: Henry's Freedom Box (4-21-13)

Levine, E., & Nelson, K. (2007). Henry's freedom box. New York: Scholastic Press.

What if the only life you knew was of slavery and pain? 

What if your whole family could be taken away from you in one quick sale?

Henry Brown is a slave in Virginia in 1849 that hopes to one day find an escape from this cruel world of slavery. He finally finds happiness when he meets the love of his life and makes a family with her. The days are long and the nights are longer, never knowing where he or his family will end up. When tragedy strikes Henry’s life, he will stop at almost nothing to be free, even if it means mailing himself in a box across the country. The only thing between him and freedom is a wooden crate and the miles from Richmond to Philadelphia. Henry Brown is risking everything for what he knows to be right.
Will he make it to his destination?
Will he be caught in his journey?
Based on an account from the Underground Railroad, read this heartbreaking and inspiring story to find out just how far someone will go for freedom. 

The Boy Who Loved Words (3-16-13)

Schotter, R., & Potter, G. (2006). The boy who loved words. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books. 

Genre- Picture Book, Children’s Fiction

Age- 6-8  (Although many websites say this is the age range, I would argue that is should be an older children’s book due to the words used being higher level.)

Summary: Selig is a boy who loves words and collects them everywhere he goes. Selig would say the words, write it down, and tear off the little piece of paper and keep it in his pockets, sleeves, or anywhere they would fit! Throughout his childhood, the main character is always an outsider, observing the world and using words to describe it. After feeling alone and sad, Selig dreams about finding his purpose in life and soon does after meeting a poet in need of the perfect words. The reader will love watching a dreamer like Selig find his purpose in life and put all of his good words to use as he grows into adulthood.

Reflection: From the front cover to the end papers, the reader of this book is surrounded by a sea of beautifully complicated words. The author uses rich words to describe Selig and the world around him. The readers quickly get to know how Selig is viewed by his family and peer as an “oddball”. His mother and father are full of worry when they wonder what good can come from their son’s love of words. The illustrations tell a story, with words as labels to describe how Selig views the world around him. The media used was a mixture of pencil, ink, gouache, gesso, watercolor, and collage. The illustrator uses mainly greens and blues to let the reader understand the mood of the story is very strange and lonely, much like the main character. I love how the book shows that a young boy with a passion can find his way in the world and find his purpose, when his nickname proudly becomes his identifier. “Wordsworth” is a character that many young readers can relate to, because he feels that he doesn’t fit in or know his purpose in life yet.

The end papers are a great resource to teachers and students who read this book and want to know what many of these interesting words mean! A teacher could definitely use this book to inspire students to use rich, exciting words in their writing to interest readers. 

If you'd like to check out this fun story, copy and paste this link for a wonderful online reading of it, including actual pictures on You Tube!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTScRTNvIcI  

The Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County (3-16-13)

Harrington, J. N., & Jackson, S. (2007). The chicken-chasing queen of Lamar County. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Genre: Picture Book, Children’s Fiction

Age: K-2

Summary: This free-spirited young girl spends lots of time on her grandmother’s farm chasing chickens. She likes to call herself the chicken-chasing queen of Lamar County! She puts her skills to the test and tries everything she can to catch her favorite chicken, Miss Hen. Through her chicken-chasing adventures, and despite Big Mama’s warnings, she tries to outsmart the fastest chicken and ends up finding a little surprise.  

Reflection: I absolutely LOVED the illustrations in this picture book. The bright and colorful collage-type letters and patterns jump out across the page and your eyes have trouble focusing on just one thing. The detailed hen keeps your eyes moving. 

 Even the title uses a collage of cut-out letters to spell it out. The double-spread layout of illustrations dominates the story and the farm setting is integral to the story. The fun and free-spirit of the main character is infectious. The author uses imagery to describe the beauty of the farm and all of the hens, while using tons of onomatopoeia. This book would be a great read aloud for younger children and a great book to use for modeling how to make predictions. Students would love to predict whether or not she will outsmart Miss Hen or what surprise she finds while chasing her. 

My favorite illustration involves the little girl and Miss Hen. They are peaking at each other, one eye closed, while the little girl dreams of all the ways she can outsmart Miss Hen to catch her. I love the suspense at the end of this page that reads, “Keep still. Keep still and then –” 

Amanda Pig and the Really Hot Day (3-16-13)

Van, L. J., & Schweninger, A. (2005). Amanda Pig and the really hot day. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers.

Age: K-2, Dial Easy-to-Read Series- Level 2

Genre: Easy Read Picture Book, Children's Fiction

Summary: In this short, 4-chapter, picture book, Amanda Pig tries everything to beat the heat on this hot summer’s day. With the help of her parents and her best friend Lollipop, Amanda spends the day trying to get cool. Her brother, Oliver, and his friends make the day a little tougher for Amanda and her friend, but the girls find a way to make the day full of fun and giggles, and lots and lots of lemonade!

Reflection: This Geisel Honor book was refreshing and sweet for young, beginning readers. The pencil and watercolor illustrations give the book a colorful, child-like feel. Amanda Pig’s family is a typical family that spends the summer together. Like many children’s fiction books, this story modeled how families work and play together, while showing the slight troubles a young brother and sister might encounter. In the end, the whole family comes together outside, under the stars, and tells a “cool” story to end this hot, busy day. Due to the reading level, the sentences were short, with simple dialogue. The chapters were always short (about 10 pages), with a small, framed illustration on each page. 

The author did a great job using repetition of the word “hot” and many different similes to portray just how hot this day was!

"I'm as hot as a fried egg."

There are many other Oliver and Amanda Pig books for young readers!

Lilly's Big Day (3-10-13)

Henkes, K. (2006). Lilly’s big day. New York: Greenwillow Books. 

Genre: Picture Book- Fiction

Age: 4 and up

Summary: Lilly, a young little mouse, is elated to hear about the upcoming wedding for her teacher, Mr. Slinger to the school nurse, Ms. Shotwell. Although it will be a big day for her teacher, Lilly hopes it will be a big day for, too. She wants to be the flower girl! Mr. Slinger plans for his niece to be the flower girl, while Lilly has plans to convince him otherwise. Mr. Slinger gives Lilly a big job, as the flower girl assistant, and she has her moment of fame at the wedding.

Reflection: From the purple-spined hardcover to the pink, green, and yellow balloons on the cover, this book has GIRL written all over it. The author and illustrator, Kevin Henkes, uses beautiful watercolor paints with a hefty portion of pinks and purples, to attract young, girly readers to this fun story! This story has a progressive plot with a focus on a little mouse girl’s emotions as she sets her sights on a dream, gets disappointed, and then makes the best of her new situation. There is a bit of repetition in the text as Lilly practices her flower girl moves and later teaches them to Ginger, Mr. Slinger’s niece. With the story revolving around flowers, weddings, pink and purple, there are not many draws for a male audience. Most of the illustrations are framed, so they do not take over the whole page. This is true until the pages in which Lilly is practicing her best flower girl moves.

The composition compliments the text, because these particular pictures seem to dance around the page, much like the magical movements of the flower girl she is practicing to be.  I would recommend this book to young readers and elementary school teachers, because the story shows how students can reach for their dreams, but sometimes can be presented with situations and opportunities to change your plans and make the best of it.

A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever (3-10-13)

                                                                                                                                                        Frazee, M. (2008). A couple of boys have the best week ever. New York: Harcourt, Inc.Genre: Picture Book- Realistic Fiction

Age: 6-9

Summary: This Caldecott Honor-winning book was about a couple of boys, James and Eamon, who spend a week during summer vacation with Eamon’s grandparents. The boys are typical little boys, getting into messes and trouble, while the best plans are laid out for them to have “organized fun” throughout the week at nature camp.

Reflection: This realistic picture book about friendship could be read by an independent young reader, although I would argue the age range a bit, due to the sarcasm and the conflict between the text and illustrations. The writing itself was very simplistic and flowed easily. The pictures in this book were absolutely necessary to understanding the humor that wasn’t directly written. For example, the author often contradicted her writing with her illustrations or explained what she was really saying “between the lines.”

This page read, “In the morning, Bill took the boys to nature camp. The road was long and curvy. James and Eamon learned a lot of new vocabulary words while Bill drove.” The illustration shows the reader what kind of words they were learning.   

At first the book didn’t quite make sense to me, so I had to read it again. This time, with the expectation that I would be reading the illustrations as much as the words, it made much more sense and I could see why it won a Caldecott Honor. This book captured the essence of little boys in the summer time finding fun wherever they go. The colors of the illustrations complement the mood of the text, by making the reader feel like they are relaxing on summer vacation and enjoying the carefree nature of being a child. It showed how kids today love to make their own fun indoors and sometimes forget about the simplistic fun that nature can offer. This was exemplified when they boys were “practicing quiet meditation” and enjoying the beach indoors. 

This could be used in a classroom to show students how the illustrations are just as important to read as the words. It would be neat to read the book to the students first by not showing them any of the pictures. After discussing the book and how the students understood what was happening, read it again,    including the illustrations, and watch how their perception of the story changes.