Surdyka+King+Review

1) Caldecott Award/ Caldecott Honor books John, R. (2011). //Blackout//.New York: Hyperion Books. 1423121902. 2) Newbery Award/ Newbery Honor books Lai, T. (2011). //Inside Out and Back Again//.New York: Harper. 0061962783. 3) Corretta Scott King Award book McKissack, P. (2011). //Never Forgotten//.New York: Random House. 037584381. 4) Orbis Pictus Award Bass, H. (2006). //The Secret World of Walter Anderson.// Candlewick Press:Summerville,MA. 076363589. 5) KY Bluegrass Award Clements, A. (2011). //Dogku//. Simon and Schuster:New York. 9781428748644. 6) International Books Shah, I. (2007). //The Boy Without a Name//. Hoopoe Books:Boston. 1883536200. 7) E-books Sooriyarachchi, J. (2006). //The Witches Daughter//. Tikiri Publishers:Sri Lanka. 9551090195. 8) Optional 1 Willems, M. (2011//). I Broke My Trunk//. Hyperion:New York. 1423133099. 9) Optional 2 Lord, C. (2006). //Rules//. Scholastic Press:New York. 0439443830.
 * __Summary:__** A family is to busy to make time for each other until one night a city wide power outage brings the family together. We watch the family keep each other entertained, enjoy time with their community, and ultimately decide its better to have their “own” outage every once in a while.
 * __Opinion:__** I enjoyed this book as it was a quick read with easy repetition. The sequencing of the events made for it to be easy to follow. The pictures with in the book were sharp and crisp but also cartoon like.
 * __Genre:__** Fiction – Family – Cities and Towns – Summer - Power
 * __Curriculum Connection:__** If I were to use this in a classroom I would use an adaptive form of the //Words Are Life Faces// from //Promoting Literacy Development// during the first week of class for grades 2 and 3. In my classroom I would like to have the students identify emotions they would experience as they went through the story i.e. when the power went out they would be angry if they were in the middle of the game. I would then ask my students to get in groups of 3 or 4 and create games they would play in the dark with only a flashlight. My students would have to come up with rules, instructions, and teach other students to create a jigsaw effect.
 * __Summary__**: Written in stanza form this story chronicles the life of a 10 year old Vietnamese girl at the end of Vietnam War. Há, her mother, and brother all fleeVietnam after her father has been missing. We see the heart ache of Há through out the book with quotes like “No one would believe me but at times I would choose wartime in Saigon over peacetime inAlabama” page 193.
 * __Opinion__**: This book made me uncomfortable, heart broken for young Há, and at times I had to look away. Há’s teacher says to her at one point “Being stubborn would make you fluent” page 253. Another area that made this book really hit home was the author experienced many of the events that are chronicled by the main character. Aside from content this book was difficult to read due to the form it was written in.
 * __Genre__**: Realistic Fiction – Immigration – War Time – Novel in Verse
 * __Curriculum Connection__**: This text would create a strong collaborative lesson plan with a 4th -5th grade social studies class by having the book read during review of the Vietnamese crisis and war. Students could journal how they would feel as a Vietnamese student in a new country and social faux pas they may not understand. Students could also extend this lesson by looking in to current day ethnic groups which are fleeing to areas which they live i.e. Albanians, Sudanese, and Bosnians.
 * __Summary__**: After his wife dies giving birth Denga, a talented blacksmiths, asks for help from the four elements to help him raises his son in spite of what the elders say. Unfortunately Denga’s son is taken and put into slavery. It is not until many years down the road that Denga is reunited with his son who also has become a blacksmith.
 * __Opinion__**: I enjoyed the pictures in this book more then the story however found the story heartwarming. The story was written well and in a rhythmic/lyrical manner however at times become redundant. This story would be fun to put some of the words to movement specifically to when he is calling on the elements i.e. “DZHE-LO-WA!” and “FE FE!”
 * __Genre__**: Historical Fiction – Slavery – Four Elements – Blacksmiths – African Americans
 * __Curriculum Connection:__** This book would be good for interest board to attract students attention to early American history specifically slave trade. I think a board of non-fiction accounts and fictional accounts of this would draw interest to the students. Pictures of slaves in America as well as tribes would also make stronger text to historical connections. Though the book is lyrical it would be more suited for 3rd or 4th grade students.
 * __Summary:__** This story chronicles the life of artist Walter Anderson. The reader learns howAnderson goes to The Horn Island to gather his muses (i.e. sea shells, otters, etc) but becomes surprised to learn that he never shares his work. The story starts the wrap up with his becoming ill and death however the way in which his works comes out is comforting.
 * __Opinion__**: I found this story so boring honestly and to wordy at times (I ran into pages with over 100 words!). Another aspect of the story that bothered me was how it talked about his life but the illustrations reflected none of this.
 * __Genre__**: Non Fiction – Bibliography – Art – Life on the Gulf - Mississippi
 * __Curriculum Connection__**: This book would make for an great cross curriculum collaborative approach in a second or third grade classroom. I think it would be great to have students find pictures of animals and fish that are found onHorn Island,Mississippi and how they are reflected in the book. This interest display would go well with a science class and would address state standards in Language Arts with reading of non-fiction as well as in science for understanding animals and life cycles. Another area this book would apply to would be in conjunction with a geography class in which students will use a map of the Southeast United States and identifyHornIsland andNew Orleans (the birth place of Walter Anderson).
 * __Summary__**: An abandoned dog finds a new home and experiences what it is to be loved and taken in. Written in discernable haiku format creates a strong story and an introduction to Haiku.
 * __Opinion__**: I looked at this book and immediately thought how it would work for all age levels. So often students see poetry and Haiku and immediately think of a code like poem that makes no sense however this story proves otherwise.
 * __Genre__**: Poetry – Haiku – Dogs
 * __Curriculum Connection__**: This story would integrate well into a 3rd – 5th grade language arts unit on poetry. Students could begin with reading the story with no introduction to awareness and then asked to count the syllables of each section. Students could then work independently on creating their own haikus. This lesson addresses many state standards like using figurative language and poetry; specifically Haiku.
 * __Summary__**: This story is about a young boy who is not given a name when he is born due the advice of a wise man. Soon he realize he wants a name and he and a friend visit the wise men in hops of getting a name; of course a dream must be exchanged.
 * __Opinion__**: This book started of strong hooking my attention and had me quickly going through the story however it let me down. The end of the story was not what I expected and seemed to just fizzle. On other hand the story had wonderful illustrations which enhanced the story.
 * __Genre__**: Fiction – Sufi Legend
 * __Curriculum Connection__**: This lesson would be strong for a kindergarten through first grade language arts classroom. Students would come together at the first day of school during circle time and read the story. Students would try to guess the boys name and would also give their names. Once the students learned how the boy was able to find his name the teacher would talk about how names are deiced and the importance of them. Some state standards that would be addressed would be reading a sequenced story, identifying characters, and making text connections. If the class was a little older the lesson could extend into what was missing with the story and trying to find the “back story” or why are names so important to Sufi culture.
 * //this story was accessed at [] on 2/28/12.//
 * __Summary__**: A witches daughter aches to become beautiful like an angel she sees however struggles finding a way. She tries to catch the angle and make a potion; during this time she is ugly towards animals on the farm thus turning her into an ugly person. Broccolina learns her lesson and works to be kind and finds herself becoming a beautiful person as well.
 * __Opinion__**: The story was cute in the way it taught the golden rule: treat others the way you want to be treated. Though a bet repetitive especially with “Broccolina didn’t notice it, because she was too deep in the thoughts of becoming pretty like an angel” at the end of each animal she encountered it was still interesting to see how she changed. The illustrations were mediocre for a book written in 2006 however I assume this may be due to the culture it comes from.
 * __Genre__**: Fairytale – Sri Laka Culture - Fiction
 * __Curriculum Connection__**: This book would be good for second to fourth grade students on the first or second day of school. Students would read through the lesson and identify rules that were broken i.e. hitting, yelling at someone, etc. The teacher would then have the students transfer these rules into class rules. State standards addressed would include reading fairy tales, identifying conflict, communication skills, and working in a group.
 * //this story was accessed at [] on 2/28/12.//
 * __Summary__**: A very long and unexpected story of how Gerald, an elephant, broke his truck. Gerald recalls the unwise decisions of balancing Hippo and Rhino and other expected objects on his trunk but how he breaks it is the most surprising of all.
 * __Opinion__**: I loved this picture book. The story is told with a minimalistic backdrop (no setting, just white) but it is the characters expression that makes it so wonderful. I found myself looking into a couple of other Willems books and fell in love with them as well.
 * __Genre__**: Fiction – Easy/Beginner Reader - Storytelling
 * __Curriculum Connection__**: This book would be great to do a teaser with student in kindergarten to second grade. Allowing students to only see snippets of the story and the interaction between Elephant and Piggie would only entice them more. The teaser could extend more into just showing body language and facial expressions; and having the students attempt to decipher what is going on in the book. This book is one of a dozen so this type of “teaser” could be implemented often with different stories.
 * __Summary__**: Catherine is your typical pre-teen aching to be noticed by boys and worried about popularity. However Catherine has one person that seems to get in her way; brother who has autism. David’s disability seems to “get in the way” whenever Catherine is interacting with her peers. This story is filled with accidental high jinks and humor to lighten the autism spectrum disorder.
 * __Opinion__**: As a special education teacher and prior to research of autism, I had a grand affection for this book. The portrayal of Catherine’s life in addition to how her brother’s disability affected her and the family was both accurate and honest. The book was able to keep light of the disability by showing how important rules were for these children i.e. “Take your shoes off at the doctor but at the dentist leave them on” page 71.
 * __Genre__** – Fiction – Family – Differences – Disabilities - Autism
 * __Curriculum Connection__**: This story would be good to do a book talk on in a fourth or fifth grade classroom. The book talk would open up discussions of disabilities and acceptance in students who are different.

Adam's Review Catherine is twelve years old and only wants to live a normal life. The problem is that she has a brother with autism and a family that is consumed with his disability. After years of trying to teach her brother David the rules her summer takes a turn and has her asking the question ‘What is normal?’ This story takes a sensitive look at the feeling of being different and finding acceptance no matter what the ‘rules’ may be.
 * Summary: **

This is a great discussion starter for older intermediate students. It deals with the emotional development of those who struggle with siblings that have disabilities. The chapter titles are rules for Catherine’s brother and provide the opportunity for students to have discussions prior to reading the chapters to brainstorm just what the topic might be about. This story provides the opportunities to deepen students’ understanding of differences and acceptance.
 * Review: **

Common Core Writing: 4th Grade- Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
 * Curriculum Connection: **


 * Genre: **Realism/Special Challenges: Autism

This strategy helps students to understand the character development of Catherine. The students can first individually do the character map and then break out into small groups and compare their maps. From there, the groups share their ideas with the class.
 * Strategy: 24-Character Mapping (pg. 138-143) from //Promoting Literacy Development// (2012). **

10) Optional 3 Raschka, C. (2011). //Seriously Norman//. Scholastic: New York. 2011927653. 11) Optional 4 Briney, B. G. (2004). //The World According to Humphry//. Penguin: New York. 0142403520. 12) Optional 5 Kirk, D. (2007). //Library Mouse.// Harry N. Abrams: New York. 9780810989276. 13) Optional 6 DiCamillo, K. (2006). //The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane//. Candlewick Press: Cambridge MA. 0763625892. 14) Optional 7 Martin, P. L. (2011). //Daniel Keep Dreaming//. Page Martin Books: Hampton GA . 9780578082721. 15) Optional 8 Polisar, B. L. (2001). //A Little Less Noise//. Rainbow Morning Music: Silver Spring, MD. 0938663232.
 * __Summary__**: Norman Norman’s parents want him to be able to attend a "super super duper school" but he does terrible on achievement test and results getting a tutor named Balthazar Birdsong. Though the teaching techniques of Balthazar are a bit off we see Norman's imagination take flight and him learn just a little.
 * __Opinion:__** I read this book and could not put it down! As Norman reads the dictionary words are used with a fun tone and imagination. Raschka does a fabulous job of keeping the reader entertained and wanting to turn the pages with wonderful story line.
 * __Genre:__** Fiction - Learning - Humor
 * __Curriculum Connection:__** As I read this story I kept thinking of wonderful vocabulary lessons for fourth and fifth grade students based on the words Norman learns in the story. Language arts students could create a vocabulary journal during the book to track words learned and a weekly spelling lesson could occur with this lesson. In addition to vocabulary students could work on parts of speech by identifying the part of speech of the word and classifying them as the book goes on.
 * __Summary__**: Written from the perspective of a classroom hamster we see the world of Mrs. Mac’s now Mrs. Brisbanes classroom and the many students who impact Humphry’s life. Humphry finds the change in his classroom teacher hard to handle at time however through the story we learn more about this Mrs. Brisbane along with Humprhy.
 * __Opinion:__** This story was full of humor and quirky moments like Humprhy saying the students name as they are said by the teacher with addressed behaviors i.e. “Raise-Your-Hand-Heidi” and “Stop-Giggling-Gail.” The story also addresses some real life issues that our students face such as Garth acting up because his mom is sick. However as said previously the story was able to keep light and humorous while teaching these life lessons.
 * __Genre:__** Fiction - School - Humor
 * __Curriculum Connection:__** I think this story would make for an excellent book talk because it is in a series that does not have to be read sequentially. This would also work as a classroom set for students to pull and read from during down time.
 * __Summary__**: Tom finds himself alone in a group project but stumbles across an unlikely partner; library mouse. Library mouse has lived in the library many years creating his own stories and leaving them for students to come across but never working with anyone. When these two run into each other is when a partnership and eventually friendship evolves.
 * __Opinion:__** This story started off slow however had a good strong message of working in groups and friendship. I think one of the aspects that made the story boring was the illustrations; I’m not sure what it was but I found it boring. Overall the language was easy and the message was good.
 * __Genre:__** Fiction – Friendship –Authorship - Libraries
 * __Curriculum Connection:__** This book would be good for a bulletin board in a library our a display case in the library. The LMS could incorporate the art teacher to help recreate the little books that the Library mouse created in the story.
 * __Summary__**: Edward Tulane is a china rabbit who is beloved by a little girl, Abilene. But after he falls off the ship in which they are being transported on he goes on the journey of his life. Edward encounters various people and learns lessons from each like in the case of the hobo the importance of opening your heart while trying to reconnect with Abilene. Edwards journey ends in an antique shop with a very surprising and heart worming ending.
 * __Opinion:__** This book is long and has a strong vocabulary i.e “Whom these whiskers had belonged to initially-what unsavory animal” pg 6 but is also filled with humor i.e. when Edward refers to the “vacuum cleaner incident” pg 19. I enjoyed reading about the various characters and events that Edward found himself in, but more importantly, the ending was what I had hoped it to be.
 * __Genre:__** Fiction – Adventure – Travel – Family - Love
 * __Curriculum Connection:__** This text would make for a great cross curriculum activity based on geography and the places that Edward finds himself. Students could chart where Edward goes i.e. the bottom of an ocean and then across the United States in a train car and so on. This lesson would also provide a very strong foundation for addressing learning new and infrequent vocabulary.
 * __Summary__**: A young boy, Daniel, finds his love and passion in painting however he lacks the support of his father who would much rather he participate in the science fair and become a scientist. As a result of this lack of support Daniel goes behind his parents back to paint a mural for the school; soon enough Daniel’s parents catch on about what he is really doing.
 * __Opinion:__** The story was told very poorly almost rigidly from someone who was speaking the story rather than telling. The story supports the idea that students should pursue their dreams and through hard work and honesty they can achieve these. The coolest part of the story was the illustrations used; these came across as mixed media i.e. painted, water color, actual photos all enter laid in one.
 * __Genre:__** Realistic Fiction – Family – Art - School
 * __Curriculum Connection:__** This story would be good as a teaser because the events are not as expected as some stories. The book would also fit well in an art classroom or as a focus during an artwork week.
 * //this story was accessed at [] on 3/6/12.//
 * __Summary__**: A collection of humorous poems joined with hysterical pictures create a page turning collection. Poems cover topics such as: don’t put your finger in your nose; he eats asparagus, why can’t you be that way; and go and hush the baby.
 * __Opinion:__** I enjoyed this collection of poems as I felt it showed that poetry can be humorous and builds upon works like Shel Silverstien. The accompanying illustrations bring life to many of these poems with humor and strong picture to text relationships.
 * __Genre:__** Poetry - Humor
 * __Curriculum Connection:__** I think this book would make for a great poetry lesson for 4th and 5th grade students. State standards that could be addressed include rhythm, rhyme, rhyming scheme, alliteration, onomatopoeia, similes, and metaphors to name a few. Students could be group and each group looks for specific literary devices they found in a poem; students would then go into other groups to compare findings. This “jig-saw” method would create for learning between groups and students taking charge of the lesson.