Cinderella

Amy Adair's adaptation of "Cinderella" is a great resource for beginning, struggling, or ELL readers. The storyline is very similar to that of the Disney version, which helps struggling students because the majority of them will know what is going on as they attempt to read. The plot is the same without the frills, the author is much less wordy and gives the bare minimum when it comes to details; just enough to get the point across. Also, she uses more basic english than other writers of the same story. For instance, instead of "evil" stepmother she says "very mean", which is easier for a younger or struggling student to comprehend because it is likely something they have heard before. This story comes from a collection of fairy tales called "Three Minute Stories- Fairy Tales" and the text is in larger font and not crowded onto a page. For these reasons, as a teacher, I would definately utilize this story, along with the rest of the collection, in my classroom.

John Henry

"John Henry", by Julius Lester, is about a folk hero who races against a steam powered hammer and actually wins. He is more powerful than ten men combined and he grew so fast he burst through the roof and scared the sun. He builds roads and he is the greatest railroad building steel driver. When his boss buys a steam powered hammer he challenges it to a race. He ends up winning but he dies in his victory.

I would use this version in my classroom not only for the story but the literary elements it presents. The story fits in the cirriculum of folktales but there are other valuable lessons contained in this piece of literature. There are numerous examples of onomotopeias throughout the story and definately a lot of personification, Lester suggests the sun gets up and washes his face and flosses his teeth. He also uses many similies in his writing: "What he saw was a mountain as big as hurt feelings.", "As he swung them through the air, they shone like silver, and when the hammers hit the rock, they rang like gold", etc.

Mieko and the Fifth Treasure

"Mieko and the Fifth Treasure" is about a girl, Mieko, who is a very talented painter and calligrapher. She paints Japanese word pictures, for which you need four treasures: the brush, the inkstick, the inkstone, and the rice paper. However, she is fortunate enough to have the fifth treasure- beauty in the heart, which holds the key to her beautiful artowork, that is until the bomb drops on Nagasaki. Her village is devastated and she badly injures her hand. She is sent to the country to live with her grandparents where she has to attend a new school with less than friendly classmates. After the bombing she is frightened and miserable, refusing to even pick up a paintbrush. She meets a kind classmate, Yoshi, who with the help of Mieko's grandparents and her Aunt Hisako help guide her back to happiness and painting once again.

I read this in school and I would definately use it in a classroom. It is a great way to learn about another culture through a very touching and inspiring literary work, as Japanese customs, beliefs, and art are conveyed through the story. Mieko's recovery from her stage of darkness has an inspirtational message about friendship, confidence, and never giving up hope.

Paul Bunyan

"Paul Bunyan" is about an extraordinarily large trouble making baby who grows into a giant. He has a friendly blue ox as a companion as he digs the great lakes, gouges the Grand Canyon, creates a river, and saves his men from the terrible Gumberoos as he travels across the country. After he cross the country it is believed that he heads north. When he reaches Alaska, he and Babe settle down, where they still live today.

Steven Kellogg's retelling of "Paul Bunyan" is a very basic form of this talltale. It is less wordy and has large illustrations that take up full pages. Different types of folktales are part of the fifth grade cirriculum in the NC SCOS but this particular version is on a much lower grade level, so I would use this version for unique learners such as ELL or behind grade level students that are in the fifth grade.

Westlandia

"Westlandia" is one of the few books I chose that I hadn't read already prior to completing this assignment, but after I read it I actually ended up purchasing it for my future classroom. The author is Paul Fleishman and I fell in love with it after reading it. It is a great assett to a classroom because it displays a wonderful message that there is nothing wrong with being different.

"Westlandia" is about an outcast named Wesley who has no friends and nothing in common with anyone at school. His parents are very worried about him, because he doesn't even like pizza and soda. When he gets out of school for the summer his teachers instruct them to find a summer project. He uses what he has learned about crops and seed germination to begin his own civilization which he calls "Westlandia". He invents his own alphabet, games, and general ways of living. After so long, the children from school begin to find out and they want in on the action. His parents observe that this is the first time he looks happy in years. When the story concluedes, he goes back to school, with no shortage of friends.

Where the Wild Things Are

Although the book has been controversial, I would not hesitate to use the "Where the Wild things are" in my elementary classroom. As long as you aren't trying to scare the children, and you use it in a lighthearted manner, I see no issue with using this book. We have talked alot about creativity in our Children Design, Create, Invent course and how to not "sqaush" it. I think this book really encourages children to use their imagination when interpreting the story which facilitates creativity.

"Where the Wild things are" is about a boy named Max who, when the story begins, is playing in his wolf costume. When she asks him to calm down, he tells his mother "I'll eat you up!" Therefore, she sends him to bed with no food. While in his room, his imagination runs wild! He travels to an imaginary place, where wild things live, and becomes Kind of all the Wild Things. He causes a "wild rumpus", as they call it in the story, with all of the scary monsters and he too sends them to bed with no supper. He becomes lonely and begins to smell a delicious smell. He then retreats home and finds his supper, still hott, waiting for him.

Saint George and the Dragon

"Saint George and the Dragon" by Margaret Hodges is an adaptation of Edmund Spencer's "Faerie Queen". It is about the Red Cross Night who goes to fight a dragon for the Fairy Queen. Una, his love, is sent to notify him of the chaos and travel back with him. He ends up winning the fight with the dragon, in a gruesome battle which is the majority of the book. At the end he is crowned Saint George as he has promised to serve the Fairy Queen when she called on him, and he is loyal to his word.

I would probably opt not to use this book in a classroom due to its explicit nature. It is a violent story and the book is pretty graphic. If a teacher was going to use this, because it has many good aspects, like the lesson on loyalty and not giving up when fighting the beast, they would have to use their judgement on their class.

The book is also very wordy. It has large paragraphs on each page and is very advanced. I even had to read it twice. For this reason also, I would likely not use it in the classroom in younger grades, which is what I plan to teach.