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.

The Big Wave

"The Big Wave" by Pearl S. Buck is about two friends, Kino and Jiya, that live on an island in Japan. Kino lives on the side of a mountain and Jiya lives in a nearby fishing village below the mountain. They are playing one day at Kino's when they see a flag raised above Old Gentleman's Castle. The Old Gentleman is a very rich man who has everything he needs, he even takes in all of the people to his castle to be sheltered from the wave. Kino's father tells them he has seen the flag two times before, both before Kino had been born, and he knows what it means; to be ready. Jiya wants to warn his family but Kino's father tells him it is too late and he must stay to be safe. The big wave eventually comes and kills Jiya's parents. The Old Gentleman wants desperately to adopt Jiya. There, Jiya, would no longer be poor, he would have everything he needs, everything except his best friend. He makes the decision to stay with his poor friend's family because he realizes his friendship is more important than material things.

The book has a tragic plot but in the end the story turns out to be very heartwarming. This is a book I obviously enjoyed alot in school, because as I went to read it I found a library card in the back. I had apparently liked it so much, I decided to not return it. I would definately use this book in a 3-5 class because it is a wonderful story and it can be integrated with science along with natural disasters.

The Rainbow Fish

My kindergarten teacher, Ms. Auten, read my class "The Rainbow Fish" and it has been my favorite book ever since. As a child, I was intruiged by the books appearance, the shiny foil scales of the fish in particular, but I also loved the story, and I remember the day she read it to us vividly. It was the first book I purchased at the book fair and I absolutely could not wait to own it. For these reasons, I can promise to be using this book in my classroom for years to come.

"The Rainbow Fish" is about a beautiful fish with shimmering, rainbow scales. A small fish encounters the beautiful fish and asks for just one of his shimmery scales, to which he is very mean to the small fish and refuses. After this, none of the fish in the ocean will assosciate with the Rainbow Fish, even though he is so beautiful. He seeks advice from the other creatures, such as the Wise Octopus, who tells him to give a shiny scale to each one of the other fish. He might not be as beautiful, but he will be happy. He follows the orders and only has one scale leftover, and none of his vainity from before.

The message about being an individual and not judging others for the way that they appear on the outside is very important. I would not only read this book in a classroom but discuss it as well. It is imperative children know that it is what is on the inside that counts.

Fancy Nancy

If "Fancy Nancy" books had been around when I was a child, I would have never wanted to stop reading! I definately plan to have all of the "Fancy Nancy" books in my classroom library when I am a teacher. This isn't a book I would use for classroom instruction because there is likely a large population in the classroom who would not be interested in this type of story. However, I definately will make them available through my library because as we learned from the "Book Flood" article, you have to have books that will generate interest your students, which requires a large variety.

"Fancy Nancy" is entertaining, cute, and great for building vocabulary. In my first grade placement last Fall we talked about adjectives, which Ms. Bratton called "sparkle words". I don't know what better way to demonstrate "sparkle words" than with "Fancy Nancy". There is even an additonal title in the series that is a dictionary. It is titled "Fancy Words from Accessories to Zany!"

Wilma Unlimited, How Wilma Rudolph became the World's Fastest Woman

I randomly pulled the book "Wilma Unlimited" off the shelf in my SBTE's classroom when killing some time because I had arrived early and she was at a meeting. I am so glad I grabbed this book out of the hundred's she keeps in her classroom because it was so intruiging and inspiring. I plan on this being one of the first books I purchase for my own classroom.

Kathleen Krull, the author, begins the story at Wilma's birth. She was born weighing only four pounds and then, time was very limited babies weighing that little. Miraculously, she makes it to her first birthday and the suprises keep coming. She struggles with double pneumonia, mumps, chicken pox, and the list goes on. She even contracts polio, which paralyzes one of her legs. This is a huge problem because only one doctor in Clarksville would treat black people. Many children are permanently crippled, or die, from polio but not Wilma. She has a brace and can't walk for many years, until she decides she is going to put her mind to it, and she walks. She continues to do more leg exercises and eventually strips the brace and walks free. She even begins to play basketball. Basketball is where she got scouted for her speed. A track and field coach from Tennessee State recruits her and she gets a s full athletic scholarship which takes her far away from Clarksville, TN. She ends up being the first American woman to win three gold medals at a single olympics.

SGT Frog, Keroro Gunso

http://www.wordle.net/gallery/wrdl/689909/SGT_Frog-_Keroro_Gunso
This is a link to my wordle about "SGT Frog, Keroro Gunso", by Mine Yoshizaki. The document describes the what the book is about, a platoon of 2 foot tall frog=like aliens seeking world domination. This is not a book I would use in my classroom because of the topic. Also, it is very condufusing because of the way it is read. It does not open up like a normal book, it opens to the right with the spine of the book on the right as well.

Pink & Say

http://cedvideo.ncsu.edu/view_video.php?viewkey=43755a79ee5f6a73050a

This is a link to a Reader's Theatre presentation we did using a flip cam about the book "Pink & Say". Patricia Polacco's "Pink & Say" is a book I definately will use in my future classroom. There is a great message about loyalty in the story while it also ties in with cirriculum about the civil war.

Soldier's Heart

"Soldier's Heart" is a very real and descriptive account of a Union soldier's experience in combat action during the Civil War. The story follows Charley, who enlists in the Union army at the mere age of fifteen, even though he had to lie about his age, on his journey through the war and the years after. It is a great resource because after searching through so many books, I feel that there is an abundance of literature about the Rebs, however much less about the Northern side. Charley Goddard was a real person and all of the facts in this story about the war are accurate. There is fiction about him as a person but all of the historical information about the battles are correct.

This book is a valuable tool for the integreated language arts and history classroom but due to its blunt nature, I would have to use discretion based on the students as to whether I would use it or not. It contains so much great information about the war, but there are certain descriptions of battles that are a little gorry. For instance, he discusses the Battle at Gettysburg in great detail telling that: "The cannon ripped them to pieces, wiping them out before they were even in rifle range, slaughtering them like sheep..."

We continue to follow Charley after the war, until he is twenty one, when he feels that is life is falling apart. He is dealing with "shell shock", as they called it then, but PTSD as we know it today. Considering we are currently in a war, PTSD is a very real topic. This is something to consider when chosing this book for a classroom reading, as it can be a very sensitive topic.

The Egyptian Cinderella

"The Egyptian Cinderella" has many similarities to the American version but there are also many distinct differences. For instance, her name is Rhodopis and she is a slave, rather than a stepchild, and her slippers are not glass, but rose-red, however the basis of the story is essentially the same.

I would definately use this book in a classroom. I would especially use it when teaching students about comparisions. Using more than one version of a story is a great method for teaching students how to compare and contrast two things, like two versions of the same story. This could be done with not only this title, but any other version of "Cinderella" or other fairy tales.

Multicultural literature, like "The Egyptian Cinderella", is also a good way to show students that everyone is different and special in their own way. Many young students think their way is the only correct way to think or believe. Showing more than one version of a story that they may see the right one being the Disney version, is a good way to reach students and combat those thoughts.

The Paper Bag Princess

Robert Munsch's "The Paper Bag Princess" is a book I vividly remember reading as a child and I plan to use it in my future classroom for many reasons. Not only is it a classic, but it is an enjoyable read with a great message.

Stereotypes begin at a young age and it is important to combat those stereotypes as much as we can as teachers, literature being one great way to do that. There are numerous books about princesses but none like this one. In this story Elizabeth turns the stereotype of a princess entirely around and demonstrates that it is okay to be yourself, regardless of what other people, like the snooty Prince Ronald, think about you.

In the end of the story Princess Elizabeth rescuses Ronald from the dragon that captures him and burns down her castle. Not only does he not appreciate what she has done for him, but he belittles her for her appearance.

Plays of America from American Folklore

"Plays of America from American Folklore" is a collection of fifteen folktales from many different cultures in America. They range from Native American folktales about creation, to European, Asian, and African folktales recast in America, to popular retellings of actual occurrences in our history.

This book would be a great tool for teachers studying folklore because it does a good job of clarifying what folklore actually is, complete with fifteen examples. Many people see folklore as just made up stories about imaginary people, for instance “Jack in the Beanstalk”, when there is so much more.

The stories are all written in play form, rather than paragraph form, so there are many opportunities for teachers to include multiple intelligences of their students in this lesson. Music and dance is even included in many of the stories, and the foreword of the book gives ideas for teachers to use the plays in their classrooms. Performing a play provides many opportunities to get community involvement and multimedia incorporated into the classroom.

Young Harriet Tubman, Freedom Fighter

"Young Harriet Tubman, Freedom Fighter" is a book I would definately utilize in my classroom. She is a very influential person that all students, regardless of academic level, should learn about in a historical sense.

The book is more basic than fifth grade level, which is when students normally study civil rights and the underground railroad, but it offers an easier approach for students who might have different learning needs. This book would be especially important for ESL learners because there are great pictures on each page and fewer words that are printed in larger font. The pictures do a really good job reinforcing the text of this book. They match the words and are close to the text, which are two things that we discussed in our article that talked about illustrations.

Additionally, we read an article about textbooks "becoming history" for social studies cirriculum. This is a great example of literature that has a historical lesson, which is presented in a more fun and easier fashion, rather than the old standby of reading out of a textbook.

Helen Keller

Helen Keller, written by Margaret Davidson, is a scholastic biography that I read in the third grade when we did a unit where we studied Helen Keller. This book is both informative and inspiring. I vividly remember reading this book for school, and as I re-read it for this assignment, I became sure I would use it in a classroom for multiple reasons.

The book has many benefits, in addition to the information it provides, it discusses a person who is different from us and shows us how they too can be "normal". One thing we want to project in our classrooms, is that everyone should be treated fairly no matter what their differences may be.

The book focuses, in addition to Helen, on Miss Annie Sullivan. Annie is the teacher that comes from Boston to help and teach Helen. Davidson does a wonderful job portraying the journey, triumphs, and hardships the two go through together. Something interesting the author does is to put certain feeling or emotional words in italics to really show readers the relationship the two had with one another, and what exactly they went through together. Overall, it is a wonderful story and this biography comes as close to doing the story of Helen, and her miracle working teacher, justice as I consider possible.

The Watsons go to Birmingham

I chose to read this book because my SBTE recommended it highly out of the choices that we had. I really appreciate this book because although it deals with a sensitive issue, it is still humorous and definately enjoyable to read. Curtis does a really good job with the characters in this novel. Each of the characters, even the less prominent ones, were described so that they were easy to picture in ones mind, they all had their own very distinctive personality traits which made it very interesting. The dialouge between the characters was also interesting, you could see what they were saying and imagine how they were supposed to sound when saying it.

I can see where this book would be really helpful in a classroom, especially in my field placement. My teacher integrates social studies with language arts, and they study this novel every year when they discuss civil rights in 5th grade history. This book shows the differences between the northern and southern parts of our country at this time, in a more interesting way than a history textbook by sharing a childs point of view of this time period.

After finishing the book, I can definately see why my SBTE was so high on reading this book in particular!