Water Street

Author Study Selection

Author:  Patricia Reilly Giff, 2006, Wendy Lamb Books

Water Street is another excellent piece of literature from Patricia Reilly Giff.  The main character, Bird, is only thirteen years old in 1875, but she has many responsibilities that make her seem older than she is.  She meets Thomas, a boy about her age, who moves into the apartment above her family.  Though neither of them wants to be forward about their feelings, she loves Thomas, and he certainly loves her, and that main theme runs throughout the entire story.  They are witnesses to the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, and Bird's father is a worker on the building crew.  Both Bird's and Thomas's families immigrated to the United States from Ireland at the time of the potato famine.  Bird is almost done with the 8th grade, and it will soon be time for her to work.  She has fancied the idea of becoming a healer like her mother, but she is not sure she can stomach all the blood.  Through twists and turns of life, Bird and Thomas both graduate from the eighth grade and attend high school--Thomas on a scholarship, and Bird on the money saved by her parents.  The hard road to this point is the crowning achievement in the lives of these children.

I thoroughly enjoyed every part of this book.  The author carefully integrated love, disappointment, heartache, joy, and family in a seemingly effortless way.  I thought the characters were accurately portrayed as having lived in the 1870s in America, and the real problems associated with this time period, including injury, poverty, and crime, were evident in the story.  This would be an excellent piece of historical fiction for middle schoolers to read.  I think teachers would also really like this book because it is another great story by a time-honored author.        

The Polar Express

Author & Illustrator:  Chris Van Allsburg, 1985, Houghton Mifflin

The Polar Express is an excellent example of  Fantasy literature.  Every child has probably dreamed about the North Pole and Santa's Workshop, and this book brings that dream to life.  The main character wakes up to find a train outside his house ready to pick him up for the journey North.  Along the way, they pass under bridges, through forests, and over bodies of water.  Nothing can prepare the travelers for what they find at the North Pole that Christmas Eve.  Santa and his elves are ready and waiting for the clock to strike midnight so that they can deliver the presents they have been creating all year, but they are also looking forward to the children's visit.  The main character receives Santa's first gift that year, which is a bell from one of the reindeer collars.  He loses it on the train ride home, but Santa puts it in its place under the tree for the next morning.  Though the adults have lost the ability to hear the bell (they no longer believe), this child will always hear the special sound because he actually met Santa. 

I regard this story as a Christmas classic.  It makes me feel happy, gives me images for what I have always pictured in my head, and provides me with amazing illustrations.  In case you hadn't noticed, the author and illustrator are one-and-the-same.  The pictures give a look of shrouded mystery, and it helps, too, that the events take place overnight.  I not only love the book, but I also love the movie of the same title that features Tom Hanks in many roles.  This is a must-read for children of all ages, including those of us who will forever love the magic of Christmas.    

Eleven

Author Study Selection

Author:  Patricia Reilly Giff, 2008, Wendy Lamb Books

Sam is afraid of the number eleven, and he can't remember why.  He is eleven years old, his birthday is April 11, and he vaguely remembers something about his childhood that deals with the same number.  The trouble is, Sam finds a newspaper clipping with his picture at age 3 only with a different last name.  Is he adopted?  Why hasn't his grandfather, Mack, ever told him the story?  What is the secret behind this family? 

Sam has a reading disability and, at eleven years old, cannot read simple words.  He goes to the resource room every day for help, and he is disgusted by his impediment.  That does not impair his ability for craftsmanship, however.  Sam is excellent at woodworking, a trait he learned from his grandfather.  Sam's teacher assigns him the project of crafting a medieval castle for an upcoming event.  He deftly includes a new student, Caroline, in his work because he wants her to help him read the newspaper clipping.  Under the guise of working together on the project, Sam and Caroline find out the details of Sam's early years through careful research.  I will not reveal the inner-workings of this story because you need to read it for yourself. 

This was an incredible book.  I was captivated by every turn of events, and the author did a fantastic job of creating suspense for the reader.  One can tell that Patricia Reilly Giff is an expert in her field, and expert writer that is.  Sam's difficulty will allow anyone else with the same situation to identify with him.  He is a determined young fellow who seeks to understand his past, and in doing so, he makes a new best friend.  This is a story of surprise, suspense, and superb writing.  I give it two thumbs up.   



Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Author:  Roald Dahl, 1964, Puffin Books (2nd ed. 1998)
Illustrator:  Quentin Blake

I would hypothesize that many of your students have at least heard of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, or by a more current title:  Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.  This book has been made into movie adaptations, the most recent starring Johnny Depp.  I saw the 1971 version with Gene Wilder, and honestly, it was the strangest movie I had ever seen.  I believe, though, it was a somewhat accurate portrayal of the book, because the book was strange too.  Charlie is dirt poor and lives with his four grandparents and mom and dad.  The grandparents are all over 90 years old and sleep in a bed together, which they never leave. (Weird.)  Charlie is fortunate enough to find one of Willy Wonka's 5 golden tickets that allows him an inside look at Wonka's ultra-secret factory.  In his midst are four spoiled children who all end up receiving the treatment they use on others.  For example, Violet Beauregarde chews gum incessantly, and she chews one of Wonka's unperfected blueberry gums.  She expands to the size and color of a blueberry, and she has to be "stretched" out to her normal size, which ends up being very tall and thin.  The moral of her story is that too much gum is bad for you.  In the end, Charlie is promised the chocolate factory when Wonka retires because he survived the tour.  Therefore, his family never again lives in poverty and inherits an expansive chocolate empire.

This book is purely fantasy, and is, rightfully so, extremely unbelievable.  The odds that Charlie would find a golden ticket are more than impossible, and the cherry on top is his inheritance.  I did not care for the movie, and I can't say I cared for the book, either.  The descriptions are so colorful and unimaginable that you almost wonder what the author was eating when he wrote it.  I dislike the fact that the author made all the bad things happen to the wealthy children and allowed the reader to believe that Charlie had a better chance of winning because he was poor and unsuspecting.  I suppose the author was going for a "feel-good" story instead of a believable one, and he certainly achieved that.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Author:  Judith Viorst, 1972, Scholastic
Illustrator:  Ray Cruz

Have you ever had an "Alexander" day?  By that, I mean, have you ever had such a horrible day that you wish you could move to Australia?  Judith Viorst does a fantastic job of identifying with children's and adolescents' everyday troubles in this classic piece of realistic fiction.  Alexander wakes up to find gum in his hair; his brothers all find toys in their breakfast cereal and he doesn't; he gets smushed on the ride to school; his friends decide he is suddenly their "3rd best friend"; he goes shoe shopping with his mom and brothers after school only to discover the shoe he wants is out of stock; he disrupts his father's office; and, in the end, he has to eat lima beans for supper.  All through the book, he wishes he could move to Australia.  His mom assures him that, even in Australia, little boys (and others) have bad days every once in a while. 

Realistic fiction is an important genre for young readers.  Sometimes, ordinary adults and individuals cannot identify with children on certain issues, and this type of literature allows readers to understand that others face the same trials as they.  Everyone has faced at least one bad day, including children.  I think Judith Viorst created a standard by which other realistic fiction can be written.  The words and illustrations are simple, the storyline is smooth, and the issues covered in the story are common to all.  This book has a permanent place in my bookshelf, as I'm sure it does in many households.  I believe this is one book with which any child can identify, even those who live in Australia.

The Gettysburg Address

Illustrator:  Michael McCurdy, 1995, Houghton Mifflin

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, gave a very famous speech at a battlefield called Gettysburg in 1863.  It became known as the Gettsburg Address, and in this book of the same title, Lincoln's words come to life through a pictorial account.  I love the powerful words of the address, and I have heard them countless times before, but having pictures to tell the story added to the appeal.  I enjoyed the fact that the pictures were in black and white because it encourages the reader to imagine the destruction faced by soldiers in the Civil War.  The pictures in this book were satisfactory; I thought they were rather bland in many cases, but the meaning behind the words was more important.  The illustrator did a good job of bringing the story to life.

In addition, I enjoyed the foreward by Garry Wills and the afterword by the illustrator.  McCurdy had ancestors that fought in the Civil War, so this took on a special meaning for him.  This is not only a biographical account of a major American battle, it is also a reflection of the sadness and heartache faced by that generation.  Bring the Gettysburg Address to life in your classroom with this book.  It is sure to prompt heartfelt discussion.

Don't You Dare Shoot That Bear!

Author:  Robert Quackenbush, 1984, Prentice-Hall

Everyone needs to read a good "retro" book every now and then, so why not check out Don't You Dare Shoot That Bear!  A Story of Theodore Roosevelt?  This book was published in the mid-1980s, and you can tell how far we have come technologically since then.  For example, the author gives excellent, historically-accurate information about TR, but the illustrations are very bland in comparison to other books I have reviewed.  Two little teddy bears provide some humor on every page, though I can't say I laughed too often.  The humor was dry, and many children may not understand it.  The one positive aspect about this book is definitely the accurate historical information.  I gathered that the author has had some experience writing about famous individuals based on the other books he has written, which are listed on the inside back dust cover.  While this was certainly not my favorite book, I enjoyed it because of the information about our 26th president, who, incidentally, is the inspiration for the beloved teddy bear.

Jack's Path of Courage

Author:  Doreen Rappaport, 2010, Disney
Illustrator:  Matt Tavares

Wow! 

That is all I can say after reading Jack's Path of Courage.  The illustrations are so astounding and so life-like that I thought they were photographs.  We all have images and ideas of the Kennedy family, especially the President, but this book gives a lot of childhood information about our 35th president.  For example, I did not know that President Kennedy suffered severe back pain all his life.  He seemed like he had a lot of vitality, but he was secretly suffering.  Perhaps the most familiar part of the story, his assassination, was only briefly covered in this book.  I was pleased that the author explored more of his early years instead of only focusing on the trauma of November 22, 1963.  This is an incredible source of history, and I would encourage everyone who reads this blog to read this book.  It is thoroughly researched and includes a selected bibliography at the end.  I was surprised at how much I liked it, and I think you will too.

Duke Ellington

Author:  Andrea Davis Pinkney, 1998, Hyperion
Illustrator:  Brian Pinkney

Duke Ellington is a famous jazz musician credited with creating a unique musical sound.  Andrea and Brian Pinkney bring him to life in their biography for children, Duke Ellington.  Duke was ahead of his time, playing at renowned venues such as the Cotton Club in Harlem and Carnegie Hall in New York City.  I enjoyed this story, but I was a bit distressed by the informal tone that the writers used.  No doubt, the book gives excellent biographical information about Ellington, but readers who are unfamiliar with musical terms will feel lost.  I liked the rich illustrations and their almost magical appearances.  This book will definitely take the reader back in time to 1920s America and the struggles that Black musicians faced.  I was pleased to see a bibliography at the end of the book, as well as other resources that the reader can look at.  Overall, this is a good biographical account of Duke Ellington, a forerunner in American jazz music.

Anne Frank

Author:  Josephine Poole, 2005, Random House
Illustrator:  Angela Barrett

Anne Frank has become a name synonymous with Nazi persecution of Jews.  She posthumously became famous as a result of her diary being published, and the world saw how her Jewish family hid from the Nazis until they were caught.  I have read excerpts from her diary, as well as from other biographies about her, so I had a fair amount of background knowledge as I began reading this particular story.  I suppose it would be improper to say how much I enjoyed the story, given the horror and trauma Anne's family faced.  However, I can say that I learned more about her, the Nazis, and Nazi Germany from Josephine Poole's Anne Frank. 

I really enjoy studing World War II, and I noticed how accurate the facts were in this book.  The author does a fantastic job giving background information about Adolf Hitler, the Fuhrer of Germany.  She describes how Germany went from being one of the greatest nations in the world to the most embarrassed nation following World War I.  Hitler rose to power and began persecuting the Jews with the final goal of exterminating them from the world.  As a result, many Jews went into hiding for months and even years.  Anne Frank's family did so until they were discovered and removed.  Her diary was recovered and became a primary source of the horror she experienced.

This book had beautiful illustrations and enough information to teach the reader more about this time period.  I enjoyed reading the timeline in the back of the book to get a broader understanding of the other world events.  I would recommend this book to any teacher without the slightest reservation.  In fact, I believe this book should be in every library around the country.  It is appropriate for all age groups, and it teaches world history in an informative and interesting way.  

Heart of a Shepherd

Author:  Roseanne Parry, 2009, Random House

When I find a book I really enjoy reading, I treasure it.  I cannot describe how much I liked Heart of a Shepherd  by Roseanne Parry.  Ignatius, commonly called "Brother," is not used to taking care of the family's ranch.  With 3 older brothers and a father, he is looked upon as a child.  But, everything changes when his father is called to serve in Iraq, and his brothers scatter to Boot Camp and boarding school.  Brother is left to help his grandparents run the ranch.  He communicates with his brothers via e-mail and instant message on the computer, and they constantly give him advice.  (That must be what older brothers are meant to do.)  Through all the ups and downs of life on the ranch without his family, Brother ends up the hero as he rises to man of the house.  He also realizes a call into Christian ministry during this period, which is a huge part of his growth.  And, in the end, his brothers respect his work unlike ever before.

This is the ultimate heart-warming, heart-wrenching juvenile chapter book.  I identified with Brother because I also grew up on a farm and know the challenges associated with rural living.  His call into ministry touched me deeply because I have felt a similar call for my life.  I loved the honesty and determination of the characters in this book, especially when Brother stepped up and took charge at a very young age.  I admit to crying by the end of the story because of the life changes experienced by this family.  It is more than one would wish for an adolescent to experience, but it happens in our world more often than we may realize. Try this book with 6-8 graders.  The reading is not difficult, and the storyline is appropriate.  I promise that the heart of this shepherd will melt yours. 

Dandelions

Author:  Eve Bunting, 1995, Harcourt Brace & Co.
Illustrator:  Greg Shed

As Zoe and her family made their way into Nebraska Territory in the 19th century, the promise of new life was evident, but sadness lingered.  They had just left their family in Illinois to move west, lured perhaps by the Homestead Act of 1862.  Mama was pregnant, and she, Zoe, Rebecca, and Papa hitched up the wagon and set off toward a distant, unfamiliar land.  Papa had gone a year earlier to stake their land, and they found his stake amid miles of unsettled territory.  Their closest neighbors were three hours away, and the "town" was even farther.  Mama was depressed about leaving everything she had ever known, and the rest of the family wanted to make it better for her.

So, one day, Zoe and her father left Rebecca and Mama at the neighbors' while they went onto town.  Once, when Zoe looked down, she saw beautiful yellow dandelions, and she convinced Papa to dig them up.  She wanted to take them home to Mama.  When they got home, they planted the dandelions on the roof of their sod house because Mama had been afraid Zoe and Papa wouldn't find their way back.  Now, their home had a beautiful yellow roof, and it symbolized everything about their life:  Some of the flowers might die, but many will take root and prosper.  Just like their family.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  I can't imagine picking up my family and moving them to unsettled territory, hoping that everything will go well.  This period of time was ripe for settlement west of the Mississippi River, and people were lured by the promise of free land.  The illustrations in this book were beautiful and reminiscent at the same time.  The simplicity of their design encouraged the use of my imagination.  Pick up a copy of this book and make it available to your students.  I'm sure they will enjoy it, too.