I recall reading this as a boy. I was not as smitten with it as much as others were. Even as an adult, when I revisited the book, I felt similarly. ...moreI recall reading this as a boy. I was not as smitten with it as much as others were. Even as an adult, when I revisited the book, I felt similarly. It's been a few years since I read it. Perhaps now with children of my own, I have reconsidered the wonderfulness of this book. :)
The images are spectacular. I never doubted that. As a Caldecott Medal-winning it book, they should be. They have held up nicely in the nearly 50 years since.
I've come around on the story now. Max is a terror. As a terror, he was sent to his room without supper. Good parenting there. Old school, folks. No self esteem concerns whatsoever. You piss off Mom, you go to your room!
In his room, Max continues his wild adventures. As the ruler of Where the Wild Things Are, he sent his charges away. Y'see, he has the same powers Mom has. Ha! Except, little Max found himself lonely without others around. It is then that he smells something wonderfully delicious. That brings him back to present time. He settles himself and then descends the stairs for dinner.
What do we learn from this tale? When children are misbehaving, they need to be sent to their room. They'll eventually come around to the "company" way of thinking. We need to do more of that.(less)
This title was familiar, but I never read it until today. On one of my teacher boards, this book was recommended to be used to teach sequencing. Sin...moreThis title was familiar, but I never read it until today. On one of my teacher boards, this book was recommended to be used to teach sequencing. Since I am teaching that this coming week, I went out to the county library to pick it up. This well-read book sat waiting patiently for me.
It's a cute story. Princess is a strong princess who rises to the occasion only to be rebuffed by the ungrateful prince. Y'see, they were to be married, but the mean dragon came along and scorched the castle and captured the prince. The princess lost her wardrobe in the fire. She donned a paper bag and then outwitted the dragon. So clever!
Once she negotiated the dragon, the prince was ungrateful that she was not dressed properly. Recognizing his ingratitude, off went the princess into world on her own. Congratulations!
Frankly, the reaction of the prince sounded stereotypically feminine. Then I read that Munsch originally told this story with the roles reversed. He changed it on the request of his wife. Interestingly, the "bum" line at the end is changed to "toad" in other countries.
This should work well as a sequencing lesson. The story is straightforward and lends itself to component parts.(less)
This is a retelling of Aesop's The Lion and The Mouse. My thought was why would someone retell this? It's not a particularly difficult story. The m...moreThis is a retelling of Aesop's The Lion and The Mouse. My thought was why would someone retell this? It's not a particularly difficult story. The moral is clear. Well, Pinkney certainly had a reason to re-visit this classic.
Essentially wordless, the images mesmerize the reader. He tells the story with such remarkable expression in a series of illustrations. If ever a teacher needed an example of how to add voice to one's work, this certainly is it!
This book was recommended to me to use with teaching students how to sequence. My children and I drove out to our county library to pick this up. In...moreThis book was recommended to me to use with teaching students how to sequence. My children and I drove out to our county library to pick this up. Interestingly, the Philadelphia Zoo was setting up shop so we stayed to see the animals! :)
Times have changed since this book was written. It's an okay story . . . just a bit simple for my tastes. I do like the suggestion I received to provide each student with a red pebble. I like that kind of a takeaway.
A donkey is fond of collecting pebbles and rocks. He finds a splendid red one. As he holds it, he wishes it would stop raining. Sure enough it does. His magic pebble is wonderful.
Unfortunately, the donkey runs into a bit of trouble. Rather than using his new-found magic logically, he makes a rookie mistake with wishes that causes him to be turned into a rock. Yet, his pebble is beside him totally useless. The donkeys family is obviously distraught.
Eventually, after seasons have passed, a happy ending is had.
While the illustrations are not bad, they certainly did not wow me. As a Caldecott Award-winning book, I would have thought they would be more stunning.(less)
An early work of Chris Van Allsburg. Ben has a geography test to study for. He falls asleep studying (why?). He begins to dream and finds himself o...moreAn early work of Chris Van Allsburg. Ben has a geography test to study for. He falls asleep studying (why?). He begins to dream and finds himself on a tour of the world. Each image is a different world landmark (Taj Mahal, Great Wall of China, Sphinx, etc.)
This would be an excellent book to teach geography. I wonder if students would be able to research and find these. What if we created landmarks of New Jersey to illustrate our own version of this? Ah . . .
This is an interesting biography of Harriet Tubman, who was known as Minty. This concentrates on her youth before she ran away.
Readers le...moreThis is an interesting biography of Harriet Tubman, who was known as Minty. This concentrates on her youth before she ran away.
Readers learn how Minty came to want to run away (obvious, I suppose) and some of the events that built her character. We meet her parents and learn their viewpoints. We notice the abhorrent behavior of the plantation owner.
I admittedly do not know much about Harriet Tubman. I was surprised to learn that she had been a slave in Maryland. I would have thought it was deeper in the south that she had eascaped from.
The illustrations by Jerry Pinkney were excellent! Very compelling. I have read a few books now with his illustrations. Good stuff.(less)
This is a cute story about George Washington Carver visiting a school with his mobile classroom. Once there, he taught them all about growing plants....moreThis is a cute story about George Washington Carver visiting a school with his mobile classroom. Once there, he taught them all about growing plants. He showed them how to take a previously-thought unusable land and cultivate it. While fiction, this book presents how Carver worked and what he did. I learned from reading this.
I found the illustrations complementary to the text.
Listen to the plants, and they'll tell you what you need.
This is a short, but well-written biography of Levi Strauss. Strauss came from Germany. His family sold dry goods. He settled in Kentucky.
...moreThis is a short, but well-written biography of Levi Strauss. Strauss came from Germany. His family sold dry goods. He settled in Kentucky.
As the gold rush hit in California, this enterprising man moved west to serve the forty-niners. He had no interest in panning for gold, but rather, to sell products to those who did. This made Strauss very successful.
He sold denim to many clothiers. One guy in Reno, NV came up with a way of riveting the pockets to the blue jeans (waist overalls) so they would not pull apart. He sought a patent, but could not afford the $68 fee. He approached his denim supplier, Strauss, for help. Strauss ponied up the money and became partners. This exploded Strauss' wealth.
While I do not have a reading level on this book, this would be most appropriate for fourth graders to read and report on.(less)
This book was in a stack that a colleague loaned me recently. While we read a book in fourth grade about Eleanor Roosevelt, I don't know much about h...moreThis book was in a stack that a colleague loaned me recently. While we read a book in fourth grade about Eleanor Roosevelt, I don't know much about her.
The biography here is a decent introduction. We learn that she didn't see eye-to-eye with her mother-in-law. We learn that she had an unhappy childhood. We learn that she was highly liberal.
It sounds as though she meant well and Doreen Rappaport does a good job of framing Eleanor's life as altruistic. There are many quotations interspersed throughout the text. I don't agree with the sentiment of them all.
Government has a responsibility to defend the weak.
That sounds noble, but I am not certain I agree with it. I don't read that responsibility in the Constitution, that I recall. It seems to me community has a responsibility to defend the weak within itself, but community is not government.
Given the politics of Eleanor's husband, I suspect if I dug further I would be less than impressed with her politics.
The book is beautifully presented. The images and format are rich. It is a pleasant book to hold.(less)
This book is written by Jackie Robinson's daughter. Apparently, since this is listed as fiction, this is not a true tale. That's unfortunate.
...moreThis book is written by Jackie Robinson's daughter. Apparently, since this is listed as fiction, this is not a true tale. That's unfortunate.
Ms. Robinson tells of her father's bravery of checking the ice for the children to play on. THis is something monumental for Jackie since it appears he has a fear of water. Ms. Robinson draws parallels between that episode and her father's breaking the color barrier in major league baseball. THat is a bit of a stretch, methinks, but it is a nicely told story.
The images by Kadir Nelson are wonderful. His use of color capture the emotions of the scenes depicted. There is good use of dialogue throughout the book.(less)
While this presents the story og MLK, I was put off by the structure of the book. The idea is that the storyteller had a dream of MLK. In the dream ...moreWhile this presents the story og MLK, I was put off by the structure of the book. The idea is that the storyteller had a dream of MLK. In the dream she apparently dreamt of specific events of the man's life. A retelling of a dream puts the reader on edge that what is presented may be fanciful. I think that does a disservice to MLK's life.
The events were presented straightforwardly. It is easy to understand. I am not a huige fan of the images, but there is nothing bad about them; they just didn't impress me.
The text didn't impress me with the style. There was just something overall about the book that felt "off" somehow.
I purchased this book several years ago from Books Are Fun! My wife had a friend who was selling off surplus from the company. We went to her house ...moreI purchased this book several years ago from Books Are Fun! My wife had a friend who was selling off surplus from the company. We went to her house in Vineland. I picked this up for $1.
I read this to Beetle numerous times.
Tonight I encouraged Fritz to select a different book. He likes dictionary/picture books. He finds it amusing for me to have him locate various images on those pages. I told him he needed to select something more "booky". This is what he found on the bookshelf. Given our trip to the aquarium yesterday, I thought it was appropriate.
The book isn't as great as it should be. The rhyming is forced and the story is pretty much nonexistent. It is colorful, however. There is a pair of large plastic eyes that are used on each page (cutouts to accommodate the eyes). A whales, octopus, shark, manta ray, and turtle are all presented.
I have had this book on the classroom library for several years. It may have been a CLI book; I am not sure. I had never read it until today.
...moreI have had this book on the classroom library for several years. It may have been a CLI book; I am not sure. I had never read it until today.
My daughter has to read a biography for a project for school. I asked a second grade teacher to recommend a few that would be appropriate for her to read. This was one of them. I decided to read it.
Somehow I made it to middle age without learning the story of Ruby Bridges. She was a six-year old black girl who attended an all0white school in Mississippi in 1960. She was the first black to attend a white elementary school in the South.
She was escorted to school by the police. She was taught alone for no one else would attend the school. She was shouted at, spat at, etc. She prayed before and after school for all those who cursed her. Eventually others began attending school. Many in the community supported her family after her father lost his job.
Ruby is now an older woman who extols freedom.
It is an interesting story. It was written by the psychologist who was assigned to the young Ruby when she attended school.(less)
It's no wonder this book was recognized as a Caldecott Honor book; the
illustrations are beautiful. They complement the rhythm of the text
...moreIt's no wonder this book was recognized as a Caldecott Honor book; the
illustrations are beautiful. They complement the rhythm of the text
very well. This biography is written in a jazzy tone using upbeat
sentence structures and hip language. "He was a smooth-talkin',
slick-steppin', piano-playin' kid."
umpy-dump, left-handed hops and right-handedslides
We learn of Duke Ellington's life in an interesting and entertaining
manner. From his desire to impress the ladies in D.C. to ruling the
roost at the Cotton Club in Harlem. Ellington's orhestra was
highlighted.
Biographies are often boring and unimaginative; this one is not. It
is ripe with language. I think a child will not get all the hip
language and some of the references, but this book could easily be
used as an introduction to the man and his life from which research
could be launched. I also think mapping out the geography listed in
the book could be a valuable in-class experience.
Overall, an entertaining look at one of the greats!(less)
This is another one of the books I was introduced to at a mathematics workshop in my school district. This book is what made me appreciate tangrams.
...moreThis is another one of the books I was introduced to at a mathematics workshop in my school district. This book is what made me appreciate tangrams.
****
1995
5 October 2009(less)
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