Requil’s Comments (group member since Aug 21, 2024)

Requil’s comments from the 5183 Fall 2024 Information Resources and Services for Children group.

Cleary, B. P. (2024). Eating My Words. Millbrook Press.

“Having Pun With My Friends” humorously explores using sound-alike words to replace words in a poem, in this case replacing words with composers’ names.

I would recommend this poem because it is, funny, surprising, and promotes phonological awareness. The puns are clever because they don’t necessary jump out when you read them silently, you have to at least think them “out loud”. For example, when the narrator is trying to get his sandal back from his friend Bert, he says, “Give me BACH my SHUBERT” (Give me back my shoe, Bert). I think this could be a fun way to introduce the concept that a lot of words sound alike but have different meanings. I would use a few cards from a game like Mad Gab to further explore the idea, then the class could work together to replace some words from an already-written poem with sound-alikes. Finally, the students could try to write their own poems like this one.

Schmidt, G. D. (2023). The Labors of Hercules Beal. Clarion Books.

A year in the life of twelve-year-old Hercules Beal finds him struggling with, among other things, recovering from the recent loss of his parents, changing schools, his relationship with his brother, friends and much more. A beautiful story of perseverance and resilience and the power of love.

I would say this book very honestly portrays reality, and this shows in a few different ways. Early on, I was struck by the matter-of-fact style of the prose itself, but when I thought about it, I think that’s perfectly characteristic of the way a 12-year-old boy would tell a story. The events of the story and the way the characters respond are realistic as well. While I think there is definitely a place for fantasy and for books where everything goes “right”, I believe there is a great need for books where the characters face really tough times. One of the best things about books is that they give readers the chance to partially experience difficult situations without suffering the consequences, and lets them explore possible responses and outcomes. Children in particular have less life experience than adults, and books are a safe way for them to explore how they might feel and respond to adversity.

Holm, J. L. (2021). The Lion of Mars. Random House Children’s Books.

Eleven-year-old Bell learns the meaning of family and the importance of friendship in the harsh environment of a settlement on Mars.

This book is set in the near future, in a settlement on the planet Mars. The setting is very important, because it explains the isolation of a small group of Americans as they live and work in a subterranean home on Mars. We know from the messages coming from Earth that most of the planet Earth is at war with each other (even more than in real life now), so that is different. The biggest difference inside the American settlement is that instead of children being born from couples on Mars, small children are brought to Mars from Earth by nannies and collectively raised by the group. Although the way they behave is family-like, the definition of family as we know it is completely different among the settlers.

Hobson, B. (2023). The Storyteller. Scholastic Press.

A boy’s quest to find clues about his mother’s disappearance brings him face to face with characters out of the lore of his Cherokee heritage.

This book is very true. Ziggy, and his sister, Moon, along with some friends, encounter a host of characters, including animals, shapeshifters, and people, all of whom have a lesson for Ziggy. For example, when they meet a frog that used to be an opera singer, they all kiss him in an attempt to turn him back into a person. It doesn’t work, and from him they learn that you can’t turn back time and you have to accept the past as it is. This question reminds me of a quote from another book I love, The Facts and Fictions of Minna Pratt, by Patricia McLachlan: “Fact and fiction are different truths.” Even if the events described in fantasy are not real, readers can still learn true things from them.

Mosca, J. F. (2017). The Girl Who Thought in Pictures. The Innovation Press.

Temple Grandin turns her differences into strengths by using her unique way of interpreting the world to innovate and improve the life of farm animals.

Before reading this book, I had heard of Temple Grandin, first from watching a movie about her life. I knew that she was autistic and that she had invented a machine that she first used for self-soothing, but then realized could be used to make slaughterhouses less traumatic for the cows. I wanted to know what other innovations she had created, and what her personal life was like after the squeeze machine; the movie pretty much ended there. I learned that she didn’t just invent one machine to help the cows; she completely redesigned the farm experience for them. I also thought it was cool that her actual drawings were used in the film I saw. One more interesting thing from the extra material at the back was that when Temple is facing a big change, she envisions it as walking through a door, and that helps her with the transition.

Willems, M. (2012). Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs. Balzer + Bray.
A retelling of the classic tale, in which the dinosaurs want to trap Goldilocks as a snack, but she outsmarts them.
While I wouldn’t call it a source note, there is a moral at the end of this story, which states, “If you ever find yourself in the wrong story, leave.” The flap on the cover jacket also calls it a “…new take on a fairy-tale classic”, and the endpapers are filled with variations on “Goldilocks and the Three…” with various options crossed out, like Jumbo Shrimp, Terrible Monsters, and Mastodons. I think between the title itself (where else do we hear the name Goldilocks?) and these nods to the original story, it is clear where the source material came from.

Books I read that were already on the shelf:
First Fire: A Cherokee Folktale by Nancy Kelly Allen
Saint George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges

Montañés, M. and Sánchez Gómez, E. (2022). Different: A Story of the Spanish Civil War. Eerdmans Books for Young Readers.

An account of one family’s experience of living through the Spanish Civil War, as told from the two perspectives of the son and daughter. In their unique experiences, they describe fear, hunger, and the pain of being separated from family members.

In some ways, this book might be difficult for American children to relate to, partly because it is set in another time (the late 1930s), and in another country (Spain). Living through a war is also something that, thankfully, very few American children have experienced. However, every child can understand being hungry, or not feeling safe, or wanting one’s family to all be living together. The book also includes an introduction, a glossary of Spanish terms, a brief history of the Spanish Civil War, and a list of resources for those wanting to learn more about Spain’s history and the refugee experience in general.

Tabor, C. R. (2023). Fox Has a Problem. Balzer + Bray.

Fox has a problem, but every time he finds a solution, he creates a new problem!

This is a simple book, with limited vocabulary, perfect for a brand new reader. It tells the story of how every time fox solves one problem, another is created. Repeating the same phrases (“Fox has a problem”, “Fox has an idea”), but adding adjectives (“a new problem”, “a big idea”, “a sharp idea”), makes the very early reader more comfortable and confident with tackling new vocabulary. As with all picture books, the drawings also tell the story, and even with few words, this story of cooperation among friends is action-packed.

(I also read Waiting is Not Easy! by Mo Willems)

1. Read, K. (2019). One Fox: A Counting Book Thriller. Peachtree Publishing Company Inc.

2. This counting book is as clever as its title character. Along with the eye-catching art, it tells a gripping tale through simply counting and describing the items on each page.

3. On each page of this book, the only text includes a number, adjective, and noun; examples include “One famished fox” and “Two sly eyes”. Although there are no verbs used at all, suspense is built through interpreting the art and reading between the lines. When one page says “Three plump hens” and the next “Four padding paws”, kids can understand that the fox is sneaking up on the hens to eat them! The collage art is bright and colorful, and fully as important in telling the story as the text. The structure of the story also provides a great opportunity for the adult reading the book to let the listening child practice predicting what will happen next as well as inferring what is going on.

1. Eggers, D. (2023). The Eyes and the Impossible. Alfred A. Knopf.
2. Newbery Medal, California Book Award Nominee for Juvenile, Audie Award Nominee for Best Fiction Narrator
3. Johannes has always been a free dog, keeping watch over all the animals that live in the park with him, but newcomers and all they bring with them will change how he sees the world and what it means to be free.
4. This book deserved this award for its unique voice and its exploration of big ideas like what it means to be free, what it means to be a friend, and the power of art. Johannes is a dog and acts like one, but his braggy way of speaking and his exaggerations make him just exotic enough to grab the reader’s interest immediately. The only named characters in this book are animals, but not only are the individuals fully formed, each species has its own culture. And the ongoing bit about the ducks had me laughing out loud. I would absolutely recommend this book to a child, and I think this is one that could be read at different ages, taking different things from it each time.