Children's Books discussion
The Picture-Book Club
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August 2011: Discuss Our "Maps & Geography" Club Reads HERE
Wow. So many great nominated books in the thread this month! Great topic. Haven't posted for 2 months but have been reading the books.I am again fortunate: for this month's 6 books, I've read 5 of them (2 rated 4 stars, 3 rated 5 stars!!!!!) and I've reserved Mapping Penny's World, the one book I've not yet read.
Hoping to participate this month, and chime in eventually for the previous months I missed.
I do love this club!
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I am again fortunate: for this month's 6 books, I've read 5 o..."
Great to have you posting again, Lisa, and I'm glad you were able to get all of the books and that some you've already thought so highly of :-)
I have holds on all of them but Madlenka which the system doesn't have but I did read Madlenka's Dog a few months ago and enjoyed it so at least I am familiar with the style of those books.
I, too, am very excited about the other selections. Adèle & Simon is one of my favorites and the others all are new-to-me but look great. A few are currently checked-out from the library, actually, so it will be a little while before I can get them but I'm glad they are popular!
I have a couple of them already in my collection: Mapping Penny's World, and If the World Were a Village. If the World... is one of my favorite books!!! I am looking forward to reading some of the other. (And I thought I had all the books in the world!!!) Thanks for the list.
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Oh, YAY! :-) I'm looking forward to reading all the ones I can get, too.
I am attempting to get my books for the month. If the World Were a Village - Second Edition: A Book about the World’s People has two additions, one 2002 and one 2006. I think that we are suppose to get the 2011 copy and I know my library will not have that. Any suggestions? Are the versions really different?
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I am reading whatever edition my library has, I have no idea what edition that will be.
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Like Gundula, I'm getting whichever version my library has, not sure which one. Perhaps we can all just mention which version we got when we post our comments and those with the newer versions might be able to fill us in if we're missing info.
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Thanks for posting with your thoughts now, Chandra, and I do hope you'll be able to join us when you get back from your trip! (Have a great time!) I appreciate all the great suggestions you made to our nominations/master list this month.
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My library also seems to have a DVD of this book (from 2006); I've requested it. I think that my book version is the first edition from 2002, so quite a bit of the information might already be somewhat out of date, especially for things like population etc.
Never mind, my I'LL was canceled and I will not be attempting to fill it again. August is a crazy month an I dont want to wait again for the book and have it canceled again.
Very nice list will do my best to try and join.
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Oh, what a bummer re: the ILL! :-(
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The only other book that has come in at the library is How I Learned Geography and I thought it was wonderful!!! I went into it without knowing what it was about, so was surprised to find it was set during wartime and the beginning was so somber. At first, I wasn't sure where it was going and how it would become a book about geography. But, wow, I just loved how visually and emotionally the map changed everything, making the book so much brighter and warmer. The rhyme young Uri made up was just a delight! I could see how this map inspiring his around-the-world in his imagination was just so vital for him keeping his spirits up during their difficult time. I imagine it was a source of conversation and hope for the parents, too; I am not sure that, at that young age, Uri would have known which places had cities and which had jungles, for example, unless his parents were talking about it and sharing that knowledge with him. What a wonderful way to keep the family together and strong of heart and mind! The author's note at the end was marvelous, bringing everything together; though I felt the story was very moving and strong as a stand-alone, it made it even more vivid and poignant seeing the photograph of Uri during that time and it was a delight to see his childhood illustrations! This was a real winner in my book!
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Although I am a bit overwhelmed by the sheet amount of information presented, especially the numerical data, If the World Were a Village: A Book about the World's People is, I believe, one of the best books I have encountered to teach global awareness to children, older children (younger children would really be overwhelmed with the amount of information). Exponential numbers, tragedies of epic proportions, the fact that many of the world's people do not have enough to eat, no educational opportunities etc. are often hard for children to comprehend and grasp. By imagining the world's population as one hundred people living in one single village, the world's problems become much more present and immediate. I would recommend this book for older children interested in world geography, If the World Were a Village: A Book about the World's People would also be a perfect teaching/learning tool for classroom unit on world geography, on world social studies.
One World, One Day, I love, love the wonderful photographs, they tell the stories of the daily routines of the worlds' children better than the text, the narrative (which I find kind of spare and slight). However what makes this book so special, and what elevated it from a three star to a solid four star book for me are the informative back materials, the detailed information about each of the photographs used, as well as the world map, showing the locations of the many photographs. I also truly appreciate Barbara Kerley's personal afterword, as it so evocatively describes that, while her life as an English and math teacher in a Nepalese village might have been quite different from her life in America, it was, in fact, not all that different (it is important to remember this fact, that we, that the worlds' children have more things in common with one another than we have differences, that we are basically all quite the same in what we do, in our daily lives).
How I Learned Geography, I found this a very moving and inspiring story, a story that demonstrates not only the ravages of war, but how one special object (in this case a world map that the father of the young boy buys instead of buying bread) can make a terrible, inhumane reality more tolerable. At first glance, the map might have been a foolish purchase, but while a piece of bread would have perhaps nourished (or rather partially nourished) the young boy and his family for at the most one day, the map (hung on the wall), soon floods the family's desolate hut with light, colour and vision, providing learning, escape, imagination, making reality more livable. While the bread would have only nourished the body (and not even for any length of time), the map lastingly nourishes the soul, providing both solace and a sense of lasting and healing wonder.
I love the premise of Madlenka, and I am sure that children will love poring over the many illustrations and objects, as well as trying to locate the often hidden cultural objects (buildings, masks, fairy tale figures, pyramids etc.). A someone who is not that talented at locating hidden objects, I do wish that author/illustrator Peter Sis had included a list of objects to be found, as I am sure that I missed quite a number of them. But what Madlenka is really missing, what I definitely consider a lack and a problem with this otherwise excellent picture book is the fact that there is no additional cultural and geographic information about the many illustrations, objects etc. provided. The diverse items, the fairy tale figures, the culturally significant buildings depicted (illustrated) will quite likely give rise to both questions and discussions, so the addition of supplemental explanations, definitions, supplemental cultural and geographic material would have changed Madlenka from an entertaining and moderately informative puzzle-search picture book to an amazing teaching and learning tool.
I rather enjoyed Mapping Penny's World, although I did find the map and mapmaking instructions etc. rather confusing (I have always had problems reading maps, and while this book was more understandable and clearer than other books on maps I have read, it still confused me a bit). I do think that it is ingenious for the author to have made use of the concept of having children make, create personally significant maps (such as a map for a favourite pet, like Penny the dog), it makes map-reading, mapmaking much more fun and diverting, and not some vague, confusing idea with no personal connections. That being said, and because of the fact that I think that Mapping Penny's World would be a great tool in an elementary or middle school geography or social studies class (especially if doing a unit on maps), I don't really understand why the author (Loreen Leedy) has not included any type of additional information, such as teaching/learning hints. A list of supplemental activities, perhaps even suggestions on how to teach elementary mapping skills (perhaps for students/children like me, who have problems with visual/spatial perception), would have made Mapping Penny's World a much better and more useful classroom tool (and at home as well). Still, I think if we had had a book like Mapping Penny's World instead of the boring textbook my teacher used when I was a child (when I was learning or rather struggling to learn map-reading in grades five and six), I think I would have gotten much more out of the class and maybe would have actually learned how to read and draw a precise map (which I still cannot do).
We have already read half of the books How I Learned Geography
Madlenka and
Adèle & Simon
and we really liked them all.
We've put the remaining books on hold and are looking forward to reading them.
Oh my, I have lost track of time. Can't believe we are already a week into august! I haven't even gotten around to reserving these books. I am going on over to do that now. I will be back to join in the fun shortly! Hope everyone is having a great summer!
I've read them all, but I've missed a few months of discussion, here and everywhere else on Goodreads too. I also hope to soon get back in the swing of things.
Lisa wrote: "I've read them all, but I've missed a few months of discussion, here and everywhere else on Goodreads too. I also hope to soon get back in the swing of things."I wish I had more time. I really enjoy this group and Goodreads! Just been a bit busy around here. Great that you have read all the books already.
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No worries! I'm sure August (and maybe September) will be busy for many members with end-of-summer travels, back-to-school for some with the kids, etc. I hope that those of you who want to participate will find the time, even if it's later this month or into the next month. And, meanwhile, I'm just so happy we all put together such an awesome Master List as this is a subject that I'm sure many members (both current and future) will appreciate and the book list is there for whenever they have time to pursue titles.
Kathryn wrote: "No worries! I'm sure August (and maybe September) will be busy for many members with end-of-summer travels, back-to-school for some with the kids, etc. I hope that those of you who want to participate will find the time..."Thanks Kathryn, I will certainly try. I do want to learn more on the subject of this month. Geography isn't my best subject. I am eager to read the books! Hopefully sooner than later. =)
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Madlenka is white, blond & blue-eyed, and pretty, and special. All the other characters are gray, exotic, "other," and not very healthy & happy looking, often to the point of being ugly.
Beyond that, the identifying aspects of each neighbor's cultural heritage were stereotypical. There's a lot more to India than than elephants, and a lot more to France than pastries.
I see above some mention of hidden objects - maybe finding those would help, but with my bad eyes and vulnerability to migraines I won't be digging for them. Sorry.
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Madlenka is white, blond & blue-eyed, and pretty, and special. All the other characters are gray, exotic, "other," and not very healthy &..."
I had trouble finding many of the objects as well. I was not disturbed as you were, but the colour scheme did not do much for me either. I thought that the France section was alright (it was not just pastries, but also culturally significant buildings and such), but the section on Germany focused almost exclusively on fairy tales, and why was everything rather frightening looking and greenish (greenish colour has a bit of a military feel to it and I do wonder if that might cause some children to wonder). I still liked the book, but it is definitely not a favourite.
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Madlenka is white, blond & blue-eyed, and pretty, and special. All the other characters are gray, exotic, "other," and not very healthy &..."
I was not able to get this one, though I did read another Peter Sis book some time ago called Madlenka's Dog. While I do not remember finding anything particularly inappropriate in the illustrations, I do remember thinking some of the depictions were a bit odd. Still, I enjoyed the book overall. I think it was more a tale of imagination than of actually trying to depict various cultures, so perhaps it was more successful in that regard? Here is my review of that book if anyone is curious:
Madlenka's Dog
Madlenka lives in a neighborhood where everyone always walks their dogs. She desperately wants a dog of her own, but her parents won't allow it. A dog does come to Madlenka, though. It's a very special dog in that everyone who sees Madlenka going around walking a leash (some might say that is all she is walking, but she knows better!) seem to see their own childhood dogs in the collar. The story gets very imaginative and a bit odd as she and her friend take their pets to various lands like Ancient Egypt, and I wasn't sure if I thought it was fun and clever or just weird and misplaced with the rest of the narrative, but overall it's a fun story and I love the lift-the-flap aspects and the testament to how much a childhood dog influences our whole lives.
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And that viewpoint is the opposite of the one in One World, One Day, which was very good, imo.
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I have that one on reserve at the library but it was checked out when I placed my hold so I might not get it until the end of the month. I'm so eager to read it!
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I think the colours of the illustrations also might have made the book feel a bit creepy (I certainly did not enjoy the colour schemes for the French and the German section all that much).
I've used most of these books in my third grade class and for teachers' workshops that I've led. I will always love If The World Were A Village. I bought it when it first came out (2002) so my edition might be a little off from current population numbers. I've used Mapping Penny's World and How I Learned Geography. They are great for classrooms and personal libraries. I just finished reading Adele and Simon for the first time and loved it! I liked how details of the places the children visited were discussed at the end of the book. I have always loved geography and had a huge collection. Since I retired I'm still trying to organize everything so some of mine are still in boxes. I did find a book that was given to me by one of my students called The Once Upon A Time Map Book, by B.G. Hennessy. It's wonderful. Maps of magical fantasy lands are provided and give the children a chance to find "treasure" in each of these lands: Wonderland, Oz, Enchanted Forest, Aladdin's Kingdom, and the Giant's Kingdom with Jack. Another book in my collection is The Magic Globe, by Heather Maisner. It provides directions and places to find on each continent. And the last book I love is Yann Arthus- Bertrand Earth From Above for Young Readers, text by Robert Burleigh. This book has amazaing photographs from around the world from farmland to volcanoes to cotton mounds. Hope you can look up these books and discover them for yourself.
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I just read If the World Were a Village: A Book about the World's People and gave it 5 stars. I loved that each page could inspire a whole conversation, or a whole lesson. I loved that the numbers were simply presented, provoking the readers to get involved and actively make their interpretations.
Did anybody read the new edition? I would imagine phones and computers have gone up from 14 and 7. Cell phones are really catching on in developing countries because they need less infrastructure, being wireless. Can anybody report the new data on that page?
Cheryl in CC NV wrote: "I just read If the World Were a Village: A Book about the World's People and gave it 5 stars. I loved that each page could inspire a whole conversation, or a whole lesson....Did anybody read the new edition?" Cheryl, I haven't seen the revised edition, but I'm so glad it happened. I collaborated with our computers teacher, who had 5th graders create graphs showing a particular comparison (food, religion, etc.) addressed in the book. I wish EVERY child could explore this fabulous, eye-opening resource.
As for How I Learned Geography, this is one of my absolute favorites. Has a picture book ever expressed more? The Caldecott-winning illustrator mines his boyhood memories of fleeing Warsaw after the Germans invaded in 1939 -- and unearths literary gold. This is a journey of self-discovery, of inner geography, as well as of the external world. The illustrations burst with life and color as the boy begins to imagine life in faraway, exotic-sounding places. What a wonderful way to ignite children's interest in geography, their understanding of immigration and war, and, as Gundula noted, to illustrate the power of the imagination to sustain the soul. Wow!
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I have that one out from the library and hope to read it soon. I will check the pub date.
MadlenkaMy son and I just finished this book. There were so many things we liked about it. One thing that my son gets now, since he is almost 5 years old, is that places that we read about you can actually travel to. For example the Eifel Tower, this is his favorite "landmark" and now he knows it is in Paris, after seeing it in the book. So we were walking in the mall the other day and he saw a cardboard display of the tower and starts jumping up and down YELLING, mommy mommy look the Eifel tower and then he says and it is in Paris. People were shocked and laughed at how excited he got over the display.
All I can say is "the power of reading".. Thanks everyone.
A few more details about the book, I loved how the book showed actually city blocks (kids never see this they just walk on the street and only see what is in front of them, never a "birds eye view")and that she was walking around the blocks. My son loved hearing that people from other countries speak other languages. I also enjoyed that something as simple as losing a tooth, which is a big deal since some of our friends are losing teeth could lead to such a great adventure. Another great one I would have never found without the group.
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My son and I just finished this book. There were so many things we liked about it. One thing that my son gets now, since he is almost 5 years old, is that places that we read about you c..."
That's such a cool story Leslie, glad your son enjoyed the book.
As I was searching for the book I found this and it had an even better rating, same authorIf America Were a Village: A Book about the People of the United States
Has anyone read this?
I think I might try this one also.
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If America Were a Village: A Book about the People of the United States
Has anyone read this?
I think I ..."
I have not read this, but I guess it's going to go on my to-read list.
Thanks for the information, Leslie :-)
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I did not like that the adults indulged the little boy - the implication is that he loses things regularly, and that there's never a consequence or an attempt to teach him to be more responsible. If even a nod had been made to the idea that he should not be so enabled, I'd have been more comfortable.
But even so, I'm not sure such a young girl should be having responsibility for him. What about her schooling, and her friends?
It is funny you say that my son had a great time hunting for all of the items and then said " he shouldn't leave his stuff everywhere" so I guess he agrees with you. I liked the end where everyone was there with his stuff.
We enjoyed it.
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If only the child hadn't been so blase; if he'd *tried* at all, I'd not have been so annoyed. Otherwise, yes, it's a good book, and it's neat to see so many people truly enjoying it.
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If only the child hadn't been so blase; if he'd *tried* at all, I'd not have been so annoyed. Otherwise, yes, it's a good book, and it's neat to see so many people tr..."
Too bad my library did not have this book. I think I would have felt a kinship with the boy (I am still even now constantly misplacing my belongings).
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My son and I just finished this book. There were so many things we liked about it. One thing that my son gets now, since he is almost 5 years old, is that places that we read about you c..."
Oh, wow! I love that story, Leslie! What a wonderful son you have. And, yes, three cheers for the power of reading :-)
How I Learned Geography was an absolute favorite! I don't have anything much to add to all the other positive comments...but just found it so inspiring and so well-written. In fact, while at the library last night I checked out 2 more books by Shulevitz to see if I will enjoy them as well. Such a wonderful story. It seems like it would take some hopeful/forward thinking to buy the map rather than food. While the map ended up being so much more important and long lasting than bread, when your basic needs aren't met, it is usually difficult to focus on other needs... Absolutely wonderful!My other favorite was One World, One Day. The photographs were amazing and I loved reading the notes about them at the end. I also enjoyed how it focussed on how we are all mostly the same despite some differences.
If the World Were a Village: A Book about the World's People is also great. It led to some great discussions about language and poverty and how so many people don't have enough to eat. I've only read 1/2 to my kids so far...it seems like the kind of book that is good to take in small chunks and stop to talk about it...at least that's worked best with my 6yo and 8 yo.
I've read Measuring Penny to my class for several years, so I was excited to see that there is another book about Penny...Mapping Penny's World. It's a great introduction into how to create a map of your (or your dog's) world. I can see how this could easily be used in the classroom. My daughter that just barely turned 3 asked me to read this over and over again. I'm sure she didn't really get the map concepts, but she loved reading about Penny...and finding where Penny hid bones, shoes and socks. She also liked seeing the park where Penny rides around in the bicycle basket...and seeing the other dogs at the park. We gave them all names (which mostly changed at each reading because I couldn't remember the previous names) and she made up stories about them.
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I think that reading If the World Were a Village: A Book about the World's People in small chunks is definitely the way to go. Even I was a bit overwhelmed with and by all of the information and children would likely be even more so. Have you tried any of the teaching suggestions with your students? Some of them look great. I wish we had had books like this when I was in school, sigh.
I also enjoyed Adèle & Simon. My daughters were excited to see the "sights" of Paris...and loved trying to find where he dropped his backpack, coat, etc. They also enjoyed predicting what Simon would lose next. My 8 yo also made a comment that he should be more responsible..much like Leslie's son.I have mixed feelings about Madlenka. I did like the way you could see city blocks...and that Madlenka was able to associate with people from many different cultures...I see that as one advantage of many big cities...getting to know people from many backgrounds and cultures. But the illustrations weren't my favorite. I didn't react as negatively as some, although I can certainly see where Cheryl and others are coming from, but I didn't love the illustrations either.
I haven't used any of the specific teaching suggestions from this book since this was the first time I've seen/read this book. I've done some similar things in the past on my own and may make some changes in the future. I have had students become pen pals with students in Korea when I had a friend teaching there for several years. And there are some geography activities that I've done...after reading Flat Stanley, we mailed out Flat Stanleys to friends and family around the world and asked them to send back postcards or photos of Flat Stanley and where he visited. Then we marked these on a map on a big bulletin board. There's also the Great Mail Race where you send a questionnaire to a school in each U.S. state and ask them to fill it out and send it back then you track where the responses come from and what you learn on a big map.For me, personally, though, it feels like geography is a kind of hard subject to teach. I mean I can teach kids how to read a map and even to kind of know where countries are. But as a child/teenager, it felt fairly meaningless to me to memorize (and I had to) where the 50 states were or what were the capitals or which country in Europe was which. It held little or no meaning. It wasn't until I got older and began to travel a little (my family, unfortunately didn't travel when I was a child) that geography held any meaning. Now, when we travel, we are sure to show our kids maps and talk about which direction we are traveling, where it is in relation to where we live, etc. I think (at least for me) until I travel to an area and have some personal experience with that region...or at the very least do some extensive reading to learn about an area, geography is very hard to remember. It's hard to make it seem important or even very real when you haven't had those experiences...and with so much to teach, it's nearly impossible to help them have those experiences.
But these books at least provide a starting place. if only there were more hours in the day to read great books to them.
Children's Books
Books mentioned in this topic
One World, One Day (other topics)You and Me Together: Moms, Dads, and Kids Around the World (other topics)
If the World Were a Village: A Book about the World's People (other topics)
One World, One Day (other topics)
One World, One Day (other topics)
More...
Mapping Penny's World
How I Learned Geography
If the World Were a Village - Second Edition: A Book about the World’s People
Madlenka
Adèle & Simon
Alternate/Sixth title:
One World, One Day
I hope all of you can get all (or at least a few) of the selections. I apologize for posting the list a little later this month than usual but my summer travel schedule made the usual dates a bit tricky. Feel welcome to join in the discussion any time in August, even if you aren't able to get in all the books by the 1st.