I am from barefeet, from a dead end road and summers that seemed to last forever.
I am from the sunshine.
I am from the oak trees, the rough grass and the wildflower necklaces.
I am from beach reunions and pig pickins, from Brittian and Edith and Marilyn.
I am from the big laughers and people who can’t say “no.”
From, “you can have anything you want princess” and ”don’t eat that it’ll make your babies be born neked!”
I am from the love light of Jesus, and the amazing joy and grace that only He can bring.
I'm from Jamestown by way of Greensboro, country fried steak and hot dog-and-cheese sandwiches.
From the snow days sledding down the big hill, the walk to school and the green shag carpet in my home.
I am from disposable cameras and bargain box shopping. From being involved in every aspect of a church I loved and still love. From too many Barbie dolls and a backyard tree house. From swinging in the hammock and riding bikes until we couldn’t see the road.
I am from a family who loves me with all they have and whom I love more than I know how.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs
The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs is "by A. Wolf as told to Jon Scieszka and illustrated by Lane Smith. It was published by Puffin Books in 1996. It is in the fantasy genre and is appopriate for grades 2-5.
Right from the start this book gives a very different flare. The book is "by A. Wolf" and is told from the point of view of the wolf in the classic story of The Three Little Pigs. The story is the wolf telling his side of the story and explaining how it was all a big mistake. The wolf explains that he had a terrible sneezing cold and needed to borrow a cup of sugar from his neighbor. He goes to the first pigs house, which was made of straw and knocks on the door. When no one answers he calls to the pig, but then he feels a sneeze coming on. He accidentally sneezes the pig's house down on him, killing the poor pig. The wolf explains what a shame it would be to leave a perfectly good dead pig lying there so he eats him! Then he moves on to the next pigs house, where a similar story occurs. He finally gets to the third and smartest pigs house which is made of brick. The wolf knocks at the door and recieves a rude answer from the pig inside. He asks for a cup of sugar to make a cake for his grandmother and when the pig gives a rude remark in regards to the wolf's poor grandmother, the wolf goes a little crazy. The police show up just as the wolf is screaming and yelling at the pig and also having a terrible sneezing fit. So in the wolf's story he is wrongly accused in the case of the three little pigs.
This story is written and illustrated by the same team who created The Stinky Cheese Man. It has the same story as that book, which is loved by children all over. The illustrations are all drawings and are very well done. You can tell that a lot of care was taken to create pieces of art for every page. I love that this book is like an exspose of a fairy tale that everyone knows. The familiarity will grab kid's attention, but the twist will hold their attention and keep them entertained. You could incorporate this book into a story writing lesson with middle to upper elementary kids. Students would think it was cool to try and think up an alternate plot to a story that everyone knows. This encourages imagination and writing skills.
Right from the start this book gives a very different flare. The book is "by A. Wolf" and is told from the point of view of the wolf in the classic story of The Three Little Pigs. The story is the wolf telling his side of the story and explaining how it was all a big mistake. The wolf explains that he had a terrible sneezing cold and needed to borrow a cup of sugar from his neighbor. He goes to the first pigs house, which was made of straw and knocks on the door. When no one answers he calls to the pig, but then he feels a sneeze coming on. He accidentally sneezes the pig's house down on him, killing the poor pig. The wolf explains what a shame it would be to leave a perfectly good dead pig lying there so he eats him! Then he moves on to the next pigs house, where a similar story occurs. He finally gets to the third and smartest pigs house which is made of brick. The wolf knocks at the door and recieves a rude answer from the pig inside. He asks for a cup of sugar to make a cake for his grandmother and when the pig gives a rude remark in regards to the wolf's poor grandmother, the wolf goes a little crazy. The police show up just as the wolf is screaming and yelling at the pig and also having a terrible sneezing fit. So in the wolf's story he is wrongly accused in the case of the three little pigs.
This story is written and illustrated by the same team who created The Stinky Cheese Man. It has the same story as that book, which is loved by children all over. The illustrations are all drawings and are very well done. You can tell that a lot of care was taken to create pieces of art for every page. I love that this book is like an exspose of a fairy tale that everyone knows. The familiarity will grab kid's attention, but the twist will hold their attention and keep them entertained. You could incorporate this book into a story writing lesson with middle to upper elementary kids. Students would think it was cool to try and think up an alternate plot to a story that everyone knows. This encourages imagination and writing skills.
Goldilocks and The Three Bears
Goldilocks and the Three Bears is retold and illustrated by James Marshall. It was published this time around by Puffin Books in 1998. It is in the fantasy genre and is appropriate for grades k-2.
This is the classic fairy tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. This time Goldilocks is given a little more mischievious background aside from her already curious reputation. Just like in the original story, she wanders into the woods and sees the house that the bears live in. The bears are out for a walk to let their porridge cool so Goldilocks has a look around. She tries the porridge and gobbles up Baby Bear's bowl of porridge. She sits in the chairs and rocks so hard in Baby Bear's chair that she breaks it. She then falls fast asleep in Baby Bear's just right bed and does not hear the bears return home. She awakes to the scary realization that she is in the house of three angry bears and runs home, never to return to the bear's house again.
I think every child and adult has an appreciation for this story. Marshall gives it a new flare with his illustrations. His characters have more personality than some other fairy tales. The thing I noticed about this book was the vocabulary. There were a few words that I would not expect younger kids to recognize. This, however, opend up learning opportunities. A Text Talk lesson would be great for this story. The teacher could stop every few pages to ask the class what they think is going on and what they think will happen next. Some will know the story and others might not. At the end there is room for a vocabulary lesson. Many of the words, like scalding, are easily compared to words that kids already know, like hot. While this story is sometimes overdone, the simplicity is nice here. It gives new readers a chance to read a book with a little more text, of which they already know the basic storyline.
This is the classic fairy tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. This time Goldilocks is given a little more mischievious background aside from her already curious reputation. Just like in the original story, she wanders into the woods and sees the house that the bears live in. The bears are out for a walk to let their porridge cool so Goldilocks has a look around. She tries the porridge and gobbles up Baby Bear's bowl of porridge. She sits in the chairs and rocks so hard in Baby Bear's chair that she breaks it. She then falls fast asleep in Baby Bear's just right bed and does not hear the bears return home. She awakes to the scary realization that she is in the house of three angry bears and runs home, never to return to the bear's house again.
I think every child and adult has an appreciation for this story. Marshall gives it a new flare with his illustrations. His characters have more personality than some other fairy tales. The thing I noticed about this book was the vocabulary. There were a few words that I would not expect younger kids to recognize. This, however, opend up learning opportunities. A Text Talk lesson would be great for this story. The teacher could stop every few pages to ask the class what they think is going on and what they think will happen next. Some will know the story and others might not. At the end there is room for a vocabulary lesson. Many of the words, like scalding, are easily compared to words that kids already know, like hot. While this story is sometimes overdone, the simplicity is nice here. It gives new readers a chance to read a book with a little more text, of which they already know the basic storyline.
The Princess and the Pea
The Princess and the Pea was written by Lauren Child and illustrated by Lauren Child and Polly Borland. It was published by Puffin Books in 2006. It is a fantasy book and is appropriate for all elementary levels.
This is a story with a familiar title. Underneath the title it says “After the fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson.” The story line is much the same as Anderson’s old fairytale, but Child’s own use of language comes into play. The story is of a prince whose parents are ready for him to be married. The prince, however, is looking for the right girl who he can fall in love with, which does not prove to be an easy task. The prince meets all the princesses in the land and does not find any of them mesmerizing or fascinating, which are his two requirements in a future wife. One night a princess from the other side of the mountain wanders onto the royal family’s side of the mountain and gets caught in an awful storm in the middle of the night. She knocks on the Prince’s door and the King and Queen take her in for the night. The queen keeps asking her questions to check if she is a real princess and finally decides to test her to find out. She puts a pea under 12 mattresses for the girl to sleep on, because if she is indeed a real princess she will be able to feel the pea and not be able to sleep comfortably even on 12 mattresses. In the morning the princess is black and blue and very tired because she had not gotten any sleep. The prince is instantly mesmerized with her and the queen is satisfied that she is a true princess. The Prince and the Princess are married and just like all fairy tales, live happily ever after.
I really liked this story, because as much as it was a fairy tale it also came out of the fairy tale to include some of Lauren herself. Every now and then she would add a phrase like, “you know how princesses are” or “that’s the thing about kings.” This story could best be used for the art lessons that could come out of the beautiful illustrations and the interesting set up of the illustrations. Child created story box creations of her scenes and then Polly Borland photographed them to bring them to life. This could be used to show children different art styles and to encourage them to experiment with art and see what they come up with. Giving students freedom to express themselves is huge in elementary school. This book would be a great tool in accelerating that idea.
Here is a link to Lauren Child's website. There is more about her artwork and other works there. http://www.milkmonitor.com
This is a story with a familiar title. Underneath the title it says “After the fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson.” The story line is much the same as Anderson’s old fairytale, but Child’s own use of language comes into play. The story is of a prince whose parents are ready for him to be married. The prince, however, is looking for the right girl who he can fall in love with, which does not prove to be an easy task. The prince meets all the princesses in the land and does not find any of them mesmerizing or fascinating, which are his two requirements in a future wife. One night a princess from the other side of the mountain wanders onto the royal family’s side of the mountain and gets caught in an awful storm in the middle of the night. She knocks on the Prince’s door and the King and Queen take her in for the night. The queen keeps asking her questions to check if she is a real princess and finally decides to test her to find out. She puts a pea under 12 mattresses for the girl to sleep on, because if she is indeed a real princess she will be able to feel the pea and not be able to sleep comfortably even on 12 mattresses. In the morning the princess is black and blue and very tired because she had not gotten any sleep. The prince is instantly mesmerized with her and the queen is satisfied that she is a true princess. The Prince and the Princess are married and just like all fairy tales, live happily ever after.
I really liked this story, because as much as it was a fairy tale it also came out of the fairy tale to include some of Lauren herself. Every now and then she would add a phrase like, “you know how princesses are” or “that’s the thing about kings.” This story could best be used for the art lessons that could come out of the beautiful illustrations and the interesting set up of the illustrations. Child created story box creations of her scenes and then Polly Borland photographed them to bring them to life. This could be used to show children different art styles and to encourage them to experiment with art and see what they come up with. Giving students freedom to express themselves is huge in elementary school. This book would be a great tool in accelerating that idea.
Here is a link to Lauren Child's website. There is more about her artwork and other works there. http://www.milkmonitor.com
Monday, February 25, 2008
Free Verse Reaction to Aleutian Sparrow
In the midst we see a hope.
In the midst we try to resist the fear,
but it comes
In the midst we support each other.
In the midst some give up on each other.
Nobody knows what they will feel when the storm hits,
but in the midst there are kindred hearts.
In the midst there is hope.
In the midst there are small joys.
In the midst there is love...
In the midst we try to resist the fear,
but it comes
In the midst we support each other.
In the midst some give up on each other.
Nobody knows what they will feel when the storm hits,
but in the midst there are kindred hearts.
In the midst there is hope.
In the midst there are small joys.
In the midst there is love...
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Clarice Bean That's Me
Clarice Bean That’s Me was written and illustrated by Lauren Child. It was published by Orchard Books in 1999. It is realistic Fiction and is appropriate for grade 3-5.
Clarice Bean is a series by Lauren Child that targets an older audience. Clarice Bean seems to be around 10 or 11 and shares many of the annoyances that most girls her age do. In this story Clarice explains her life. She goes through each member of her family and talks about them. This story is very much written through the mind of a 10 or 11 year old girl. The things she says about her family and neighbors are so funny and to the point that the reader has to laugh. Through her descriptions and thoughts of her family you see the struggles that most families have. Her older brother is at that sullen teenager stage. Her older sister is boy crazy and doesn’t understand Clarice at all, and her younger brother is a nuisance, just like all little brothers are. The best part of this story is the reality of it. All of the characters in the book are much like the people that most children have in their lives. Most kids have a mom and a dad and brothers and sisters. This family manages to work in a very quirky family and I would suspect that most families work in a very similar way.
I loved that this was such a simple book. There wasn’t really a story line, but it explored a lot of the aspects of Clarice’s life. This book would be great to introduce older elementary girls to. It shows them that there are even books written about the lives of girls their age so they must be important. This book could also open up the idea of keeping a diary to girls or boys who need an outlet. The story is set up as almost a diary of Clarice’s thoughts. This is where a whole class lesson could come into play; showing kids one idea of how a diary could work. This is a quirky book about a reasonably normal family.
Clarice Bean is a series by Lauren Child that targets an older audience. Clarice Bean seems to be around 10 or 11 and shares many of the annoyances that most girls her age do. In this story Clarice explains her life. She goes through each member of her family and talks about them. This story is very much written through the mind of a 10 or 11 year old girl. The things she says about her family and neighbors are so funny and to the point that the reader has to laugh. Through her descriptions and thoughts of her family you see the struggles that most families have. Her older brother is at that sullen teenager stage. Her older sister is boy crazy and doesn’t understand Clarice at all, and her younger brother is a nuisance, just like all little brothers are. The best part of this story is the reality of it. All of the characters in the book are much like the people that most children have in their lives. Most kids have a mom and a dad and brothers and sisters. This family manages to work in a very quirky family and I would suspect that most families work in a very similar way.
I loved that this was such a simple book. There wasn’t really a story line, but it explored a lot of the aspects of Clarice’s life. This book would be great to introduce older elementary girls to. It shows them that there are even books written about the lives of girls their age so they must be important. This book could also open up the idea of keeping a diary to girls or boys who need an outlet. The story is set up as almost a diary of Clarice’s thoughts. This is where a whole class lesson could come into play; showing kids one idea of how a diary could work. This is a quirky book about a reasonably normal family.
I Will Never Not EVER Eat a Tomato
I Will Never Not EVER Eat a Tomato was written and illustrated by Lauren Child. It was published by Orchard Books in 2000. It is realistic Fiction and is appropriate for grades K-2.
This is a story in the Charlie and Lola series. Charlie and Lola are a brother and sister pair from England. In this story Charlie is left in charge of Lola for the evening while their parents go out. It is Charlie’s job to feed his very picky sister dinner. Charlie offers Lola lots of choices for dinner, but she doesn’t seem to like any of the food he offers. This is when Charlie gets creative. He makes up stories for all of the food that Lola won’t eat so that the food seems different, interesting and fun to eat. Carrots are not carrots anymore but orange twiglets from Jupiter. Peas are not peas, but green drops from Greenland. They go through many of the foods that Lola said she wouldn’t eat and she tries and likes all of them. In the end Lola actually asks for a tomato. When Charlie acts surprised, Lola simply says that she of course loves moon squirters!
This book gives a new twist to kids being picky eaters. Most kids at some point refuse to eat certain foods. This book shows that if kids just try some foods they may actually like them. This book can be used to try and open children’s minds, but also to identify foods. The words can be covered up in the story and the kids can identify what kind of food it is. Food is something that all kids can relate to and if kids are given the option they will be picky. I Will Never Not EVER Eat a Tomato is a good tool to use in a practical lesson for younger students.
This is a story in the Charlie and Lola series. Charlie and Lola are a brother and sister pair from England. In this story Charlie is left in charge of Lola for the evening while their parents go out. It is Charlie’s job to feed his very picky sister dinner. Charlie offers Lola lots of choices for dinner, but she doesn’t seem to like any of the food he offers. This is when Charlie gets creative. He makes up stories for all of the food that Lola won’t eat so that the food seems different, interesting and fun to eat. Carrots are not carrots anymore but orange twiglets from Jupiter. Peas are not peas, but green drops from Greenland. They go through many of the foods that Lola said she wouldn’t eat and she tries and likes all of them. In the end Lola actually asks for a tomato. When Charlie acts surprised, Lola simply says that she of course loves moon squirters!
This book gives a new twist to kids being picky eaters. Most kids at some point refuse to eat certain foods. This book shows that if kids just try some foods they may actually like them. This book can be used to try and open children’s minds, but also to identify foods. The words can be covered up in the story and the kids can identify what kind of food it is. Food is something that all kids can relate to and if kids are given the option they will be picky. I Will Never Not EVER Eat a Tomato is a good tool to use in a practical lesson for younger students.
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