Hanukka, Oh Hanukkah by Susan L. Roth May 29, 2011

                I really enjoyed the mice in this book! This book is so simple and made for younger children. I have read several books about Hanukkah to my students at school and at times they go over a young child’s ability. This book is perfect to explain the traditions in such a simple way. The song could easily be taught to the students!

                This book is a great way to examine multiple perspectives in the classroom. In a small town and area like Forbush, there are not a lot of cultural differences. We could start the discussion off like Morgan suggests…first , have a critical conversation related to different viewpoints about particular issues in one’s family. All the students celebrate Christmas but have their own family traditions within their homes. Each student, I have noticed over the years, has a different Christmas routine and traditions which would be great to explore in the classroom and a discussion starter. Then we could explore other cultures and holidays like Hanukkah. I think it would be fun to make latkes with the students, that way the students could sample different cultures and realize the food and ideas are not that different from that of their own. I would also love to have the students make posters, in the collage style we have grown to love from Susan L. Roth. I would break the students into groups and have the group work on a different holiday from around the world. This project would probably call for parent volunteers, so that questions could be asked. I would assign a willing parent a holiday and have the parent become an expert on this holiday, with information I would provide them. I would allow the students groups to share their collage and teach the rest of the class about the interesting facts for each holiday. Looking at Kerry Smith’s classroom connections she had introduced the element of song writing, this idea also made me think of gathering song from different holidays. Every year the music teacher creates a wonderful showcase of Christmas songs for the PTF Christmas program. Our classroom could also share the posters and give a few facts about the holiday before the song begins, after all the students will be experts on holidays by this time. I also think it would be fun working with the specials teachers and truly teaching across the curriculum.

Great Big Guinea Pigs by: Susan L. Roth

                I had no idea that guinea pigs were ever different from what we see today. I know that over time, animals have adapted to their current environments but guinea pigs never crossed my mind. I think that Susan L. Roth is such an amazing author because she has the ability to find interesting facts, facts that you normally would not think about and pass them along in a finely crafted masterpiece.  

                So many children have a guinea pig for a pet, or another small caged animal, we have a rabbit at our house. Small children, even at ages four and five can make connections to this book. Once the idea that animals have not always been the same as we see them today is put into a child’s mind, they go crazy wanting more facts! One thing that I love about my first grade group is they cannot get enough nonfiction! I think it would be a great idea to research other animals in the same manner. I would love to have students work in groups. (The experience of working in groups in itself can promote an understanding and appreciation of multiple perspectives. Hani Morgan) Because I work with first grade and finding research is new to their age, I would have books and internet sites ready for their animal, I liked Kerry Smith’s ideas about the internet workshop she would create for her students.. I, the teacher, would pick the topic animals and have the groups draw the animal from a hat. I would love to use Venn diagrams to compare the animals we research. Because students tend to fill up small pages with one or two facts, I would make the diagrams poster size. Also working in groups I want the students to have room to list all the different perspectives and facts that each student find important. I also would have the students draw a diagram of the animal today and a diagram of the animal long ago. It is my hope that the students would point out the major differences in the features. I chose to focus on the research more in my classroom connections. I think writing a bed time story is a neat idea but the connections are for an older group.  I also really want to drive home the fact that animals adapted over time, and let this fact be the leading discussion in the classroom.

The Biggest Frog in Australia by: Susan L. Roth May 26, 2011

                I absolutely love this book! It reminds me of a folktale and I just love folktales. A very thirsty frog drinks all the water in Australia, leaving none for the other animals. The animals form a plan, make the frog laugh and all the water will come rushing back to its home.  All the animals try their best jokes but the frog just won’t laugh, until two crazy eels get all tangled up. This would make a wonderful read aloud to any classroom. Morgan stated in his article, Picture Book Biographies for Young Children, Interactive read-alouds are one of the best teaching strategies to use because they can lead children to be better readers and also offer guidance of a teacher during this time. Teachers pause and interact with students during interactive read-alouds by stopping at important sections in a book and asking students to predict what will happen next, and other questions that lead to critical thinking. I would immediately ask the students what they would do to make the frog laugh and them ask if they think the water will return when the frog laughs. I might use this book to inspire a classroom joke book, and have the students put their best jokes in the book to share with the class.

                One thing that grabbed my attention in this book was the words and how they seemed to go along with what the animals were doing. For example the kangaroo page says, First he jumped backwards over Platypus. Then he jumped backward but he jumped too far and landed upside down in a tree. The words are formatted like the kangaroo is actually bouncing (                                        ). On the Koala page we find out that He started to wiggle and shake his bottom, with the words wiggling and shaking on the page as well (                                   ). Young students love this type of text.

                I also found the information in the back of the book interesting. Students can learn about Australian animals and terms. Also this book is easy to retell. My daughter Norah, loves to retell stories (yea, beginning stages of reading!!!). When she hears folktales or stories like this one she takes the book and begins to read to me. My mother was amazed at her telling the story of ,Why Mosquitoes Buzz in Peoples Ears. Story knowledge is there the beginning, middle, and end. The reader (or teller) can focus in on the problem and solution, story elements are easy to pick up in this kind of tale.  I look at struggling readers who might do the same thing, associate the page and pictures with word context. I noticed that Kerry Smith also noted the importance of story elements in her classroom connections. She has asked her students to research an animal and write a story with a problem and solution directly related to the animal’s habits. This is just a fabulous book.

Do Re Mi by Susan L. Roth May 25, 2011

                I am not a music person, in the sense that I do not read music or play an instrument. I love music and who doesn’t? The apple IPod is one of the biggest selling items; the music industry alone brings in more money than sports teams. When I walk through the mall or see people out, head phones are resting in their ears. When you sit down in a car the radio is on, people love music!

                I really had to take a second look at this book because I am not a music person, I though how does this book effect me and what can I take from it? Then it hit me how much music is a part of my life. I use music to teach ideas and thoughts in my own classroom, I sing with my daughter and love to hear the new songs she brings home from preschool, I dance a lot, and I never leave home without my iPod. Even to be such a non-music person, as I say, music is a big part of my life. I used this view to reflect upon the book Do Re Mi. I had no idea of the history of written music, so I was able to learn a lot. One of my favorite classical pieces is Cannon D, without Angelo Mafucci I would have never heard the wonderful sounds and soothing melody of this song.

                I feel this is a book that I need to share with the music teacher at my school, I know that she would love and appreciate the work on a level that I could never understand. Morgan stated in his article, Picture Book Biographies for Young Children, good picture books have excellent illustrations that inspire students and gain their attention. Susan L. Roth is a master at collage style art, there is so much detail in the pictures. The three dimensional effect of the collage brings the reader into the book, like I have said before you just want to reach out and touch the pages. The collages attract the reader for a wonderful history lesson into the world of music. This book has so many philosophical questions that can be directed towards a group of children. The first question that pops into my mind is, what would the world be like without music? How does music make you feel? Where do we hear music throughout the day? Do you think it is important for a musician to know how to read music? It would be really fun to take a simple song like Old McDonald and try to play this song using the music. I know that the school has several xylophones that can be played as partners. This would bring on the question, is it important for your partner to know what you will be playing? Why or why not? Have the students play the song with no music knowledge and record the sound. Take some time and teach the song and the basic notes, for young students you could make a cheat sheet with the letters attached to the notes. After learning the music and reading the notes, then have the students play again. Record the new version and compare to see the importance of reading music and notes.

Happy Birthday Mr. Kang by: Susan L. Roth May 22, 2011

                When we look around our world today we see all types of people and cultures. With so many different cultures present, it is important that we educate ourselves. Happy Birthday Mr. Kang really took me back a step and think about what it would be like in a world that was not your own. I was born in America and love so much about it, it is my home. I had to stop and ponder what I would miss the most if I had to move to a new land. I would miss home cooked meals from my grandmother’s house, sitting by the pond fishing while the bull frogs sang of the nigh coming, running through the yard barefoot in June putting lightening bugs in a mason jar, and Fourth of July fireworks.   

                Mr. Kang has felt like a prisoner in a cage, slaving away at the Golden Dragon making noodles and cooking food. On his seventieth Birthday Mr. Kang makes three wishes, to read The New York Times every day, to paint poems every day, and to have a hua mei bird of his own. To Sam the grandson, this idea seemed funny, have a bird in a cage but Mr. Kang wanted a reminder and tradition to hold onto from his homeland.  When Mr. Kang finally realizes that the hua mei is trapped inside a cage and has every right to be free, he releases the bird.  The bird amazingly shows up at the apartment waiting on Mr. Kang and Sam to return. This was very important to the theme of the book; the bird had chosen to stay with Mr. Kang. This is when Mr. Kang told us that he was an American by choice.

                There was beautiful representation of the Chinese culture in this book. I really enjoyed seeing the Chinese writing throughout the book; it is such a beautiful artwork.  I also enjoyed the Chinese fabrics and cutouts in the pages. The use of a menu for the back drop of Mr. Kang’s Birthday Celebration was a very interesting idea. Mr. Kang’s poems also told a wonderful story of his life.  I have to say that I am very interested in see the gathering of the hua mei bird’s in the park. I feel that it would be a breath taking moment after reading this story and knowing the background.

Listen to the Wind by: Susan L. Roth

               This is a very heartwarming tell of a Doctor, a small village, and a school. It is so hard for people to realize what life is like outside of their home place.  We go on with our lives every day and overlook the luxuries we have like schools, books, and transportation.  This book is a reminder that people are different, that countries are different; this book is an eye opener. We read about the true story of Dr. Gregg and the people of Korphe, how something as simple as a school, helped impact their world so much. I use the term, as simple as, because American children go to a public school every day and the importance and privilege is often overlooked.

                This book is truly cultural specific (Multicultural and International Books), it speaks of a particular village in the mountains of Pakistan the people are much different than people in America, they use everything. There are so little goods available to the people that nothing goes to waste, a very valuable lesson that any student or child should learn. The people of Korphe live off the land and work as a team to run the village. In our country everyman is for himself and people are too busy to stop and take time for the important things, like reading a book to your child, or helping them with homework. Farming is unheard of in our world today, everyone runs to the store to buy what they need. I was very happy to hear that even the author/ illustrator Susan L. Roth decided to waste nothing with her collages. She scraped together paper to make the base sheet and as always gathered items from around her home to represent the people and attire, artwork that fits this story exactly.

                My favorite part of this story was the Korphe Scrapbook pages, although the collages represented the village and people wonderfully, it was so nice to tie in the photographs. It was amazing to see all the men carrying wood on their backs to the building site, some eighteen miles away! I think that children can relate this story to nonfiction more so with the photographs located in the back. Sometimes it is hard for students and children to think outside of their world. We need great books like this one to teach about other cultures and countries. I also think that students need reminding of how important school is and that in America we are very, very lucky to have school buildings that we go to everyday, classrooms that are stocked with good literature, and libraries that are overflowing.

                I am so glad there are people like Dr. Gregg in the world that can see outside to other countries and replay the kindness stowed upon him. There are people that can value the importance of education, school, and books, I am also thankful that Susan L. Roth saw the importance and educational value and shared this story with the world.

Hard Hat Area by: Susan L. Roth

              I immediately thought of the little boys that I know as I read this book. Most of the time boys are so excited about machinery and construction. This book is packed full of job site workers and construction. The collage style pictures are also an exciting way to explore a construction site.

                When you first open this book, the end papers grab your attention with all the photographs and graffiti from the city. I especially like the little note for women, women in construction opportunities, a great way to let people know that this is not just a man’s world you are about to enter. The collages are absolutely amazing, the texture and layout make the reader want to touch the page, like the workers are going to jump right out of the pictures. When the reader looks out beyond the construction site we see the New York City and all the buildings as if we were standing on the support beams ourselves. Each turn of the page will leave children in wonder and amazement as they search through the pictures to find buildings, signs, people, and tools.

                Another great feature of this book is that the reader is able to take with them more than just a story. We meet Kristen the apprentice, who is our guide along our construction zone tour, but with each page the reader is given facts about the tools, workers, and attire. We are able to learn about each job in detail, using a diagram form almost. Numbers are labeling the picture according to the corresponding fact that is given to the reader.

I think this is a great book to read in the classroom and at home. I immediately thought about preschool because my daughter is in this grade and I know they study about construction and community workers. Norah really enjoyed the pictures and told me the names of all her classmates that would love this book. She also asked if her classroom could borrow it for a day, I of course say yes. I plan on putting this book with my community helpers unit in the first grade. I think this book would inspire a lot of children who do not feel like they can draw pictures, that a collage is another form of art work. At the end of our community helpers unit I would have each student pick out a community helper and make a collage about the helper and job. I think it would also be fun to list a few facts that the student was able to learn about the job at interest.

Where I am from May 20, 2011

I am from the foothills of North Carolina, a place that may seem country to most people. We still farm the land growing crops and canning and believe in homemade biscuits. We make our own jelly to put on biscuits and our own soups and sauces. My family does not believe in wasting things and My Grandmother swears by the farmer’s almanac. My grandmother can cook a meal and even if you are the last round at the table, you get fresh biscuits. We all pitch in to help one another! We still gather at granny’s to string and break beans, the men still all go out to track a deer, hunting till dark and after sometimes.  Computers are not found at out gatherings, phones are not played on, and the TV is off limits for everyone but Pa, he never watches it anyway, he just kicks back and fades into dreamland with the ball game in the background.

                All through college and the years after people would ask me, where in the world are you from? I have a strong southern draw, which I have come to love because it represents my family. Granny still calls bags pokes, and alcohol al-kee-hal. There are not coupons in the paper, we receive coo-pins. And like Great Annt Florinstine Granny loves to talk geography. I cannot think of a time that I did not love hanging out with my family, in fact as a teenager I brought my friends to hang out with my family.

                I am very proud of my background but realize that I am also the effect of a new generation. I am the first in my family to receive a college degree and will be the only person to graduate with a Master Degree. As much as I hold onto the old ways I also want to pass on new ideas and traditions to my family. I want to install the importance of education in my daughter but yet, I want her to know how to make biscuits too. I feel like it is important to hang onto traditions that you know and love but also to move forward and accept change as it comes. Hopefully one day I will be the old grandmother passing out stories and set in my ways to the grandchildren.

In short I come from GOOD people!

I am from blue jeans, from bluegrass music and porch swings.

I am from a long dusty road past the blossoming gardens, between the fields of goats and cows

I am from the sunflower, which stands high above most men showering down shells of salty goodness.

 

I am from bonfires, playing rook, and helping in the kitchen and strong women and over worked men, from Granny and Pa and Mama Cheryl and Southard.

 

I am from breaking summer beans while listening to stories of the old days, preparing for the winter, canning all the gifts from the garden and all the women gathering in the kitchen to fix supper for our family.

From put some shoes on or you’ll step on a bee and put that frog down, it’ll give you warts.

 

I am from strong southern Baptist, where you acknowledge your faith in the creek and rejoice with a picnic afterwards.

I’m from the South and surrounded by Native American ways of the land, we read the almanac to plant. From homemade biscuits and anything fried!

 

From the I ain’t suppost to say nothin’ but…, and I know you won’t tell nobody. Pa  yell’n  Ma that ain’t none ya business.

 

I am from black and white photos kept well in the pie safe. I am from the negatives that you have to hold up to the light to see. I am from photos with babies crying and no one looking.

 

 I live in the stories told as we reminisce, and in the faces of my parents and daughter. The old has moved away and new in, changing is a tribute to my life. I am from storage in the attic lined with boxes and cabinets to a stick of never ending information paired with a notebook.  I am from family and family I will always be, spreading the branches and strengthening the roots for generations yet to be.

Dear Primo: A Letter to My Cousin by: Duncan Tonatiuh

Dear Primo is a wonderful comparison story. Two cousins who are pen pals write to each other about life in another country. One cousin lives in Mexico and the other cousin lives in an American city. The illustrations in the book are very interesting, Tonatiuh has hand drawn the pictures and digitally added in textured designs to add a three dimensional effect. Tonatiuh has captured the traditional and modern dress of the Mexican culture; the mariachis band was my favorite Mexican picture. He has also made the pictures into a diagram by adding Mexican words into the pictures; this also helps the reader understand a foreign language.   With each page turn the author compares the traditions of America to the Traditions of Mexico such as, in Mexico the children play fūtbol while on the jointing page the American children play basketball. The Mexican children eat quesadillas and tortillas while the American children enjoy pizza. We also learn about the traditions and games of the Mexican culture.

                Dear Primo is a top notch example of a multicultural book. This book fosters awareness, understanding, and appreciation of people whom at first glance seem different. This book also presents a positive and reassuring representation of the Mexican and American culture (Multicultural and International Book Chapter 15). I feel like this is a great book to introduce the idea of writing to a different culture. Even though this book does not represent the culture I have chosen for my Holding Hands project, it is a great way to show the students ideas they share with children from other cultures.

Five Muticultural Books and Holding Hands

                African folktale has always been an interest of mine. With my love for literature comes my love for stories. I have always enjoyed listening to family stories and the Appalachian folklore but these types of stories appeal to an older group. I started reading African folktales in college, the animals portrayed in these stories told lessons and reasons to the ways of the African culture. I began reading these stories to my first grade students and they too share my love for this literature. We have even rewritten the stories into Readers Theater and performed our tale for the school. It seems as though young children can identify more with the animals and enjoy African folktale more than fairytales.  

                For the Holding Hands project, my first graders will be connecting with children in Kenya. I feel that this project will impact the students so much, being able to write, see, and share with children from another part of our world. This will also tie in great with the multicultural standards in our first grade curriculum. It is my hope that can see what other cultures are like and there is more to the world than video games and iPods. I feel that we sometimes get so wrapped up in our own little world we forget the vast knowledge and cultural wealth around us.

Mama Panya’s  Pancakes: A Village Tale From Africa written by: Mary and Rich Chamberlin and illustrated by Julia Cairns

                This book is a wonderful way to introduce students to the Kenya culture, a very culturally specific children’s book (Multicultural and International Book). Mama Panya and her son Adika visit the village market to buy goods. Adika is very excitied because he knows that Mama Panya will be making her delicious pancakes. As the two venture along the road to the market, Adika meets many of his friends and invites them to share the special pancakes for supper. The more people that Adika invites the more worried Mama Panya becomes because there is little money to buy what they need. At the market Mama Panya buys what she needs and worries about the upcoming supper, all along Adika says, “But Mama we have a little bit and a little bit more.” When the friends arrive for the meal, each bares a special gift to share with the pancakes. In the end there is a bountiful feast and the meaning of sharing and friendship shine through.

                At the end of this book, there are several facts about Kenya and translations of words. You can learn greeting and about different animals that you would meet in the village and along the road. Mama Panya has also included her pancake recipe.  The illustrations help show the Village, housed, road, animals, and market in amazing detail. Authentic clothing is worn and walking sticks are carried. Small boys tend to the cattle and animals like chickens and goats roam the village. Mama Panya cooks the pancakes over a fire outside and women are seen carrying items on their heads. It would be so neat to make the Mama Panya pancakes for the class and then write a recipe book to send to our Kenya children. Maybe we could even get together a small box of American items that could be shared, like oreo cookies, chips, and other things the students come up with.

Honey…Honey…Lion! A Story from Africa retold and illustrated by Jan Brett

                We are all very familiar with Jan Brett’s artistic talent, she is breath taking! Her illustrations always portray so much detail. So many bush animals are present in this story, the students can see plant life and take in the beauty of the land. Honey…Honey…Lion! is a great example of African folktale is speaks of sharing and giving thanks. Badger does not pay thanks or share with honeyguide, making the bird very upset. In return Honeyguide leads Badger straight to a lion instead of delicious honey. The message is sent through the bush to always give thanks or you will end up meeting a lion face to face.

                I think it would be really neat to introduce I Am Poems! My students could write an I Am Poem about an African animal, would could send a copy of our I Am a Bush Animal to the children in Kenya. It would be a great learning experience if the students could skype with our Kenya Pals and show them how to write an I Am Poem. This would be a global shared writing experience.

A Hippo’s Tale written by Lena Landstörm

                Hippo loves to take her evening bath…ALONE! She always walks away from the heard to her own private beach, until one evening a monkey is fishing when she arrives. Being very private the Hippo returns home without a bath. Lying in bed, she gets a wonderful idea. The next morning Hippo builds her own private, personal bath house. She returns home to bake her supper, letting the seaweed pudding cool Hippo returns to use her private bath house. When Hippo arrives, she is shocked to find her private bath house, not so private. All the baby hippos were using the bath house as a diving board. Hippo finally gets her alone time while everyone is watching the baby hippos do their tricks. Hippo comes up with another plan; she will build the babies a new diving board.

                This is a very generic book (Multicultural and International Book). The hippos take on a fantasy role being able to talk, bake, and build. There is no factual information to be found, but it is a wonderful story for children to hear. I thought about that old saying, “If at first you don’t succeed then try, try again.”The students will be able to relate the hippos to Africa, but gain no factual information.  

We’re Going On a Lion Hunt written and illustrated by David Axtell

                Oh my goodness, this story is the African version of Going on a Bear Hunt. The two brave girls set out on a journey across the bush to find a lion. When they find the lion in a cave asleep, the girls quietly creep out and set off for home. Back at home the girls tuck themselves into bed, safe from the lion.  This book too has a Generic viewpoint (Multicultural and International Book), the children portrayed in the book are African Children, but look more Americanized. Both girls are dressed is pretty sundresses and dress sandals with frilly socks. They leave their house with a well packed book bag of supplies; it is almost like they stepped out of America and into the African bush. Along their journey we see a variety of bush features, such as long grass, a lake with flamingoes, a swamp, and a rock cave. On their way back home, we see the girls running alongside African animals they meet, all trying to escape the lion. The layout of the land is what this author/illustrator visualized for the reader.

                I always think of the Dr. Jean song, We’re going on a Bear Hunt, when we read the American tale. My kids love sinning and actions the song has to offer. It would be a fun idea to rewrite the song Going on A Bear Hunt to Going on a Lion Hunt. We can act out different African land features, like tall grass, a lake (watch out for crocodiles), and so on. It would also be a great idea to compare two stories We’re Going on A Bear Hunt and We’re Going on A Lion Hunt. And but of course, share the Going on a Bear hunt book with the Kenya children. We could have a Skype story time.

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears written by Verna Aardema and Illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon

                This is a wonderful African Folktale, about the reason miqutoes buzz anround in peoples’ ears. Mosquito tales Iguana a story so full of nonsense that Iguana places sticks in his ears so he would not have to hear mosquito.  This causes a chain reaction of alarm in the jungle animals, killing a baby owlet. Mother Owl woke the sun each morning, but now she was too sad to hoot. King Lion gets to the bottom of the story and decides that the mosquito must be punished. The mosquito overheard his fate and let the jungle never to be heard from again. Mosquitoe still goes arounf buzzing in please’s ears asking if they are still made at him, you can guess what he gets, a smack.This story is fun for the students to read while learning about the jungle and animals that reside in it. This book makes a great play that the student could easily perform for the classroom, grade levels, parents, and the Kenya children. Performing a reader’s theater is a great way for the students to step inside a culture.