The Giver by Lois Lowry

Wow!  Reading The Giver, by Lois Lowry, as a sixth grader and when you are twenty-four makes a world of difference and allows for very different analyses of the text.  However, one interpretation is still the same…I knew it was a good book then and I still hold the same belief today!  Although this book is considered science fiction, the plot is very believable as well as thought-provoking.  I love books where you don’t quite get the full picture until the middle of the story.  Actually, finding out the whole story is really the climax of the plot.  It is a pretty short book and moves very quickly, but it tackles huge questions, such as is there such a thing as a perfect society? And, if given the choice, would you choose a life without pain if it meant giving up the joys as well?  The ending is open to the reader’s interpretation because there is textual evidence to support a variety of opinions on what happens to Jonas and Gabriel.  Although we get to know Jonas pretty well, in my opinion, not a lot of time was devoted to character development in this book.  We aren’t given many details about how the characters look, sound, or what they believe.  Part of this is because, due to the nature of the community, the character’s have few idiosyncratic traits that give us an overall picture of who they are.  However, nothing seems to be lost from not having much character development because the setting is much more important.  The setting is really everything in this story because the plot is based on a unique environment.  Lowry did not disappointment in creating a realistic, utopian setting.  Great book!
            I would love to use The Giver in my classroom someday because I believe it appeals to any audiences’ tastes and interests.   Using this book is a great way to introduce the concept of a utopia.  It is important that students learn what a utopia is because it helps them realize that there are a variety of ways our society could be structured and some people disagree with our current way and have visions of a better society.  I would have students write about their own visions of a perfect society and/or have them draw pictures or make a model of it.  I would then have students decide how much they would be willing to give up in order to obtain this perfect society.  Would they give up their education? Their family?  Their freedom?  I think this type of activity helps students consider their values and priorities.  This book would also be a great one for students to write their own stories about what happened before this story, such as what led to this society, and what happens after.  I think this is a good exercise because it will empower students to create characters who make big changes that influence the world.  I would also use this book to discuss memories.  This is an interesting topic because memories are something we often take for granted.  I would want the kids to ponder the following questions: What are you favorite memories?  What are your least favorite memories?  Which memories would you have a hard time parting with?  How can memories influence politics and the world?  If you were the Giver, what memories/ history of the world would you be sure to pass along?  Lastly, I think a fun activity for this book would be having a mock ceremony of twelve in which the teacher randomly selects occupations for his/her students.  Students could then discuss or journal about their feelings associated with the ceremony.  How do you feel about your assigned occupation?  I think activities like this are important because it forges a connection to the characters and what they are going through and allows the book to come alive for awhile.
Year Published:  1993          Awards: Newbery Medal

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead, is a beautiful combination of science fiction, coming-of-age, mystery, and young love.  It is the story of a 12-year-old girl from New York City, Miranda, who has many questions about her life and the world around her.  Why won’t her best friend, Sal, talk to her anymore?  Why was Sal randomly punched on the street?  Who is leaving her creepy notes?  Why doesn’t her mom wake-up early and make her breakfast like her friends’ parents and why does she never clean?  Is time travel possible or is it just a magical phenomenon that only occurs in her favorite book? In the beginning, the plot is confusing and it remains mysterious throughout, but as the story moves forward, the compelling plot keeps readers on the edge of their seats.  Although the ending was wrapped up neatly, I am still a little confused about some aspects of the story.  This is definitely one of those books that would be a great re- read to catch all the clues that point to the answer to the mystery.  The character development by Stead was phenomenon!  Some of her character descriptions could be used as models for how to “show” and not “tell.”  Although the plot is based on science fiction, which some students may not enjoy, the character development really makes this book accessible to everyone because the characters are easy to relate to.  I personally fell in love with Miranda’s mom; she is intelligent, eccentric, a game show buff, philanthropist, and an office supply thief!  The setting of the book is Miranda’s neighborhood and the specific venues she visits throughout the story, including her apartment, her school, Jimmy’s Sandwich Shop, Belle’s Market, and the route in-between these places, become very familiar to the reader.  It was so well done that by the end of the book I could visualize the neighborhood from a bird’s eye view and could maneuver it with my mind.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I feel it would be great to recommend to any student.  It definitely isn’t surprising to me that it won the Newbery Medal.      

            I could see a variety of learning opportunities with this book.  First, since this is a coming-of-age novel, students could plot Miranda’s growing maturity with scenes where she gained understanding or wisdom.  Second, the character development is phenomenal so activities involving writing or presenting from a specific character’s perspective would work really well with this book.  A couple of examples include journaling from a character’s perspective or a talk show interview from a character’s perspective.  Another activity option for this book is having students create a map of the neighborhood showing where the plot activity transpired.  This book also has many philosophical quotes and messages throughout that could be used for class discussions. For example, Miranda’s mother believes “each of us has a veil between ourselves and the rest of the world…and when the veil lifts, we can see the world as it really is” (Stead, 71).  Lastly, the hero of this story is a homeless man who everyone believes is “crazy.”  Thus, this book would be a great introduction to a discussion of the stereotypes and treatment of the mentally ill in society.
Year Published: 2009          Awards: Newbery Medal Winner (2010)

Smoky Night by Eve Bunting & Ilustrated by David Diaz

Of all the wonderfully illustrated books I’ve seen so far, Smoky Night by Eve Bunting and illustrated by David Diaz, takes the cake.  The collages, along with the other medias used on each page, are truly works of art.  Although the illustrations are abstract, they correspond beautifully with the story created by the words.  If I wrote a children’s book, I would want David Diaz illustrating it!  The plot itself, based on the experience of a child during the Los Angeles riots, is solid and eye opening.  Young children may initially find it hard to relate to the story because they do not have experience with some of the topics that are touched on, such as riots and homeless shelters.  However, many children can relate to loving a pet, and therefore, they can relate to the main character which opens the door for a real learning experience because they are emotionally invested.  This firsthand account of this historical even leaves a lasting impression because it tells about the experience from an innocent child’s perspective and that will not fade as quickly as information gathered from a textbook or lecture. 
            Teachers can use this book to discuss the topic of rioting as well as the importance of getting along with and respecting all people.  For young children, this would be a great book to use for a feeling identification lesson because the children can speculate about what feelings the boy is probably experiencing at different points in the story.  Young children would also find it fun to talk about what lesson the cats taught the humans.  For older children, this book could be used as a discussion starter on the topic of race conflict and its consequences.  Lastly, this book could be used to teach about the art form of collage and could lead to students creating their own collages about a topic or emotionally salient event from their life.  This project has the potential to be turned into a beautiful class book.  
Year Published: 1994          Awards: Caldecott Medal

Mudkins by Stephen Gammell

It’s a dirty book of few words.  That is how I would describe Mudkins by Stephen Gammell. It is the story of an ordinary little girl playing in the rain who embarks on a magical adventure with a creature that is formed out of the mud.  The magical creature is a Mudkin, a cute little being with a baby face.  Only three pages in this book contain words and readers must draw their own conclusions about the plot from the illustrations.  Although the illustrations are a bit abstract and might be hard to decipher for some children, they are truly unique, beautiful, and seem to accurately portray a muddy mess.  My favorite part of the book was the dialog between the little girl and the Mudkin because the Mudkin’s portion of the conversation is just mud splotches.  I like this because, if read aloud, it leaves it open for the use of funny voices that children love so much.  Overall, the brightly splotched pages carry a certain freshness and energy to the reader that is very invigorating.  My only complaint about the book is that he left the main character nameless and did little to develop her character and get us readers attached to her.      
            For teachers, I think the focus with this book should be imagination, imagination, imagination!  The story is not as clear cut as other worldless books, so children will need adequate time with each page to form an opinion as to what is taking place.  That being said, because the story isn’t perfectly laid out for the reader, children’s imaginations can run wild with this story.  Also, because children and mud seem to go hand in hand, this books provides a great opportunity for kids to share or write about their own muddy stories.  
Year Published: 2011          Awards:

Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young

I had never heard of the ancient fable of the Blind Mice and Elephant before reading Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young.  Or, maybe I had heard the story but it just wasn’t remarkable enough to remember.  However, when the fable is paired with colorful, paper collage illustrations, such as the ones found in this book, the story truly becomes unforgettable.  It is no surprise this book won a Caldecott Medal; the images of the colorful mice in front of the black background discovering parts of the paper collage elephant is beautiful!  Not only is the story aesthetically appealing, though, but it also has a refreshing, cultural moral at the center of its plot for readers to keep for all time: Knowing in part may make a fine tale, but wisdom comes from seeing the whole.
            I believe younger elementary students would get the most from this book.  Children will love looking at the colorful mice and will have a blast predicting what the thing is that the mice are feeling.  As far as lessons goes, this would be a good book to help younger children practice determining the sequence of events in a story.   For an affective and social skills lesson, this story can be used as a lead in to a discussion about how it feels when you disagree with someone and how to handle it.  For older elementary students, this book could be used to introduce and discuss morals or similes.  For any age, I think this book can be used to discuss what it would be like to be without the sense of sight.  I envision putting various objects in paper bags and having students figure out what the object s are using only their sense of touch.  To incorporate writing into this activity, students can make a list of adjectives of the objects they felt.  Just blogging about this activity gets me excited…I can’t wait to use this book with a class someday! J
Year Published: 1992          Awards: Caldecott Medal

Not All Princesses Dress in Pink by Jane Yolen & Heidi Stemple

Princesses with power tools!  Now who doesn’t love that?  I certainly did!  I love, love, loved Not All Princesses Dress in Pink by Jane Yolen and Heidi Stemple and illustrated by Anne-Sophie Lanquetin.  It is a rhyming story that addresses the inaccuracies of stereotypical “princess” behavior and appearance.  The princess featured in this story is not your run-of-the-mill blonde-haired, blue-eyed princess in a gown.  Rather, the princess in this story has black hair, black eyes, and darker skin and loves playing soccer, getting dirty, fixing things, and saving herself from dragons and life in a tower.   The other characters in the story are diverse in appearance as well.   I think this sends a wonderful message to young girls that they can do anything they want and still be a sparkly princess at heart.  The word choice is elevated and not insulting to the reader and the rhyming is arranged in such a way that the poetic story flows off the reader’s tongue.  The illustrations appear to be done in bright watercolors and truly bring the story to life.  The words, although beautiful, don’t tell us much about what this progressive princess and her behaviors look like, but the pictures really add depth to the story and prove to the imagination of the reader that a princess really is doing these things.
            I would use this story as an introduction to stereotypes, without using that word of course.  Before reading the book, I would make a list with the class of what a princess does and looks like.  After reading this book, I would ask the class to add new behaviors and appearance traits to the list and facilitate a discussion about what the students thought of the story and its main character.  Students could draw pictures of themselves as a prince or princesses doing activities that they love.  I possibly would follow this book up with other books featuring princesses and princes in non-stereotypical ways. 

Year Published: 2010          Illustrator:  Anne-Sophie Lanquetin       

Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan

It has been years since a book made me cry but Esperanza Rising, by Pam Munoz Ryan, did it for me.  In this coming of age novel, readers watch as Esperanza transforms from a spoiled girl into a strong woman.  Through her struggles, we are forced to acknowledge what is truly important in life and what really makes a person “rich.”  Like the knitting techniques of Esperanza’s family, the plot carries the reader through valleys and mountains that have a lasting emotionally impact.  The brilliant character development of Esperanza, as well as other characters such as Abuelita and Isabel, leaves readers with a deep, sentimental connection to these individuals and their stories.  The reader comes to feel as if they are a part of this close-knit community and feels emotionally invested in the outcome of their story, which fortunately for us ends on an uplifting note.   I loved how many aspects of the story revolved around Mexican culture and how bits of authentic Spanish language were used throughout the book.  In addition to the obvious theme of growing up, many other themes were present in this novel as well, including the earth, family, hope, racism, class, spirituality, immigration, community, social class, seasons, human rights, and poverty.  
            Esperanza Rising provides a plethora of opportunities for teachers.  First of all, this book is a teaching tool in and of itself and students will gain a lot just from being exposed to it.  That being said, with so many themes incorporated throughout, it would fit nicely into a unit on any of these themes as well.  I personally would probably use it for a history lesson on immigration or a unit on racism.   Although the book is historical fiction, it gives us a first-hand, emotional account of the pain these experiences have on individuals.  One writing option for this book is having students’ journal or write letters as if they were one of the character.  For an artistic project, teachers could have students create a diorama or mural of scenes from the book.   Esperanza Rising also has many opportunities for students to act out action packed scenes or do an interview as if they were one of the characters.     The best way to go would probably be letting the students choose the type of project they want to do.  With this book the options are really endless!

Year Published: 2000          Awards: Pura Belpre Award