Module 6: Zero the hero

Book cover image: 

Taken from Amazon.com (Amazon.com, Inc, n.d)

Genre:
The book Zero the hero is considered a picture book for older readers but could also be classified as a humorous fiction book for young readers and a math concepts picture book.

Book Summary:

Zero believes he is a hero but has trouble proving it to all the other numbers because he simply doesn’t add anything to the others in addition.  He is also just a shadow to the other numbers to make them bigger.  Then he finds out he is also no use in division.  Even worse, in multiplication he makes the others disappear, which is pretty troublesome when trying to fit in.  Despite all this, Zero knows he is worth something he just has to prove it.  Then his number friends are captured by the Roman soldiers and Zero has a chance to finally save the day.

APA Reference of Book:  

Holub, J., & Lichtenheld, T. (2012) Zero the hero. New York: Henry Holt and Company, LLC.

Impressions:

This book was the perfect blend of humor and math and I think it is a great picture book for older readers.  While this book good be enjoyable for younger readers, they would likely miss some of the humor due to the fact that they do not understand some of the mathematical concepts referenced in the book. The book is recommended for ages 6-10 years old which I would agree with as long as you make sure the math concepts have at least been introduced if you expect good comprehension. There is a lot of dialogue in the book, which makes it great for older readers that may not be quite ready for chapter books.  Additionally, the illustrations and narration work together to tell more of the story and add extra humor.  One example of this is when the roman numerals enter the scene.  In the bottom of the page where you would generally find the page number is a little cartoonish character that says “this is page XXVIII.” Then in the opposite corner you have the number ‘8’ looking at the roman numerals ‘VIII” saying “so, it takes FOUR of you to do my job?”.  Math humor like this is sprinkled throughout the book with each number being given its own personality.   The author and illustrator have taken math concepts that can be tricky when first introduced and made it fun! I would almost bet that there are children out there that have read this book and will never forget the role of Zero in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. 

Professional Review:

Taken from PublishersWeekly , Reviewed on 11/21/2011, Published on 02/28/2012

This story about the concept of zero recalls both Lichtenheld's recent E-mergency and Kathryn Otoshi's Zero (2010). Like the former, it features walking, talking written characters (digits, in this case, rather than letters), accompanied by Lichtenheld's snappy, cartoon-style art. And like the latter, it features a Zero who's scorned by his fellow numbers and who worries that he "doesn't count." But Holub's (Wagons Ho!) Zero, who dresses in a superhero cape, has an inner "belief in his wonderfulness" and awaits a chance to prove it. At this point, several involved exchanges about Zero's arithmetic functions establish that Zero extinguishes anything he's multiplied by (Zero times a rock equals Zero), but the discussions weigh the story down and don't seem likely to enlighten math-o-phobes. Past the blackboard digressions, things pick up as Zero rescues the other numbers from an attack by toga-clad Roman numerals, scaring them off with his destructive multiplicative powers ("Run IV your life!" one yells). Despite the energetic artwork and some clever ideas, though, Zero's story doesn't quite add up. Ages 6-10. 

Agent: Eden Street Literary. Illustrator's agent: Amy Rennert Agency. 

APA Reference of Professional Review:

Publishers Weekly. (2012, February 28). Zero the Hero. Retrieved February 24, 2018, from Publishers Weekly: https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-8050-9384-1

Library Uses:

Zero the hero has so much potential for regular use in early elementary classrooms.  The hero of the book, Zero, helps reinforce counting skills and introduces addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication which gives educators the ability to keep it simple or expand on concepts.  As a librarian, I would create a learning kit to support classroom learning.  The kit would include felt board cutouts with all the numbers, or rather characters, from the book in addition to extra numbers.  These felts could be used to retell the story followed by a math lesson using the additional felt pieces.  I would also include various templates for teachers to use to create various crafts centered around the story.  Additionally the kit would include templates and lesson plan ideas to use the story as part of 100^th day of school celebrations.    

Readalikes:

All the following readalikes are suggested because they magically combine mathematics and reading which can be hard to do.  Often you have readers that either love math or love reading but never both.  What better way to show math loves that reading can be fun AND to show readers that math really isn’t that bad. 

The ghost of skip-count castle is a slightly lower level book that is geared for preschool thru grade 3, but is a second grade reading level so it would be good for readers on the younger end of the level for Zero the hero.  This does not tackle any multiplication or division, but does introduce the concept of counting by twos, fives, and tens

A wonderfully illustrated counting, multiplication and even a little addition book is One is a snail, ten is a crab by April Pulley Sayre.  The book falls in the same age range and uses a beach theme and craps, snails, people, dogs, insects, spiders, to count, add, and multiply up to 100.

Jon Scieszka is one of my favorite picture book authors and he has written a wonderfully funny book about waking up and discovering everything is a problem … well math problems.  The Math curse is a well-illustrated journey through the eyes of a young girl who realizes math is all around and it doesn’t have to be a curse.  

Checkout my Goodreads list of children and youth literature I read during the Spring 2018 Semester at UNT. 

Module 5: Brown girl dreaming

Book cover image:

Taken from Penguin Random House (Penguin Random House, 2016) 

Genre:

This book Brown girl dreaming was the 2015 winner of the Coretta Scott King Award for the author, Jacqueline Woodson, the 2014 National Book Award Winner, and the 2015 Newbery Honor recipient.  This book fits in many different genres including novels in verse, poetry, biography, and autobiography/ memoir.  I would even venture to say it could be placed in a category for books about social change and African-American history in America.

Book Summary:

This novel is written in free verse and tells the story of the author, Jacqueline Woodson, as she grows up in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s.  Jacqueline was a young black girl who lived in both the North and the South and experienced discrimination in ways that many readers have only read about.  The civil rights movement was still very strong, especially in the South were segregation had only recently ended and Jim Crow laws were still lingering.  Jacqueline's mother was very involved in activism and fighting for equal rights, so she left her children with grandparents in South Carolina to move to New York.  While with her grandparents, she was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness which presented an entirely different type of struggle.  Throughout the stories, written entirely in verse, the reader gets to go through the emotional journey with Jacqueline as she comes of age and finds herself through her writing. 

APA Reference of Book:

Woodson, J. (2014). Brown girl dreaming. New York: Nancy Paulsen Books.

Impressions:

This book has been sitting on my “to-be-read” shelf for years and I my only regret is that I did not read it sooner.  I am not one that generally enjoys poetry and books written in verse which is why I kept putting it off, but Jacqueline Woodson writes so well that I almost forgot I was not reading an actual traditional novel.  The author tells the story of her life in a way that doesn’t require all the extra “fluff” that is normally found in novels.  Each word written means something and captures the reality of a young girl growing up in a part of the country that did not accept blacks as equal members of society.  I took a college level literature course on African American literature and this title should have been included in the reading list.  Woodson tells a story of growing up during the civil rights era from the point of view of a young girl trying to figure out who she is, which is unique and powerful.  I know this novel is written for middle and high school readers, but the author writes with such emotion and complexity that it could easily be enjoyed and studied at an adult level simply due to the high literary quality of the book. 

I must share some of my favorite quotes from the book, simply because I want to entice everyone to read this book! I have tabbed over 25 pages of this book, and probably would have marked even more but I was running low on tabs.

                  “In Montgomery, only seven years have passed

                              since Rosa Parks refused

                  to give up

                  her seat on a city bus

                              I am born brown-skinned, black-haired

                                          and wide-eyed.

                              I am born Negro here and Colored there” (Woodson, 2014, p. 3).

                  “First they brought us here.

                  Then we worked for free.  Then it was 1863,

                  and we were supposed to be free but we weren’t.

                  And that’s why people are so mad” (Woodson, 2014, p. 72). 

                 

                  “But I want the world where my daddy is

                  and don’t know why

                  anybody’s God would make me

                  have to choose” (Woodson, 2014, p. 123).

                  “Even the silence

                  has a story to tell you.

                  Just listen. Listen” (Woodson, 2014, p. 278).

These four verses are just a small sampling of the story of Jacqueline Woodson.  These give a glimpse into the racial struggles, the history of the time, the religious struggle faced by a young girl, and the personal discovery that Woodson makes when she realizes that she also has a story to tell. 

Professional Review: Taken from “The Horn Book”

Originally published in the September/October 2014 issue of The Horn Book Magazine. 

Here is a memoir-in-verse so immediate that readers will feel they are experiencing the author's childhood right along with her. It starts out somewhat slowly, with Woodson relying on others' memories to relate her (1963) birth and infancy in Ohio, but that just serves to underscore the vividness of the material once she begins to share her own memories; once her family arrives in Greenville, South Carolina, where they live with her maternal grandparents. Woodson describes a South where the whites-only signs may have been removed but where her grandmother still can't get waited on in Woolworth's, where young people are sitting at lunch counters and standing up for civil rights; and Woodson expertly weaves that history into her own. However, we see young Jackie grow up not just in historical context but also--and equally--in the context of extended family, community (Greenville and, later, Brooklyn), and religion (she was raised Jehovah's Witness). Most notably of all, perhaps, we trace her development as a nascent writer, from her early, overarching love of stories through her struggles to learn to read through the thrill of her first blank composition book to her realization that "words are [her] brilliance." The poetry here sings: specific, lyrical, and full of imagery: "So the first time my mother goes to New York City / we don't know to be sad, the weight / of our grandparents' love like a blanket / with us beneath it, / safe and warm." An extraordinary--indeed brilliant--portrait of a writer as a young girl.

APA Reference of Professional Review:

Parravano, M. V. (2014, Nov 20). Review of Brown girl dreaming. Retrieved Feb 20, 2018, from The Horn Book: https://www.hbook.com/2014/11/choosing-books/recommended-books/review-brown-girl-dreaming/

Library Uses:

There are so many potential ways this book could be used for various age groups from middle school up to college and for various subjects from history to language arts.  I am going to branch off a little and focus on home-school groups, as we have a growing home-school population in my library.  The book Brown girl dreaming is a great introduction to creative writing for teens ranging from 14-18.  After reading the book together as a co-op home-school class or individually if based completely in the home environment, students could be challenged to retell a personal experience or memory completely in free verse, just as Woodson did.  Additionally, the topic of the book would create a great deal of discussion between children and parents about the history of America during the civil rights movement.  This book and the wonderful writing of Jacqueline Woodson would foster a deeper level of thinking simply due to the story being written in verse and covering complex subject matters.  It would also allow students to explore their own personal story and give them an opportunity to express themselves in a new way.

Readalikes:

There are many fantastic books written in verse that explore diversity and history of various culture groups.  The following three books are recommended for middle school to high school readers and would compliment the above lesson and allow for the exploration of other cultures and histories. 

The Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan FranciscoManzano by Margarita Engle, Sean Qualls (Illustrator) is the winner of the 2008 Pura Belpre Award for Narrative. The story tells of how the young boy, Juan Fransisco Manzano was born into the home of a wealthy slave owner in Cuba in 1797. 

Audacity by Melanie Crowder was a 2015 finalist for the National Jewish Book award and is a powerful novel primarily for readers 7^th grade and up.  The book is inspired by and loosely based on the life of Clara Lemich who came to America for a better life and fought courageously for women’s rights in the early 1900s.  

Inside out and back again by Thanhha Lai has received numerous book awards including the 2011 National Book Award and the 2012 Newbery Honor award.  The story told in verse Hà whose family is forced to leave Saigon when the Vietnam War gets too close too home.  The family comes to America in lives in Alabama where young Hà and her family experience pain, discrimination, and even joy in the foreign lands of their new home.

Checkout my Goodreads list of children and youth literature I read during the Spring 2018 Semester at UNT. 

Module 4: A Wrinkle in Time

Book Cover Image: 

Taken from Amazon.com (Amazon.com, Inc, n.d)

Genre:

The classic book, A wrinkle in time by Madeleine L’Engle, was the 1963 winner of the Newbery Award.  This novel is written for middle-grade to young adult age children, generally ranging from 10-14 years old and fits in the genre of science fiction and fantasy.  A wrinkle in time is book 1 of the Time Quintet series. 

Book Summary:

Madeline L’Engles story, A wrinkle in time, takes the reader on an adventure with Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin O’Keefe (Meg’s popular classmate) to other dimensions in the universe on a quest to find and save Meg and Charles Wallace’s father. Charles Wallace has a special gift of being able to communicate and understand others, except for his twin siblings because they don’t need him, at the young age of 5-years old.  Charles introduces them to Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which who take them through the tesseract, which is the ‘wrinkle in time’ to find Mr. Murray who has been gone for over a year on a special government assignment with his work as a scientist.

APA Reference of Book:

L'Engle, M. (1962). A wrinkle in time. New York: Square Fish.

Impressions:

After seeing so many previews for the upcoming Disney movie, I was eager to read the book, and this was the perfect opportunity. 

For starters, what middle grade student wouldn’t want to read more when the story starts with “it was a dark and stormy night.”  One short sentence makes the reader want more, and I can even say this being almost 40 years old! I immediately wanted to start the adventure with Margaret (better known as Meg) Murray.   

Madeleine L’Engle does an amazing job of developing the characters in this story, to a point that you really feel like you are on the time traveling adventure with them.  The story is told from Meg’s point of view as she is coming of age and experiencing awkwardness, insecurity, and feelings for a boy.  Charles is an amazingly gifted five-year-old boy who is portrayed as wiser than his years, yet still an innocent young boy. I am extremely curious to see how Disney portrays him in the upcoming movie. Calvin is a popular, handsome, and athletic high school boy who appears to be the all-American boy with everything, but really comes from a low-income, less than perfect family situation.  There are just so many different components of this book that I love, and I honestly can’t believe I never read it in my teenage years. 

The author writes at a higher level, yet she keeps the story understandable to younger teens.  There are many very complex concepts, higher level science, symbolism and some imagery and figurative language that could be a challenge for some readers, but I think the story-line is strong enough to carry them through.  There is a classic battle of good and evil, which Meg, the awkward and insecure young girl, is able to battle which is completely empowering for young readers.  There are some Christian undertones, but they are not overpowering, and readers must remember the time in which this was written.  I do not mind it at all, but I know there are some readers that may not like it.  I like seeing different religions in stories and think it opens up great conversations and discussions with your child(ren).

Professional Review: 

Kirkus Reviews  originally reviewed March 1st, 1962

An allegorical fantasy in which a group of young people are guided through the universe by Mrs. Who, Mrs. Which and Mrs. What -- women who possess supernatural powers. They traverse fictitious regions, meet and face evil and demonstrate courage at the right moment. Religious allusions are secondary to the philosophical struggle designed to yield the meaning of life and one's place on earth. Young Meg's willingness to face IT in the form of a black beast in order to save a dear friend is one sign of her growing awareness. Readers who relish symbolic reference may find this trip through time and space an exhilarating experience; the rest will be forced to ponder the double entendres.

Pub Date: March 9th, 1962, ISBN: 978-0-374-38613-9,  Page count: 206 pp, Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Review Posted Online: Sept. 16th, 2011, Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1st, 1962

APA Reference of Professional Review:

Kirkus Media, L. (2011, Sep 16). A wrinkle in time. Retrieved from Kirkus: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/madeline-lengle/wrinkle-time-lengle/

Library Uses:

The book A wrinkle in time is being made into a Disney movie that will be releasing in theaters on March 9, 2018.  I would recommend using this book as a read-aloud in a middle grade classroom for 7^th or 8^th graders prior to the release of the movie.  The teacher could create vocabulary list from the book to be used in ELAR (English Language Arts & Reading) lessons that can be taught prior to reading specific sections to help students grasp some of the larger words that they may be unfamiliar with.  Following each days reading, the teacher could develop writing prompts to be used as journaling exercises to reflect on different parts of the story.  Here are a few examples of writing prompts to be used:

What are some of Meg’s insecurities about herself as she is entering into adolescences? Can you relate to any of these?

What are some of the struggles the Murray family likely faced in their community because of their differences?  Both parents are scientist, Charles has a special intelligence and gift of reading people, and Meg is different than her peers. Is it OK to embrace the differences or should they try to be like everyone else?

When the group lands on Camazotz, everyone is the same, even going so far as all the kids bouncing balls in rhythm to each other.  Would this be an ideal world? Why or why not?

What is IT?  Why is love the only thing that can defeat it?

If you could time travel where would you go and why?

Readalikes:

If the readers really enjoyed A wrinkle in time, I would suggest the read the rest of the Time Quintet series, which includes A wind in the door, A swiftly tilting planet, Many waters, and An acceptable time all by Madeleine L’Engle.

I would also recommend that readers explore other Newbery Award winning science fiction/ fantasy books from different decades and compare the differences in writing styles.   A couple great choices are the 1978 winner Bridgeto Terabithia by Katherine Peterson and The twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois which won the 1948 Newbery Award. 

Bridge to Terabitha features some of the common themes of friendship along with the science fiction/ fantasy as they invent their own enchanted land called Terabithia.

The twenty-one balloons is an older classic fantasy adventure that features the common themes of science and imagination that are seen in L’Engle’s story. 


Checkout my Goodreads list of children and youth literature I read during the Spring 2018 Semester at UNT. 

Module 3: Noah's Ark

Book Cover Image:

Image taken from Amazon (Amazon.com, Inc, n.d.)

Genre:
The book Noah’sArk is illustrated by Peter Spier and was the winner of The Caldecott Medal for illustrations in 1978.  The book also received the National Book Award for Children’s books in 1982 for the picture book category. This story is a biblically based picture book that could also be placed in the genre of Christian literature for young children. 

Book Summary:                                                 
This book is a beautifully illustrated retelling of the Bible story, Noah’s Ark.  The very first illustration comes before the title page and features a full-spread color illustration of the wickedness filling the land. There is fire, smoke, armies, death, and barren lands, except for where Noah stands tending his crops.  The illustrator created an illuminating spotlight on Noah coming from Heaven and used a verse from Genesis to reiterate the meaning of the picture; “…But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.”  The story really begins before the reader ever makes it past the title page with 2 more full-spread images of Noah building the Ark.  The only other words found in the book are on page 2 next to an illustration of Noah carrying a table and supplies onto the Ark. Peter Spier translated the Dutch poem The Flood by Jacob Revius which also tells the story of Noah’s Ark. The rest of the story is told completely in full-color illustrations that accurately follow the Bible story and help give young readers a glimpse at what it may have been like to have lived inside the Ark for over a year.

APA Reference of Book:
Spier, P. (1977). Noah's Ark. New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc.

Impressions:
The opening illustration in this story makes it very clear to me why Peter Spier won the 1978 Caldecott Medal, and the greatness continues throughout the rest of the book. Spier illustrates the story incredibly accurately and with wonderful bits of humor throughout.  There is a picture of Noah and his wife inside the Ark when the animals are coming in 2 by 2 and Noah’s wife is standing up on a basket because the mice are coming by.  Right below that Noah is having to send off all but 2 of the bees and it looks like he is wagging his finger at them telling them they cannot come in.  As a Sunday school teacher, these images bring to life the Bible story from Genesis and would give young children a better idea of what it might have been like for Noah and his family. There are images of Noah and his sons having to muck the stalls, feed the animals, milk the cows, and even fishing out from the deck of the Ark. One image that really caught my attention was the picture of Noah sitting in the dark by candlelight looking tired and weary.  Spier captured the emotion so beautifully and anyone who knows the Bible story understands that Noah had to have been exhausted and wondering if the rains would ever stop. The last use of any words comes at the very end of the story after everyone is off the Ark and there is a beautiful rainbow in the sky illustrating God’s promise to never again flood the earth. Noah is seen working his land and the words from Genesis 9:20 “…and he planted a vineyard” end the book.

Professional Review:
Taken from Kirkus Reviews

". . . Creatures all, / Large and small, / Good and mean, / Foul and clean, / Fierce and tame, / In they came, / Pair by pair, / Gross and fair. . . ." Perhaps so as not to break the rhythm, perhaps in order not to distract from the pore-over-able watercolors, Spier confines all 60 three-syllable lines of this neat little 17th-century Dutch rhyme ("The Flood," by Jacobus Revius) to an opening page, then settles down to tell the familiar story in pictures. There is quiet diversion aplenty in Spier's throwaway detail--Noah admitting two bees and brushing away swarms of others; the branch that the dove brings back being fed to the cow; a whole gangplank of rabbits disembarking though only two began the voyage--and it's seen from a variety of viewing points: a scene of marching underbellies complete with smaller hitchhikers and fellow passengers, a sad rear view of those left behind, a wide one of chores being done on the busy floating barn. Without revising or even enlarging on the old story, Spier fills it in, delightfully.

Pub Date: Aug. 1st, 1977 ISBN: 0385094736 Page count: 52pp Publisher: Doubleday Review Posted Online: May 10th, 2012 Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1st, 1977

APA Reference of Professional Review:

Kirkus Media, LLC. (2012, May 10). Noah's Ark. Retrieved from Kirkus: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/peter-spier/noahs-ark6/

Library Uses:
As a Sunday school teacher for over ten years, my first idea would be to use this for a lesson in a church setting.  After reading the story from Genesis to the children, this book could be used to allow the children to retell the story of Noah’s Ark in their own words. Pictures have a magical way of bringing stories to life for children and they make the story more memorable.  The pictures in this book go beyond the words in Genesis and answer the question of what it must have been like to be on an Ark full of animals for a full year.  With the help of the Sunday school teacher, children could take turns telling the parts of the story shown on each page. As they go along the teacher can reread the verses of the bible that go with the pictures on each page.  This would allow children to better visualize the words in Genesis and allow for open discussion as they retell the story of Noah’s Ark as a class. 

Readalikes:

For this week’s readalikes, I am going to share some of my favorite books that I have used while teaching Sunday school.  There are so many great stories and as a Librarian, I love bringing storybooks into my lessons. These are only my suggestions and I always recommending that you read the book before using it to make sure the story fits your own personal beliefs.

He’s got the wholeworld in his hands by Kadir Nelson is a simple and beautiful picture book that illustrates the song by the same name.  I have used this book numerous times when teaching about God’s love for us and loving our neighbors as God loved us.

A great story that follows the bible story of Jonah is from the collection of Alice in Bibleland Storybooks is The story of Jonah written by Alice Joyce Davidson and illustrated by Victoria Marshall.  My favorite part of this story is that it ends with Alice telling what she learned from the bible story.

One of my favorite Christmas stories that I have used every year that I have taught Sunday school is The legend of the candy cane written by Lori Walburg and illustrated by James Bernardin.  The illustrations in this book are beautiful and the kids always love the story.  The story does not follow the bible story completely, but it is a great way to introduce parts of the Christmas story that will be studied in the weeks leading up to Christmas. 


Checkout my Goodreads list of children and youth literature I read during the Spring 2018 Semester at UNT.