Comic Squad : Lunch

Holm, J&M (eds.). Comic squad. New York: Random House.

This book is a compelation of stories that deal in one form or another with lunch. In the first comic stip, Crazy Little Thing Called Lunch, Ellie is confronted with the dilemma of having to eat something different for lunch. She eventually gives in, but not before running all the horrible senerios in her head of what cold happen if she tried something new. She took a bite out of a candy bar which cantained nuts, which she is allergic to, and became delirious. The boy she had a crush on took her to the nurse, and eventually walked her to class. A lunch time mishap turned her day into the best day ever. In another Story called Lunch Girl, an ordinary girl becomes a lunch room hero. She single handidly stands up to the school bully, and liberated the lunch room from her unending badgering. As you flip through the pages you come across Snoopy, Neanderthals, potates sinking a sub, mice brought together by cleaning up the cafeteria, and a detective story that lets you choose the path the comic strip will take. The illustrators in this book did a wonderful job at using only three colors. Each comic strip was written by a different author, but they all used black, white, and orange in there own unique ways. The illustrations help bring the story lines to life, and help the characters move along the strip. I would recomment this book for students in third grade and up, because one or two of the stories are a little hard to follow. Over all this is a great book, but I felt as if Lunch Bomb 1943, seemed a little out of place. The rest of the stories are an easy read, and are light and comical. Lunch Bomb 1943 was a little to serious, which makes it hard to get through. After reading this book, I foresee students trying their hand at writing thier own comic strips. The book even provides a template to help get them started.

It's So Amazing!

Harris, R. (1999). It's so amazing. Boston, MA: Candlewick Press.

This is an incredible book that will be extremely useful for parents. It details the wonders of life, human anatomy of both sexes, and provides detailed explanations that kids can understand. The author does a fabulous job at adding humor throughout the story, to make the reader feel comfortable. The bird and the bee hold side conversations that kids can relate to. The bee is not very comfortable with the topics that are being discussed, so the bird helps to clarify some of the confusing issues that kids might have about reproduction, body function, and they even talk about chromosomes. This book is most appropriate for ages seven and up. I can see it being used in a middle school health education class, or by parents to explain the miracles of life.

Rapunzel's Revenge

Hale, S. (2008). Rapunzel's Revenge. New York: Bloomsbury.

Rapunzel lives in a grand villa where she has servants that tend to all her needs. She lives with Gothel, her mother, and was not allowed to ever leave the villa. One day her curiosity got the best of her, and Rapunzel climbed over the wall. On the other side the land was dry and barren, unlike the lush green land that filled the area of her villa. She also discovered that there were people who were being held prisoners by her mother, or at least who she though was her mother. One of the prisoners she ran into seemed vaguely familiar to Rapunzel, it turned out she was her real mother. Mother Gothel had kidnapped Rapunzel when she was young, and her mother and father were heart broken. Rapunzel was quickly rushed to the other side of the wall and taken to a dungeon. One day she managed to escape, and decided to rescue her mother. Along the way Rapunzel met a guy name Jack, who became her sidekick. Rapunzel had gotten good at using her long hair to defend herself while she was in the dungeon, that she would handle any bad guys that came their way before Jack could intervene. After a long series of adventures Rapunzel and Jack finally made it to Mother Gothel’s Villa. Once there, they were able to rescue her mother and vanquish Mother Gothel. Rapunzel found her totem and retrieved it using a pick ax named Inga. Once the totem was out of the glass case, the little tree started to grow. In the process Mother Gothel tried to attack Rapunzel, but Jack pushed her into the tree. They never heard of Mother Gothel again, Rapunzel was reunited with her mother, and the land returned to its natural lush state. This book is a graphic novel that is fun and exciting for students in the upper elementary to read. The illustrations are colorful, and you can clearly see every detail in the images. The illustrator did a wonderful job at capturing the expressions on the characters faces as well. This book can be used in a compare and contrast activity with the original story. Students can also us this to learn about plot, character conflict, and making inferences on what happened at the end of the story. The one thing that I wished this book had, was and explanation on how Mother Gothel was able to suck the life out of the land. There is a lot of questions that I still have regarding the totem.

Rosa

Giovanni, N. (2005). Rosa. New York: Holt

Mrs. Rosa Parks was a normal mother, who worked hard to take care of her family. She was a seimstress in Montgomery, and was considered one of the best. Day in and day out she worked deligently to finish all her work. One Thursday she got ahead of her work and her supervisor let her go home early. Since her husband Ramon was working late, she decided to surprise him meatload for dinner. She paid for her bus ticket, and then went to board the bus from the back, as was custom for all African Americans during this time. Rosa noticed that all the seats in the section were African Americans were allowed to sit was full. So Rossa proceded to sit in the neutral section of the bus, where both African Americans and Whites were allowed to sit. As she sat thinking about the dinner she would make her husband, the bus driver yelled out for Rosa to give up her seat. The people around her moved, but decided that she had enough of the racial bigotry. She had made up her mind not to move, so the bus driver called the police. Rosa Parks was taken off to jail, and soon the whole town was aware of what had happened. The Womens Political Council rallied around Rosa Parks, and her decision to not give up her seat. Rosa Parks had opened the umbrella of courage, and they decided they would stand under it with her. They made posters and helped staged a boycott for the bus lines. Every African American in the town refused to ride the bus, until Rosa Parks was set free. The hosted a mass meeting where Martin Luther Kind was chosen as their voice. A year later, the supreme court rulled that separate was not equal, and Rosa Parks set free. One of the strengths of this book is its ability to show the strength of Rosa Parks in the story and in the beautiful illustrations. It also gives readers a first hand look at Rosas Parks day, and her decision that helped change the world. Younger children will enjoy looking at the illustrations, while older children of all ages can use this book to study the civil rights movement. Teachers can use it in a English or Social Studies setting. It can even be used to inspire writers to use their voice.

Magic Windows

Garza, C. L. (1999). Magic windows. San Francisco, CA: Children's Book Press.

Flip through the pages of this book, and you will be greated with magic windows of all sorts. The author starts off with a description of cut-paper art, and informs the reader that her grandmother taught her how to cut designs for embroidery when she was little. The goes on to say that she has continued practicing the art for 27 years. Each window is unique and comes with an explanation of what is happening. She even has one window, where she is shown passing on the tradition of cut-paper art to her neice and nephew. This book is breautifully written, and reaches across the language barriers, with it's description that are in English and Spanish. The colors used in each window are bright, and jump out at the reader. The details are so intricate, that the reader will be mesmerized at how the artist was able to interconnect all of the images. Younger children will love flipping through this book, to gaze through the windows. Teachers can use this book in an art or social studies class for older children. Students can learn about the rich culture and traditions of Mexican families. They can also try their hand at creating some of their own magic windows.

The Graveyard Book

Gaiman, N. (2008). The graveyard book. New York: HarperCollins.

Nobody Owens is a boy who lives in a cemetary. When he was a boy his family was murdered, and the cemetary with its Spirits took him in. The Owens family decided to be his parents, while Silas was his guardian. Together they fed him, taught him, protected him, and made sure that all his needs were met. He was free to wonder the entire cemetary, but was warned not to leave its protective walls. Nobody Owens was also given the power to see in the dark, a perk of being part of the cemetary. BOD, as they called him, started growing up and became curious about the world around him. One day a littlel girl walks into his cementary and turned his world upside down. She helped BOD find answers about who he is, and what happened to his parents. Little did he know that these answers would lead him to Mrs. Frost, a member of a magical and secret organization that was trying to kill him. Silas is away when all Mr. Frost and the Jacks are trying to kill him. BOD makes it to the cemetary with Scarlett, and decides to take matters into his own hands. He makes a plan, and one by one he is able to stop the Jacks and save Scarlett. Silas returns just in time to help BOD get rid of the Jacks that were left. Now that BOD was out of danger, Silas' job as his quardian was complete. Slowly Nobody Owens was unable to see his friends in the cemetary, and Silas told him it was time for him to venture out into the world. He gave him some money, they said their goodbyes, and at fifteen years old BOD went into the world. This is a novel that would suit upper elementary students and up. This book is classified as a gothic fantasy, and was awarded the Newberry Medal in 2009. One of the strengths of this book is its ability to tell a story, and giving historical facts. The readers will be pulled in by all the details the BOD's spiritual friends give him about their past lives. English teacher can read this during the month of October, when All Hallows Even is just around the corner. Students can compare and contras BOD and Scarett, work on setting activities, and study the British Isles as part of a Social Studies lesson.

Out Of My Mind

Draper, S. (2010). Out of my mind. New York: Antheneum.

Melody is a young girl with celebral palsy, who can not speak, walk, or use her hands to write. Her mother has taken her to specialists, and they all say that she is not cabable of advancing past the current stage she is in. Lucky for Melody her mom is not giving up, and knows that deep down in side she is brilliant. In school Melody is placed in the self contained units, and every year learns the same boring things. Once in awhile she comes across people or teachers who understand her, but it is never long lasting. Melody knows a lot of stuff because she has a photographic memory, which allows her to remember everything. As the new school year approaches, Melody wonders what kind of teacher she will get this time. As the school year begins, her teacher does not understand her, but she is excited about being part of inclusion classes. The new year also comes with a new aid, Catherine, who totally understands Melody. Catherine is partly the reason that Melody eventually gets a medi-talker, which enables her to have a conversation with the people around her for the first time. Not only can she communicate, she can answer questions. This revolutionized Melody's world, especially when she shows everyone that she is smart enough to be on the Whiz Kids Team. Everyone gives her starnge looks, and questions her ability because of the way that she looks. Melody has to fight with all she has to act normal and prove to everyone that she deserves to be on the Team. When the team makes it to state, Melody is exstatic, and can't wait to visit Washington D.C.. Her dream come to a complete stop when her team boards and earlier flight, and forgets to tell her. Melody decided that this will not bring her down and decides to attend school. The team does not win, but brings back a troph to give to Melody. By this point in the book Melody has ground into herself, and is confident of her abilities. She recognizes that what her teamates did were wrong in leaving her, but in the end tells them she does not want the trophy, and that they deserve it. She rolls out of the room, and begins a new chapter in her life. She decides to test the limits of the medi talker, and write her story. This is a book that teens and up need to read. It sheds the light on people with disbilities, and breaks through the stereotypes that we might all have. This story can be used in an english class to make a character analysis, the students can document the various changes that Melody or the people around her goes through. This book is a dream for Junior high English teachers everywhere. Students can work on a plethera of concepts like, plot, literary conflict, vocabulary, compare and contrate, and so much more.