Annotation 1 - Appalachian State University · Web viewIt tells how the poet will “scatter some words” over the page to create pictures with the words. It’s a great poem to use

Annotation Number: 1

Author: Karen Hesse

Illustrator: n/a (chapter book)

Title: Out of the Dust Award: Newberry Medal

Publisher: Scholastic Press, 1997

Central theme: Survival in difficult times

Other themes: Dust storms (Dust Bowl), Farm Life, Depression, Free verse poetry,

Annotation: Billie Jo, a young girl growing up on a farm in Oklahoma during the dust bowl days of the Depression, gives us insight to the daily struggles of her life. She has a gift of playing the piano which she inherited from her mother. When her mother is lost in a tragic accident, Billie Jo struggles to forgive herself and her father for their part in the tragedy. Billie Jo searches to find herself and finally realizes that even though life on the farm is hard, the dust of Oklahoma is in her blood and she needs it to survive.

Comments: This book is written in free verse and is an easy read. It grips you from the beginning as Billie Jo describes her birth and the harsh reality of the life she was born to. You’ll want to read it through without stopping. Billie Jo speaks to you in a very open, honest way about her life, her depression, and search for happiness in the mist of hard times.


Author: Kate DiCamillo


Title: Because of Winn-Dixie Award: Newberry Medal

Publisher: Candlewick Press, 2000

Central theme: Developing friendships (with people & animals)

Other themes: Dogs, Storytelling, Starting over, Small town life

Annotation: India (Opal) Buloni, a ten-year old girl, moves to the town of Naomi, Florida with her father, “the preacher.” Opal acquires a dog when she comes to his rescue in the local Winn Dixie. She adopts the dog and calls him Winn Dixie. He is an unusual dog which opens many doors for Opal and helps her to make interesting friends in this new town.

Comments: This delightful book explores the journey of a young girl as she discovers the truth about others and learns what is truly important to her. Opal relates to Winn Dixie from the beginning because she sees aspects of herself in him.


Author: Gavin Curtis

Illustrator: E. B. Lewis

Title: The Bat Boy & His Violin Award: Coretta Scott King Award

Publisher: Scholastic, Inc., Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 1998

Central theme: Father/Son relationships

Other themes: Negro National Leagues, Music (violin)

Annotation: Reginald loves to play the violin much to the displeasure of his father who is the manager of the Dukes, a ball team in the Negro National League. His father makes him the “bat boy,” but Reginald just seems to get in the way until the players hear him play his violin. Things take a upward turn for the team and they experience a series of wins until the final game where even Reginald’s playing couldn’t help them. In the end his father has come to understand and value his son’s gift.

Comments: This book is full of beautiful watercolor illustrations which bring the story to life. It could be used to learn about the National Negro Baseball leagues during the time of segregation. It also teaches a wonderful lesson on finding value in different things. A person may find trivial something which another treasures. Understanding this helps us learn to appreciate our differences.


Author: Thomas Locker

Illustrator: Thomas Locker (?)

Title: Where the River Begins

Publisher: Penguin Books USA Inc., 1984

Central theme: The Life of Natural Rivers and Lakes

Other themes: The Water Cycle, Camping, Appreciation of Nature

Annotation: Two boys, Josh and Aaron, lives beside a river. They watch it everyday and wonder where it starts. They seek an answer from their grandfather who takes them on a journey to find where the river begins. They travel along the river until high in the mountains they find the end. A rainstorm comes and they understand the whole cycle of the rivers development.

Comments: This is a book which explores the cycle of a river from its conception to its journey to the ocean. It’s a great book to introduce the topics of river life and the water cycle. Each page has a beautiful nature painting as the boys journey to find the river’s end.


Author: Byrd Baylor

Illustrator: Peter Parnall

Title: The Way to Start a Day Award: Caldecott Honor

Publisher: (reprint) Aladdin Paperback, 1986– Original: NY: C Scribner’s Sons, 1978

Central theme: Many cultures recognize the importance of the sun in their lives

Other themes: Tribal Cultures, Native Traditions, Folklore

Annotation: The way to start a day is to go out look toward the sun and sing a song…whatever comes to mind. Many cultures celebrate the sun in different ways: ancient cavemen, people of Peru, Aztecs of Mexico, in the Congo, China, Egypt, Japan, New Mexico and Arizona. Everyone in their own way…but all recognize the importance of the sun. So should you.

Comments: This book is full of vibrant glowing color representing the glowing brilliance of the sun. It can be used as a way to introduce folklore of ancient cultures and common religious practices involving sun worship.


Author: Leo Lionni

Illustrator: Leo Lionni (?)

Title: Tico and the Golden Wings Recognition: ALA Notable Book

Publisher: Scholastic Inc., 1964

Central theme: Being Different

Other themes: Acceptance, Sharing,

Annotation: Tico, a bird without wings, wishes he could fly. He is granted golden wings, but his friends turned against him. He learns a great lesson about giving to others and being unselfish. As Tico shares his golden feathers, new black ones replace them. In the end, his friends accept him because he is just like them…at least on the outside.

Comments: This book deals with being different and acceptance among peers. This is an issue my older students (young teens) deal with daily. Although it’s a picture book, it would be a great one to use when discussing themes. They would easily relate. I also love that in the end, Tico, realizes that being like others is only a surface quality. We’re all different on the inside due to our different experiences and memories. And he’s okay with that fact.


Author: Barbara Berger

Illustrator: Barbara Berger

Title: Grandfather Twighlight

Publisher: Scholastic Inc., Philomel Books, 1984

Central theme: Twilight

Other themes: Nature

Annotation: Grandfather Twilight lives among trees reading his book during the day. In the evening he takes a pearl from a chest and puts it in the sky above the sea. It becomes the moon. Then he sleeps.

Comments: The art in this book has a dreamy quality. The colors are soft and fade into each other. Grandfather glows and becomes part of the evening sky as he walks. It feels peaceful. It is an excellent “bedtime” book for very small children. It also implies the preciousness of nature by forming the moon from a valuable pearl.


Author: Claude Clement

Illustrator: Frederic Clement

Title: The Painter and the Wild Swans

Publisher: A Pied Piper Book, 1990, originally published by Dial Books, 1986

Central theme: The Search for Ultimate Beauty

Other themes: Reincarnation, Swans, Japan

Annotation: A Japanese painter named Teiji sees a flock of wild swan from the frozen land of Siberia. Their beauty outweighs anything he’s ever seen. He follows them to a frozen island. Teiji’s body is numbed and he longs to see the rare beauty of the swan before he dies. His wish comes true and he feels himself become a swan and flies away with them. The book ends with Teiji’s poem about remembering his former life as a human.

Comments: This book expresses a desire to experience rare and ultimate beauty regardless the cost. It could easily be used in an art lesson to teach students how to transform objects into another with the slightest changes. The acrylic paintings used as illustrations throughout the book are amazing! They have a surreal quality enhanced by one scene becoming a part of another. Almost every page seems to hold a secret to only be discovered through a close study of the paintings. The story is told not only in English words and paintings, but Japanese writing is also found on every page.


Author: Paul Fleischman

Illustrator: Kevin Hawkes

Title: Weslandia

Publisher: Scholastic Inc. by arrangement with Candlewick Press, 1999

Central theme: Being True to Yourself

Other themes: Imagination, Making friends, Civilization, Growing crops

Annotation: Wesley is an outcast in his community. He is unlike anyone else. He decides to form his own civilization as a summer project. He successfully grows his own crops and uses them for food and to make clothes. He develops his own language and games. The neighboring kids become jealous, so Wesley invites them to join him. When school starts back he has many friends and they all want to be like HIM!

Comments: A great book about being true to yourself and not succumbing to peer- pressure. Acrylic paintings cover each page in brilliant color. The colors are as exciting as Wesley’s adventure. It could be used in Science or Social Studies in a study of growing plants or the development of civilizations.


Author: Alice Schertle

Illustrator: Wendell Minor

Title: A Lucky Thing (A Book Poetry)

Publisher: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1999

Central theme: Nature

Other themes: Farm animals, Animals in the Wild

Annotation: This is a collection of fourteen poems about nature such as “Head Full of Turtle”, “Poem about Rabbit”, and “Calling the Sun.”

Comments: The first poem invites the reader to be a writer of poems. It tells how the poet will “scatter some words” over the page to create pictures with the words. It’s a great poem to use when starting a poetry unit to encourage children to write. Not only is the poetry picturesque, but so are the paintings. One thing I love about the book is the imagery of a sheet of paper in each illustration representing the poem itself. It is included so cleverly that it’s difficult to find in some pictures…but it’s always there.


Author: Gary Soto

Illustrator: Susan Guevara

Title: Chato’s Kitchen

Publisher: Scholastic Inc. by arrangement with G. P Putnam’s Sons, 1995

Central theme: Things don’t always turn out like you think they will

Other themes: Hispanic Culture, Mexican food, Spanish Language

Annotation: Chato the cat, invites a family of mice moving into the neighborhood to a fiesta. At first, they are scared, but are finally convinced. A friend, Chorizo, a dog, from their old neighborhood, visits them, so they bring him along. This foils Chato’s plan to “have them for dinner.” In the end, they all sit together and eat the food prepared in Chato’s kitchen.

Comments: A wonderful book to use during multicultural month to teach students about Hispanic culture. It uses Spanish vocabulary defined in a glossary in the front of the book. It also describes Spanish foods, such as fajitas, quesadilla, enchiladas and other foods which Chato prepares for his guests. To top things off, the artwork is vibrant and detailed. It shows Chato, the low-riding cat and his companions dressed stereotypically. This affords students the opportunity to discuss stereotypes of different cultures.


Author: William Steig

Illustrator: William Steig

Title: C D B! (See the Bee!)

Publisher: Scholastic Inc. by arrangement with Simon & Schuster Books, 1968

Central theme: Word games/puzzles

Other themes: animals, eggs, conversation, feelings

Annotation: This is a fun book built solely on word games using letters and numbers to represent whole sentences. It was fun to decipher each one. The sentences were not connected to tell a story. Every page was a new puzzle like R U C-P? (Are you sleepy?)

Comments: The artwork is very simple but important. Each picture gives hints to the hidden message. Especially for younger children, this should help them figure out the word puzzles easier. The book could be used to teach wordplay. The author plays around with letters and numbers to create meaning. A fun classroom activity would be to guide students in creating a few word puzzles of their own after reading this book. Several puzzles in the book are on similar topics like eggs. These can be clumped together to develop a unit around each topic.


Author: Jon Scieszka

Illustrator: Lane Smith

Title: Baloney

Publisher: Scholastic Inc. by arrangement with Viking Children’s Books, 2001

Central theme: Tall tales

Other themes: space travel, foreign languages, wordplay, making excuses

Annotation: Henry P. Baloney shows up for school 7 minutes late. His teacher threatens lifelong detention unless he has a good excuse. Henry creates a tale about losing his ”zimulis’ (meaning “pencil” in Latvian), and how he ended up on planet “Astrosus” (meaning “unlucky” in Latin), and finally made it back to earth on a “sighing flosser” (spoonerism for flying saucer.) His teacher accepts his story and tells him to write it down since the day’s lesson is on tall tales. Unfortunately, Henry has lost his zimulis, again.

Comments: An exceptional book! Henry’s story is an excellent example of a tall tale. It would be a great introduction to writing tall tales. Henry can motivate students to create their own tall tales. He also uses diverse multicultural vocabulary and wordplay. Henry uses words from 16 different languages, as well as, spoonerisms and transposition ciphers. This is a great book to introduce students to a variety of languages for a multicultural focus.


Author: Karen Ackerman

Illustrator: Michael Hays

Title: The Tin Heart

Publisher: Atheneum Macmillan Publishing Company, 1990

Central theme: Enduring friendship

Other themes: United States Civil War, Underground Railroad, slavery, ferryboats

Annotation: Mahaley’s father runs a ferryboat from the Ohio side of the river. Her best friend, Flora, lives on the Kentucky side. Flora’s father makes the girls a tin heart which he halves for each girl to share representing their friendship. When Civil War breaks out, the girls’ fathers find themselves on different sides. The tin heart becomes an important symbol to both girls as they struggle to maintain their friendship during these difficult times.

Comments: This is a beautiful story of lasting friendship that even war can’t sever. It could be used during a study of the Civil War or the Underground Railroad. Mahaley’s father uses his ferryboat to help slaves escape across the river. Also, since the tin heart symbolizes the girls’ friendship, this could be used to initiate a discussion on other commonly used symbols, and how symbolism is used in literature.


Author: David Wisniewski

Illustrator: David Wisniewski

Title: The Warrior and the Wise Man

Publisher: Mulberry Paperback Books, 1998

Central theme: Strength versus wisdom (problem solving)

Other themes: Fairy tales, Japan, twins, nature

Annotation: An Emperor sends his twin sons, a warrior and a wise man, on a quest to see which will rule his kingdom. Both complete the quest, but the warrior finishes first, so he wins the kingdom. However, in completing the quest he makes enemies along the way and the wise son has to use his wisdom to save them. In the end, the kingdom is rewarded to the wise son. The emperor realizes wisdom is more important than strength in ruling a kingdom.

Comments: The illustrations in this book are created by photos of intricate paper cuttings from the Japanese culture. It also displays Japanese values of the samurai warrior and the wise men of Buddhist Zen training making this a wonderful book in which to share eastern culture. This story can also be used in a fairy tale unit. The sons encounter several supernatural beings representing the natural forces of the earth


Author: Kevin O’Malley

Illustrator: Kevin O’Malley

Title: Humpty Dumpty EGG-SPLODES

Publisher: Walker Publishing Company, Inc., 2001

Central theme: Fractured fairytale (or series of Mother Goose Rhymes)

Other themes: Nursery Rhymes, Fictional characters

Annotation: A parent comes to school and reads to the students. He begins “Mary Had a Little Lamb”, but when the teacher leaves, his story takes on a whole new, frightening dimension. In it, a huge Humpty Dumpty takes revenge on Mother Goose characters for allowing him to fall. The ending is sort of corny but ironic, because what finally appeases him is that they give him a huge Elvis-like wig and he turns into a singer. Now when he falls off the wall as part of his act, the crowd goes wild. The students love the new version.

Comments: What a great version of Humpty Dumpty! I love fractured fairytales and use them with my eighth graders when we study the fairytale genre. I plan to add this one to the unit. It gives students a great example of rewritten stories from different perspectives. I like to follow up a unit like this with the students writing their own fractured story.


Author: Muriel Feelings

Illustrator: Tom Feelings

Title: jambo means hello (Swahili Alphabet Book) Awards: Caldecott Honor/ALA Notable

Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers, 1974

Central theme: African life, specifically in regions where Swahili is spoken

Other themes: Alphabet, Swahili language

Annotation: An alphabet book written for the purpose of introducing young people to the lifestyles and traditions of African natives. For each letter of the alphabet, a Swahili word is given with an explanation and illustration. Each word tells something of the African culture. The Swahili alphabet uses the same letters as English except for no “Q” and “X” sounds.

Comments: Each word is beautifully illustrated with prints created through a process of ink and paint applied to textured board. The black and white illustrations tell as much about the African culture and traditions as the written explanations. This would be a great book to use during Black History Month.


Author: Paul Fleischman

Illustrator: Eric Beddows

Title: Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices Award: Newberry Medal

Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers, 1988

Central theme: Insects

Other themes: Performance poetry

Annotation: This book has poems written for two voices. Each poem is spoken by various insects like the grasshopper, firefly, or requiem. In some of the poems, the insects finish each others’ thoughts; in others, they tell about life from different angles as in the case of the honeybee queen and the worker where one loves being a bee, but the other hates it.

Comments: My students and I loved these poems. We especially liked the one on book lice, because it was a love story of how two book lice ate their way through many famous works until they accidentally met and fell in love. My students presented these poems for each other and had a great day of poetry reading and performance. Afterward, the students partnered up with another student and wrote a poem for two voices. They did an excellent job. I’ll definitely use this book again to inspire students to write original two voice poems.


Author: Gerald McDermott

Illustrator: Gerald McDermott

Title: Zomo The Rabbit (A Trickster Tale from West Africa)


Central theme: The Trickster

Other themes: West Africa, oral tradition

Annotation: Zomo, the rabbit goes to Sky god for wisdom. Sky god tells him he must earn wisdom and gives him three very difficult tasks to do. Zomo uses his cunning to trick Big Fish, Wild Cow, and Leopard to accomplish each task. He receives wisdom, but Sky god says he has no sense of caution and the next time he sees these animals, he’d better run!

Comments: This trickster tales is filled with bright, cheerful illustrations. Zomo wears traditional clothing of West African print and carries an African drum on his back. The story derives from the oral traditions of West Africa. Zomo is prominent as one of their trickster animals. Using this story of Zomo gives students an opportunity to explore the oral traditions of Africa and to compare Zomo with other African trickster characters.


Author: Mary Ann Fraser

Illustrator: Mary Ann Fraser

Title: Forest Fire

Publisher: Troll Communications L.L.C., 1996

Central theme: Forest fires

Other themes: Forest ecology, forest animals

Annotation: The book begins with a description of an old forest which has existed for over two hundred years. The debris and dead trees are just kindling ripe for a fire. A lightning storm comes and sparks the fire in the tree tops. It seems the forest has been destroyed, but as the deep rooted trees re-grow and the animals spread the remaining seeds, the forest renews itself to create a stronger ecological system than the one that previously burned.

Comments: This book would be a valuable addition to a science lesson on the life cycle of a forest. It illustrates in brilliant pictures how a forest needs to renew itself after a period of time to support the plants and animals which depend on it. Forest fires serve this purpose.


Author: Theodore Taylor


Title: The Weirdo Awards: Edgar Award & ALA Best Book

Publisher: Avon Books, Inc., 1991

Central theme: Wildlife protection (specifically black bears)

Other themes: swamp lands, hunting, disfigurement, friendship, family relationships

Annotation: Sam avoids going into the swamp after the discovery of a dead man. Years later she finds herself trapped in the swamp where she sees a man with a suspicious bulk over his shoulder and meets “the weirdo,” a disfigured boy named Chip who helps track bears. After Chip’s friend disappears, she and Chip develop a friendship as they search for the missing friend and try to save the bears from the hunters. Sam’s father is one of the hunters who want the ban on hunting to be lifted.

Comments: This is a very informative book full of facts about swamps, bogs, and marshes, as well as, the tracking and preservation of bears. The book has a gripping, if somewhat complicated story line in which there is a mysterious murder, developing family and romantic relationships, and a focus on protecting the bear population. There are so many facts given in the form of Chip’s journal that it almost reads like a science textbook, but in a more interesting way because of the surrounding storyline. This is a great book to use when studying the black bears of N.C. or the ecology of marsh lands.


Author: Natalie Babbitt


Title: Tuck Everlasting Awards: Christopher Award, ALA Notable

Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Inc., 1975

Central theme: Everlasting life

Other themes: Living life to the fullest, freedom, friendship

Annotation: Winnie Foster, an over-protected rich girl, longs to be free. She runs away only to discover Jesse Tuck in the woods by her house. She sees a spring of water. Jesse prevents her from drinking the water and his mother takes her to their home. Winnie learns the Tuck family will never age or die because of drinking from this spring. They help her understand why no one can find out about it. She is rescued by an officer and Mae Tuck is arrested. Winnie helps Mae get away and is left with a small vial of the special water. Jesse would like for her to drink it and be with him forever. She chooses not to use it, but lives a full life, marries, and has children before she dies.

Comments: I felt kind of sad reading this story. Many people think they would like to live forever, but when Angus Tuck described the emptiness of everlasting life, I felt sorry for them. This book presents a theme which could turn into a wonderful journal entry and class discussion about the human life cycle. Death is not a pleasant topic, but this story might help students who have suffered a loss deal with it better if they understand the natural course of life and what could occur if it was interrupted or halted.


Author: Ida Vos


Title: Anna is Still Here

Publisher: Scholastic, Inc., 1986

Central theme: Rebuilding a life after Nazi occupation

Other themes: WWII, Children survivors of the holocaust, prejudice

Annotation: Anna Markus is a Jewish girl who hid in an attic all alone while the Nazis occupied her hometown. Now that the war is over, she is two years behind in school, and has a difficult time dealing with what happened. Mrs. Neumann befriends Anna because she looks like her daughter who hasn’t been found since she was captured by Nazis. Anna’s parents refuse to talk about their war experience and many of her friends are gone. In the end, Anna finds Mrs. Neumann’s daughter and her father finally starts to open up.

Comments: This book makes me think of what Anne Frank might have felt after the war had she survived. It gives insight to the mental and psychological difficulties both adults and children suffered during and after the war. It’s an important topic about which American students understand very little. They hear about war, but it’s not real to them. Books like this help my students feel a little of what it must have been like to suffer the loss of friends and family in war, and the paranoia of being caught as they travel through the story in Anna’s shoes. I plan to use this book in literature circles following my Anne Frank unit.


Author: Madeleine L’Engle


Title: A Wrinkle in Time Awards: Newberry Medal & ALA Notable Book

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Inc., 1962

Central theme: Good vs. Evil

Other themes: courage, relationships, time travel, giftedness, famous quotes/speeches

Annotation: Meg Murray’s scientist father is gone (no one knows where) and her little brother is different. She meets Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which and tessers through space on wrinkles in time along with her brother, Charles Wallace, and a friend, Calvin O’Keefe. They battle the Dark Thing to save her father. But, Charles gets sucked in by IT. Meg overcomes her fear and saves her brother using her greatest weapon, love.

Comments: This is an exciting book full of mystery and suspense. It has elements of fantasy and science fiction like time travel, supernatural beings and strange new worlds. This is a great book to use in discussing individual gifts or talents. Each of the kids had to use their own strength in the search for Meg’s father. I love the famous quotes Mrs. Who uses to express her thoughts and how Calvin and Meg use the Gettysburg Address and Declaration of Independence as weapons against evil. They seemed to gain strength from the insight and words of others. Interesting discussion topic!


Author: Patricia C. McKissack

Illustrator: Brian Pinkney

Title: The Dark-Thirty Awards: Newberry Honor, Coretta Scott King, ALA Notable


Central theme: Supernatural (Urban legends)

Other themes: slavery, African American culture & history, racism, civil rights

Annotation: This book is a collection of ten spine-tingling southern stories rooted in the African-American oral storytelling tradition and history from the time of slavery through the civil rights era. Some of the stories are downright scary and others leave you mystified.

Comments: In her forward, Ms. McKissack’s explains the dark-thirty is the thirty minutes of dusk just before nightfall. She hoped the stories would be told at this special time when it is neither day nor night and when shapes and shadows play tricks on the mind. These stories would be perfect to read during Black History month or during a unit on urban legends. I think it would be fun to turn off the lights in the classroom and tell these stories in the dark to set the right atmosphere. I plan to add some of these tales to my urban legend unit this year.


Author: Louis Sachar

Illustrator: n/a chapter book

Title: Holes Awards: Newberry Medal, ALA Best Book & Notable

Publisher: Dell Laurel-Leaf, 1998

Central theme: Fate, Redemption

Other themes: Hidden treasure, Friendship, Crime, Punishment, Cruelty

Annotation: Stanley Yelnats and his family have always been “cursed” ever since his great-great-grandfather stole a pig and broke his promise to Madame Zeroni. His father was an unsuccessful inventor and Stanley has been falsely accused of stealing shoes and sent to a boy’s detention center at Camp Green Lake. It is a dried up lake bed and the boys dig holes all day to “build character.” Stanley realizes the Warden is looking for something. He and his new friend, Zero, run away to “God’s Thumb,” and survive on survive wild onions. They sneak back to the camp and find the treasure themselves. The hole fills with deadly yellow-spotted lizards which won’t bite them because of the onions they ate. Stanley ends up with the treasure and breaks the curse on his family.

Comments: This is a wonderful book about friendship and fate. The plot develops by interweaving 3 stories: Stanley’s gggrandfather, Madame Zeroni, and Sam and Kate, each unfolding a little at a time to give the reader little insights along the way. There are symbols in the story like the onions which represent healing & protection, the lizards which symbolized death, and the peaches which represented prosperity & happiness. It’s interesting that Stanley Yelnats name is a palindrome, the same forward and backward. Could this be significant to the plot? It’s a wonderfully intriguing story!


Author: Irene Hunt


Title: The Lottery Rose

Publisher: Berkley Books, New York, 1976

Central theme: Child Abuse and Healing

Other themes: Death, Roses, The mentally challenged, Acting

Annotation: Georgie Burgess is a seven year old boy abused by his mother and her boyfriend, Steve. He loves flowers, especially roses and imagines himself in a garden of flowers when things get too bad. One day he wins a rosebush at the grocery store lottery, but before he can plant it, Steve beats him almost to death. Georgie is sent to live at a boy’s home. There he begins the long road to healing and recovery. It is very difficult for Georgie because the wounds he has suffered go much deeper than skin. Eventually, with the help of his new friends he learns to love and be loved.

Comments: This is a sad but hauntingly realistic story. It helps you understand the physical and mental anguish an abused child suffers. Topics are sensitive; it deals with child abuse, death, grieving, and the mentally challenged. I think it is more appropriate for young adult readers, rather than younger children. The rosebush becomes metaphorically personified in the story as Georgie projects his feelings onto the bush. He believes the bush has the same feeling he does and fights hard to give the bush what it needs. I see this as a metaphor of Georgie’s fight to survive as well.


Author: Avi


Title: The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle Awards: Newberry Honor, ALA Notable

Publisher: Avon Flare Book, 1990

Central theme: Survival

Other themes: Mutiny, Gender roles, Classes of people, Prejudice,

Annotation: Charlotte Doyle was a young girl attending school in England. In 1832, she boarded The Seahawk, a ship owned by her father’s company to return to America. She spends time with Captain Jaggery, feeling that he was closer to her “class” of people. When she overhears plans for a mutiny, she informs the captain earning the hatred of the crew. She soon discovers she’s made a big mistake. The captain is cruel. She sides with the crew. They eventually accept her after she becomes one of them proving her loyalty through many difficult tasks. The captain accuses her of murder and tries to kill her. She escapes death narrowly and returns. They believe her journal is a lie. Charlotte is now more comfortable being a sailor than a “proper” lady. She runs away to rejoin the crew.

Comments: This book is hard to put down. From the beginning it is action packed and full of mystery and adventure foreshadowed throughout the book. Charlotte takes on a role not “natural” for her gender in those days. She also befriends an African American cook aboard the ship which was not acceptable. This book would be great to use in studying gender and class roles in the early 1800’s as well as the details of sailing a ship or the mutiny of a crew. Because Charlotte becomes a crew member, the story is enjoyable to both girls and boys.


Author: Judith O’Brien


Title: Timeless Love

Publisher: Simon Pulse, 2002

Central theme: Time travel

Other themes: Friendship, History of Henry VI, Deception and cruelty, Asthma

Annotation: Samantha McKinna wrecks her hair and her father’s car just before her birthday. Her mother gives her a charm necklace. As she studies, she holds it wishing she was anywhere but there, and suddenly she finds herself in the chambers of the sickly boy king, Edward VI. Samantha recognizes his illness as asthma and suggests things to help. The king gets better but changes. He becomes cruel and unfair. Samantha falls for the king’s friend, Barnaby. The king tries to have them killed. Samantha uses the charm to get home, but everything is changed. She goes back to undo what has happened. This time she doesn’t help the sick king. She leaves her silver chain for Barnaby. When she returns, all is normal. Later, Barnaby reappears in her life through the power of the chain.

Comments: This is wonderful historical fiction. It would be a good companion for a study English royalty. There are many details of the court and how they dressed, lived, ate, etc. I found it exciting because other famous historical characters were mentioned like Lady Jane Grey. This is also a good book to discuss time-travel and how changes in history might result in subsequent changes in the future. It could lead to a great writing activity to exercise the imagination.


Author: Lois Lowry


Title: The Giver Awards: Newberry Medal, ALA Notable, ALA Best Book

Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell Books, 1993

Central theme: The Importance of Memory

Other themes: Diversity vs. Sameness, Utopian Society, Euthanasia

Annotation: Jonas lived in a perfect and very orderly society where everyone was the same. There was no rudeness, no pain, jobs and family units were assigned, newborns and old were pampered, and those who reached a very old age were “released” after a celebration of their life. Jonas was about to turn 12 years old. On this birthday, jobs were assigned. Jonas was selected to be the next “Receiver of Memory,” the most honored position in their society. As Jonas receives memories of the past and begins to experience color, emotions of pain, pleasure, and love for the first time, he sees how monotonous and unfeeling his society has become. He runs away to save himself and a newborn scheduled for “release.” Jonas also wanted his people to feel emotions as he did. By leaving the community, all the memories he had received would be spread to the people.

Comments: This is a captivating story. It’s also a little scary, to think something like this could possibly happen to a community. The originators of the community were trying to prevent people from making wrong decision, so they just took all decision making out of their hands. The Giver is a great story for older students. There are many controversial issues raised in the book like freedom of choice and euthanasia (“released” meant killed in the story). This would be a good book to use when studying the development or structure of societies. Also, how important knowledge of the past is to the understanding of the present. According to Lowry, pleasure cannot truly be appreciated unless one has experienced pain. Love cannot be truly felt unless one has experienced loneliness or hate.


Author: Patricia Lauber

Illustrator: Photos taken by approx. 30 different photographers

Title: Volcano: The Eruption and Healing of Mt. St. Helens Award: Newberry Honor

Publisher: Bradbury Press, New York

Central theme: The eruption of Mt. St Helens

Other themes: volcanic activity, Renewal cycle of the earth

Annotation: This book gives specific scientific detail about the eruption of Mt. St. Helens. It describes how this last eruption was different from the past and why scientists were taken by surprise. It also gives detail on the devastation and rebirth of the flora and fauna in the area surrounding the blast. Finally there is a chapter describing the workings of volcanoes in general and the different shaped cones and types of eruptions possible.

Comments: This is an interesting look at a current natural disaster. However, it helps you realize that eruptions are necessary for the development and renewal of the land. Students may view the eruption as a terrible tragedy, but after reading this book, they will understand how important they are to maintain balance in nature. The book explains in detail the types of test run on volcanoes and why. A must for a science lesson on volcanoes!


Author: Ann Beattie

Illustrator: Winslow Pels

Title: Spectacles

Publisher: Ariel Books: Workman Publishing, 1985

Central theme: Grandmothers

Other themes: Old Age, Eyeglasses, Memories

Annotation: Spectacles is a beautifully heartwarming story about the “imagined” memories and the real memories of a great-grandmother as she relates them to her granddaughter, Alison. Alison hates to share things with her grandmother because her grandmother always imagines how it could be better. She is old ad sickly and regrets that she has let things “get in the way” of life and fun. Alison doesn’t understand until one night she puts on her grandmothers glasses and sees things in a new light. She sees the time when her grandfather proposed. The next day she questions her grandmother about it and helps her grandmother see that sometimes “real” memories are even better than “imagined” ones.

Comments: This story has a surreal feeling as you read it. The toys all come to life to help Alison in her journey of understanding and many passages about memories are written in the form of rhyming poems, adding to the dreamy quality of the memories. This book could be used in a poetry unit or to discuss relationships between the young and elderly. It sort of shows a reversal of roles. We expect knowledge and understanding to be taught by those more experienced in life, but in this story, a young girl helps her grandmother to see more clearly.


Author: Carol Greene

Illustrator: Marcia Sewall

Title: The Golden Locket

Publisher: Voyager Books, Harcourt, Brace, & Comp., 1992

Central theme: Humor

Other themes: Peace and contentment, Secret Admirers

Annotation: Miss Teaberry lived peacefully with her cat in a little cottage between two towns. One day the cat dug up a valuable locket. Miss Teaberry worried about keeping the locket safe and it interfered with her peace. So she gives it away to a young girl in the town up the road from her in the name of a secret admirer. The girl returns a gift of three puppies. They also destroy Miss Teaberries peace, so she send them to the boy in the town down the road from her home. This starts a series of gifts which get out of hand. To end the gifts and restore her peaces she writes a letter to both the boy and girl asking them to meet each other at her apple tree. They do, fall in love, and are married.

Comments: This is a humorous and predictable story about a woman who values peace, but unintentionally brings utter chaos upon herself. This is a good story to teach cause and effect to younger children. Every time the lady gets rid of a gift, another is sent back until it gets completely out of hand. Miss Peabody accidentally starts a series of gift-giving between a young girl and boy from neighboring towns, it foreshadows the end when the two will eventually meet and marry.


Author: Judy Fincher

Illustrator: Kevin O’Malley

Title: Testing Miss Malarkey


Central theme: Standardized Testing

Other themes: Stress

Annotation: In this book, a students relates how the whole school environment changes in preparation for “The Test.” His teacher, Miss Malarkey, starts chewing her nails and drilling the students on every subject. The cafeteria staff only serves nutritional food…no snacks. The art teacher teaches them how to color in the testing bubbles. In gym, they learn meditation and the principal is overheard on the phone yelling about #2 pencils. Shortly after “The Test” everything returns to normal.

Comments: This is a very funny book. It is full of comic-book type illustrations in which conversation bubbles are used as well as normal text. I think it’s hilarious the teachers name is Miss Malarkey, inferring that all of the hoopla and paranoia surrounding standardized testing is foolishness. I agree. Unfortunately, more pressure is put on teachers every year to prepare students for testing. This is a great book to share with teachers and students just prior to standardized testing to encourage everyone to laugh at themselves and not stress out over “The Test.”


Author: Louise Garff Hubbard

Illustrator: Louise Garff Hubbard

Title: Grandfather’s Gold Watch

Publisher: Shadow Mountain, Salt Lake City, 1997

Central theme: Danish American Immigrants

Other themes: Grandfathers, Frontier or pioneer life

Annotation: Twelve-year-old Peter Nels Jorgenson moves from Denmark to America. Before he leaves, his grandfather gives him two gifts: his name (for he was named after his grandfather) and a gold watch. He was told to always ask himself, “What have I done with my name and my time?” On the journey to the Utah territory, Peter’s father dies and Peter loses his gold watch. Years later he becomes a town leader. One day, after a speech, a man comes up to him and returns his gold watch. He had found it in the desert where Peter had lost it. Peter remembers his grandfather. Now he’s the grandfather and he passes the watch and questions on to his own grandson.

Comments: Illustrated in beautiful, intricate pen and ink drawings, this is a heartwarming story of family heritage. Although Peter loses the watch his grandfather gave him, he keeps the memory of Denmark and his grandfather close. The questions his grandfather posed guide his steps in life and lead him to a life of success and happiness. In the end Peter realizes the importance of his heritage and hopes to pass this on to his own grandson by telling him the story and passing on the watch. This is a wonderful story of a Dutch immigrant family and the establishment of the state of Utah.


Author: Marge Blaine

Illustrator: John C. Wallner

Title: The Terrible Thing That Happened at our House


Central theme: Working mothers vs. “real” mothers

Other themes: Family relationships, Everyone pitching in to help with chores

Annotation: This story is told from a child’s perspective about how her mother used to be a “real” mother. The mother cooked breakfast, lunch and snacks, spent time discussing events of the day, read to the children, and took them to the park. THEN, something terrible happened! Her mother went back to work as a teacher! Suddenly, everything changed. Mom rushes around in the mornings, so the kids have to make their own beds, clean up the dishes and find their own clothes. In the evening mom’s busy with paperwork and dad cooks dinner (frozen ones!), and no one has time to listen anymore. One night the child has had enough and yells that “No one cares anymore in this house!.” The parents realize the children have been neglected and they work together to make adjustments with everyone pitching in. This works and the children decide their parents are a “real” after all.

Comments: This story deals with a very relevant topic in today’s world...working mothers. It would be a great catalyst to a discussion on families working together to accomplish necessary tasks around the house and spending quality time together.


Author: Eleanor Coerr

Illustrator: paintings by Ronald Himler (chapter book)

Title: Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1977

Central theme: Sadako Sasaki & Leukemia in Children

Other themes: Atomic Bomb, Hiroshima, Death

Annotation: Sadako Sasaki was two years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. She grew into a very spirited girl who loved to run. Sadako started running races at school. When she did, she would feel dizzy. One day she had to be taken to the hospital. It was discovered that she had “the atom bomb disease,” called leukemia. Sadako’s friend, Chizuko, reminded her about the story of the thousand paper cranes. If a sick person folded a thousand paper cranes, they would get better. Sadako started folding cranes. She folded 644 cranes before she was too weak to fold any more. Sadako died from the disease. Her classmates folded the other 356 cranes so that she could be buried with 1000 cranes.

Comments: This book is the true story of Sadako Sasaki. It opened my eyes to the long-lasting effects of war. I never knew radiation from the atomic bomb remained for so long. It’s a sad story. Sadako was such a vibrant and young girl who died from a disease caused from something which happened many years before. This is a great book to help students see another side of war. It may help them learn compassion for those on the other side and understand the tragedy of war. I plan to use this as a follow-up to my unit on WWII and Anne Frank’s Diary.


Author: Chris Van Allsburg

Illustrator: Chris Van Allsburg

Title: Bad Day at Riverbend

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1995

Central theme: Fantasy, Coloring book characters

Other themes: The Old West, Cowboys

Annotation: Riverbend was a quiet town in the Old West. One day the coach arrives covered in bright greasy stripes. The sheriff gathers a posy to search for the source of this horror. They find the coachman on the side of the road also covered in greasy stripes. He is in shock. As they travel on, they find more evidence of the same destruction. Each time it happens, a bright light appears in the sky. They are eventually overcome by this power and are infected by the stripes themselves. On the last pages, you see that a child’s hand is coloring them. The light goes out as he closes the book.

Comments: I love this book! It’s drawn in black and white outlines like a coloring book. The colorings are out of lines like a young child’s coloring. The book is imaginative and allows the reader to look at things from a different perspective…a great book to use when studying point of view. I doubt many students have ever thought about how it might feel to be a character in a coloring book.


Author: Diana Hendry

Illustrator: Jane Chapman

Title: The Very Noisy Night


Central theme: Night sounds

Other themes: Sleep, Companionship

Annotation: Little mouse can’t sleep. He hears “huffing and puffing” (wind), “Tap, tap” (branch), “Who-who” (owl), rain (faucet), and Big mouse’s snoring. He keeps asking Big mouse if he can come into his bed and Big mouse keeps saying no because Little mouse keeps him awake with twitching, cold paws, and crowding. He finally puts earmuffs on Little mouse and now Little mouse hears nothing. He wakes Big mouse and says he’s lonely. Big mouse finally relents and let’s Little mouse sleep in his bed. They both sleep soundly.

Comments: This book is full of gorgeous colorful illustrations in bright primary colors. You are drawn to every detail on the page. This is a nice bedtime book. It explains the spooky night sounds which may cause children to imagine all sorts of scary things and ends with a feeling of comfort and safety.


Author: Richard Wilbur

Illustrator: Barry Moser

Title: A Game of Catch

Publisher: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1994

Central theme: Friendship

Other themes: Playing catch, Feeling left out, Acceptance

Annotation: Two boys, Glennie and Monk are playing catch when Scho comes along. He doesn’t have a glove but wants them to throw easy grounders to him. Monk gets tired of soft throwing and starts skipping him. Before long, they come up with the idea for him to sit out and after they throw for awhile, they will let him use one of their gloves and have a turn. Scho wait, but they forget him, so he devises a way to get their attention. He climbs a tree and tells them he can make them do anything he wants them to. Every time they do anything he says, “I wanted you to do that.” It becomes irritating and Mack climbs the tree to stop him. Scho falls from the tree, but when the boys check to see if he’s okay, he is still playing the “I wanted you to do it” game. The frustrated boys leave..

Comments: The book is illustrated with realistic watercolors. It is not the most entertaining story but it teaches and important lesson about relationships. The boys weren’t very considerate of Schos feelings when he wanted to join in, but Scho used inappropriate methods to be included. It ended up having the opposite effect and ran the other boys off. The book could help children understand how to better make friends and get along with others…also, inappropriate and irritating behaviors to avoid.


Author: Terry Deary

Illustrator: chapter book (some small sketches by Michael Tickner)

Title: Top Ten Shakespeare Stories


Central theme: Shakespeare’s 10 most famous plays

Other themes: Different literary genres, Top Facts on each play

Annotation: This book is wonderful! It retells some of Shakespeare most popular plays using modern and “hip” language in a variety of genres such as a newspaper report of The Merchant of Venice, diary excerpts written by Miranda in the Tempest, comic strip pictures of Twelfth Night and a photo-love story of Romeo and Juliet. The book also includes background about Shakespeare and the time in which he lived, little known facts about the plays, the Shakespeare theater and audience, and even the question of “Who wrote Shakespeare?”

Comments: A great introduction to Shakespeare’s work. I feel this book would stir the interest of children for Shakespeare. It’s an easy read and FUN! It never gets boring because the genre and font keeps changing throughout the book and the stories are intermingled with interesting facts.


Author: Kalli Dakos

Illustrator: chapter book, few sketches by G. Brian Karas

Title: If You’re Not Here, Please Raise Your Hand (Poems about School)

Publisher: Aladdin Paperbacks, Simon & Schuster, 1990

Central theme: Elementary school

Other themes: Poetry

Annotation: Reminiscent of Shel Silverstein or Jack Prelusky poems, these poems are fun and even silly. They are about many aspects of school. Most poems are from a student’s point of view, but a few come from a teacher’s perspective like the title poem, “If Your Not Here Raise Your Hand” where the teacher is half asleep and says crazy things like, “Your spelling test is Saturday night, Make sure you bring a good appetite.”

Comments: My favorite poem is, “It’s Inside My Sister’s Lunch.” In this poem the teacher goes down the row asking each student if they brought their book money. No one has and they all come up with colorful excuses. Finally she says, “Didn’t ANYONE remember to bring their book money today?” Tim answers, “Here’s my money in my sock.” And the teacher passes out with SHOCK! I like this poem because it has an obvious rhyme scheme but is also written as a play with different speakers and it would be great fun to perform in class.


Author: Bethany Roberts

Illustrator: Maryjane Begin

Title: A Mouse Told His Mother


Central theme: Dream, Believe

Other themes: Mother’s love and support, bedtime

Annotation: This is a simple little book in which the mouse keeps telling his mother he’s going to do all sorts of exciting and adventurous things. Instead of telling him it would be impossible or it probably wouldn’t happen, the mother offers him something to support his dream playing along with him. Obviously, the mother wanted him to believe he could be or do anything he could imagine. At the end, the mouse is in bed and the mother encourages him to continue dreaming when she says “Sweet dreams and Goodnight.”

Comments: The illustrations are absolutely beautiful! Each “dreams” is illustrated so realistically. This would be a great book to use when discussing dreams…not only sleeping dreams, but dreams about life accomplishments. Little children might write stories about their own dreams and illustrate them.

Documents

Annotation 1 - Appalachian State University · Web viewIt tells how the poet will “scatter some words” over the page to create pictures with the words. It’s a great poem to use