Memoir Children's Literature

Rotten Richie and the Ultimate Dare
Author: Patricia Polacco
Publisher: Philomel Books


I know there many people out there who have had a sibling that bothers, annoys, and makes fun of them constantly. I chose this book because children can relate to Patricia Polacco's predicament of having a sibling that she just can't stand. The descriptive details of her feelings towards her brother are hilarious and I know we can all relate to some of those choice words she said. This entertaining story delves into Polacco's personal experience with her brother and the big dare they did when they were children. She asks him to be a ballerina at her dance recital and he in turns tells her to skate on his ice hockey team. This dare was an experiment in who is better and what sport is harder to do. As far as siblings go, this type of dare has happened in my house.

This sibling relationship turns from rivalry to cohesiveness of respect and admiration they both have for each other deep down inside (which I think we all do for our siblings). The last paragraph of the book is heart warming and explains how they came up with their nicknames for each other out of this dare.

Patricia took her experiences and transformed them into this wonderful story. Her love of ballet and her brother, who really was a red head and played ice hockey, are the basis for this story. There true life tiffs come to life in this tale of a brother and a sister. Look at the inside flap of the book and see how she included family photos of her and her brother. Actual pictures of what happened in this story are shown.

This would be a book to read to 4th graders. As a teacher I would have students use their prior knowledge and creative writing to prepare a collage of a an experience that had with a sibling or a best friend. Under each picture, students can put captions depicting what was going on just like the Author did.

Poetry Children's Books

Animal Snackers
Author: Betsey Lewin
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
ISBN#: 0-8050-6748-5


I chose this book because of the variety of lessons that could be taught to young students. Each poem is based on what a particular animal likes to snack on. First, Science is taught throughout these poems. What I found interesting is that the author used some animals that children might not be aware of like an ant eater or a puffin. They also learn what these animals like to snack on and their dining habits in a rhyming way. These simple poems are a great introduction to the poetry world.

The illustrations are bright watercolors depicting what the animal is snacking on. Not only do these children learn what these unusual animals eat, they get a visualization of what they look like.

The back cover also lists the animals that were used in the book along with some interesting facts about each one.

This is a fun and educational way to teach poetry to children using subjects that kids can relate to. Kids love animals and food. As a extension to this read aloud I would do, children can write a simple poem about what their pet at home likes to eat or their favorite animal. I would also have them draw their pet and hang their poems on the classroom wall for all to see.

This would be a great lesson for 2nd graders. Standards on writing will be taught. Standard 1 on Information and Understanding will be covered. Students will use information on writing their poems and connect with personal experiences. Standard 2 for literacy response and expression will be covered. Using rhythm and rhyme to create a short poem will be taught. Along with a mini-Science lesson explained throughout makes this a great interdisciplinary curriculum.

This author has over illustrated over 50 books and has written many as well for children. She received a Caldecott Honor for her illustration on Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin.

Fairy Tale Childrens Book

Hansel & Gretel
Original Author: The Brothers Grimm
Retelling Author and Illustrator: Will Moses
Publisher: Philomel Books
ISBN: 0-399-24234-1


Good verses Evil. As most fairy tales from the past are told,that seems to be the on-going theme. From Little Red Riding Hood to Cinderella and then there's Hansel and Gretel. I chose this famous fairy tale because I heard of it but never knew the story that well. As I was reading this tale, I first thought of famine and darkness A family that is starving and the evil stepmother that wants to get rid of the children. I felt sorry for these children. Then a witch appears and wants to starve the children to eat them. Then Good prevails and the evil witch is burned alive in her stove. That story to me was dark and a little depressing.

After I thought about the story though I looked at the positive side of the story. The relationship of a brother and sister is shown as love and family bond that will never end. The challenges that these children go through are brave, courageous and adventurous and very witty. These children overcame adversity and ended up with a life of love and prosperity.

In the time period when most of these fairy tales were made, the harsh reality of famine and survival were rampant. I think fairy tales brought reality to life but ended it with a twist of compassion and happiness so people would have hope that with perseverance and love, life can be happy.

On a side note, by 9 year old daughter loved this fairy tale and was awestruck by the illustrations (as I was too). Oil pastel painting on 2 page pictures of lush forests and the gingerbread house was simply beautiful.

Children's Picture Books

How to Dinosaurs go to School?
Author: Jane Yolen
Illustrator: Mark Teague
Publisher: The Blue Sky Press
ISBN# 10:-0-439-02081-6


As I was looking through the Picture Book section at the public library, I didn't know what to choose. Picture books all look colorful, big and cute. I would want one though that has a great story and a learning lesson that goes along with those vivid pictures for my children or students. I had my 2 daughters go through the section and they came out with 5 picture books. They are too old for these books (9 and 12) but they still were eager to help and sat on the rug at the library looking at these books with great interest. This is a book they picked which I though was perfect.

I picked "How Do Dinosaus Go to School?" out because of the great story attached to the magically artistic drawings inside the book. I thought all children are intrigued by dinosaurs because of their history and their beauty. Dinosaurs can be scary but magical. The illustrations of different dinosaurs in different school settings was educational to children. It doesn't hurt to have a little science lesson thrown in a reading lesson. On the first page, the author has pictures and names of a variety of dinosaurs that are used in this book.

The story poses questions to the reader about the adventure a dinosaur may have if he or she went to school. What would happen because of his size? These questions are asked in the first half of the book of things that might go wrong. The second half though explains even though dinasaurs are big and loud, they too can be good students like everyone else by following the rules.

The repetition of questions and ryhming of words on each page make this an easy but fun book for children to follow. I would recommend this book to children who are between 4-7.

Happy reading!!!

Multicultural Children's Book

Kamishibai Man
Written and Illustrated by Allen Say
Houghton Mifflin Company Boston
ISBN13: 978-0-618-47954-2

"Come gather around me, little ones, your kamishibai man in here again!" CLACK, CLACK!

Long ago, in Japan in the 1930's Kamishibai is said to be a part of a long tradition of storytelling. Children will love to learn about this inspirational tradition that happened in another country. This wonderful story is about an older couple who did not have any kids of their own. They would call each other Jiichan for Grandpa, and Baachan for Grandma. Jiiachan decides to take a bicycle trip back to the city to tell his stories to children once again. But some time has passed and things look quite different now. Cities have gotten bigger that the noise has gotten louder. He packs his wooden box that hold sweets for the children who listen to his stories. His wife Baachan makes them homemade for him. With his wooden blocks he clacks them together and yells, "Come gather around me, little ones, your kamishibai man is her again!" The children gather and listen to his stories that he eagerly tells. The children listen and then get treats after the story is told.

As time goes on, technology starts to blossom and television starts to emerge. The tale of how a older man deals with time going by and traditions coming to an end is a sad tale but also an inspiration to hear about. This book deals with a wonderful tradition that has such history. Kamishibai is known as the poor man's theatre and started to emerge in the 1930's. When Japan was experiencing financial hardship, the kamishibai theatre brought entertainment to people who had nothing going on in their lives. These theatre's could be transformed into any type of area like bomb shelters and devastated neighborhoods.

Children will learn not only a little history, but how traditions hold such importance in our lives.