Nonfiction - THE BOY ON FAIRFIELD STREET

1. Bibliography: Krull, Kathleen. 2004. The Boy on Fairfield Street: How Ted Geisel Grew Up to Become Dr. Seuss. New York: Random House. ISBN #: 0-375-82298-4.

2. Plot Summary: Just who was Dr. Suess? Kathleen Krull examines the answer to this question in The Boy on Fairfield Street. From childhood to young adulthood, Krull traces the events that shaped Ted Geisel into the well-known and beloved children's author known as Dr. Suess.

3. Critical Analysis: Children around the world are familiar with the rhymes and unusual characters of Dr. Suess' books; few, however, know the story behind this author. Kathleen Krull presents a story of the life of Ted Geisel in a narrative fashion that will interest and entertain the reader. Beautiful paintings by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher add to this story's appeal and a better understanding of the times through vividly detailed illustrations. Each new page of text is ordained with a familiar Dr. Seuss character that readers will delight in trying to match with a known book. Krull is adept at creating a tale of an author with historical significance in children's literature that is relatable to the audience, especially those that may often feel ostracized as Geisel did as a child. Finally, The Boy on Fairfield Street closes with a short examination into the background behind Dr. Suess' best known tales, as well as an extensive list of books by the world renowned author and illustrator, and additional book and website resources for extension.

4. Review Excerpts:

• Horn Book: With additional illustrations by Dr. Seuss. This affectionate survey centers on Geisel's boyhood, plus a bit on his brush with higher education, concluding with the first months of his career. The high points are summarized, but the real story here is of a boy who couldn't stop doodling. Krull does a good job of linking such early propensities with what turned up later in Geisel's books. Nostalgic full-page paintings nicely recall illustrations of the period.


• Library Media Connection: Kathleen Krull presents a touching view of the life of Ted Geisel from early childhood visiting the zoo to his young adult years at Dartmouth College, as well as the poignant events that shaped his life. Geisel's unique view of the world while growing up in Springfield, Massachusetts marked him by many members of the community as a dreamer, but his imagination and supportive German-immigrant parents enabled him to create fanciful creatures that reflected positive and negative human behaviors. Although most teachers and peers considered him a mediocre student, he proved to his detractors that he could be a successful author and illustrator, which encouraged children to read. The book is liberally peppered with illustrations of the whimsical characters found in many of his children's books, as well as beautifully soft images portraying Geisel's personal life. At the book's conclusion, an addenda includes a biographical sketch providing additional information for older readers who want more detail about Seuss' life. A list of books by Dr. Seuss is provided, as well as a brief bibliography and six pertinent Web sites featuring this beloved author. This book would be a wonderful addition to a library program celebrating the "Seussentennial" and beyond.

5. Connections:

• Gather books by Dr. Suess, including some of those less well known. Invite studetns to practice and then create a dramatic reading of their favorite.


• Visit some of the book's recommended websites, such as http://www.seussville.com/ or http://www.eseuss.com/. Students can devise questions from these sources that classmates may answer through a student created webquest.


• Have a Dr. Suess Day where studetns can dress up as their favorite Dr. Seuss character.

Nonfiction - ACTUAL SIZE

1. Bibliography: Jenkins, Steve. 2004. Actual Size. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN: 0-618-37594-5.

2. Plot Summary: An informational book for the young reader, Actual Size will delight and awe. Author Steve Jenkins examines the comparative size of eighteen creatures ranging from the dwarf goby, a fish one-third of an inch long, to the African elephant that can stand up to thirteen feet tall and weigh as much as 14,000 pounds.

3. Critical Analysis: Award-winning informational author Steve Jenkins successfully creates an accurate resource for young readers seeking animal facts or simply a fun read. Short, precise text makes this book an excellent choice for the reluctant reader with further information provided about each featured animal at the end of the book. Even more appealing are the colorful collage illustrations of creatures (or parts of creatures, in some instances) at their actual size. A two page spread of a giant squid's eye demonstrates a radius of twelve inches. Readers will certainly be impressed by a fold out page of the head of a salt water crocodile and the body of the Goliath frog that can reach a length of 36 inches. Try not to be startled when you turn the page and find yourself staring into the mouth of four inch long teeth belonging to a great white shark! Children will love the chance to compare their hand size against that of a gorilla, as well. An additional feature is the inch ruler on the inside jacket cover, providing a true scale for comparison. Jenkins' book is a joy to share as a read aloud or as in independent read. The author's style of eye-catching illustrations coupled with brief, informational text make Actual Size an excellent introduction to beginning readers of nonfiction.

4. Review Excerpts:

• Bookhive: Did you ever wonder just how big a gorilla’s hand is or how small the tiniest fish is? Come face to face with some amazing creatures in this creative book that shows us the actual size of certain animals. Whether it is the fold-out page with a 36 inch frog stretched across or a squid eye as big as your head peering out at you, Jenkin’s collage of cut and torn paper gives a wonderful perspective of how big and small certain animals are. Brief, interesting facts and physical dimensions accompany each animal along with more descriptive information at the end of the book. Check out this book and “see how you measure up” to these wild animals.


• Children's Literature: In his trademark paper collage, Jenkins has explained the concept of size in the animal kingdom to children who will pore over these extraordinary illustrations. From tarantulas to frogs, each page is intriguing in what it reveals. In addition to the accurate size and weight of the animal, the illustration brings it alive before your eyes. Pull-out pages of the saltwater crocodile and Goliath frog are particularly amazing in their scope. As usual, Jenkins includes more detailed information on each of the represented animals in the backmatter. For those little ones hungry for nonfiction, this is a particularly engaging book.

5. Connections:

• Weigh and measure students so that they can compare their sizes with those of the featured creatures, using standard or non-standard units of measurement depending on the age level.


• Create a chart to categorize animals according to their classification. Talk about what characteristics are shared within the categories and what separates them from the others. What other creatures can we add to the chart?


• Have students choose a different animal of their choice to illustrate and collect information. Collect students' work into a class book.

Poetry - OUT OF THE DUST

1. Bibliography: Hesse, Karen. 1997. New York: Scholastic, Inc. ISBN: 0-590-37125-8.

2. Plot Summary: Karen Hesse breaks the mold of young adult literature with Out of the Dust, a Newbery Medal winner written in free verse. This is the tragic, yet inspiring story of fourteen year old Billie Jo, growing up in the dust bowl of Oklahoma during the Great Depression. As the story unfolds, Billie Jo is scarred, both physically and emotionally, by a horrific event that results in the death of her mother and infant brother, and for which she is partly responsible. Furthering her misery is the loss of the use of her hands, taking away her only source of solace - her piano playing. Feeling the blame of the community and even more devastating, her own father, Billie Jo feels the need to break free from this life and the pain that it holds. Only when Billie Jo realizes that forgiveness is essential in moving her family forward, is she able to triumph over the tragedies that have plagued her and begin to heal.

3. Critical Analysis: A moving story of tragedy and triumph, Out of the Dust is depicted through the eyes of Billie Jo in straightforward free verse. Karen Hesse successfully merges a fictitious tale of personal tragedy with the historical misfortunes of the Great Depression era in which the story takes place. Adding to these circumstances are the hardships caused by the antagonistic dust that covers Billie Jo's Oklahoma community and seemingly mirrors the character's feelings of restlessness and constraint which blanket her young life.

The poetic and literary elements of Hesse's writing is key in shaping this poignant novel. Arranged in the format of a journal that shows the progression of a year, the text flows easily and does not suffer from the absence of rhyme. Short, free verse stanzas create an effortless rhythm, eliminating excess text and focusing on the raw emotions of Billie Jo. The author freely makes use of similes that accentuate the events of the story in vivid, and sometimes disturbing ways, as in Billie Jo's description of her mother after the accident-comparing her smell to that of "scorched meat". Other examples include the comparison of a much welcomed rain as "like the tapping of a stranger at the door of a dream"; the dust "like prairie fire, hot and peppery"; and the singing of her father that "starts and stops like a car short of gas, like an engine choked with dust".

Such figurative language is vital in capturing the graphic and emotional account of Billie Jo's suffering as well as her final resolution of forgiveness that is sure to evoke the same feelings in the reader. Time and again in Out of the Dust, Karen Hesse is successful in portraying the heroine in Billie Jo that is depicted in her strength of body and soul, her resolve to forgive, and her decision to prevail over tragedy.

4. Review Excerpts:

• Children's Literature: The always-inventive author of A Time of Angels has done it again. She's found a new approach to telling a compelling historical tale. In this "novel" she renders the story of a young girl struggling to survive the dust bowl through first person narrative poems. Young Billie Jo tells her story in a series of thoughtful and touching poems as she tries to come to terms with the horrific death of her mother, the loss of her talent to play the piano, and the threat of losing her father to long cancer. In this testament to the strength of one girl's will, Hesse takes a poetic turn at telling the story of the Oklahoma dust bowl during the Great Depression.


• Kirkus: Billie Jo tells of her life in Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl: Her mother dies after a gruesome accident caused by her father's leaving a bucket of kerosene near the stove; Billie Jo is partially responsible--fully responsible in the eyes of the community--and sustains injuries that seem to bring to a halt her dreams of playing the piano. Finding a way through her grief is not made easier by her taciturn father, who went on a drinking binge while Billie Joe's mother, not yet dead, begged for water. Told in free-verse poetry of dated entries that span the winter of 1934 to the winter of 1935, this is an unremittingly bleak portrait of one corner of Depression-era life. In Billie Jo, the only character who comes to life, Hesse (The Music of Dolphins, 1996, etc.) presents a hale and determined heroine who confronts unrelenting misery and begins to transcend it. The poem/novel ends with only a trace of hope; there are no pat endings, but a glimpse of beauty wrought from brutal reality.

5. Connections:

• Collect and display other novels by Karen Hesse for student check out.


• Research the impact of the Great Depression, more specifically its effects on children living in this era. Do an economic study of the time.


• Locate the dust bowl area of Oklahoma and discuss its geographical characteristics as described in the story. Are those characteristics still present today and how do its residents cope?

Poetry - DANITRA BROWN LEAVES TOWN

1. Bibliography: Grimes, Nikki. 2002. Danitra Brown Leaves Town. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, Inc. ISBN: 0-688-13155-7.

2. Plot Summary: Danitra Brown Leaves Town is a follow-up edition to Nikki Grimes' book, Meet Danitra Brown. While Danitra is looking forward to a trip to the country with her family, advising "surrender to summer, to raspberry ices and pink lemonade and walks on the beach ", Zuri is angry about the impending separation in which her "supposed-to-be best friend is leaving me, and loving it". Narrated by Zuri, Danitra and Zuri share their summer experiences apart through letters and poems.

3. Critical Analysis: The excitement that summer breeds in children and the pangs of separation are expressed through poetry in Nikki Grimes' story of two friends' summer apart. Aiding in the revelation of emotions are vividly detailed and realistic two page spreads of illustrations by artist, Floyd Cooper. Children will revel in the exhilaration of the season in poems such as Danitra's "First Night" with "clusters of fireflies dancing 'round my head, keeping me from bed for hours" and "Zuri's Fourth of July", "glistening in the light of the late-night fireworks". The kid-friendly language throughout the text allows young readers to relate to their own experiences and emotions through poetry presented in a story-like fashion. While ending rhyme is present in some of the poems with words like way/say, from/com, blurt/hurt in "The Bad Goodbye", it is not always predictable. Other poems such as "Big Plans" are written in free verse, yet consistently the arrangement of poetic lines allows the rhythm of the words to flow freely and easily. Danitra Brown Leaves Town successfully calls to mind the freedoms, adventures, daysdreams, thrills, and enduring friendships that grow in the childhood memories of summer.

4. Review Excerpts:

• Horn Book: In this follow-up to Meet Danitra Brown, Danitra's best friend Zuri again narrates, but this time the poems include letters written by both girls, who are separated for the summer. At home in the city Zuri makes new friends, while in the country Danitra enjoys a family reunion. Cooper's muted illustrations in this picture book capture the personalities of the two young friends.


• Kirkus Reviews: Fans of this author-illustrator team's "Meet Danitra Brown" (1994) will welcome their latest effort about Danitra and her best friend, Zuri Jackson. Told as a series of 13 poems and letters about the joys of summer and the strong bond of true friendship, this will resonate with many young readers who have savored the pleasures of Fourth of July fireworks, picnics and games, block parties, starry summer nights, and family reunions. It also explores honestly the feelings of sadness, self-doubt, and resentment that a child experiences when a cherished friend goes away, even for a short time. Here, Danitra goes off to the country for a family reunion and Zuri remains at home in the city. While Danitra brims with excitement, Zuri worries and quietly seethes that her friend is "leaving me, and loving it." To her surprise, though, Zuri discovers that life without Danitra isn't so bad after all. She makes a new friend and brims herself-with exuberance and renewed self-confidence-when she dances up a storm at a block party and beats the boys at softball. In their back-and-forth letters, the girls describe their new experiences and the fun each is having, but nothing compares to the joy they feel when they reunite at Danitra's homecoming. Grimes's poems read and flow well, and Cooper's paintings simply burst with energy and expressiveness. How nice for Zuri and for young readers that Danitra has returned.

5. Connections:

• After reading the book, have students write a letter to a friend about something that they have done on a family outing or vacation.


• Reread "Big Plans" from the story. Students can write a poem about what summer means to them.


• Read Meet Danitra Brown and discuss what the character is like and how this is illustrated in the two stories.

Poetry - IT'S RAINING PIGS & NOODLES

1. Bibliography: Prelutsky, Jack. 2000. It's Raining Pigs & Noodles. New York: Scholastic, Inc. ISBN 0-439-32929-9.

2. Plot Summary: It's Raining Pigs & Noodles is a collection of short, energetic poems written for the young and the young at heart. Readers will enjoy the diversity of these poems ranging from ridiculous to disgusting to just plain funny.

3. Critical Analysis: With effervescent humor, Jack Prelutsky has compiled another collection of poems sure to appeal to both children and adults. Over 100 poems illustrated with black and white sketch drawings by James Stevenson, provide visual satisfaction while maintaining the ultimate focus on the poetry. Word arrangements of poems like "I'm Caught Up in Infinity" (written in an horizontal figure eight), "Zigzag" and "I Am Winding Through a Maze" (both written to illustrate their titles), stimulate the eyes and mind and make reading these poems fun. The upbeat rhythm and simple rhyming language of words such as machine/clean, flat/cat in "I Build a Fabulous Machine" and relax/tracks, why/by in "It Is Foolish to Relax", make this a great introduction to poetry for young readers or as a read aloud. Children will also find entertaining the imagery fashioned by fictitious creatures and nonsensical words in poems such as "Dear Wumbledeedumble" ("the wings on the side of your head, your feathery chest and your leathery crest"), and will delight in appealingly gross poems like "My Tongue is Tasting Terrible ("all I ate was pickled snake, and chicken beaks on rye") and "Worm Puree" ("Worm puree, pink and gray, you're a heavenly entree."). Time and again, Prelutsky appeals to the senses of the child, as well as to the child in the grown-up. Kids will delight in It's Raining Pigs & Noodles and relish in the laughter it is sure to provoke, enticing the reader into a page-turning, poem-reading frenzy!

4. Review Excerpts:

• Horn Book: Prelutsky plays his way through silly images, nonsense words, and corny punch lines. Some of the 106 poems celebrate childhood mischief; and it wouldn't be Prelutsky without a bit of the gross. As in their previous books, Stevenson deftly follows the goofy tone in small homely pen sketches sprinkled among the verse. Some of the jokes will be best understood by adults, but the book is sure to tickle readers young and old.


• The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews: Children of all ages enjoy the poetry and word play of Jack Prelutsky. His books are always fun and full of things that childhood memories are made of. This one is no exception and is a must have book.

5. Connections:

• Read other collections of poems by Jack Prelutsky. Discuss what is similar and different in the style, language, and content.


• Use individual poems as prompts for student written poetry. For example, read "Today Was Not My Day at All", then have students add to the poem with other mishaps of the day.


• As a class, create an imaginary creature with a nonsensical name, then have students work with a partner to write a poem describing its features and behaviors. Share with the class.

Traditional Literature - PORCH LIES: TALES OF SLICKSTERS, TRICKSTERS, AND OTHER WILY CHARACTERS

1. Bibliography: McKissack, Patricia C. 2006. Porch Lies: Tales of Slicksters, Tricksters, and Other Wily Characters. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books. ISBN 0-375-83619-5.

2. Plot Summary: This collection of short stories, all told on a front porch, convey the richness of African American culture and history as passed down through oral tales. Each tale stands alone to reveal new characters, circumstances, and perhaps a lesson to be learned.

3. Critical Analysis: The simplicity of the times is revealed in this compilation of tales told from a front porch. The casualness of the front porch setting and informal dialect invite the reader to stop and listen. While characters have already been labeled as "slickster, trickster, [or] other wily characters" by title, each story is told in an unbiased manner leaving the reader with the final judgment, as in the tale "By the Weight of a Feather". In this story Clovis Reed comes to realize, through the help of a dream, that he can be more than others (and even himself) believed he could be.

"Aunt Gran and the Outlaws" is another example of the importance of not rushing to pass judgment. Steeped in her faith in God and the good of others, Aunt Gran prevails against a group of land bandits with the help of outlaws, Frank and Jesse James.

Porch Lies reflects how the African American culture uses stories and tales for a variety of reasons. In some cases they may be told for the underlying messages they portray, while others are told purely for the entertainment value. It is up to the reader to glean the lesson or purpose of these timeless tales.

4. Review Excerpts:

• School Library Journal: Grade 5 Up–These 10 literate stories make for great leisure listening and knowing chuckles. Pete Bruce flatters a baker out of a coconut cream pie and a quart of milk; Mingo may or may not have anything smaller than a 100-dollar bill to pay his bills; Frank and Jesse James, or the Howard boys, help an old woman against the KKK-ish Knights of the White Gardenia; and Cake Norris wakes up dead one day–again. Carrilhos eerie black-and-white illustrations, dramatically off-balance, lit by moonlight, and elongated like nightmares, are well-matched with the stories. The tales are variously narrated by boys and girls, even though the authors preface seems to set readers up for a single, female narrator in the persona of McKissack herself. They contain the essence of truth but are fiction from beginning to end, an amalgam of old stories, characters, jokes, setups, and motifs. As such, they have no provenance. Still, it would have helped readers unfamiliar with African-American history to have an authors note helping separate the truth of these lies that allude to Depression-era African-American and Southern traditions. That aside, theyre great fun to read aloud and the tricksters, sharpies, slicksters, and outlaws wink knowingly at the child narrators, and at us foolish humans.–Susan Hepler, formerly at Burgundy Farm Country Day School, Alexandria, VA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


• Booklist*Starred Review*: Gr. 3-5. Like McKissack's award-winning The Dark Thirty (1992), the nine original tales in this uproarious collection draw on African American oral tradition and blend history and legend with sly humor, creepy horror, villainous characters, and wild farce. McKissack based the stories on those she heard as a child while sitting on her grandparents' porch; now she is passing them on to her grandchildren. Without using dialect, her intimate folk idiom celebrates the storytelling among friends, neighbors, and family as much as the stories themselves. "Some folk believe the story; some don't. You decide for yourself." Is the weaselly gravedigger going to steal a corpse's jewelry, or does he know the woman is really still alive? Can bespectacled Aunt Gran outwit the notorious outlaw Jesse James? In black and white, Carrilho's full-page illustrations--part cartoon, part portrait in silhouette--combine realistic characters with scary monsters. History is always in the background (runaway slaves, segregation cruelty, white-robed Klansmen), and in surprising twists and turns that are true to trickster tradition, the weak and exploited beat powerful oppressors with the best lies ever told. Great for sharing, on the porch and in the classroom. Hazel RochmanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved.

5. Connections:

• After reading each story, discuss what, if any, lesson can be derived.


• Read trickster tales from other cultures to compare.


• Read Patricia C. McKissack's Newbery Honor Book, The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural.

Traditional Literature - IKTOMI LOSES HIS EYES

1. Bibliography: Goble, Paul. 1999. Iktomi Loses His Eyes. New York: Orchard Books. ISBN 0-531-30200-8.

2. Plot Summary: Guided only by his own arrogance, Iktomi the trickster, finds himself enthralled by a stranger (a trickster himself) able to take his eyes out of his head and then place them back again. Knowing this will impress others, Iktomi insists on learning the trick but fails to heed the stranger's warning that he must not do it more than four times a day. Iktomi finds himself in trouble when his own haughtiness causes him to lose his eyes. Conning an eye each from Mouse and Buffalo, Iktomi is finally able to make it home, despite his waned perception, only to be scolded by his wife.

3. Critical Analysis: Paul Goble, author and illustrator of Iktomi Loses His Eyes, has created a culturally based character through which he attempts to bestow the reader with underlying themes of human character. The reader is offered an explanation of his character at the beginning of the story in "About Iktomi", as well as an indication into the type of character about to be encountered as Iktomi declares, "This is more lies about me by that white guy, Paul Goble . . . So tell your librarians to ban the book." Additionally, "A Note for the Reader" is provided to guide the reader through the changes in type size and color of the text. Iktomi's thoughts, for example, are in small type and not meant to be read aloud; while gray type is meant to elicit comments from the reader. Illustrations, also by Goble, give insight into the culture of the Plains Indians. The great detail and color afforded to Iktomi, in relation to other scenes and characters, displays Iktomi's desire to be noticed above others.

Iktomi, throughout his misadventures, encompasses the negative qualities in humans through his display of vanity and selfishness. Iktomi's underlying purpose in this particular tale, is to show the blurred perception that can be caused by one's own egotism. "Blinded" by his desire to impress his friends, Iktomi does not realize that he is signing a deed for the sale of land in return for learning how to perform a stranger's trick, nor is he concerned with the stranger's warning and the impact his mistake will have on himself or others.

4. Review Excerpts:

• From School Library Journal, Grade 2-5: The infamous Lakota trickster is once again on the losing end of a trick. Iktomi watches as a man commands his eyes to leave his head and then calls them back. The mysterious stranger tells Iktomi the secret of his trick but warns him never to do it more than four times in one day. Naturally, Iktomi must show off his new skill to his friends and does so once too often. When he finds that he can't retrieve his eyes, he stumbles about until he convinces Buffalo and Mouse to each give him one eye. Unfortunately, these replacements don't provide the vision and perspective needed to maneuver in the human world. As in Goble's previous titles about this legendary rascal, this book operates on many levels. It is an amusing trickster tale as well as a symbolic story about limited perception and understanding. Historical elements about Plains Indian life are juxtaposed with contemporary objects and attitudes. Varied typography delineates the story's narration from Iktomi's thoughts and ongoing comments meant to elicit responses from listeners. Different fonts and crisp, colorful artwork create an attractive book. Fans of Goble's unique narrative and visual style won't be disappointed with the latest account of Iktomi's outlandish antics. Heide Piehler, Shorewood Public Library, WI Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.


• From Booklist: Multilayered and virtually multimedia, Goble's latest again presents a sly, very funny trickster tale with gorgeous illustrations. An obviously Bad Guy, with a black hat and a bottle of whiskey, gets the preening Iktomi to sign a land sale deed by teaching him how to throw his eyes from his head--and get them back--telling him that he can do this only four times a day. Iktomi immediately breaks that rule and finds himself eyeless. He tricks an eye each from Mouse and Buffalo, but their different sizes don't work well together. Goble does great things with the picture space: Iktomi, in full Plains regalia, resembles an image on a blanket or an anthropological watercolor. Other figures appear as small totems or as silhouettes. Goble plays with the text, too: Iktomi addresses the audience in small fonts (or handwritten scrawls) scattered across the pictures; the narrator's commentary (separate from the story) is in gray type. Goble lists his detailed sources and offers an introduction, but he also lets Iktomi have his say: "This is more lies about me by that white guy, Paul Goble." Goble enters the spirit of the trickster tale fully, making the book and its telling as tricky as Iktomi (whose name means spider). GraceAnne A. DeCandido --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

5. Connections:

• Read other Iktomi stories such as Iktomi and the Berries, Iktomi and the Boulder, and Iktomi and the Coyote. Discuss the lessons that can be learned from each.


• Students can work with a partner to read one of the Iktomi stories and create a book review including a summary of their story, underlying message, and illustration to compile into a class book.


• Research nonfiction materials on the Plains Indians and then other Native American tribes to compare. Use a map to plot their geographic locations, study the various cultures and traditions of each. This can lead to other extensions related to Native Americans.


• Students can create their own Iktomi story.