One Crazy Summer

A. Bibliography

Williams-Garcia, Rita. One Crazy Summer. New York: Amistad, 2010.  
ISBN:  978-0060760908
 
B.  Plot Summary 

  Delphine is the main character in the book One Crazy Summer.  Delphine is a strong young lady who lives with her father, Big Ma, and two sisters, Vonetta and Fern.  Delphine remembers her mother and knows that mother is just a word to describe who gave birth to her, but her mother is no mom, mommy, ma or mother to her and her two sisters.  The story develops when in the summer of 1968, Delphine and her two sisters are forced to travel from Brooklyn, New York to Oakland, California to stay with their mother, who abandoned them.  Delphine, a responsible older sister, tries as best she can to watch out for and protect her two sisters.  It becomes very difficult because she is located in a part of Oakland that is thriving with the revolutionists known as the Black Panthers.  In fact, in order for the girls to get breakfast and stay out of their mother's hair, they attend a summer camp put on by the Black Panthers and the girls receive a radical new education.  

C. Critical Analysis 

     In One Crazy Summer, Delphine, who is only 11 finds herself being a caretaker,  a determined little girl and a protector of her younger sisters.  The only thing Delphine fears is her mother. Throughout the story Delphine refers to how crazy her mother is and we see this through how quiet Cecile is and how much she doesn't want to be bothered by her 3 daughters.  The girls have been sent to live with their mother for four weeks and at the beginning of the book the days seem to go by slowly, but towards the middle, the girls seem to have found their niche.  They begin to make friends at the Black Panther summer camp and they even find themselves helping the "cause".  
     Set in the 1960's, the three sisters find themselves in what seems to be the heart of the revolutionary movement with the Black Panthers in Oakland, California.  The girls live in a world of struggles and feelings of abandonment.  This feeling is the strongest when the girls come home from an adventure in San Francisco to find their mother, Cecile, being arrested.  When asked about her kids, Cecile replies, "kids... I ain't got no kids".  This rocked the girls to their core.  Delphine being the protector, quickly told the girls that Cecile, their mother, was merely protecting the girls from being taken into custody.  The girls experience the benefits of friendship when another Black Panther member shows-up at their house and takes the three girls in and cares for them until their mother's return.
     Though the three sisters struggle to find their identity and figure out what their roles will be for the next four weeks in Oakland, the 3 sisters manage to create new friendships, learn about a revolution, learn to stand-up for what is right and they also learn that family and friends are important.  I also found it catching that Cecile, the mother, would never say the youngest child's name because she didn't pick it.  Fern, the youngest, always corrected her saying "my name is Fern".  It wasn't until the end of the book that the mother actually called the youngest sister Fern and it was after Cecile saw that her daughter Fern was much like her, a poet.  The end of the book was a bit sad to me because it seemed there were some unresolved issues between the children and their mother, but I guess that is what makes this book realistic.  Children will be able to relate with this book and will easily be able to put themselves in the sisters' shoes. 
     I believe the book is for more advanced readers with some understanding of the time period of 1960.  It was a tumultuous time and one that came with heavy situations that are still not taken lightly today.   Older children will enjoy learning about the back story of the Black Panthers in Oakland, California.  I must admit, after finishing reading this book the first thing I did was begin to research.  I loved the book and think it will be appealing to older children interested in a strong female character surrounded by obstacles of abandonment and sisterhood. 

D. Review Excerpt

From School Library Journal

"Starred Review. Grade 4–7—It is 1968, and three black sisters from Brooklyn have been put on a California-bound plane by their father to spend a month with their mother, a poet who ran off years before and is living in Oakland. It's the summer after Black Panther founder Huey Newton was jailed and member Bobby Hutton was gunned down trying to surrender to the Oakland police, and there are men in berets shouting "Black Power" on the news. Delphine, 11, remembers her mother, but after years of separation she's more apt to believe what her grandmother has said about her, that Cecile is a selfish, crazy woman who sleeps on the street. At least Cecile lives in a real house, but she reacts to her daughters' arrival without warmth or even curiosity. Instead, she sends the girls to eat breakfast at a center run by the Black Panther Party and tells them to stay out as long as they can so that she can work on her poetry. Over the course of the next four weeks, Delphine and her younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, spend a lot of time learning about revolution and staying out of their mother's way. Emotionally challenging and beautifully written, this book immerses readers in a time and place and raises difficult questions of cultural and ethnic identity and personal responsibility. With memorable characters (all three girls have engaging, strong voices) and a powerful story, this is a book well worth reading and rereading."—Teri Markson, Los Angeles Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review listed by:  Amazon

E. Awards

2011 Coretta Scott King Award Winner

2011 Newbery Honor Book

2011 Scott O’Dell Prize for Historical Fiction

2010 National Book Award Finalist

Junior Library Guild Selection

Texas Library Association Best Book for 2010

F. Connections 

Author's Website:  CLICK HERE

History of the Black Panthers:  http://www.marxists.org/history/usa/workers/black-panthers/

Lesson Plan connection:  This lesson plan is intended for older grade levels seeking a deeper understanding of the purpose of the Black Panthers and their movement in the late 1960's, early 1970's. http://www.usd116.org/ProfDev/AHTC/lessons/Goerss10/LessonPlan.htm

 Lesson Plan connection:  http://classroombookshelf.blogspot.com/2011/01/2011-coretta-scott-king-author-award.html

G. Other Books by Rita Williams-Garcia

ISBN: 0688162479

ISBN:  978-1416961413

ISBN: 978-0140385618

ISBN: 978-0060760939

Lilly's Crossing

A. Bibliography
Giff, Patricia R. Lily's Crossing. New York, NY: Yearling, 2005. ISBN:  0329086014

B.  Plot Summary 
   
     Lily's Crossing is set in 1944 right after D-Day has occurred. The story follows Lily's adventures while she seeks to understand the constant change in her life with one friend leaving and another arriving.  Lily is also forced to spend her summer in Rockaway with her grandmother because her father is forced to go over seas as well.  Even though Rockaway is her favorite place, she finds it hard to be there without her best friend and her dad.  It is Lily's friendship with her new friend Albert, a Hungarian boy who escaped the Nazi's, that helps Lily realize how fortunate she is to have a grandmother that cares so deeply for her and a friend like Albert that truly enjoys her company.  It is one lie that threatens Albert's life that Lily may not ever forgive herself for if she doesn't help her new friend escape the roar of the ocean.

C. Critical Analysis

     Patricia Reilly Giff beautifully constructed a novel that children will be able to relate to.  World War II and the loss that came with it effected the lives of Lily, Margaret and Albert.  Well, in all actuality, it effected everyone in this story.  The setting of the story is at Rockaway Beach.  At Rockaway, Lily can see the boats heading to Europe and she can also watch the boats patrolling the waters in defense of the coastline.

     Lily was so excited about spending the summer at Rockaway, but soon after she arrives, she is broadsided with the news that her best friend Margaret is moving to Detroit so her father can find work.  It seems to get worse when she is told that her father is joining the cause and heading to Europe.  The only light that her summer is bringing is a boy who is a Hungarian refugee.  He escaped the Nazi’s and is now in Rockaway.  Lily doesn’t form an instant friendship with the boy, but overtime they understand that they both have something in common.  Neither one of them ever got to say goodbye to the people they love very much.

     Throughout the story, Lily also learns that it is important to tell the truth and she feels comfortable telling the truth to Albert.  In fact she confesses all the lies she has told except for one which could be the worst lie of all.  It could get Albert killed.  When Lily finally has enough courage to tell Albert she lied to him, he still swims out to try and reach the boats so he can go to Europe and find his sister.

     Albert of course does not make it to the boats and Lily does a daring rescue to save his life.  Albert leaves Rockaway and Lily goes back to school for the Fall.  Although Lily’s father returns home safely, the reader is left with wonder and sadness for Lily because we are unsure if she will ever see her best friends again.  Giff pulls through at the end of the book and crafts a realistic ending for this story.  Lily returns to Rockaway with her grandmother and father.  Margaret is still gone to Detroit and Margret's brother is still “Missing in Action”, but she notices Paprika, Albert’s cat.  Could it be that he is back in Rockaway?  She couldn’t wait to find out.   Lily is not only reunited with Albert, but she meets Albert's sister, Ruth, as well. 

     In Giff’s letter to the readers at the end of this story, she tells the reader about how the Second World War was a part of her childhood and how this story had been in heart for sometime.  She felt connected to Lily's world because she could identify with Lily's experiences growing up watching the ships sail to Europe. Not only was the story about World War II, it was about friendship and this is how she closes her letter to the readers,  “I wanted to tell readers that even though the times are different now, people have always worried about the same things…. loss and separation, the future, and sometimes war.  I want readers to know that love and friendship make a difference.”  

D. Review Excerpt
    Kirkus Review says the following about Lily's Crossing, "In 1944, Lily's eagerly awaited summer vacation becomes a time of anxiety when her widower father, Poppy, announces that he's off to Europe with the US Army Corps of Engineers. Lily's lonely in Rockaway with both her father and her summer friend, Margaret, gone, until she meets an orphan from Budapest living temporarily with her grandmother's neighbor. At first she responds coldly to Albert, but is soon drawn to him by his awkward dignity and his tragic tale of dead parents and ill sister, Ruth, left behind in France. As they care for an abandoned kitten together and wistfully watch ships passing on the horizon, a solid friendship develops, and by the time they part, Lily and Albert have helped each other through difficult times. Much of the plot, characters, and premise is conventional, but Giff (Shark in School, 1994, etc.) really pulls readers' heartstrings with Albert's memories of his family, the loss of Margaret's well-liked brother in the war, and Lily's joyful reunion with Poppy. Pull out the hankies for the final scene, in which Lily returns to Rockaway the following summer to find Albert--and Ruth--waiting for her. It's a strong ending to a deftly told story. (Fiction. 10-12)"
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/patricia-reilly-giff/lilys-crossing/#review
 
E. Awards

Newbery Honor 1998

F. Connections 

Author's Website:  CLICK HERE
Lesson Plan for Lily's Crossing:  CLICK HERE 
Interview with the author:  CLICK HERE

G. Other Books by Patricia Reilly Giff

ISBN:  978-0440415787

ISBN:  978-0440425571

Turtle in Paradise

A. Bibliography

Holm, Jennifer L. Turtle in Paradise. New York: Random House, 2010.
ISBN: 978-0375836909
 
B.  Plot Summary 

Turtle in Paradise provides readers a glimpse into the lives of those people living in 1935 during the Great Depression.  Jobs were hard to find and so was money.  Turtle, an 11 year old girl, is forced to live with family she has never met before in Key West, Florida.  Through Turtle's adventures in Key West she discovers a grandma she was told to be dead, builds relationships with her cumbersome boy cousins and discovers what the word family really means.  This sweet story is surrounded by adventure, laughs and even cries all the while giving tidbits of information about the historical events surrounding the story.

C. Critical Analysis 

     Turtle is a 12-year-old girl who lives with her mother and doesn’t know who her father is. When her mother begins working for a woman who hates children, Turtle is forced to live with her mother’s sister whom she has never met.  Turtle is a perfect name for this character because she is tough on the outside and sometimes sensitive when it comes to things of the heart such as meeting her grandmother she thought was dead. 

     The setting of the story is during the Great Depression in the Florida Keys where life is hard, but somehow the kids seem to have a wonderful time and seem to be unaffected by the struggles of the adults around them.  The kids in the story create a gang called the “Diaper Gang”.  “We watch the bad babies….The crying kind,”  says Pork Chop.  Nicknames are used heavily in the story and this goes hand-in-hand with the real life Key West traditions of the residents giving nicknames to everyone they meet. 

     The “Diaper Gang” offers a sense of relief for the women going through the struggles of the “Great Depression”.  Many were stressed because their husbands had left to find work and this left the women home alone to care for the house, kids and cook.  The story gives readers a real sense of family and how you don’t have to be related to someone to consider them family enough to help them. The “Diaper Gang” faithfully helped women with their children who were not well behaved and also helped clear-up diaper rashes with their secret formula. 

     It is evident that the author did extensive research to make this story as authentic as possible.  Young readers will love the adventure of treasure seeking and they will also be enticed by the mishaps the gang has throughout the story.  In the Author’s Notes, Holm provides pictures and background information to help the reader more fully understand the time period in which the book is written.  I loved seeing the photographs of the neighborhood and the “Real Kermit”.  Holm also offers Websites and Resources at the end of the book.  This book is a wonderful book depicting the struggles of the people in Key West during the Great Depression from the perspective a young girl who is living through it.

 


D. Review Excerpt

"Eleven-year-old Turtle is not one to suffer fools gladly. And she runs into a lot of fools, especially the no-goods her starry-eyed mother meets. So it's a tough little Turtle who arrives in Key West in June of 1935. She's been sent to Florida to stay with relatives because her mother's latest housekeeping job doesn't allow children. Unfortunately, Mama has neglected to tell Aunt Minnie she's coming, and Turtle gets the stink eye from cousins with monikers like Buddy and Beans. As Turtle soon learns, everything is different in Key West, from the fruit hanging on trees to the scorpions in nightgowns to the ways kids earn money. She can't be part of her cousins' Diaper Gang (no girls allowed), which takes care of fussy babies, but when she finds a treasure map, she hopes she'll be on Easy Street like Little Orphan Annie. Holm uses family stories as the basis for this tale, part romp, part steely-eyed look at the Depression era. Reminiscent of Addie in the movie Paper Moon, Turtle is just the right mixture of knowingness and hope; the plot is a hilarious blend of family dramas seasoned with a dollop of adventure. The many references to 1930s entertainments (Terry and the Pirates, Shirley Temple) will mostly go over kids' heads, but they'll get how much comics and movies meant to a population desperate for smiles. An author's note (with photos) shows Holm's family close-up. Grades 4-6." --Ilene Cooper
Review by booklist.com


E. Awards

2011 Newbery Honor Book

ALA Notable Book

Booklist Editor’s Choice

Texas Bluebonnet List

Kirkus Review Best Children’s Book of 2010

F. Connections 

Lesson Plan Connections:  Students could study the Great Depression as they read this book.  Students could also study the area Turtle is living.
Author's Website:  CLICK HERE


G. Other Books by Jennifer L. Holm

ISBN: 978-1442436633

ISBN: 978-0064408561

ISBN: 978-0375836893

Dogs and Cats

Dog cover for the book

Cat cover for the book

A. Bibliography
Jenkins, Steve. Dogs and Cats. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2007.  ISBN:  978-0618507672

B.  Plot Summary

     In the book Dogs and Cats, Steve Jenkins creates an informational book that offers readers two books in one.  If the reader would like information about dogs, they simply turn to the side of the book with the dog on the cover.  If the reader wants information about cats, the reader simply turns to the side with the cat on the cover.  This book is intended for readers seeking information about the origin of cats and dogs, the different breeds and other interesting facts about these two kinds of animals.  Jenkins also relates the books to reader by explaining how and why these two types of animals get along with humans.

C. Critical Analysis

     Dogs and Cats is an informational book written by Steve Jenkins.  The book is divided into two separate sections and even though they are separated, Jenkins does a great job of offering dog and cat comparisons throughout both portions of the book.  Jenkins has written many non-fiction books and this is just one of his many kid-friendly books in his collection.  The reader will be enthralled with Jenkins use of headings, illustrations and facts on every part of the page.  The book will attract readers from all ages and backgrounds.

     In the dog portion of the book, Jenkins adds in little tidbits of information about cats on almost every page and does the same with the cat portion of the book.  There are dog tidbits of information on each cat page.  Each fact is a comparison to the facts being offered about the dog or cat on that page.  This is a unique way to get readers to look at each species at the same time even though he has put them in two different sections.  In most of the book, Jenkins starts each piece of information with a question like, “Whose the boss?” in the dog section or “What’s so special about a cat?” in the cat section.  This offers insight to what the writing to follow is going to address.  I also think it helps draw the reader in and build suspense for answering the question.

     Jenkins is also the illustrator of this book.  He uses torn paper to illustrate the book.  At first glance, it is not noticeable that the illustrations are with paper because he does such a wonderful job of making each of the different types of dogs and cats look completely identifiable to their different types of breed.  I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to find all of the different types and colors of paper he would have to use to make these illustrations so accurate.  Jenkins mentioned in a note at the beginning of the dog section of this book that he used paper from Egypt, France, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Nepal, Thailand, the Philippines, and the United States.  The illustrations of this informational book bleed off the pages and also vary in size.  The illustrations are proportional to the breed of the animal.  He does mention in the book that domestic cats do not vary in size like domestic dogs do.  Every page is different from the last and keeps readers interested in what is coming next.

     My favorite part of the book is where he marries both portions of the book.  It occurs in the middle of the book where the dog portion meets the cat portion.  The section is titled the same on both pages, “Friends or enemies?” and information about both cats and dogs being friends or enemies in written on both pages.  The illustration is of a cat and dog laying on a rug and they seem like they are playing.  This book is one that readers will return to time and time again.  Through their exploration of this book, they will learn more and more about the different characteristics of dogs and cats.

D. Review Excerpt

Kirkus Revies posted this about the book Dogs and Cats,

"A turn-it-around-and-flip-it-over volume delivers from ends to middle the straight goods on the world’s most popular house pets, a cleanly innovative design allowing interaction between the two parts throughout. Jenkins’s usual striking collages of cut and torn paper create his subjects in all their textures as he describes their prehistoric passages to domesticity and various and sundry facts about our canine and feline friends. The two narratives mirror each other, essentially following the same structure and at times asking the same questions (the answers to “Are dogs smarter than cats?” and “Are cats smarter than dogs?” for instance, hedge their bets diplomatically). Each double-paged spread features one thematic discussion, images arrayed on a clean white background and smaller sidebars providing additional information. Nothing new here, but the addition of icons at the bottom of each spread shows the other animal and gives one small, related fact, adding an element of interactivity that both teases and pleases. Sure to see plenty of use. (Picture book/nonfiction. 6-10)"

---

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/steve-jenkins/dogs-and-cats/

E. Awards

School Library Journal, Best Book of the Year

F. Connections

Author's Website:  Steve Jenkins

Meet the Author Movie on "Teachingbooks.net" 

http://www.teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?tid=10682

G. Other Books by Steve Jenkins

ISBN: 978-0545046510

ISBN: 978-0547512914

ISBN: 061896620X

What to Do About Alice?

 

A.  Bibliography

Kerley, Barabara, and Ed Fotheringham. What to Do about Alice?: How Alice Roosevelt

      Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove Her Father Teddy Crazy! New York:

      Scholastic, 2008.

      ISBN:  978-0-545-12325-9

B.  Plot Summary

    Alice Roosevelt was the oldest of Theodore Roosevelt's children and was a slight handful for the former president of the United States.  In the beginning of the book it states, "Theodore Roosevelt had a small problem."  The beginning line of the book appropriately sets the stage for what will transpire with Alice Roosevelt throughout the rest of the book.  The book is a snippet of Alice's life from childhood to adulthood.  Barbara Kerley captures the spunk and independent nature of Alice and offers readers wonderful insight into her life and what it was like to raise Alice. 

C. Critical Analysis

    

      Barbara Kerley does a beautiful job of crafting an easy to read and enjoyable biography that keeps readers interested in the vast activities of Alice Roosevelt.  In Kerley’s author notes, she mentions what sources she used for the quotes in What to Do About Alice: How Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove Her Father Teddy Crazy!  I love how Kerley felt the need to bold and capitalize every letter of some words. This change in font and size really helps the reader realize how important these words are in understanding the story.

       The biography follows a chronological order starting with Alice as a young child.  With every turn of the page, the reader watches Alice grow-up and also learns about the mayhem she causes for her father.  We also see that as she gets older, the United States as well as other countries began to love Alice as much as her father, Teddy, did.  The story line is simple and easy for young readers to follow. In fact, Kerley does a great job of making this story relate-able for early readers. 

       Edwin Fotheringham’s illustrations in What To Do About Alice? are exquisite and add meaning to every page of the story.  I love how Fotheringham captured Alice’s daydream of hanging with monkeys as Miss Spence’s boarding school walked under her window.  The illustration shows us what she would do with a pet monkey if she had one. Another fantastic example of how the words and illustrations fit nicely together is on pages 16 and 17 where Alice is pictured riding her bike down a hill, her leg braces flying off in the distance, her feet on the handle bars, her hands in the air, a shadow of Theodore Roosevelt in the corner of the page and the word “CAUTIOUS” is in all capitol letter and bolded. I love this relationship between the words of the book and the illustrations.  Not only is the book well written for young readers, but it is beautifully illustrated in a way that offers deeper meaning for the reader. 

D. Review Excerpt

Publishers Weekly says this about What To Do About Alice?, "It’s hard to imagine a picture book biography that could better suit its subject than this high-energy volume serves young Alice Roosevelt. Kerley (The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins ) knows just how to introduce her to contemporary readers: “Theodore Roosevelt had a small problem. It wasn’t herding thousands of cattle across the Dakota badlands. He’d done that. It wasn’t leading the Rough Riders.... He’d bagged a grizzly bear, captured outlaws, governed the state of New York, and served as vice president of the United States, and still he had a problem. Her name was Alice.” Debut illustrator Fotheringham creates the perfect mood from the start: his stylish digital art sets a fast pace, making use of speed lines (rendered in dots, these earn their names) and multiple vignettes to evoke characters in perpetual motion. His compositions wittily incorporate headlines, iconic images and plenty of Alice blue, too. Kids will embrace a heroine who teaches her younger stepsiblings to sled down the White House stairs (“Alice tried to be helpful,” Kerley writes soberly as Fotheringham shows her in action), entertains dignitaries with her pet snake and captivates a nation with pranks and high jinks. Ages 4-8. (Apr.)" http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-439-92231-9

E. Awards

Sibert Honor Book
Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book
Irma Black Award Honor Book
Parents Choice Award
Washington State Scandiuzzi Children's Book Award
California Collections
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
An ALA Notable Book
Capitol Choices
New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing

Texas Bluebonnet List 2009-2010

F. Connections

Author's Website:  http://www.barbarakerley.com/Site/Welcome.html

Illustrator's Website:  http://www.edfotheringham.com/

Lesson Plan for book: http://www.barbarakerley.com/TRAlice.html

G. Other Books by Barbara Kerley

ISBN: 978-0545222686

ISBN: 978-0792254898

ISBN: 978-0395715482

Balloons Over Broadway

A. Bibliography

Sweet, Melissa. Balloons Over Broadway:  The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin for Children, 2011. 

B.  Plot Summary

    Balloons Over Broadway is the story of the life of Tony Sarg.  Sarg was creative as a child.  He began to build things as early as six years old. Starting as a marionette maker, created the pathway for what his legacy in American culture would become.  Tony found himself in New York City working for Macy's.  He was commissioned to build mechanical marionettes for Macy's store windows.  After seeing Tony's creativity come to life through his displays, Macy's decided to put Mr. Sarg in charge of the first Macy's parade.  The parade was such a hit, Macy's decided to do the parade every year and it then became the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  After a few years of organizing the parade and modifying his balloons, Tony arrived at the idea of "upside-down marionettes".  They were a huge hit and his legacy lives on as we watch these upside-down marionettes float the streets of New York City even today.

C. Critical Analysis

     

      Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade is not only an informational book, but an entertaining one as well.  Readers of all ages will enjoy its history and toys that seem to come to life on the pages.  The book also offers a background of an event that has been a part of American tradition since 1924.  The tradition of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is one that is enjoyed my millions of people every year. Balloons Over Broadway offers readers a glimpse of the life of the man that made the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade what it is today. 

     Sweet begins the story by introducing the reader to Tony Sarg when he was only a little boy of six.  Through the detailed illustrations on the first page, it is easy to see that even at six Sarg had a sketchbook for ideas, built a marionette, and created a puppet stage.  All three of these things are skills Sarg perfected throughout his life.  Sarg was a dreamer and he had a creative mind to pair with those dreams.  

       The illustrations of this biography not only offer insight into the life of Tony Sarg, but they also offer information about marionettes, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the history of the parade.  Throughout the story, the illustrations show step-by-step directions on how Tony designed things.  My favorite was when Sarg was pictured holding an elephant marionette and a balloon with an elephant drawn on it.  This shows the parallel Tony made between the two with illustrations.  Another fabulous illustration in this story was when Sweet used both pages of the book to show the reader exactly how big the balloon Sarg created for the parade actually was.  The elephant is shown flying high above the people, but so large in size that everyone could see. 

      At the end of this story/biography, Sweet has added some author notes to explain her research that went into the creation of this book.  She offers a bibliography and other helpful sources as well.  The last page of the book is a two-page lay-out of the actual newspaper article advertising the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade from 1933.  I absolutely love that the newspaper referred to them as “Helium Filled Monsters”.  I am sure that this terminology would not be used today to describe the large balloons that float over the streets of New York City on Thanksgiving Day.   

D. Review Excerpt

Publishers Weekly had this to say about Balloons Over Broadway, "Tony Sarg (1880–1942, “rhymes with aargh!”), the man who invented the giant balloons of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, has found a worthy biographer in Caldecott Honoree Sweet (A River of Words). With lighthearted watercolors, fanciful scrapbooking, and collaged typography, Sweet shows how Sarg, a self-taught immigrant, combined an indomitable curiosity with an engineer’s know-how and a forever-young imagination. The story walks readers through each stage of Sarg’s development as a master of puppetry—his childhood fascination with mechanics and marionettes, his first big break as a developer of window displays for Macy’s, and his early earthbound parade creations (essentially air-filled rubber bags that were steered down the street). And then comes the light-bulb moment: “With a marionette, the controls are above and the puppet hangs down...” writes Sweet. “But what if the controls were below and the puppet could rise up?” The rush that comes from inspiration, the cliffhanger moments of creation, the sheer joy of building something and watching it delight the multitudes—Sweet captures it all in what is truly a story for all ages. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)"

 

E. Awards

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award for the most distinguished nonfiction book for children from the American Library Association

Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children from the National Council of Teachers of English

F. Connections

Lesson Plan idea:  This book would be fun to incorporate in a lesson about Thanksgiving Day traditions.  It would be fun for students to research the Macy's Day parade as well. 

Author Melissa Sweet's Website:  http://melissasweet.net/

Balloons Over Broadway activity kit:  CLICK HERE 

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Link:   CLICK HERE

G. Other Books by Melissa Sweet

ISBN:  978-0618997176

ISBN:  0618717145

ISBN:  978-0688162511

The Wild Book

A. Bibliography

Engle, Margarita.  The Wild Book.  New York: Harcourt Children's Books. 2012.

ISBN:  0547581319

B. Plot Summary

In this story of a little girl and her struggle with dyslexia, we meet Fefa, a hardworking and determined little girl.  Fefa's mother refuses to believe her child will never read or write.  The doctor diagnoses her with word blindness.  To help Fefa overcome her word blindness, her mother gives her a blank book.  It is intended to be a garden of words where she can place her seeds, words, and watch her them grow as they spring to life.  Using what Fefa learned with her blank book, Fefa is able to help save her family.

C. Critical Analysis

     I decided to try the e-book version of this book.  I downloaded the book through Barnes and Noble's Nook app for iPad.  The book was a quick read, but I was saddened not to have any illustrations with the book.   I think illustrations would have definitely added to the understanding of this free verse novel.   

     The language of this book was well thought out in that the reader understands how Fefa struggles with words when Engle spelled out words.  In the poem "Reading Out Loud", Engle writes out the word "hope-less-ly", "fu-ri-ous-ly" and "wea-ry" to help the reader see words through Fefa's eyes.  As the story continues the reader sees Fefa grow as a reader.  Her brother getting shot brings tragedy to the family, but also brings Fefa a teacher that believes in her and is willing to push her to be successful with reading and writing.

    In the poem "The Poetry Duel", I found myself having very mixed emotions.  I enjoyed reading about Fefa's family and how they sat around and shared poems with each other.  When I read, I find myself trying to relate with the story and this poem left me wondering if families nowadays still do this type of storytelling through poems.  I know that this doesn't happen in my family nor have I ever known of a time that it did.  I have heard stories from older generations that have been passed down over the years, but never have I heard of a "Poetry Duel".  This poem also left me thinking that maybe I have missed out on the experience of family poetry and maybe my family poetry just didn't survive to my generation.

     In conclusion, I think this book is about more than just a little girl suffering from dyslexia that overcomes her affliction of "word blindness".  This book is about a family that pulls together and uses their bond to fight through some tough times and in the end it is their weaker link so to speak that saves them all from the perils of their unstable environment.

D. Review Excerpt

Kirkus Review, issue date: February 1, 2012

A young girl tackles a learning disability and the uncertainty of daily life in early-20th-century Cuba.
Ten years old at the tale’s opening, Josefa “Fefa” de la Caridad Uría Peña lives with her parents and 10 siblings on their farm, Goatzacoalco. Diagnosed with “word blindness” (a misnomer for dyslexia), Fefa struggles at school and in a home rich with words, including the writings of Nicaraguan poet Rubén Darío. Discounting a doctor’s opinion that “Fefa will never be able / to read, or write, / or be happy / in school,” her mother gives her a blank diary: “Let the words sprout / like seedlings, / then relax and watch / as your wild diary / grows.” Basing her tale on the life of her maternal grandmother, Engle captures the frustrations, setbacks and triumphs of Fefa’s language development in this often lyrical free-verse novel. Her reading difficulties are heightened when bandits begin roving the countryside, kidnapping local children for ransom: “All I can think of / is learning how / to read / terrifying / ransom notes.” The author gives readers a portrait of a tumultuous period in Cuban history and skillfully integrates island flora, fauna and mythology into Fefa’s first-person tale. This canvas heightens Fefa’s determination to rise above the expectations of her siblings, peers and society.
A beautiful tale of perseverance. (author’s note) (Historical fiction. 10-14)

School Library Journal, issue date: March 2012
This novel in verse is about a girl growing up with dyslexia in early 20th-century Cuba. Family love and the chaos that comes with large families are mixed with historical tidbits about Cuba after its wars for independence from Spain. Engle uses words sparingly and with grace: “…I love the way poetry/turns ordinary words/into winged things/that rise up/and soar!”

In other poems, the protagonist’s voice (based on Engle’s grandmother) speaks of the struggles of learning to read and write with “word blindness,” a term used to describe learning disabilities a century ago. While Fefa’s great sadness over her inability to read is the primary focus, Engle includes rich cultural details and peeks into a time in which bandits roamed the countryside and children were often captured and held for ransom.

Throughout all the drama, poetry is an integral part of daily life, in the play of children and the entertainment of adults, solace to Fefa in her struggle, and even as a means of expression by a kidnapper-poet. The idea of a wild book on which to let her words sprout is one that should speak to those with reading difficulties and to aspiring poets as well. - Wendy Smith-D’Arezzo, Loyola College, Baltimore, MD

E. Awards

Kirkus Reviews New & Notable Books for Children (March 2012)

F. Connections

Author's Website 

Book Connections and Author Resources from Teachingbooks.net

G. Additional Books by Margarita Engle

ISBN:  0805092404

ISBN: 0805089365

ISBN:  0805090827