Hansel and Gretel

Title: Hansel and Gretel
Genre: Traditional Literature
Author: James Marshall
Awards: N/A
Age Group: 6 to 9-year-olds

Teacher Evaluation: As a teacher, I think Hansel and Gretel could be used in the classroom. Hansel and Gretel is a classic story. The story allows children to be exposed to stories with both ups and downs which can relate to real life situations although it is fiction. I think this book would best fit the first-grade classroom. This book could be used to review comprehension and response skills by asking students about the events of the books.

Summary: This book begins by telling you about Hansel and Gretel's family. Their family consists of their mother and their father who's a woodcutter. Although the family already had very little to live off of, there was now a famine. The mother wanted to get rid of the children, so she convinced the father to lead the children out to the woods the next day and leave them. Hansel and Gretel overheard the mother's plan so Hansel gathered pebbles that night. Hansel used the pebbles the next day to leave a trail back to the house that Gretel and he would use to get back home. The children make it back home only for the mother to come up with the same plan but lock the doors so Hansel cannot collect pebbles. Hansel uses his bread his mother gave him to leave a trail instead but birds eat the crumbs. Hansel and Gretel wander the forest when they stumble upon a house made out of sweets. They eat some of the sweets when the lady that lives in the house comes out and invites them in. The lady turns out to be a witch who wants to fatten them up and eat them. So when she asks Gretel to check on the oven, Gretel says she doesn't know how. When the with is in the oven showing Gretel how to check Gretel shoves her in and the two siblings get away with the witches riches and return home to their father.

Cinder-Elly

Title: Cinder-Elly
Genre: Poetry
Author: Frances Minters
Awards: N/A
Age Group: 5 to 8-year-olds

Teacher Evaluation: As a teacher, I would use this book when transitioning from learning about different genres. This book although it is a traditional literature book, it can also fit under the poetry category because it is written in a poetic style. This book also takes an old fairytale and makes it more modern and entertaining for young children. I would use this book in classrooms for first and second-grade students. An activity after reading this book could be having students write a poem or a poetic version to a story they enjoy.

Summary: This book is a poetic-written story about a young girl named Elly. Elly, in this book, is the more modern Cinderella, hence the title of the book. The book also differs from the original story not only for its more modern take but also for its written style. This book is written in stanzas, around 4 per page. Elly is a young girl with two sisters, her sisters aren't very nice to her. Elly is forced to do all the house chores and isn't allowed to go to the basketball game like her sisters. Elly is forced to stay home when she is told there is not enough money for her to also get something to wear to the basketball game. Elly is home sad until her godmother shows up and gives her a new outfit and way to get to the basketball game but Elly has to be home at a certain time before everything turns back into its normal state. Elly goes to the basketball game and meets Prince Charming. Prince Charming asks Elly to go get Pizza with him, but Elly's time is running out before her clothes change back she runs off. Running off Elly leaves behind a glass shoe, this is the glass shoe Prince Charming uses to find her. Prince Charming uses posters of the shoe to track down its owner, Elly's sisters call Prince Charming although they are not the owner's of the shoe. When Prince Charming is at their house, Elly comes out and shows that the shoe is hers. The two lived happily ever after, following Elly's godmother's lesson to her two mean sisters.

Turkey's Gift to the People

Title: Turkey's Gift to the People
Genre: Traditional Literature
Author: Ani Rucki
Awards: N/A
Age Group: 7 to 9-year-olds

Teacher Evaluation: As a teacher, I would use this book in a 2nd-grade classroom. I think the animal community in the book could help children analyze community relationships. The book is also an adaptation of Navajo folktale which could fit into a unit about analyzing different types of stories. The book also tells about the Navajo culture and how they valued being one with nature and each other. This book could definitely be included in a unit about learning characteristics of traditional literature as well.

Summary: This book is an adaptation of a Navajo folktale. the book tells a story about a group of animals referred to as "people" in the book. The animals all live together in a community. The community is about to experience a flood so the animals gather together to seek shelter. All the animals gather, helping to create a safe shelter for everyone. The turkeys were missing so the eagle flew out to find them. The turkeys are seen running towards the shelter. When the turkeys arrived at the shelter, they show that they saved the seeds that would be used to rebuild the community.

The True Story of The 3 Little Pigs

Title: The True Story of The 3 Little Pigs
Genre: Fantasy
Author: Jon Scieszka
Awards: 1991 Black-Eyed Susan Book Award (Maryland)
              1991 Flicker Tale Children's Book Award (North Dakota)
Age Group: 5-8 years old

Teacher Evaluation: I would use this book in my classroom as a teacher to go over perspectives and different sides of stories. I think this book would benefit students in 1st through 2nd grade. It would help students make connections between stories such as this book and the original tale of the 3 Little Pigs as well as critical think of multiple perspectives with assistance. As a teacher, I would incorporate this into my classroom through a read-aloud and extend on it by relating it to the original story which I would read before this book in class.

Summary: This story is told from the perspective of the "Big Bad Wolf" from the original 3 Little Pigs tale. At the beginning of the book, the reader learns that the wolf, also known as Al, didn't have his story properly told. The book continues on telling the story of the 3 Little Pigs but from the perspective of Al. Al explains that the whole story was a big misunderstanding. Al was baking a cake for his grandma when he ran out of sugar so he went to ask around for sugar. While out on his hunt for sugar Al came across the 3 Little Pigs' homes where he figured he would ask them for some sugar. Al was also suffering from a cold at this time. The first 2 pigs were not very bright in the way that they made their houses so when Al was at their house asking for sugar and sneezed - the houses crumbled down. When the houses fell, the pig in the house was lying there dead. As Al puts it in the book it would be a waste of food to him if he didn't eat them. When the wolf got to the 3rd pig's house, his sneezed didn't knock it down but the pig was very mean to him. The 3rd pig was so mean to Al that he began banging on his door, so when the cops arrived they didn't take Al's side into consideration. The story ends with Al in jail still, claiming he was framed.

Wonder

Title: Wonder

Genre: Bluebonnet

Author: R.J Palacio

Awards: 2012 NAPPA Gold Award -Tweens and Teens

              2014 Beehive Award Fiction

Age Group: 8-13 years old

Teacher Evaluation: As a teacher, I would use this book to go over comprehension and response skills to text. I believe that the story of Wonder could be relatable to certain students in many different ways and it also allows room for the student to think about. This book has various messages throughout the story I believe are important to have students reflect on. I think this book would be best incorporated into a 4^th or 5th-grade classroom although I can see it being used in any grade from 3^rd to 7^th grade. I just think that the book would be best for students within the same age-group/ grade-level as the characters in the story. An activity that could be used in the classroom would be to have students find a connection to the story and write about it. This would help students comprehend and reflect on what they are reading. I also think this book would be great to do class discussions with.  

Summary: Wonder is a book about a boy named August (Auggie) Pullman who was born with a facial deformity and how he has affected the lives of the people around him. Although the book is told from several perspectives of the people in Auggie’s life, the main focus of the book is Auggie’s fifth-grade year. Auggie has always been homeschooled and as it would be for any kid, the transition is hard. However, because of Auggie’s facial deformity, his is met with more challenges than normal. Almost all of the kids at Auggie’s new school are not nice to him and many will not even speak to him. As the book continues Auggie makes genuine friends that see beyond what’s on the outside. Many other students at Auggie’s school who were once very mean to him because of his facial deformity come to Auggie’s defense when older kids from another school pick on Auggie while on a trip. From this point on, Auggie is no longer treated like he was at the beginning of the book. At the end of the book, Auggie attends an award/graduation ceremony for his grade and wins the award for being someone who has lifted others. At the end of the book, the children who once ignored or bullied Auggie have come to realize how brave, kind, and funny he is. 

The Lightning Thief 🗲

Title: Percy Jackson & The Olympians, Book One: The Lightning Thief
Genre: Fantasy
Author: Rick Riordan
Awards: Mark Twain Award (Missouri Association of Librarians) 2008.
Age Group: 9 to 12-year-olds

Teacher Evaluation: As a teacher, I would use this book in my classroom to go over multiple themes, analyzing character relationships, and the plot. The book has many important character types that students will see across various works of literature. The story also would provide students with practice in going over the parts of a plot and understanding themes. I believe this book would best fit in 4th to 6th-grade classrooms.  I think this book would best fit in 4th through 6th-grade classrooms because there are some complex concepts for lower grade levels. In a fifth grade classroom, the students could each be given a sticky note, on the stick notes the students would each be given chapters (there are 22 chapters, adjustments could be made to split longer chapters) to summarize. After the students have summarized their chapter or section of the chapter, they would as a class describe what part of the plot their chapter belongs to.

Summary: The Lightning Thief is the first book in a five-part series. The books follow the life and adventures of a young boy, Percy Jackson. At the beginning of this book, the reader learns alongside the main character Percy Jackson, that he is a half-blood. Percy comes to know this life-changing news as his typically troubled life becomes more troubled during a field trip to a museum. Percy always thought he was just a 12-year-old, dyslexia, below average student with bad luck until his math teacher turned into a hideous creature and attacked him. After this incident at the museum, things continued to get more weird for Percy. His mother, best friend Grover and favorite teacher Mr. Brunner have all been lying to him about who he is. Percy experiences a tragic event with a minotaur taking his mother. Percy is taken to Camp Half-Blood where he is surrounded by other half-bloods and mythical creatures. At this camp, Percy learns that Grover, his best friend is also his satyr protector and Mr. Brunner is not a wheelchaired-bound teacher but a centaur. The book continues as Percy meets more characters such as Annabeth, daughter of Athena and Luke, son of Hermes. Percy undergoes camp traditions of sword fights learning more about the houses at camp home to different children of different Gods. During this time Percy learns that his father whom he never knew before is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Grover and Mr. Brunner, known as Chiron at camp detail Percy in why he was hidden throughout his life and why it has recently gotten more troublesome than usual. Percy is a child of the Big Three (Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades) which means he is already a rule broken, but Zeus and Poseidon have been in a fight over Zeus' stolen lightning bolt. Zeus believes that Poseidon's son Percy has taken his lightning bolt, which is why Percy has been attacked recently. After learning more about his family situation, Percy goes on a quest to find the stolen lightning bolt. Annabeth and Grover accompany Percy on his quest and the team of three overcome many obstacles along the way. The book reaches its climax as the trio enters the Underworld to talk with Hades, who is certain Percy has the lightning bolt. Percy tries to show Hades he does not have the bolt only to realize that he does indeed have it. Hades ends up stealing from Percy and revealing that his mother is still alive. Percy and his friends leave only for Percy to get into a fight with Ares. Percy, Annabeth, and Grover are able to return Zeus' lightning bolt completing their quest. Poseidon discusses with Percy that when he returns home he will find his mother safe and sound as well as a decision for him to make. When Percy returns home he has to make the decision to stay at camp forever or stay home. Percy returns to camp to finish the summer only to realize it has been Luke the whole time. Luke stole the lightning bolt and framed Percy. Luke tries to kill Percy before leaving camp to serve Kronos who wants to destroy the Gods. Percy gets bitten by a scorpion and Chiron makes medicine to bring him back to life. The book ends with Percy following his friend Annabeth's decisions to return home, but promising to return back to camp. Percy still feels he has unfinished business with Luke, who Chiron went to tell the Gods of his actions against them before Percy leaves camp.

Introduction

Hello, my name is Victoria. I am a junior at Houston Baptist University. My major is Elementary Education (EC-6 with ESL). This blog will be used for a Children’s Literature course I am taking. I will be posting several reviews on different children’s books. I hope you enjoy this reading journey!