Week 14: Online Books

Rationale:
I chose this category because I use these sites frequently in my classroom at a listening center. I have found that due to the limited communication and lower cognitive abilities of my students, they are better able to comprehend and follow the stories in this format. I felt it would be good to use this in the end also, because it would allow me to tidy any loose ends for the entire project while still completing reading.

I looked at Tumblebooks, Bookflix, and Storyline. All have different strengths. Tumblebooks is great because it gives you a great deal of information up front about the book when you are searching for books such at the length of the reading, the grade, lexile, and accelerated reader numbers, and a short description. Tumblebooks also has a short quiz, book report forms, games and puzzles for the students and lesson plan ideas for the teacher.

Bookflix is great because it pairs a fiction and nonfiction book at the same level together by using a common topic. It also has activities afterward that can be done online. There is a section for each that is called meet the author, which gives a basic overview of the author, then links to more information on an outside web page. An explore the web section also allows for more research outside the scholastic site.

Storyline Online is presented by the Actor's Guild and the stories are read by famous actors. They are well read hold the interest in the reader with the the highly entertaining renditions.

The Magic Orange Tree and other Haitian Folktales

The Magic Orange Tree and other Haitian Folktales

This book is exactly as its title suggests, a book of Haitian Folk Tales. I thought it would be an interesting read with the Haitian Earthquake in the near past. We have a family at our school, who is from Port au Prince and lost family members during the tragedy. This book gave some interesting and very quirky stories. It did seem to be a bit dry though and did not hold my interest. I do not think I would advise buying this for a library, but may look into the multiple volumes for an audio version which may add more pizazz to the stories.

Breath

Reviewed of Breath by Donna Jo Napoli From School Library Journal

Legend has it that in 1284 the city of Hameln (or Hamelin) suffered a plague of rats of which they tried to rid themselves by hiring a piper to lead the vermin away. When the residents reneged on their payment to him, he led their children away, as well. This tale has proved fertile ground for a lot of literature, from the 19th-century poem by Robert Browning to a 20th-century novel by Gloria Skurzynski. Now Napoli adds Breath-and breadth-to the canon. She includes the potent elements of ergot poisoning and suspected witchcraft in her plot, which is narrated by 12-year-old Salz-a boy whose frequent, serious illnesses render him almost useless on his family's farm. (An afterword explains that he has cystic fibrosis.) The author vividly describes the frightening conditions facing the townspeople and their increasingly desperate attempts to understand and overcome the torrential rains; the rat infestation; the diseases afflicting their livestock; and the physical, mental, and sexual maladies that beset them. Salz is an intelligent observer who is tried for witchcraft when he doesn't succumb to the same illnesses as the rest of the population. (He doesn't drink the beer made from the infected grain.) Readers unfamiliar with the psychotropic effects of ergot poisoning may be as mystified as these medieval citizens by the events presented here. Salz's illness is likely to be equally puzzling until it is explained in the postscript. The confusion and speculation this ignorance might produce are realistically portrayed, but it's possible that foreknowledge would provide a richer reading experience for teens.
Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Public Library, NY Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

I had a very difficult time getting into this book. First, I didn't connect to the characters. I also knew what cystic fibrosis was and knew it made people taste salty, eliminating the mystery of Salz. Then I figured out what was making the people sick very early in the book adding little suspense or surprise. I just didn't connect with the story as a whole. I did like the end of the book where they described the real history and diseases that were presented in the book. I would probably not add this to a library.

The Steel Pan Man of Harlem

Review of The Steel Pan Man of Harlem by Colin Bootman by Publishers Weekly

Bootman (Fish for the Grand Lady) triumphs with this gorgeously moody, thoroughly cinematic retelling of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, ingeniously set during the Harlem Renaissance and starring a mysterious musician from the Caribbean (who, it should be noted, has more than a passing resemblance to Laurence Fishburne). The oil paintings conjure up a gritty, workaday world where magic has taken hold: the vermin do cannonballs into bathtubs, and straphangers at the 125½ Street subway platform are suddenly transformed into feverish Lindy Hoppers when the stranger begins to play his steel pan (“He held the sticks in the air, closed his eyes, and began playing the sweetest melody anyone had ever heard”). With text that beautifully embellishes the pictures, and a far happier and more politically relevant ending than the original (after Harlem’s white mayor reneges on his promise to pay the musician for driving out the rats, he’s seen fox-trotting out of town, never to be seen again), this book has all the makings of a spellbinder. Ages 5–9. (Nov.)

I really enjoyed this book with the story and humor added. When the mayor can't stop dancing, you just have to laugh! The paintings were deep and give you the feeling of the music you would have heard in the Harlem Renaissance. Another well written and beautifully illustrated book.

Mama Miti

Review of Mama Miti by Donna Jo Napoli, Kadir Nelson From Booklist

Luminous illustrations are the highlight of this third recent picture-book biography of Wangari Maathai, the Kenyan environmental activist who received the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize. In brief, poetic lines that have a folktale tone, Napoli describes how “wise Wangari” helped Kenyan village women solve problems from hunger to dirty water with the same solution: “Plant a tree.” Eventually, Maathai’s Green Belt movement became a worldwide mission. Jeanette Winter’s Wangari’s Trees of Peace: A True Story from Africa and Claire A. Nivola’s Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai (both 2008) integrate more background context, and readers encountering Maathai’s story for the first time here will need to start with the appended short biography in order to understand the story’s generalized references. Most noteworthy is Nelson’s vibrant collage artwork, which features soaring portraits and lush landscapes in oil paint and printed fabrics. An author’s note about sources and a glossary of Kikuyu and Swahili words used throughout the text close this moving tribute, which will partner well with Winter’s and Nivola’s titles. --Gillian Engberg

Fabulous true story, simply written, and amazing illustrations all make this book a must have for the library. I loved every last page cover to cover!

Firebird

Review of Firebird by Jane Yolen From School Library Journal

A well-known character in Russian folklore, the fierce and beautiful Firebird, is also featured in the ballet, set to the music of Igor Stravinsky. It is the ballet version of the story that Yolen and Vagin present in this richly hued picture book. Young Prince Ivan is hunting near the castle of the terrible demon Kostchei when he captures Firebird. In exchange for its freedom, the bird gives Ivan one of its feathers, which eventually helps him to defeat the demon and marry the beautiful princess imprisoned in the castle. The text makes the story clear and exciting, faltering slightly at the rhymed incantations: "Wave the feather in the air- Firebird will be right there." Yolen has based her telling on George Balanchine's choreography, which varies slightly from other versions. The Fokine version, found in Louis Untermeyer's Tales from the Ballet (Golden Press, 1968; o.p.), adds a magical egg holding the powers of Kostchei. The illustrations are especially useful in explicating the ballet. In the large painting at the top of each spread, the action is played out in the forest by the hero, villain, and bird. In the long, narrow artwork below the text, the scene on stage is shown, with costumed dancers portraying the Firebird and demons. Even the pit orchestra is given a scene in the beginning. Not to be confused with two stunningly illustrated titles of different folktales, Demi's The Firebird (Holt, 1994; o.p.) and Ruth Sanderson's The Golden Mare, the Firebird, and the Magic Ring (Little, Brown, 2001), Yolen's Firebird will be most appreciated as an introduction to the ballet.
Ellen Heath, Orchard School, Ridgewood, NJ Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

I remember growing up listening to Russian folklore and playing with my aunt's nesting dolls. My family has a lot of Russian heritage. This book reminded me of growing up. I loved the visuals you get when you have a book though, versus storytelling. The illustration of this book were fantastic. I loved how the illustrator matched the colors of the story in the top pane with the colors of the costumes and set of the ballet in the bottom pane. The story held interest of even my younger kiddos. I would definitely include this book in an elementary and middle school library.

Week 13: Fairy Tales and Folk Tales

Week 13: April 20-26

Fairy Tales and Folk Tales

http://bookwink.com

www.childrenslit.com

1. Firebird by Jane Yolen
2. Mama Miti by Donna Jo Napoli, Kadir Nelson
3. The Steel Pan Man of Harlem by Colin Bootman
4. The Magic Orange Tree and other Hatian Folktales, Vol. 1
5. Breath by Donna Jo Napoli

Rationale:
Folktales and Fairy Tales always seem to appeal to children. There are always many twists of the traditional fairytales and folktales. I wanted to explore some I hadn’t seen. I must admit this also coincides with a unit on folk tales and fairy tales I am doing in April in my classroom ☺!