Module 4
Nonfiction and Biography
Additional Book
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Greenberg, Jan and Jordan, Sandra. 2010. BALLET FOR MARTHA MAKING APPALACHIAN SPRING. Ill. By: Brian Floca. New York, NY: Roaring Brook Press. ISBN 9781596433380
2. PLOT SUMMARY
Some of us might wonder what takes place behind the scenes to create an unforgettable work or art. In this American masterpiece, Appalachian Spring the authors bring to life the working collaboration of three people in detail with the story and pictures. This is the story of Martha Graham who’s feel for movement and imagination as a dancer and choreographer, along with Aaron Copland the composer, and Isamu Noguchithe an artist worked as one to create a ballet unlike any other. There were no toe shoes, tutus, or pirouettes. Martha wanted a dance filled with truth and emotion. The dance takes place in the springtime in the hills of Western Pennsylvania where a young farmer and his bride celebrated their wedding day. In the beginning, the audience booed Martha’s performance, but that didn’t stop her. Through trial and error the three collaborated and created a masterpiece through dance. It showed a bride and groom marry as other dancers celebrated the union of the pioneer woman and her bridegroom. The ballet continues to show their hope for the future as they enter their home wondering what tomorrow will bring.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This book shows soft shades of watercolor pictures of the three collaborators as each strives to perfect their individual talents into one masterpiece. There are a few double page spreads to complete some of the scenes, but most pages are top to bottom full pictures. I also like how some of the pictures are so big, bold, and telling. I also like the way they included handwriting in the book. I haven’t seen that in books before and it does catch your eye and helps you focus on the picture a little while longer and really think about what is going on. When reading the text is very simple and east to read, bust still so telling. The actions are very loud in this book. Some of the pages consist of two or three smaller pictures of dancers in motion. There is also actual photographs and information about the three at the end of the story. I think this is really good because students can make a connection to history and really see what it was like and how it was different. I think this adds so much more to the story because they see that they were actual people with stories and dreams.
4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Booklist Review: “this inspirational survey, with lots of color photographs of children with books in their hands, adds a worldwide perspective”
Publishers Weekly Review: “Greenberg and Jordan (Action Jackson; Christo and Jeanne-Claude) continue to carve out their art-focused niche with this inspired book about collaboration.”
5. CONNECTIONS
* This would be a great book to share if you had students trying to work together for a play or something along those lines.
* If you needed to expose a student to nonfiction, but they didn’t really care for it this book or other historical fiction would be a good start.
*A great book to show that collaboration is key.
Thursday, March 30, 2017
Module 4
Nonfiction and Biography
Biography
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Kerley, Barbara. 2008. WHAT TO DO ABOUT ALICE?. Ill. By: Edwin Fotheringham New York, NY. Scholastic. ISBN 9780439922319
2. PLOT SUMMARY
This delightful and humorous story centers on Alice Lee Roosevelt’s adventurous life as the daughter of Theodore Roosevelt. A daughter that he had no control of because Alice danced to the beat of her own tune and didn’t always follow the rules. She lives each day as an adventure with a delightful curiosity. She always wanted to know more and learn new things. Some called it “eating up the world.” Alice’s mother died two days after she was home. She traveled a lot with her father between New York and Washington D.C. Alice was homeschooled, so she had a lot of time to roam the streets of Washington D.C. She read the books in her father’s library and became involved in her father’s political career. Eventually, she became a goodwill ambassador. Alice was loved by everyone even though her behavior was sometimes not acceptable. Even as an adult Alice never stopped seeking adventure, traveling, and eating up the world living her life to the fullest.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This book is made up of full-page watercolor pictures describing the antics of Alice. It also features double page spreads to complete some of the pictures. The colors are vibrant as well as soft. It is a very easy read and creates a humorous story to teach children history. These are fun filled pages of the adventurous of Alice. I think it is amazing how the illustrator does such a good job at showing Alice’s attitude, sass, and most of all her determination to “eat up the world” in her face throughout the book. I like how the author would bold some word to make a point. I noticed the words that he would bold would be describing Alice or something she did. I like that it would be a good opportunity to expose your students to words that they might not hear on a regular basis. I like that in the back of the book the author adds a section called “Author’s Note.” It gives a little more insight about history not in a story form.
4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
The New York Times: “In her award-winning picture book biographies of Walt Whitman and Waterhouse Hawkins, Barbara Kerley has shown an affinity for iconoclasts, as she does once again in “What to Do About Alice?” Kerley reveals the essence of Alice in an upbeat account of her life, dramatizing Alice’s love of “eating up the world,” as she put it.”
Good Reads: “This is one of the shorter Sibert honor books, but still manages to pack a lot of information in about Alice, daughter of Teddy Roosevelt. The author's note at the end adds a LOT to the information presented in the book.”
5. CONNECTIONS
*This would be a good book to share when you are talking about the presidents. Children would like to hear about their kids and what they were like.
*They could even right their own little stories about what they are like and how they treat their parents.
Nonfiction and Biography
Biography
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Kerley, Barbara. 2008. WHAT TO DO ABOUT ALICE?. Ill. By: Edwin Fotheringham New York, NY. Scholastic. ISBN 9780439922319
2. PLOT SUMMARY
This delightful and humorous story centers on Alice Lee Roosevelt’s adventurous life as the daughter of Theodore Roosevelt. A daughter that he had no control of because Alice danced to the beat of her own tune and didn’t always follow the rules. She lives each day as an adventure with a delightful curiosity. She always wanted to know more and learn new things. Some called it “eating up the world.” Alice’s mother died two days after she was home. She traveled a lot with her father between New York and Washington D.C. Alice was homeschooled, so she had a lot of time to roam the streets of Washington D.C. She read the books in her father’s library and became involved in her father’s political career. Eventually, she became a goodwill ambassador. Alice was loved by everyone even though her behavior was sometimes not acceptable. Even as an adult Alice never stopped seeking adventure, traveling, and eating up the world living her life to the fullest.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This book is made up of full-page watercolor pictures describing the antics of Alice. It also features double page spreads to complete some of the pictures. The colors are vibrant as well as soft. It is a very easy read and creates a humorous story to teach children history. These are fun filled pages of the adventurous of Alice. I think it is amazing how the illustrator does such a good job at showing Alice’s attitude, sass, and most of all her determination to “eat up the world” in her face throughout the book. I like how the author would bold some word to make a point. I noticed the words that he would bold would be describing Alice or something she did. I like that it would be a good opportunity to expose your students to words that they might not hear on a regular basis. I like that in the back of the book the author adds a section called “Author’s Note.” It gives a little more insight about history not in a story form.
4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
The New York Times: “In her award-winning picture book biographies of Walt Whitman and Waterhouse Hawkins, Barbara Kerley has shown an affinity for iconoclasts, as she does once again in “What to Do About Alice?” Kerley reveals the essence of Alice in an upbeat account of her life, dramatizing Alice’s love of “eating up the world,” as she put it.”
Good Reads: “This is one of the shorter Sibert honor books, but still manages to pack a lot of information in about Alice, daughter of Teddy Roosevelt. The author's note at the end adds a LOT to the information presented in the book.”
5. CONNECTIONS
*This would be a good book to share when you are talking about the presidents. Children would like to hear about their kids and what they were like.
*They could even right their own little stories about what they are like and how they treat their parents.
Module 4
Nonfiction and Biography
Nonfiction Book by Steve Jenkins
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Jenkins, Steve and Page, Robin 2003. WHAT DO YOU DO WITH A TAIL LIKE THIS?. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Books. ISBN 0618256288
2. PLOT SUMMARY
In this nonfiction book it teaches you facts about different parts of animals in a very kid friendly way. In the beginning it explains how animals use their noses, ears, tails, eyes, mouths, and feet in different ways. The first body part the book teaches you about is the nose. It shows you each animal’s nose to see if you can guess what animal it belongs to. When you turn the page it shows you each animal and tells you how each animal uses his or her nose. The book continues to tell you about the ears, tails, eyes, feet, and mouth in the same way.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
In this book the illustrator uses cut-paper art. I had to do a little research on this because I had never heard of such a thing. He uses a double page spread to show each part of the animal. For example, “What do you do with a mouth like this?” It has cut paper art of different animal mouths. Some it would be obvious to a child what mouth it is, but others keep your mind guessing and wondering what it is and what it does. When you turn the page there is a picture of the whole animal explaining how the animal uses its mouth.
The way the author explains what each animal does is also very kid friendly. It tells you exactly what you need to know. It doesn’t go into too much detail throughout the story. For example, when it teaches you about different animal eyes it tells you “If you are a chameleon, you look two ways at once.” This is very simple yet still teaches the reader something. In the back of the book it goes over every animal that he featured in his book in more detail. I really like this part because the reader could choose to read more about different animals they were very intrigued by. The author and illustrator do a great job at really appealing to the reader. This book is great for younger children, but could also be used with older kids.
4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Good Reads: “Very informative, engaging and contains some of the best cut-paper collage I've ever seen!”
Publisher’s Weekly: “Steve Jenkins contributes another artistically wrought, imaginatively conceived look at the natural world.”
5. CONNECTIONS
*This would be a good book to start exploring different animals with young kids. Also, exploring what the different parts do and what they do different things.
*You could also read this book and then have the student write about their nose, ears, eyes, and mouth. It would be a good writing activity. You could talk about how they use their 5 sences to add detail to their writing.
Nonfiction and Biography
Nonfiction Book by Steve Jenkins
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Jenkins, Steve and Page, Robin 2003. WHAT DO YOU DO WITH A TAIL LIKE THIS?. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Books. ISBN 0618256288
2. PLOT SUMMARY
In this nonfiction book it teaches you facts about different parts of animals in a very kid friendly way. In the beginning it explains how animals use their noses, ears, tails, eyes, mouths, and feet in different ways. The first body part the book teaches you about is the nose. It shows you each animal’s nose to see if you can guess what animal it belongs to. When you turn the page it shows you each animal and tells you how each animal uses his or her nose. The book continues to tell you about the ears, tails, eyes, feet, and mouth in the same way.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
In this book the illustrator uses cut-paper art. I had to do a little research on this because I had never heard of such a thing. He uses a double page spread to show each part of the animal. For example, “What do you do with a mouth like this?” It has cut paper art of different animal mouths. Some it would be obvious to a child what mouth it is, but others keep your mind guessing and wondering what it is and what it does. When you turn the page there is a picture of the whole animal explaining how the animal uses its mouth.
The way the author explains what each animal does is also very kid friendly. It tells you exactly what you need to know. It doesn’t go into too much detail throughout the story. For example, when it teaches you about different animal eyes it tells you “If you are a chameleon, you look two ways at once.” This is very simple yet still teaches the reader something. In the back of the book it goes over every animal that he featured in his book in more detail. I really like this part because the reader could choose to read more about different animals they were very intrigued by. The author and illustrator do a great job at really appealing to the reader. This book is great for younger children, but could also be used with older kids.
4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Good Reads: “Very informative, engaging and contains some of the best cut-paper collage I've ever seen!”
Publisher’s Weekly: “Steve Jenkins contributes another artistically wrought, imaginatively conceived look at the natural world.”
5. CONNECTIONS
*This would be a good book to start exploring different animals with young kids. Also, exploring what the different parts do and what they do different things.
*You could also read this book and then have the student write about their nose, ears, eyes, and mouth. It would be a good writing activity. You could talk about how they use their 5 sences to add detail to their writing.
Module 4
Nonfiction and Biography
Award Winning Book
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Montgomery, Sy. 2004. THE TARANTULA SCIENTIST. Ill. by Nic Bishop New York, NY. Houghton Mifflin Books. ISBN 0618147993
2. PLOT SUMMARY
Tarantula Scientist tells you everything and anything you would need or want to know about tarantulas. It is a diary of Sam Marshall and his experiences with different species of tarantulas. It tells you stories about him being in the rainforest researching them and about his being in his lab researching them. In the book it discuss how tarantulas live, where they live, how they respond to humans and prey, and much more. It also tells you the history of the tarantula, like where it got its name. Sam gets very close and personal with these marvelous creatures. He describes every detail about the spiders and what he is doing to get his information. Sam also teaches us about the different types of tarantulas and where they live. We see or can see tarantulas in different parts of the world, but they are different species. He is very gentle when he is trying to see one or get any type of information from it. He tells you how they don’t like to be handled by humans, but also don’t attack. They only attack when they are hunting for prey. It also discusses how some are killed for food or even killed to make souvenirs out of. He could tell you many reasons why this isn’t okay and why we shouldn’t but for Sam is boils down to this “It’s really just apart of something awesome.”
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
WOW! The photographs in this book will blow your mind alone. Also, the way he describes every little detail of what he is doing. He uses similes and metaphors so you can really grasp what he is seeing and feeling. When describing the size of the Goliath birdeater tarantula, which is the largest species of spider on the planet. “How big might that be? Big enough that with outstretched legs, this spider could cover your whole face. A large one could weigh as much as five mice.”(p.8) He describes in ways that children can connect to and understand. As he is describing this spider he is trying to lure it out of a hole. He has such patience and is so calm when he does this. The author does a good job at showing that he is not scared and loves what he does. He speaks like this throughout the whole book. It is as if he is telling a story the whole time, but really this is what he is actually doing when he is researching and exploring all these different types of tarantulas.
The photographs in this book are so real and telling. It shows you all the parts of a tarantula and you can see all the tiny hairs as well. The way it photographs the tarantulas and Sam are very real. Nic does an amazing job at really showing you what Sam does when he is in the rainforest. For example it shows a picture of Sam sleeping in his hammock. (p.37) I like this because it is not just teaching you about tarantulas it is showing you how it’s done. In a lot of these pictures Sam is not posing for the photo he is actually working dirty and sweaty. Overall, this book does a phenomenal job at showing you the life of Sam Marshall and tarantulas.
4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Good Reads: “It is a perfect example of how someone followed their passion and made it into a career.”
Kirkus Review: “Sam Marshall loved animals, but disliked school—until a college research project on tarantulas made him realize that science is a process, not a set of answers. Montgomery and Bishop team up for another stellar excursion into the world of working scientists.”
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books: “…This would liven up a science curriculum no end, and it might also convince young readers to go beyond the elemental pleasures of ‘Ew, gross’ to the more sophisticated appreciation of ‘Wow, cool.”
5. CONNECTIONS
* This would be a good book for researching. It would be best in grads 4 and up.
* I read somewhere how Sam turned to this because he didn’t love school, so it would also be neat to share with a kid who didn’t love school. He might find this just as interesting as Sam did.
* Other books like this are THE SNAKE SCIENTIST or THE QUEST FOR THE TREE KANGAROO. He also has a book called FROGS and this is for the younger grades.
Nonfiction and Biography
Award Winning Book
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Montgomery, Sy. 2004. THE TARANTULA SCIENTIST. Ill. by Nic Bishop New York, NY. Houghton Mifflin Books. ISBN 0618147993
2. PLOT SUMMARY
Tarantula Scientist tells you everything and anything you would need or want to know about tarantulas. It is a diary of Sam Marshall and his experiences with different species of tarantulas. It tells you stories about him being in the rainforest researching them and about his being in his lab researching them. In the book it discuss how tarantulas live, where they live, how they respond to humans and prey, and much more. It also tells you the history of the tarantula, like where it got its name. Sam gets very close and personal with these marvelous creatures. He describes every detail about the spiders and what he is doing to get his information. Sam also teaches us about the different types of tarantulas and where they live. We see or can see tarantulas in different parts of the world, but they are different species. He is very gentle when he is trying to see one or get any type of information from it. He tells you how they don’t like to be handled by humans, but also don’t attack. They only attack when they are hunting for prey. It also discusses how some are killed for food or even killed to make souvenirs out of. He could tell you many reasons why this isn’t okay and why we shouldn’t but for Sam is boils down to this “It’s really just apart of something awesome.”
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
WOW! The photographs in this book will blow your mind alone. Also, the way he describes every little detail of what he is doing. He uses similes and metaphors so you can really grasp what he is seeing and feeling. When describing the size of the Goliath birdeater tarantula, which is the largest species of spider on the planet. “How big might that be? Big enough that with outstretched legs, this spider could cover your whole face. A large one could weigh as much as five mice.”(p.8) He describes in ways that children can connect to and understand. As he is describing this spider he is trying to lure it out of a hole. He has such patience and is so calm when he does this. The author does a good job at showing that he is not scared and loves what he does. He speaks like this throughout the whole book. It is as if he is telling a story the whole time, but really this is what he is actually doing when he is researching and exploring all these different types of tarantulas.
The photographs in this book are so real and telling. It shows you all the parts of a tarantula and you can see all the tiny hairs as well. The way it photographs the tarantulas and Sam are very real. Nic does an amazing job at really showing you what Sam does when he is in the rainforest. For example it shows a picture of Sam sleeping in his hammock. (p.37) I like this because it is not just teaching you about tarantulas it is showing you how it’s done. In a lot of these pictures Sam is not posing for the photo he is actually working dirty and sweaty. Overall, this book does a phenomenal job at showing you the life of Sam Marshall and tarantulas.
4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Good Reads: “It is a perfect example of how someone followed their passion and made it into a career.”
Kirkus Review: “Sam Marshall loved animals, but disliked school—until a college research project on tarantulas made him realize that science is a process, not a set of answers. Montgomery and Bishop team up for another stellar excursion into the world of working scientists.”
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books: “…This would liven up a science curriculum no end, and it might also convince young readers to go beyond the elemental pleasures of ‘Ew, gross’ to the more sophisticated appreciation of ‘Wow, cool.”
5. CONNECTIONS
* This would be a good book for researching. It would be best in grads 4 and up.
* I read somewhere how Sam turned to this because he didn’t love school, so it would also be neat to share with a kid who didn’t love school. He might find this just as interesting as Sam did.
* Other books like this are THE SNAKE SCIENTIST or THE QUEST FOR THE TREE KANGAROO. He also has a book called FROGS and this is for the younger grades.
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