This Big Sky (Module 2- Multicultural Award)

Mora, Pat. This Big Sky. Ill. by Steve Jenkins. New York: Scholastic Inc., 1998. ISBN 0590371207

This Big Sky is crammed with succinct, image evoking language in its 14 poems featuring the magical southwest region of the United States. Poems range in topic from proud grandmother to horned lizard and yet all manage to convey a sense of sacred awe. Crisp, simple illustrations of cut paper evoke Mora’s emotional intent in each poem. The lyrical and rhythmic nature of the poems are best enjoyed out loud. Listening, however, may not be enough as certain phrases and words, such as “cinnamon hills” and “thorny silence” beg to be tested oneself.

This Big Sky

This sky is big enough
for all my dreams.

Two ravens burst black
from a piñon tree
into the blare
of blazing sun.

I follow their wide ebony flight
over copper hills,
down canyons shimmering gold
autumn leaves.

Two ravens spread their wings, rise
into whispers
of giant pines, over mountains blue
with memories.

This sky is big enough
for all my dreams.

Presentation of Poem: Read this poem aloud to the class slowly. After allowing students to absorb the oral reading, post a copy of the poem so that students can silently read along as it is read a second time. Allow students to share thoughts and opinions on the poem.

Activity: Have students come up and underline color words in the poem. If necessary, show examples of ebony and gold. Read the poem again, this time having students chime in to read the different colors. Ask students why the poet might have used so many color words. You may hear students say that the poet likes colors or that the colors make a picture in your head. Ask students if the colors show feelings. You will get a variety of answers. Next, ask students what blue memories might be. How might these be different than red memories? Yellow memories?

Extension Project: Students will all choose a color to work with. Then they will brainstorm what emotions they attach to their color. Give students the choice of two products that demonstrate understanding. Students may create a detailed picture or piece of art in different shades of a color that express their take on the color’s emotion. The second choice would allow students to create a poem that demonstrates the color’s emotion.

What a Day it was at School! (Module 1- School Poetry)

Prelutsky, J. What a day it was at school!. Ill. by Doug Cushman. New York, NY: Greenwillow, 2008. ISBN 978-0-06-082335-1

Jack Prelutsky has done it again! What a Day it was at School! is a collection of humorous poems that will have elementary students, and some adults, giggling uncontrollably. Jack Prelutsky uses upbeat rhymes and rhythm to explore relatable scenes with unpredictable twists. Students will groan with understanding when they hear, “My backpack weighs a thousand pounds, It’s fatter than a cow!” and laugh out loud when one poem suddenly takes an unusual turn and the homework eats the dog. Like a good joke, these poems are best read aloud and shared with a friend. Children are sure to appreciate the vivid and expressive illustrations which feature a wide array of small creatures including both a rat and a cat.

“Teacher’s Pet” perfectly represents the use of rhyme and wit used throughout the collection. This poem could be used to teach many things, including point of view, rhyme, cause and effect, and character education. To utilize this poem in a point of view lesson, one should first discuss point of view and introduce 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person. Students would then split in pairs to practice making up sentences in 1st person, 2nd person, and 3rd person. After coming together again, the teacher could practice reading short paragraphs from various view points and have students explain the style in which each paragraph was written. As a concluding activity, the teacher would read the first stanza of “Teacher’s Pet” and ask students the point of view. After recording the responses, the teacher would conclude by reading the second stanza. If, after some time, no students express surprise at the change in point of view, the teacher should take time to explain the unexpected twist.

Teacher’s Pet
No one cares for teacher’s pet.
It’s really sort of sad.
He’s always first to raise his hand,
Which makes some people mad.
They often call him awful names,
Like Weasel, Rat, and Skunk,
And moan when he gets answers right-
They’d love to see him flunk.

But teacher’s pet is pretty smart,
So he is seldom wrong,
He also does his very best
To try and get along.
Everyone pokes fun at him,
And that’s why I regret
That I am so unfortunate,
For I am teacher’s pet.

Days to Celebrate, A Full Year of Poetry, People, Holidays, History, Fascinating Facts, and More (Module 1- Hopkins)

Hopkins, Lee Bennett, ed. and comp. Days to Celebrate, A Full Year of Poetry, People, Holidays, History, Fascinating Facts, and More. Ill. by Stephen Alcorn. 1st ed. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books, 2005. ISBN 0-06-000766-4

Poetry is not a week long study, it is for every day of the year. As its name implies, Days to Celebrate, A Full Year of Poetry, People, Holidays, History, Fascinating Facts, and More  is a compilation of interesting events, quotes, facts, holidays, and poems put together to captivate the reader throughout the year. The collection is organized by month so that one would find a poem appropriate to father’s day under June and a poem about Thanksgiving under November. Each month also highlights a calendar, displaying important historical events and interesting facts, such as flower birthstone. A useful contents page allows readers to easily browse the organization of the compilation, while the multiple indexes allows readers to browse by titles, first line, or author.

Days to Celebrate will find an audience with with teachers and students alike. Teachers will appreciate the ease with which the book allows them to incorporate quality poetry into the everyday routines and lessons of the classroom and students will love investigating the countless facts and details hidden among the pages. Key poets such as Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow are featured beside Mother Goose and various anonymous poems. The poems vary in mood, from the serious tone set by “Memorial Day” to the quizzical and upbeat tone posed by “Arithmetic.” Colorful, bold, and nostalgic illustrations add a touch of whimsy to each page and beg the reader to take time with each poem.

 “Introduction to Poetry” is an ideal poem to open up student minds to poetry. Middle school and high school students may especially benefit from its wisdom. An ideal lesson would begin with students discussing in pairs and then in groups their feelings about poetry. Then students could reconvene to brainstorm what poetry is and why it exists. After this introduction, the poem would be read aloud. Individual copies could be passed out as a beginning to an ongoing individual project- poetry journals. Students would begin to collect favorite poems that they enjoy reading to add to their journals. This particular project would never involve analyzing the poems, but enjoying them. As an end of the year project students could organize the poems into a collection with a forward, table of contents, and section introductions.

Introduction to Poetry
by Billy Collins

I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide

or press an ear against its hive.

I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out,

or walk inside the poem’s room
and feel the walls for a light switch.

I want them to waterski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author’s name on the shore.

But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.

they begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.

The Way A Door Closes (Hope Anita Smith)

Smith, Hope Anita. The Way A Door Closes. Ill. by Shane W. Evans. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, 2003.ISBN 0-8050-6477-X

The Way A Door Closes is book of poems revealing the story of one family’s journey through separation and loss, as seen through the eyes of a teenage boy. Smith uses C.J.’s voice to convey the emotional essence of one African-American family through a set of poems describing the family structure and routines. The family’s story progresses as C.J.’s father leaves the family.  A strong, wise grandmother figure holds that family together as they struggle to put back the pieces of their lives after the abandonment. A surprisingly pleasant ending leaves readers with hope for today’s modern family.

The story told through C.J. will be all too familiar to many young adults. The emotionally  wrought subject matter and truthful voice will capture the attention of readers of all ages. Some poems have rhyming patterns, such as “When a Daddy Goes,” but most of Smith’s poems rely instead on a rhythmic persistence to support the vivid imagery of a teenager’s understanding of his situation.

The poem entitled “Family Fire” demonstrates the cadence, imagery, and emotional tone of the verse novel, The Way A Door Closes. This poem could easily be used to discuss the importance of adding imagery to one’s writing. Students should first be introduced to the definitions of imagery, symbolism, and metaphor. Then after reading the poem aloud several times, encourage students to discuss how imagery was used in the poem, how it emphasized the character’s emotions, and why the author might have chosen fire as a metaphor. Finally, ask students to brainstorm other metaphors that might have been a good basis for the situation described in the poem.

Family Fire
The secret of my father’s
leaving
spreads like wildfire
burning out of control before I can
escape.
My friends are keeping their distance.
They can’t help me.
They can only hope
the fire is self-contained.
They can only pray
I’m not too badly burned.
I try not to add fuel to the fire,
keep all flammable words and feelings
to myself.
Everyone’s eyes are one me.
There’s something about watching a fire.
Now I am the poster child
for families with problems.
Fathers, everywhere, will see my face
plastered onto signs,
and my slogan is
“Family fires,
only you can prevent them.”

When You Reach Me (Rebecca Stead)

Stead, Rebecca. When you reach me. New York: Yearling, 2010. ISBN 0375850864

Summary
Miranda is confused when she gets the first note. Her confusion only grows as increasingly mysterious events begin to unfold in her life. As a latchkey middle schooler in 1979 New York City, Miranda has the street smarts. It will take more than street smarts, however, for Miranda to unfurl the mysterious events involving herself, her friends, and the man who lives on her street corner.

Critical Analysis
This books is a well-written combination of mystery, history, science fiction, and drama. Miranda must find out who is sending the notes while navigating the loss of a best friend, learning the scientific concept of time travel, and helping her mother study for the popular game show The 20,000 Pyramid.

Stead tells a complex story with a relaxed ease that demonstrates a real understanding for the preteen mind. After Miranda receives a second note and begins to become fearful, she shares with the reader that the hardest part: “I was alone” (136). Each character in the novel has been carefully crafted and given human flaws and graces. Beyond Miranda herself, readers will discover students at their own schools in the spoiled, but ultimately lonely Julia  and the intelligent but socially awkward Marcus. Less abstract readers may struggle to pull the many threads of this novel together, but quick minds will delight in guessing the ending to this exciting, fast paced novel, When You Reach Me.

Awards and Excerpts
Newbery Medal Book
ALA Notable Books
Booklist Editors Choice 2009
Horn Book Magazine Starred Review
BookList- “the mental gymnastics required of readers are invigorating; and the characters, children and adults, are honest bits of humanity”
School Library Journal- “unusual, thought-provoking mystery”
Kirkus Reviews- “mind-blowing revelations and cunning details”

Connections
Suggest students enjoy Miranda’s favorite book, A Wrinkle in Time.
    Engle, Madeleine. A wrinkle in time. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2012. ISBN 0374386161

Suggest these books.
    Konigsburg, E. From the mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. New York:Aladdin
         Paperbacks, 2007. ISBN 1416949755
    Paterson, Katherine. Bridge to Terabithia. New York, N.Y: Harper & Row, 1987. ISBN 0064401847
    Pearson, Kit. A handful of time. Toronto: Puffin Canada, 2007. ISBN 0143056387
    Sachar, Louis. Holes. New York: Dell Yearling, 2000. ISBN 0440414806

The Arrival (Shuan Tan)

Tan, Shuan. The Arrival. New York:Arthur A. Levine Books, 2007. ISBN 978-0439895293

Summary
An adventure begins when a man leaves his wife and daughter to create a new, safer life for them in a new land. Alongside the nameless main character, readers will experience the excitement, fear, and uncertainty of discovering new language, food, customs, and way of life. Both mistakes and friends are along his journey of acculturation and the books comes full circle when the immigrant and his family befriend newcomers to their land. Shuan weaves a seamless and vivid story of immigration with the pure magic of art in his wordless masterpiece.

Critical Analysis
The Arrival is a graphic novel appropriate for all audiences. Beautifully detailed drawings need no words for the observant reader to understand the difficulty and sacrifice necessary to adapt to a new, even if wonderful, world. Set in a nonexistent reality, Tan is able to relate the hardships of the main characters homeland and his need to create new opportunities for his family. The new world drawn by Tan exposes the reader to fantastical creatures, foods, and machines and explain the experience of culture shock that many immigrants experience.

The appearance of an aged scrapbook both disguise and add depth to this modern and relevant piece by Tan. His style of drawing is both fun and serious as evidenced by the magical elements and serious sepia tones.  Although many things in the book are unrelatable, such as images of flying ships, the people are very much real. Tan has created extremely relatable human images with expressions that speak volumes and encourage empathy from the reader. In the book, the main character shows his grief at being separated from his family as he gazes at a picture of his wife and daughter. The reader can clearly feel and relate to the characters emotions as is so clearly emanates from the drawing. Although greater understanding may be beyond the youngest of readers, all will appreciate and wonder at the beautiful pictures, making this graphic novel perfect for all ages.

Awards and Excerpts
ALA Notable Books
Kirkus Starred Review
YALSA Great Graphic Novels For Teens 2007
BookList- “unique work that not only fulfills but also expands the potential of its form”
School Library Journal- “[sophisticated readers] will linger over the details in the beautiful sepia pictures and will likely pick up the book to pore over it again and again”
The New York Times- “mesmerizing”
The Washington Post- “pulsing with detail”

Connections
Make connections to the main character by having students write and/or draw about their experiences being the new kid somewhere.
Suggest students read other books by Tan.
    Tan, Shaun. Lost and found. New York: Arthur A. Levine Books, 2011.ISBN 0545229243
    Tan, Shaun. Tales from outer suburbia. New York, NY: Arthur A. Levine Books, 2009.ISBN
         9780545055871

Suggest these works by other popular author/illustrators.
    Allsburg, Chris. The mysteries of Harris Burdick. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1984. ISBN
         0395353939
    Allsburg, Chris. The stranger. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1986. ISBN 0395423317
    Allsburg, Chris. The wreck of the Zephyr. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1983. ISBN 0395330750
    Selznick, Brian. The invention of Hugo Cabret : a novel in words and pictures. New York:
         Scholastic Press, 2007.ISBN 0439813786
    Selznick, Brian. Wonderstruck : a novel in words and pictures. New York:Scholastic, 2011. ISBN
         0545027896
    Yang, Gene. American born Chinese. New York: First Second, 2006. ISBN1596431520

Use novels discussing assimilation to follow up The Arrival.
    Alvarez, Julia. How the García girls lost their accents. Chapel Hill, N.C: Algonquin Books of
         Chapel Hill, 2010. ISBN 156512975X
    Alvarez, Julia. Return to sender. New York: Yearling, 2010.ISBN 0375851232

A Step From Heaven (An Na)

Na, An. A step from heaven. Asheville, NC: Front Street, 2001. ISBN     9780142500279

Summary
Growing up is no easy task. Young Ju’s story is no different. Born in Korea and transplanted at four to America, she learns what sacrifices her family has made for her to experience the land of opportunity- a land that is “a step from heaven”. Through beautiful and sometimes painful glimpses into Young Ju’s life the reader watches as she grows into herself amongst the challenges of poverty, abuse, and acculturation.

Critical Analysis
A Step from Heaven is a realistic portrayal of emigration from ones home country to America. Young Ju’s family progresses through individual stages of excitement, loss, and renewed hope when they travel to America. The reader stays closely attuned to the ever curious, intelligent Young Ju as she matures from a young preschooler in Korea to a high school graduate in America.

Difficult, but important topics are addressed in this coming of age story, including the alcoholism and physical abuse of a father. Young Ju grapples with these issues as well as the balancing of being a good Korean daughter ad a typical American girl. In the end, readers will find relief when Young Ju finds herself by understanding and appreciating both her past and her future.

Awards and Review Excerpts
Michael L. Printz Award
New Your Times Book Review Notable Book
2001 National Book Award Nominee
BookList- “the coming-of-age drama will grab teens and make them think”
Publisher’s Weekly- “at times wrenching, at times triumphant and consistently absorbing”
School Library Journal- “A beautifully written, affecting work”

Connections
Discuss and celebrate cultural heritage with students after reading this book.
Invite adults from the community to share their own immigration stories.
Discuss signs of abuse and actions to take in abusive situations.
Recommend these books to readers who enjoyed A Step From Heaven.
    Alexie, Sherman. The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. New York: Little, Brown and
         Company, 2009. ISBN 0316013692
    Anderson, Laurie. Speak. New York: Speak, 2009. ISBN 0142414735
    Ryan, Pam. Esperanza rising. New York: Scholastic Press, 2000.ISBN  043912042X
    Tan, Shuan. The Arrival. New York:Arthur A. Levine Books, 2007. ISBN 978-0439895293   
    Wolff, Virginia. True believer. New York: Simon Pulse, 2002. ISBN 9780689852886