A Long Walk to Water

A Long Walk to Water

Specifics

APA Citation: Park. S, L. (2010). A Long Walk to Water. Boston, Massachusetts: Clarion Books.

Meets EDU 333 Blog Requirement For: Engage middle school students, Diverse protagonist

Lexile Level: 720L

Audience: Middle School Students

Summary

This book follows two young children living in difficult and different time periods in South Sudan. One, is a boy named Salva, is forced to leave his hometown by himself when it is under attack. He begins walking with a bunch of strangers trying to find a safe place. In the end, he became one of the Lost Boys who traveled to America and was able to make a life here. He also raises money to get clean water for the people of South Sudan. This is how he ends up meeting Nya, a young girl who walks everyday to find clean water for her family, which is a huge struggle in this area of the world. 

Evaluation

This book is great for middle schoolers because it is not too long, but also touches on alot of themes such as culture, perservereance, and family. This book is also a true story, so it can lead to incredible class discussions and research for further information. When a story is true, it seems to spark children in a different way than ficiton novels. 

Park does an interesting thing by having two stories going in one novel, something that is not done often and as a class we can talk about how she does that and has the characters meet in the end. 

Mini Lesson

I would have the students try to create their own two story-short story with a partner. Each could write a story, then together they find a way to connect the two characters. 

Luna

Luna

Specifics

APA Citation: Peters, J. A. (2004). Luna: a novel. New York: Little, Brown.

Meets EDU 333 Blog Requirement For: Middle school readers, Diverse Protagonist

Lexile Level: 500L

Audience: Middle School Readers

Summary

Luna is about a young transsexual teenager and her journey in transitioning from male to female. The story is told in first person from Luna's sister, Regan's, point of view. Regan is a typical high school student who struggles in school, meets boys, babysit's for work, and argues with her parents. The only difference between Regan and the average teenager, is that her older sibling is transsexual and she is the only one who knows and supports Luna. 

Evaluation

This book is a great read for middle school because it brings up a subject that is becoming more and more popular, but not everybody truly understands it. The author uses many literary devices throughout the novel, such as a butterfly being a symbol for Luna breaking out of her cocoon and becoming who she truly is. 

The author does portray some stereo types throughout the novel, but it is done with a purpose. For example, the parents are both quite sexist, such as the boy needing to play sports and only the girl can cook dinner. Also, the teacher that is portrayed is also sexist and quite stereotypical a jerk as well, as many teachers are portrayed in novels. Also, Regan's teenager actions tend to be a bit on the extreme side, such as sneaking out of babysitting to go on a date, which shows lots of immaturity and paints a bad picture of hormonal teenagers. 

Mini Lesson

I would like to have a Socratic Seminar on this novel. Although it would be quite difficult for me to stay quiet, I'd really like to watch the students work though this text together, without my opinion and input. 

Monster

Monster

Specifics

APA Citation: Myers, W. D., & Myers, C. (1999). Monster. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

Meets EDU 333 Blog Requirement For: Diverse Protagonist, Engage Middle School Readers

Lexile Level: 670L

Audience: Mature Middle School Readers

Summary

Steve Harmon is on trial for murder when a drug store robbery goes wrong. As Steve goes through this difficult time, writes about his experience in a screenplay format. Readers watch Steve go through a trial that will change his life forever, also wondering if he is innocent or guilty. 

Evaluation

This book would be a great read for middle school readers because not only does it bring up an important topic of racial discrimination, it also is written in a way that is different from most other books. I believe this could introduce a new type of reading to some students, which might be exactly what they need to discover reading is great. 

The author lets the reader decide for themselves if they think Steve is innocent or guilty, giving us just enough information for us to question it. He is a likable and relatable character, so most will want to assume he is innocent. 

The author does not shy away from detail, and wants the reader to truly see what Steve is experiencing during this time. The book deals with a lot of social justice themes like crime, race, and truth. Athough there are stereotypes in this book, the author does this on purpose to make a point against these stereotypes.

Mini Lesson

We might have a class discussion about a time where the kids were accused of something that they didn't do and how it made them feel. 

Mr. Harrison is Embarrasin'!

Mr. Harrison is Embarrassin'!

Specifics

APA Citation: Gutman, D., & Paillot, J. (2011). Mr. Harrison is embarrassin'! New York: Harper.

Meets EDU 333 Blog Requirement For: Early Chapter Book

Lexile Level: 560L

Audience: 2nd-5th graders

Summary

Mr. Harrison is basically the school handy man--he can fix anything and even invents his own things. However, Mr. Harrison is a bit of a strange guy. Well on the day they are celebrating a teacher's 50th year teaching, the major and the newspaper are coming to the school to meet the teacher and to celebrate. However, when the power at the school went out, everyone is counting on Mr. Harrison to save the day. Suddenly, he's not so odd afterall. 

Evaluation

I believe this book teaches a great lesson not to "judge a book by it's cover" or not to judge people before you really know them. Students will enjoy the novel because of it's humor, while also hoping that Mr. Harrison is able to fix everything on time to save the day. 

Mini Lesson

I would have each kid choose a book for a friend, even if it's not a book cover the friend likes, they have to read it together and give it a fair chance. Maybe they will realize not all covers can give you a great sense of if you'll like it or not. 

Miss Child Has Gone Wild

Miss Child Has Gone Wild

Specifics

APA Citation: Gutman, D., & Paillot, J. (2011). Miss Child has gone wild! New York: Harper.

Meets EDU 333 Blog Requirement For: Early Chapter Book

Lexile Level: 600L

Audience: 2nd-5th grade.

Summary

This is a story about a boy named A.J. and how he and his class won a trip to the zoo. While there, they meet a crazy zookeeper, Miss Child, who thinks animals are smarter than humans and walks around with a snake on her. Everybody in the class needed a buddy at the zoo and got paired up with random people, and A.J. did not like his partner. After some free time, they realize they've lost a student, Emily. She ended up falling into a lion's cage, and a new student, Alexia, saved Emily by skating into the cage, grabbing her, and skating out. After their trip to the zoo, some of the students realzied that animals have feelings too, and we should not kill them, not even mice. 

Evaluation

This was a great story for readers who are starting to want to read longer books. The story was funny, but also suspenseful at times, like when Emily went missing or when they found her with the lion.

This author uses a lot of dialogue to keep the story moving. Students could learn a lot about how to write out conversations by reading this book. 

There are a few illustrations throughout the book that are a great addition to the story. I believe readers will enjoy looking at the pictures to supplement the text in this book. The illustrations follow the story well. 

Mini Lesson

This would be a great introduction before going to the zoo. Also, we could talk about do's and don'ts while on field trips. 

Pete the Cat Saves Christmas

Pete the Cat Saves Christmas

Specifics

APA Citation: Litwin, E., & Dean, J. (2012). Pete the cat saves Christmas. New York: Harper.

Meets EDU 333 Blog Requirement For: Published in the last four years.

Lexile Level: AD510L

Audience: For younger readers.

Summary

Pete the cat is called to deliver presents on Christmas Eve because Santa is sick. He delivers presents to all the boys and girls on Santa's list, even though it seems like an impossible task, Pete perserveres and saves Christmas.

Evaluation

I liked this book for a few reasons. First, it shows children that even if they are small, they can compete big tasks. The author uses the phrase, "although I am small, at Christmas we give, so I'll give it my all" throughout the book. Not only does this teach perseverance, but also touches on a big part of Christmas--giving. Many children get caught up with receiving rather that sharing the love on Christmas. 

The illustrations are great in this book too. They are colorful and appealing to the eye. The only thing I don't agree with is that Pete never changes his facial expression, even when he's happy and singing his face looks bored. Although that is how cats are in real life, because this is a fictional story, I believe the illustrator could have allowed the cat to at least look excited.

Mini Lesson

This would be a good read right before the winter break. We can talk about what we are giving for the holidays rather than what we are receiving or hoping to receive.  

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons

Specifics

APA Citation: Litwin, E., & Dean, J. (2012). Pete the cat and his four groovy buttons. New York, NY: Harper.

Meets EDU 333 Blog Requirement For: Published in the last four years.

Lexile Level: AD350L

Audience: For younger readers

Summary

Pete the cat starts the day off with a shirt that has four buttons. Then, one by one, the buttons fall off and we subtract with Pete to see how many buttons he has left. He never once gets upset about his buttons falling off, he just keeps singing his button song. By the end of the day, he loses all of the buttons except one...his belly button.

Evaluation

I liked this book for a few reasons. First, it teaches young readers not to sweat the small stuff. Although Pete lost all of his buttons, he never got upset over it. The author also uses repetition from beginning to end of the book, so students can guess what will happen next, and get excited when they are right. Additionally, the book teaches simple subtraction, and shows the equation after asking how many buttons Pete has left, "3-1=2"

The illustrations are great in this book too. They are colorful and appealing to the eye. The only thing I don't agree with is that Pete never changes his facial expression, even when he's happy and singing his face looks bored. Although that is how cats are in real life, because this is a fictional story, I believe the illustrater could have allowed the cat to at least look excited.

Mini Lesson

I would only use this book for a lesson in a very young classroom, no higher than 2nd grade. We would do a subtraction activity, and we could even use buttons that I could bring in from home to count and practice our math. This is a good book to introduce subtraction.