This retelling by Robert D. San Souci of the traditional British ballad tells of a trick played on the Sheriff of Nottingham by Robin and his Merry Men.

Although the story line can’t exactly be considered deep, the illustration style and colors used are extremely suited to the period and setting of the piece. An interesting classroom extension would be to compare and contrast this Robin Hood tale with others.

I would recommend Robin Hood and the Golden Arrow as either a classroom or family read aloud book. The full color illustrations will capture the attention of children, making it a suitable title for curling up with or reading after a chilly recess.  Available in early October, 2010.

Photo Credit: Amazon

Norton Juster’s tale of an angry ogre features whimsical watercolor illustrations of an old-world village setting.

A picture book suitable for older elementary students, The Odious Ogre is loaded with excellent vocabulary terms, and sure to inspire any group of third and fourth graders who are assigned it as a reading task.

I found the “killing him with kindness” method used by the heroine to best the ogre a bit hilarious, and worthy of working into a class discussion.

This book seems particularly well suited to illustrated retellings taken through all stages of the writing process as a holistic culminating assignment. I recommend The Odious Ogre to any third or fourth grade classroom teacher, student or parent of that age group. A great addition to home, school and classroom libraries.

Photo Credit: Scholastic

This review is for the title Edible Schoolyard: A Universal Idea, by Alice Waters.

This book tells the story of how a garden transformed a middle school in crisis.

What started as a simple project blossomed into an elaborate legacy that has lasted for years. Through intense community, teacher and student involvement, along with Alice Waters’ commitment and vision, a middle school now has a food program that embraces students holistically throughout their entire careers at the school.

Others are taking this schoolyard’s lead and starting their own unique school gardens. I see this program as one that could also be used for therapeutic recreation purposes, or at the community level.

Check out Alice Waters’ book and be inspired.

Photo Credit: Chronicle Books.

Stick Man, a new release by Scholastic, is out this season for holiday enjoyment. Created by Julie Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, this seasonal rhyming tale tells the story of a stick man who is taken accidentally from his family tree by a well meaning pooch. One mishap after another takes him farther away from home. On his final stop, he ends up in a woodpile by a fireplace. It looks like the end until instead of another Stick Man, he hears a stuck man (Santa) who needs his help getting out of the chimney. From there, all ends well.

Clever rhyming sequences using word families and repetitive language make Stick Man well suited for primary classrooms.

Jim Murphy and Scholastic have teamed up to provide an engaging historical Christmas narrative for intermediate level readers. Teachers of nine-twelve year olds looking to incorporate a real life holiday story with their studies of World War I may want to take a look. Read on.

Synopsis:

In Truce, Newbery honor author Jim Murphy tells the true tale of the 1914 Christmas miracle that occurred when troops on both sides openly defied their commanding officers and had a spontaneous holiday celebration with each other.

Illustration Commentary:

Illustrated with archival images, the publisher has taken the extra step to incorporate sepia tones. In my opinion this helps liven up the photos, as books illustrated with archival photos (and there was really no way out of it in this case) can come across as a bit drab if only black and white image are used.

A Prophetic Quote:

I found the most profound portion of the book to be at the very beginning with the following quote spoken by Winston Churchill to his wife Clementine, nearly a month to the day prior to the spontaneous Christmas truce. “What would happen, I wonder, if the armies suddenly and simultaneously went on strike and said some other method must be found of settling the dispute?”

Classroom Recommendations:

Truce is quite suitable for older classrooms who might already be studying that particular time in history. This would be a way to work in the holiday while staying on track curriculum wise. Includes a detailed timeline resource in the back of the book and references to other books, movies and web sites to build the theme.

Scheduled for release in October 2009. Truce is currently available on Amazon.Com.

Photo Credit: Scholastic.Com

Two time Newbery Medalist Lois Lowry takes her first stab at a picture book in Crow Call, published by Scholastic.

This title for primary grades features a young girl’s first memory of a big outing with her father, a man who had previously been a stranger to her due to a long war time absence. The event: a hunting trip where the day starts off with the girl’s father purchasing her a rainbow colored plaid shirt and a double helping of cherry pie. From there, they enjoy a day in the woods calling crows with a wooden tool.

It wouldn’t be fair to do a review of Crow Call without a serious nod to illustrator Bagram Ibatoulline. The book’s illustrations are absolutely precious. Done in color choices that mimic the seasons, they are period appropriate as well and have a decidedly Norman Rockwell feel.

While this timeless historical piece will appeal to a wide range of readers, this writer feels it would be particularly suited to the following audiences: military daughters whose fathers are currently deployed, daddy-daughter read aloud events and women who grew up “Tom boys” and remember hunting with their fathers.

Crow Call is due out in October of 2009. Available at Amazon.Com.

Photo Credit: Scholastic Press

Written by Barbara Kerley. Illustrated by Caldecott honor artist Brian Selznick. Published by Scholastic Press.

First Impressions

A perfect picture book for older children just getting introduced to the life and works of Walt Whitman. This book looks like a present at first glance, with its gilded lettering, cut-out picture frame and Robert F. Sibert silver award medallion. The illustrations are well done, and blend the intimate with the unexpected, and the incidental with the iconic.

Tidbits Learned

Walt Whitman was working as a printer’s apprentice by the age of twelve, and publishing his own newspaper at nineteen. After traveling the country to write poetry celebrating the common everyday people, he because deeply passionate about the Civil War and the suffering of the soldiers. A great deal of his work also focused on them.

Personal Verdict

A well-developed piece worthy of inclusion to any collection or study of Mr. Whitman’s works.

Photo Credit: Scholastic

Written by Caldecott honor book author Anne Isaacs, this pioneer themed tale is set in the American wilderness. This Scholastic Press title is boldly illustrated by Mark Teague.

PERKS

Opportunities for student story predictions.

These exist each time the main character, Toby, meets a new forest animal. Since she trades one item of her winter gear for her safety each time, this provides a built in infrastructure for repeated instruction during the very first group reading.

Repetitive language.

Each time Toby or the animals speak, there are certain repetitive phrases used. This provides a consistent set of chances for young readers to gain confidence and accuracy with those phrases.

Integrated rhyming pairs.

On the majority of pages in the book, numerous pairs of rhyming words are available for student identification. This makes for a great whole group, reading buddy or independent study activity.

Inspirational illustrations.

The scale and color pairings chosen for this title’s pictures are such that children will be able to draw inspiration for their own literature-based art projects without feeling overwhelmed.

Built in pancake recipe.

The complete pancake recipe on the back of the book is a nice extra. Perfect for homeschooling parents looking for an extra extension activity, or teachers who love cooking in the classroom with students.

QUIRKS

To be honest, I was a bit disappointed with the ending the first time around. I found the “melting” of the animals, and the fully boiled and reduced syrup coming out of the tree instead of the more accurate clear sap to be a bit of a let down after the solid story build up of individual animal encounters. I also wasn’t quite sure why the title connection wasn’t worked in until the very end.

That being said, I did read on the interior book jacket flap about Anne Isaac’s affinity for tall tales as a story form. If this was the author’s intent, then teachers have an opportunity here for instruction by assigning the investigation and identification of the specific tall tale elements towards the end of the book, and in other parts of the story.

Have you had the chance to read Pancakes for Supper? What were your thoughts and reactions?

Photo Credit: Amazon.Com

]]> http://thelessonmachine.com/blog/2010/04/09/pancakes-for-supper-a-book-review/feed/ 0 http://thelessonmachine.com/blog/2010/04/09/almost-astronauts-13-women-who-dared-to-dream/ http://thelessonmachine.com/blog/2010/04/09/almost-astronauts-13-women-who-dared-to-dream/#comments Fri, 09 Apr 2010 17:38:14 +0000 Myscha Theriault http://thelessonmachine.com/blog/?p=192

This true story of the Mercury 13 Women, written by Tanya Lee Stone, chronicles the trials and tribulations of these remarkable women who stepped up to the space challenge.

Why have you never heard of them? After completing all of the testing and a grueling training schedule, they were basically scrubbed from the program. In fact, many would argue that NASA never intended to allow them in space to begin with. Regardless, these women were ahead of their time, and the story is worth reading.

While this is clearly a book for junior high students, I’m still not sure why no attempt was made to dress up the historical photos. Changing a few to sepia, or tossing in the occasional element of color would have done wonders for this title. I understand the only available images were older black and whites, but the use of them exclusively throughout the book makes it look rather dated and drab. A helpful read though, for those interested in the history of women in the space program. From Candlewick Press.

Photo Credit: Amazon.Com

A futuristic movie portraying just how Earth could end up if the rate of consumption and trash production doesn’t slow down. Cleverly done, as a single robot character on his own is able to carry the entire first portion of the film.

The trash level and toxic fumes have so consumed the planet that humanity is forced to evacuate for nearly a millennium. When a probe finally discovers plant life that has been shepherded by a trash compacting robot with a big heart, things get even more interesting. By Disney-Pixar.

Photo Credit: Amazon