Realistic Fiction, I, Too, Am America

Title: I, Too, Am America
Author: Langston Hughes
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publish Date: 2012
ISBN: 1442420081

Bethany's Rating:4/5


Summary:  This book is the Langston Huges poem. This speaker of the poem talkes about how he is "the darker brother" he talks about how he will one day have his own kitchen to eat in and have company in and he will no longer be sent to the back if company comes.

 Evaluation:
I think this is a good short book. It is empowering for African American children who don't feel like they belong. This book shows the children that no matter what the skin color they are still Americans.

Realistic Fiction, Let's Go See Papa!

Title: Let's Go See Papa!
Author: Patricia Polacco
Publisher: Philomel Books
Publish Date: 2012
ISBN: 0399245405

Bethany's Rating: 5/5 


Summary: 

In this story a little girl lives with her mom, grandmother, and her dog. She writes letters everyday in a notebook to her Papa. Her Papa lives in the United States and works there to be able to support his family by sending money back every week to them. The little girl only gets to talk to her Papa on Sunday mornings and has to make it quick since the call is expensive. One day Papa says to her that she and mama will be coming to live with him soon. The little girl gets upset because she is nervous about being in a new country and does not know if she will make friends, she also is upset that her grandmother will not be coming with them. The story shows over time her getting ready to leave and saying goodbye to her friends. She and her mother get on the plane and as she writes the last letter to Papa she pulls out a new notebook to write letters to her grandmother.

 Evaluation: I though this was a very cute story and one that was very relatable. I know people who have families in other countries that they send money to and I have seen how hard it is to be that far away from home or even creating a new home in a new country. I liked that this story had some Spanish in it for instance the little girl called her grandmother abuela which is what most people in Spanish speaking countries call their grandmother. This makes children feel more at home when they read a book where even some of the language is the same. It shows the child that they are not alone in the world.

Realistic Fiction, The Lemonade Club

Title: Let's Go, See Papa!
Author: Lawrence Schimel
Publisher: Groundwood Books
Publish Date: October 25, 2011
ISBN: 1554981069

Bethany's Rating: 5/5 


Summary: 

This is a story of two little girls who are best friends, Marilyn and Traci. One day as they were walking some girls were bullying Marilyn about her weight. A few weeks later Traci noticed Marilyn was losing a lot of weight and she confronted Marilyn about it. She told Marilyn that not eating was an unhealthy diet and Marilyn said she was not dieting but was losing weight. Marilyn then started to feel faint and pass out. Traci got help and Marilyn was taken to the hospital. Marilyn was diagnosed with leukemia. This story is about the Traci and her teacher helping Marilyn through chemotherapy. Their class is very supportive of Marilyn and even shave their heads to match Marilyn. Marilyn's chemotherapy works and the cancer starts to go away. All of the kids hair starts to grow back but the teacher is still bald. The students realize she has breast cancer. She has to get surgery to get it removed. She gets cleared of cancer and the gets married with all the children at her wedding 5 years later.

 Evaluation: I thought this book was very interesting. The topic was very heavy and I think this book is perfect for children who have or know someone who has cancer. As a child I had two family members who had cancer and I never it was a sickness but I never knew much about their treatments how it affected them. In the story the teacher tells the classroom about Marilyn and how she is going through treatments and she might be very weak some days and need to sit down. This hit me because I remember my mom telling me that my Uncle would be tired and might look a little different and gave me a similar talk. I feel like if I had this book as a kid I would be able to relate to it and understand the situation better.

Folktales, O'Sullivan Stew

Title: O'Sulivan Stew
Author: Hudson Talbott
Publisher: G.P.Putnam's Sons
Publish Date: 1999
ISBN: 0-399-23162-5

Bethany's Rating: 3/5


Summary: This story is about a little girl who tries to help out the witch of the town when the kings men try to take her horse. The little girl runs into town and asks the people for help but no one comes to the rescue and says the witch is not one of them. When the witch realizes that no one came to help she put a curse over the town. The little girl and her family go to try to steal the horse back from the king but they get caught. The little girl convinces the king to let her a her family go is she can tell a story were they were in a worst position and in the end the king lets them go and have the horse.


 Evaluation: The story was good. The tale was long and would need to be read to older children rather then younger. The pictures took up the whole page and the text was written around the pictures. I felt as that the story dragged on and became predictable which is why I think younger children would like this book better then older children.

Traditional Tales, Stories to Solve

Title: Stories to Solve (Folktales from Around The World)
Author: George Shannon
Publisher: HarphyTropy
Publish Date: 2000
ISBN: 0-613-52997-9

Bethany's Rating: 4/5


Summary: This story tells the reader of 14 old wives tales. The book is set up in problem and solution format. Each of the stories are from different areas of the world. For instance, one story was of a man who visited heaven and hell. In heaven and in hell people were forced to sit seven feet from the table and eat with three foot chopsticks, the only difference was that in hell everyone was starving and heaven everyone was fed. The solution was that in heaven they feed each other but in hell they only try to feed themselves.

 Evaluation: I enjoyed this book. I thought that seeing  and learning about different cultures was interesting. The pictures are black and white but I feel like it would have added to the tales if the pictures were in color and decorated with pattern from the different  cultures. It was a fun book that would keep a child's interest.

Traditional Tales, Cinderella

Title: Cinderella
Author: Retold By Cynthia Rylant
Publisher: Disney Press
Publish Date: 2007
ISBN: 1-4231-0421-8

Bethany's Rating: 5/5


Summary: This story is the story of Cinderella. A girl who lost her mother and father and is now living with her step mother and three step sisters. Cinderella is looking for love. The King holds a ball for the Prince so that he can find a princess. Cinderella's stepmother and three step-sisters go to the ball but leave Cinderella behind. Cinderella starts to cry because she has nothing to wear to the ball when a fairy godmother comes to save Cinderella. The fairy godmother gives Cinderella a magical dress and tells her that she has until midnight till the magic wears out. Cinderella goes to the ball and dances with the prince. They fall in love and at midnight Cinderella rushes away. She leaves her slipper behind and the next day the princes workers go into the town to find the girl who the slipper belongs to. They go to Cinderella's house and the three step sisters all try it on but it fits none of them. Cinderella goes to try it on and the step sisters break the shoe. Cinderella says she has the match and brings over the matching shoe. Cinderella and the Prince then live happily ever after.

 Evaluation: I love this rendition of Cinderella. Cynthia Rylant tells in beautifully. The story is told more from the perspective of love and belonging then the way it is usually told. For instance, the godmother is portrayed as not just a god mother but is introduced as a guardian to Cinderella by saying " Cinderella's tears then flowed like a fountain, now for joy, not sadness. She was an orphan no more"  I also enjoyed the interaction between the prince and Cinderella. " How does a young man find his maiden? His heart leads him. He find her in a room. He asks her to dance. And when he touches her, he knows. Cinderella and the young prince danced into a private world all their own. They did not even speak. In silence, Love found them." Rylant brings out the emotion and feeling behind the story which is lost in the newer versions of Cinderella. The pages with text are simple with one color backgrounds and the pages with pictures take up a whole page and are simple.