Title: A Fine Desert
Author: Emily Jenkins
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Publish Date: January 2015
ISBN: 0375868321
Bethany's Rating:5/5
Summary: This story shows 4 different centuries in 4 different locations all making the same recipe. The first is Lyme, England, 1710, is this era we get to see a little white girl with her Mom. The little girl has to pick the berries, milk the cow and get the cream from the top of the milk and whisk the cream for 15 minutes, she drew water from the well, Smashed the berries, chilled the mixture in the ice pit and then served it after dinner that night. The next family lived in Charleston, South Carolina, 1810. This was an African American family who were servants in the south. They picked berries from the garden, had the cream delivered by the dairy and the little girl whisked the cream for 10 minutes, then she washed the berries in the well, smashed the berries and put the mixture in an ice box till dinner. Then she served it to the master and his family. The next family was from Boston, Massachusetts, 1910. This little girl went to the market bough berries, had cream delivered to their home , and the girl whisked the cream for 5 minuets, she washed the berries in the sink from the faucet, smashed the berries then put the berries in an ice box, after dinner they her family ate the desert. The last family lived in San Diego, California in the current year. This family is a little boy and his dad. They go to the store buy berries and cream, go home and the Dad searches the internet for a recipe. The little boy uses an electric mixer and whisks the cream for 2 minuets, he washes the berries in the sink and then uses a food processor to mash the berries and he puts the mixture in the refrigerator. They serve it after a dinner party with many friend from many different cultures with many different ethnicities.
Evaluation: This was my favorite of the three historical fictions books that I read for this blog. The author told exactly was century is was and where in the U.S. is was. She took into account all of the different tools that they would have used in that time period and used the language of what the tools would have been called and even showed an enlarged version of it. I even liked how the author showed that today we are living in world were the boys can do that the cooking and dads can help out were in the past that would have been apropos and I really liked how the author showed the mixed ethnicities in the end showing the mixing pot that America is. I liked how she connected it through the years showing that even though times have changed and how we cook has changed the whole concept of family togetherness is still there with families cooking together and eating together.
Title: Coming On Home Soon
Author: Jacqueline Woodson
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Publish Date: 2004
ISBN: 9780399237485
Bethany's Rating:3/4
Summary: This is story about a little girl named Ada Ruth, living during World War 2. She is an African American who lives with her mom and her grandma. Her mom tells her that she is going to Chicago to work on the railroad since all of the boys have gone into war. She says that she will write and send money back but Ada Ruth and her Grandmother watch as the post man walks by and do not receive a letter for months. The Grandmother tells Ada Ruth to be strong and that her mother will be home son but Ada Ruth Knows even her Grandma starts to get worried. They wait and wait and finally the postman stops with a letter from Mama saying she is okay. The last page on the book has Mama walking towards the house.
Evaluation: The story is interesting but I would not pick this book as a good historical fiction book to read to children. A parent or teacher would have to give background information before or after reading the book. The only reason I knew they were talking about World War 2 was from my previous knowledge and then I looked up some reviews just to make sure. I did feel like the emotions felt real and a child would be able to see that Ada Ruth was missing her Mama and was waiting for her to come home. The watercolor pictures in the book were very serene, dark colors were used through the whole story to portray Ada Ruths longing.
Title: Yuki and the One Thousand Carriers
Author: Gloria Whelan
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Publish Date: 2008
ISBN: 1585363529
Bethany's Rating:2/4
Summary: This is about the historical story of the 17th and 18th centuries in Japan where governors had to travel over 300 miles between Kyoto and Edo. The story is told from the perspective of a little girl whose father is a governor. Since she is upper class she gets to ride along in a palanquin, which is a box will silk and pillows that is carried by other people holding poles. Yuki was told by her teacher to write Haikus about what she sees while on her journey, so throughout the story the reader gets to read haikus from Yuki's journey.
Evaluation: The story was interesting but did not have a lot of information in it. There was barely any historical information, most of it was in the cover of the book not in the actual story. Also the book felt like it was a way to get children interested in writing haikus more then anything else. The story did not have any major plot to it. The little girl went on her journey and explained it and arrived at Edo. The most interesting part of the story was when the little girl wanted to get out of her palanquin and walk with the commoners but her mother was weary of letting her walk. Her mother allowed her for a little but made her come right back into the palanquin. I feel like the author could have expanded on this more to show children why the mother would think that way. I do admit that the illustrations are very impressive. I do think of Japanese painting when I see the pictures.
Title: Mommy, What is Celiac Disease?
Author: Katie Chalmers
Publisher: Awareness Press, LLC; First edition
Publish Date: 2010
ISBN: 0982871104
Bethany's Rating:5/5
Summary: This book is about a mom telling a little girl that she has celiac disease. She tells the little girl what this means and compares what is going on in the little girls body compared to things that the little girl sees in her everyday life. The mother tells the little girl that everyone loves her and that everyone will help her to learn what to eat and what not to eat and the mother says that the little girl will be able to eat a lot of different foods still.
Evaluation: I think this book is awesome for kids. Kids who have celiac disease or know someone who does like a friend or relative need to be told about this disease and need to know in a way they will understand. This book shows it by relating it to things kids would know. For example they talk about the intestines and how they look like a pile of worms. This book shows the positives and how they can treat it s a adventure to find new foods while still being able to eat the old ones. The book also explains how everyone around the child will help the child know what they can and can not eat, so that they are not alone.
Title: Giant Pandas
Author: Michelle Levine
Publisher: Millbrook Press
Publish Date: 2011
ISBN: 0761363882
Bethany's Rating:4/5
Summary: Giant Pandas is an informational book about pandas. It shows children pictures of pandas in the wild and discusses basic attributes of pandas while giving children vocab words. Some of the vocab words that are said in a sentence and then said with a definition are: cub, bamboo, and nurses. This book shows the different parts of a panda, a map of china, where they can be found, and the relationship between and mama panda and her cub.
Evaluation: I think this would be an excellent story for children to read who love animals, bears, or pandas. It gives simple facts and shows the pandas in the wilderness. The book is also set up like a text book with a index and a glossary at the end. This would be one of the first books a child would have with a glossary and index and I think this is a good way to get them acclimated to one. I also like that the book uses vocab words and then explains the definition so that a child's vocab can expand.
Title: Yogurt and Cheese and Ice Cream That Pleases
Author: Brian P. Cleary
Publisher: Millbrook Press
Publish Date: 2011
ISBN: 0761363882
Bethany's Rating:5/5
Summary: This was a book about the diary section of the food pyramid. It shows all of the different ways to get dairy. It shows the different kinds of milk someone can drink and why dairy is important for a persons health.
Evaluation: I though this would be a good book series that a teacher could read to their classroom when they are discussing the food pyramid. The book has fun comical pictures of cats eating and drinking dairy. The book also has a guide on how much dairy should be consumed in a day and different measurements of certain food. For example they show that a slice of Swiss cheese is a half of cup of dairy. I think this is a really good teaching tool.
Title: Maisy Dresses Up
Author: Lucy Cousins
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Publish Date: 1999
ISBN: 100763608858
Bethany's Rating:4/5
Summary: Maisy the mouse is getting ready to go to Tallulah's costume party. She searches through her costume box but realizes that she wants to make her costume. She makes her costume and surprises everyone by coming as a zebra.
Evaluation: This is an easy read. The text is printed in a slightly messy font that reminds me of a childs handwriting. I think that this is a good choice of font because children will see this and they will relate it to their handwriting. I like the format of the book where every page turn has a full sized picture on one page and the text on the next page. The colors are bright and bold and there are very think outlines that make the pictures seem friendly and welcoming.
Title: A Treasure at Sea For Dragon and Me (Water Saftey For kids)
Author: Jean E Pendziwol
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Publish Date: 2005
ISBN: 1553377214
Bethany's Rating:4/5
Summary: This story was about a little boy and his dragon at a lake. The story is all rhyming. The little boy and the dragon are trying to find a treasure from their treasure map. The dragon does not know water safety so the little boy teaches him. Some of the things the little boy teaches for example are to never swim without tell your parents you are going into the water, to always swim with a buddy and to watch the signs when swimming.
Evaluation: I thought this was a important story for children to read. All of the drawings in this book are colored with colored pencils. I think this is an interesting style and it seems to be relatable to kids because they will be able to tell it is done with colored pencils. The rhyming scheme used in this story is cute and keeps the readers attention because of the rhythm it provides. I like how the teach lessons during the story and end the end of the book they have a checklist of water safety guidelines that a parent should go through with their children.
Title: Gorky Rises
Author: William Steig
Publisher: Square Fish
Publish Date: 1986
ISBN: 0374427844
Bethany's Rating:1/5
Summary: Gorky Rises is a book about a frog who makes a magic potion and starts to fly. He flies around all day and then tries to land but does not know how. He has to stay awake so that he does not crash into everything and towards morning he realizes that if he slowly lets the potion out of the jar he will fall back to the ground. After a few days of letting the potion out of the bottle he is almost back on the ground. His last few drops of potion he drops out on a rock that looks like an elephant and it turns into a real elephant. Gorky rides the elephant home to his parents and tell them his adventure.
Evaluation: I did not like this book. The story line was bland and the character was trying to show off the whole time that he could fly. There was a large amount of text and a lot of the text was filler, not actually contributing to the story.
