Shark Girl

Title: Shark Girl

Author: Kelly Bingham

 Contemporary Realistic Fiction #1

What can I say? I love sharks; so, when I picked up Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham I was very intrigued. When I found out that the book was also written in free verse poetry, I knew that I had to read it. Sharks and poetry? It must have been written for me. I can honestly say that I enjoyed the book. The story is about a young, teenage girl named Jane who innocently goes on a swim with her family during the summer. That is when everything changes and Jane becomes a victim. During the shark attack she loses her arm, and for someone who is an aspiring artist – this is devastating! To make matters worse, her attack was filmed and put on the news for everyone to see. Now she has sympathy cards, letters, and flowers from people she doesn’t even know. Everyone wants to be her friend but still everyone whispers and no one seems to care that she can’t even button her pants with ease anymore.

I found this story to be truly touching and eerily realistic. I felt like I was reading about an actual event, an actual teenage girl that experienced this. Though I couldn’t relate to the attack first-hand (though I can tell you, I don’t plan on getting in the ocean anytime soon!), I did relate to the alienation Jane felt. I believe this is something all teenagers can relate to regardless of their situation which is what makes this book so appealing. It is fun, interesting, and different while being completely relatable at the same time. I would definitely recommend this book for 6^th grade and up. It’s excellent and shows children that telling a story in poetry is just as effective as traditional story writing. 

Where the Sidewalk Ends

Title: Where the Sidewalk Ends

Author: Shel Silverstein

Poetry #3

Reading Where the Sidewalk Ends was a blast in the past for me. I enjoyed reading Shel Silverstein very much when I was a child and found myself remembering several of the poems as I was reading them. Some of my personal favorites include: Hector the Collector, Where the Sidewalk Ends, and Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out. One of the things I love about the book is that all of the poems included are unique, entertaining, and downright funny. It is hard to keep a straight face while reading most of them. The topics are quirky, the words are silly, and the illustrations are kooky, yet they somehow all fit together to create this amazing collection of poems that I think kids (and adults) of all ages will enjoy. Not to mention, there are a great deal of educational connections that can be made with the text.

I see Shel Silverstein’s work being a great way to help teach not only about poetry itself but also about rhyme, humor, alliteration, onomatopoeia, figurative language, imagery, etc. Poetry is also a great way to get struggling readers to pick up a book. I would hand Where the Sidewalk Ends to any of the reluctant readers in my class in hopes that it would provide a reading opportunity that is non-threatening and entertaining. In the end, there is no doubt in my mind that Shel Silverstein’s books should be a part of my classroom library. In fact, I believe they should be a part of any good classroom library. He will forever be one of my favorite children’s authors. 

Yellow Star

Title: Yellow Star

Author: Jennifer Roy

Required Text

The Holocaust is one of those things in history that no one likes to talk about. Some would like to forget it ever happened while others simply deny it ever happened at all. What a shame it is to shut out a part of our world’s past because it is “unpleasant”. Growing up in school, I remember The Holocaust being one of the things I learned about in history that impacted me most. In fact, I would go as far to say that it horrified me. Even as young as fifth grade, I remember being absolutely devastated about what I learned happened to all of these innocent people. However, nothing is more impactful than reading a first-hand account of an experience such as this and that is exactly what readers will find in Yellow Star. Being a huge fan of poetry, I absolutely fell in love with book and literally never put it down. It was a quick read, yet so moving and heart-wrenching. At times, I felt as if I was watching a movie.

What I think kids will like about this book is that the information is presented through the eyes of a child. The character is someone they can easily relate to making the story all that more powerful. The story is also presented in a non-threatening way. Children who don’t necessarily like reading will find this book more appealing because of the short collections of poems used to tell the story. I myself, found the story to be more powerful because of this and think children might as well. Overall, the book would be an excellent introduction into the topic of the Holocaust in any upper elementary through middle school classroom.

My only reservation with the book is that it tells a “success” story for the main character and her family when in reality there weren’t very many success stories to tell. Sylvia was one of the lucky ones and the few children to survive her camp. I wouldn’t want the children in my class to be under the impression that many people survived The Holocaust when they didn’t. Thus, it would be very important to study the topic in depth for them to get a better understanding of what actually happened, particularly in the older grades. All in all though, this is a book that definitely belongs in any classroom library. It is heart-wrenching, inspiring, and, best of all, it’s true. 

Boats: Speeding! Sailing! Cruising!

Title: Boats: Speeding! Sailing! Cruising!

Author: Patricia Hubbel

Illustrators: Megan Halsey and Sean Addy
Poetry #2

Boats: Speeding! Sailing! Cruising! is an exciting book about, well, boats. Before reading this book I knew very little about boats and now that I have read it I feel like I know a great deal. This would be a perfect book for any young student interested in learning more about the topic. I see this book particularly appealing to male students. Not only is the book fun and exciting, but it is fast-paced and engaging and a perfect example of how wonderful poetry can be. From start to finish the reader is learning new information and is having a blast while doing so. Page after page, the text and pictures appear differently each time. Diagrams and labels are frequently used which only add to the enormous amount of information contained in such a small book.

I see this text as a perfect way to teach elements of poetry as well. There is imagery, rhyming, onomatopoeia, etc. all of which could lead to a poetry lesson following the reading of the book. I also enjoyed the illustrations in this book very much.  Some pages are clearly hand-drawn and colored while others look painted and cartoonish. Some pages are meant to be read and viewed horizontally and others vertically. The idea is each page is different, which makes it more exciting for the reader and ultimately more engaging for the students. Because of this, along with some of the more difficult vocabulary, I would recommend this book in a 2^nd or 3^rd grade classroom and would be sure to include it in my own classroom library someday. 

Kitten's Spring

Title: Kitten’s Spring

Author: Eugenie Fernandes

Poetry #1

Kitten’s Spring by Eugenie Fernandes is a cute book to say the least. Written in couplets, the story details a spring morning Kitten experiences on the farm. There are several reasons I enjoyed this text. First, I felt like it was written very well and can teach small children about mom and baby animals. For example, “Sheep baaaaaas, lamb wobbles” could allow for an expanded discussion about why sometimes baby animals have weak legs or a difficult time walking after being born. The story can also teach children about what kind of animals to expect to see during the spring. The text would be perfect to use during a unit about seasons or about animals or about poetry. I can see many educational uses/connections which makes it all the better for the classroom. Students can also explore the concept of rhyme and rhyming words while reading the text.

Additionally, even though some of the words may be challenging, there are very few of them which would make it an appropriate read even for lower readers.  I would want to include this text in a K-1 classroom library. Another thing I liked about this book was the illustrations. They are bright, colorful, and eye-catching. I can see any younger student being fascinated by them. They appear to be done in a collage fashion. While some aspects of the illustrations look painted, others appear to have so much texture and depth to them that they are actual objects. That being said, they add to the story greatly and could give the struggling reader a pretty good idea of what is happening in the story. Even so, they are an excellent supplement to the text and truly make the book unique. 

The Way a Door Closes

Title: The Way a Door Closes

Author: Hope Anita Smith

Illustrator: Shane W. Evans
Genre Study - Mixed Genre

Have you ever heard the phrase, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going”? The phrase itself is meant to be inspiring because it reminds people to carry on and be strong despite how tough things may get.  But, what would happen if the going got tough and you just gave up? This is something that is all too real to 13 year old C.J. in Hope Anita Smith’s The Way a Door Closes when his father decides to walk out on his family after losing his job. Because of this, C.J. is forced to be the “man of the family” for awhile and try to hold his family together. As C.J. finds out, this is a tough burden for anyone to bear but he never loses sight of what is important. Even more important is that he never loses faith in his father. Despite his actions, he believes that someday his father will come back to them and everything will be right in the world once more. 

Told in a series of short poems that give the reader insight on C.J.’s life, I found this book to be one of the most inspiring children’s novels I have read thus far. The characters in the story are real and are easy to connect to. Each poem is beautifully written and carefully adds to the overall tone/message the story is trying to portray. By the end of the novel I found myself in tears. Who knew that a series of poems could be just as moving as a story? I was certainly pleasantly surprised. Even the illustrations were wonderful – they were so full of life that they literally felt like snapshots of pictures of memories from C.J.’s life. 

This is definitely a book I would want to include in my classroom library for several reasons. First, I believe it is important because the book shows a strong African-American male character who steps in to take care of his family in the hardest of times; and second, for the fact that it is a realistic story about the absence of a parent that, sadly, many students would be able to relate to. I know firsthand that as a child this can be such a traumatizing event. It would be nice for students to have a book to turn to and a character they could relate to during their time of need.  At the same time, I believe that even for students who couldn’t relate to the character’s story firsthand would be moved by the book and find it to be quite enjoyable.