The Legend of Old Befana

The Legend of Old Befana

By Tomie De Paola

Harcourt Brace Jovanovich

Copyright 1980

pp.28

The Legend of Old Befana

Traditional Literature

          The Legend of Old Befana is a timeless tale of the birth of the Baby King of Bethlehem, who has come to change the world. After reading this book, I was reminded of my Italian grandmother who would always tell me that she could not take down her Christmas decorations until January sixth because that was the day of the feast for Baby Jesus. I can now connect her story to the Italian legend of Old Befana. Old Befana never found the Baby King.  To this day, she still runs across the sky on January sixth and visits all the children leaving them gifts because she never knows which child might be the King. I wonder if my grandmother heard this Italian folktale when she was little and was passing it on to me in her own way.

     I loved the color scheme of magenta, gold, and teal throughout the book and the author’s formatting of the text along the lower section of the page. This a wonderful book to supplement other traditional holiday stories.

Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett

Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett

By Steven Kellogg

Morrow Junior Books

Copyright 1995

pp.39

Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett

Traditional Literature

     This American folktale is retold and illustrated by Steven Kellogg. Mr. Kellogg combined several of the adventures of Davy Crockett’s wife from the almanac adventure entitled A Perilous Situation of Mrs. Crockett to form his tall tale. Like all tall tales, this beautifully illustrated picture book is full of exaggerations, super human abilities, and descriptive language. I enjoyed many of Sally Ann’s early accomplishments. Being a parent, it would have been wonderful to have a baby that could achieve remarkable success on the day she was born, especially the talking part.  It certainly would have made life so much easier.

       Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind is the tenth child of a couple who already has nine sons. When Sally Ann is born, she can immediately speak, run, swim, and hold her breath under water for over an hour. She instantly earns the respect and devotion of her nine brothers. What an entrance!  I am sure most students will appreciate and connect to these exaggerations. Sally Ann decides she is a grown up and leaves home at the age ripe old age of eight. She has several more unbelievable adventures including a rather funny way of dealing with a ferocious grizzly bear. Over the years Sally Ann grows tired of living alone and happens upon a handsome stranger stuck between two trees.  As she helps him escape his dire situation, she blasts the color off an eagle’s head and invents bald eagles. The handsome stranger turns out to be her future husband, Davy Crockett. They immediately fall in love and settle down.

     During next part of the tale Davy leaves for Congress, and Sally Ann is left to fend off an attack by gang of alligators. She defeats them in typical Sally Ann fashion by whipping up a tornado, which then rained alligators throughout a good portion of the United States. I believe that during this part of the story it would be helpful for the students to have some prior knowledge of Davy Crockett, so I would probably introduce his character prior to reading this book.

     With wonderful use of vivid language and illustrations, Steven Kellogg has crafted a humorous fantasy about life during the American Frontier that is sure to appeal to a wide variety of school aged children. I know I often found myself chuckling and smiling as I read many of the pages. 

      

The Relatives Came

The Relatives Came

By Cynthia Rylant

Illustrated by Stephan Gammell

Bradbury Press

Copyright 1985

pp.29

The Relatives Came

Caldecott Honor Award

     The Relatives Came is a timeless story of family love. Any reader who has had extended family come to their house will appreciate and connect to all the hugging, kissing, and sleeping arrangements illustrated in this story. This book reminded me of the way my children felt when they were small, and family from out of town would come to spend the weekend at our house, especially the illustration of all the relatives sleeping all over the room with their arms draped across each other. The beautiful pictures by Stephan Gammell help the reader feel as if he or she is right in the middle of the reunion with the relatives. Each relative has a unique personality that is expressed through his or her facial expressions, dress, and gestures. Young readers will definitely delight in this joyous story.

powerless

powerless

By: Matthew Cody

Alfred A. Knopf

Copyright 2009

pp. 277

powerless

2012 Rebecca Caudill Award Nominee

    powerless is an amazing book; I could not put it down! In my opinion, this book has it all: adventure, mystery and fantasy. This young adult novel has many universal themes that would appeal to a wide variety of readers such as friendship, belonging, bullying, and scholarship. powerless follows the story of Daniel, a new kid in the town of Noble Green and the group of children he meets there who just happen to have superhuman abilities. At times, Daniel has feelings of worthlessness because he does not have powers like his new friends, and he can not help his sick grandmother.  However, he soon discovers superhuman powers are not what make a person powerful. This book reminded me of the Harry Potter series because of the themes of friendship, loyalty, and good versus evil. Daniel and his new friends work together to overcome a mysterious, shadowy, evil villain who is out to steal the powers of the children for his own use. By banding together and using their own unique abilities, Daniel and his friends are dynamic forces in their battle for justice.  Matthew Cody has left the ending open to many future storylines, which I hope he will continue to write.

BABYMOUSE

BABYMOUSE

 Queen of the World

By Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm

Random House

Copyright 2005

pp.96

BABYMOUSE

Queen of the World

Graphic Novel

     Babymouse is terrific! I personally am not a big fan of graphic novels, but Babymouse has changed my mind. The novel is beautifully illustrated in a simple black, white, and pink color scheme. The panels are large and the text is easy to see, read, and follow. I enjoyed how the background color of the panels changed from white to black when Babymouse was daydreaming. I believe this helps younger readers make the transition from Babymouse’s reality to her fantasy world.

     In this particular story, Babymouse fantasizes about belonging to the cool group at school but soon realizes she already has, despite her flaws, a great life. I feel this is a universal theme to which many elementary aged students can relate. Realizing that the “cool kids” do not always make better friends and learning to be true to one’s self are great life lessons. Babymouse helps readers learn this lesson in a humorous and entertaining way. I believe the Babymouse series would be a particularly great graphic novel to use to introduce girls to this genre of literature.

Basketball in Action

Basketball in Action

By John Crossingham and Sarah Dunn

Crabtree Publishing

Copyright 2000

pp.32

Basketball in Action

Nonfiction Informational

     This is a great informational book about the game of basketball. It has all the characteristics of a nonfiction book such as headings, bold words, photographs, illustrations, captions, and a word bank. The book begins with the basic vocabulary, positions, and equipment needed to understand the essentials of the game. I thought the full page diagram of the basketball court along with the captions of each area provided a great visual to a beginning player. The next section explains the basic skills needed to play the game such as dribbling, passing, and shooting. Each section provides tips and step by step instructions on how to perform each skill. There are also several drills the reader can practice to improve his or her skills. The book ends with the directions and rules to a few simple playground games students can try. These are very popular games with elementary students such as H-O-R-S-E, Twenty-one, and Around the World. While many students make up their own rules to these games, it would be nice as a teacher to have the information this book provides as the “official rules”, which would hopefully stop some playground squabbles. As the parent of three basketball players, I was hoping to learn a few essentials that I had missed over the years, and I did gain a new understanding of the basics of what each position is and what it requires. My daughters and husband will be extremely proud of me!

Finding The Titanic

Finding The Titanic

By Robert D. Ballard

Scholastic

Copyright 1993

pp.48

    

Finding The Titanic

Nonfiction Informational

     Finding The Titanic is a wonderful, informational book about a tragic accident in America’s history. The book is written by Robert D. Ballard, discoverer of the remains of the Titanic. Mr. Ballard explains in his book how he and his crew discovered the remains of the Titanic as it lay 12,000 feet below the sea. He begins his book in 1985 as he and his crews are getting ready to search for the Titanic. He gives some basic information about what made the ship so special, the sinking, and how and why he is looking for the remains of the ship.

     He then takes the reader on the personal journey of one of the surviving passengers of the ship. Through Rose Becker’s account, the reader can actually feel as if he or she were aboard the amazing ship with her. The description of the ship and the variety of the passengers on board are provided through richly detailed explanations and descriptions by the author. When he describes the sinking as the passengers awaited the arrival of rescue ships, I felt the panic Ruth and her mother must have felt not knowing if they would see each other again. I believe students could connect to this if they have ever been separated from their parents in a crowded place. On each page of the text there are either actual photographs from the time period or an artist’s rendering of the event. Each photograph or painting is accompanied by a caption describing it. The painting of the stern standing straight up in the water is shockingly realistic.

     The last two chapters of the book describe the author’s search and discovery of the ship below the sea. He describes the technology he used to uncover the remains and how careful the crew had to be not to disturb the wreckage. Throughout the chapter, there are actual photographs of him and his findings. In some he compares the photo of the wreckage to an actual photo of the ship before it sank. I think this helps the students to relate to what they are actually seeing below the surface of the ocean.

     Mr. Ballard ends the book with a note about the reverence and respect one should pay to the resting place of those who lost their lives aboard the ship. He was upset when another group of people brought some remains of the ship to the surface; he believes all remains should be left in peace at the site of the sinking. This made me think of the World Trade Center and the debate that has followed about what is now considered sacred ground. I believe I agree with Mr. Ballard that the remains of the Titanic, although historical and educational, should be left undisturbed at the bottom of the ocean to let those who lost their lives rest in peace.