Kennedy Through the Lens

Kennedy

Through the Lens

By Martin Sandler

Walker Publishing Co

Copyright 2011

pp.96

Kennedy Through the Lens

Nonfiction Biography

     This is a fascinating, modern book about the life of John F. Kennedy and the events that shaped his presidency. The book relives the events of Kennedy’s life through the use of many extraordinary photographs. Kennedy was one of the first Presidents to embrace the new technologies of the time, color photography and television. While there had been many photographs of previous Presidents, Kennedy was the first to appoint an official White House photographer. This national appointment led to many informal, candid photographs of the President and his family. These photographs allowed the public an up close and personnel view of the President’s life, and they became enchanted with his charming personality. Kennedy knew how to use the media to his advantage and thus endeared himself and his presidency to the American public for generations. After reading this book, I began to wonder if Kennedy’s use of the media was the beginning of the relentless media scrutiny that exists in our country now.

     The book briefly touches on Kennedy’s early life, but most of the focus is on his time as President of the United States and the events that occurred during this time. Each two page spread has a full page photograph on the right hand side and text, along with a smaller photograph on the left hand side. I believe this helps to illustrate the importance of the photographs. The iconic photographs helped me to better understand the text and gave me a deeper insight into the emotions of the time period. I particular enjoyed the photographs of his children in the oval office. Kennedy was not only a President, who was assassinated; he was also someone’s husband and father. Being a parent myself, I could feel the pain of everyone involved.

     The book also uses many of Kennedy’s famous and inspiring quotes under each section heading. Each quote is significant to the section and helped to give a better awareness and appreciation of text. The end of the book has several sections one can further his or her learning about Kennedy. The author mentions several websites, which is very beneficial to today’s twenty-first century learner. I feel this book is a must have for any project on John F. Kennedy because of its unique use of photographs, quotes, and additional resources provided.

Changes For Kirsten

Changes For Kirsten

By Janet Shaw

Scholastic

Copyright 1988

pp.65

Changes For Kirsten

Historical Fiction

     Changes For Kirsten is a book from The American Girls Collection. Kirsten, a ten-year old girl, and her family have moved from Sweden to America and are starting a new life on the American frontier. This story follows Kirsten and her family during a long winter in the year 1854.

     Kirsten’s papa is away trying to earn money for the family by working in a logging camp. Kirsten, her mother, two brothers, and baby sister are left at home, but close by are her Aunt Inger and her children. Kirsten, her brother, and his friend are setting traps for animals such as beaver and mink to help earn money for their families. One day, Kirsten finds a sickly, baby raccoon and decides to nurse it back to health at her home. The raccoon gets loose inside Kirsten’s home and starts a fire that burns down the small cabin her family lives in. The family is devastated and must move in with Aunt Inger and her daughters.

     As I was reading the book it reminded me of the television show Little House on the Prairie because of the time period. I believe there are many lessons students can learn from books set in this time period. For example, when the house was burning Kirsten tried to beat the flames with a rug and throw snow on the blaze. Students might think why didn’t she just turn on the sink and get some water, but on the frontier there was no running water. Students today have numerous technological advances, and I think they might not realize how difficult and challenging life was on the frontier. I feel The American Girl stories are a great way to present a thematic unit on frontier life, because the books allow the students feel as they are actually on the frontier with Kristen and her family. There are even a few moral dilemmas within the book that would be great discussions starter for a classroom.

Butterflies and Moths

Butterflies and Moths
By Nic Bishop
Scholastic
Copyright 2009
pp.48

Butterflies and Moths

Required

        This amazingly visual nonfiction book is a must for every classroom doing a thematic unit on butterflies. Besides the photographs which are absolutely fantastic, the author uses various fonts within each page to grab the reader’s attention. I also loved turning each page and finding a new, colorful background on each one. Mr. Bishop does a wonderful job of using academic vocabulary along with common vocabulary to enhance student understanding. An example of this is when he compares the butterflies and moths to an item with which students would be familiar, such as comparing nectar to an energy drink.
   I had to chuckle at the thought of reading his descriptions of caterpillars on page 18 to a classroom full of students. I am sure students would have no problem visualizing these descriptions. I believe many students will also connect to the information about a caterpillar’s appetite to the book the Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, as I did. This is a terrific book to use for varying reading strategies such as questioning, predicting, and summarizing. Nic Bishop is definitely an author to remember for breathtaking, nonfiction texts.

To Dance

To Dance

A Ballerina’s Graphic Novel

By Siena Cherson Siegel

Illustrated by Mark Siegel

Atheneum

Copyright 2006

pp.59

To Dance

A Ballerina’s Graphic Novel

Nonfiction Biography

     To Dance is a unique memoir of Siena’s journey to become a ballerina using a graphic novel format. Before this class I was not a huge fan of graphic novels, but I cannot imagine Siena’s story being told any other way. The illustrations by Mark Siegel captivated me and help me to see and feel the pain a ballerina must go through to perfect his or her craft. The illustrations also help provide clues to reader, so he or she can make inferences on how Siena is feeling.

     The book uses every page, even the endpages to tell Siena’s story. Siena’s journey began in San Juan, Puerto Rico when she gave up her Saturday morning cartoons to take ballet lessons. After a summer program with the American Ballet Theatre in New York, Siena knew that dancing was her calling. At age eleven she auditioned for the School of American Ballet. This section of the novel retells her feelings and emotions mostly through pictures, which helped me to feel all of her anxiety and fear. It also brought back all those feelings of insecurity I had when growing up.

     Siena and her family eventually move to New York so she could attend ballet school. Her father is absent much of the time. Eventually the fighting between her parents escalated and they decided to divorce. This reminded me of my own parents before their divorced, and how I would do anything not to listen to their fighting. Siena was lucky she had a brother she to share her pain with, where as I had to deal with all my emotions by myself.

     I felt Siena’s sadness when her beloved instructor Mister B passed away; the emotions told through the illustrations were outstanding. I then became worried for her when she had a serious ankle injury and could not dance anymore. What would she do, she had spent almost all of her life in pursuit of her dream? When the novel ends, it uses the endpages to come full circle and show Siena once again dancing on the beach, but this time with a baby in her arms and the feet of a man in the background. I could infer from this illustration that Siena was content and happy with her life.

Magic Tree House #1

Magic Tree House #1

Dinosaurs Before Dark

By Mary Pope Osborne

Scholastic

Copyright 1992

pp. 68

Dinosaurs Before Dark

Fantasy

     This is a fantastic book for the younger elementary school student or an older student at a lower reading level. I believe this would make a great read aloud for students because of the author’s use of imagery. I felt like I was spinning in the tree house along with Jack and Annie. Students could shut their eyes and picture Annie befriending a Pteranodon and Jack nervously writing in his notebook. The illustrations are well drawn and arrive at important parts of the story.

     Besides the fantasy there is a mystery to hook the reader as well. The author ended each chapter with a bit of suspense, so I could not wait to find out what was going to happen next. At the conclusion of the book, many questions still lingered in my mind.  How did Jack and Annie arrive in this time period? What is the meaning of the gold medallion? Where did the tree house come from? All of these questions definitely help to entice the reader into reading the rest of the series. I can certainly see why this is such a popular series with elementary school students.

Otherwise Known as Shelia the Great

Otherwise Known as Shelia the Great

By Judy Blume

Scholastic

Copyright 1972

pp. 138

Otherwise Known as Shelia the Great

Realistic Fiction

     Shelia, a ten year old girl who lives in the city, is going to vacation in the country for the whole summer break with her family. At first, Shelia is disappointed because she had wanted to go to Disneyland instead. Eventually, she warms up to the idea because she will not have to share a bedroom with her twelve year old sister, Libby. That is until she meets Jennifer, a dog that comes with the house her family is renting. The reader soon finds out that Sheila is afraid of dogs, along with many other things such as swimming, spiders, noises, and the dark.

     Shelia meets a new friend, Mouse who is also a ten year old girl, while she is in the country. Shelia does not want to appear uncool, so she begins telling Mouse many half-truths about herself. Mouse soon realizes Shelia’s nonchalant attitude is a front she puts on when she is afraid of something. Mouse tries to make Shelia realize that is okay to admit one can not do something or if one is afraid of something. Shelia is not to sure about that, but she and Mouse become fast friends anyway.

     The author incorporates many subtle life lessons throughout the book. I believe this book would help many upper elementary students to realize the importance of these lessons in a humorous way. One lesson I connected with was when Shelia had her first sleepover and the girls made a slam book. Each of the girls at the sleepover thought it would be great fun to make the slam books and find out what each other girl at the party really thought, but did not have the courage to say out loud. As an adult, I knew this would be trouble, but it is a lesson to be learned, one I have had to watch my own daughters contend with. 

     The book helps to the reader to understand the power of friendship and the ability to laugh at oneself every now and then. Realizing that no one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes or is unsure about his or her world is a life lesson every student should learn. Judy Blume has done just that in this timeless tale.

Merlin and the Making of the King

Merlin and the Making of the King

By Margaret Hodges

Illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman

Holiday House

Copyright 2004

pp.39

Merlin and the Making of the King

Traditional Literature

     This retelling of tales of King Arthur includes three different stories, The Sword in the Stone, Excalibur, and The Lady of the Lake. I was only vaguely familiar with the Sword in the Stone and Excalibur and had never heard of the Lady of the Lake tale. The Sword and the Stone tale reminded me of a bit of Sleeping Beauty because she, like Arthur, was taken away and raised by others to hide her true identity. I had always thought that the sword in the stone was actually Excalibur, but I learned that this is not so. In the tale of Excalibur, the reader learns that the sword is actually from Vivien, the Lady of the Lake. She owned the sword and gave it to Arthur to use as long as he used it only for good.

     I found this retelling a bit difficult to follow without any prior background knowledge. I would most likely only use this retelling in conjunction with several other retellings as a compare and contrast literature lesson. This is an upper elementary to middle school level text because of the difficult vocabulary.