Nappy Hair

Nappy Hair

by Carolivia Herron

I honestly don't know how to feel about this book. I can see some great things about this story and some things that make me a little uncomfortable (whether rational reasons to feel so, I don't know). A creative, jingly story about a little black girl's very, VERY curly hair... this book is written in a call and response style, maybe a little too purposely representative of African American slave gospels. And very obvious use of stereotypical black vernacular English. It is meant to represent the pride that her family has in her "nappy hair," rather than shame, but I would feel more than a little judgmental, as a white woman, reading this book as representation of a black child. Really a great example of a song book and different genres of writing, the text does make me kind of bounce around in my seat! Mostly, I think I would value the opinion of some parents or teachers who are themselves of color before making the decision on whether or not to read this book aloud in my class, although, I see no problem offering it in my class library for kids to chose from.

The Misfits

The Misfits

by James Howe

An all around good read. This novel is a little lengthly for most children the age that I teach, but definitely beginning in third grade, there will be some children who can handle and will want to read a book like this. Howe hits on many of the issues that children face growing up, especially around middle school and puberty. Regardless of the specific issues that each character in the story is struggling with, this book is a great example of the prevalence of name-calling in school and the degree to which it affects students' lives. The students in this book chose to become proactive about making change in their school, something we as teachers can teach our students to do at their schools, in response to their own concerns. Readers will feel a connection to each of the characters and invested in their future; I know I wanted to keep reading about how their lives were going even after the story was finished. The Misfits contains a significant lesson to learn.

The Different Dragon

The Different Dragon

by Jennifer Bryan

Wow! This book is great! Another story of controversial nature, the boy in the story has two mothers. One of his moms tells him a bedtime story about a dragon who just couldn't bear to be exactly the way everyone else wanted him to be. I think this book is so powerful in many ways, the main lesson being that society creates a "norm" that most people feel pressure to follow. But the little boy and the different dragon challenge the idea that you should give in to that pressure. Complete with beautiful, soft, dreamy illustrations, this book contains some of the most poetic, insightful language I have seen in a children's book in a long time.

"It's a lot of pressure to be fierce all the time. All that roaring and gnashing of teeth and snorting fire. It's a lot of work to scare people and to be so mean. And nobody ever wants a dragon to be funny or sad or just regular. There's only one way for a dragon to be and that's that"

"I am a smart boy and I know some things. I know that there are lots of different ways to be a dragon, and being fierce isn't the only way to be. You can be however you want."

Love That Dog

Love That Dog

by Sharon Creech

I thought this was a very sweet way to address beginning to learn about poetry. The boy's confusion and frustration with poetry throughout the book--starting with its femine stereotype and winding towards understanding just what it all means--are very similar to my relationship with poems still today. I value a good verse here and there yet still get very confused as to what really "counts" as poetry. Does it just have to look like poetry? What about things that sound like poetry but maybe aren't? What can poetry be about? These questions and more are addressed by the boy in this book. Described as a novel, I don't really see Love That Dog in that way. I didn't find that there was much of a real story going on. But I do think this book would be great to use with children during a poetry unit. It could be great to start discussions about what poetry is and to show children that it is not all cut and dry. Poetry is a tricky subject, and this is a good example for young students first trying to learn poetry.

And Tango Makes Three

And Tango Makes Three

by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

This picture book is controversial for many people. The nature of the topic--homosexual relationships--is a tough one to address, but this book is just too cute and innocent for me to worry much about. (Described in a review by one parent as "shocking adult material." I lean more towards, "it's about penguins!") The pictures are all adorable and in muted tones, very attractive for children. A great mix of facts and stories, all based on the true story of a penguin family at the Central Park Zoo. I believe, that given the chance, children will love the warming story of this not-so-traditional family.

So Far From The Bamboo Grove

So Far From The Bamboo Grove

by Yoko Kawashima Watkins

Contrasting Year of Impossible Goodbyes in many ways, beginning with the fact that this book follows a young Japanese girl living in northern Korea during the Japanese occupation of Korea. A completely different perspective, this book is a great companion to the other novel as a way to introduce to children the idea that some situations aren't as black and white as they seem. There isn't always a "good side" and a "bad side." I really enjoyed reading this book and found myself unable to put it down. Watkins gets inside the sad, crazy events in the little girl's tough life, thoroughly describing them with lots of detail and emotion. Even though this book includes some mature content, the author addresses these events with tact and in such a way that I would feel comfortable using this book with elementary students; I would, however, still recommend the content of this book for grades 3 and up.

Year of Impossible Goodbyes

Year of Impossible Goodbyes

by Sook Nuyl Choi

A very heartfelt and interesting story. From the view point of a little Korean girl during the Japanese occupation of Korea, the author gets the reader personally invested in the character. I believe novels such as this one are great for use as a cross-curricular tool with reading and history. Subject-wise, this book is great; I did, however, think it raced too quickly through the plot. I desired more detail and wanted to spend more time on each of the events in the story. (The things that happened in the life of this little girl gave the story itself potential to be a real tear-jerker, but the writing didn't do that for me.) Maybe the author thought that watering down the events in the story made it more kid-friendly, but I think children would react better if they became more personally invested in the character through more detailed writing. Overall, I think this book was a good read, but didn't wow me.