I Had Seen Castles By: Cynthia Rylant

Rylant, C. (2004). I Have Seen Castles. Harcourt.

In this novel for older children, Cynthia Rylant writes from the perspective of John Dante, a man who is in his 60s and is reflecting upon his young years as a soldier. He lives in Toronto in his mature years, but the bulk of the story is spent reflecting upon the years of his youth becoming a young man in Pittsburgh. As a boy going through the normal growing pains of feeling the need to prove his manhood, he felt an especially strong patriotic fever to stand up for his country, refusing to be seen by others, especially other men, as weak or a coward. There’s a conflict of emotions, about the war itself with John and the girl he loves, Ginny. One of the things that makes him feel like he has stepped into manhood is that he was able to be with Ginny, and that upon first becoming a young soldier, he felt it gave him a more mature edge over the others in his mind. Within that disagreement in mindsets, the realism of war strips away the dreaminess of falling in love and from everyday life itself. An intensity sets in with John, about how he feels even stronger about Ginny and wanting to take and protect her from her run down, poorer life, about proving that he is a man among men to society, and within the patriotic fervor that he is caught up in as Americans were at the onset of the war’s encroachment onto American soil.


The book is a rather brisk read. Despite the given subject content’s extreme weight, the book is not heavily laden with so much extra activity as it easily could fall prey to. Rylant manages to keep the story sparse, to allow the story to focus on the mental conflict brought about by the war that due to the lack of closure with Ginny, John can never really truly shake the impact and adverse affect the war had on him the rest of his life. He talks about how it was hard to live in America after the war, and couldn’t be jubilant upon the end of the war as the rest of the greater U.S. population was, because they had not seen the suffering, blood, destruction, and gore that he had been saturated with while overseas fighting. He lived in France for 20 years, then in England and Greece, ending up in Canada. John never shook the horrors of war that stole his optimism and innocence, and even above that, never shook his endearing and sincere love for the embodiment of innocence, the young love he had in Ginny. Even though the story is not heavy with overdescription, it tells of powerful sentiments in its simplicity.

Some of the powerful phrases and lines from the story include on page 2: when he is comparing his home to “a soft-smelling grandmother” and that the worn oak floors “announced the life of the house…floors that sang.” I also liked how on page 3 he described his father’s selection of books in his library which reflected his interests and taste: “Words to bind you to this room, this house, this planet. Words to make sense of everything.” I like how he recognizes that “Children, without the skills of language, spend years developing instead an intuition” about their parents. Another true observational point he makes is how boys horseplay to show affection to one another on page 7: “the banter, the wisecracking, the cuffing and the shoving that boys must do to claim ownership of each other.” How often do we see grown men do that today, around sports, a car, a card table, etc.? Yet another behavior observation he makes quickly is when he is describing on page 10 college students biking around town, and that they “are open like flowers” so meaning they are fresh in bloom and bright and bold in their color. He makes a powerful observation when on page 16 he states that people “deceive ourselves into believing we can clean up the enemy, put him back in his place…” while still going about the normalcy of daily life after hearing of the obvious upset that the turn of the war has brought to their lives.

Another point he makes on page 19 is that “Love in those times was nuts. Not artificial, not ridiculous. No, it was so real to be completely heartbreaking. But it was nuts all the same.” This exemplifies the intensity the realness of life then set upon his already intense feelings for Ginny, and how that was never again felt by him in his life. Another point about the intensity of bonding between people echoes his need to feel like a grown man, and the bonding between men that is not easily expressed amongst them, where on page 75 he states: “And there was an intimacy among us, there on the front line, that no soldier working behind the lines would ever know or understand.” It reminds me of the 9 part mini-series Band of Brothers that I watched with a group of friends, and the guys were so into it, relishing the bond the men in the real story had. It also reminds me of my Grandpop Fox, who was one of five brothers in a family of twelve kids who were old enough to serve in the Armed Services and did so. After two of the sons (my great uncles) were killed in combat, the others were sent from the battlefields to work behind the lines. I have a copy of a local newspaper clipping that shows my great granny Fox being acknowledged as a Gold Star Mother, and I have made rubbings of their names from the York County granite memorial statue for hometown fallen heros. My mother has a letter he wrote his mother (my great grandmother) and to hear my grandfather who I had known as docile and sweet hearted to be so bitterly angry about his brothers’ deaths and wanting so bad to be back out there to pay back for their deaths was deeply real and intense to read. I thought a lot about my Grandpop Fox while I read this book, being that is my closest connection to the text, and I understand a little more why he never really discussed the war too much. Despite the serious and heavy subject matter, I did enjoy the book for what the storyline brought to my eyes about a generation other than my own.

Seedfolks By: Paul Fleischman

Fleischman, P. (1999). Seedfolks. HarperTrophy.

This book is centered on the creation of a garden in a diverse, urban Cleveland neighborhood vacant lot. The format of the story unfolds within the thirteen chapters, each one focusing on the first person voice of a character that lives in the neighborhood and begins to interact with the creation of the garden. I found this setup of the book to be interesting, because it gave me the opportunity to hear each character’s diverse perspective as the way that each chapter was written as if the person was telling their story. Each character’s voice was clearly distinctive, as their dialect and use of grammar, whether proper or not, was written in their particular way. I could clearly hear the characters, and I felt that with the characters’ tellings, I could better picture them and even bring to life a tone of voice, whether high or deep, soft or hard.
In this book, the story begins with Kim, a young Vietnamese girl who desperately wants to connect to her deceased father that died when she was eight. She finds the courage to plant six beans in the harden Earth that was trying to break free into spring, hoping that her father looking down would see that she knew what persistence she had to care for plants as he had as a farmer. The book moves on to Ana’s story, who describes the diversity of nationalities in the neighborhood throughout the years. She then proceeds to tell how she saw Kim from her apartment, and suspicious that she is up to no good. Ana goes out and digs out of burning curiosity, and begins to dig up whatever the girl buried, only to discover she was digging up seeds. I thought the line she spoke was powerful: “I felt like I’d read through her secret diary and had ripped out a page without meaning to. I laid those beans right back in the ground, as gently as sleeping babies.”
The next character is Wendell, who lost his son to a shooting and his wife to a car wreck, and keeps an eye out for Ana. Ana employs him to go water the beans that she sees are dying from her binoculars. As a farm boy, he maneuvers an old refrigerator to reflect heat down, and mounds soil to support and catch water around the seedlings. Kim witnesses this, and fearful, says nothing. Wendell reflects on the Bible phrase: "And a little child shall lead them.” This reverberates that the initial chapter on the little girl Kim, young and able to be a visionary, unencumbered by the weight of adulthood, changes the lives of those who begin to interact with the garden, and out of the rest of the remaining nine stories, the domino effect of Kim’s bean planting unfolds into the mutual bonding between neighbors into a community.
This book flowed rather easily, considering that there was a shift in tone and voice with each new chapter since there was a new character introduced to the mutuality of the garden’s growth. I liked how they were distinct, but yet interconnected, and that the interconnectivity grew from the innocence and goodness of nurturing living things. In the end, it was not only plants that were nurtured, it was also people.

Raising Dragons Written By: Jerdine Nolan and Illustrated By: Elise Primavera

Nolan, J. (1998). Raising Dragons. Harcourt Brace.

Author Jerdine Nolen visited our school last year, and she gave a wonderful presentation via the LCD projector showing her thought processes and project development. She is someone who solely writes, and her books have been illustrated by a variety of people, so there is no distinct “Nolen” look to a book, similar to Cynthia Rylant’s many book selections. I particularly like how the end pages of the book give an additional hint to the fantasy that is about to unfold within the text of the story, by drawing a map of “Dragon Island” from “Murdoch’s Adventure Atlas of the Known and Unknown World.” Even the shades of color and speckling of paint give it mystery and substance that draws the curious reader into the setting.

In this particular story, a little girl lives on a farm with her Ma and Pa and discovers a mysterious egg. Although her Pa forbids her to bother with it, she finds that on a sleepless night when she goes to check it out again, that a little dragon was born from that egg. I find it endearing when she decides she loves him at first sight.

“Hey there, li’l feller, welcome to the world,” I sang, soft and low. As I stroked his nose, a sweet little purring whimper came from him. As I touched skin to scale, I knew I was his girl and he was my dragon. I named him Hank.”

This is one of those stories where the child, as the main character, approaches a situation with wide open curiosity and embraces the new situation with a positive, happy response, while the adults go through fear of the unknown, then choosing to ignore the presence of this creature that has interrupted life as they have known it. The special bond continues to develop between the dragon and the girl as he grows in size. The value of the dragon’s help begins to surface as Pa notices a “strangeness” occurring around the farm. Hank has shown he can pull his weight by plowing the fields as a surprise for Pa, and saves Ma’s tomatoes from drying out by fanning them to keep them cool. It’s through these actions that Ma and Pa come around to appreciating him. Later on, Hank helps to pop a multitude of corn into a sky full of popcorn. What kid wouldn't want to be a part of that illustration in real life?

As he grows up, the little girl realizes that it’s best to have Hank live with his own kind where he originates from, and bids him farewell. Before her departure on the plane, Hank loads a wheelbarrow full of eggs for her to take back and nurture on the farm. I like the line, “His toothy grin lit up that cloudy day.” It gives the sad moment a happy ray of sun that leaves the reader satisfied for all involved in the story as it continues beyond the end of the text.

The Patchwork Quilt By: Valerie Flournoy and Illustrated By: Jerry Pickney

Flournoy, V. (1985). The Patchwork Quilt. Dial Books for Young Children.

Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration - 1986
This story is about a very special and loving family relationship between a granddaughter and grandmother. The main purpose of the story is that the grandmother wants her granddaughter Tanya to gain an appreciation for things that are hand crafted with love. I felt the warmth of the grandmother and granddaughter relationship right from the beginning of the story. I automatically made a text to self connection to their relationship to the special relationship that I had with my Granny Fox. She was an avid sewer and antique doll restorer, and along with my mom crafting and my Grandpa Fox work working in the shed, I was surrounded by crafty people nearly every Sunday in Yorktown. I remember when I was a young adult in college, my Granny’s MS set in more and more, and she began to feverishly make small sewing projects, from doll size quilts to patchwork pot holders. She knew she was losing her ability to be nimble and gifted with her hands, and wanted to leave her mark through sewing as much as she could. I thought about that when Tanya’s grandmother became ill while in the midst of a long term quilt project, and I knew how Tanya felt when she knew that she needed to carry on the project, as part of handiwork skills that must be practiced and past on from one person to another, to someone who cares enough to be dedicated to the meaning of the task at hand.

I thought of Tanya’s quilt the same way I thought of my Granny Fox’s projects, as pieces of love that have permanence. I liked how the author brought out the points about how she reused different, worn fabrics that truly were snapshots of memories in old things, and it states, “A quilt won’t forget. It can tell your life story.” Instead of having to completely give up a favorite pair of pants, for example, grandmother can still squeeze out a permanent memory from them by cutting them up for patches. I still have my Granny Fox’s pot holders in my tea towel drawer in the kitchen, and I know the origins of some of those pieces of patchwork. My favorite cloth in the patchwork was leftover pink gingham from where she made a dress for a bisque antique doll that she made me as a young girl. That fabric resurfaced 15 years later in that particular pot holder of mine, and although I don’t use them because I don’t want to mess them up, a permanent piece of her is in my kitchen, along side the jelly cupboard my Grandpa Fox handcrafted for her years ago. As for Tanya, I was relieved when her grandmother recovered, so that way the message of the story is conveyed to children without being scary or too sad. A touching, peaceful story that spans generations.

Knuffle Bunny By: Mo Willems

Williams, M. (2004). Knuffle Bunny. Hyperion Books for Children.

Caldecott Honor - 2005

I like how the book displays “A Cautionary Tale by: Mo Willems” on the front cover, because that intrigues me to know what mischief will unfold within the cover for me to learn a life lesson from. Mo Willems illustrations are funny and appealing to both a child’s perspective as well as to an adult perspective. I think of the goofy spin on the simplistic, cartoonish drawings on top of real black and white photo settings punctuate the emotions throughout the story. The child Trixie (how fun is that name?!) is hugging the bunny so hard in the first Laundromat picture that the bunny’s eyes are bulging and his appendages are swaying to the extreme left. The “photos” of his family, one with him screaming his head off after being born to a whipped looking pair of proud parents, to the way the baby is squished and oozing out of the kangaroo pouch baby carrier is hilarious! I laugh at Trixie swinging her mom’s bra around in the Laundromat, although in class I would not be drawing any attention to that.

I love how the sheer look of panic sweeps over Trixie as she realizes that her precious Knuffle Bunny is missing. When she tries, in her garbly baby talk to tell her daddy, his oblivious reply is “That’s right. We’re going home.” The illustrations are adorable and so funny for both an adult and a child while they share the book together. When Trixie goes limp and “boneless” then “bawled” to express herself, you are definitely given her perspective of being a frustrated kid who can’t communicate her needs! Each page makes me laugh, including her “Uh, Hello!?!” look she gives her dad when mom asks “Where’s Knuffle Bunny?” In the end, they find it and Trixie’s first words are indeed “Knuffle Bunny!” Appealing for a quick read aloud to Pre-K through First Grade, although my kids in Second Grade would still giggle at it!

Mr. Mumble By: Peter Catalanatto

Catalanotto, P. (1990). Mr. Mumble. Orchard.

I have had the fortunate opportunity to hear and see author and illustrator Peter Catalanotto as an author in residence with his visits to my school. His illustrations are realistic, with a touch of his own style of impressionistic lighting. The story is about a man named Mr. Mumby who is coming down with a cold at the onset of the story. As he prepares and travels through a typical day, the people he encounters are all misunderstanding him. The first misunderstanding is where is title is derived from, when he picks up the phone, and says his name, and the person on the other end of the line says that she is looking for Mr. Mumby, not Mr. Mumble. I can see Kindergarteners and first graders giggling at the antics as they unfold, especially when they are ramped up when he is at a diner and orders “two scrambled eggs and a corn muffin,” but is instead served “two scarecrow legs and a car muffler.” This certainly illustrates how important it is to communicate effectively in order to get what you want or need! Then, the story stops telling you what he meant to say, and the reader is led to independently figure it out by reading what he asked for, but seeing what he actually got in the illustration (for example, “a can of stew” yields him a kangaroo in the grocery store.) I would definitely have to guide students to figure out what a “haberdesher” does, since most children would not have any idea what that is. They could use the context clues in the text, “…and the haberdasher handed him a muskrat when all he’d said to the man was he needed (cough) a new hat…” Children love the opportunity to be empowered to be problem solvers and word detectives.

Jam and Jelly by Holly and Nelly Written By: Gloria Whelan and Illustrated By: Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen

Whelan, G. (2002). Jam and Jelly by Holly and Nelly. Sleeping Bear Press.

The cover illustration of this picture book is rich with realism and warm tones of color. I was pulled in by the cover and then I saw that it was also a VA Young Reader Selection, so I knew that this book was a selection to peruse. I am struck throughout the book how the light is played upon the scenes and characters, and I find that I feel connected to the characters simply because they are initially inviting via the painting technique from Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen. The pictures compliments the lyricism of the written word of Whelan, who herself is a poet by nature. The text written by Gloria Whelan is rich with sentences and phrases worth remembering, such as, “Hunkered down under the braken fern I’m eye to eye with a daddy-longlegs walking on stilts and a green beetle so shiny he looks like he turned a light on inside himself.” The story is about a little girl named Holly who lives in the northern part of Michigan with her family. The setting is gorgeous throughout the book, everchanging to show nature’s splendor. Whelan’s description compliments the detailed and realistic pictures, and makes me hear and see the action unfolding. Holly and her mama enjoy the summer and collect berries throughout the season to make a variety of berry jams and jellies. The simplicity of living off the land and appreciating nature is emphasized in this story’s tone. In the end, her papa has built a surprise for them, which is a stand to display and sell their jams and jellies in the fall. She sells them all, and in turn, can get a coat and boots so she can attend school during the harsh winter and so she won’t have “big holes” in her learning like her mother. Education is valued, and through persistence and hard work, she earns money for the much needed items. The story closes with, “What keeps me warmest of all is remembering the smell of strawberries, the busy river, the raspberry pie, the colors of blueberries, sleepy bumblebees, and Papa’s surprise.” This sums up the passing of the seasons and the course of the story in a lovely way. I think that this story would be wonderful to read to a generation who doesn’t take the time to notice the simple, free things in life as much as generations in the past had to in order to survive. I will be sharing this with my class!

Ah! A snapshot view of bookcases in my life! :)

An "ariel" view of most of my classroom library. (Yes, I was standing on a desk after school. ;) I couldn't fit all of it in a frame and it doesn't show the chapter book nook or my teacher shelves that are double stacked (in the front and in the back of the shelves.) I pull from my teacher shelves during the year for read alouds,
thematic SOL units of study related non-fiction, and for special books like author signed additions. My mom has taught me how to be quite the scavenger, and between garage sales, discarded shelves from friends, family, old store displays, and even the curb, I have accumulated quite a hodge podge of shelving and display units! You can also see the social studies center counter, which is currently displaying China related objects along with non-fiction resources and related fiction literature trade books. :) My newest acquisition are the two tall cream color bookcases (you can see one of them, with the animals on top.) They came from a store that went out of business and once upon a time they housed Ty Beanie Babies. However, they are sturdy and go up, up, up! When you can't go out, go up! Good thing I have a tall ceiling! (Hmm...maybe we need one of those cool library rolling ladders? A girl can dream!) My good friend and team mate has her class right below me, and we have joked more than once about how we wish we could expand our classrooms where the courtyard lays outside of our windows. Then we would make a "world class" classroom library with lofts, welcoming seating, a twirly staircase in the middle to go from her room to mine, and how we would need a computerized library checkout system. I know, we have creative imaginations! However, in reality, it is important to keep a real classroom library at a size where it is not overwhelming to help students make "just right" choices from a quality collection of fiction and nonfiction genres of trade books. It is also important to explicitly model how to use the library effectively and effeciently, and it must be well organized. I feel strongly that it's important for students to feel that they have a responsibility to care for the books and to love using the library to its greatest potential. It's all rooted in the desire to create an enriching atmosphere and tone for our students while in our classrooms!

Van Gogh Cafe By: Cynthia Rylant

Rylant, C. (1995). The Van Gogh Cafe. Harcourt.

I am glad that I had the opportunity to explore another imaginative setting created by Cynthia Rylant in The Van Gogh Cafe. The main characters are the father Marc, owner and worker at his own restaurant, along with his daughter Clara who works there as well. I like how this story has both the adult and the child sensing and recognizing the magical things that happen, and that they have a special bond due to the events and walls of their special little place. One thing that I particularly like is that the author as the narrator acknowledges that certain places have a magic about them ingrained within the walls. There is an unexplainable vibe that emanates from the interior, due to the history and artistry that occurred within the environs. Those magical moments resonate and seep into all that occurs there forever more, only creating a domino effect that perpetuates the initial embedded sparks of moments.

This story was a breeze to read, even though the story was not very heavy, the content was also not airy and full of thought provoking events that made you think long after closing the cover. I found it appealing how each chapter ended in a way to enhance the book's page turning appeal by wrapping up the current bout of magic and unexplained events with leading you to be curious about what was coming next. For example, "You will want to stay, if you can. Some have for a while. Like the possum..." With those incomplete sentences and mentioning of something unusual, you naturally turn the page. I also like how each magical story has a theme to the magic, and that different aspects of human nature are nurtured back to a healthy state in the end of the chapter. I especially liked the story chapter "Lightening Strikes," where Marc's key melts in the lock after lightening does indeed strike the cafe, and he begins to ooze poetry that sees the future, if you can figure out the meaning of the poetic wording before the event happens. As a teacher, my heart strings were of course pulled in the story "The Magic Muffins" where little children are involved in a bus wreck, and they are magically healed and nurtured by eating the muffins which multiplied to the exact needed amount. "The Star" is sentimental and touching, and I love how the photo changes after the old man "waited for his friend to take him home."

Overall, this book was a quick, enjoyable read that I would recommend. I don't know that I would read it to my second graders, but I definitely would to 4th or 5th graders as a thought provoking text that gives platforms for discussion.

The Light of DiCamillo's The Tale of Despereaux

DiCamillo, K. (2003). The Tale of Despereaux. Candlewick Press.

Newbery Medal Winner - 2004
I have to start by saying that like many fans of quality children's literature, I found Kate DiCamillio back when Because of Winn Dixie came out through word of mouth. Of course, I loved it. I thought that it was the work of an author who knows how to craft a story well and pull me in as a reader from the beginning. I admit that I acquired The Tale of Despereaux through my trusty Scholastic Bonus Points over a year ago, but that I have yet to read it. I didn't give myself the chance to get into the rhythm of the story, which is written in a different way than Winn Dixie. However, I have read The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. A wonderful little girl who is an avid reader in my class told me that I had to read it, because I love books and great stories, and that she had just finished reading it at night with her sisters and mom. I told her that I would have to check it out from the library, but her mom brought it in the next day and said, "Just give it a try. You have to get over the first couple of chapters, but then you can't put it down. Just stick through the first few chapters." So, I did. I went home and read, and every morning, I had to have book talk with my second grader "reading buddy." I had to trust that DiCamillio's word weaving would take me on an unpredictable but complete journey, and it did. Her writing took me places in my imagination that I would have never thought of on my own. That's the magic of her crafting as an author.

Despereaux is written in a different style, but I style I would definitely relate more to Edward Tulane than to Winn Dixie. It's fantasy manner with DiCamillio talking to "the reader" throughout the story, making sure that you are paying close attention to events, turning points,and key vocabulary that make the style unique to the reader's prior interactions with text. The different style is intriguing, as if she has a finger and she is beckoning you to trust in her and the journey she desires to show you. There is a romantic, wistful way to the language and rhythm of the story as it unfolds, and the tone is set early in the novel to set the stage for how she wants you to feel about the mouse Despereaux who has a rough life from the beginning. He's born into the world already unappreciated and despised, for no good valid purpose that he has any fault in at all. Despite being branded with the name which means despair, he troops on unaffected by the negativity and refuses to be weighed down by all of those repressed by stereotyping. He keeps his mind on the magic and allure of purity, and under the romantic tone of the story, falls in love with the iconic symbol of it all, the princess. Not only that, but the others are threatened by his newness and boldness to not mesh into their preconceived fears, especially when it comes to how he adores music and the power of the written word and loves to read. He caresses the words on the page, as if to feel the magic and warmth of something living. When Despereaux is sent off by the majority, the change in the beating of the drum builds a subconscious tension within the reader, setting an elevating tone to the written situation.

It's interesting to have the book divided into "books" to allow for a major switch in the direction of the previous chapter. In the second book, while being banished, Despereaux encounters a rat named Roscuro, who in his own way has an unusual craving unlike his own typical rat peers because he is drawn to light and craves to be around it. A homely and sad character is introduced in book three, named Miggery Sow, who is a young girl that's not bright and is convinced that she would be "good enough" to dream of being a princess. It was not happily entertaining to read about her hard life and mistreatment, and I had to keep pushing myself through a part I would normally not care for, trusting in the journey DiCamillo wants me to take. It's not peachy to read about a poor mouse who is undeservedly banished by his own family that is ashamed of him and unloving. There's a string of dark undertone that is not warm and fuzzy, with the mistreatment, beating, despair, and the like.

I do like how the end in the coda that DiCamillo desires for you to remember the line from Gregory the jailer that "Stories are light." With characters drawn to light and the magic of text, you indeed walk away with that main idea in your mind. It was an interestingly written book, different but intriguing enough to keep you curious to stay on the journey. I would not read it to my second graders, but upper elementary kids would probably love the mysterious journey, especially if read aloud by a great, expressive voice. Like when I read Edward Tulane, I am at least glad I encouraged myself to trust in the journey of the story's lighted path.