Missing May By: Cynthia Rylant

Rylant, C. (1992). Missing May. Yearling.

Newbery Medal Winner – 1993

This is my last post on a Rylant book, and I feel a sort of grief myself. I feel like I have had such an opportunity to get to know her this semester through our readings, class discussions, and yes, my drive through West Virginia during Spring Break. I have always read numerous Rylant books in my second grade classroom, and felt I knew about her crafting and how children interpret her writing rather well. However, I’m surprised to feel like as an adult reader, looking at books with a bit more of a keener eye for her inspirations and connectivity to so many of her written pieces. Once again, I pictured the mountain landscape, modest homes and lifestyle of many who live in West Virginia as I read Missing May.

This story involves four characters, three of which are still living, coping with the death of the fourth. Summer provides the first person perspective as the storyteller and is an orphan who, after many transitions, finally ends up happily living with her Uncle Ob and Aunt May. The reader comes into the story after Aunt May has passes away, and misses out on having a deeper emotional connection to her, but perhaps that would have clouded our listening to Summer, for as the reader, I depended on her words to give the only perspectives available – hers and her Uncle Ob. They are both saddened, and have difficulty moving on in their somewhat isolated existence. In steps their somewhat eccentric neighbor boy named Cletus, whose simplicity actually helps them to try to find clarity about their situation. I liked Summer’s insight on Cletus where she states: “Cletus had some gifts-I was learning this bit by bit-and knowing when to talk and when not to was turning out to be one of them.” (p. 56-57) He comes across information on a psychic, and Uncle Ob begins to put some blind hope into being able to talk to Aunt May in the afterlife, and so they set out on a “big” trip with their hopes in tow to visit this woman. Sadly, when they get to the town, they find that the psychic herself had passed away, which deflates their hopes and they head back home. First Cletus and Summer are afraid that Ob’s quiet disappointment means that he won’t stop off I-64 to let them see the “big city” capital of Charleston, but Ob has a moment that his tide changes. It seems that he knows he needs to move on, and takes them there to see the sights, including the famous gold dome of the capital. I definitely visualized that scene, as the capital building is quite close to the interstate on 64, and after seeing the rest of the state, could understand why Summer felt a pleasure about seeing it. She described it as:

“The capitol building sprawled gray concrete like a regal queen spreading out her petticoats, and its giant dome glittered pure gold in the morning sun. I felt in me an embarrassing sense of pride that she was ours. That we weren’t just shut-down old coal mines and people on welfare like the rest of the country wanted to believe we were. We were this majestic, elegant thing sitting, solid, sparkling in the light.” (p. 70-71)

The glittering of the dome becomes in a way a symbol for their new glimmer of hope for their futures, and that beauty still exists in what is a seemingly gray world. After finishing the book, it is easy to see why the book is divided into two parts – one entitled “Still as Night” and the second “Set Free” because in the end, they are indeed set free from the weight of grief and they are left with memories and hope. Rylant’s crafting in Missing May is trademark her, with a well written and easy to read chapter book as a result.

The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales Written By: Virginia Hamilton and Illustrated By: Leo and Diane Dillon

Hamilton, V. (1985). The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales. Alfred A. Knopf.

Coretta Scott King Award: for writing – 1986, honor for illustration – 1986.

This collection of folktales have been collected and written by Virginia Hamilton, and is divided into four major sections of chapters. They are 24 versions of some of the most commonly heard and told traditional folktales of African American origin. Hamilton gives a very informative introduction to the collection which helps to explain the origins of the stories. She begins with an insightful statement: “Folktales take us back to the very beginnings of people’s lives, to their hopes and their defeats.” She goes on to explain the reasoning and need that arose for African Americans who were slaves to have a rich oral storytelling tradition. As oppressed people, they still held fast to their gifts within to keep themselves going as people, and one of those many gifts was their imagination. Hamilton explains that many of the commonly heard characters, such as the rabbit, snake, and fox, “took on the characteristics of the people found in the new environment of the plantation.” The slave was often represented by the characteristics of the small rabbit, who was known to be a sharp thinker and able to use his skills to deal with stronger, meaner animals such as a fox or bear, which represented the oppressive factors and people in their life as a slave. Later on after the war, the protagonist began to take on the name John and with this more directly human representation, he takes on more of a trickster role who uses his cunning to outsmart the slave owner. Hamilton uses what she refers to as “a reasonably colloquial language or dialect, depending on the folklore.” Elements of coastal Southern Gullah, Caribbean, and numerous African language influences make each story distinctive yet influenced by the different cultures. An extensive bibliography of her sources for the tales which she compiled and adapted during her research is given at the end of the book. My particular edition that I reviewed included the enhancement of an audio CD of eleven of the stories read by the amazing voice of James Earl Jones, as well as the author herself.

The first section is entitled: “He Lion, Bruh Bear, and Bruh Rabbit and Other Animal Tales.” These various tales use animals in humanistic ways to represent slaves and the people in their lives, and how the animals outsmarted their way out of situations. The second section of the book is called: “The Beautiful Girl of the Moon Tower and Other Tales of the Road, Extravagant, and Fanciful.” Fanciful tales found in this section deal with the protagonist being rewarded in the end, such as to win over the beautiful woman. Some of the stories are tall tales of exaggeration as well. One story was hard for me to walk away liking, entitled “The Two Johns” because of the killing of a grandmother and such. I personally feel it is a mature tale not for the young to hear. There are also some drawings in the Hairy Man story that would have petrified me as a kid. The third section is entitled: “John and the Devil’s Daughter and Other Tales of the Supernatural.” It is in this section that there is a prevalence of John as the main character, and supernatural, the devil, and ghosts are in this section, and again, they are not for the easily scared. The last section is called: “Carrying the Running-Aways and other Slaves Tales of Freedom.” The story in this section where the book’s title derives from “The People Could Fly” is very inspirational and hopeful in its symbolism of freedom and speaks of perseverance and strength in the most challenging situation of being a slave. This book, written by Hamilton and illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon, is a gift in many regards. They created a collection that not only serves as entertainment, but even more so as a way of educating on the storytelling and way of life as a slave, and to historically record a rich cultural heritage.

Bull Run Written By: Paul Fleischman and Illustrated By: David Frampton

Fleischman, P. (1993). Bull Run. HarperCollins.

This book is a fictional collection of stories from sixteen characters that have some connection to the Civil War battle of Bull Run. Reminiscent of his crafting of chapters in Seedfolks, Fleischman writes each chapter to be one person’s point of view. In contrast to how in Seedfolks he had each person’s story told only within one exclusive chapter, in Bull Run, the chapters are shorter, but the characters resurface to give another point of view chapter in the book several times. Fleischman’s illustrator for this book is David Frampton, and he uses wood cuts to make primitive, folk art quality black block ink prints that have symbols of some sort that represent the character along with the person’s initials included in the block. The woodcut picture accompanies the character’s name as a header to each story chapter, which helped me to keep up with who was talking. Fleischman also writes down the character names in the back along with the page numbers of their chapters so to help those who plan to do some oral telling of it, such as in readers’ theater. (Fleischman knows the teacher’s terms for this. I’m impressed!) The end pages of this hardback version are slightly cream and parchment like, giving an echo of the maps on them as being on old charts. The maps zero in from the East Coast, to the Eastern Theater in the upper portion of Virginia where Bull Run occurred (in Northern Virginia,) to strategic maps in the back end pages which show the lines of action in the morning and how they progressed into the afternoon.

Lives are intertwined in some regard throughout the book, some more than others. Characters are from the North and the South, are women and men, young and old, free and slaves. This grouping is very diverse, which makes this book so powerful to read, and to use as a much more dimensional, engaging teaching tool than reading any flat North vs. South statements about the Civil War. There was no cut and dry way a Northerner was, nor a Southerner. Within those warring sides existed many shades of gray. I think that this book would be an excellent teaching tool and springboard for discussion, because accounts of people, whether real or realistically fictionalized, bring the human aspect forward in the history. Humans naturally seek to make human connections, and that’s what made this story of the Civil War so much more approachable to me than I thought it would be.

Instead of going in depth on all sixteen characters, I instead wanted to draw out some of the subtle ways Fleischman writes about some of the interactions I observed as a reader. One that particularly caught my attention early in the book was on page 2, when Colonel Oliver Brattle living near Fort Sumter in Charleston, noticed the what was to him an odd reaction by the African Americans standing outside when everyone was observing, which was that they were “similarly glum-suspiciously so.” Then the Colonel ended saying that as he looked at one of his servants and “the slimmest of smiles fled his lips, like a snake disappearing down a hole.” The hope of freedom and walking away from his oppressive life must have been brought to the forefront of the servant’s mind as a reality.

I chuckled at the comparison one character named Shem Shuggs made: “Mr. Bee hated Yankees the way a broom hates dirt…” I admired the way Fleischman used language creatively when he was describing train cars departing with soldiers aboard: “The cars moved, drawing taut and then snapping dozens of parting conversations.” In the age of photography’s birth, hand illustrations were still the most prevalent way of depicting and sharing images, and one such artist for a newspaper, James Dacy, describes after seeing a skirmish between soldiers: “I burned to put upon paper the faces of the taunting traitors and the fallen heroes, took up a pencil, tried to draw-but couldn’t. My hands were shaking, with fury.” The perspective of Gideon Adams was of particular interest, as he was a light skinned African American who self-elected to fight on the side of the South. To hear his point of view as a fly on the wall where he heard and saw unacceptable treatment and opinions of people like him was heartbreaking.

Although the book could have included much more blood and gore, it does have some bits and pieces which act as glimpses into a major part of the realities of the war. The mentioning of some scary scenes act as just enough to make it a required part of the story playing out in your head, but there is not so much where your stomach completely turns or to grossly distract you from the core of the story, which is the behavioral interactions of the characters. This book does have a few terms in here which I would consider strong (mild curses) and that needs to be considered as a teacher how to deal with that as a part of the text. The stories are powerful and paint a vivid, emotionally charged portrait of how war affects people.

Boundless Grace Written By: Mary Hoffman and Illustrated By: Caroline Binch

Hoffman, M. (1995). Boundless Grace. Dial Books for Young Children.

This book is a sequel to Amazing Grace, a picture book about a spunky, self-confident young African-American girl. In Boundless Grace, the story’s protagonist has a curiosity about the father that she has never really had in her life. Her mother and father split up and he moved back to Africa and there he started another family after remarrying. Grace is told by her Nana that lives with her that “A family with you in it is a real family. Families are what you make them.” Later on, her father sends two plane tickets for Grace to visit, and she goes with her Nana to Gambia to do just that. At first, coming to a new culture was a lot for her to take in, as well as to digest her extended family for the first time. She enjoys her step-siblings, and begins to warm up to the adults. Grace is fascinated with the difference at the market and the beautiful things there as well, and the illustration by Caroline Binch is gorgeous with it richness of hues in watercolor.

While talking to her Nana once, Grace makes an interesting simile about herself: “I feel like gum, stretched out all thin in a bubble. As if there isn’t enough of me to go around. I can’t manage two families. What if I burst?” Nana, as her confidant, reminds her she can handle anything because there is no such thing as one kind of family, and that family is what you make of them. Each day, her heart grows for her new extended family as they have a farewell dinner and her father takes her to pet tame crocodiles, where she makes a wish. When Grace asks her Nana as they depart about why hasn’t she heard of a family like hers before, her Nana says that when they get back to the States, they will look up about books on families like hers, so she can see others do exist. (Yea, Nana! Books can teach you anything and show you that you too also belong in the world, no matter who you are!) This book is great as a sequel comparison, to see the progression of time and character development in Grace. Also, it’s a great read aloud for any studies related to Africa. This picture book could be used for comparing difference and similarities in two cultures, and how there is not one right way or type of culture or family. I could also see a guidance counselor using this book for a lesson at guidance time or with an individual student who for some reason feels different or out of place. Diversity makes the world go round!

Weslandia Written By: Paul Fleischman and Illustratred By: Kevin Hawkes

Fleischman, P. (1999). Weslandia. Candlewick Press.

The diversity of author Paul Fleischman cannot be denied. From wordless picture books to chapter books for middle schoolers on heavy subjects to poetry, Fleischman dabbles successfully in an array of genres and writing styles. This particular selection, Weslandia, is a picture book with a text story by Fleischman and a pairing with illustrator Kevin Hawkes. The illustrator worked with Fleischman again in 2004 in Sidewalk Circus, and the two of them apparently get one another’s visions and mesh well. Hawk es color drenched, full page bleeds are very appealing and help to tell the story beyond just the text.

The story is focused on a boy named Wesley who some would consider to be a bit “nerdy.” However, I see him as an extremely smart and mature child who is not on the same cognitive or emotional level as his peers are. Wesley knows what he likes, and doesn’t conform to any of the peer pressure or trends that he encounters on a daily basis in his life. As the story opens up, we find that Wesley is alienated by his peers as well as his parents, but that doesn’t stop his curious spirit from marching on and exploring ideas by reading. (The kids and I like that he reads and researches to plan his project!) Wesley understands himself, and gets his own genius. With that, he decides to create his own civilization with a “staple food crop” for survival that summer. Magical wind comes through that night to Wesley’s back yard, and within a few days, the seedlings of the staple food crop, a particular and new plant has Wesley’s inquisitiveness about its uses in a food and fiber manner get the ball rolling on the realities of the creation of his civilization in the back yard. He uses the fruit to get juice, leaves for herbs, tuber roots like potatoes, and the bark for weaving into cool clothing and a hat. Wesley not only has a mind to figure out how to use things efficiently, but he knows how to make a profit off of his bounty as well. Through this activity, his civilization comes alive and he is a true leader such as teaching new games and activities, and goes on to create his own written language, system of time and a new way of counting. As the summer wraps up, we watch kids marching behind Wesley to school, and they have adapted to his style of fashion. The bottom line is it can be very good to be different from the crowd, because you can come out being a leader.

This book is one I have used annually for about 5 years, and I share it during the second nine weeks, around January, when I am ready to step up the challenge of a picture book for read aloud. I like the story lines to have less predictability and more complicated plot lines, and I love stories that introduced throughout the story good, juicy vocabulary, as long as it is not too much over their heads. I am big about discussing vocabulary and challenging my kids to use inference for the story’s events. It’s important for the children to all be engaged with listening and thinking about the text, and I find that at the end of the book, there are students will their minds reeling, thinking about what they would do if they could have the ability to create any kind of civilization that they wanted. My kids have worked with map skills and creating maps of things, but not yet of a place of their own design. This book acts as not only a wonderful read aloud, but also a great springboard into a writing workshop specific topic writing piece, with in this case, an accompanying map. Regardless if the student is a girl or boy, I find that they really get into it and love sharing them with their peers at author’s chair time!

Lon Po Po: A Red Riding Hood Story from China By: Ed Young

Young, E. (1989). Lon Po Po: A Red Riding Hood Story form China. Philomel.

Caldecott Medal Winner – 1990

This book entitled Lon Po Po, is written and illustrated by Ed Young, and is a version of Little Red Riding Hood from the country of China. When I read this book with my second graders, I did so for a few reasons, besides that I like to try my books that are selected for my blog on them to see if they pass the “kid test.” I shared it during our genre study of fairy tales, which I had started out the unit by reviewing and sharing some of the classic, more European versions that are more famously known by the children, and shared this version of Red Riding Hood to make a Venn of comparisons of similarities and differences to the more familiar version known in America. The same can be done with Cinderella stories from around the world, on a much grander scale because there is a large pool of Cinderella type stories from which to drawn upon.

In this Chinese version, Young tells a story which is similar to the European version’s portion of when Little Red Riding Hood is actually interacting with the “grandmother” disguised as the wolf. This Chinese version is mostly just of that comparative section. Three children are left at home by their mother, who travels to go see their Po Po, or grandmother, on her birthday for an overnight stay. Although they are instructed to keep the door latched, the children, Shang, Tao, and Paotze, are initially tricked to open it up for the wolf, who is impostering their grandmother as if she had come there and missed the mother on her travels because she must have traveled another route. Similarities can be drawn in the portion of Lon Po Po to the European version when the children comment on unusual observations about their “grandmother” as if something is not quite right, but the wolf makes excuses to try to string them along. Shang, the wisest being the oldest, sees a glimpse of the wolf in the darkened room and turns the tables on the wolf’s trickery. Shang has Tao and Paotze climb up a tree with her to get ginko nuts which they have been persuading the wolf to crave. In the end, they manage to get down after the wolf retrieves a basket on a rope and falls down to death on the ground instead of being hoisted all the way up by the children. They nonchalantely go back to the house and tell their no so alarmed mother about it the next day, which doesn’t quite give me the satisfying ending that I was seeking, but it is still a great story to use for comparative purposes and as part of a large expose experience for children to interact with folk tales and fiction from around the globe.

Abuela Written By: Arthur Dorros and Illustrated By: Elisa Klevin

Dorros, A. (1991). Abuela. Puffin.

In this story, a little girl named Rosalba goes to the park with her Abuela, or grandmother. The grandmother primarily speaks Spanish and is an immigrant living in New York City with her family. Throughout the book, there are Spanish words and phrases blended into the primarily English text, but the meaning of the Spanish is always explained in the context of the story, or can be figured out by the surrounding sentence and using inference skills. The two take off on an “adventure” in their creative minds, and that’s where we spend the majority of the picture book flying with them on their imaginary flight in the sky. Abuela and Rosalba take the reader with them on a beautiful virtual tour of the neighborhood and the nearby city of New York. The illustrator, Elisa Kleven, has created mesmerizing collages that depict an amazing bird’s eye view of the city. The boldness of the great variety of pattern and saturation of so many colors enhance the aerial views that are chock full of attention to detail, from all the people inside of building windows to the people involved in a multitude of activities that makes a big city a buzzing place of activity. Again, I think this book would be a beneficial choice to talk about multi-cultural aspects, especially providing students and readers an opportunity to be exposed to a culture that they may not be very familiar with at all. The technique of illustrating could easily be “replicated” by students in their own traveling adventures and would make for a great display of published and illustrated stories. Great text-to-text connections could be made both in comparing the text and similarities in the book using the book Tar Beach, which has somewhat of an identical imaginary type of aerial view through part of its story, as well as its own version of patchwork like collage illustrations. I recommend this book, especially for making extensions with and connections to units of study and other trade books.

Peppe the Lamplighter Written by: Elisa Bartone and Illustrated By: Ted Lewin

Bartone, E. (1993). Peppe the Lamplighter. Lothrop, Lee, and Shepard.

Caldecott Honor – 1994

This picture book has illustrations done by Ted Levin that you can clearly tell that the depiction of light in the realistic watercolor scenes in the darkness are the reason why the pictures won the artist recognition with a Caldecott Honor. The light plays both an important part of the story and the paintings, for the main character Peppe takes on the job of being a street lamp lighter in a Little Italy neighborhood that he lives in, and I estimate the time frame to be around the turn of the century. Peppe is an immigrant and lives with his father, who can be crabby and moody, and his eight sisters, and his mother was no longer living. As a young man in the family, he feels the drive to help support them by seeking a job in the neighborhood that he could do for his age, which I estimate him to be around 10-13 years old. When a man has to travel back to Italy to get his wife, Peppe gets the opportunity that he is seeking to be employed as the nightly lamplighter. At first, Peppe felt a special sense of pride about his job: “and each one Peppe imagined to be a small flame of promise for the future.” His father initially shows no encouragement or pride for his hard working son, but comes around later in the story when Peppe decided to not go out due to the constant discouragement and does not light lamps one night. Because he did that, his father realized how critical his job was, and finally encouraged him to do what he was doing well so he could find the missing youngest girl, Assunta, who had no yet come home. When he reached his last lamp that night, after wishing on every flame he lit for the safety of his baby sister, she is sitting there. In a touching painting, light pours over Peppe as he holds Assunta up so she may reach to lamp that light, because she told him that she wanted to grow up to be just like him, and with that idolization, announces, “I think it must be the best job in America.” A great selection to share to compare times from long ago and today, as well as to discuss the immigration experience in a big city more than 100 years ago. Indeed, Peppe’s perseverance is his own lighted lamp of promise, and a role model to the reader.

Amelia's Road Written By :Linda Jacobs Altman and Illustrated By: Enrique O. Sanchez

Altman, L. (1993). Amelia’s Road. Lee & Low.

The author, Linda J. Altman, has a special interest in the migrant worker way of life, and as a result, created this picture book to tell the perspective of a little girl who is the daughter of a mother and father who are migrant workers. More than anything, Amelia would like to not be on the move constantly and daydreams of being able to have a place to call home, with a picturesque white home with blue shutters. During her stay on a farm where the whole family is helping to pick apples, Amelia goes to yet another new school, but this time, her teacher makes the point to learn her name and make her feel valued. That simple act meant so much to Amelia, whose self-worth was somewhat damaged from not having a steady home and school experience. She comes across a path, or what she refers to as an accidental road, on the way home from school one day. Amelia wanders down the path, and to her “It was old beyond knowing, and quite the sturdiest, most permanent thing Amelia had ever seen.” She began to spend her afternoons there, and “she wanted to belong to this place and know that it belonged to her.” It gave her a sense of history and steadfastness, even though she knew it wouldn’t last. When it came time to move again, she came across a discarded old metal money box, and in it, she begins to keep memories. Those things, such as her drawing of her fantasy home, a ribbon once given to her by her mother, a family picture taken at her prior birthday, and the name tag her teacher had made her. Each one of those things gave her history, and she could carry them with her, and build upon those memories throughout her life. This story is important in the way it explains the lifestyle and hardships of migrant workers, and exposes children to other cultures and ways of life. This book could be used to compare and contrast to stories involving immigrant from the 1800s, to see similarities and differences between not only life back then versus life now, but the common and uncommon challenges newcomers have coming to a new culture and trying to make a living. The illustrations are by Enrique O. Sanchez, and are rich in acrylic colors on canvas, and the texture of the canvas comes through the paints to add an additional dimension to the well done paintings.

Gooseberry Park Written By: Cynthia Rylant and Illustrated By: Arthur Howard

Rylant, C. (1995). Gooseberry Park. Harcourt Brace.

In my never ending quest to study the craft of author Cynthia Rylant, I read this chapter book selection entitled Gooseberry Park. This book has a few illustrations per chapter, some of which are full page, and others enhance the edge of a page. Although chapter books are typically known for their content and not much at all for their illustrations, Rylant’s appealing animal story is truly enhanced by the wonderfully humorous sketches done by illustrator Arthur Howard, who also illustrates for her Mr. Putter and Tabby series of easy readers. The facial expressions and body language tell the emotion of the depicted characters in an entertaining way. Touches are present of one of Rylant’s small crafting “trademarks” of using trademarked items, like a Mars bar or Oreos, or the names of real television shows which ties into the illustration of Norm from This Old House on the TV screen (which is particularly more funny to me as an adult.) Another crafting element Rylant continues to use is the whispering of ideas in parentheses to slightly continue a thought, for example: Stumpy spent her time as usual: housekeeping (well, a little); food collecting (she didn’t trust Murray’s hand-to-mouth existence); and admiring all the new treasures her children were bringing home. A third styling of Rylant also exist: her short and incomplete sentences that serve as purposeful punctuation of an idea, like: “And busy. Quite busy.”

The main storyline involves a man named Professor Albert who bought a hermit crab for a pet as a retiree who needed something more in his life, and then later on heard that a neighbor had a litter of puppies. Well, the professor ends up acquiring one, naming it Kona, who ends up making friends with a squirrel named Stumpy. Stumpy also befriends a quirky bat named Murray who delivers the comic relief of the story. Stumpy becomes a mom to a litter of babies, and when a bad ice storm hits the town, Kona becomes fret with worry about his friend and her babies who live in the park named Gooseberry Park. Kona, with the help of Gwendolyn the hermit crab, cracks out of the house and sets off to rescue Stumpy and her little ones under Murray’s guidance in the park. Once they make the treacherous journey back to the house, they join back up with Gwendolyn and go about stealing food from the professor’s kitchen to nurse the babies to good health, until the winter weather eases up. The point of view of the animals is the main focus of the story, and the semi-clueless professor who is not quite as sharp as the animals is still appealing. A fun, descriptive read aloud to share with the class!

Gooney Bird and the Room Mother By: Lois Lowry

Lowry, L. (2005). Gooney Bird and the Room Mother. Yearling.

My girl Gooney! Where do I begin? Okay, well, anyone who knows anything about me as a teacher knows that we work hard in my classroom, but we also love a good laugh and enjoy each other’s humor on a daily basis. Humor has always been one of my best medicines. I was introduced to Gooney Bird in the first offering entitled Gooney Bird Greene after our school reading specialist recommended it to my team at a meeting not long after it had come out. One standout about the book is that the writing process is discussed in it with the children by the teacher and Gooney Bird, which is great for the purpose of setting the stage for writing workshop in my classroom each year. At the entertainment level, the main character, Gooney Bird Greene, exhibits numerous distinctive character traits, such as being creative and confident, which serves as a great platform for discussion character traits with the class as well.

Gooney moves to a new town and begins going to Watertower Elementary School. She is feisty and has her own certain brand of quirky insight and maturity. In the first chapter book, she boldly speaks as if she is an equal to the teacher, although not in a defiant or misbehaving way, and gets up in front of the class to tell her “Gooney Bird” style stories. Every one of her stories has a title, which she often gives as a tease to make the class think, and the meaning of the title never quite comes out how to mean what you would first think that it means by hearing it. After a few of her stories, which are told by Gooney in various chapters in the book, my students catch on to her “style of crafting” and start thinking outside of the box, because Gooney only tells “absolutely true stories.” I then begin to tell Gooney Bird style stories throughout the year about little events that are appropriate to share with my students and with titles that make them think. I give the title ahead of time, and they relish in trying to figure out what I really mean and love the tease of their thinking. It’s one of our favorite things to do in class for a little fun and higher level thinking!

I wanted to find out if the second installment in the series was close to being as good as the first. I observed some of the same favorite elements in this book, such as Gooney with her confident spirit and leadership in the classroom, but I did honestly miss her stories, and I knew my class would miss that favored element as well. However, the book is still enjoyable and also still serves as a good discussion point and teaching tool with its own particular language arts focus, which is on vocabulary. The way that the teacher, Mrs. Pigeon, has the class use inference as well as dictionary skills to figure out the meaning of possibly new and unfamiliar terms Gooney uses, such as ennui, cajole, fiasco, and underestimate, is rather similar to what I do in my classroom. My kids thought the “coincidence” of the way we are just like Mrs. Pigeon’s class was a great connection to make to the text! Students and readers interacting with this book also use their own skills with inference to think about meanings of vocabulary as well. The story line involves Gooney finding a “mystery person” to be the room mom to help with their play production, and without giving away the ending, let’s just say Gooney pulls some strings and pulls on Mrs. Pigeon’s heartstrings to get the job done. I enjoyed sharing the sequel with my class, who was eager to “visit” with our buddy Gooney again, but we did miss her uncanny storytelling!

Take a Giant Leap, Neil Armstrong! By: Peter and Connie Roop

Roop, P. and C. (2005). Take a Giant Leap, Neil Armstrong! Scholastic.

I picked up this chapter book from the gift shop at the Armstrong Air and Space Museum. located in his family's primary hometown of Wapakoneta, Ohio while I was on Spring Break in that state. Whenever I go to a new place, I have to go to the museums that are new (or old favorites) and I have to go to their gift shops. Museum gift shops are a magnet to people who are teachers! I decided my souvenir, besides a postcard for my globe spanning post card collection, would be a book that I could read for my project. I told my students that about the book, and with my fascination, a few of my students soon jockeyed to have a turn with the book in their personal book boxes so they could read it for reading workshop.

This chapter book is from a series of biographies published by Scholastic called “Before I Made History” and is written by the author duo of Peter and Connie Roop. I am previously familiar with work from this couple from their books such as Keep the Lights Burning Abbie and Buttons for General Washington. I mostly know them for their non-fiction history related books, but they have written all types of genres, both non-fiction and fiction. This particular biography on Neil Armstrong was quite full of facts and content in ten solid chapters, but never went on too long or drawn out on an aspect of his life so to keep the pace moving. I think that it could be very easy to fall into a challenge of telling about a very accomplished person’s life and feel overwhelmed with how much to tell and how much detail would be supportive. I feel that the Roops did a fine job of finding a balance of telling about Armstrong’s whole life, yet sticking to the side of the scale of his years growing up, which is the aim of the “Before I Made History” series.

In general, many people know about Armstrong’s most famous accomplishments, but do they know what happened in his life and what were his driving forces which led him to this major, historical accomplishment? I think that it is invaluable for students to learn about how Armstrong’s self-discipline for hard work and studying, along with his passion for his interests in flying and outer space, led him to persevere and believe in his dream of someday getting to walk on the moon. It’s was heartwarming to read about how his family was supportive of his interests in flying, and with their modest income, did manage to do things like take him to the Cleveland Airport on long, bumpy roads from their hometown area of Wapakoneta, Ohio as much as they realistically could, that his father took him on a real plane ride when rides were once being sold at a local airfield when he was six, and that they bought him a telescope to feed his curiosity of the night time sky. Armstrong was encouraged to read about his passions and he did as much as he could, and he built from scratch amazing airplane models, and later on, even a homemade wind tunnel.

He went to Perdue University to combine his passions of designing airplanes, flying, and outer space. Armstrong took a three year break being a fighter pilot, where he could fine tune his flying skills, serve his country in the Korean War, and have college tuition paid for through the scholarship. The last chapter discusses his space career, and where the book ends, it very easily leads a reader to read other sources and research to find out more about his infamous space career. I like that this book explains his foundations and how he found his passions, never giving up on his aspirations. I think that is important for young students to hear about in this world today. Hard work and perseverance will keep you from feeling held back and regretful in life. Armstrong certainly can look back and not regret anything!

Raven By: Gerald McDermott

McDermott, G. (1993). Raven: A Trickster Tale from the Pacific Northwest. Harcourt Brace.

Caldecott Honor Book – 1994


In this trickster tale told and illustrated by master artist Gerald McDermott, the cunning animal that outwits and conquers in this story is indeed a raven. The bird is depicted in the stylized, bold patterning indicative of the artistry of the native people of the Pacific Northwest region of America. The story’s major problem is seen by Raven, where he realizes that the Earth is dull and gray and in need of light, and so he sets out in an outsmarting way to get the sunlight back into the sky. Raven goes about this by transforming into a pine needle, falling in the water being drunk by a young woman, who becomes “with child” and has a boy (who is really the Raven reincarnated.) When the intriguing, spirited toddler cries for what is in the glowing box of his “grandfather,” The Sky Chief, the chief will give anything to make his grandson happy, and when he gets the glowing ball of sun, transforms back into a raven, flies into the sky, and places the sun there for all on Earth to benefit from.

In the front of the book, McDermott gives some background information on the origin of the raven artistically, as well as a trickster and prominent character in Native American culture in the Pacific Northwest who uses both his skills at tricking others and his goal to do so to be a hero in a helpful way. This combination of “brave and cunning, greedy and gluttonous” gives an interesting juxtaposition on a central character mainly utilized to explain the world around them in the days of oral storytelling tradition. On his website, (see the link in the Featured Author section on the right,) I found it interesting in his special trickster tale section that he stated: “The trickster has special appeal for children because of his ability to triumph over larger foes not by physical strength but by wit and cunning. In addition, tales of the trickster still speak to us in a gentle, humorous way about the strengths and weaknesses of humankind.” I think that McDermott puts into words a solid description of trickster tales of all kinds across cultures, and retold orally or by numerous authors. Children love to hear about animals that have humanistic characteristics, where being tricky or dishonest is not as scary than if it was a human character, and that subjects can be explored and discussed with a safe distance demeanor about the situation. McDermott is both a gifted storyteller and illustrator of children’s picture books.

Goin' Someplace Special Written By: Patricia McKissack and Illustrated By: Jerry Pinkney

McKissack, P. (2001). Goin’ Someplace Special. Antheneum Books for Young Readers.

Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration - 2002

This picture book is about a young girl named Tricia Ann, who is based mainly on the author and her experiences growing up in Nashville, Tennessee in the 1950s during Jim Crow and segregation laws existed. Tricia begs her grandmother, Mama Francis, to let her go “someplace special” by herself one day, saying that she is responsible and old enough to do so. It’s clear that Mama Francis feels protective of Tricia Ann, not because she thinks she’s irresponsible or immature, but because of the meanness and unfairness that exists outside of their neighborhood in the city. She allows her to go, and reminds her “no matter what, hold yo’ head up and act like you b’long to somebody.” When she boards the bus and has to sit in the back, she offers her seat to an older African American woman she knows named Mrs. Grannell, who gives her advice as well: “Carry yo’self proud.” Tricia Ann encounters another act of unfairness when she sees that she can’t sit on the park bench, or knows that she wouldn’t be allowed in the restaurant she stands in front of while visiting Jimmy Lee. He reminds her: “Don’t let those signs steal yo’ happiness.” Her worst experience that day is when Tricia Ann accidentally gets swept up in a crowd and shoved into a crowded hotel lobby, only to be humiliated by an insensitive manager and told to go. After being upset, she remembers her Mama Frances’ words that carry her on to her special destination, “You are somebody, a human being-no better, no worse than anybody else in this world. Gettin’ someplace special is not an easy route. But don’t study on quittin’, just keep walking straight ahead-and you’ll make it.” Indeed, the bittersweet story ends on a positive note in the fact that Tricia Ann does indeed make it to someplace special, some place where all are welcome, the public library. In the author’s note at the end, McKissack shares how her family instilled in her not only pride and a loving support system, but that “reading is the doorway to freedom.”

This picture book has wonderful watercolor and pencil illustrations done by Jerry Pinkney, and their softness lend to the spirit that is visually portrayed of Tricia by the book’s illustrations. The colors of yellow flowers against a blue background on her dress, along with the smile we see in part of the book, light up as the main feature of the otherwise and purposely more drab background. This picture book is a good example of a book that teaches about tolerance and about how life was like in a much different generation. McKissack’s book is also a positive example of how the importance of family values and support can give a child the foundation to stand up to the wrongs in society and know that he or she is loved and important regardless of the wrongful ignorance some people have.

Here We All Are By: Tomie DePaola

DePaola, T. (2000). Here We All Are. G.P. Putnam's Sons.

Tomie DePaola is always one of the first featured authors I delve into studying with my second graders each fall. My personal favorites of his are the ones that are auto-biographical in nature, perhaps partially or fully inspired by the truth. His distinctive drawing style is recognizable in any of his books, whether it's a story relating to his childhood or to series such as Strega Nona, the Barkers, or Bill and Pete. In his picture books that I looked through, it seems that he uses acrylic on handmade paper in all the ones that actually stated what he used. In his "26 Fairmont Avenue" series of memoirs, he writes the collection in beginning chapter book style, with illustrations that are in printed in black and white (except on the cover.) From my last count, there are seven so far in the series, with this selection Here We All Are as the second in the series, which follows the first which was a Newbery Honor winner.

In Here We All Are, Tomie is 5 years old in this selection that picks up where the first memoir left off, and he writes in the voice and perspective of a young child, which makes his writing so accessible to children the age in my class who love to “reflect on the good old days of when they were young.” (Kindergarten was sooo long ago to them, you know!) The voice DePaola writes in as Tomie is fresh and casual, nothing stuffy or all knowing at all, and that’s what my kids like. It’s like hearing him on the tape where he is talking to them, not at them. With the prior knowledge of our autobiographical picture books, then the video, the students loved the first 26 Fairmount Avenue so much, I picked up the second one which I didn’t have, and they felt like they were getting to sit and visit with him again. One of the things the kids laughed at was when Tomie said that his mom told him his furniture was “genuine maple” and “When no one was looking, I liked the bedpost to see if it tasted like maple syrup or the maple candies we got sometimes. It didn’t.” You can hear his disappointment punctuated with the two word sentence at the end, but the kids think it’s cool that he shared that goofy, embarrassing thing he did as a child with them. Just as when I read the first book in the series, the students were able to make text-to-text connections to some of his picture books, such as when he discusses how his Kindergarten teacher mixed powder paints and how awful they were (as in The Art Lesson.) He also explains things in a simple, concise way if he feels the reader may not understand, such as what a lavatory is or a “monitor top” refrigerator, so to introduce a few things from the past without going overboard. The kids get to “visit” with Tom and his Nana again, just like in the picture book Tom, and hear about Nana Fall River visiting to take care of him when his new baby sister is born. Overall, this edition is a light, fresh read of DePaola reminiscing with the reader at a very readable, identifiable level.

One quote that I have printed up that DePaola said I extract from his website when I review it with kids during our author study is when he says that his job as an illustrator is to “make the invisible visible.” Three more that I highlight with my students comes from his video tape which we have at our school media center. One quote is: “Be willing to practice over and over again. Be willing to fix your writing.” The second is: “If you read books, you can read everything about anything and anything about everything.” The last one is: “If you want to be a writer, you have to read, because that’s how you learn about writing.” I think those three quotes are particularly powerful because my students hear Tomie talking to them as near equals, and I always try to set that tone with my students. They are being told they are not just writers, but authors. With DePaola’s role modeling of fun fantasy stories as well as his memoirs straight from everyday, good memories from growing up where he remembers what it’s like to be a kid, my students seem to have a special respect for him.

PS - As a sidebar, I have a Strega Nona series book connection to share. I was at Costco one day a few years ago, perusing the book section. (Yes, I ALWAYS make a bee line straight to the book stacks anywhere, and my family has come to expect it from me!) Anyways, I began to flip through and admire some of DePaola's hard backs that were there, and lo and behold, the stack of picture books had been autographed by Tomie! They were genuine and had a sticker stating so on the front (Would Costco lie to me? I think not!) Well, I picked up a signed copy of Big Anthony, His Story that day, for around ten dollars. I honestly rarely splurge on hardbacks, but sometimes Costco reels me in with their power buying! It's on the small but growing "signed by the author" book section of my special teacher only shelf. They come down for read alouds, and with fanfare, are put back on the shelf to retain their condition. Moral of the story, keep your eyes peeled! You never know when you'll find signed copies! (Yes, I have found several signed picture books at yard sales as well!)

Swamp Angel Written by: Anne Issacs and Illustrated By: Paul O. Zelinsky

Issacs, A. (1994). Swamp Angel. Puffin Books.

Caldecott Honor Book – 1995 (illustrator Paul O. Zelinsky)

This picture book entitled Swamp Angel, is written by Anne Issacs and has illustrations created by master artist, Paul O. Zelinsky. From the moment that you look at the cover, it is clear why this book was honored for its distinction in artistic interpretation with a Caldecott honor in 1995. In this particular book, Zelinsky elected to create illustrations which were indicative of the flavor of the time period, with earth tone, natural colors with oils on real wood veneer backgrounds of cheery, birch, and maple, with folkart stylings of figures and landscapes. All of these elements are combined to give the pictures a home crafted feel to them. Even with traditional and handcrafted feeling, Zelinsky still also manages to incorporate exaggerated, tall tale renderings of characters and events. Combining all of those concepts into successful illustrations is a clear sign of a master artist at work.

The storyline is a new tall tale, although spun to sound as if it has been retold and passed down orally through generations of pioneers of long ago. Think of it as a newfangled, feminist version of a woman with Paul Bunyan stature. Although a brief review of her childhood is given in the first few pages, the story stays the course of once it sets the stage of her character traits by focusing on the story’s adventure and main problem. This main character, named Angelica Longrider, is a very likeable, confident lady who grows up to save those out in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee from the great bear called Thundering Tarnation (how “tall taleish” is that name?) She saves the day, of course, with pride and steadfast determination, and my kids loved cheering her efforts and spunky spirit on throughout the book. My students also noticed how in some picture spreads, you could see several different events taking place, and that their eyes followed from the first thing that happened in the scene to the next, but that they could also review the whole scene again in all of the steps of action before they turned the page. A crowd pleaser read aloud, and a welcome addition to a unit of study on tall tales as a type of fantasy genre, and serves as a refreshing break from hearing retellings of classics since it is new and fresh!

Galimoto Written By: Karen Lynn Williams and Illustrated By: Catherine Stock

Williams, K. (1990). Galimoto. Mulberry Books.

In this book Galimoto written by Karen Lynn Williams, a young boy named Kondi lives in a village in Africa and desires to create his own toy out of scrap wire that is found discarded around the village. The creation of a handmade toy out of wire is called making a galimoto, which in the short author’s note in the front of the book, Williams states that the term galimoto is from Malawi and may originate from the English term “motor car” inverted and pronounced differently. Kondi uses perseverance to find the supplies of wire here and there to create his treasure, and he is so proud of it because he made it and used creativity to create something fantastic out of scraps of trash. His determination rewarded him with a great toy and pride in having the best galimoto in the village for others to admire. Catherine Stock provides the soft and welcoming watercolors of Kondi’s day exploring his village, and the dappled colors and light are inviting to enjoy.

During one month in our multicultural display cases at Matthew Whaley each year, there is a display shown of African items, including several real galimotos. I always try to read this book around that month so I can show my students the real examples of galimotos in the display case. I took a few notes when illustrator for the book Catherine Stock came to our school for a visit in 2005. I remember that she said that as a writer and illustrator of her own books, she sees writing as being like a movie director, where you get to decide on the script, the costuming, the setting to shoot at, and the scenes you want to capture for the story. Stock expressed how much she enjoyed being an illustrator because as such, she is helping to create the visual movie in the reader’s head. I referred back to that idea several times throughout that school year, and brought it back up when I shared Galimoto with my class earlier this spring.

Be sure to check out illustrator (and also an author) Catherine Stock’s blog! It’s interesting to here about her influences, inspirations, observations, and thought processes on art and her life in France! http://letramizal.blogspot.com/ Also, be sure to check out both Karen Lynn Williams and Catherine Stock’s webpage links under my “Featured Authors and Illustrators” section to the right. There’s a lot of interesting things to read up on as a teacher and book appreciator, as well as to share with students about their inspirations and collaborations.

The Quiltmaker's Gift Written By: Jeff Brumbeau and Illustrated By: Gail de Marcken

Brumbeau, J. (2000). The Quiltmaker’s Gift. Scholastic.

I came across this book, as well as its sequel The Quiltmaker’s Journey, while perusing picture book selections at a quilt book booth at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival back in February at the Hampton Roads Convention Center on a Saturday with my mom. I really like the message of the story after quickly reading it at the display, and purchased it to share with my class the next week. The kids at this age are into anything the teacher shows enthusiasm for, and since I knew they would like hearing and seeing some photos of kid friendly quilts (such as insects, the historic triangle, extremely intricate geometric patterns, etc.) and having a book to connect in a round about way to my topic would hook them in even more. Although the author is gifted in his writing, I have to say that it is without question that the illustrations absolutely make this book breathtaking. Even my students “OOHED” and “AAHHED” as I showed them pages. I had only wished I had a big book version of it (although I doubt it exist) just to help them appreciate the amazing details. One of my kids reminded his classmates, “Remember guys, this must be one of those books that Ms. Melzer tells us to take back to our seats to look at by ourselves because the pictures are so amazingly detailed! Remember, just like she taught us when we were reading all of those Steven Kellogg books?” (These kids, I’m telling you! They hear everything you say!)

The story, with its king and cast of characters, is very much in the voice of a classic fairy tale. The king is greedy, and despite all of his riches and material goods, is never satisfied. (My kids wanted to give this guy a speech about being selfish! They couldn’t believe him! It made them mad! My kids, “the moral police!”) When he discovers that an old woman creates amazing quilts that are true pieces of art, he HAS to have one. However, she only gives them to the homeless and downtrodden at night, and for no amount of money or riches will she give the greedy king one. She welds her weight by telling him that if he wants one, he must give up his things to get the one thing he wants, and when the king realizes that he’s been missing out on the joy he feels when he gives to others, the fire is lit for him to continue with this. It also made him in turn appreciate having to wait and in a sense work for what he wants. I told my students that this book has its own website, and they asked me to put the link on my teacher web page, and so I did. One student came back with a printout from it which listed things that the author advised to look for hidden in the details of the pictures, and we left the printout tucked in the book, so when kids did indeed looked at it on their own at their desktop, they could find those hidden items. A gorgeous book with a powerful message!
The site is:

www.QuiltmakersGift.com

The Raft By: Jim LaMarche

LaMarche, J. (2000). The Raft. Harper Collins.

I have to start out by saying that the cover art of this picture book drew me right in to being intrigued by the story, with the warm, earth tones and very appealing drawn animals of nature standing in comfortable company with a young boy on the front cover. I had felt like I had seen his illustrating before, with its illuminesence, and upon reviewing the back cover, connected him to being the illustrator of The Rainbabies (which was one of those picture books my pre-schoolers in college wanted me to read everyday, and I saw it so much, I had the text and details memorized!) I shared The Raft with my second graders, and they (as usual) expected me to show the end pages, back cover, title and dedication page, because they have come very accustomed to predicting and getting their palette whet for what’s to come. I announced with relish that “Ooh! This book has an author’s note before the story!” Well, they were all about hearing that as well. “That will help us have some more prior knowledge before we start the main text, Ms. Melzer!” (No, I mean it. My students do talk like this! Sometimes, I get so wrapped up in our deep talking that my assistant or a volunteer will make “Oh my God!” faces in the back of the room, making me stop to be in awe of them myself. Sometimes, my kids knock me for a loop, making points or connections I hadn’t really thought of myself. Read aloud is one of my favorite times of the day for those moments!) Anyways, I enjoyed the author’s opening line discussing the impetus and his personal connections to the main character Nicky in the book:

“This story is like the cigar box I kept as a boy – it’s full of bits and pieces of my boyhood summers.” He ends the note after explaining his specific connections by stating: “This story is a little about all of those things-a summer in the woods, a special grandparent, becoming a river rat, and becoming an artist.”

Any one of those four points on their own could be a basis for a great story, but LaMarche magically ties all four in together with gorgeous illustrations to make a wonderful picture book.

The grandmother that Nicky stays with for the summer has her own quiet, round about way of showing Nicky the magic of nature and the country, a life polar opposite his in the big city, with amenities that grandma doesn’t have. I always enjoy stories where grandparents share a love and appreciation for something, especially when it involves the big meanings in life or for nature, and LaMarche does both here. I shared with my students my personal connections about how my Grandpa and Granny Melzer gave me a great appreciation for “the water” and the beach, with its critters and wildlife always outside of their back door. I was at their house daily while my father readied his workboat for his next day of crabbing, and I learned through them to find interest and awe in observing and loving the coast. I learned my love of gardening from my Granny and Grandpop Fox, who lived in York County (two minutes from my current residence.) My Grandpop kept a vegetable garden all my childhood, on land that had been in the family for at least five generations. My Granny Fox’s flowers were transplanted to my yard and my mother’s yard, and my granny Fox lives on because she nurtured those same plants my mother and I nurture today.

My students especially liked the “point of view perspective” of being underwater on one full page spread, with Nicky wearing a swimming mask to see underwater from the side of the raft and feeding the otters, as well as the magical, adventurous feeling conveyed in the spread where Nicky is camping overnight with a tent on the raft, with the moonlight glistening off the water and animals so comfortably surrounding him, giving us a safe feeling as an observer and on behalf of Nicky. I highly recommend this book for read aloud!

Miss Alaineus: A Vocabulary Disaster By: Debra Frazier

Frasier, D. (2000). Miss Alaineus: A Vocabulary Disaster. Harcourt.

In this picture book, author and illustrator Debra Frazier rolls out the creativity with both the choices of vocabulary play on words and the technique selected that is unique. Frazier draws with markers on notebook paper and cuts out several components for each spread and affixes them to the background of color. My second graders thought that was really interesting, because they were amazed at the neatness and creativity. The story revolves around a main character, Sage, who falls ill and misses the day of school when vocabulary words for the week are given out. Her best friend, Starr, gives them to her on the phone while in a rush, and she incorrectly hears the last word miscellaneous which meaning is foreign to her as “Miss Alaineus.” Sage tries to take shortcuts with defining the words by making up the definitions in her own wording rather than using the dictionary, and when she comes to Miss Alaineus, she thinks back on her “prior knowledge” of a year ago when she was grocery shopping with her mom, and her mother went to go pick up “miscellaneous” things for a spaghetti dinner. Sage thought the lady with flowing hair like spaghetti was THE “Miss Alaineus,” and so she wrote about that as the definition of the incorrect word. Of course, at the next Vocabulary Bee, Sage is given miscellaneous as a word to spell in front of the whole class, and she is humiliated when she realizes her error. In the end, when time for the Vocabulary Parade comes around, Sage makes lemonade out of lemons and dresses up as “Miss Alaineus – Queen of All Miscellaneous Things!” With her trophy in hand for most original use of a word , Sage realizes that life marches on after an embarrassing blunder.

As a great aficionado of details in visuals and the written word, I love how Frazier incorporates sentences that Sage wrote which uses three vocabulary words that begin with the same letter as the alphabetic border of the text throughout the layout of the book. I also appreciated Frazier’s creativity when she used vocabulary words as part of the storyline in an innovative, double meaning kind of way, and wrote the words in bold print with the definition following it. It reminds me a lot of how my students and I talk about vocabulary while we are reading a book, although we wait until at least the end of the sentence to discuss it. She also even makes a faux “Sage’s Vocabulary Parade Scrapbook” of her over the years in different, creative outfits (the one for “tension” is definitely innovative!) Seeing the assignments at the beginning and the end of the story gives background information and that feeling of getting to peek at things that you normally wouldn’t get to see. A creative, thought provoking book about vocabulary and the importance of words! Great text to text connections about vocabulary can be made with Miss Alaineus and Donovan’s Word Jar, written by Monalisa DeGross.