Go to Sleep, Gecko- A Balinese Folktale

Book Title: Go to Sleep, Gecko!  A Balinese Folktale	Author: Margaret Read MacDonald
Illustrator: Geraldo Valerio	Awards
Book Type:  Picture	Approx. Reading Level:  k-2
Age of Content Appropriateness: preK- 3	Date Published: 2006
Genre and Topic: folktale, community	Personal Rating of the Book:  3.5
ISBN: (13 or 10 digit) 978-0874837803

Summary

Gecko can’t sleep at night because the fireflies are flashing their lights all night.  He goes to Elephant to complain.  Elephant determines that the fireflies are doing their job protecting animals from stepping in the poop that Buffalo has left behind in the road and Gecko should go to bed.  Night after night Gecko tries to convince Elephant to talk to the chain of animals that lead to the fireflies but in the end, Elephant shows Gecko that if the chain is broken, Gecko won’t have food to eat.  Gecko then realizes that everyone is connected and he decides to accept the fireflies.

Ways to Use this Book

·       Can be used as part of a geography lesson on Bali and South Pacific regions

·       Students could come up with their own circle story that illustrates how they are connected to something larger

·       Author’s website and lesson ideas - Margaret Read MacDonald

Vocabulary Words

·         Bali- or Balinese- (cover) – an island nation in the South Pacific.

·         Thoughtful- page 11- considering others feelings and acting in a way that show you think about others.

6+1 Traits to Highlight – Presentation- The illustrations are what drew me into this book.  The high contrast between the bright yellow and the deep blues are very engaging.  The pictures are well composed and have interesting details. I like the way the fireflies are depicted.

Concerns with This Book: The frequent use of the word, “poop” may cause students to giggle and lose sight of the overall message of the story.

Meow Ruff; A Story In Concrete Poetry

Book Title:  Meow Ruff- A Story in Concrete Poetry	Author:  Joyce Sidman
Illustrator: Michelle Berg	Awards
Book Type:  Picture	Approx. Reading Level:  k-4
Age of Content Appropriateness: according to Scholastic Wizard- K but according to Amazon- up to grade 3 or 4.	Date Published: 2006
Genre and Topic: Poetry- Animals	Personal Rating of the Book:  5
ISBN: (13 or 10 digit) 978-0618448944

Summary of the Story/Book

This delightful book is made up of concrete poems.  Joyce Sidman has created an entire world from the grass to the clouds in words.  Even the gophers travel in word tunnels.  The basic story is about a dog who breaks outside, free from his leash and encounters a cat who happens to scare him up in a tree. The clouds are gathering and even though the crows would love to see a fight, the dog and cat snuggle up under a picnic shelter and take a nap until the storm passes.  They decide to be friends after their dangerous adventure and when the dog’s boy finds him, he takes the cat in as well.  It is a very happy ending to a truly outstanding book.   The visuals are stunning. The crisp colors and fonts make this a book that older students will marvel at and young students will just enjoy. 

Ideas on Using this Book

• ·        This is an obvious choice for introducing concrete poetry.  The students can use it for inspiration when creating their own concrete poem or concrete poetry story which seems to be a new genre Sidman has created with this book.
• ·        The story has to do with enemies made friends because of adversity.  There is plenty to discuss about the main characters from finding out the dog is actually scared of the cat to the sad story of how the cat was dumped out of a car onto the side of the road. 
• ·        The book is full of onomatopoeia.  The crows caw, the rain drizzles and the lightening sizzles.  This would be a great book to do a search for onomatopoeia.  The students would be able to come up with a lengthy list of great new words to use in their own writing.
• ·        Here is a link to the author’s reading companion site for this book.  She has shared many great ideas for reading aloud, writing activities and art projects.

Vocabulary Words

Gnarl-armed- page 8- this refers to the tree branch which means that it is twisted and sometimes gives the impression of being scary.

Cumulus- page 7- refers to a type of cloud that is puffy and can carry rain

One Trait of the 6+1 Traits to Highlight 

Presentation is the trait that I would highlight.  Concrete poetry is all about how the poem looks on the pages so this would seem like a  perfect chance to discuss how and why the author chose the look and placement on the page.  The colors are simple and the animals are shown in rounded stylized graphic form.  The book is all about presentation from the content to the illustrations. 

It is hard to show the quote but the word choice is wonderful for describing a cloud. Also,  the book the font would be a puffy one,  page 7. “large white steamy bread loaves rising in the sun’s bright heat, a billowing batch of cumulus.” 

The first page is a blue sky with a tiny “wisp” of a cloud in the sky, a pink butterfly fluttering and along the bottom of the page is a gray strip with darker gray words that say, “sidewalk|poured rock|flat gray footway| tramped on|not-lawn” 

• Concerns with This Book: not a one- it is amazing. 

Poetry book share - Hip Hop Speaks to Children

Book Title: Hip Hop Speaks To Children	Author:  Nikki Giovanni
Illustrator:  Various	Awards NAACP Image Award NCTE 2009 Notable Children’s Book in the Language Arts
Book Type:  Poetry Anthology	Approx. Reading Level: grade 3 and up
Age of Content Appropriateness: K-12	Date Published:2008
Genre and Topic: Poetry- African American, hip-hop,	Personal Rating of the Book:  beyond 5
ISBN: (13 or 10 digit)- 978-1-4022-1048-8

Summary-  When you open this book you open a world of city life through music and rhythm.  Nikki Giovanni has collected poetry from the likes of Maya Angelou and Langston Hughes as well as contemporary hip-hop and rap artists like Queen Latifah and Kanye West.  The poems are full of movement and rhythm that will give students a way to connect with poetry like no other book could.  The illustrations are colorful,  busy and beautiful.  There is a CD included containing readings by the original artists as well as readings by the editor, Nikki Giovanni.  The whole book is quite an experience.  This is not your Grandma’s poetry!

Ideas on Using this Book

• The book comes with a CD which is a compilation of the poets reading their work as well as Nikki Giovanni doing readings.   This CD has recordings made by Langston Hughes which was so interesting and exciting to me to hear his voice.  I’ve read his poetry and this added a whole new dimension to what I know about him.  There is also a track of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a Dream” speech. 
• Ego- Tripping by Nikki Giovanni- a video of various images related to the poem- it is the same track that is found on the CD that comes with the book.
• Nikki Giovanni on Hip Hop Speaks to Children- This video is of Nikki Giovanni  introducing the book.  It would be good for teachers to review before using the book in the classroom. 
• Reading Rockets video featuring Nikki Giovanni discussing writing and children’s books and her poetry.  She refers to Harry Potter in this.  This would be a great teacher reference to get excited about using her poetry in the classroom.
• There is so much in this book that could be used for movement, music class, language arts and history.  I can see this being useful across grade levels to inspire and delight students while connecting them with poetry through popular culture.

Vocabulary

• deferred- page 12- putting something off for later.  This is part of the poem “Dream Boogie” by Langston Hughes
• stereotypes- page 17 – a preconceived notion about how someone will act based on something superficial like skin color or gender- This is part of the poem, “Ladies First” by Queen Latifah.
• Rosa Parks- page 38- a civil rights activist who refused to give up her seat on a bus in 1955. She is often referred to as “the first lady of civil rights.”

6 + 1 Trait to Focus on

One Trait of the 6+1 Traits to Highlight When Using the Book – This book is so full of all the traits that it is hard to focus on just one.  I would say that presentation is a great one.  The choice of poetry is wonderful as are the illustrations.  The illustrations are bold and colorful and full of action.  The poems help the reader experience what life in the city might be like through the songs and words of people who experience it firsthand. The book also has the CD to add to the experience which creates another way of connecting with the poems.  The whole package is impressive from cover to cover.  

Harlem Hopscotch

Harlem Hopscotch by Maya Angelou

One foot down, then hop! It's hot.

 Good things for the ones that's got.

Another jump, now to the left.

 Everybody for hisself.

In the air, now both feet down.

 Since you black, don't stick around.

Food is gone, the rent is due,

 Curse and cry and then jump two.

All the people out of work,

 Hold for three, then twist and jerk.

Cross the line, they count you out.

 That's what hopping's all about.

Both feet flat, the game is done.

They think I lost, I think I won.

Here is an illustration from the book 

• Concerns with This Book: (if any)- in certain districts, parents may not feel comfortable with the idea of hip-hop being used in the classroom due to the perception of it being to advanced or street-wise for their kids.  The selections  in this book do not have inappropriate material and the teacher using it may want to share some of the videos I linked to above with parents so they can understand the nature of the poetry.