Amelia to Zora; 26 Women who Changed the World

Book Title: Amelia to Zora; 26 Women who Changed the World	Author:  Cynthia Chin-Lee
Illustrator:  Megan Halsey and Sean Addy	Awards
Book Type:  Picture	Approx. Reading Level:  5.8
Age of Content Appropriateness: grade 3 and up	Date Published: 2005
Genre and Topic: Biography, Women’s History,	Personal Rating of the Book:  5
ISBN: (13 or 10 digit) 9780545334532

Summary- This book is beautiful to look at.  The book is an alphabetical listing of women who made history – Amelia Earhert  starts it off and it finishes with one of my favorite authors of all time, Zora Neale Hurston.   Each page is devoted to a woman that represents that letter.  It gives a brief synopsis of her life and why she made history.  The illustrations are amazing. They are mixed media with collage being the dominant type.   

Ideas for using this book

·         This book could be used as a jumping off point for additional research on one of the women listed.  Students could use it to select a person to write and learn more about.

·         The illustrations would be great to use in an art class and could certainly inspire young artists to try collage mixed with other media.

·         Sean Addy (illustrator) facebook page  at this time I couldn’t locate a webpage but there are images of his work on the facebook page. 

·         Megan Halsey (illustrator) website- she offers some free printable game sheets that she created with her signature style.  There are also links to other things she does besides illustrations.  This would be a good page for career information.  What can an artist do?

·         I read this book using the Storia app from Scholastic.  It is an e-reader that is available through the scholastic website.  It would be easy to use this format on a smart board.  It could even be shown as a daily welcome to the room.  Have one woman up on the board to read about each day for 26 days.  The illustrations are so engaging that it could be left up during free time for students to explore.

Vocabulary

Persistence-(page 6) – The need to keep on trying, no matter what. 

Computer language- (page 10) – the secret code that is typed into a computer to tell it what to say or show on a page.

Activist- (page 15 and others)- a person who works hard to make changes they really truly believe will help make things better. 

Trait of the 6 + 1 Traits to Highlights

I would look at the organization of this book.  Each page begins with the letter and the name, much like other alphabet books. “J is for Jane” or “L is for Lena” and then we get a brief introduction to how they changed history.  In this section from Len Horne’s page we see how they describe clearly what she did, “Lena had the opportunity to work in Hollywood, so she moved from the East Coast to California.  However, she couldn’t get good parts and refused to take parts that portrayed blacks as menial.  Throughout her life, Lena has supported the civil rights movement by donating time and money to groups that promote equal treatment for people of all races.”  Each entry is followed by a quotation from that person.  In the case of Lena this is what is said, “You have to be taught to be second class, you’re not born that way.  Lena Horne”    This format is how each page is set up. 

Concerns with This Book: (if any) none

Historical Fiction - "One Crazy Summer"

Book Title:  One Crazy Summer	Author:  Rita Williams-Garcia
Illustrator:	Awards: 2011 Coretta Scott King Award Winner 2011 Newbery Honor Book 2011 Scott O’Dell Prize for Historical Fiction 2010 National Book Award Finalist Junior Library Guild Selection Texas Library Association Best Book for 2010
Book Type: chapter	Approx. Reading Level:
Age of Content Appropriateness: age 8 and up	Date Published: 2010
Genre and Topic: Historical fiction- non-traditional families, Black Panthers, 1968	Personal Rating of the Book:  5 plus.
ISBN: (13 or 10 digit) 978-0060760908

Summary-   

It is the summer of 1968 and three sisters, Dephine, Vonetta, and Fern are on a plane bound for California to meet Cecile, the mother who abandoned them.  Cecile is a poet and artist and she produces posters for the Black Panthers.   The three girls are not welcome guests in their mother’s life and they find themselves in the middle of the Black Panther movement, attending a Panther run day camp to keep them out of Cecile’s hair.  At first the sisters are holding to the ideas they have been taught by their father and grandmother back in Brooklyn but as the story progresses they begin to appreciate their mother for who she is and what she stands for.  

Ideas for using this book-

• ·         Excellent resource for a social studies unit on the 1960’s and the struggle for civil rights.
• ·         This book can also be a help for students in non-traditional families.  The Cecile character at first seems horrifying to have left her babies for life in California but as we begin to understand her more, Cecile becomes more likeable and easier to understand.  It could be a way to have students struggling with parental changes address the issue in a safe way as they discuss what Cecile did and how the rest of the family handled it.
• ·         Learn about the author at her website- http://www.ritawg.com/

·          

Vocabulary

muumuu dress- page 7- This is a very loose fitting dress that was popular in the late 60’s and early 70’s.   Because it was made of so much fabric it was often worn by very large women. 

collect call- page 38- long ago, people had to pay for long distance phone calls on their landlines.   Before there were cell phones people would use public phones that required money to be put in before a call could be made, if you didn’t have money you could call “collect” and the person receiving the call would have to pay the charges for the phone call.  This was a very expensive way to talk to someone.

Black Panthers- page 57- The Black Panthers was a group started in 1965 by Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton (who are mentioned in the story).  It was a militant group that hoped to take political power away from whites. 

Trait of the 6 + 1 Traits to Highlights

This book is certainly a perfect example of the voice trait.   There is no mistaking Delphine’s position on what is happening during that summer.   Williams-Garcia is able to take us right into her world, her viewpoint and her experiences. 

“While I was sitting with my sisters, I made up my mind about Oakland.  There was nothing and no one in all of Oakland to like.  I would get on a plane and fly back to New York if Big Ma showed up wanting her grandbabies.  I wouldn’t even tell Cecile “Thanks for the visit” (page 37)

“My eyes stung.  I was spilling-over mad.  I couldn’t stop what I had to say, even if she stood over me and became my crazy mother mountain and knocked me down.  I was spilling over.  ‘I’m only eleven years old, and I do everything.  I have to because you’re not there to do it.  I’m only eleven years old, but I do the best I can.  I don’t just up and leave.’ I was still on two feet.”  (page 206)

Concerns with This Book: (if any) none

Moving Day- Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls

Book Title: Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls- Moving Day	Author: Meg Cabot
Illustrator:	Awards 5-week run on the New York Times Children’s Chapter Books Best Sellers List The #2 selection on the BookSense Spring 2008 Children's Picks List
Book Type:  chapter book	Approx. Reading Level:   5.5
Age of Content Appropriateness: grade 3 and up	Date Published: Feb. 2009
Genre and Topic: Realistic Fiction- humor- fourth grade	Personal Rating of the Book:  5 plus!
ISBN: (13 or 10 digit) 978-0545040419

Summary- Allie is a fourth grade girl who is trying to figure it all out.   She loves science and math because they have rules.  Rules that tell you just what to do.  Life isn’t that way, though and Allie tries to figure out the rules of friends, school and family in this great series.  In this first book, Allie is facing a new house, new school and new friends.   She also has to leave behind a best friend who is not really much of a friend but Allie still wants to be a good friend to her.  Allie is a wonderful, smart, funny fourth grade girl who makes mistakes and tries to learn from them.   This series is great for boys and girls alike because the themes of friends, family and school are universal.

Ideas for using this book

·         “The Stacks” is a part of the Scholastic website that has an Allie Finkle page.  There are games and discussions and a Q&A with Meg Cabot – this could be a great resource for students who really enjoy the books.  It would also be good to put on a classroom resource webpage so students can access it at home.

·         The themes in the book have to do with typical fourth grade problems of moving, making new friends, dealing with bullies and teachers and siblings.  Students could write a slice of life piece about one of the themes in the story.

·         Have students discuss what they have in common with Allie.  I like that she is not so “girly” that boys won’t be able to relate to her.  

·         Allie has rules she lives by- have students make a list of rules they follow.  These could be about school, family or friends.

·         This book could be a lead in to a discussion about character and friendship.  Allie does her best to treat others as  she would want to be treated.  Have students evaluate how she does and compare it to their own lives.

Vocabulary

Spatula- page 1 – a kitchen tool you use to scrape bowls clean of frosting and batter

Habitrail- page 4 – a brand of hamster houses that involve tubes and boxes so the hamster can crawl all over the place and pretend it is burrowing.

First Impressions- page 82- what others think about you when you first meet them

Gingerbread trim- page 88- not really made of gingerbread but the fancy carved wood accents you see on old houses.

Terrarium – page 107- an enclosed ecosystem, usually plants in a glass jar but small insects or other creatures could live there too.

Trait of the 6 + 1 Traits to Highlight

This book is perfect to highlight VOICE.   The Allie character tells her story with humor and a wonderful honesty.  She knows when she messes up which is often but that is what is great about her, she reflects on mistakes and learns from them.   The story is told with a great sense of humor but also we see that Allie has serious principles she lives by or at least tries to live by.  The strength of her voice helps students who read this book see how they could resolve the same issues with friends, school and family that they all go through as they move from little kid to bigger kid and try and navigate life more independently. 

When the book opens Allie is spending time at her best friend’s house, helping to frost cupcakes.  We learn that Mary Kay Shiner is actually not that great of a best friend; she tends to be a little selfish and whiney.  When she complains and cries to the baby sitter about the fact that Allie got to lick the spatula, Allie ends up shoving the spatula into Mary’s mouth but it doesn’t turn out well.

“But I should have known Mary Kay wouldn’t take it that way.  As a joke, I mean.  And I should have known she’d start crying, this for real, because the spatula went down her throat.  But just a little! Like, it BARELY went down.  Maybe it touched her tonsils.  But that’s it. Still.  That is not a good example of treating your friends as you would want them to treat you.  Also, it was all my fault. “  page 5

Concerns with This Book:  I have no concerns- just be prepared to read the whole six book series and wish for more.