The Circuit by Francisco Jimenez (1997)
I was interested in this book back during the Spring '11 semester in my Language and learning class. The novel tells the story of the author when he was a little boy, immigrating from Mexico to California and working and living in a migrant camp. He and his family traveled a lot, to wherever the produce was in season-from grapes to asparagus to cotton. I was very interested in the book the whole time, and read it in one evening. I have always been interested in Hispanic culture. I also read Esperanza Rising which tells the true story of the author's grandmother immigrating from Mexico to California and also working the migrant camps, and I enjoyed that book a lot as well.
This book would be great to have for upper-elementary to middle school/junior high children. I think I would have students read this on their own and do a book talk presentation to classmates. Hopefully other students would read it. Another activity I think would be fun is to read the book together as a class, and then have a mini-lesson about what the migrant camps were like. I think it's important for students to learn about them because we should know where most of our fruit and vegetable produce comes from. It comes from the hard work of these migrant workers. I really really liked this book-a great read and great for students to get to know-both the character and migrant camps.
Celebrating Families by Rosmarie Hausherr (1997)
I included this book in my text set and think it's just great! It's a non-fiction photo book, fourteen children being featured and showing their families. I used this to represent different kinds of families. This book includes "nuclear" families, being both small and large, divorced families, one-parent families, a gay family, a foster family, a family living in a co-housing community, a family living with their grandmother, a family with one parent in prison, etc. This book has a lot of diversity, which makes it great. Plus, there are lots of photos showing the children's real families.
I would use this book in my classroom for a read-aloud and also do a couple activities with. One is we could have a discussion following reading the book asking students what they learned, if any of these kinds of families are new to them. Another activity would be to have students make their own family tree, as there is an example of a family tree at the back of the book. Some students may not have made a family tree before, so this would be a good opportunity. Another activity would be, of course, to have students bring a photo of their own family and briefly describe them. We would then post these pictures and descriptions around the classroom. Handy book to have to show the diversity of families.
Boundless Grace by Mary Hoffman and illustrated by Caroline Binch (1995)
I really enjoyed this picture book! This was included in my text set about divorce/separation and remarriage/blended family. The are other Grace books, and this one tells the story of Grace who lives with her mother and nana in the States. She barely remembers her father, whom she only knew as a little girl. When she gets an invitation to visit him and his new wife and children in Africa, she feels excited but yet strange. She wonders if he will still love her, and if he will be different. Her and her nana voyage to Africa to see for themselves.
Grace experiences the feelings common with children going through this family scenario-confusion, hurt, anger, trust, appreciation, compassion, and love. She likes her new siblings right away, but has a hard time adjusting to having a stepmother. After accepting her new family, she is still confused at having two homes. With advice from her nana, she learns that families are what you make them, and she comes to appreciate her family life.
I would definitely use this in my classroom, and for a text set. The illustrations are so realistic and colorful. They show the story instead of tell it. An activity that I think would be fun for this book is what I call "Feelings." During a read-aloud with this book, I would have a chart ready, and the students and I would record what feelings Grace experiences, when she does, why she does, and how she comes to a resolution. Showing students the different feelings and that it's normal to have a new blended family is important, as at least half of students nowadays are in this situation. For students who aren't, they can have more of an understanding of what their friend(s) are going through. Good story!
Priscilla Twice by Judith Caseley (1995)
This book I also included in my text set. It tells of a little girl who finds out her parents are getting divorced. Being a child of divorced parents, I could relate to this book. She goes through feelings of confusion, anger, frustration, acceptance, and love. I really like the illustrations in this book-they start before the story begins, showing Priscilla and the conflict going on in her life. I really like this feature in picture books for my classroom.
I think this book would be great for a read-aloud. I plan to read both a divorce/separation picture book (being this one) and a remarriage/new family picture book (being Do You Sing Twinkle? A Story About Remarriage and New Family by Sandra Levins-see previous post) to introduce my text set. As an activity, I think it would also be good to do "Feelings" (see above entry). Like Grace dealing with a blended family, Priscilla is dealing with her parents' divorce and is experiencing many different emotions. It's important to give a positive message to students struggling with this, and for their friends to understand what they're going through and how to be supportive (Priscilla also has a friend in the book with her a lot that helps her)!
I Don't Want to Talk About It by Jeanie Franz Ransom and illustrated by Kathryn Kunz Finney (2000)
This book I also included in my text set, which deals with a little girl going through the news of her parents' divorce. This book highlights the common stages of feelings associated with this family situation. It's interesting too because the author/illustrator uses symbolism. For example, she wishes she were an elephant to barge into her parents' room when they were yelling at each other, and a bird to fly away from the situation. The illustrations are colorful and bright.
This book would be great to act out. Since there are many animals featured with the feeling she has, one student could act out the emotion, and the other the animal, etc. The "Feelings" activity could also be applied. Like the other books, this book has the same overall message: even if these changes happen in your family, your parents still love you a lot. A positive message book to children who are experiencing this and who aren't but can help and understand their friend(s).
Two Homes by Claire Masurel and illustrated by Katy MacDonald Denton (2001)
This book I also included in my text set. It shows a little boy named Alex who shows the two homes he lives at, with his mommy and daddy. I like that he has enthusiasm and a positive attitude, which is a good message for students in this situation. The pictures are inviting, with a lot of detail. For example, his father lives by the beach and his mother lives in a busy city (reminds me of Europe) and the illustrator included a lot of detail in both of these settings. I like that this book is so well illustrated. The text is also simple with shorter sentences, so this would be a good book for early readers.
I would use this book for early readers, if having students at this age. I would also read this book aloud, and have a class discussion about how Alex looks at the bright side of things. If willing to share, students who have two homes could tell about their lives at each home. Or, students could make their own picture book showing their homes. Students with one home could still do this activity, just showing their home.
The Family Book by Todd Parr (2003)
This is a brightly illustrated with bold colored picture book. I used this book in my text set to represent different kinds of families, and that they are all filled with love. This book shows different kinds of families from those that are "nuclear", look the same, look different, some adopt, some have extended family, some have one parent, and some have two same gender parents.
I think this would be a good book to do an activity about the students' families. We would read this book as a read-aloud, and then have a discussion about the different kinds of families. I would ask students if they have learned of any new types of families from reading this book. I would then have students do a take-home assignment where they draw a picture of them with their family and indicate their relationship to the student.
Mountain Wedding by Faye Gibbons and illustrated by Ted Rand
This is a book I included in my text set regarding remarriage/blended family. The story is set in where the author grew up, in Northern Georgia in the mountains. A mother with five children marries a father with seven children. During the wedding, the children make it very chaotic by making faces at each other and fighting. The mules then get loose and all the animals are running around with the family's belongings on top of the wagon. The whole family than fleas to grab all their belongings-no matter if it's the Longs or the Searcys. At last they are united.
I really like the illustrations in this book-they start to tell the story before the text begins, which I really like in a picture book! Students with stepsiblings will likely relate to this book, even if their family isn't quite this large! The illustrations are done in watercolor and are realistic. I think this would be a good book to do the activity "Feelings" with, since the children tease each other at first and then like each other.
Yucky Worms by Vivian French and illustrated by Jessica Ahlberg
I enjoyed listening and then reading through this picture book! It was cute and fun how the little boy thought worms were so gross, and then upon learning lots about them from his grandma he came to like worms and call them his "friends." As I was looking through the pages, I couldn't help but notice the illustrations-how colorful they are and the realistic-looking way the worms are drawn.
This would be a good book for read-aloud, because the topic presents a fun way to read the book, talking about "yucky" worms. This book I think would also be a great book to do a cross-curricular activity with! I remember working with earthworms and mealworms in 3rd/4th grade science class. If the students were at least in 3rd grade, and since this book deals with earthworms, I think it would be fun to do a science project where each student has their own worm and they have to feed it and write observations about it, using writing skills, which makes it even more cross-curricular.
Where in the Wild? More Camouflaged Animals Concealed...and Revealed by David M. Schwartz and Yael Schy and photos by Dwight Kuhn (2007)
I really enjoyed this book! This book is definitely a fun one to have in the classroom. It introduces students to science and about "wild" animals. Each page has one (or more on some pages) camouflaged into the nature scene, and it is the reader's job to find the animal. If they think they've found it or give up, they can turn the page and see where the animals are at. Along with this is a lot of facts about the animals. I thought this was super cool! I hadn't heard of a lot of the animals before, either.
A fun activity I think to do would be to read this book aloud and have turn book so that all students can see it and tell them to be quiet and raise their hand when they see it. Once most students notice, flip the page to show them, and read off facts about the animal. Another activity I think would be fun is for students to make their own "look and find" books! This is the second edition of this book, there is also another book. After reading both of these books, students will have gained knowledge of certain animals that can camouflage well. With this information, they could draw their own pictures and hid the animals, and students can challenge each other.
The Lost Lake by Allen Say (1989)
I read this book during a fellow student's presentation of their text set about environmental awareness. The book tells a nice story of a boy who visits his father, and goes on a surprise trip planned by his father. They take hiking and camping supplies, and go to the mountains and look for a lake. After stumbling on a really nice lake, the father is disappointed because there are lots of people, thus, not the lost lake. Then, eventually, after camping, they find the lost, beautiful, peaceful, serene lake-and they have it all to themselves! It was a nice adventure for father and son to share.
I really liked the illustrations in this book! They looked smooth and were realistic. The mountains, lakes, and trees were drawn beautifully. While I was looking at this book, I actually thought I could use it for my text set, as well, as one of my subtopics was divorce/separation. It shows their bond and the activities they can do with each other. I think this book would be a good activity for students to write a little story about activities they like to do when they're one-on-one with one of their parents. Another activity would be is of course, talk about the beauty of earth untouched by pollution, and why it's important to take care of the environment to achieve this.
Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes (2000)
I really enjoyed doing a Reader's Theater with this book! It was so funny, even though there is no reason for this little girl to worry so much! She worried about the most trivial things! The illustrations were fun, and the pages decorated a lot with color. The author illustrates a "worried look" well on Wemberly's face. The names of some of the characters made my group and I laugh out loud, and when the mother and father tell her not to worry and the grandmother repeats, "Worry worry worry. Too much worry." Funny book!
I think this book would be good to do a Reader's Theater with, like we did in children's literature class. I also think it would be a good opportunity to do a mini-lesson about worrying. What it is, why we do it, and why we really shouldn't. This would be cross-curricular, as it deals with our health (stress). Even though the book is presented in a funny way, it teaches a good lesson about why we shouldn't let worrying get to us.
