Finding Myself by: Naomi...

Title: Becoming Naomi Leon

Author: Pam Munoz Ryan

Publisher and date of Publication: Scholastic Inc, 2004

Genre: Multicultual, Novel

Age Range: 3rd- 6th grade

Awards: ALA Notable Children's Book, ALA Schneider Family Book Award, Book Sense Book of the Year Honor Book, 2004 Parents' Choice Silver Honor Award

I really enjoyed this book. It was probably my favorite book that we read all semester. I think I enjoyed it so much because it was like a look into the life of children that I've never, luckily, seen. My parents are still together so I've never been in Naomi and Owen's shoes before and trying to figure out who my mom and dad are, living with my grandmother. I can't imagine being in Naomi's shoes, trying to figure all of this out. I think the book shows multi-cultualism very well. this children are part mexican, living in Cali, speaking english. As the book goes on, some people in the book speaking spanish but it also has english so the reader knows what they said. I think the cultural details are intergrated very natually because everything flows along so smoothly. It feels like you are there with Naomi as she tries to figure everything out in her life. It's like we are in her brain, thinking what she is thinking. This book doesn't have any stereotypes really. It's just explaining how different life in Mexico and Cali can be. The language barrier doesn't seem to be that bad because when they are in Mexico, everyone understands everyone else. I think the language that Ryan uses is authenic and isn't awkward or used in the wrong spot. Flora and her family in Mexico speak Spanish and so does Naomi's dad but they start to learn english. Naomi and her family and friends in Cali speak english but begin to speak a little spanish. The spanish that is used in the book is minimal so the reader can figure out what they said. The festival with the carvings and the multi-generation households were cultural markers of mexico. I didn't see many cultual markers of Cali because the grandparent/grandchild house and the trailer parks aren't really a marker of Cali because they are everywhere.
I can't imagine denying and treating my children like Terri Lynn/ Skyla did. I just love Gram and was afraid that something might happen to her in the story but it didn't!

Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone

Title: Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone
Author: J.K. Rowling
Illustrator: Mary Grandpre
Publisher and date of Publication: Scholastic Inc., 1997
Genre: Novel, Fantasy
Age Range: 3rd-8th Grade
Awards: too many to name! Publisher Weekly best book 1998, 1997 National Book Award, etc.

Summary: Harry Potter is a wizard and so are his parents. Volemort kills his parents but Harry survives. Harry is sent to live with his aunt, uncle, and cousin who mistreat him. He find out on his 11th birthday that he is a wizard and begins school at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He is famous there because he survived Volemort trying to kill him. There he finds all sorts of mysterious things. Him and his friends set out to find the sorcerer's stone. Harry runs across Voldemort but Dumbledore saves him just in time. Harry learns that his mom Lily died while protecting him as a baby against Voldemort. The stone was destroyed so that no one would try to get it. Harry nevers finds out why Voldemort tried to kill him.

Response: I've never read any of the Harry Potter series before, and to be honest I didn't like it very much. It is a very long book for children and I found it hard to complete. I know many chidlren and adults as well love these books. I enjoyed the beginning when Harry was with the Dursleys, but I can't imagine treating your own nephew the way Harry is treated. I also can't imagine what went through Harry's mind when he found out he was famous after thinking that no one cared for him at all. I think it was all the witchcraft stuff that I didn't like and the length of the book. When I looked at it, I thought there is no way I'll be able to complete this book. It was a quick read but just took time getting through the whole book. I felt so sorry for Harry at the beginning when he was treated so badly but was glad to see that he finally realized how powerful he really was.

Teaching Ideas: I think children could do just as we are doing and figure out what would be in the mirror if they were holding it. They could also make magical wards and "pretend." There are quizzes on scholastic.com for children to take after reading this book. Scholastic also has neat projects for children to do, including a Hogwart's yearbook for fourth graders and trading cards.

Clarice Bean Spells Trouble

Title: Clarice Bean Spells Trouble
Author: Lauren Child
Publisher and date of Publicatioin: Candlewick Press, 2004
Genre: Novel, Realistic Fiction
Age Range: 3rd-5th grade
Awards: 2005 British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year

Summary: In this book, elementary-age Clarice Bean, has trouble understanding why words are spelled the way they are. She has to be in a spelling bee at school but she isn't good at spelling. She stays in trouble all the time. Her and her friends also love Ruby Redfort, a television character. They love her mainly because she is good at getting out of trouble. She stays in trouble all the time at school but wants desperately to be in the school play, The Sound of Music. She ends up playing a nun in the school play.

Response: I think this is such a well written book. Child does such a good job at gettin inside the head of a young girl. I think that third-fifth grade girls would love to read about a young girl that feels the same as them. There may not be a Ruby Redfort now but there is a Hannah Montana that all young girls love now. I remember being in elementary school and participating in the spelling bee. I like the titles of the chapters...it's more of a sentence that describes what the chapter is about. I think if young girls read this book, they might feel like they aren't the only one that's feeling the way they do. I think that the Clarice Bean books are like a alot of other chapter books. They are written from a young girl's perspective about real issues that they are going through.

Teaching Ideas: I feel like this book is mainly a book that girls may check out from the library instead of one that we, as a class, reads. I doubt that young boys would want to hear about what this girl's problems are. Students could read this book and describe a time in their life when they felt like they weren't taking seriously, because Clarice Bean is never taken seriously by her teacher. Students might also read this book if they are getting ready to compete in the spelling bee at school.

Marvin Redpost: Class President

Title: Marvin Redpost: Class President
Author: Louis Sachar
Illustrator: Amy Wummer
Publisher and date of Publication: Random House Inc., 1999
Genre: Novel, Realistic Fiction
Age Range: 3rd-5th grade

Summary: It's hole day at Marvin Redpost's school. Everyone dresses with holey clothes but when they gets to school, Mr. McCabe, the principal, announces to Mrs. North's third-grade class that the President of the United States will be at their school today. The president
arrives with security and newscrews to talk to Mrs. North's class about what a good citizen is and how to be a good citizen. Everyone gets to ask the President personal questions and it aires on the news that night. Marvin is suppose to come home right after school so that his mom could take everyone to
get new shoes. After the school day was over Marvin forgot to come home and when he did, everyone was upset with him and made him go to his room.

Response: This book didn't have a lot to it. I read it in one afternoon but enjoyed reading it. I think that third-graders would enjoy this book because it talks about the president and that's some powerful guy that's in charge of everything to them. It also has a couple pictures so it would help children that are reading themselves and growing out of picture books to understand and follow the story. I just think it's a cute book for children. From what I understand, their is a Marvin Redpost series of books but I have never read them. From my opinion, I think that this series may be more for boys. I read more of the Babysitter's Club books than Marvin Redpost. Meeting the President would be a huge deal for adults much less children. The name of this book is Class President, so I thought this book would be about a little boy running for class office but it has nothing to do with this. Although he does kind of take charge of his class, as the president. I think young boys and even girls would enjoy this short chapter book.

Teaching Ideas: If I was teaching this book in my class, I would have my students to write a question for our current president. The president wouldn't come see my class but maybe I could send the questions to the President, if it was possible. Boys would also enjoy reading this on their own too. Students could also write about what they would do if they were president.

Ramona Forever

Title: Ramona Forever
Author: Beverly Cleary
Illustrator: Tracy Dockray
Publisher and date of Publication: Harper Collins Publisher, 1984
Genre: Realistic Fiction, Novel
Age Range: 3rd-6th grade

Summary: In this book from the Ramona Series, Ramona is a normal third grader doing normal things. She stays at her friend Howie's house after school until his Uncle Hobart visited and picked on her. She also got in trouble for "not watching" Howie's little sister when she sat on Hobart's accordian and broke it. She convinces her parents for her and her sister, Beezus, to stay home by themselves. They become closer after they bury their cat, Picky-Picky. Then the family finds out that Ramona and Beezus are going to have a baby sibling. Then, to make things worse, Ramona's aunt gets married to Uncle Hobart! At the end, Ramona has a baby sibling, Roberta, but Ramona can't go see the baby because she is too young!

Response: When I was young, I enjoyed series books like this one. I really liked that there were a few pictures in the book, just to help children see what was going on. I think lots of young girls would enjoy reading this novel. Ramona becomes a middle child and lots of children from 3rd to 6th grade are probably getting a baby in the family and can understand where Ramona is coming from. I think this book is a cute book for young readers to sympathize with, although at the end, Ramona couldn't go see her little sister. In reality, at all the hospitals I've been at siblings can go in the hospital room to see their sibling, it's just other children that can't. I can't imagine them turning a young sibling down and making them sit in the waiting room by themselves.
The Ramona series are fun series to read but they don't teach alot about history or fantasy. They teach more on life lessons, which I enjoy reading. They write from a children's point of view so that children identify with the character.

Teaching Ideas: I think that children would read this book more for fun instead of as class. I would suggest
that students that are middle children or expecting a baby in their family read this and write about how they feel, in comparsion to Ramona. Also, I found a wonderful website with lesson plans for this book: http://pirate.shu.edu/~medealyn/Ramona/RamonaIndex.html

Junie B. Jones is (almost) a Flower Girl

Title: Junie B. Jones is (almost) a Flower Girl
Author: Barbara Park
Illustrator: Denise Brunkus
Publisher and Date of Publication: Random House, Inc., 1999
Genre: Novel, Realistic Fiction
Age Range: 1st-3rd grade

Summary: Six-year old Junie B. Jones has just broken up with her boyfriend and is devistated. Then she finds out that her aunt Flo is getting married. She tells her friends and they are excited for her and show her how to act like a flower girl but then Junie learns that Aunt Flo has already asked someone else, the groom's little sister, to be the flower girl and Junie is jealous and crushed. At the end, Junie compromises and she holds the train and helps the flower girl get ready.

Response: I liked reading this book and I think that young readers, first-second grade, would enjoy hearing Junie's story. Children this age are usually the right age to be flower girls or ring bearers so they understand how Junie feels. The illustrations are well drawn in the book. They are not in color but they help children to understand the book when they can see a person to put with the story. It could help children that are moving from picture books to chapter books to still a picture every now and then to help catch them up. In the end when the real flower girl and Junie became friends, it shows readers that you can become friends with your enemy.

Teaching Ideas: I think this book would be a good read for young readers transitioning from picture to chapter books. I think girls would enjoy this book becaus a lot of young girls enjoy playing dress-up or being in a wedding. This story could teach kids to find a way to get along with you enemy and be happy for them.