The Invention of Hugo Cabret - By Brian Selznick

The Invention of Hugo Cabret was written and illustrated by Brian Selznick (Scholastic Press 2007). It is "A Novel in Words and Pictures" and it was a joy to read.

Hugo Cabret's father was a clock-maker and taught Hugo the trade. His father was killed in a fire so Hugo was sent to live with his uncle. His uncle lived inside the train station in Paris and took care of the clock maintenance of the station. His uncle spent his money and time on drinking and gambling and soon disappeared. Not knowing where else to go, Hugo stayed at the train station, stealing food when necessary and continuing to maintain the clocks.

Before his death, Hugo's father had found an automaton and had set about fixing it. After his death in the fire, Hugo found the automaton in the wreckage. Hugo brought it to the train station to fix it. He stole toys that he used for parts from a toy shop at the station. His goal was to fix the automaton. The automaton was built to write something and Hugo felt that his writing would be some sort of message from his father. While stealing a toy, the shop keeper noticed him and took his notebook that has his father's instructions about the automaton. Hugo set about getting it back and in the process made a friend, the shop keeper's daughter Isabelle.

Hugo and Isabelle end up getting the automaton working and discovering that the girl's care taker is Georges Milies, the famous movie maker. This changes the lives of everyone and Hugo ends up living with the Milies family.

This story is really made great by the images. Here is an example of one of the pages:
The readability lexile of this book is ages 9-12 and I think that children these ages would really enjoy this book. The story is one in which the characters change and grow. Imagination, creativity, magic, and good win in this story. The pictures add so much to the story, bringing it to life for the reader. I feel that I would have absolutely loved this story as a child. I loved it as an adult. It is a genuinely good story and has impact.

The London Eye Mystery - By Siobhan Dowb

The London Eye Mystery, written by Siobhan Dowd (David Fickling Books, New York, 2007), is a fictional story with a readability lexile for ages 9-12.

This book was written through the perspective of a young man, Ted, who is autistic. He encounters a mystery and is able to figure out what has happened because of his ability to think about things differently. Ted's cousin, Salim, comes to visit before he is supposed to move to New York. Salim goes in the London Eye and never comes out. The family grows very worried and fear for Salim's safety. Ted and his sister, Kat, come up with theories of what could have happened, and then do some investigating.

This is a well-told story. It was interesting to see through the eyes of someone with autism. The way people treat him sometimes is frustrating. He is told that his brain works differently and he tries to act the way he is told to act. He is told to control his body as to not draw attention and to watch facial expressions to see if the person he is talking to is bored. However, he is honored and respected as a smart person. He looks at things very analytical and literal.

Literary Elements:
Foreshadowing - In the beginning of the story, it is said that it is a story about how because Ted's brain works differently, he was able to solve a mystery.
Idiom - There were many idioms in this book: it was raining cats and dogs.
Metaphor - Ted's father described his aunt as a hurricane.

Mini-lesson:
Do a found poetry exercise where the students pick out lines from the book that convey a particular character, setting, feeling, etc. They are creating something new and their own from the writing and it will help them become better writers, as well as be more engaged in the story.

Here is my found poetry:

The London Eye Mystery Found Poetry – Ted’s Brain

It’s this thing in my brain.

They don’t like me because I only talk big.

I don’t like being in my brain.

But I laughed too because I wanted to be his friend.

I folded my arms across my chest to stop my hand flapping and shaking itself out, which is a habit Mr. Shepherd says I must lose.

When people are bored, Mr. Shepherd says the muscles in their face don’t do anything and they stare without really looking and he says I should always check to see if this is how people are looking when I talk to them.

She laughed and I joined in because it showed I knew what she meant even if I wasn’t sure what was funny.

My hand flapped and I forgot about trying to stop it.

I hate touching people.

Recognizing the five basic emotions is one thing.

Knowing how they mix together is another thing.

I often don’t sleep at night.

My brain is filled with all the strange facts about the world.

The hug was short because she knows I do not like hugs of any kind.

According to the doctors who diagnosed me, people with my kind of syndrome can’t.

I got excited then, because I am good at looking at things differently.

I’m a dyslexic geographer.

I put my hand in my jacket pocket to stop it from shaking itself out.

I’m wiser. You said.

You said you needed my brains.

Our minds had met.

This is my way of describing what it’s like when people have really bad arguments and it is the worst place to be in all the world.

I decided to check out the weather in the garden.

My brain felt like it was overheated, going into meltdown.

Kicking the shed is a good way of emptying your head.

It’s like jumping on a trampoline.

I shut my eyes and imagined a vast, silent void.

Then I knew.

I wondered why no one could hear me when it was so quiet.

Time had a sound too.

I’d never heard it before.

Then I realized.

Since it’s gone there’s a different view.

I choose the lines in the book where Ted shared how he felt about himself and his autism. These particular lines grabbed me and gave me a little insight on what it would be like to have autism. This was a great book to read and I would highly recommend it. I think that children would enjoy this book and it would show them another way to see things.

Animal Snackers - By Betsy Lewin

Animal Snackers, written and illustrated by Betsy Lewin (Henry Holt and Company 1980) is a concept book about what animals eat. It is a good book for pre-school to grade 3 and the readability lexile is ages 4-8.

Each page of this book is about a different animal and what that animal eats. The text rhymes and is fun to read. The page on Koalas says: "Koalas decorate the trees, munching eucalyptus leaves. This isn't just their favorite treat - It is the only things they eat." It is a good book because it is fun and teaches the children about different animals.

The watercolor paintings by Betsy Lewin are pleasing and add the visuals to the story so that the children can know what these animals look like.

Mini-lesson:
A lesson on rhymes could follow a book like this. We could look at the the rhyming words in the story and think of some other words that rhyme with those words. We could even think of our own rhyming poem about an animal of our choice.

Uptown - By Bryan Collier

Uptown, written and illustrated by Bryan Collier (Henry Holt and Company, New York, 2000) is a great book. A boy shows the reader his home in Harlem and the amazing things that are in it. The readability lexile is ages 4-8.

Each page of the book starts, "Uptown is..." and explains something about the area. The writing is simple, but says so much. For example, one spread is dedicated to The Apollo Theater. It says, "Uptown is a stage. The apollo Theater has showcased the greatest entertainers in the world. I hope we can get good seats."

The pictures add so much to the book. Collier is a fantastic and unique artist that painted and created collages for the story. One spread is about brownstones. It says, "Uptown is a row of brownstones. I like the way they come together when you look at them down the block. They look like they're made of chocolate." The picture is a Hershey's chocolate bar behind the doors and windows. It helps the children understand what a brownstone is and to use their imagination to see things differently.

Some of the sentences have movement. The words, "Uptown is a caterpillar" are squiggly like a caterpillar could be.

Students in New York would enjoy this book because these places would look and feel familiar to them. I think that students outside of New York would be interested because the book does such a good job of showing and describing the places. It really captures the feeling of the places that make the home of the boy in the story. He is sharing his home with the readers and I get a strong feeling of self-reflection and pride.

Mini-lesson:
It is important for students to be reflective about where they live and the world they can see. We could do an activity where we share our home with people that don't live here. The students could each come up with a page in our story: "Minneapolis is... " We could describe what we see and reflect on some similarities and differences from other places. If possible, we could share our story with children in another city or state and they could share their story.

Luke on the Loose - By Harry Bliss

Luke on the Loose, written and illustrated by Harry Bliss (RAW Junior, LLC New York 2009) is a fictional comic book that would be enjoyable for children pre-school to grade 2. The readability lexile is ages 4-8.

Luke's father is having "boring dad talk" with a man in the park and Luke decides to break free. He chases pidgins and reeks havoc all over town. Where ever he follows the pigeons, people scream and think a tornado has just been through. Luke's father calls his mother and the police to let them know that Luke is missing. Everyone is worried and trying to find him. Meanwhile, Luke is having the time of his life running around town chasing pidgins. The people he runs by comment that they are surprised that all that commotion is coming from "just a kid." Eventually they find him on the roof where he followed the pidgins and is going to take a nap. The next day, he tries to run again, but is held back by a child leash.

The pictures make the whole story. A young child could look at the pictures and know what is going on without being able to read the words. It is a story that children could relate to. Luke is an energetic kid and doesn't want to stand around and listen to boring dad talk. He wants to run and be larger than life. It is a good story.

There is a lot of onomatopoeia as Luke runs through town. Taxis screech to a halt, the pidgins flap their wings as they fly away, and the fire truck siren goes weeeeeee to find Luke.

Literary Elements:
Personification: The pidgins made comments about Luke running.
Hyperbole: The news stations and police were scrambling around because Luke was "on the loose." They acted like it was a complete emergency.
Onomatopoeia - He swooshed down the street.

Mini-lesson:
The children could relate this text to themselves by thinking of a time where they had to listen to "boring dad talk" or something like that. They could reflect on their patience and how they handled having to wait. The children could make their own comic strip of either what they did or what they wanted to do.

Robins: Songbirds of Spring - By Mia Posada

This book, written and illustrated by Mia Posada (Corolrholda Books, Inc. Minneapolis, 2004) is a great science concept book about Robins. It is great to read to younger children and has a readability lexile of ages 9-12.

The book tells the story of robins, how they build a next, their blue eggs, caring for the young, and migrating south. It is a great story for children in Minnesota because they can see robins with their red breasts in the springtime. The writing rhymes and is written in a somewhat sing-song rhythm. Because of that, it is a great story to read aloud to children. I read it to the pre-k and k students at my work and they were enthralled. We discussed the blue eggs and the babies getting bigger. We predicted what would happen to the babies. The children were so interested.

The pictures add a lot to the story because they give the children a visual of what the writing is about. Thy can see the careful nests being made and the bright blue eggs. Some of the words are different colors, which adds to the story as well. The word "mud" was brown and the the word "berry" was red. I asked one of the students which word was mud and she pointed right to it. She said she knew it because it was brown.

Mini-lesson:
The children could write a story and/or draw pictures of robins at different stages. We could do a small research project on robins or a different bird that we are interested in. This will reinforce the knowledge they just learned from the book.

Becoming Butterflies - By Anne Rockwell

Becoming Butterflies is a story written by Anne Rockwell and illustrated by Megan Halsey (Walker and Company New York 2002). It is a realistic fictional story about a class that is watching caterpillars become butterflies and then setting them free. The readability lexile is ages 9-12, but this a great story to read to a pre-k to 2nd grade classroom.

A classroom watches the phases that a butterfly goes through to become a butterfly. The students react to the different phases, sometimes thinking it is icky, sometimes worried about what is happening. The teacher often says, "Wait and see." The author describes how to care for the insects during the different phases and the illustrations show us what it should look like. At the end of the story, the butterfly comes and the children are excited. They release the butterflies to be free and show that butterflies go to Mexico in the winter. There is a picture of where Mexico is on a map and the butterflies grouped together in Mexico. The children write a letter to a classroom in Mexico where the butterflies are, and receive a response from the Mexican students.

The illustrations are important to the story because it shows the students what these phases look like. The story is made up of mostly dialogue and the illustrations add a lot to the story.

Mini-lesson:
If a classroom were going to witness this life cycle, this would be a good way to introduce the subject. This book could be brought out and used as the students witnessed the different phases. We could discuss the reaction of the students in the story and see if we agreed with the students. We could see if ours looked like the one in the story.

The Hunger Games - By Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic, Inc. 2008) is a fictional story where the capital rules the people and children are sent into the wilderness to kill or be killed. It is a young adult book with a readability lexile of grade 7 and up.

The country is divided by districts and the people in the districts are very restricted. They only know what the government wants them to know about what is happening outside of their district. Every year, the capital (government) hosts a mandatory game. Two children (ages 12 to 18) of each of the 12 districts are chosen at random to fight in the hunger games. There is only one winner of the game and the only way to win is to survive while all other people are killed. The games are shown on television like a reality television show and all the people are forced to watch the entire event. Before the show, the contestants are dressed up, given advice about how to look worthy of winning, and paraded around the city. No one is allowed to act upset with or say anything negative, against the capital.

The hero in the story is Katniss, a spunky girl that is a good hunter and and fiercely protective over her younger sister. The other person chosen from her district (12) is a young man that has loved Katniss for a long time. His love for her is real, and she is forced to act like she feels the love also for the audience. It seems as though it turns real through the story, but isn't exactly settled by the end of the book.

The capital sets traps and sends danger if they get bored with the story. They control the weather and the elements. If a tribute (contestant) is shown to be worthy, he/she may be given a present from their sponsors or their district.

It is a story of survival that seems like a combination of 1984 (George Orwell), The Running Man (Stephen King), Surviving the Game (movie), and the reality television show, Survivor. It is a good read and brings up many moral questions. Is this a good book for children to be reading? Even though it brings to life this negative utopia that can provoke deep thought and morality, I don't know that children would fully understand the message being conveyed. The children in the story don't question killing each other. At one point, the male protagonist in the story says he wants to show the capital that he isn't a tool in their terrible game and that people shouldn't be treated this way. It was a short conversation and not brought up again. Katniss doesn't go out of her way to kill the others, but she does kill. I imagine that young people reading the story view it as an exciting love story. It could provoke some interesting discussions of politics and morality.

It is a good story that is very popular with young adults. It is a hard book to put down. The author does a wonderful job of taking the readers into the characters' world. It was a survival, love story. The way that Katniss grew was that she started to realize her love for the male characters. They were trapped in a pretty terrible world, but she may now have a chance to make things better. We will have to find out in the next book.

Literary Elements:
Foreshadowing - Talk of the event and the chances that Katniss or her sister be chosen was a clue to the events that followed.
Allusion - The story alluded to the gladiator games, as well as the television show, survivor.


Mini-lesson:
I'm not sure that this would be a good book to choose to assign to the students. There are other books out there that I would choose over this one. However, if it was assigned, I would want to have the students explore the political aspect of the book. The students could write the rules and values of the government in the story compared with the rules and values of our country. In groups, they could make a compare and contrast list, a poster, paper, imovie: whatever medium they wanted to use to represent and discuss the differences.

In the Small, Small Pond - By Denise Fleming

In the Small, Small Pond, written and illustrated by Denise Fleming (Henry Holt and Co. BYR Paperbacks (April 3, 2007), is a very visual story of the life in a pond. It is geared toward young children, ages 2-6, with a readability lexile ages 4-8. It is a concept book teaching children about life in a pond. I think that children would enjoy this story.

The story is simple, but the pictures are wonderful. They are vivid and really tell a story. The pages are full of the different kinds of life in the pond. There is a page of tadpoles with a frog, so the children will associate the tadpoles with the frog. There are geese and baby geese, dragonflies, turtles, herons, minnows, raccoons, muskrats, and more. The different animals do their thing and interact with the pond. At the end of the book, a "chill breeze, winter freeze" comes and it is quiet at the pond.

I think that this is a great picture book to show children. It tells a simple story of life in a small pond. There is a lot of life though! The children can connect what they see when they are out in nature. The frog is on every page and guides them through his word. The author is also showing the season change. This could spark a good conversation about season change and the effect that it has on animals.

Mini-lesson:
A mini-lesson that follows this book could be on what the animals do when winter comes and animal migration. The children, individually or in groups, could pick an animal they see in Minnesota that they are curious about. Many children in Minnesota wonder what animals do when it is winter. They could do some research, draw pictures, and possibly share their findings with the class.

Until They Bring the Streetcars Back - By Stanley Gordon West

This novel by Stanley Gordon West (Lexington-Marshall Publishing Bozeman, Montana 1997) takes place in St. Paul, MN in 1949. It is a historic realistic fictional novel and I think it would be a good one for high school students to read. It is easy to read, but has adult themes.

Summary:
Calvin Gant is a high school senior at Central and is a star athlete. He has a good group of friends and is in love with one of the girls in his group. His dad was somewhat psychologically damaged from the war and drives a streetcar in St. Paul. At the time, St. Paul had a wonderful streetcar system (I wish we still had that). His father cannot handle the fact that the city is tearing out the streetcars and switching to buses. His mother and sister are supportive, sweet people.
Cal's life changes when a girl at school tells him that her dad will beat her if she is late to be picked up. He can't believe it is true, but it turns out that the truth is much worse. Her father is extremely abusive in more ways than one. She confides in Cal, but makes him promise not to tell anyone. Cal ends up sacrificing his own safety, social standing, and high school diploma to save her and to keep his promise.

This book is full of moral decisions that have to be made. Once Cal hears how Gretchen is being abused, he can't just ignore it. She is in so much pain and he just wants her to be able to live a normal life. He ends up stealing from a store owner in order to frame Gretchen's father. He knew that if he just called the police that they wouldn't believe him and Gretchen would pay for it. He decided that it was okay to steal as long as he was going to return what he stole and that he was doing it to save someone.

Calvin's parents repeat the saying, "leave well enough alone." But, in the end, the characters couldn't leave it alone when there was suffering involved. Calvin rescued a rabbit that was being tortured and nursed it back to health and his sister continued to bring the rabbit carrots. His father ended up calling the humane society and reporting the neighbor who was torturing a dog. He was worried that somehow he could be fired from his job for doing this, but he did it anyway because it was the right thing to do. Calvin could not sit by while Gretchen was being tortured. It would have killed Gretchen if he hadn't done something about it.

I feel that students could have a wonderful conversation about this book. They could discuss whether Calvin did the right thing or what they would have done different. A conversation could be had that relates this topic to world politics and history. There are times when people know that someone, or a group of people, is being hurt and no one does anything to stop it. What are the moral implications of this? Is it okay to commit a crime if it is for a greater good?

There was also a theme of love throughout the book. Did Calvin really love Lola? Did she really love Calvin? In the end, Calvin said that his actions showed that he loved Gretchen. Is love in our actions? He ended up sacrificing his relationship with Lola for the safety of Gretchen. Her life was more important.

The streetcars and the relationship between them and Calvin's father is another interesting aspect of the book. Students could discuss how Calvin's thoughts on the streetcars changed through the book and the relevance of getting rid of perfectly good streetcars.

I think high school students would enjoy this book and that it could inspire some deep thinking and conversations.

Olivia - By Ian Falconer

Olivia is a very popular, fun book written and illustrated by Ian Falconer (Simon & Schuster New York 2000). Olivia is an energetic pig that wears her mother out. When she gets dressed in the morning, she has to try everything on. When it time for nap, she isn't tired and wants to dance. She sees an abstract painting in a museum and thinks that she could do that type of work, so she tries to create one of her own on the wall at home. For this she has to have a time out and a bath. At the end of the story, she negotiates to have 5 stories read to her, but settles on 3. Her mother tells her that she wears her out, but she loves her anyway. Olivia responds that she loves her mother anyway too and goes off to dream about being an opera singer.

This story is fun to read and seems humorous to children and adults. Most children can relate to Olivia in some way. She has personality and dreams big. When she builds a sand castle at the beach, she builds one as big as a sky scrapper. Her mother, of course, can't see this because Olivia has built it behind her.

Olivia is subtly encouraging having dreams and the free expression of art. The book is also showing that a child who has lots of energy and who gets in trouble sometimes, is still very loved.

It is a day in the life of Olivia, a fun loving child that is loved back. The humor, realatibility to children, and the overlying positive themes make this a good choice for children. It received the Caldecott Honor.

The illustrations add a lot to the story and it wouldn't be the same without them. Olivia is almost funny looking, but has so much personality that I quickly forgot about how she looks. The towering sky scrapper sand castle behind her mother is an example of how the illustrations add to the story. Falconer adds humor to the story with the illustrations. When they go to the beach, Olivia turns pink, so her mother knows it is time to go home. This is funny because we normally think of pigs being pink anyway. In this case it was a sign that she had enough sun.

Here is a link to the interview with Ian Falconer: http://media.barnesandnoble.com/?fr_story=4f49230e7d231a88be4bcb2521c249c5b9d0ddf5&rf=bm