Liar, Liar - a book by Laurence Yep

Laurence Yep was born in San Francisco, CA in 1948. As an author, he has won numerous awards, including a Newbery Honor Award. He is one of the most respected Asian-American writers of his time.

He fell in love with writing almost by accident. In high school, his English teacher told his class that to get an "A" they would have to get published in a national magazine. Although the teacher later withdrew that threat, Yep begin writing and sold his first story for a penny a page at the age of 18.

The book I read by Yep was Liar, Liar. This book is fairly old, and the image on this page of the book is not the image on the book I actually read! But the story remains the same. Sean Pierce, a 16 year old, tries to prove that his friend's car was tampered with before he had a fatal accident. When it comes out that Sean has lied before, people pass off his notions as "crazy." For once, he is telling the truth, but it may be too late by the time anybody believes him, because now the killer is after him. This book is a great mystery, and it shows how the boy who cried "wolf" too many times finds it hard to get people to believe in him, especially when the killer is a respected business man. I thought the book was well written, if a little juvenile. The main character took on some responsibilities that most 16-year old boys would not take on.

After doing some research, I wish I had read a different book of his, but this was all my library currently had in. Maybe when I have some free time (ha! ha!) I can read one of his more recent works!

Other titles by Laurence Yep include:

• Dragonwings
• Child of the Owl
• The Lost Garden
• The Rainbow People
• Sea Glass
• Dragon of the Lost Sea

Sources:

Yep, L. (1983). Liar, liar. New York: William Morrow and Company.

www.eduplace.com./kids/hmr/mtai/yep.html Information retrieved on 3-13-08.

www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/y/laurence-yep/ Images retrieved on 3-31-08.

Because of Winn-Dixie - Book versus Movie #1

In this comparison, I actually read the book before I watched the movie. The book, by Kate Dicamillo, is an enchanting tale of a young girl and her ugly dog, and the wonderful friends she meets along the way when trying to get used to living in a new town. The way India Opal interacts with some of the townspeople is very loving and innocent, and gave her a naivete that was very endearing. I literally did not want to put the book down! I read it in one day, so I was really excited to see the movie.

Unfortunately, as Hollywood is wont to do, the movie did not have near as much charm as the book. There were a lot of scenes in the book that had been left out of the movie. For instance, Jeff Daniels (who plays India Opal's father in the movie) was talking to her about her mother. In the book, he told her exaclty ten things about her mom, including that her mother liked to drink. This is not how it went in the book, and Ithought that was a key element to the plot line. It explained a lot about why her mother left, and although hinted to in the movie, it was never really said. I thought the actess that played India Opal in the movie over-acted the part. They would have done better to cast Dakota Fanning's little sister (who played Sweetie Pie in the movie) as India Opal. They also skipped parts of the book around so that they were not necessarily in the order as the book.

All in all, I liked the book much better than the movie on this one.

Sources:

www.barnesandnoble.com. Images retrieved 3-29-08.

DiCamillo, K. (2000). Because of Winn-Dixie. Cambridge: Candlewick Press.

Wayne, W. (Director). (2005). Because of Winn-Dixie [Motion Picture]. United States: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation.

Rosa by Nikki Giovanni - Coretta Scott King Award Book

Rosa by Nikki Giovanni is a unique look at the Civil Rights Movement in Montgomery, Alabama. This book won the Coretta Scott King Award and is Caldecott Honor Book. This book tells the story of how Rosa Parks was tired of being treated as less-than-human and refused to give up her seat on the bus. The legendary tale sparked a series of events from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. encouraging the citizens to walk "until justice runs down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream" (p. 23) to the 1956 Supreme Court ruling that segregation was wrong on all fronts.

The illustrations in this book (done by Bryan Collier) are wonderful, and really help to tell the story of the Civil Rights Movement. They add to the story, and I think the most powerful on is the cover itself, with the white man looking down sternly at Rosa Parks. It almost gave me chills to look at this drawing, it is that good.

I would recommend this book to anyone, young and old alike. I think a lot of different groups can learn a lesson from this story - that all people should be treated equally.

Sources:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ Image retrieved 3-14-08

Giovanni, N. (2005). Rosa. New York: Henry Holt and Company.

In for Winter, Out for Spring by Arnold Adoff - a book illustrated by Jerry Pinkney

In for Winter, Out for Spring is a book written by Arnold Adoff and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney.The story tells a tale of how a family goes through the seasons and the different things they do together at each one. It is a delightful story of family dynamics, and the coffee-house poetry style the author uses is a fascinating way to tell it, one which I have never seen before. The verse gives the story a beautiful flow and helps the reader "feel" the changing of seasons.

The illustrations by Pinkney really help tell the story. Jerry Pinkney is an African-American and a beloved children's book illustrator. He won a full scholarship to art school and later opened an art studio with several other artists. His family is very talented as well - his wife and daughter-in-law are successful children's book authors, and his son is a famous illustrator in his own right. Other books that Pinkney has illustrated include:

• The Patchwork Quilt by Valerie Flournoy
• The Tales of Uncle Remus by Julius Lester
• Mirandy and Brother Wind by Patricia McKissack
• The Talking Eggs by Robert D. San Souci
• Back Home by Gloria Jean Pinkney
• Sam and the Tigers by Julius Lester

Pinkney has received the Caldecott Honor several times, as well as the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustrators.

Sources:

www.barnesandnoble.com Image retrieved 3-14-08

www.eduplace.com/kids/hmr/mtai/jpinkney.html Retrieved on 3-13-08

Adoff, A. (1991). In for winter, out for spring. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers.

The Red Book by Barbara Lehman - Caldecott Honor Book

The Red Book was illustrated by Barbara Lehman. It is a picture book, so we know how I struggle with those, but I enjoyed this one much more than Flotsam. The pictures tell the story of a little girl who finds a red book in the snow. She lives in a city, and the book tugs are her curiousity all day. When she opens it, she is surprised to see a map and then a face staring back at her that can see her too (from his own little red book). She goes out to seek this stranger, but he thinks she is leaving, so he begins to cry. She traveled across the world with balloons and drops out of the sky to meet her new friend! On the way to meet her new friend, she drops her book on the street, only to be discovered by another boy!

The picture-within-a-picture theme was reminiscent of Flotsam, but I think the story the illustrator was trying to convey was much better. I am beginning to understand the novelty of picture books. It is truly amazing how pictures can tell a whole story without a single word being written on the page.

Sources:

www.barnesandnoble.com Image retrieved on 3-14-08

Lehman, B. (2004). The red book. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.

John Henry - a book by Julius Lester

For the Julius Lester pick, I chose to read John Henry - a wonderful tale about an African-American man who was born strong and grew overnight to be huge! He used his size for wonderful things, like helping his mother and father build on to their house, and helping to make roads in the blink of an eye. This book was illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, and I found later that he has illustrated several of Lester's books. The story of John Henry was a fabled tale in the African-American community, no one can seem to prove or disprove that this man actually existed. There have been many folk songs written about John Henry, and each version is a little different. John Henry, the way the book tells it, was very respected, and sometimes even the sun peeked out to see what he was up to! I enjoyed this book - I thought the illustrations really helped add to and tell the story, and I couldn't help but to love the gentle giant with the big heart.

The author, Julius Lester, is an African-American professor who has taught at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst for over 30 years. He started life wanting to be a musician, but has written more than 25 books (both adult and children's books). As mentioned before, several of his novels have been illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. Here is a list of some of the other titles he has written:

• Day of Tears: A Novel in Dialogue (A Coretta Scott King Award Winner)
• To Be a Slave
• The Tales of Uncle Remus: The Adventures of Brer Rabbit
• Uncle Remus: The Complete Tales
• From Slave Ship to Freedom Road

Sources:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ Retrieved 3-13-08

www.eduplace.com/kids/hmr/mtai/lester.html Retrieved on 3-13-08

Lester, J. (1994). John henry. New York: Dial Books for Young Children.

Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat and The Lorax

It was such a delight re-reading Dr. Seuss' book, The Cat in the Hat. It had been a really long time since I had read it, and I enjoyed it immensely. I know that Dr. Seuss wrote these books as an alternative to the Dick and Jane books popular of their time, but I find the Dr. Seuss books far more sophisticated than the Dick and Jane books. I also read The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, which was a book I had never read before, and found that book to be very thought provoking, as most Dr. Seuss novels are. I think Dr. Seuss books can be enjoyed by people of all ages, and this has been repeatedly shown by the use of Oh, the Places You'll Go! as a common graduation gift. Both of these books that I read seem to have a greater message than the pure joy one gets from reading them. The Cat in the Hat urges us that maybe Mom really does know best, and the fish somewhat serves as our conscience to remind us of what we are not supposed to do! In The Lorax, the greater message is one of environmental awareness - to love the beauty that surrounds us and try not to destroy it in the process.

While I do not know if there is a contemporary book that has the tension present as in The Cat and the Hat, I do know that it still appeals to children today. My son loved it when I read it aloud to him, and laughed out loud when I made a voice for the fish! I thin kthis book will always be able to capture the hearts of readers, no matter what age they are.

In terms being didactic - which means designed or intended to teach - The Lorax is definitely that! It teaches readers to take care of and treasure their environment because perhaps all the things we love about it could eventually disappear. There are still didactic books today, especially those teaching social messages of equality and diversity. They may not be as controversial as The Lorax, but they are still being written and read.

It was great fun reading these books, and it makes me want to go and re-read many more of Dr. Seuss' legendary tales. I know my son and I will enjoy them for many years to come!

Sources:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ Retrived on 3-13-08

http://www.mirriam-webster.com/ Retrieved on 3-13-08 (Call me stupid, but I had to look up what didactic meant!)

Dr. Seuss. The cat in the hat(1957). New York: Random House.

Newbery vs. Caldecott Awards - What's the difference?

I must be honest, before this class, I did not know the difference between the Newbery Award and the Caldecott Award. I simply thought they were both awards given to children's books. While they are that, they are also so much more. They have some similarities, but the major component of each award is very different.

The Newbery Award is awarded annually to the most distinguished American children's book published in the previous year. This award mainly focuses on the author of the book. It is named for an eighteenth-century English bookseller named John Newbery, and it was the first award ever given for children's books.

The Caldecott Award is also awarded annually, but to the artist or illustrator of the most distinguished American picture book for children. It is named after the nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott.

These awards have several things in common. One, they are both awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, which is a division of the American Library Association (or ALA). Both awards are given to distinguished American children's books; however, both awards are named after Englishmen.

From reading books out of each category of awards for this class, I have come to understand that I enjoy the Newbery Award winners the most. I feel myself gravitating toward books for older students - i.e. middle school and up. I enjoy reading books to my son, but I must admit that I am selfish and enjoy reading books for older children so much more. I like the more complicated plots with less pictures. I have found that I like to paint a picture of characters in my own mind, instead of having them drawn out for me. My son has enjoyed some of the Caldecott Award winners I have read to him, but he is two years old and gets bored easily. This statement is not to slight the Caldecott Award winners, it is just my preference. But I am glad that I at least understand the difference between the two!

Source: http://www.ala.org/ Retrieved on 3-10-08

Realization

I just realized I read one too many Newbery Award Winners for my class. I know I will not receive credit, but it didn't hurt anything, and I enjoyed those books.

The Hello, Goodbye Window by Norton Juster - Caldecott Medal Winner

I recently read The Hello, Goodbye Window by Norton Juster. The book is illustrated by Chris Raschka. I must say, I was not in love with this book. The story was charming, but very simple. It is about a girl that loves to spend time with her grandparents, and they all love this window in her grandparents' kitchen. They can see each other in it when the little girl comes over, and then when she leaves. I do not know what I was expecting, but this wasn't it.

For me, the pictures were a little confusing. I know the premise is for the book to look like a child drew the pictures since the child is the narrator of the story, and it did accomplish that. But I did not feel like the drawings added or enhanced the story in any way. Perhaps I was just in a bad mood when I read this story, but it was definitely not my favorite children's book of all time. My favorite part of the book was the fact that this child is very close to her grandparents, which I also happen to be. It did bring back some good memories about growing up and visiting them, and that was about as far as it got for me.

I am sure there are people out there reading this blog that are gasping with shock that I did not like this book, but what can I say? With an honor like the Caldecott Medal attached to it, I was looking for more, but left a little disappointed.

Sources:
Juster, N. & Raschka, C. (2005). The hello, goodbye window. New York: Michael Di Capua Books.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ Image retrieved 3-4-08