You Want Women to Vote, Lizzie Stanton?

By: Jean Fritz

Illustrated by: Dyanne DiSalvo-Ryan

I love reading biographies. I like the the fact it's nonfiction, about a real person. It's been a long time since I've read a biography, especially a kid's one.

I had never heard of this book before and I flipped through it first to see if it was someone I'd be interested in learning about. I was enthralled by this woman, Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Many people know that Susan B. Anthony was the pioneer for the fight of women's suffrage in the late 1800's and early 1900's. But, there was someone else who worked very closely with Anthony in this fight-Elizabeth Cady Stanton. I had never heard of this woman before and I found the first few pages of this biography very interesting. As I continued to read, I learned about this woman and all the things she did to fight for equality. She is truly a remarkable person.

I would highly recommend this book to ALL women to read. It is amazing at what Stanton and Anthony had to go up against and the harassment they endured in fighting for women to be treated as an equal. Girl power is definitely an understatement! I vote in all elections and have been proud to do so since I was 18. I vote from the presidential elections to the city council. I not only feel like it's my right, I feel like it's my as an informed member of society. The next time I vote in an election, the plight of Stanton and all that she did to help women like me be treated as an equal will be in the back of my mind as I happily drop my ballot on the box!

The Legend of the Blue Bonnet

An old tale of Texas

Retold & Illustrated by: Tomie DePaola

I've always been a fan of Tomie DePaola and I was interested to read this legend about how Texas got the bluebonnet flower. The story involves an Indian girl from the Comanche tribe. It had been a long and harsh winter and there was still not any rain. The Comanche people prayed to the Great Spirits asking what was needed in order to get some rainfall. The people must make a sacrifice of a most prized possession. A warrior did not want to give up his new bow and arrow and a woman did not want to give up a blanket.

A young girl named, She-Who-Is-Alone, ended up sacrificing her doll. This was a very special doll. It was the only item she had left after her parents and grandparents died from a famine. She, a child, made the ultimate sacrifice. Where the ashes of her burned doll had been spread, there was now beautiful bluebonnet flowers. Her people rejoiced and renamed her One-Who-Dearly-Loved-Her-People.

This legend had a great moral. Even though the main purpose was to tell how Texas got the bluebonnets, I think there's an even deeper meaning. People should be more willing to do for other people and not just themselves. This child (not even an adult) was unbelievably unselfish in giving away something she truly cared about for the sake of her people.

There's an author's note in the back of this book and DePaola states, "She-Who-Is-Alone's act of thrusting her beloved doll into the fire to save her people represents the decisive sort of action that many young people are capable of, the kind of selfless action that creates miracles." This is why I love legends and fables. I love the deeper meanings.

Addie Across the Prairie

By: Laurie Lawlor

Illustrated by: Gail Owens

This is a historical fiction story set in 1883 with Addie as the main character. Addie's family is picking up and moving from Iowa to Dakota in order to claim land and start building on it. Addie is very apprehensive about moving and thinks she's not the "prairie-girl" type. She rather prefers staying where she's comfortable, i.e. Iowa. Her best friend, Eleanor, is there and Addie was able to attend school. She is forced to leave family and all that is known to her behind to begin a very unknown life.

All in all, I was very interested in reading this story because this era somewhat intrigues me. Once I started the book, though, I found the story to progress slowly and I was ending up making myself pick up the book to read it. As the story moved on (about halfway through) things started to get a little more interesting and fast-paced.

I thought the descriptions were great of all the chores the family was required to do and also the fire scene. I didn't feel the language was that of someone who lived in the late 1800's. I mean, the mother did use the word "quarrel" instead of fight when talking to Addie and her younger brother. I just thought the language would be a little richer since this is a historical fiction story. (I recently read one set in 1925 and the language was very authentic to the time period.)

All in all, I have mixed feelings in regards to whether I liked this story or not and I'm usually pretty cut and dry. It was not bad and I wouldn't go around saying this story was not an enjoyable one, but it definitely wasn't the best historical fiction piece I've ever read. I'm not even sure I'd recommend this one. (How indecisive can I be?) :-)

Morning Girl

By: Michael Dorris

Morning Girl is a story set back in pre-Columbus 1492. The two main characters, Morning Girl and Star Boy, belong to a tribe called the Taino's and live on an island in the Bahamas. The story is from the point-of-view of both siblings. Every other chapter, the point-of-view changes.

The main focus of the story is the sibling rivalry between the sister and brother. Morning Girl is also obsessed with trying to figure out who she is. She gets her name because she goes to bed early so she can wake up at dawn. Star Boy gets his name because he stays up all night watching the stars and then sleeps late in the day.

I enjoyed reading this story. It was interesting to learn how each person gets their name. When a child is born, these people have to get to know the child before it is given a name because the name has to be fitting. The reader can tell this takes place a long time ago with the descriptions of how they get their food and how it is cooked. Also, these Taino people live in little huts with palm fronds as their roof.

The most interesting part was the last couple of pages. Morning Girl is taking a swim in the ocean when she discovers people in a canoe. She finds them odd and strange, though she acts friendly towards them. Then, the story abruptly ends. What follows is an epilogue written by Christopher Columbus. These were the people Morning Girl saw. In the epilogue, Columbus tells how he is going to take six of these people back and teach them his language because they would make really good servants. I was actually enraged at this part. I didn't like what was written in the epilogue which is exactly was the author was (maybe)intending.

Overall, I enjoyed this story. It was a simple read with an interesting ending.

Stevie

Written & Illustrated by: John Steptoe

Stevie is a book I read for my undergraduate Kids Lit class and I decided to reread this story. I thought maybe I'd learn or notice something new. Maybe it would be more meaningful to me since my college days a few years back. (They weren't that long ago.) :-)

This story is written from the point of view of an African-American boy about 9 or 10 years old. His name is Robert. He is always being bugged by the little boy, Stevie, who stays with him Monday through Saturday. The author doesn't tell if the two are kin. They are obviously not brothers though they act like it. It could be a cousin or just a friend of the family. The reader must speculate because it is not mentioned in the text.

Robert and Stevie, though not brothers, have that sibling love-hate relationship. Robert is tired of Stevie always following him around and wanting to play with him and his friends. When Stevie makes loud noises in the house, Robert is the one who gets the blame. Stevie is even referred to as "Old Stupid" by Robert. One day, Stevie is gone and does not come back. Robert soon realizes how much he actually missed having another child around to play and hang out with. (Robert's an only child.) At the end of the story, Robert is missing Stevie so much he can't even finish his food.

The pictures in the story seem to be made using chalk and it gives this book a different feel. Not every page has a picture. When there is a picture, it is a one-page bleed or a full-page bleed which creeps onto the opposite page as well. The chalk gives this story a distant feeling which makes sense because the entire book is of Robert reminiscing about what he and Stevie used to do together before Stevie left. I think using chalk really enhanced the idea that the events have already taken place and Robert is sitting and thinking.

I'm not an only child, but if I was, this would make me think of what it would be like to have a sibling. Also, the way Stevie and Robert bicker reminds me of my sister and I and how often we fight.

Cinderella Penguin

Retold & Illustrated by: Janet Perlman

I will admit. The front cover of this book didn't really excite me other than the fact that a penguin was Cinderella. This story holds true to the fairy tale of Cinderella. A penguin is made to work hard for her stepsisters, she attended a ball after getting a little help from the Great Fairy Penguin with her wardrobe, and she left a "flipper" at the ball after running to be home on time. The funniest part is when the Prince is doing his standard door-to-door search for the girl who owns the glass slipper, or flipper, in this case. Cinderella Penguin is pushed into the basement by her stepsisters and her foot is sticking out from the floor. The Prince puts the glass flipper on her foot and, of course, it fits and they live happily ever after. The picture of the glass flipper on Cinderella's foot while it is sticking out from the floor is pretty funny.

Most all of the illustrations are framed with text on the opposite page or under the illustrations. The framing made me feel like I was viewing one scene of a movie to the next. Most of the pictures cover almost the entire page. When Cinderella wanted to go to the ball and she burst into tears, the frame was much smaller than the rest of the illustrations. This was done to really put the focus on Cinderella and how "small" and meaningless her stepsisters made her feel. I thought this, anyway.

Overall, this was a funny and comical version of Cinderella that I know my Kindergarten students would enjoy. I wouldn't say this is the best version of Cinderella out there in Book Land, but it's definitely worth a read.

Dinorella: A Prehistoric Fairy Tale

By: Pamela Duncan Edwards

Illustrated by: Henry Cole

I was a little unsure when I first picked up this version of Cinderella. If you glance at the front cover of the book, you can already tell this is going to be a very comical story. I chose this because when I took one look, I thought, "My students are going to love this!" It has dinosaurs for the boys and a Cinderella twist for the girls-not that boys couldn't like Cinderella and girls like dinosaurs. (I'm not like that!) :-)

Though this version has some similarities with Cinderella, there is a part which I absolutely love and has quite a different twist. How many women, myself included, are sometimes tired of having the Prince always saving the Princess? Or, the female character always has to be rescued, of course, by a man? Well, in this story, the princess dinosaur, Dinorella, saves the prince!!!! I love that. She's a strong, independent female at the end. (In the beginning, she was taken advantage of by her stepsisters and being demanded to do hard work.)

As for the text, when the author wants to stress something, she will write the word in all capital letters and also bold it so the reader knows to read the word with feeling. Also, the writer uses numerous words that begin with the letter D throughout the entire story. I'm not really sure why she does this. Other than reading a book in the fairy tale genre to your class, a teacher can also use this as a read aloud when studying the letter D.

Overall, I think this is a hilarious version of Cinderella which many elementary school kids would enjoy!

Princess Furball

By: Charlotte Huck

Illustrated by: Anita Lobel

I've read this version of Cinderella a couple of times and like it. It is a Cinderella story in the sense that there's a little magic and a princess is made to do hard labor. She goes to a ball and no one knows who she really is. There are a few twists in this version. There has to be. This princess works in the kitchen of the King's castle and "escapes" her kitchen duties, changes into a beautiful gown, and attends a ball. This happens three times and she is eventually "found" out. There is no glass slipper and she marries a King instead of a prince. Of course, the story follows the fairy tale genre and has a happy ending.

I was not impressed with the illustrations. Actually, maybe I should take that statement back. The illustrations were very detailed and beautiful, but they were not colorful. I know, I know.... Not every book has big, bright colorful illustrations. (Can you tell I'm a Kindergarten teacher and love reading happy, bright books???) I like bright, vibrant, colorful pictures and these were simply not. This doesn't mean the illustrations were bad because they aren't. The type of illustrations fit this storyline well. It is effective. Also, there are "colorful" pictures, but this book just seems brown to me. I don't know... That's how I feel, brown.

The text itself and illustrations are laid out nicely on each page. There are full page illustrations with a half-page illustration on the opposite page with text above/or below the illustration. The text and pictures seem organized and they flow. (Is that a word?) It is not a funny, hilarious, laugh out loud version of Cinderella and I think the layout supports this.

Overall, when studying different versions of fairy tales, this is definitely one worth reading.

The Secret School

By: Avi

I loved this story about Ida Bidson and her perserverance to become a teacher no matter what it takes! This story is set in Elk Valley, Colorado in 1925. Ida and her brother, Felix, attend school in a one-room schoolhouse with six other students of various ages. Ida's teacher, Miss Fletcher, must leave town to care for a sick relative and without the teacher, the superintendent closes the school. This is bad news for Ida because she will not be able to take her final exam and move on to high school. She then has an idea that she will be the teacher and school will be a secret. (I felt I needed to give a little background.)

What I love about Ida is her perseverance and determination to teach these other children despite needing to study for her own exam. Ida is responsible for chores before going to school and after school. Then, she needs to prepare her lessons to teach and then do some studying herself. She works very hard and the reader can see Ida is such an unselfish person. She's very caring, determined, and strong willed. Even when the superintendent says that girls don't need to go to school, Ida does not let this stop her.

The author made it very clear in his descriptions that the setting is in the 1920's. One student rode an animal to school. Felix and Ida had to wind up their car to get it started. The schoolhouse was only one room with students of vast ages in attendance. Ida's best friend (whom she had a slight crush on) was fiddling with getting a radio to work. Also, the story was enriched with vocabulary. Teachers could (and should) really take advantage of this if using this story as a classroom assigned reading or a read aloud.

At the end of the story, there was a small interview with the author and it was asked where he got the inspiration for this story. He has a mountain home in Elk Valley, Colorado where this story is based and in writing this story, he stated he read a lot about one-room schoolhouses and knew some people who attended them. It was also noted that self-reliance is a theme in The Secret School and Avi was asked why this was. He stated, "Young people live in a world controlled, shaped, and ordered by older people. To become more than a child you must take charge of your own fate" (157). I thought this was interesting. I love to read about what an author's inspiration is for a certain book.

Sounder

By: William H. Armstrong

This is a story set in the 1800's about a boy and his family. The father is a sharecropper and the mother does odd jobs for the "white folks in the big houses with windows" and other jobs to have enough money to buy food. The family owns a dog, Sounder, who very quickly gets hurt in the beginning of the story. I was shocked! I wasn't expecting the dog to get hurt in the story for some reason. The description of Sounder and what he looked liked after what had happened to him almost made me cry. I was reading this as my own dog, Chief, was lying at my feet. The father ends up going to jail and the oldest son takes on a great responsibility of taking care of household duties and delivering items to the jail because women were not allowed in during this time period. I don't want to tell too much of what happens in the story.

I thought the story would have more focus on the dog. Don't get me wrong. The dog definitely plays a role. There are many other things that happen, though, without Sounder as the focus. The author gave elaborate descriptions in the story. There was actually very little dialogue and this made sense. The tone was very depressing and life was always a struggle. It seemed like there wasn't really time for talk. No, that's not right. This family just didn't talk to each other that much. Things needed to be said were said, plain and simple. Life seemed very simple. This family was just trying to make ends meet. Also, this family was not an educated one and when there was dialogue, it was written in the text to show this lack of education.

Overall, I did not enjoy this story. It was like pulling teeth for me to actually sit down and read it. It wasn't a bad story. I do want to make that clear because it obviously was good to some people since it won a Newbery Medal. It just did not interest me in the least.

Missing May

By: Cynthia Rylant

I really enjoyed reading this sad, sad story. I liked it a lot better than Van Gogh Cafe by Rylant though this book was much, much sadder and depressing. First of all, where Ob and Summer live really seems depressing. They live in a trailer and it doesn't seem like too many people are around. It feels very lonely-the whole story, in fact, feels lonely. There really doesn't seem like there's anything for Ob and Summer to look forward to ever since May passed away. I know how hard it is to lose someone very close to you. I spoke of my grandfather's death on another post of mine so I don't want to describe it again because it'll get me teary-eyed! I can so relate to Ob and Summer's emotional distress.

I'm really glad Summer and Ob finally felt ready to move on. It takes time, but during the story, it seemed like Ob was going to be depressed forever. I actually feel a little guilty about saying that because I've never lost a spouse and I can't imagine how that would feel. My fiance is a firefighter so he has a very dangerous job. It makes me nervous and I never want to be in that situation. So, since I've never experienced it, I can't really judge Ob for his lack of motivation.

Cletus is an odd character, but his obsession with pictures fascinated me. I like when he says, "Anything with a story to it." I'm kind of a pack-rat (though I try very hard not to be.) It's hard to give up something you find interesting. If Cletus sees an interesting picture, he keeps it and I think that's cool.

I also thought May was a very special girl who cared about her uncle's well-being so much. On page 24, May thinks, "Ob needed somebody to fill the empty hole she [May] left, and I reckon if I aged about fifty years, I might could fill it for him." I thought she was very caring and wise beyond her years to want to "fix" the problem and get Ob feeling happy again.

I thought this was a genuinely sad story, but anyone who has lost a loved one could relate.

Seedfolks

By: Paul Fleischman

I read this story in my undergrad kids literature class at CNU and remember liking the story. I loved how each chapter is from the perspective of someone different. This was very powerful. This book could easily have been written from the third-person point of view. Would this have been better? Would the story have been as meaningful? I really believe it wouldn't have been. Each chapter is a story within itself and then all the chapters are looped together into one big story.

I liked the end of the story when all the different neighbors and locals knew each other and had learned to respect one another. There were definitely many people in the garden from various backgrounds and cultures and it was touching how all of the hate dissipated. Some people may still not like others to a degree, but everyone was, what's the word, social, maybe. No, tolerant! And, this is okay. It seemed like the community really pulled together and put differences aside.

I think the garden is a great metaphor. If you really take the time and really show you care and nurture something, you'll get pretty flowers and delicious vegetables. On the other hand, if you're neglectful and uncaring, you'll get weeds. :-) You get what you put in and this garden could be a metaphor for many things in life.

The Giver

By: Lois Lowry

I enjoyed reading The Giver and never expected to enjoy this story. I was always one of those kids who couldn't wait for our teacher to assign us the next classroom read. Sometimes, there were stories I was really dreading and this is how I felt when I saw the front cover of The Giver. I knew there was something special about it, though, because it won a Newbery Medal. :-)

To me, even though this is considered a "child's" book, it was not as easy to read as I thought it would have been. There is definitely some different language used-like Assignment instead of occupation. When I think of assignment, I think of homework I have to do. My point is, though the language isn't difficult, per se, it's different. I know if I had to pause every now and then to really ingest and understand what the author was saying, I would think students 10-15 years younger than me would have to as well. The language used really alerts the reader that this place and community is unlike ours.

It's hard to imagine what life would be like if everything was perfect and I think Lowry did an excellent job at trying to relate this image. There have been many times when there has been so much going on in my life that I think to myself, Why can't everything just work out and go smoothly? This would make life much easier. On a deeper note, what would life be like with no war, hatred, disagreements, or any emotion at all?? I think this world would be a very boring place. (Just a side note, war and hatred were just examples.) Don't we, as humans, learn from our mistakes and misgivings? It makes me think, how much can a person grow if there's really no learning taking place? I'm not saying Jonas didn't learn anything in the story, because of all people, he did. But, what about everyone else? Would it be such a wonderful thing to have such a utopian society?

This story, again, was an incredible one which I was glad I ended up reading. It makes you think and, ultimately, appreciate the fact that maybe it's okay to not have a perfect world.

The Van Gogh Cafe

By: Cynthia Rylant

This story struck me as an odd one and one I did not enjoy from Cynthia Rylant. Though the text is simple, there are deeper meanings within each chapter. Sometimes, I felt like I didn't understand what those "deeper meanings" were or should be. This didn't make me feel very confident since I am an adult reading a children's book. :-)

One element I did enjoy was the quaint coziness of the cafe. This reminds me of a local dive my whole family ventures to about once or twice a week. We know all the waiters and waitresses, even the owners. Everyone is friendly and the waiters know our exact order-if we decide to order our "regular." It's very comforting and relaxing to be able to go in a public place and feel this comfortable and at home. This is how the cafe makes me feel.

After reading this story, I was left with some questions. So, maybe some of my colleagues can help me out. Again, I almost feel a little ridiculous that I, a competent English-major, cannot see behind the simple text and figure out if there are issues more pertinent. What's the overall message, if any? Is there a deeper meaning to the story other than the cafe being magical? What does all this magic mean?

As you can see, I'm left with questions. Despite the questions I have, I did not enjoy the story. This has been my very least favorite from Cynthia Rylant. Currently, I'm reading Missing May and am thoroughly enjoying that one.