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!