Irene Gach Lá

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY Holm, Jennifer and Matthew 2005. BABYMOUSE QUEEN OF THE WORLD. New York, NY: Random House Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0-375-93229-1 2. PLOT SUMMARY Felicia Furrypaws slumber party is afoot and Babymouse is worried she will not be invited. Felicia is the most popular girl in school, but always leaves Babymouse feeling like she does not measure up. Babymouse must decide if she will remain loyal to her best friend, Wilson the Weasel, or will she join the popular crowd of Felicia’s minions? 3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS Off the bat, the first thing you notice are the illustrations. They are simple, yet eye-catching. They will make you want to take pencil to paper and try the drawing of Babymouse. The illustrations are clever, swapping from the real world of Babymouse, illustrated in black-and-white, to her daydream world, illustrated in bold pink and black. The contrast in the colors will help young kids keep track of which storyline is taking place--rea...

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY Gaiman, Neil 2008. THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. New York, NY: Harper Collins. ISBN 979-0-06-053092-1 2. PLOT SUMMARY This is a fantasy book about Nobody Owens, nicknamed Bod, who was the sole survivor of the heinous murder of his family. He finds sanctuary in a graveyard, whose ghostly inhabitants raise and protect him as their own. The cemetery becomes the backdrop of Nobody’s childhood adventures. As he grows, we learn of the man Jack, who killed his family and is still hunting for him. When they finally meet, Jack earns Bod’s trust, but when he attempts to murder him, Nobody uses his own supernatural powers to fight him and his accomplices, the Jacks of All Trades. In the end, Nobody defeats the Jacks and finally embarks on his life outside the graveyard. 3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS It’s easy to root for Bod. He is the innocent toddler who survives lifes most horrific event, the murder of his own family. Immediately, Gaiman brings to life an intense desir...

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY Anderson, Laurie Halse 1999. SPEAK. New York, NY: Farrar Straus Giroux. ISBN 0-374-37152-0 2. PLOT SUMMARY Thirteen-year old Melinda Sordino attends a high school party the summer before her freshmen year. At the party, popular Andy Evans rapes her in the woods. In shock, she calls 911, which breaks up the party and angers the other kids. Like the others, she runs home when the police are on their way and never tells her story. Once school begins, she is shunned by the student population, including her best friend Rachel, for breaking up the party. Melinda falls into a deep depression and is selectively mute throughout the story. She is befriended by a new girl, Heather, who abandons her for a more popular group. Melinda learns to trust her lab partner, David, who champions her right to speak for herself. She develops a love of art and trust of her art teacher, Mr. Freeman, who exhibits tremendous compassion toward all his students, but especially Melinda....

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY Schmidt, Gary 2007. THE WEDNESDAY WARS. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 978-0-618-72483-3 2. PLOT SUMMARY Set amid the tumult of the Vietnam War, The Wednesday Wars takes place throughout the 1967-1968 school year of seventh grader Holling Hoodhood of suburban Long Island. As the only Presbyterian in his class, Holling Hoodhood is the lone Wednesday student in Mrs. Baker’s class as half the class attends Hebrew school and the other half Catechism class. As the year progresses, and the Wednesday Wars commence, Mrs. Baker and Holling form an unlikely alliance brokered by Shakespeare himself.  3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS This book is best for middle and high school students. Chock full of Shakespearean allusions amid the backdrop of America in turmoil, it would be a bit of a stretch for even the most sophisticated fourth or fifth grader. A theme which threads the story together is the Vietnam War, with many of the teachers, including Mrs. Bak...

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY Cushion, Karen 2003. RODZINA. New York, NY: Clarion Books. ISBN 0-618-13351-8 2. PLOT SUMMARY Rodzina is the tale of a gruff and hearty, yet soft-hearted, Polish immigrant girl. She’s trapped by tragic circumstances in 1881 America. The death of her parents sends her West from Chicago, the only city she knows, on an orphan train bound for California. Along the way, she learns to care for the orphans on the train and fight for her right to a family who loves her. The ending is foreseeable, but oh-so-satisfying. 3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS This book is best for upper elementary and middle school students. Kids who have experienced loss will particularly relate to Rodzina’s matter-of-fact sadness. She can’t change her past, but she can move on and carry the memory and values of those she loved with her. The setting changes throughout the story, as Rodzina travels through the West to be matched up with a family. Her first match is short-lived and kids will ...

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY Williams-Garcia, Rita 2010. ONE CRAZY SUMMER. New York, NY: Harper Collins Children’s Books. ISBN 978-0-06-076088-5 2. PLOT SUMMARY Set in 1968 America, three young, African-American sisters journey across the country to meet their mother, Cecile. Living in Brooklyn with their father, Delphine, Vonetta and Fern know little of who she is or why she left, except what Big Ma tells them. And Big Ma’s not fond of their mother! But is their mother really all those terrible things? When they arrive in Oakland, California, Cecile sends them to the Black Panther summer camp. Here, the girls learn about not only their mother, but themselves. In the end, this is not a story of abandoned children, but of understanding, love and embracing the culture of your family. 3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS Upper elementary and middle school students, especially African-American girls, will identify with these young characters, especially Delphine, the narrator of the story. She is s...

BIBLIOGRAPHY Krull, Kathleen and Paul Brewer. 2010. LINCOLN TELLS A JOKE: HOW LAUGHTER SAVED THE PRESIDENT (AND THE COUNTRY) Ill. By Stacy Innerst. New York, NY: Harcourt Children’s Books. ISBN 978-0-15-206639-0 PLOT SUMMARY Krull and Brewer explore Abraham Lincoln’s life from a new perspective: humor. Given the gravity of his presidency and his importance in American history, this book takes the unusual stance of presenting his life through his love of laughter. Beginning with his childhood, Lincoln’s life story is presented anew with anecdotes about his sense of humor and his love of jokes. Filled with quotes attributed to Lincoln, the reader gains a new perspective of this much-loved American icon. CRITICAL ANALYSIS “My father taught me how to work, but not to love it. I’d rather  read, tell stories, crack jokes, talk, laugh.”  Abraham Lincoln Thus begins the reader’s journey into LINCOLN TELLS A JOKE. Weaving quotes from Lincoln into the story ...

BIBLIOGRAPHY Jenkins, Steve. 2011. Just a second New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. ISBN 978-0-618-70896-0 PLOT SUMMARY What can happen in a second? A minute? An hour? A day, week, month or year? What about less than a second or more than a million years? Filled with quirky facts and bold illustrations, Steve Jenkins explores timely questions in JUST A SECOND: A DIFFERENT WAY TO LOOK AT TIME. CRITICAL ANALYSIS The first thing I noticed, as I read, was the page color. As the time markers change, the background colors change. The book begins with the second, which is illustrated against a royal blue background. This builds to the minute, which is against a teal background. As time progresses, the background changes. This change is a subtle reminder to the reader that the main idea of the page is also changing. For each time marker, Steve Jenkins chooses attention-grabbing facts to hook the young reader.  “ In one second, a rattlesnake shakes i...

BIBLIOGRAPHY Sweet, Melissa. 2011. Balloons over broadway New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. ISBN 978-0-547-19945-0 PLOT SUMMARY How did one boy get out of chores forever? Invent a chicken-feeding system, of course! From the moment he feeds the chickens to the arrival of Garfield in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, kids will love this biography of Tony Sarg. In BALLOONS OVER BROADWAY, Melissa Sweet details his journey from farm boy to puppeteer to balloon master. As the creator of the famed Macy’s floating balloons, Sweet explains both the life of Tony Sarg and his ingenious method for bringing puppets to life. Along the way, kids will love Sweet’s illustrations of Sarg’s ideas, especially the upside-down marionettes which grace the final pages of the book. CRITICAL ANALYSIS In BALLOONS OVER BROADWAY, Melissa Sweet triumphantly serves as both author and illustrator. Since BALLOONS OVER BROADWAY is a biography, it is organized chronologically over th...

BIBLIOGRAPHY Singer, Marilyn. 2001. Monster museum Ill. By Gris Grimly. New York, NY: Hyperion Books for Children. ISBN 0-7868-0520-X (trade) PLOT SUMMARY This zany poetic anthology invites kids to trail behind an undead museum docent. Grimly’s introductory illustration has a human class, complete with school uniforms, meeting the docent. They travel through the Monster Museum and meet all the spooky creatures kids adore, including Count Dracula, King Kong and even Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Along the way, Singer exposes kids to a variety of poetic forms. At the end, there is even a fun-filled “Glos-scary” giving the history of each of the creatures featured.  CRITICAL ANALYSIS This book is pure fun. The titled “Monster Museum” poem kicks off the anthology. Then, Singer’s catchy rhythms, repetitions and layouts whisk the reader away. For an example, look to “Man-eating Plants”: Man-eating plants, Man-eating plants,        ...

BIBLIOGRAPHY Sidman, Joyce. 2010. Dark Emperor and other poems of the night Ill. By Rick Allen. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. ISBN 978-0-547-15228-8 PLOT SUMMARY This poetic anthology combines poetry and science. Sidman explores the nocturnal world through poems describing various living organisms, from the mushroom to the oak tree to the owl, and how they thrive, or survive, the night world. Each poem is paired with a nonfiction prose, so the reader is brought into the drama of the night with poetry, but conceptual understanding is supported with prose. As an illustrator, Rick Allen uses dark and bold colors to draw your eyes into the picture and each specific poem’s theme. There are twelve poems altogether. CRITICAL ANALYSIS Sidman and Allen are a poetic force in this anthology. The layout of the book is simple to follow. Each poetic theme is a double-page spread. The poem is on the left, and the nonfiction prose on the right. There is a minor illust...

BIBLIOGRAPHY Hemphill, Stephanie. 2010. WICKED GIRLS: A NOVEL OF THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS. NewYork: HarperCollins Children’s Books. ISBN 978-0-06-185328-9  Hemphill, Stephanie. Read by Stina Nielsen, Michal Friedman, Celeste Ciulla, and Barbara Caruso. 2011. WICKED GIRLS: A NOVEL OF THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS. Recorded Books. CD. ISBN 978-1-46-181805-2 PLOT SUMMARY Award winning novelist, Stephanie Hemphill, has brought us a fictionalized version of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, including WICKED GIRLS very own queen bee, Ann Putnam, Jr. Hemphill writes from the the minds of three girls involved in the accusations, Ann (12 years old), Mercy Lewis (17) and Margaret Walcott (17), hence the story unfolds from their points of view. One particular male character, Isaac, is a cringe-worthy bad boy of the late 1600’s. Readers will love to hate him, although the girls’ behavior eclipses the misdeeds of this resident bad boy. The novel leaves you to wonder, Just how far would I...

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY Isaacs, Anne. 2010. DUST DEVIL Ill. By Paul O. Zelinsky. New York, NY: Schwartz & Wade Books. ISBN: 978-0-375-96722 2.  PLOT SUMMARY Who can make it rain “ milk by the bucket?” Streaks of white flow down the page for Angelica Longrider, the heroine of SWAMP ANGEL. In DUST DEVIL, Isaacs and Zelinsky’s beloved character moves on from Tennessee and conquers Montana. “Dust devil, it’s time to stop horsing around,” Isaacs writes. So Angel rides Zelinsky’s dust devil, grabbing onto the gray storm which seems to swirl right off the page. The art panels frame not only the art, but the story. When the dust cleared and wind died down, a giant horse was the culprit. Angel dubs him Dust Devil and soon they face the true culprits of this story, Backward Bart and his Flying Desperadoes. “Cash your gimme!” rolls right off the reader’s tongue, along with other favorites, like “Yap-giddy!” and “Pee-yip!” But the Desperadoes meet their match when Angel tricks them to...

1.  BIBLIOGRAPHY Davis, Donald. 2004. THE PIG WHO WENT HOME ON SUNDAY: AN APPALACHIAN FOLKTALE Ill. By Jennifer Mazzucco. Little Rock, AR: August House Little Folk. ISBN 0-87483-571-2 2.  PLOT SUMMARY In this Appalachian folktale, based on the three little pigs of fairytale fame, Mama Pig sends her three boys into the world, one-by-one. “It is time for you to go and learn to take care of yourself,” she tells the first two. The illustrations paint their faces with worry. Their cheeks are tinged white and their eyes droop a sad sight. Mama Pig reminds each one: “If you have to build a house, build it out of rocks and bricks. And please come home to see your mama on Sunday!” Alas, the first two are tricked by the wolf to build weaker houses. Mazzucco’s wolf is harsh, with a long snout and sharp teeth. It is no surprise they meet a sad fate and do not return home on Sunday, " Gulp!”  Meanwhile, the third pig is a bit wiser and takes what he needs to care for himsel...