Welcome to Mayberry, err... Heflin

Saturday And Teacakes

Written by Lester Laminack

Illustrated by Chris Soentpiet

Peachtree Publishing, 2004

29 pages

Nonfiction

            Lester Laminack visited my son’s school last year to talk about his local children’s books he had written and to share some of his books with them.  When I found his book at the library, I was very excited to get to read the book my son had come home talking all about last year.  To make it even better, Mrs. Jones did a lesson plan using the book.  This book is about Lester and his life growing up in Heflin, Alabama.  He talks about his Saturdays spent with his Grandmother and what they do all day.  This book is heavy in Southern culture and language so grab some sweet tea, sit on the porch, and read a while.

            The realistic cartoon illustrations are done in watercolor on 100 percent ray acid-free paper.  They are beautiful and look as if they were paintings hanging on the wall of some art gallery.  The illustrations truly depict a warm, sunny lazy Saturday here in the south.  They are bright and colorful and have a strong impact for the book themselves.  The text is on the illustrations for an easy informal read.

            This book would be good for kindergarten through sixth grade.  The book is easy to read, but has a subject matter that any age will understand.  The book will be good for a language arts lesson (already demonstrated by Mrs. Jones). A science lesson would be good for this book to teach students about weather in the south (like the humidity). A social studies lesson would work particularly well about different eras of time, comparing life then and now.   To my knowledge this book has not won any awards.

A Chilling Tale

I, Matthew Henson

Written by Carole Boston Weatherford

Illustrated by Eric Velasquez

Walker Publishing Company, 2008

29 pages

Nonfiction

            In the JSU library, the children’s books are often all over the place, so I found this one just lying on a self.  I liked the cover, so I picked it up, started reading it, and couldn’t put it down.  The story is about the first African-American man to reach the North Pole in 1909.  The book gives a brief look at Henson’s life from the age of thirteen up until he reached the North Pole.  The details of the struggles that African-American people went through during that time are staggering, but the triumphs of Henson make the struggles look like a walk in the park.  It’s definitely worth the effort to stop by the library or your local book store to read about this extraordinary man who conquered the North Pole and racism in one life time.

            The impressionistic illustrations are done with prisma color, nupastel and prisma soft pastel on Wallis paper.  After researching Wallis paper, the illustrations are even more beautiful to me.  The snow on the page looks so much like actual snow, that you’d expect it to be wet when you touch it.  The colors are used give the illustrations the coldness the author wanted the reader to feel.  

            This book would be good for kindergarten through fourth grade.  The book is easy to read, but has a subject matter that any age will understand.  I would use this book in a character education class to teach children about diversity and acceptance.  A science lesson would be good for this book to teach students about North Pole.  A social studies lesson about different cultures will fit in great with this book.  To my knowledge this book has not won any awards.

Crazy Summer, Crazy Travel, Crazy Family

One Crazy Summer

Written by Rita Williams-Garcia

Illustrated by Rita Williams-Garcia

Scholastic, 2012

215 pages

Historical Fiction

            I was ordering books for my son and myself and noticed this book.  I thought the little girls on the front were very pretty, and I loved the orange cover.  So while I was working at my son’s book fair, I saw the book, bought it, and I am very glad I did so.  The book is set in Oakland, California, in 1968.  Three sisters that were abandoned by their mother when the youngest was an infant are sent for by their father on a plane from Brooklyn.  The girls are being raised by their father and Big Ma.  The oldest keeps the younger two in line, but the adventure begins once they set foot in Oakland.  The woman they call Cecil aka “mom” is late and is not happy to have the girls for the summer.  This is a wonderful book and is a great lazy day read, so grab this book and a blanket and read away.

            The illustrations in the book are in pen and are black and white.  The illustrations are mostly vignettes throughout the text.  Although this book does not have as many pictures as most do, this is still considered a picture book.

            This book would be good for fifth and sixth grade.  This book would be good for a history lesson on the presidents and civil rights.  It would also be good for a language arts lesson for the students to read the book and write journal entries on what they would do if they were sent across the country to visit someone they did not know.  It would also be good for a social studies lesson on how cultures within our own country are different.   This book has won the Scott O’Dell Award, Newberry Honor, National Book Award Finalist and the Coretta Scott King Award.

No Telecommuting in 1940

Coming On Home Soon

Written by Jacqueline Woodson

Illustrated by E. B. Lewis

G.P Putnam’s Sons, 2004

29 pages

Historical Fiction

            The librarian at the Jacksonville Public Library recommended this book and said I would love it.  So I checked it out, came home and read it. She was right.  The story is set in the 1940s during WWII.  A young African-American mother leaves her daughter with her mother and goes north to Chicago to work.  While she is gone, the little girl tells the story of how she misses her mother and talks of the simple life she and her grandmother have.  During the story a surprise shows up and helps the young girl with missing her mother.  

            The illustrations are done in water color on Arches paper.  The illustrations look like art work to me with calm browns, white and gray used throughout the book.  The text is in a formal format with text on one page and illustrations on the other with the exceptions of a few pages that have a vignette and one that is a full two page illustration with two words typed on it.  In this illustration one can see how small the little girl feels in the world without her mother.

            This book would be good for kindergarten through sixth grade.  A social studies lesson would work well with this book to talk about the culture during the WWII and how it was hard on everyone not just the soldiers.  A history lesson would work well to teach about WWII and why and who we were at war with during the 1940s.  A character education lesson would work well, to talk about when parents go off to work or war and how that affects children and adults.  At this time this book as won no awards.

Lincoln Chopped a Cherry Tree, Not a Magic Tree

Abe Lincoln at Last

Written by Mary Pope Osborne

Illustrated by Sal Murdocca

Random House, 2011

120 pages

Historical Fiction

            My son LOVES The Magic Tree House books.  He has read all of them; so with me being a history nerd, I thought “why not?”  So, I sat down and read this book.  I really enjoyed it.  The adventure is good and wanting to meet President Lincoln has always been a secret dream of mine.  The story is about Jack and Annie trying to help Merlin save his baby penguin.  They must find a magical feather to help him.  The tree house takes them back to 1861 during one of the most unsettled times of American history.  Jack wants to meet President Lincoln, but the president does not have time to meet with them.  Since I avoid spoilers, you’ll have to read the rest.

            The illustrations in the book are pen and are black and white.  The illustrations are done in the most formal way with the exceptions of a few vignettes throughout the text.  Although this book does not have as many pictures as most do, this is still considered a picture book.

            This book would be good for kindergarten through sixth grade.  For lower grades, it would need to be read aloud to the class.  This book would be good for a history lesson on the presidents, our nation and war.  It would also be good for a language arts lesson for the students to read the book and write journal entries on what they would do if they were in the same situation.  It would also be good for a social studies lesson on how cultures have changed over the past 100 hundred years.  At this time this book has won no awards but it is on the “best books” of 2011 list.