Curtis, C.P. (1995). The Watsons go to Birmingham—1963. New York: Delacorte Press.
Grade Level: 5-8
Genre: Multicultural (1996 Coretta Scott King Honor Book)/Historical Fiction
Summary: The Watsons Go to Birmingham- 1963 is the humorous story of an African-American family told through the eyes of ten-year-old Kenny Watson. Kenny is the middle child. He has an older brother, Byron, who is thirteen and an “official” juvenile delinquent, and a younger sister, Joey, who always tries to protect Byron from punishment. Kenny does not get along with Byron and can’t understand why Joey always sticks up for him. Kenny’s parents are typical parents that love their children and do their best to take care of them.
The story of the Kenny and his family begins in Flint, Michigan. Kenny is smart, but he gets picked on, mainly due to his lazy eye. Kenny doesn’t have any real friends; the only one he thinks he has steals his dinosaurs. Then a new kid named Rufus moves to Kenny’s school. Rufus talks funny and is too friendly to be considered cool and the kids begin to pick on him instead of Kenny. Kenny thinks of Rufus as his “personal saver” and the boys begin to forge a friendship. That friendship is soon put to the test when Kenny laughs at a joke played on Rufus. Kenny has to apologize before Rufus will be friends with him again. During all this, Kenny’s older Byron is giving Kenny and his parents a hard time. Byron picks on Kenny all the time, charges grocery items to his parents’ account without them knowing, gets a hairstyle called a conk that his parents do not approve of, and plays with fire, literally. Kenny’s parents feel they are losing control of Byron and decide to take a family trip to Birmingham, Alabama (where Kenny’s mother is from), where they will leave Byron with his Grandma Sands. Her job will be to straighten Byron out. The trip to Birmingham becomes an adventure in itself, riding down in the Ultra-Glider, listening to music, and playing games. In Birmingham, Kenny and his siblings meet their grandmother, Kenny almost drowns, and Joey almost gets killed in a church bombing. In light of the bombing and civil unrest, the Watsons return home quickly. Kenny has a hard time dealing with what almost happened to Joey, but Byron helps him through it and Kenny begins to start his life again.
Reflection: Before I read this book, I thought it would focus primarily on the Civil Rights Movement. I was rather shocked to find that the Civil Rights Movement was not even mentioned until the very end of the book. Christopher Paul Curtis takes a different approach. He tells the story of an African-American family in the North, removed from the civil unrest in the South. He involves the reader in their life, telling humorous stories about the “Weird Watsons.” Then, towards the end of the story, he sends the Watsons to the Deep South, where one of them is involved in one of the biggest events in our nation’s history. Then the Watsons leave and deal with the tragic event in their home in the North. So the story was told from the view of a ten-year-old African-American boy who lives in Michigan. I think this is an innovative way to tell a story about the Civil Rights Movement.
This book would be absolutely invaluable in the classroom. Students would enjoy it because it is easy to read, it is funny, and they can relate to the characters in the story, regardless of their race. The book could be used to teach about the Civil Rights Movement and the effects of racism, prejudice, and discrimination, the nature and value of friendships, the importance of family support, or about grieving and how people deal with grief in their own way. Students could take any one of these themes from the book and go crazy with it. For example, for the Civil Rights Movement, students could make a timeline, make a news broadcast about the church bombing, interviewing both white and African-American by-standers, or pretend like they are interviewing Rosa Parks. Students could make a collage about what it was like to be an African-American in 1963 compared to being a white person in 1963 or write a diary entry as Joey, describing the bombing. The really great thing about this book is that there are all kinds of other directions you could go to help the students make a connection to the book, to the time in which it took place, or to their own lives. Students could pick out the songs that are listened to by the Watsons and research the artists that performed the songs and what those songs said about the times. Students could plan a vacation like the Watsons did, down to the cost of gas and where they would stop. Students could also trace the trip the Watsons made on a map to see how far they traveled. Students could prepare a persuasive speech and deliver it to the class, like Martin Luther King, Jr. did in the Civil Rights Movement. Seriously, the list could go on and on, so I’ll stop here.
There are only a few issues (that I can think of) that may come up regarding the use of the book in this classroom. One of the issues may be understanding what it was like being an African-American in 1963. Another issue might be the violence of the bombing. Students may not understand why someone would want to kill little kids. A third issue might be the concept of racism and prejudice. I’m not sure how students would react to these things. It would depend on their upbringing and social situation. I do know these issues can be addressed and the book used as a tool in teaching and understanding about these things.
Bryan, A. (2003). Beautiful blackbird. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Genre: Multicultural Picture Book (Coretta Scott King Award 2004)
Grades: K-3
Summary: Beautiful Blackbird is the adaptation of a story that comes from the people of Zambia. The story is about a group of birds that are beautiful colors of the rainbow. However, they are unhappy because none of them have any black markings. They all want black markings so they can be like Blackbird, the most beautiful of all birds. Ringdove is the first to ask Blackbird if he could give him a black marking. Blackbird tells Ringdove that just because he has a black marking, that will not make him be like Blackbird, that it’s what is on the inside that counts. However, Blackbird ends up marking Ringdove and all the other birds, which is where the markings on birds today originated. The story ends with the all the birds singing around Blackbird and they were singing about the beautiful color black.
Reflection: This story teaches two things: 1) it is what’s on the inside that makes someone what they are and 2) black is a beautiful color. Both themes are important to teach to elementary students in order to promote tolerance, especially in primarily Caucasian classrooms. The illustrations are bright and colorful and will capture the attention of young readers.
Collins, S. (2008). The hunger games. New York: Scholastic.
Grade Level: 6-8
Genre: Modern Fantasy- Set in the future world of Panem, featuring the unusual situation of the Hunger Games, a fight to the death
Summary: In The Hunger Games, Katniss, a young girl from District 12, is forced to fight for her life and cheat death in the annual Hunger Games. For the Hunger Games, the evil, controlling Capitol chooses two representatives from each of the twelve districts in a televised live fight to the death. On the way to the games, Katniss is faced with plenty of intrigue from the Capitol and has to hone not only her fighting skills but her skills in deception. The big question is whether love can help her chances in survival or bring betrayal.
Reflection: This book was an intersting take on the future North America, broken into regions based on what commodities each can produce (for example, District 12 produces the coal). Where there should have been prospering districts, the life was sucked out of those districts by an over-controlling government, embodied by the Capitol. This is the beginning of the interesting character development in this book. Because of the adversities they faced, these characters developed strengths that helped them survive the desolate worlds and eventually in the Hunger Games. The strongest character in this book is Katniss, who taught herself how to use the bow and provide for her family and district (illegally). She is definitely the protangonist in this story and shows her good side (the self-sacrificing love she has for her sister) and her bad side (lying to Peeta for self-gain). The fact that it is written from Katniss' first-person point-of-view really draws the reader in to the story. I really connected to Katniss in the story because of her use of the bow. I like to target shoot the bow, but after reading this book it made me want to learn how to hunt with the bow in case I ever ended up in some kind of Hunger Games! I think it would be interesting to have students explore writing the story from the point-of-view of other characters in the story and explain why they chose that character. Students could even write about what they think their greatest survival skill would be if North America ever turned into Panem.
Scieszka, J. (1989). The true story of the three little pigs. New York, Puffin Books.
Grade Level: K-3
Genre: Picture Book- This book is primarily composed of illustrations that tell the story.
Summary: This is a true story that changes everything. Jon Scieszka’s book The True Story of the Three Little Pigs tells the story of The Three Little Pigs from the point of view of the wolf. The wolf begins by telling the reader his name (which is Alexander T. Wolf) and explaining that the Big Bad Wolf thing is all wrong. He can’t help it that he likes to eat cute little animals. It’s just the way wolves are. And the story with the three little pigs is really about a sneeze and a cup of sugar. The poor wolf was actually framed (or so he says).
Summary: This story proves the point that there are two sides to every story. A venn diagram would be a great tool to compare the original story to the "fractured" story. Questions for discussion might include: If you were a lawyer, who would you defend and why? What other fairly tales do you think have characters that may have been unfairly accused? This book could also be used to encourage students to write the other side to a popular story. The illustrations are also very humorous and include some collages. This book is enjoyable for adults too who are tired of the same ol’ story.
Lionni, L. (1987). Frederick. New York: Dragonfly Books.
Grade Level: Pre-K-2
Genre: Picture Book- This book is primarily composed of illustrations that tell the story and is aimed at young readers.
Summary: Frederick is a field mouse. It is summer and his family is preparing for winter, but Frederick isn’t helping. While his family is gathering food for the winter, Frederick just sits outside. Many times they ask him what he is doing and he tells them. He tells them he is gathering sunrays, colors, and words for the long, dark winter. Finally, winter arrives and the mouse family took to their hideout. At first, there was lots of food and lots of stories, but eventually they ran out of food and stories. This is where Frederick comes in.
Reflection: Lionni uses collages for his illustrations and what they lack in color, they make up in detail. The story makes the reader realize that every person in a family contributes in their own way. One way is not necessarily better than the other, just different. Children will enjoy this story because of the illustrations and teachers will read the story because of its message. It is also a good book to use to teach the seasons or to teach about cooperation and conflict within families. I would ask students to make text-to-self connections and to compare Frederick's family to their own. Questions for discussion may include: What kind of mouse is Frederick? How do you know? Would you want Frederick to be in your family? Why? Frederick is a wonderful book that is a great addition to any library.
Shannon, D. (1999). No, david! New York: The Blue Sky Press.
Grade Level: Pre-K-1
Genre: Picture Book- This book is primarily composed of illustrations that tell the story and is aimed at young readers.
Summary: In No, David!, Shannon tells a story that all children will be able to relate to as they grow up. David is a young boy who is constantly doing something he shouldn’t be doing and constantly being told “No!” David tries to get in the cookie jar, tracks mud on the living room floor, and overflows the bathtub with water, among other things. Finally, he does something that pushes the limit with his mother.
Reflection: Shannon’s illustrations are great at depicting the mischievous side of children. Each picture is done with a sense of humor that shows through to the reader. There is a lot of person-against-person conflict between David and his mother, but also a lesson to be learned in this story and that is one of forgiveness. The use of repitition in this book is a big part of what makes it fun to read. In teaching this book, I would make sure we began by taking a picture walk because most of the story is told through the pictures. I would have ask student about their own experiences and make text-to-self connections. Students could make their own book, using their own name in the title. Introducing young readers to books like this, that are relatable and fun, will make them want to read more and more and more.
Rohmann, E. (2002). My friend rabbit. Connecticut: Roaring Book Press.
Grade Level: Pre-K- 2
Genre: Picture Book- This book is primarily composed of illustrations that tell the story and is aimed at young readers.
Summary: My Friend Rabbit features a cute story about friendship along with terrific illustrations. The story is about a friendship between a mouse and a rabbit that always seems to find trouble. They are playing with an airplane when it becomes stuck in a tree. That’s where the adventure begins. Not to worry, though. Rabbit has a plan.
Reflection: Rohmann’s Caldecott-Winning illustrations are very striking with the thick black lines that surround all the characters and the illustrations. In one part of the book, you have to turn the book vertically to see the picture as it fills two pages, a composition feature that adds to the story. Rohmann does an excellent job of taking you on Mouse and Rabbit’s adventure through his expressive illustrations and letting the reader determine the personalities of all the characters through their expressions. In using this book in the classroom, it would be great for analyzing characters and asking students of they would choose Rabbit for their friend and tell why or why not. The story itself is quite simple, but uses plenty of literary elements. Rohmann foreshadows the conflict in the story in the first two lines of the book, “My friend Rabbit means well. But whatever he does, wherever he goes, trouble follows.” He uses personification in his story, having Rabbit and Mouse playing with a toy airplane. Rohmann is an excellent storyteller and this is truly an enjoyable story to read. There is a lot to be said about the quirks of friendship and Rohmann took one quirk and turned it into a relatable story. Everyone has or will have at some point, a friend like Rabbit.
