Module 13: Giants Beware

Summary:

Claudette has one goal in life: to become a giant slayer! There's only one problem, her village has been safe from giants since Pierre the XXXII ran off the only giant. Claudette doesn't feel justice was served and believes the giant needs to be slayed!

Reference:

Aguirre, J. (2012). Giants beware! New York: NY: First Second.

Impressions:

Clever and funny. This charming graphic novel offers humor and excitement for readers who love adventure. Claudette keeps interesting company to say the least. Her brother, Gaston, a budding pastry chef who has no qualms about being a scaredy cat and her best friend, Marie, who really just wants to be a princess one day. This unlikely trio provide the right about of laughs and lessons to keep readers engaged.

Professional Review:

Comedy and fairy tale sensibilities balance perfectly in this exciting debut by writer Aguirre and illustrator Rosado. Delightfully spunky Claudette is set on becoming a monster slayer like her father (who is missing limbs due to his earlier adventures). When she hears the story of a giant on the loose, she is determined to leave her home—accompanied by her cowardly brother, Gaston, and best friend Marie—in order to set things right. Driven by Claudette’s courage, Marie, who wants nothing more than to become a princess, shows proper heroic wits, and Gaston reveals inner strength and determination. When Claudette discovers that not all stories are as they seem, she and her friends must fool the adults who have come to bring them home to protect an innocent monster. The rich world and engaging characters are a surefire hit—and the glorious full-color illustrations, which pack a novel’s worth of expression onto cartoon faces, should bring readers back for multiple reads of this many-layered story. One can only hope that Aguirre and Rosado have more adventures planned. 

[Review of the book Giants beware!]. (April 2012). Publisher's Weekly. Retrieved from: http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-59643-582-7

Library Uses: 

Students can create comic strips using the characters from the story. They can create a new adventure for Claudette, Marie, and Gaston. This will be a great lesson in speech bubbles and the directionality of graphic novels and how they are read.

Module 12: Nelson Madela

Summary:

This biography tells the story of Nelson Mandela's heroic struggles. The story takes us through Mandela's life as a young boy and how he fought to create change - even at the expense of being imprisoned.  

Reference:

Nelson, K. (2013). Nelson Mandela. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

Impressions:

This book is a beautiful tribute to South Africa's revolutionary leader. While Mandela's story is an important one to be told, Kadir Nelson's illustrations take this book to another level. The paintings practically glow and jump off the pages. There is absolutely no question as to why this book won the Coretta Scott King illustrator award. 

Professional Review:

Starting with the full-page cover portrait, this glowing picture-book biography offers a celebratory introduction to Nelson Mandela’s life for young readers. Clear free verse and handsome, unframed paintings follow the iconic leader from his tribal childhood and his work as a young city lawyer through his political leadership against the brutality of apartheid, his long imprisonment, and then the triumph of his election as president of his country. The story doesn’t mention conflicts both political (the splits in the anti-apartheid movement) and personal (the bitter rift with his daughters), as well as the continuing inequality South Africans face. Still, words and images bring close the cruel apartheid segregation in daily life, including one double-page spread of Cape Town’s glorious beaches with the sign that reads White Area. Then there is the view of prisoners on Robben Island hammering rocks into dust. In contrast, the final pages show today’s nonsegregated beaches and people of all races standing together free at last. A long final note fills in more. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: With an internationally beloved leader as its subject and a multi-award-winning artist as its creator, this title is sure to be on every library’s must-purchase list.

[Review of the book Nelson Mandela]. (September 2012). Booklist. Retrieved from: https://www.booklistonline.com/Nelson-Mandela-Kadir-Nelson/pid=5648303

Library Uses: 

This is a great selection when introducing students to the concept of a biography written in narrative form. Have students look at this biography paired with another biography about Nelson Mandela written in expository form. Students can compare and contrast the two types of biographies noting that both types are providing factual information in different ways.

Module 11: Actual Size

Summary:

Jenkins masterfully displays the actual size of a variety of animals, both large and small, in this book that is packed full of engaging collages and facts about each animal and their size.  

Reference:

Jenkins, S. (2004). Actual size. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company. 

Impressions:

This book is made for the kid in all of us! The collages bring to life just how big some animals truly are. We see that a pygmy shrew is only two inches long and alternatively we see the actual size of a giant squid's eye - all 12 inches of it barely fitting on the page. Kids are sure to marvel at all the animals represented in this book and enjoy learning about them as they unfold pages to see just how big a goliath frog can get!

Professional Review:

A new exploration of the biological world, from one of the current masters of collage, features life-size—not scaled—representations of the extremes of the animal kingdom. Wonderfully textured collages are set against a white background, accompanied by a minimal text gloss about the animals, and their sizes. Some are so huge that only parts can be seen (the one-foot-diameter eye of a giant squid) and others require some squinting (the 1/3-inch dwarf goby). It’s a fascinating subject, and one that will resonate with an audience for whom relative size is a matter of daily interest. Jenkins exploits it for all its worth, including a fold-out of a crocodile’s jaw and a snarling tiger whose face spills off the page. Four concluding pages provide more information about the featured animals, along with reasonably sized, full-body reiterations of the illustrations. Sadly enough, however, in a book that is so intimately concerned with measurement, only English units are used, seemingly ignoring the fact that the metric system is the universal language of science worldwide. A regrettable flaw in an otherwise outstanding offering. (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-12)

[Review of the book Actual size]. (May 2004). Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved from: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/steve-jenkins/actual-size/ 

Library Uses: 

A perfect read aloud for the younger crowd and equally perfect as a jumping off point for older students to gain inspiration for animal inquiry. Students can then be introduced to electronic resources such as National Geographic Kids to learn about other interesting animal facts.

Module 10: Shoeless Joe and Black Betsy

Summary:

Readers get the opportunity to follow Shoeless Joe Jackson in this story of how he came to own his favorite bat, "Black Betsy".  The story follows a man (who is now said to be one of the greatest baseball players the game has ever seen) when he has hit a slump and is willing to do just about anything to get past it and get on to the major leagues!

Reference:

Bildner, P. (2002). Shoeless Joe and Black Betsy. New York, NY: Simon & Shuster.

Impressions:

This is a wonderful example of Historical Fiction that children of all ages will enjoy! Baseball fans are sure to fall in love with the story line and waiting to see if Shoeless Joe will get out of his slump. Even those who don't care as much about baseball will be sure to get a giggle at some of Shoeless Joe's superstitions. Who wouldn't laugh at seeing a grown man tucked into bed with his baseball bat?

Professional Review:

Is great hitting in the clean, natural swing of the batter—or the perfectly balanced feel of the bat? As kids know when they start playing baseball, small details must converge just right to overcome the edge between winning and losing, hitting and striking out. Sometimes this translates into superstitions or quirky behavior. First-time author Bildner toes this question in the quirks of Shoeless Joe Jackson and his feared bat, Black Betsy. Joe, who played in the major leagues from 1908 to 1920, does well in the minor leagues, but can’t seem to move up without the help of his South Carolina friend, the great bat-maker Charlie Ferguson. While Charlie knows how to make the best bat, it’s not hard to decide which needs tweaking more, the bat or Joe’s mind so he can finally realize his great potential. From Joe sleeping with the bat to his wrapping it in the cotton of his southern roots, Bildner sticks mostly to the main facts and resists a romanticization of the game. Players who know the perfect, sweeping amalgamation of hand, eye, and sweet spot might expect to hear its dramatic tenor when Joe cracks the ball with Black Betsy, but this is a story finished by statistics. Payne’s (Brave Harriet, p. 944, etc.) mixed-media illustrations are gorgeous: the fuzz is in the flannel and the light is just right. And so are his perspectives, angles, and other compositional choices that make for the right mix of mystery and narrative to draw the reader in. A lengthy synopsis of Joe’s entire career and his statistics are appended. (Picture book. 5-8)

[Review of the book Shoeless Joe and Black Betsy]. (December 2010). Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved from: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/phil-bildner/shoeless-joe-black-betsy/

Library Uses: 

This would be a great read aloud to "sneak in" Historical Fiction as baseball season is gearing up in the spring. Baseball fans will love the story immediately. Others will enjoy the illustrations and repetitive language used in the story. For older grades, it would be beneficial to read the Afterword and discuss which parts of the story the author changed and why he may have chosen to make particular changes.