Focus Question

How does knowing about literary elements impact understanding a story?

Knowing about literary elements can impact how a reader perceives any book they choose to read. Understanding the different elements helps readers make connections, meaning, or even have a clearer understanding of the text. Sometimes the literary elements are essential in making a book a good one. If literary elements are unclear in the text, then the book might not be engaging at all.

In my history of being a reader, I have noticed that literary elements always impacted me much more when I read literature for English classes, especially in high school. But, as I think more about reading even for fun, I notice that literary elements always pop into my head, whether or not I actually took the time to really think about them. Knowing about literary elements like character, place and time, point of view, and much more help me as a reader comprehend what is going on in all of those pages of any book.

Particularly when I read, I focus on the characters and the plot. If I am interested in these details in a book, I will likely want to keep reading. Sometimes though, when one or more of the literary elements, for example, the point of view, is really confusing, I struggle to read the book. When the literary elements of a book are clear, the book is a good read and is sometimes impossible to even put down. 

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Author: Eric Carle

Ages: Pre-K-2

Rating: 5 Stars

Summary: A very hungry caterpillar is born and sets out on a journey to find food. Throughout the book he eats almost everything he can find, until he is so stuffed! He builds himself a cocoon and turns into a beautiful butterfly.

When I was in pre-school, my grandma gave me this book as a gift. It became my all time favorite book, and is definitely at the top of my list. I always wanted my mom to read me this story whenever I got a chance. I adored this book as a child and I still do. Here’s why. First of all, as a young reader I was always so excited to see what the caterpillar was going to eat next. The pages are set up so creatively that it looks like the caterpillar ate right through the book! And let’s not forget about the amazing illustrations that Eric Carle has done to go along with this delightful story.  Each page is full of vibrant colors and even though the illustrations are not elaborate it doesn’t really matter because of those colors. I love that I can recall having this book read to me on multiple occasions as a child and it is still one of my favorites to reread even as an adult.

This book can be read in pretty much any classroom. I feel that it would be most beneficial with younger children especially in science or even art. There is a simple science lesson about how butterflies come to be, as well as how to make pictures look so beautiful using paper collages. This is something that could definitely get students interested in art.

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus

Author and Illustrator: Mo Willems

Ages: Pre-K-2

Rating: 4 Stars

Summary: A bus driver has to leave his bus sit unattended for a moment, and all he asks is that no one lets the pigeon drive the bus. The pigeon is extremely distraught over not being able to drive the bus!

I first heard of this book during my resident assistant training. They played a YouTube video of a two-year old reading the book. (Click the link to check it out!) This seems like it would be an extremely child-like thing to do, but it related perfectly to what we were learning. The poor little pigeon is so set on driving the bus that he tries to manipulate everyone into letting him drive. “How ‘bout I give you five bucks?” says the pigeon, but unfortunately no one gives in. I think that this book is absolutely adorable especially because the illustrations look like they were drawn with crayons and are so simple it looks like a child could have drawn them.

There is an interactive website with none other than the pigeon acting as the narrator for the activities that can be done on the website. There are different links so that children can use the website, as well as a section for adults that may be interested in using this book with their children or in a classroom.

http://www.pigeonpresents.com/index.aspx

A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams

A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams

Author: Jen Bryant

Illustrator: Melissa Sweet

Ages: 4-5

Rating: 4 Stars

Summary: William Carlos Williams was unlike any other boy growing up. He loved to write poetry, and lots of it! He liked writing poetry about ordinary things, but when he became an adult and a doctor, he was unsure if he would still have time to write. Because he loved writing poetry so much, he would use any break and piece of paper he had to jot down his ideas.

I remember reading biographies in elementary school, and none of them were as exciting as this picture book/biography of William Carlos Williams. The pages in the book are so awesome! I spent more time looking at them than actually reading the text on the pages. Each new page is a collage of information including poetry, pictures, drawings, and artifacts. Many of the pages, including the inside covers of the book have Williams’ poetry on them. Not only could I enjoy reading his biography and looking at the pages, but I was introduced to several of his poems. Reading this book was exciting and fun. I loved the creativity that the author and illustrator put into this biography.

There are many connections to be made with this book. Biographies, poems, and collages are prime examples of how a book like this could be used within the curriculum. Used with several other biographies, William Carlos Williams’ story could turn into an author study within the classroom. It could even encourage children to write poetry about exciting things that they see from day to day.

Officer Buckle and Gloria

Officer Buckle and Gloria

Author: Peggy Rathmann

Ages: K-3

Rating: 5 Stars

Summary: Officer Buckle, a policeman in Napville is the master of safety tips, but his presentations put his audience to sleep. He starts taking along Gloria, the new police dog, with him and she performs tricks behind his back. The students love this, but Officer Buckle does not know this is happening until he watches himself on the news one night. He is upset to find out that Gloria is the star of the show.

I was hesitant at first to read this book, but I selected it to read with a second grader, and I am truly happy that I did. This book is also a Caldecott Medal winner, deservingly so. I really enjoyed reading the book especially with all the vibrant pictures! I just loved how Gloria would be “acting” out the safety tip behind Officer Buckle and he had no idea. Plus, I loved that the book not only told how important safety tips can be, but how important our friendships are, no matter how big or small they are. Peggy Rathmann does a wonderful job with the text and the pictures in the book. I loved sharing this with my reading buddy.

Officer Buckle and Gloria has all kinds of meaningful “lessons” that could be shared with a classroom of children. One idea that popped into my head right away was that this would be an excellent book to use at the very start of the year to help establish classroom rules. The text tells us a story of how important safety is and without safety tips or rules, our classrooms and schools can fall apart.

The Jade Stone: A Chinese Folktale

The Jade Stone: A Chinese Folktale

Adapted by: Caryn Yacowitz

Illustrator: Ju-Hong Chen

Ages: K-5

Rating: 4 Stars

Summary: Chan Lo, a stone carver, is brought before the Great Emperor of all China to create a dragon of wind and fire out a beautiful piece of jade. There is a huge problem. Chan Lo’s carvings are what they want to be, and the piece of jade wants to be carp fish swimming. Chan Lo is sentenced to punishment, but the Great Emperor dreams of the fish and comes to realize what the stone was meant to be.

This Chinese Folktale was extremely enjoyable to read and I shared it with a couple children who thought the same thing.  I loved the water color on rice paper paintings on each of the pages that help to explain the story. The paintings are so detailed but simple at the same time which makes them so intriguing to look at. An interesting detail from this book is that on the first couple of pages there are drawings of each of the characters and their names as they appear in the book. This helped me, as a reader, know what to look for and keep track of the characters on the pages. The only downfall of this book was that there was so much text on one page. I feel that the text could have been spread out over more pages and then there could have been more beautiful pictures to go along with them.

This book could be appropriate for all age levels especially when talking about fairytales or folktales. It is really interesting to see how these types of stories are portrayed in different countries to help us gain an understanding of their cultures.

The Giving Tree

The Giving Tree

Author: Shel Silverstein

Type: Picture Book

Ages: All ages

Rating: 5 Stars

Summary: In this picture book, the is a tree who loves a boy and would do anything for him. The boy takes everything the tree has to offer including her apples, branches, and trunk. The tree insists on making the boy happy until one day there is nothing left for the tree to give except for a stump to sit on.

The Giving Tree is another of my childhood favorites.  To me, the book represents what it means to be selfless. The tree offers everything she possibly can to the boy and while he grows and matures she is there to sacrifice herself to make him happy. One aspect of the book that stands out is that Shel Silverstein illustrates the story with the simplest black and white drawings. I feel that the book has so much meaning in the text that is does not need to be supported with elaborate images.

Every time I read this book, I feel that the underlying message is the one of the most important life lessons that we can learn. If I were to use this in the classroom, I would most likely focus on how selflessness can be both inspiring and self-rewarding. These themes are too important to let go unnoticed. I am sure there are several ways that this book could be used to support a curriculum, and I would be up for any suggestions, but the message that the book gives is too powerful and meaningful to ignore.

The Black Book of Colors

The Black Book of Colors

Authors: Menena Cottin and Rosana Faría

Translator: Elisa Amado

Type: Picture Book

Ages: All ages

Rating: 5 Stars

Summary: Thomas describes the different colors throughout this book by examining them through the sense of touch. He says that he likes colors because he can hear, smell, touch, and taste them, but he cannot see them.

The style of this book is by far one of the most intriguing styles that I have come across in my search for picture books. The black pages are illustrated with black images that are raised from the surface. Held at the right angle, the reader can see that the raised surface on each page is the item being described. I really enjoyed being able to feel the pages and use a sense that I don’t normally use while reading picture books. Each description offered a new way of looking at colors through a “touchable image.” I like how different this book is from others and how it helps to give the reader an understanding of what it would be like to not be able to see colors.

There are several ways that this book could be incorporated into a classroom.  Talking about the senses and how everyone’s are different would help bring this book into perspective for children of all ages. It is hard to imagine what it would be like not being able to see colors so having to feel the pages. By reading the text and feeling the pictures allows the readers to gain a better sense of touch rather than sight. This topic also helps bring about awareness for the visually impaired.

Where the Wild Things Are

Where the Wild Things Are

Author and Illustrator: Maurice Sendak

Type: Picture Book

Ages: K-2

Rating: 5 Stars

Summary: Max is wild! He is so wild that he is sent to his room without supper where he then imagines that his room turns into a forest where he sails away to a land where only wild things live. He becomes the king of the wild things and acts as wild as ever, but when he smells food his mother has cooked, he sails back home to where he belongs.

(This book is a winner of The Caldecott Medal in 1964.)

Where the Wild Things Are is in my top five of all time favorite books from my childhood. I remember when my teacher read this to me, I had to have it at home too. I thoroughly enjoy the pictures that look like colored in sketch illustrations of all the characters including Max and all the Wild Things that accompany the story. I always thought it was so cool that Max had such a wild imagination and that when he was sent to his room he came up with a far away land with Wild Things. Whenever I got into trouble as a child I would read this book and imagine what would happen if I were Max.

Children have such wonderful imaginations and we, as educators, should set aside time for our students to use theirs. Writing would be an awesome tool to go along with this book. Students could create their own far away land where they could escape to when they are feeling unhappy or angry. It also helps us along with realizing that sometimes we do silly things and even though we want to run away from them sometimes we should just stay and deal with them instead.

Wave

Wave

Illustrator: Suzy Lee

Type: Wordless Picture Book

Ages: K-2

Rating : 4.5 Stars

Summary: “A sunny day. A curious little girl. A playful wave.” This is how the book jacket describes what the author has included throughout the pages of the book. There is no text so the reader is able to imagine any story they would like to go along with the illustrations.

I have never read a wordless picture book before, or not that I can remember from my childhood, but I adore this book! Wordless picture books were mentioned in a class I was taking and I was confused as to why anyone would want to read one, and know I know why they would want to. This book has simple, yet eye-catching, images made up of grayscale and blue pastels. It is fascinating to see how the little girl transforms through the pages from acting apprehensive about the water into a little girl who fears nothing the water has in store for her. The simplicity of this book is captivating and allowed me to use my imagination.

This book could be tied to several other books in the classroom. Combining it with several other wordless picture books can allow a class to write a story or a poem to go along with it. Or, it could even be used in an art class to show how art can be simple and striking at the same time. I would even think that this book could be used in K-1 grades to learn about the ocean and its characterisitics.

All the World

All the World

Author: Liz Garton Scanlon

Illustrator: Marla Frazee
Type: Picture Book

Ages: K-4

Rating: 5 Stars

Summary: All the World  is a picture book that offers beautiful illustrations and a poem spanning the pages offering its readers different insights of how the world is viewed.

I loved this book! The pictures are beautifully drawn and the poem adds to the pages to give it a more definite description. What I liked about this book so much is that it is not only interesting to look at, but the author combines short lists of easy to understand words and phrases and turns them into something with a bigger meaning.

For example:

Spreading shadows, setting sun

Crickets, curtains, day is done

A fire takes away the chill

All the world can hold quite still

Also, for each set of words and phrases there is an illustration to go along with the specific text which could help young readers understand the pages.

I plan on working with upper elementary students, and even though the text in this book is so simple and may seem too easy for older students, I would still use it. The reason for this is that it can be a guide to help students write poetry and focus on something meaningful, like how they view the world and what parts of it stand out to them. Each student is going to have a different view point and could share with the class what is meaningful to them. It is important for each of us to take a step back from our busy lives and actually take time to realize how the world works around us.

RULES

RULES

Author: Cynthia Lord

Type: Novel (Ages 9-12)

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Summary: Twelve year old Catherine tells her story of how she spends a summer unlike any she has ever had.  Her summer consists of keeping track of her 8 year old brother who has autism, trying to become friends with a new neighbor, and most importantly developing a friendship that she never expected.

Follow the Rules...  Seems like an easy task for most, but for David, Catherine's brother in the novel RULES, following rules is something he struggles with.  I particularly liked how Catherine explained the set of rules she kept for her brother and introduced them throughout the novel within each new chapter. Because the story is told in Catherine’s perspective, I feel that it is interesting to see how her life is impacted by a family member who has austism and how her family’s life revolves so much around her brother for this reason. I really felt that the hardships she faces throughout the novel are really important and meaningful to the whole story. I really enjoyed how the book was able to bring me, as the reader, to feel so many different emotions through each chapter. I sometimes felt angry, sad, and delighted, all while remaining so captivated by the text. In my opinion Lord did a fabulous job of interesting me within the first chapter which kept me wanting to read the whole book in one sitting! I really couldn’t put the book down! I would really hope for other readers to feel the same!

Posing this question: “How do rules impact us on a daily basis?” could potentially begin an in depth conversation about the rules that we experience in everyday life. Talking about where these rules came from, how they impact us, are the rules fair, or what could we do to come up with rules that we really need. Our students could benefit from reading this book and having a conversation about the different topics brought up in the book and how they felt about them, too.

Focus Question: How can we use Georgia Heard's work in our classrooms?

FALLING DOWN THE PAGE: A BOOK LIST OF POEMS

Edited by: GEORGIA HEARD

Falling Down the Page: A Book List of Poems is a piece that Georgia Heard compiled of several other authors' poems. Heard wrote the introduction for the book stating that poems are such a great way to express one's self and that this can happen in something as simple as a list. Many of the poems in this compilation span the time between when school begins and ends and the summer months in between. The lists are creative and fun which is important to help keep students engaged in reading.

"Lists of everyday things become the stuff of poetry in this collection of original poems. Fun to read and easy to write, list poems invite kids to see the extraordinary in the ordinary and inspire them to become poets themselves." -Inside the cover of Falling Down the Page: A Book List of Poems.

In response to the focus question, I feel that any of Georgia Heard's writing can be used in the classroom. From her instructional pieces to a compilation of poetry, her work offers several ideas for getting children interested and excited about writing! For example, Falling Down the Page: A Book List of Poems cold be used to inspire students to create their own poem which could then be turned into a book written by the class. 

A few reviews that this book received are:

“Accessibility is one of the book’s greatest strengths, since the compact verses focus on familiar aspects of daily kid life.” —Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“The poems will spark imagination.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Teachers will welcome this fine anthology.” —Booklist
“Truly wonderful.” —Katie’s Literature Lounge
“A winner.” —School Library Journal
“A thoroughly entertaining and distinctive collection.” —BookPage

References:

Prevert, Jacques. " Macmillan: Falling Down the Page: A Book of List Poems Georgia Heard: Books ." Macmillan - Distinguished & Award Winning Global Publisher in 41 countries. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Sept. 2010. <http://us.macmillan.com/fallingdownthepage>.

Falling Down the Page. New Milford: Roaring Brook Press, 2009. Print.

Poet Study: Georgia Heard

About the Poet:

Georgia Heard was born in Enterprise, Alabama on December 13, 1957. She grew up there but attended several universities on the east coast including: American University, University of New Hampshire, and received a Masters in Fine Arts in poetry from Columbia University. She is a speaker and advocate for poetry and poetry writing and she travels around to school districts and conferences. She has worked for several years with the Teachers College Writing Project where she works alongside teachers from New York City. She helped develop this project. Heard is known for being a landscape painter and writer, as well as a compiler of others’ works. 

My Opinion:

When researching Georgia Heard, I was surprised by the information I was finding. Heard's poetry or pieces that she creates are often books that have been compiled from several  other poets' work. For example in, Falling Down the Page: A Book List of Poems, Heard showcases several other poems including one of her own. Also, I did not realize that much of her work focuses on the instruction of poetry alongside her actually writing it. Many of her books try to increase the comfort level for creating and reading poetry among teachers and students. Many of her instructional pieces for how to teach and write poetry are for all ages. Some of her work includes: Falling Down the Page: A Book of List Poems, Climb Inside a Poem: Reading and Writing Poetry Across the Year, Awakening the Heart: Exploring Poetry in Elementary and Middle School, This Place I Know: Poems of Comfort, Songs of Myself: An Anthology of Poems and Art, and Poetry Friday. Her work focuses on creating, “Practical tips for promoting poetry-friendly environments.”

Heard has been reviewed by Instructor Magazine as “One of the Ten Best Books Every Teacher Should Read.”

She has edited and co-authored many books which could be extremely useful in elementary classrooms. I know I will want to encourage my students to become interested in poetry at a young age because some of the greatest pieces of writing in history are poems. Her work, I feel, will be great resources to use as a teacher to get young students, and even myself, excited about poetry!


References:

Mia. "Welcome - Georgia Heard Bringing Poetry into Everyday Life." Welcome - Georgia Heard Bringing Poetry into Everyday Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Sept. 2010. <http://georgiaheard.com>.


Vardell, Sylvia M.. Poetry People: A Practical Guide to Children's Poets. Englewood, Colorado: Libraries Unlimited, 2007. Print.