The Misfits

Wow. What a great book. It's hard for me to grasp the reason why this book is on the controversial list. I think this is such a great book for children who are at the stage in school where groups and cliques begin to arise. I feel like this book can give hope and inspiration to anytime of child whether they be in the "misfit" group or not.
The characters in this book are so real to me. I feel like I could change the name of each and every character to someone I know personally. Their personalities are so lifelike and so easy to relate to. I love how this group of friends isn't the average cookie cutter type of children that we normally read about in this type of literature. I love that they have their flaws and that it is easy to recognize and easily pointed out. But I also love how they use each others weaknesses to their advantage by substituting someone else's strength. I love how throughout the whole book I thought for sure that Addy was going to be the president just because of her attitude. Come to find out that she wasn't elected and she didn't even give the presidential candidate speech. I could go on and on about the parts that I liked.
One last thing that I wanted to comment on was the idea of Joe being homosexual. I know this is why some controversy has come up about the book but I don't think that Howe was flambouant about the way he presented it. I feel like he presented Joe as a strong willed and very intelligent boy who was only trying to be himself. I really did feel sorry for him when 'fagot' ( yes with one g) was written on his locker. He never missed a beat though. He jumped right back at the person who wrote it with a comeback. He never hung is head about it. I feel like this book has a lot of important lessons for children to learn and is able to help them through a difficult time in their lives. I definitely will keep this book in mind for the future.

Smoky Night

Let me start by saying these illustrations are gorgeous. I love the fact that the colors are so not the expected shades of what is being shown. The people are blue and purple which are definitely not real colors of people. But it doesn't matter. Any of these events could happen to anyone of any color.

There are things in this book that make me sad though. The characters don't go into Mrs. Kim's market because they need to buy from their own people. This is disturbing to me. But the fact that their cats bring them together is priceless. I think this is symbolic of in the time of crisis and chaos it doesn't matter who you are, your skin color, the language you speak, or anything else. The two cats were huddled together for safety. And then the two cat owners come together.

The riots caused havoc in this town. Which is a part of history, has been and will be. I don't understand why this is a controversial book. Apparently there is violence but the underlying meaning is that people from different backgrounds may look different on the outside but on the inside they are the same. They have the same fears and they have the same responsibilities to their families. I think this is a great story about the two people finally coming to accept one another. Too bad it takes a riot to make them realize.

This is such a sad story. I cannot believe that anyone could do this to another person. It is such a shame that people have to endure this type of ridicule and pain just because of the color of their skin. I feel for the big brother in this book as well because he feels responsible for keeping his little sister safe and there was nothing he could do. I also can relate to the little girl never wanting to leave her room. But the triumph that occurred when her friends showed up to support her was a 180 degree turn. I definitely wouldn't have guessed that. I like how the story ended that they overcame this horrible event and have grown from it.

The illustrations are great. I can see these characters being turned into a cartoon. The pictures show more than the texts lead on. The brother has a black eye as well which you wouldn't feel as sorry for him if the pictures didn't lead you there. I don't think this book should be so controversial. I think it is necessary to get these stories out there for children to learn from and to know what is right and wrong and that both occur in this world. I feel that the ending of persevering makes this book one of my favorites.

Daddy's Roommate

I read the first line in this book and about died! I love that it started off with a divorce. The divorce rate is so high right now that I find it inevitable that we share this information with children. Even if the child's parents are divorced, they know someone who is whether it is grandma and grandpa or an aunt and uncle. Divorce is everywhere. Society is changing and I think that what we teach children should too. I think the book gives a great light to the word gay. I love how the book comes right out and says it. These days more and more children are going to school that have two mommies or two daddies. I feel that the more normal we make it, the better it will be. Books like this are great for that.
The pictures are great. They help to tell the story. The little boy has so much fun with his dad and his dad's roommate that it is impossible not to like the situation he is in. This book should not be controversial in my eyes because it is happening around us. I think this is something that should be normalized in our children's literature.

Nappy Hair

The way this book is written is so much fun. I can totally hear an African American speaking these words. The way the font changes, it makes you able to hear people in the background jumping in to give their input. I think that book is great though. It takes something that everyone has in common, hair, and shows the difference in it. Not that it is a big deal if you have straight, curly, or nappy hair. It is a neat way to display a big problem in the world, racism, with a little one like differences in hair types. There are also hints of religion and slavery in the book as well. These are more discrete but they are still big issues being laid out.

Again this is another brilliant way to get hard topics to discuss out on the table. Slavery is a part of our history and it needs to be taught. This book brings it up discretely but it brings it up. I feel it is necessary to have books like this to teach the non-African Americans about African American things (like nappy hair) and also for African American children to see that they are completely normal. They need books that relate to them just as much as the Caucasian children do.

I like the illustrations. They are vibrant colors and show the story nicely. Again I enjoyed this book but don't quite understand the controversial part of this as much as some of the other books I've read.

Sami and the Time of the Troubles.

So this book is one of the controversial ones that I read. I am not sure how I feel about it. My feelings are a little on both sides of the fence. I feel like it is a great way to bring up a topic like war that is hard to talk about to children. I know that they will learn about wars in history class so I don't understand why not introduce them by showing how other children live their lives. This boy Sami is the main character and the story is about how his family has to stay in the basement until the fighting has calmed. His father was lost in a bomb in the market so it is his mom, sister and himself with his grandfather. I personally like the book. I feel that it is interesting to learn and try to place yourself in Sami's shoes. I cannot imagine growing up like that. But the truth of the matter is that some children do. I feel like now is a better time than ever to introduce this to children and use it as a teaching mechanism in order to make them aware. If we ever want things to change then we need to start teaching it. But I also see the other side of the argument. I don't think children who are not in this exact situation should be burdened with it as well. It is just something that our society has set up with the ideal of what a childhood should involve.

The illustrations are gorgeous in this book. I love how when Sami's is remembering the good days the color of the pictures are light and airy and on the contrast when there is fighting going on the colors are dark. I find this gives a great effect to the book. The book also introduces children of color. This child is not the Caucasian boy we usually see in children's literature. But I hope it isn't giving the wrong impression that Caucasian children don't go through these types of hardships. I understand why this book is labeled controversial but I feel it could be a great teaching tool in schools or at home.

Some Things Are Scary

I think this is a wonderful book for children. I think it really picks and pulls at the word scary to help children understand that things are scary. I think it helps to teach that there are things you need to be scared of, like strangers. I also think it helps to say that it's ok or normal to be scared of things like being up high. I think it is trying to take away some of the taboo that children feel about being scared. I feel that it is a good way to introduce some of the things that others maybe be scared of. Some of the things are humorous which keeps the book light and airy. I think that it brings up very important things that as a parent or teacher you might not think to bring up.
The illustrations make the book for sure. Even though the text is great, the pictures go right along with it and add so much more drama and feeling to the text. The last phrase is the best for me and sums up my life in one small, simple sentence found in a this book. "Knowing you're going to grow up to be a grownup is scary."

Who's in the Hall?

This is a long....... confusing...... book. It is a mysterious book about an apartment building and it's tenants. This is kind of a tongue twister all over the place. I am not sure what else to say. I really did not enjoy it. I felt like the book focused too much on text and not on pictures. I was confused by the book and have the feeling that maybe a child would be too. I get that it is supposed to be this huge riddle to figure out but I definitely was not into it. The pictures really didn't excite me either. I feel like I am starting to get a headache from reading it.

A Little Excitement

Ugh! I can totally relate to the narrator as soon as the book begins. He starts off by complaining about winter not being fun because he lives so far out in the country and the only people to play with are his older sisters. I remember this being one of my major complaints about growing up. I grew up on a farm and only had my siblings to play with most of the time as well. As I am reading this book it is like deja vu for me. I remember my dad being worn out from working on the farm just as this boy is reminicing and hearing about past blizzards that covered houses in snow like the boy is told by his grandmother. So the boy wishes for some excitement in his dull winter. That night something happens to their wood burning furnance and starts a huge fire. They all have to get up in the middle of the night to make sure the rest of the house doesn't ignite. Many of the neighbors come to help contain the fire. After they have the fire under control they all have a feast to celebrate putting the fire out. In the end the boy learns a lesson from all the chaos and decides that he admires his sisters and decides to get along with them.
The pictures are like painting in this book. They are gorgeous. I think this book is great for any young child and teaches a valuable lesson.

Beach Play

Talk about missing the summer... This book makes me feel like I am at the beach already. I really like this book. It is unique because it doesn't use any complex sentences. The text is mainly lists of words. But I think that by not having complete sentences it matches the speech ability of children that would love this book. The words are so descriptive of what would happen at a beach. The movement of the words across the page add so much to the story as well.
The story is about this adorable little girl at the beach with her cute little dog. I at first didn't the whole story until I read it for the second time. The second time I really looked at the illustrations and it made so much more sense. The little girl finds a bottle with a letter in it. And the text says nothing about it in particular. On the drive home you can see the bottle sitting next to her. And on the back cover there is this letter that says "Dear friend, this is a picture of me. (with a picture) Please write back. Your pen pal- Hideko"
I thought it was so clever to have this little hidden story within a great book with excellent illustrations. Two thumbs WAY up! Bring back summer :)

My Brother Bert

This is a cute story told from the perspective of the little sister. She is very curious about her brother's room. He has a sign on the door saying 'No Girls Allowed'. Obviously this makes her more curious because she is seeing bizarre things. Bert has this love of animals and when she enters his room she discovers a zoo-like assortment of animals. The animals create complete chaos in the house and she needs to get everything back in order before Bert gets home.
I really liked this story. It gets you to use your imagination while learning different animal names. There are a few animals that I didn't even recognize. The story line rhymes which makes it even more fun. The illustrations are in water color and are great. They take up the whole page and make the story so much more interesting. There is great detail in all the pictures that makes it fun to find little hidden things.

The Giver

Oh The Giver... I will have to admit that I had never read this book before. I had a lot of expectations though. Every time I would mention that we would be reading The Giver I got pretty much the same reaction from everyone. The would say that they loved the book. Even in class I got the impression that a lot of people liked it considering many people wanted to read it again. But it lived up to all my expectations. Maybe a even a little more.
When I started reading the book I didn't understand exactly what was going on. I thought that the way Jonas was talking was a little different than what I wanted to read. I found myself reading words that weren't in the text because it was how I wanted him to say something. But as I got further along in the book the way it was written was very consistent with the type of community that Jonas lived in. I had mixed feelings about the ceremony part of the book. I thought it was really unfair how all the children celebrated their "birthdays" all on the same day. It really took away from their individuality and grouped them into a general group. I understand it was a characteristic of the community but I really didn't like it. It made me not like the community. When the Elder skipped over Jonas I really felt sad for him. But then I was happy for him because he got the honor of being Receiver. But then when I found out what the job of Receiver meant, I was unhappy again. It was like an emotional roller-coaster for me. The biggest shock I had was about the release. The whole book was making the release this big thing to be celebrated and to look forward to. Then the part about the twin being released by Jonas' father almost made me cry. I really was not expecting anything like that to happen.
Our discussion in class also made me think a lot. Throughout the whole book I really pictured Jonas as a white child, his family white, a nice "dwelling", and dressed in nice clothes. It is so weird how you automatically have these visions of how things are supposed to be. I also envisioned everyone in the community to be white as well as the Giver. The whole idea of the community being colorless also made an impression on me. I think this is a very big concept to get your head around. I think it is even more difficult for a child to do. I cannot imagine things being colorless but I like the way that Jonas was beginning to see color.
I would definitely recommend this book to any young reader. I can completely understand the hype around this book and why Lois Lowry won a Newbery Medal for this book.