Bibliography
Kerley, Barbara. 2008. What to do About Alice. Ill. by Edwin Fotheringham. New York, NY: Scholastic Press. ISBN 9780439922319

Plot Summary

“I can be president of the United States, or I can control Alice. I cannot possibly DO BOTH,” says President Theodore Roosevelt of his daughter Alice.  What To Do About Alice is an excellent example of a picture book-biography. Kerley’s straight to the point and somewhat comedic text compliment Fotheringham’s illustrations beautifully. The text and illustrations grab the reader’s attention from the very beginning where they immediately learn of her father’s impatience with her to the last page where we see her walking by her father’s “head” on Mount Rushmore as she is carrying a large spoon to eat the world up with. Both the author and illustrator were very clever in constructing Alice’s life and her adventures so vividly that you can’t help but want to turn the page to see what kind of fun or mess Alice has gotten herself into this time!

Alice Roosevelt was not the kind of well behave girl you’d suppose a president’s daughter should be. She was more the kind of girl who danced all night, owned a snake named Emily Spinach (named after a rather thin aunt) and joined an all-boys club under her father’s very nose by having the boys dress up like girls whenever they held meetings at her house. Alice was also known to jump into a swimming pool fully clothed and created a group called the Night Riders—but if you want to know what kind of mischief THEY got up too you’ll have to read the book and find out!

CRITICAL ANALYSISThis biography serves its purpose of being educational, but unlike most in its genre, it was also a fun biography to read. It is designated as a book for children ages 4-8 and I feel that it was done so appropriately, but I also feel as if it would be suitable for older children and possibly even younger teens. This is an inspirational tale of a young lady whom had her heart set on exploration and that is exactly what she did. I believe that this book could be inspirational for young ladies who feel like they are required to take on the traditional gender roles as deemed appropriate by society, but want to do so much more with their lives! I would without resignation recommend this book to anyone interested in history, women’s liberation or those who just like to read a fun book!

REVIEW EXCERPTS

Booklist

"Irrepressible Alice Roosevelt gets a treatment every bit as attractive and exuberant as she was....The large format gives Fotheringham, in his debut, plenty of room for spectacular art."

 Kirkus
"Theodore Roosevelt s irrepressible oldest child receives an appropriately vivacious appreciation in this superb picture book.... Kerley s precise text presents readers with a devilishly smart, strong-willed girl who was determined to live life on her own terms and largely succeeded."

School Library Journal
"Kerley s text gallops along with a vitality to match her subject s antics, as the girl greets White House visitors accompanied by her pet snake, refuses to let leg braces cramp her style, dives fully clothed into a ship s swimming pool, and also earns her place in history as one of her father s trusted advisers. Fotheringham s digitally rendered, retro-style illustrations are a superb match for the text."

CONNECTIONS ConnectionsOther stories/bibliographies by Barbara Kerley:
Kerley, Barbara. The Extraordinary Mark Twain. ISBN-10: 0545125081;ISBN-13: 978-0545125086
Kerley, Barbara. One World, One Day. ISBN-10: 1426304609; ISBN-13: 978-1426304606
Kerley, Barbara. A Cool Drink of Water. ISBN-10: 0792254899;ISBN-13: 978-0792254898

Websites with Activities, Games and Lesson Plans
http://www.learningthroughlistening.org/Classroom-Teaching-Tools/Lesson-Plans/View-Lesson-Plans/463/lessonId__416/
http://bookwizard.scholastic.com/tbw/viewWorkDetail.do?workId=1275177
http://suzyred.com/2009-what-to-do-about-alice.html
http://www.texaslibrarian.com/page/11/

Six Days in October: The Stock Market Crash of 1929

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Blumenthal, Karen. 2002. SIX DAYS IN OCTOBER THE STOCK MARKET CRASH OF 1929 A WALL STREET JOURNAL BOOK. New York,NY: Simon & Schuser Children's Publishing Division.
ISBN13: 9780689842764


PLOT SUMMARY

A book about the most desperate days 1929 those of October.Written about the fabulous fortune that Americans had built in stocks plunged as never seen before. At first it all seemed like a mistake,a problem in the system. But as the decline in the stocks gathered momentum, so did the destruction of the financial foundation of America. Over twenty-five billion dollars in individual wealth was lost completely vanished. People all over America listened to the radio and watched as their dreams faded right before their very eyes. Investing in the stock market would never be the same!
 
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
 
This is a well written account by Karen Blumenthatl, of the six-day period of the darkest days in America. which brought our country to its knees. This book relives the inter working plans of key stock-market players such as; Michael J. Meehan, an immigrant that started his career selling cigars outside theaters one who helped convince thousands to gamble their hard-earned money as never before.It paints the picture of riveting accounts of the power struggles between Wall Street and Washington, to heart wrenching tells of those who lost their life savings and more who could not withstand the allure of stocks and the power of money and greed.
At first I wondered how young readers would be drawn to this book or how they could make connections to something which happened so many years ago. But through the vivid photos and an expressive well written text this era comes alive. Young readers relive the era of stock-market fascination through this engrossing account. Blumenthal explains the stock-market fundamentals while bringing to life the darkest days of the mammoth crash of 1929.

REVIEW EXCERPTS 

Publishers Weekly

This fast-paced, gripping (and all-too-timely) account of the market crash of October 1929 puts a human face on the crisis. Blumenthal, the Dallas bureau chief of the Wall Street Journal, sets the scene in the affluent post-Great War society: she reproduces the famous January 1929 cartoon from Forbes magazine (a frenetic crowd grasping at a ticker tape) and her statement "Executives who had spent their lives building solid reputations cut secret deals in pursuit of their own stock-market riches" may send a shiver down the spines of older readers aware of recent corporate scandals

Booklist

 Gr. 7-12. A Wall Street Journal bureau chief, Blumenthal combines a fascinating overview of the infamous stock market crash in 1929 with a rare and useful primer of financial basics.


CONNECTIONS

Social Studies
This text can be used as a themactic unit in Social Studies for ESL students to help them understand the depression of 1929 for U. S. History.

Oracle’s Education Foundation, ThinkQuest an interactive site devoted to educating children on the stock market, savings bonds and investment saving.

http://library.thinkquest.org/3096/

QUEST FOR THE TREE KANGAROO AN EXPEDITION TO THE CLOUD FOREST OF NEW GUINEA by SY MONTGOMERY Photographs by NIC BISHOP

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Montgomery, S. (2006). Quest for the tree kangaroo: an expedition to the cloud forest of New Guinea. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Photographs by Nic Bishop ISBN 9780618496419

PLOT SUMMARY

Author Sy Montgomery goes on an expedition to the cloud forest of Papua New Guinea with scientific research team leader Lisa Dabek photographer Nic Bishop and many other well known scientists. This book discusses the grueling and adventurous trip to find the mysterious Matschie (“MATCH-eez”) tree kangaroo. Well documented are the trials and tribulations associated with the capture, testing, tracking and releasing of the tree kangaroo. Flora and fauna are beautifully photographed as well as unusual and often unidentified species. Background information is intertwined in the telling of the story so you get an inner feeling for the people of the land. This is a must read for people curious about wildlife and glimpses of undiscovered territory.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Sy Montgomery uses her background knowledge as a naturalist, documentary scriptwriter, and radio commentator, to explain an accurate story of the expedition to find the elusive tree kangaroo. She follows scientists from around the world to document their journey up into the cloud forest. Montgomery tells the story with vivid details about the scenery and life of natives of Papau.

The saying “pictures tell a thousand words” is so true in this book. Nic Bishops’ ability to capture the eye of even the minutest subjects conveys more meaning than words can say. His photos are truly amazing and offer such insight into the physical surroundings that you are able to identify with the emotions of the people trudging through the clouds and see the animals as they are viewing them for the first time.
This photo essay has text interspersed with a design pleasing to the eye, inviting and easy to read. The level and complexity of the text is at a higher level and could easily be considered to be appropriate for a younger reader due to the size and amount of text. Some pages appear to be written on vellum so you can view the background of the cloud forest. Bishop’s creative style of framed photographs pops out at you and invites you to turn the pages. Montgomery adds a page of advice from Lisa Dabek to encourage students to get involved in rainforest and animal conservation efforts. She also includes pages about zoos where you can view tree kangaroos and websites to visit. An acknowledgment page to the native people that helped make their expedition a success and simple verses spoken are included. This is a highly recommended book that can be used as a springboard into all curriculum areas.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

Marilyn Courtot (Children's Literature) Informative and interesting, and kids who love animals or are thinking about becoming veterinarians will keep this book moving off the library shelves.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, October 1, 2006 (Vol. 74, No. 19)) …Bishop's photographs, shots of the expedition members, striking close-ups of flora and fauna including the sought-for kangaroo and lush, green cloud forest scenes, are beautifully reproduced.

Eileen Wright (Library Media Connection, April 2007) The reader becomes quickly drawn into the quest, and one feels as though the narrator is sitting beside her sharing the details of the expedition.

AWARDS

Green Earth Book Award, 2007 Honor Book United States
Henry Bergh Children's Book Award, 2006 Winner Non-Fiction Environment and Ecology United States
John Burroughs List of Nature Books for Young Readers, 2006 Winner United States
Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children, 2007 Winner United States
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal, 2007 Honor Book United States

CONNECTIONS

Reading
Do an author study on Sy Montgomery and read other books written by her.
Use other books written by or photos included by Nic Bishop and compare his style of photography and text in each of his books.
Students can compare and contrast tree kangaroos and other marsupials.

Science
The layers of the rainforest can be studied. Sizes and weights of the kangaroos can be converted from metric to standard units of measurements.

Social Studies
Study the people and history of Papua New Guinea. Compare and contrast their customs and living conditions to ours in the U.S.

Other Literature

Pocket babies and other amazing marsupials by Sneed B. Collard III ISBN: 978-1-58-046-4

Marsupials by Nic Bishop ISBN: 978-0-439-87758-9

Diamond Willow

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Frost, Helen. 2008. DIAMOND WILLOW. New York: Frances Foster Books Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. ISBN 978-0-374-31776-8

PLOT/SUMMARY
This edge of your seat story is set in the interior of Alaska. Diamond Willow is about a young girl named Willow who lives in a small village in Alaska with her mom, dad, sister, best friend Kaylie, and her sled dogs. After an unfortunate accident leaving her favorite dog Roxy blind, Willow decides to flee to her grandparents to save Roxy's life. Willow and Kaylie find themselves lost on their journey in the middle of a snow storm. After many animals intervene to save their lives, Willow makes it to her grandparents. When Willow's parents finally find out about what the girls have gone through to save Roxy and their survival during the snow storm, they decide to bring Roxy back home. Willow finds out about that she had a twin sister who died when they were just a few days old. She also finds out that her sister, Diamond, is now her dog Roxy. Willow and Roxy grow even closer, and develop a special bond that allows them to communicate. "I feel like I am flying with them, like my twin sister Diamond is alive inside me saying, Willow, this is happiness."

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Helen Frost successfully manages to create a verse novel that is both captivating and touching. The novel begins with an author's note explaining that the majority of the story is written in diamond-shaped poems with hidden messages printed in darker ink inside each one. She told of how the willow tree creates beautiful diamond shapes out of the places where a branch had been injured and fell away. The main theme of this story shows how the unsuspecting situations in our lives can make us beautiful regardless.

The author uses a very simple conversational language when telling this story. The majority of the story is told from Willow's point of view using words and phrases that are appropriate for a young girl. However, each line holds importance written in bold darker text that gives the reader empathy for the main character.

Parts of the story are told by Willow's ancestors, who are now reincarnated into the animals that surround and watch over her. The author uses language that personifies each ancestor through the animal that they have become. The ancestors' parts are not written in the same diamond-shaped form as Willow's story. Their parts are written is regular verse as to show that they are on the outside of her life unable to communicate with her.

This story would be appropriate upper elementary students but needs much building of background knowledge so that students will have an understanding of the text. This text would be an excellent selection to introduce poetry to students who may feel that they do not like poetry. 

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

LIBRARY SCHOOL JOURNAL - "Frost casts a subtle spell through innovative storytelling. Her poems offer pensive imagery and glimpses of character, and strong emotion. This complex and elegant novel will resonate with readers who savor powerful drama and multifaceted characters."

BOOKLIST - "The casual diamond shape of the poems reflects how precious jewels of wisdom can grow around painful scars."

CONNECTIONS
*This book is a good model of how poems can be written to form pictures. Older students can create their own poem pictures with hidden messages.

*After reading this book, you can teach your students about dog sledding and tie-in with the Iditarod.

*This can be used in a unit with other stories about the bond and love between owners and their animals.


Other Engaging Books
Law, Ingrid. SAVVY. ISBN 0803733062
Gaiman, Neil. THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. ISBN 0060530928

London, Jack. WHITE FANG. ISBN 1580496741

RED Sings from Treetops a year in colors

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sidman, Joyce. 2009. RED Sings from Treetops a year in colors. Ill. Pamela Zagarenski. ISBN 978547-01494-4

PLOT SUMMARY
This is a beautiful picture book that consists of four different poems about the seasons of the year. The focus of the poem is on the colors that you see during that specific season and how they change as the season changes.  For example "Red swells on branches bent low. Red: crisp, juicy crunch! In fall, Yellow grows swells and lumbers down the block, blinking:Warning---classrooms ahead."

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This wonderfully whimsical and cleverly written book talks about colors that you might see during the seasons and how they will change throughout the year.  Joyce Sidmann uses these brilliant colors, enchanting pictures of children, animals and background to make a story that any age child could relate to.  She brings in the different senses to help describe the colors and happenings during the seasons. The words and illustrations makes one use their schema to bring in the aroma and sounds on each page. "Fall smells PURPLE: old leaves, crushed berries, squishy plums with worms in them. PURPLE: smell of all things mixed together."
Within the text, the color that Sidmann so vividly paints is highlighted and written in the color it represents.  This helps young readers experience the feeling and color she so well represents in her writing. 
Pamela Zagarenski's illustrations are amazing! Each of her illustrations are breathtaking with their vibrancy that is so full of detail. Each illustration is just as captivating as the text.  Zagernski uses the same character throughout the text along with her dog, who both appear to be royalty. They both walk through the seasons taking in each one with fervency as the season change. Zagarenski also includes red birds in every season which appears somewhere near the top of pages.
This is an excellent book to share with young readers because of the way colors are discussed in a sensory manner as you see the seasons change.  Young readers will be able to make a text-to-self connections using their senses, colors and shapes.  As a teacher, I would incorporate Science and Social Studies along with my Read Aloud in order to compact my lessons. I would use this text during the fall when we teach seasons.  What a great writing connection students could make as they experience the changing of the seasons.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “This is an important book both for its creativity and for its wisdom.”

KIRKUS: “A charming inspiration to notice colors and correlate emotions.”

HORN BOOK: “Sustaining the playfulness of the text and its sense of awe, mystery, and beauty, the illustrations contribute gracefully to the celebration.”
BOOKLIST: “As the title implies, the colors that surprise on every page, do sing.”

CONNECTIONS
*Teachers could incorporate Science using the seasons and senses. Begin reading the book on the pages of illustrations with the smells and sights of fall. Teachers may bring in the smells discussed in the text and allow students to feel and smell fall. Possibly revisiting the text each season to introduce those sounds, smells and feelings throughout the year.
*Teachers could incorporate Social Studies buy using the text as a sense of communities.
*For younger students, the text could be used to teach colors, shapes, sounds, smells and other sensory descriptions. Students could draw shapes and use objects collected for colors and smells.

Other Books Written by Joyce Sidman

Sidman, Joyce. 2010. DARK EMPEROR AND OTHER POEMS OF THE NIGHT. ISBN 0547152280

Sidman, Joyce. 2005. SONG OF THE WATER BOATMAN AND OTHER POND POEMS. ISBN 0618135472

Sidman, Joyce. 2007. THIS IS JUST TO SAY: POEMS OF APOLOGY AND FORGIVENESS. ISBN 0618616802

MY MAN BLUE

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Grimes, Nickki. 1999. MY MAN BLUE. Ill. by Jerome Lagarrigue. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers.  ISBN 0-8037-2326-1

PLOT SUMMARY
This one will get your heart wrenched as you read the poignant story-poems of a young boy without a father. Damon meets a former friend of his mother's,Blue , who has lost his son to the streets. See  how mistrust grows to deep and heartfelt friendship between Damon and Blue. Damon learns from Blue’s street wisdom about love, anger, fear, and hate. Experience the feeling of caring and protection that Blue gives Damon through his smile and strong presence.

Feel the emotion heighten as Damon determines to care for his Mother no matter what his friends think of him. As you're touched with emotion as Damon realizes he can “fly” after conquering his fears with Blue’s as his guardian angel. Be left with the sense that though someone represents a toughness on the outside they can be  soft and caring   on the inside. Be challenged to show the soft side as you look for those individuals who need that protection.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Grime's ability to write and have the reader feel her emotions is evident in the poetic pieces of My Man Blue. The character's Damon and Blue are real and Damon's use of first- person point of view throughout the book evoke feelings of closeness from the reader. When Damon says "I grab her wrists til she calms down," the reader can't help but applaud and want nothing but the best for the young boy. His refusal to retaliate against the young girl who is provoking him on the playground is an excellent example of how Damon is learning to make good decisions. These collections of individually titled poems doesn't show much rhyme, but examples of alliteration are present in many lines of the poem. Blue's hands show that he has experienced much in his lifetime and the lines, "thumbs tipped with work-proud callouses," tell us just how much hard work Blue has endured. Moreover, Grimes' use of imagination to create this story in order to express some of her personal feelings is canny and proves that this is a true work of poetry.

The illustrations in the book by Jerome Lagarrigue are dark, yet true to life. The intricate details of Blue's strong face and muscular stature allow us to see the strong willed man that Damon wishes to be like. The neighborhood pictures and even more so, the clearness and vividness of the shots for "Class Bully," may bring some readers back to their days growing up. A very touching part of the poems occurs when Damon isn't taken by the taunts of the neighborhood kids. He shows that he's a "man" by responding "...if I take care of my mom so what? She takes care of me."

This is an excellent book to share with children, particularly young boys who are faced with many adversities in life, especially those of being the "man in the family". This book shows that in spite of, we don't have to be victims of our surroundings, especially when we have someone who geniunely cares in our corner.



Review Excerpts

Booklist: In a simple, lyrical series of poems, Grimes speaks in the voice of Damon, a child in Harlem, whose "missing daddy's left a hole" and who finds a mentor in Blue, who lost a son to the streets. Lagarrigue's strong realistic acrylic paintings show the poignant connection between the needy child and the gentle, heavily built man in the dangerous neighborhood, where wedges of blue sky are sandwiched in between the roofs. A great picture book for older readers.

Horn Book Guide: The poems are accessible and filled with imagery, and the inter-generational friendship is believable, though Damon sometimes sounds older than he is. The unsentimental acrylic paintings aptly reflect the poems.

Publisher's Weekly: Though each of these accomplished poems could easily stand alone, together they form an enticing story arc. The deep-hued acrylic paintings have a rough, slightly smudgy texture, and they demonstrate a remarkable color sense. Unexpected fields of sharp blues and greens blend into the gritty cityscape's, and blocks of text are set against canvases thinly brushed with paint in palettes that complement the facing illustration. The art creates an ideal setting for the text: the look is inescapably urban but also subtly lyrical.


CONNECTIONS:
*Students could write a poem about someone who has affected their life in some special way.
*In the story Blue wrote a letter for Damon, students can write a letter to someone who has made a difference in their own life.
*This story could lend itself to a reader's theater focusing on the perils of a young fatherless child connecting to an old family acquittance and how this person helps to change the direction of a life. 

OTHER RELATED BOOKS:
Berry, James and Katherine Lucas. AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY POEMS. ISBN: 0811835065
Hesse, Karen. OUT OF THE DUST. ISBN: 0590371258
Nelson, Marilyn. CARVER: A LIFE IN POEMS. ISBN: 1886910537
Heard, Georgia. This Place I Know: Poems of Comfort. ISBN 0763619248