Reading List

"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers"

Charles W. Eliot

Thank You, Mr. Falker

Sardine in Outer Space

Sadie and the Snowman

Whispers of War

A Handful of Time

Cats

Something Good

The Old Woman Who Lived in a Vinegar Bottle

Anne Frank

How the Sun Made A Promise and Kept It

Dinosaur Dinner (With A Slice of Alligator Pie)

Quincy Rumpel

Ramona and Her Father

Gilda Joyce

Too Many Toys

Sugarpuss and Sweetie Pie

Little Red Riding Hood

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Canadian Heroes

100 Days of School

Quilt Alphabet

Exploring Electricity

Let's Try it Out in the Air

Love You Forever

Come to My Party and Other Shape Poems





Sardine in Outer Space

A Graphic Novel

Written By: Emmanuel Guibert

Pictures By: Joann Sfar

Color By: Walter Pezzali

Translation By: Sasha Watson

Today's World Seen From the Eyes of Children

• Fast-paced
• Children want action, adventure, excitement
• Video games-movement, intensity, hands-on
• Questions about the future
• Wonder of the unknown
• Superheros
• Popular slang

Sardine in Outer Space

• Fast-paced
• Possible answers about the future
• Action, adventure, excitement
• Material related to a child's world (language, aspects of popular culture)
• Color
• Intensity
• Forces between good and evil
• Superheros
• Creation of the unknown

Personal Feelings

I'm not a huge fan of dragons, talking clouds or galatic dictators, but some children are. To me, children represent innocence and freedom, wildness and chaos but none too often, these childlike attributes are squandered in children. Books concerning puppy dogs, making friends and snowmen are placed in the hands of children when it is expected that a love of reading resignates. NO! Some children want to read about dragons that tear your heart out and scary jack-o-laterns that will chase you down. Video games are extremely popular because they engage and excite children. Books need to be exciting and engaging too, to instill a love of reading in children. Sardine in Outer Space inspired and motivated me to start thinking about and open my eyes to different types of genres of text. To an appropriate extent, I want my future students to choose their own reading material to garner success. As I read Sardine in Outer Space, I thought about how I, as a child, would read my Archie comics for hours on end. I would do so because I wanted an easy, quick read but it was always one that engaged me for hours. I, as a reader, contributed something of me to that Archie world which kept me meaningfully engaged with the material. Sardine in Outer Space does just that. An imaginative world is presented and children add to that world through their own personal thoughts and feelings. In the way of illustrations, Sardine in Outer Space exemplifys exactly what children desire- action, adventure, color, intensity, detail- you name it. I felt such a positive connection to the graphic novel Sardine in Outer Space for three different reasons:

1. The witty text, combined with the vibrant and detailed illustrations enabled readers to become part of and contribute to an imaginative world of which they belonged (as the Archie comics had done for me).

2. Various aspects of popular culture such as language and activities were implemented into the novel, creating material that is meaningful to readers.

3. The novel encompassed all of which a child desires in today's society- adventure, action-packed, fast-paced and imagination.

I feel that Sardine in Outer Space would truly encourage a love of reading in children. Sardine in Outer Space draws upon the natural imagination of a child and brings them into a world of which they belong.

Merit in the Classroom

Before I had taken the Childrens Literature course, if someone had asked me "do graphic novels have any sort of merit in the classroom?" I would have firmly said no. I used to believe that graphic novels did not provide as much depth, details or meaningful materials as "regular" novels did. I thought graphic novels were just a fun means of reading for some people but had no educational value. If you asked me now if I thought graphic novels had any sort of merit in the classroom, I would firmly say yes. Whether it be a novel or a graphic novel, the content itself may not be educational but the purpose for using one in the classroom may be so. For example, when you give a graphic novel to a student which contains something of which one desires; action, energy, detail and story, one is acknowledging the personality of that reader and thereby fostering a love of reading. To me, fostering a love of reading in students is of more significance than finding relevance in content only. Sardine in Outer Space changed my perspective on the use of graphic novels in the classroom and allowed for an important paradigm shift.

Anne Frank

Written By:Vanora Leigh

Illustrated By: Richard Hook

Fourteen year old Anne Frank and her family, the Van Daan family and Albert Dussel hid in the "Secret Annexe" for two years to escape Nazi persecution. Living in constant fear of the discovery of the Gestapo, Anne kept a diary of her innermost thoughts and dreams. Tragically, the occupants of the annexe were eventually captured as prisoners. Mr. Frank was the sole survivor of the atrocity of the Holocaust and upon returning to the annexe was given Anne's diary- her confident admist the tragedy of war. More than thirteen million copies of Anne's diary have been published today.

Knowledge Gained
I am familiar with the story of Anne Frank and I have read her published diary, but the tragedy of her wartime life never ceases to amaze me. By reading the biography of Anne Frank, I have learned facts about Anne's life that I never knew before. First of all, it surprised me that Anne Frank's family were once a wealthy family. Perhaps I was ignorant in believing so, but the details of her life left me under the impression that her family was poor. I never really stopped to think that the Nazis did not care if a Jewish family were rich or poor; they stole their entire lives away to reduce them to nothingness regardless. The reality of stripping away a Jewish life, or any life for that matter, to reduce their self-worth absolutely horrifies me. I realize that humans have the capacity within them to be pure evil. Another thing that surprised me about Anne Frank's life was that the family's Dutch friends continued to help them by bringing news of the outside world and food while in hiding. I previously believed that they had only helped Anne's family and the other occupants move into the annexe. I wonder if I could be so brave to do such a noble, good deed if I were placed in that same situation. I consider myself a friendly person who would go above and beyond to help a person in need, but could I truly sacrifice my own life to save another? The aid provided to Anne's family by their Dutch friends reminds me of the power of friendship and the goodness in people. The last fact that surprised me when reading Anne Frank's biography was that Mr. Frank was the only survivor of Auschwitz. I had previously believed that there had been no survivors (of the people living in the annexe). How could Mr. Frank or any other Jewish survivor, move forward from such an unbelievable atrocity?

Illustrations
I'll admit that when I read a text, I am rarely drawn to the illustrations. I tend to focus on the text, even when the illustrations prove phenomenal. However, I thought that the illustrations in the biography of Anne Frank are breath-taking for a number of reasons. First, the sketches are completely realistic. Each and every detail is so delicately portrayed which enables the reader to truly believe that those characters could have been the very real individuals described in the book. The expressions of the individuals are captured so poignantly, which enables a personal attachment and therefore empathy is felt for the individuals described. The colors used are reflected in browns, blacks and grays which convey the sinister, terrifying and awful anticipating mood. Lastly, there are real photographs used in the biography which enforce the realism of Anne's sad and tragic life. One photograph in particular showed individuals in a cattle train with the caption underneath that read "Jewish victims of Nazi persecution being transported to a concentration camp." This photograph made me realize that Anne was a real person, a person like you and a person like me who experienced something tragic beyond which I could ever imagine.

Relating the Biography to Real-Life Events
The biography of Anne Frank made me think back to a time when I was in grade eleven. I regret that I have forgotten his name, but the memory of his impactful speech will live on in my memory forever. The school had welcomed a Jewish holocaust survivor into the community to share his experiences with the students. That man stood at the front of the gymnasium for well over two hours and not a word was spoken by the entire school. His stories were so unbelievable that there really are no words that would do justice to explain how I felt in that moment. I remember thinking to myself "how does this man get up in the morning and share his story with so many people? How does he not live in constant fear?" And I will never forget what this incredible man said next. (I do not remember the words exactly, but he said something along the lines of what is to follow). "I live in constant fear. I fear everyday that somebody once more with so much hatred will rule over us. I fear that if I do not tell my story, then it will happen again." Then he said something that truly inspired me to make a personal goal of in my life-"do not hate anybody. The power of hate is too strong." I've heard so many people say that hate is a strong word but coming from this brave and inspiring man of haunting experiences and undeniable tragedy, no words have ever proven so powerful.

May we never forget



Whispers of War

The War of 1812 Diary of Susanna Merritt

Written By: Kit Pearson

Dear Great-Granddaughter Paige,

 I have just finished reading a book entitled Whispers of War written by Kit Pearson, who happens to be one of my very favorite authors. What I liked the most about this book is that Susanna writes about her life to her future great-granddaughter, Constance, in order to share the details of her life. Susanna does so in a diary format, making her life even more exciting and personal. The book is even shaped in the format of a real diary, complete with a red ribbon- just like the one described as Susanna's diary. Susanna's brother Hamilton, encouraged her to write just so, so that the events of her life would be recorded down in history. And so, my dear Paige, I thought I would share my life with you too because Susanna's life was infinitely different from mine as I imagine yours to be from mine too. The first difference I noticed in Susanna's life compared to mine was the way in which she was schooled. Susanna went to school in a one-room building and in the winter, the students had to bring firewood to keep warm. Susanna says her teacher was not that intelligent and only required that the students write long lists on their slates as he slept. But Susanna was a smart little girl because her mother taught her at home. Granddaughter, I picture this way of school in my mind so eagerly and vividly because I am currently attending school to learn how to be a teacher myself. And oh, how things are so completely different! I am learning how children construct their own knowledge through active learning, how to develop tasks which enable a student's critical thinking and reading skills and how to promote elements of cooperative learning to ensure success. I wonder what it will be like when you go to school Paige. Will children be so far advanced by that time that school will not be needed? If not, will you become a teacher too? I hope so Paige. I am the first person in my family to attend university and so I intend to carry on the line of well-educated individuals. But whatever you choose to do darling Paige, know that I love you. Another aspect of Susanna's life that is so different from mine is in her relationships with other people. There appears to be little personal time for Susanna to be independent and free. Her relationships with other people lie almost directly in relation to her family. I thought of how interesting it was to read how after supper, Susanna's family would stay inside and occupy the silence with knitting or reading or work for the men. Time spent with Susanna's friends were precious because so much time was spent with her family, working, doing the chores and simply being together. I do not see my family on a regular basis, even my mother and brother who live so very close to me. We do not live in the same household and weeks can fly by without us as much as saying hello. Yet, I feel as though I love and respect my family just as much as Susanna does. I hope Paige, as you grow up that you know the joy and love of belonging to a family; one that cares for you, loves you and supports you in whatever way that may be. The last aspect of Susanna's life that I wish to share with you Paige, are the events in which Susanna's life was negatively affected every single day- war. Susanna was directly affected by the war of 1812 and experienced fear, sorrow and loss in a way that I have yet to experience, most thankfully. I cannot even begin to imagine the immense fear and caution with which Susanna lived her life- and being just a child at that! There is war going on in the world as I write these words to you Paige, but thankfully I am not directly affected. I do not live my everyday in fear of war, yet I ponder the possibility of it ever being so. I pray that I do not as I do for you. War is a terrible tragedy which destroys lives. Susanna's life taught me a great deal about life in general and about the way things were. I have gained a greater appreciation for my own life and will count my blessings each and every day.  I will continue to share the details of my life with you Paige so that you too one day will know a sense of what life once was and what it could become.

Love Your Great-Grandmother

Tiffany

Something Good

Written By: Robert Munsch

Illustrated By: Michael Martchenko

ICE CREAM! COOKIES! CHOCOLATE BARS! GINGER ALE!

Something Good by Robert Munsch is the story of a young girl's grocery shopping adventure with her father. The message contained within the story is that no amount of money could ever replace the love between a parent/guardian and child.

Analysis of Text

• Repetition of phrases (examples: "up and down the aisle" and "ice cream, cookies, chocolate bars, ginger ale")
• Simple diction
• Combination of short and long sentences
• Emphasis on important words (use of capital letters)
• Experiences that relate to children (grocery shopping, wanting to buy junk food)
• Humorous nature (Tyya is mistaken for a doll)
• Happy ending :)

Analysis of Illustrations

• Very detailed
• Vivid colors
• Watercolor media (areas of light and dark run into one another creating areas of contrast)
• Realistic people
• Exaggerated use of facial expressions (expressions which draw upon the humorous elements in the story)
• Pictures tell a story all on their own

Multi-cultural Elements and Avoidance of Stereotypes

When I looked deeper into the text and illustrations of Something Good, I was highly impressed (and happy) to see that elements of multi-culturalism were represented. The main character Tyya, is portrayed as a non-white little girl. Unfortunately, in my experience with literature, characters tend to be represented solely as white characters. However, in Something Good, all the characters are represented across different races and colors. All characters carry the same weight in importance and characters are portrayed as individual characters, not as a stereotypical whole of a particular culture. The language used in the book is not representative of one cultural stereotype either. I believe that the representation of multi-cultural characters in a children's book sends a positive message to readers. Children are shown that all people, no matter their race, ethnicity and/or color are equal. Using such material as Something Good in the classroom encompasses and welcomes the diversity of learners within the classroom. What I also liked the most about this particular book was the avoidance of stereotypes used mainly in the illustrations. Instead of depicting a "typical" scene of a mother grocery shopping with her children, the story follows the shopping adventure of a father and his daughter. Although the last picture in the book does show Tyya with her siblings, mother and father, the main part of the story focuses on the relationship between Tyya and her father. The father is portrayed as engaging in a chore that is usually depicted as a "mother's job." Again, a positive message is sent to children showing that there is no one "right" family dynamic.



How the Sun Made A Promise and Kept It

A Candian Indian Myth

Retold By: Margery Berstein and Janet Kobrin

Illustrated By: Ed Heffernan

Illustrations
I'm truly not one to judge a book by it's cover, but in the case of How the Sun Made A Promise and Kept It, I did. But not because I was drawn to the cover of the book for it's exquisite color or remarkable images. Ah, quite the opposite in fact. I was drawn to the cover of the book due to, in my opinion, the ugliness. The cover appears to have been colored in brown crayon and has a cartoon drawing of a human figure and various oddly shaped creatures. The human figure and the characters have their hands over their eyes and appear to be either tired or frustrated. Nevertheless , I will admit that if I can gather that much from such an ugly image, that the illustrations must be effective in some way. I quickly flipped through the pages before reading and sure enough, ugly. All the pages are colored in the same brown crayon and there are no white spaces whatsoever. The images look like an amateur artist had picked up a pen and scribbled some thoughtless characters in a story. Nevertheless, I can't help but think that my response to the illustrations are reflective of my response to the fact that the story is a myth. When I think of the word "myth," I think of something told a long time ago, a story that is usually strange and/or boring and a story that I have no personal relevance to. But then again, when is the last time that I actually ever sat down to read a myth? I believe it is time to do so now....

Analysis of Text
I liked the story. BUT, I'm sticking to my original thoughts-I still do not like the illustrations! What I liked most about the story was reading about an explanation for the sun's position in the sky, something other than of a scientific nature. It was interesting to think of how Weese-ke-jak made a bargain with the sun to not come too close to the earth but to give enough heat during the day as well. While reading, I thought about how so much of my life is centred on knowing the research for this and knowing the research for that, so it was refreshing to just sit back and let my imagination be sparked. Children learn so much in school that is oftentime just not exciting or meaningful to them, but I feel that this myth enables readers to expand their minds.

Canadian Heritage

My favorite part of the book was when Beaver was the only animal who could set the sun free. The beaver being the national emblem of Canada, I felt such great pride in my nation, even when just reading such a simple, enjoyable myth. Feeling such pride in my country made me think about how in the classroom there should be ample access to multicultural literature for students. Through reading, students gain knowledge and most importantly, find great pride in oneself as a reflection of their nationality. 

Sadie and the Snowman

Written By: Allen Morgan

Illustrated By: Brenda Clark



When I was looking for a children's picture book in the curriculum materials centre, I stumbled upon Sadie and the Snowman written by Allen Morgan and illustrated by Brenda Clark. A wonderful sense of nostalgia filled me with warmth as I remembered countless hours of reading this particular book as a child. I thought about how special it was that a book could fill me with such happiness and contentment. I was excited to take a trip down memory lane and write a heartfelt response to a beloved story.

"What an awful book!" was my response when I finally had a chance to read Sadie and the Snowman. I sat in utter disbelief and disappointment after reading what I thought to have been the greatest book of all time. I felt a little annoyed when I thought of how I was going to have to return the book and replace it with another. I don't really have an explanation as to why, but I kept renewing Sadie and the Snowman. One day, I picked the book up and I thought to myself " maybe I'll read it once more, there must be something else." I just could not understand how I could feel such an emotional reaction to a book and then wonder why in the world I ever chose to pick it up to read again. Sadie and the Snowman is not a horrible book, I suppose. I can see why children would respond to the story in a positive way. The story is all about a little girl named Sadie who builds a snowman over and over again because the birds and the raccoons eat the carrot nose and the cookie eyes. Twice. The snowman is made once more but the sun melts the snowman away. This melting away of the snowman takes a long time in the story. The snowman is built once more, the birds and raccoons indulge in their trickery again. Sadie finally puts a ball of snow in her freezer and voila, she has the beginning of a snowman for the next winter. Not too much depth one would gather, but maybe that's the point. Children like simple and children respond to hopeful. The illustrations appear to have been created using watercolor and so the images are visually appealing to the eye. The images are also quite detailed and therefore tell the story on their own. I think the blue and yellow border on each page contributes to the dullness of the storyline however. The book does not give me a positive vibe as to the story being overly exciting or stimulating for children.

One day at my mom's house, I showed Sadie and the Snowman to her and asked if she remembered the book. Mom looked at the book with a sad smile and said that she could remember me sitting on the bed for hours at a time reading that book. By this time, Sadie and the Snowman was really starting to annoy me. But then mom said "I should have made more snowmen with you, the only one you ever did make was with your father." And then I knew why Sadie and the Snowman was so important to me. Making that snowman with my father was and is one of the very few memories I have of being with him. My mother and father divorced when I was five years old and I never saw or heard from him again. I read Sadie and the Snowman for hours on end every single day because it was the only thing that connected me to that precious memory I had of my father and I.

I read Sadie and the Snowman one more time and smiled. The story was no longer dull, empty or boring; the story was a reflection of the comfort I found in the power of reading as a child.