Down, Down, Down

1. Bibliography

Jenkins, Steve. 2009. Down, Down, Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. ISBN 9780618966363
 

2. Plot Summary

            Going deeper and deeper into the Pacific Ocean, Down, Down, Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea shares with it readers the various animals which can be discovered from the surface of the ocean to the deepest depths that only few have ever seen. This informational book shares the information through pictures and a story, but also through a depth chart and informational pages at the back of the book. This is a great book for readers interested in what lies below the surface. 
 

3. Critical Analysis

            What lies under the surface of the ocean is a point of interest for many individuals. The further down the person tries to discover the less information is known about the area. Steve Jenkins presents a variety of information in his book Down, Down, Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea, by using the same organization throughout the book. Each spread presented in the book contains a short paragraph about the animals and conditions of the water, a labeled collage illustration of some of the marine wildlife found, a depth bar on the far right page which presents the level being discussed, the depth in feet and meters, and the temperature in °F and °C. The collage illustrations make this book attractive to the reader, through the use of color. The pages start in a light blue and get increasingly darker as the pages discuss deeper parts of the ocean. The last five pages deviate from the traditional design and style of the book, and present a wealth of information on the various marine life that is depicted in the illustrations. While the illustrations in the earlier part of the book are not to scale, these final pages set this right to those who bother to read them. These final pages, which are a wealth of information, may easily be overlooked by readers causing inaccuracy to some readers. Steve Jenkins writes nonfiction books on various topics not just on the ocean. He presents a bibliography at the end of the book citing 5 outside sources which help promote the accuracy of the book.  

4. Reviews

2010 Texas Bluebonnet Award Nominee
 

Kirkus Review; “…Browsers will be delighted by the variety of species, shown in their appropriate colors although not to scale. Backmatter provides some information about the animals pictured, including sizes compared to a human body or hand, although the bibliography does not seem to include the sources used for those facts. Once again, Jenkins provides an almost irresistible entry into our natural world for the youngest readers.”

From School Library Journal; “…Depicted in Jenkins's signature handsome collages, the denizens of each level swim against ever-darkening backgrounds ranging from sunny blue to deepest black. Each double-page segment begins with a paragraph or two explaining the growing degree of darkness, cold, and pressure, and how all of these affect the lives of the resident creatures. A bar running down the far right of each scene indicates depth. Usually three or four animals-whales, fish, worms, and more-are featured. Sometimes colorful or luminescent and often toothy, they are both familiar and strange. In some views, the animals are relative in size, but in others, those that are actually quite different in scale appear to be similar. At the end of the book, an added paragraph about each scene takes up the matter of size. Here length is stated, and silhouettes compare each creature to either an adult human's hand or a full body. The bold views tend to emphasize the weirdness of these little-known species, but the repeated message that humans have much to explore and learn in the deeper ocean is intriguing and inviting...”

5. Connections     
* What was your favorite animal shown in the book? What was the scariest? What was the smallest? What was the biggest?      
*Poetry break: read poems about the ocean and ocean animals such as:

                        Deep-Sea Squeeze by Eric Ode

                        Sea Creatures by Melinda Goldish

                        The Barracuda by John Gardner

                        The Manatee by Jack Prelutsky     
* Make a chart of the different fish and what each one eats and/ or uses for defense.

           

* Other books about the deep ocean:

            Collard, Sneed B. The Deep-Sea Floor. ISBN 1570914028

Mallory, Kenneth. Diving to a Deep-Sea Volcano. ISBN 0618332057

Berne, Jennifer. Manfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau. ISBN 0811860639

Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream

1. Bibliography

Stone, Tanya Lee. 2009. Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream. Foreward by Margaret A. Weitekamp. Somerville, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press. ISBN 9780763636111

2. Plot Summary

            When the NASA was still trying to but a man on the moon, 13 women dared to defy convention by trying to become astronauts. These women didn’t only dream, but they completed many of the tests the Mercury 7 men had taken as well. After a long struggle, a woman was put on the moon. Years later some of the Mercury 13 would watch as a woman would not only be the pilot, but also the commander. This book tells of the struggle of the way was paved for a woman astronaut.

3. Critical Analysis

            Paired with mostly black and white photographs, Tanya Lee Stone’s Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream resembles older nonfiction books. The writing style, however, greatly differs from older books. The book is inviting through the well placed photos, and the information is presented in a reader friendly way including excerpts from a first-person point of view. The book is presented with all of the necessary reference aids including a table of contents, foreword, chapter headings, subheadings, photo captions, appendix, further reading, webliography, sources, source notes, photography credits, and index. With so much information the book might have become to bogged down with facts, but Stone was able to hold a balance between fact and story allowing for an interesting accurate book to be created. This book is a wealth of information on a topic that many may not be familiar with. It is a book which appears to both genders over a varying reading level.

4. Reviews

Kirkus Review; “…The author offers great insight into how deeply ingrained sexism was in American society and its institutions. Handsomely illustrated with photographs, this empowering, impassioned story will leave readers inspired.”

From School Library Journal; “…As much a commentary on the gender prejudices of the 1960s as a biography, Stone brings together a variety of primary and secondary sources, including her interviews with some of the women involved, to provide a unique view of the challenges faced by the female pilots of the day. The focus on Jerrie Cobb, a leader among the group, who completed all of the tests that the male astronauts underwent, may leave some listeners wishing for more information on the other 12 women who dared to dream. Nevertheless, the eye-opening details presented here with such passion will inspire many students. Throughout the audio presentation, Susan Ericksen perfectly captures the exuberant personal tone of the author, maintaining an appropriately upbeat, enthusiastic tempo. Listeners will be engrossed and inspired.”

5. Connections

* In what was did the Mercury 13 change the way people thought of women astronauts?

*Go to www.candlewick.com or http://www.tanyastone.com/ and read the poems which Tanya Lee Stone wrote that did not make it into the book.

* Think about how things might be different if women were allowed to become astronauts when Jerrie Cobb and the other Mercury 13 women struggled?

* Try to set up a school visit via Skype with Tanya Lee Stone.

           

* Other books about historical women:

            Harness, Cheryl. Remember the Ladies: 100 Great American Women. ISBN 0064438694

Hoose, Phillip. Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice. ISBN 0374313229

Miller, Brandon Marie. Good Women of a Well-Blessed Land: Women’s Lives in Colonial America. ISBN 0822500329

What to do About Alice?

1. Bibliography

Kerley, Barbara. 2008. What to Do About Alice?: How Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove Her Father Teddy Crazy!. Ill. by Edwin Fotheringham. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN 9780763636111

2. Plot Summary

            Teddy Roosevelt ran the country, but he was unable to control his daughter Alice. She’s an adventurous female who traveled the world, and made her own stamp on being the president’s daughter. Alice did things her own way no matter what anyone thought from the time she was little and never changed.

3. Critical Analysis

            This picture book biography of Alice Roosevelt Longworth, is both entertaining and informative. On the back inside cover Barbara Kerley cites several sources from which she draws from for quotations. The information in the book appears to be accurate, after a quick web search on Alice’s life. The book starts from the time Alice is young until and continues until after her father Teddy Roosevelt is no longer president. References are not presented or even mentioned until the back inside cover, but quotes are used to carry the story forward and to add detail. The book is laid out similar to a traditional picture book with a wide usage of artwork on every page. The illustration help add to the character presentation of Alice. With the use of colorful illustrations, and design through the text layout, the book is presented in a very attractive manner that draws the reader in. While much of the text is in a simple and traditional font, the use of all caps and bolding helps tell the story. The text itself is all laid out in a variety of ways which corresponds with the illustrations. The illustrations present information not only through the drawings of the characters, but also through the representation of newspaper articles on several pages. What to Do about Alice? presents information in a fun and unique way, matching the character of the book.

4. Reviews

Kirkus Review; “Theodore Roosevelt's irrepressible oldest child receives an appropriately vivacious appreciation in this superb picture book. "From the time she was a little girl, Alice ate up the world." Taking her thematic approach from Alice's own self-description, 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. Sprinkling her account with well-chosen quotations, she outlines Alice Roosevelt Longworth's childhood and its increasingly outrageous hijinks, as well as the loving (if sometimes exasperating) relationship she enjoyed with her renowned father. Fotheringham's digital illustrations perfectly evoke the retro styles of an earlier age, depicting a confident Alice sailing through life and tackling every challenge with delight and aplomb. The illustrator takes every opportunity to develop Alice's character further; one memorable spread shows a blandly smiling Alice leading her smaller siblings in riding trays down the White House stairs while the text merely remarks, "She watched her younger brothers and sister so her stepmother could get some rest." It's a gleeful celebration of a fully, unapologetically led life..”

From School Library Journal; “Kerley brings another historical figure to life. Alice Lee Roosevelt was President Theodore Roosevelt's only child by his first wife, who died two days after her birth. From the start, Alice's behavior was unconventional, and that pattern was to continue throughout her colorful life. 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. The energy in his pictures is palpable as when Alice is turned loose in her father's library and five Alices dart about followed by lines that trace her frenetic path as she reads eclectically and voraciously. The illustrations not only enhance but are frequently the source of humor: "Alice tried to be helpful. She watched her younger brothers and sister so her stepmother could get some rest." The picture depicts Alice and her siblings careening down the White House stairs on sleds. Alice blue, the color named after her eyes, swirls throughout in a subtle tribute. This book provides a fascinating glimpse into both a bygone era and one of its more interesting denizens as well as a surefire antidote for any child who thinks that historical figures are boring.”

5. Connections

* In what ways did Alice upset her father? Did she change at all?

*Look into other daughters of former presidents, and see how they acted similar and different?

* Make a time-line of Alice’s life.

           

* Similar books:

            Cary, Barbara. Meet Abraham Lincoln. ISBN 0375803963

Ringgold, Faith. If a Bus Could Talk: The Story of Rosa Parks. ISBN 0689856768

Adler, David A. A Picture Book of Anne Frank. Ill. by Karen Ritz. ISBN 0823410781

What My Mother Doesn't Know

1. Bibliography

Sones, Sonya. 2001. What My Mother Doesn’t Know. New York: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers. ISBN 0689841140

2. Plot Summary

            It’s tough to be a teenage girl, especially when your father likes to keep his distance and your mother is lost in the world of television. Sophie is like most teenage girls; she is busy looking for Mr. Right. He isn’t so easy to find when the difference between love and lust is so hard to determine. Her two friends Rachel and Grace stick with Sophie as she struggles through love and life.

3. Critical Analysis

            Sonya Sones uses the form of free verse novel to present Sophie’s struggle of discovering the difference between love and lust. The narrative of the story is told in first person perspective from Sophie’s point of view in a conversational language. The way Sones writes the poems they almost are able to present themselves in a diary form. The reader is able to see the deep thoughts of the main character which allows for a connection to be made. While the book is geared for a younger audience both teenage girls and women will be able to relate to the stories presented in the poems. For me personally I was able to flashback to my own memories of being picked up by a boyfriend when reading He’ll be Here Any Minute Now. The entire poem lacks capitalization and punctuation. The poem contains a quick beat, and each section is divided into the same number of lines. The elements in this poem allow for the reader to empathies with the excitement Sophie feels at having Dylan come to get her. The titles of each of the poems help to continue the story from one poem into the next. The titles also go straight into the poem and acts almost as a line in the poem. One example of this is the poem If it Weren’t for Dylan.

            “I wouldn’t be feeling

             like a

             low-down

             dirty rotten

             good-for-nothing

             deceitful

             despicable snake…”

This poem also shows that Sones uses rhythm in many of her poems to express emotions. She also uses precise language to make an emotional impact. The book does not focus strictly on Sophie’s love life, but also on other struggles such as fighting with her mother and hormonal changes, including getting bigger boobs and periods. Many of these poems uses clichés and new ways to talk about uncomfortable topics. She also makes adjustments to some clichés as she does in the final stanza of Okay Here is the Plan:.

            “…And what my mother

doesn’t know,

won’t hurt me.”

The reader expects the final line to be won’t hurt her. Instead Sones sticks to the self-centeredness of the character she has presented. Sones also uses humor to discuss the uncomfortable hormonal issues, an example is in the poem It’s That Time of the Month Again.

            “I wore

            my brand-new white satin panties

            to school today.

            So,

naturally,

            I got my period…”

This is a situation that many females are able to relate to the position she is in. This verse novel is able to touch on various topics and issues which are raised as a young teenage girl. The reader is able to experience the emotions of Sophie and to connect with her; making her a more acceptable character. This allows for the reader to route for her in her struggle to find love. When Sophie finally is able to understand the difference between lust and actual love, a picture is presented on the bottom right pages of a man and a women dancing. This image is a sketch of a famous Renoir poem that is modifies. If the reader flips quickly through the images the couple moves to kiss each other. Overall, this book is relatable to females of various ages and is full of emotion and rhythm.  

4. Reviews

2003 Texas Lone Star State Reading List Choice

Junior Library Guild selection

Scholastic Book Fair selection 

Publishers Weekly; “Drawing on the recognizable cadences of teenage speech, Sones (Stop Pretending) poignantly captures the tingle and heartache of being young and boy-crazy. The author keenly portrays ninth-grader Sophie's trajectory of lusty crushes and disillusionment whether she is gazing at Dylan's "smoldery dark eyes" or dancing with a mystery man to music that "is slow/ and/ saxophony." Best friends Rachel and Grace provide anchoring friendships for Sophie as she navigates her home life as an only child with a distant father and a soap opera-devotee mother whose "shrieking whips around inside me/ like a tornado." Some images of adolescent changes carry a more contemporary cachet, "I got my period I prefer/ to think of it as/ rebooting my ovarian operating system," others are consciously clich‚d, "my molehills/ have turned into mountains/ overnight" this just makes Sophie seem that much more familiar. With its separate free verse poems woven into a fluid and coherent narrative with a satisfying ending, Sophie's honest and earthy story feels destined to captivate a young female audience, avid and reluctant readers alike. Ages 12-up.”

From School Library Journal; “…Sones is a bright, perceptive writer who digs deeply into her protagonist's soul. There she reveals the telltale signs of being "boy crazy"; the exciting edginess of cyber romances; the familiar, timeless struggle between teens and parents; and the anguish young people feel when their parents fight. But life goes on, and relationships subtly change. Sones's poems are glimpses through a peephole many teens may be peering through for the first time, unaware that others are seeing virtually the same new, scary, unfamiliar things (parents having nuclear meltdowns, meeting a boyfriend's parents, crying for no apparent reason). In What My Mother Doesn't Know, a lot is revealed about the teenage experience- ("could I really be falling for that geek I dissed a month ago?"), clashes with close friends, and self-doubts. It could, after all, be readers' lives, their English classes, their hands in a first love's. Of course, mothers probably do know these goings-on in their daughters' lives. It's just much easier to believe they don't. Sones's book makes these often-difficult years a little more livable by making them real, normal, and OK.”

5. Connections

* Why do you think Sonya Sones adds a drawing to the bottom of the last few pages?  

* How can you relate to Sophie? Which poem sounds most like something in your life or the way you feel?

*What is your favorite poem? Why?

* Have people volunteer to read a poem.

* Other books by Sonya Sones:

            Sones, Sonya. What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know. ISBN 0689876033

            Sones, Sonya. One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies. ISBN
1416907882

            Sones, Sonya. Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy. ISBN 0064462188

This is Just to Say

1. Bibliography

Sidman, Joyce. 2007. This is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness.  Ill. by Pamela Zagarenski. Boston: Haughton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0618616802

2. Plot Summary

            Being sorry for something is relatable for everyone. Mrs. Merz’s class is assigned to write poems saying that they are sorry, and decided to turn them in to a book and get the subjects of their poems to respond.

3. Critical Analysis

            Using various rhythm, rhyming, and types of poetry This is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness acts as a topical collection about apology, but is really an individual poet compilation. Joyce Sidman is able to create a poetry book using several different voices and perspectives. The book is presented as Mrs. Merz’s class project turned into a book. While all the poems focus on apologies and forgiveness, they use a variety of emotions besides just remorse. Some of the poems make the reader laugh, such as Thomas’s poem This is Just to Say, others are more serious, such as Alyssa’s Black Spot and Jewel’s Next Time, and there are even a couple which aren’t really asking for forgiveness, such as Bobby’s Not Really and Raneesha’s A Waste of Heart. Sidman is able to stay true to the voices of the characters she presents, and Pamela Zagarenski’s illustrations make the reader think of a younger artist. The mixed media illustrations might be a bit to advanced, but this is explained in the introduction where it states “Bao Vang, who is really good at art, took our poems and made the illustrations with the help of Mr. Willow, the art teacher, using her own sketches and some computer art.” Each poem is presented on the page with an illustration. The illustrations add humor throughout the book even to the more serious poems. The colors in the illustrations are bold but complimentary to each other. The poems Sidman writes are also bold and complimentary as well.

4. Reviews

2008 Texas Bluebonnet Award Nominee

Kirkus Review; “…There's a range of topics and ability in the poems, from the "Roses are red / Violets are blue / I'm still really / pissed off at you" in the response section to the difficult form of a pantoum in "Spelling Bomb." A collage-like look to the illustrations captures the child-like quality in sprightly compositions, but the conceit that these are the artwork of one of the students doesn't quite ring true. At one point, Anthony claims to have edited for language, but other poems have some words that are realistically uncensored. Despite a slight uneven quality or perhaps because of it, the whole is far more captivating than expected. Packed with the intensity of everyday pain and sorrow, kids and adults exchange the words that convey grief, delight, love and acceptance of themselves and others.”

From School Library Journal; “…Sidman's ear is keen, capturing many voices. Her skill as a poet accessible to young people is unmatched. Zagarenski's delicately outlined collage drawings and paintings are created on mixed backgrounds-notebook paper, paper bags, newspaper, graph paper, school supplies. This is an important book both for its creativity and for its wisdom.”

5. Connections

* Write your own apology poem or response to someone else’s?

* What do you think Carmen said about Mrs. Merz’s Dress?

*Have different people read the poems allowed. If can only get two people to read then after reading the book allowed have them read Kyle’s and Reuben’s poems again as the students. The sorry poems are on pg. 10- 11, and the response is on pg. 30.

* Similar books:

            Nye, Naomi Shihab. A Maze Me: Poems for Girls. ISBN 0060581891

            Sword, Elizabeth Hauge. A Child’s Anthology of Poem. ISBN 0880013788

            Nye, Naomi Shihab. What Have You Lost. ISBN 0380733072

Fireflies at Midnight

1. Bibliography

Singer, Marilyn. 2001. Fireflies at Midnight. Pictures by Ken Robbins. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0689824920

2. Plot Summary

            Fireflies at Midnight uses different perspectives from various animals to discover the time throughout the day. Cheerful robin starts us off with dawn and the poems continue trough the lazy horse at noon, the hunting fox at nighttime, and ends with the mole bedding down at the dawn that has once again risen.

3. Critical Analysis

            Fireflies at Midnight is an individual poet compilation by Marilyn Singer with pictures by Ken Robbins. The book focuses on the passage of time through the different perspectives of animals. Singer uses both rhyming and non-rhyming poems throughout the book. She also uses various rhythms which she bases on the animals themselves. An example of this is in her poem Frog

            “baron I’m the baron

            I’m the duke

            I’m the king

                   of this piece of the pond

            when it’s muggy

            when it’s buggy

                    in the moonlight

            hear me sing

            baron I’m the baron

            I’m the duke

            I’m the king”

Through the beat of this poem and the word choice, the reader is able to get a sense of the character of the frog. Another poem which holds a heavy rhythm, but no rhyming is Spider:

            “Web is the work

                    is the home

                    is the trap

                      is the hub

                    is the map

                      is the night

                      is the day

                      is the hour

                      is the power

                      is the pattern

             is the way”

In this poem the simplistic style allows for the focus to remain on the language used. A spider is typically only seen on his/her home which is described through the words work, trap, hub, map, power, and pattern. Time passage is presented through the usage of night, day, and hour, and connects to the theme of the overall book. All of the poems help create a dream type world by going into the animals’ world and trying to discover what they would be thinking. Ken Robbins treated photographs help to present this dreamlike world by taking real animals and adjusting them to look similar to illustrations. Each picture is an up close photo of the perspective of the animal presented. This allows for readers to also see what the animal looks like if it is an unfamiliar animal, and it also is used to further enhance the meaning of the poem. An example of the poem enhancing the meaning is Rabbit where the rabbit is trying to hide at dusk time so nothing will chase him. The picture paired with the poem is in various hues of golden yellow and tan. The rabbit is pictured behind tall grass, and just the outline of the rabbit is visible. This book is a great way to get students interested in poems presented from animal perspectives and the passage of time. Singer uses both rhythm and rhyming in several of the poems, along with free verse, so various poem styles are able to be studied in this book.  

4. Reviews

Kirkus Review; “Singer once again captures the intrinsic character of each animal's nature or movement through innovative poetic devices: swooping rhymes describing the playful otter, a rollicking rhythm for a poem about a horse, and a strong two-beat meter for a monarch butterfly that reflects the beating pattern of its wings. She divides the 14 poems evenly between rhyming and non-rhyming works, and all of them employ unusual rhyme schemes or structures. The innovative poetry is well complemented with unusual photographic illustrations that sometimes look like photographic collages and other times like watercolors or oil paintings. The volume's thoughtful design includes firefly-spangled endpapers and a subtle reminder at the top of each poem delineating the time of day. The midnight blue cover with glowing fireflies hints at the magical nature of what lies inside: luminous poems that will stand the test of time.”

From School Library Journal; “Brief poetic musings set throughout the course of a day capture the true nature of a variety of everyday creatures. The vividly realized photo treatments are at once hyperrealistic and dreamlike, reinforcing the feeling of moments frozen in time.”

5. Connections

* Watch how an animal acts during a time of day and write a poem using their voice.

*Using puppets or mask have a different person read each poem as the animal.

* What time of day do you like best?

* Similar books:

            Lion, David C. A Home in the Swamp. ISBN 0516253492

            Jenkins, Steve. Actual Size. ISBN 0618375945

            Lewin, Ted. Nilo and the Tortoise. ISBN 0590960040