Down the Winding Road

Title: Down the Winding Road

Author: Angela Johnson

Illustrated by: Shane W. Evans

Publisher: Dorling Kindersley Publishing 2000

Genre: Multicultural, fiction picture book

Age Range: K-2

Summary: A family travels down the winding road to visit her father's aunts and uncles. They all stand in a row and look just alike. They eat and laugh the whole time. The elderly ones take the children down for a walk down the winding road. They tell the stories about each other that they know by heart. Then they swing on tire swing down by the hanging willow. The tire takes you flying over a lake. Eventually the girl and Jesse let go of the swing and fly into the lake. As sad as it is, its their last day of summer vacation and they tell the old ones goodbye.

Response: I absolutely loved this book. It reminds me of my own family reunions and how relaxing and loving it is to share stories with one another. This book is great for children to read and to learn the morals about a family and the importance of it. I highly reccomend this book for young readers. I would love to have this book on my classroom shelf. This might even be a great read aloud right before school gets out.

If a Bus Could Talk

Title: If a Bus Could Talk: The Story of Rosa Parks

Author: Faith Ringgold

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers 1999

Genre: Nonfiction Biography Picture Book

Age Range: 3-5

Summary: Rosa Parks, an African-American girl had walked many miles to her one-room schoolhouse in Alabama while white children rode to their school in a bus. During her years of adulthood, she still rode a bus to and from work in a segregated city. They still were not allowed to sit in the same row as a white person. One day Rosa refused to give up her seat for a white man and her act of courage inspired others around the world to stand up for freedom. Rosa Parks is known as the mother of the Civil Rights Movement.

Response: I loved this book and I feel that children will love this book as well. I am a huge fan of history and this books presents a great theme about Rosa Parks and her experience on the bus. Children would love this book. It is made for upper elementary. There are some challenging words and sentences inside the book, but overall it is great for upper elementary students to read.

Title: Big Moon Tortilla

Author: Joy Cowley

Illustrator: Dyanne Strongbow

Publisher: Boyds Mills Press 1998

Genre: Realistic Fiction, multicultural, picture book

Age Range: K-2

Summary: Marta Enos had just finsihed her homework and the wind was beginning to blow across the dessert. Marta opened her window to watch her grandmother cook tortillas for the church supper, but most of all they were the best in the world. Marta was in such a hurry, she knocked her desk over, throwing her homework everywhere. The wind blew her papers outside and high into the air. Marta no longer smelt the tortillas from where she was so upset. Her grandmother rocked her and settled her down and eventually she got a tortilla.

Response: I enjoyed this book because of the great moral presented in the book. Marta's grandmother teaches her a few wise tails about how not worry so much and to let things handle themselves. It reminded me of times when my own family has reminded me of some morals from their own experiences. I would have this book on my shelf for students to read the morals and to also have a chance at reading a multicultural book.

Multicultural Realistic Fiction, Picture Book

Title: Cocoa Ice
Author: Diana Appelbaum

Illustrated by: Holly Meade
Publisher: Orchard Books 1997
Genre: Multicultural Realistic Fiction, picture book
Age Range: 3-5

Summary: This book compares the weather, culture, and scenary of Santo Domingo and Maine. Santo Domingo is where this girl works hard to pick fruit off of trees, gathers vegetables out of their garden, raises cocoa beans, and conches for meat. As they roast, dry, and turn the beans everyday, it forms chocolate. The family trades their vegetables and goods with Americans. Maine is presented as a cold wintery place where they book in the kitchen, use horses to clean off the snowy roads, and break up the ice on the river to sale to other men and women. The ice is made of big blcoks. Once the icehouse is full they wait again for another big snow to be bale to trade and sell their ice.

Response: Even though this book is a picture book, I feel that the cultural comparisons and some of the words fit along with the level of 3rd through 5th grade. I enjoyed reading this book, but it wasn't one of my favorites. I wouldn't suggest this to anyone unless they were doing a project of one of these countries or some other form of school-related activity.

Title: My Big Brother
Author:Miriam Cohen

Illustrator: Ronald Himler
Publisher: Star Bright Books, 2005
Genre: Fiction Picture Book, multicultural
Age Range: K-2

Summary: My Big Brother is about an older brother who has looked after his younger brothers since he was capable. They never had a father so the oldest brother always took care of the family. His big brother taught him how to play basketball, look after his mother, wash his car, go to church, read to him, and helped him learn several other things. One day his brother has to go to the Army because he can't afford to go to college and then the younger brother has to take care of the family while his big brother is serving the country.

Response: I really enjoyed this book. It is a great multicultural book for younger students to read. This book is mainly for young children who are just beginning to read. It has simple words and sentences. This book made me think back to when I looked after my brother and I still do today even though he is 18. We have always had a great relationship. I would provide this book in my classroom for my students to read because it has a great moral involving a good relationship with your brothers and sisters. A lot of times younger children take for granted having a younger/older sibling.

Sarah, Plain and Tall

Title: Sarah, Plain and Tall ** Newberry Honor**

Author: Patricia MacLachlan

Publisher: Harper and Rowe Publishers, 1985

Genre: Traditional Literature (Based on a true family event)

Age Range: 3-6

Summary: This book is based on a true story about these two children searching for their love from their mother. Anna and Caleb are two motherless children, who live all alone with their father in an isolated, rural community in turn of the century America. Life is difficult on the farm for the three lonely family members and are going through hard times. There are no neighbors close by and Papa still doesn't feel any need to search for a new love. There are not many women for them to meet anyways due to the town being so isolated. Caleb is still young and needs the love from a mother. Their mama died after giving birth to Caleb, and he has never known the love of a mother. Anna's heart is broken because she can give Caleb the love he needs and deserves and also because she misses her mother whom she remembers.

Response: I absolutely loved this book. I think I remember reading this book when I was little, but never saw the good side of the story. Books are more sentiment to you as you get older and can relate it to your own life experiences. This book made me feel young again and blessed to have my whole family with me. I think young girls that are mature would love this book. It's a great lesson and has a good moral to it for the children to learn by. I wouldn't read this book to the class or have the class read it, but I would provide it for the children to read.

The Whipping Boy

Title: The Whipping Boy

Author: Sid Fleischman

Illustrator: Peter Sis

Publisher: Greenwillow Books 1986

Genre: Realistic Fiction **Newberry Award**

Age Range: 3-6

Summary: Prine Horace is a spoiled child and misbehaves just to aggravate his father and receive attention. He is always up to no good and is deserving of whippings. However, as is the royal custom, princes are not to be harmed in any way, which means he will never be truly punished, whipped, beaten, or slapped. Instead, the castle employs a common boy to be the whipping boy. Each time theprince does something wrong, the servants fetch the whipping boy. The son of a rat catcher, Jemmy tolerates the constant whippings without making a sound, which he is determined not to do. When he finds out that the prince really wants him to, he is resolved to keep his silence.

Response: This book was really entertaining. I enjoyed how it used humor and boys, which is pretty much an every day experience for teachers. Boys at younger ages would love reading this book. It has humor, realistic fiction, and many other characteristics that young readers enjoy. I would have this book on my classroom shelf for the children to be able to read on their free time. As crazy as it is I think that some of the children have the same mind and attitude as Horace. They can easily relate to it.