Paige Duke -- #4

Paige Duke

9/26/13

Book: Who says Women Can’t be Doctors?

Author: Tanya Lee Stone

Grade Level- K-5

Summary: In the 1830s, Elizabeth Blackwell wanted to be a doctor, though the norm for women back then was staying home to mother children. Through much opposition, Elizabeth became the first woman doctor and inspired many with her story. This book shows the trials and tribulations she faced, to get to where she wanted to be.

I chose this book because it would jazz up a “career” lesson plan! It’s a different look into the life of a doctor and shows girls they can become anything they want to be. It’s a fun history lesson that most people, including myself, would probably never know about otherwise. The story is very uprising and positive and would be a lot of fun to read as a class. The illustrations are great!

#4 LIndsay Davis

Lit Review

Theme: Historical Fiction

Book: Meet Addy
by Connie Porter

Summary: This is a short chapter book about the American Girl doll, Addy Walker.  She is a young African American girl during the time of slavery.  This first book in the series is all about how she and her mother escape from slavery. 

Use: You really get attached to Addy and her family, and you begin to see how poorly most people treated African Americans.  You also get to see how people realized that they are people just like everyone else, and how they helped these slaves escape to better lives.  This book, along with the rest of the series, would be great for 2^nd or 3^rd grade girls.  Although this book may appeal only to girls, it is an incredible way to teach them about this time period and what all they went through.  Personally, when I read this book in Elementary school I cried.  I remember feeling so sad that this really happened.  Making these personal connections with characters and feeling like you’ve lived through these times makes an unforgettable connection about the history in this time period.  I remember thinking that I NEVER wanted anyone to ever go through that again.  It made me appreciate the changes that have occurred in our society.

Appropriate Ages: 2^nd grade and up

Lit Review #4 -- Hope Brown

Hope Brown

HDFS 3024

10/3/13

Children’s Literature Review

            I chose to do my literature review over the book, How Many Days to America by Eve Bunting. This book is on a reading level from about kindergarten through third grade. I chose this book because my teacher at Porter Early Childhood had it and thought it was an interesting historical fiction book that the children seem to really enjoy. This book tells the story of a family who has to escape on a boat and flee from their island. The family faces many hardships on their adventure as well. The family is starving, and they get their jewels and belongings stolen from them as well. The family reaches land where they are welcomed for a thanksgiving feast. This historical fiction tells the story of the families’ trip to America. It is a very heart warming story that offers love and comfort for those in need. The book gives children an insight on immigration and hardships and has a very comforting ending. I believe that it would be a good holiday or historical book for children to read.

            

Lit Review #4 -- Laura Bell

Laura Bell

Ben and Me: An Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin by His Good Mouse Amos

Robert Lawson

8-12 years

This would be a great book to have out in a 1^st-3^rd grade classroom for children to read on their own or with a friend and also read to a younger classroom and talk about it with them. This book talks about the life of Benjamin Franklin and his various inventions. Instead of talking about how he came up with them, it talks about his mouse, Amos, coming up with all of the great ideas.

Casey Dunlap - Lit review #4

I chose the book “The Pilgrims’ First Thanksgiving by Ann McGovern and illustrated by Elroy Freem. This book is about the Pilgrims’ voyage across the ocean on the Mayflower and their new life in the New World, including meeting Native Americans and their First Thanksgiving. I would read this book in first to third grade classroom. I would read it in a first grade classroom because it is simple enough for them to understand the major concepts of the book but second and third graders would be able to understand more of the book and the things that happen in it. I would read this book around Thanksgiving time as a way to introduce the meaning behind Thanksgiving and why we have it every year. I would then talk more in depth about the book and answer any questions the children have about parts of the book they may not have understood.

Rebecca Brown Lit Review #4

Children’s Literature Review #4: Historical Fiction

Title: Magic Tree House: Tonight on the Titanic

Author: Mary Pope Osborne

Age Group: 3^rd Grade

This book is part of the Magic Tree House Series; the series is about a brother and sister, and their treehouse that takes them to different places in history. In this story, Jack and Annie follow a dog named Teddy to the Titanic, and continue on an adventure there. They work to rescue another brother and sister since they are the only ones on the ship that know it will sink.

One activity that could be done to incorporate literacy into a historical book is to have students write a newspaper article about the sinking of the Titanic from that time. They would be able to think from someone else’s perspective, and develop a better understanding of this major occurrence in history. Another activity would be to write a journal entry from the perspective of Jack, Annie, or one of the other characters in the story.

I chose this book because the Magic Tree House series was my very favorite as a child. I read and reread all of them for years, and I loved learning about things of the past. The book holds a lot of suspense for children in the primary grades, and could be read to students starting in Kindergarten or first grade in chapter segments. The older primary grades could read this book on their own, as well as the others in the series.