Pizza for the Queen

Author: Nancy Castaldo
Publication Date: 2005
Type of Book: Multicultural Author Picture Book

This story was about Raffaele Esposito, a pizza maker in the city of Napoli. It was a normal day for the pizza maker until one of the queens messengers arrived in his pizza shop ordering a pizza for the queen. The queen had heard her servants bragging about Raffaele's delicious pizza and she wanted to try it for herself. Rafaele tried to decide what type of pizza he would make for the queen. He went around town and collected the freshest ingredients he could find for the queens pizzas. The queen wanted to try the pizza the people of Napoli loved and that is what he was going to give her. He made three different pizzas. Two of them he had made previously but when the plan for his third pizza didn't go as expected he came up with an idea that was fit for the queen. When the queen was delivered her pizzas she couldn't believe how delicious they were. The last pizza that Raffaele had created for the queen became a staple in his pizza shop and he named it after the queen.

I thought that this was such a cute story. I enjoyed reading about the different pizzas Raffaele was going to make for the queen and his adventures he took trying to find the ingredients. I also thought it was creative how in the back of the book there is a recipe for Pizza Margherita, which is the pizza he made for the queen.

Students would definitely love this fun story. For younger students the teacher could use it as a read aloud and for older students it can be used as a read aloud or used in small groups. This book can be used to teach students about life in a different country or it could be used to introduce the genre of informational texts because it includes the recipe in the back.

Image Resources:
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/pizza-queen

All Different Now

Author: Angela Johnson
Publication Date: 2014
Type of Book: Multicultural Author Picture Book

This book shared the story of a young girls personal experience with the first Juneteenth. Juneteenth was the day the last slaves in the South were officially freed. It seemed like a normal day when she woke up in the morning. The routines were still the same and everyone acted like they always did. It wasn't until word came that all slaves were officially free that people started acting differently. People began crying, singing, gathering and talking amongst each other. The people in the book celebrated their new found freedom and the next morning when the girl woke up she realized that this was the start of a new life for her and her family.

I thought that this book did a good job in sharing an important event in history, but it wasn't my favorite picture books i've ever read. I wasn't a big fan of the illustrations. They were drawn with what looked like water colors and I tend to like books that have very clear and crisp illustrations. The colors used were also very muted and plain which didn't do anything to enhance the story.

I think that this story would be best read as a read aloud because it is so short. Teachers can use this story to introduce students to the topic of slavery or use it during a lesson about the day slaves were officially declared free. I would recommend this story for older elementary aged children because the topic is something that they have to be mature enough to understand and handle.

Image Resources:
http://www.amazon.com/All-Different-Now-Juneteenth-Freedom/dp/068987376X

I Was Here

Author: Gayle Forman 

Publication Date: 2015

Type of Book: Choice Novel 

This novel told the story of a girl named Cody, who recently lost her childhood best friend after she committed suicide. Cody can't come to terms that her best friend would do such a thing and not give her any warning signs. She takes things into her own hands and tries to figure out the truth behind her friends death. By the end of the story Cody only comes to discover that maybe she didn't know her best friend so well after all. 

I really enjoyed reading this story. I was hooked by the first chapter. I was very curious to find out why Meg decided to kill herself and the reason why she never told her best friend how she was feeling. The more Cody investigated her best friends death the more interested I became in figuring out the truth as well. The characters were developed really well in the story and I felt like I knew who they were. I felt bad for Cody because she truly was unhappy with her life. She wanted to escape the small town she grew up in and always was jealous of Meg's life. I like that throughout the story Cody learns that maybe having everything doesn't make you happy. What really is important is being a strong person who knows they can overcome any obstacle life throws their way. I also thought that the author did a good job in ending the story. I felt like I wasn't left with a million questions and everything was wrapped up nicely in the end. 

I would recommend this story to older students in high school and above because of the content in the book. I believe that this story is meant for a more mature audience who can handle and understand the topic of suicide the way it is presented in this story. 

Image Resources: 

http://disabilityinkidlit.com/2015/05/20/review-i-was-here-by-gayle-forman/

Coral Reefs

Author: Jason Chin
Publication Date: 2011
Type of Book: Informational Picture Book

This picture book shares a young girls experience learning about coral reefs from a book she borrowed from the library. The story begins with the girl picking up a book off the shelf in the library and her walking around reading it. There are illustrations and text on each page that provides readers with information about coral reefs. The little girl is a silent character and doesn't say anything during the story. The story is told as a narrative about coral reefs.

My favorite part of the story was the illustrations that accompanied the text. I loved how you saw the little girl reading in the library and as she was reading more information about coral reefs those elements became present on the page. It started with a few pieces of coral coming from the library floor to water rushing through the windows filling the place with many species of animals. The story provided a lot of information about coral reefs in a way that was different than many informational books. Readers were taken on a journey inside a book about coral reefs with the character in the story. The characters imagination was present in the illustrations which I thought was unique. It was also cool how the author included information at the end of the story about the threat to coral reefs, the partnership between algae and corals and additional facts about coral reefs.

I would recommend this story for students of any grade level. The story is a fun way for students to learn about coral reefs. For younger grades I would use it as a read aloud. Students in younger grades could also write one thing they learned about coral reefs. Older students could choose one aspect of coral reefs to research in further detail.

Image References:
http://jasonchin.net/books/coral-reefs/

Marsupials

Author: Nic Bishop
Publication Date: 2009
Type of Book: Informational Picture Book

This informational book educates readers about the different marsupials that live in Australia. Readers will learn about bettongs, bailies, potoroos, pademelons, kangaroos, koalas and others. The book is set up with a picture on one side and text on the other. There are usually four pages per marsupial.

I learned so much about marsupials from reading this book. Many of the words were new to me so I wasn't sure on their pronunciation. I loved how this story incorporated images captured by the author who is also a photographer. It was interesting how a sentence on each page was highlighted in an another color and was written in larger bold font. I think that the author chose what he thought was the most important piece of information from each page to highlight. This could be helpful if readers don't have time to read the whole story, but just want some quick information. I also found it interesting how the author included his story about his time spent in Australia learning about the marsupials.

I would recommend this book to older elementary school students. The book contains a lot of information and is longer than most picture books, so students have to have the stamina to read it. The words are also very challenging because they're scientific names. Students could make a list of words that they don't know while reading and look them up later if their definition isn't in the book already. Even though this is a challenging read it is full of great information for students.


Image References:
http://www.amazon.com/Nic-Bishop-Marsupials/dp/043987758X

Desert Elephants

Author: Helen Cowcher
Publication Date: 2011
Type of Book: Informational Picture Book

This picture books shares information about the last remaining herd of desert elephants living in West Africa. You learn about the elephants migration that begins when the dry season starts and ends when the rain returns in June. The people indigenous to the Mali area respect and care about the elephants. You see this respect through the Tuareg nomads saying: "We live with the elephants, and the elephants live with us."

I enjoyed reading this story. The illustrations are fantastic and include a lot of detail. I also loved the colors used in the story. Before reading the story I didn't know anything about the desert elephants. I learned a lot about the migration these elephants take and what their homeland is like. I found it so interesting that you have these groups of people who just live among the elephants. It has been that way for years and they have a mutual understanding of this. It also brought up the concern of tourists coming in and wanting to see the elephants, which causes them to be aggressive. I know people want to observe these animals in the wild but they have to be considerate of the animals and understand how they must feel when people invade their home. At then end of the story in the authors note she included different questions based on the book such as, "Why is finding water a problem for the elephants?" She then provides a small summary explaining the answer. This could be used as an activity for older students. The students could be assigned a question and have to attempt to answer it  using the story. They could then check their answer to the one written in the story.

I would recommend this story as a read aloud for students in first grade and up. I think that students in kindergarten would not understand the concept of the story and the vocabulary words would be too challenging for them. This story contains some difficult vocabulary words so that is why reading the book as a class could be helpful. The students and teacher could discuss what is happening in the story together and help clarify challenging parts. Together the class could also map the migration of the elephants.

Image References:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10675253-desert-elephants

Wonder

Author: R.J. Palacio
Publication Date: 2012
Type of Book: Realistic Fiction Novel

This novel tells the story of a boy named August. August was born with a facial deformity that has caused many problems for him throughout his life. He has had countless plastic surgeries to try to correct his facial features but people are still in shock when they see him. August has been homeschooled by his mother his whole life, but decided after convincing from his parents to start school for the first time this year. August had a rough start due to the comments, games, and lack of understanding from his peers and the parents of the children at the school. Throughout the story you see August's journey through fifth grade and all the bumps he faces along the way. This is a very inspiring and uplifting story that shows readers that it is not what's on the outside that matters, it's what's on the inside.

I really enjoyed reading this novel. I personally liked how the chapters were short. The short chapters motivated me to read more of the book at one time. I never got to the point of reading a chapter where I became disinterested and wanted to stop reading. I liked how I could easily stop reading after a full chapter instead of stopping in the middle. Another aspect of this book that I really liked was that the story was told from the perspective of the various characters. This made the reading very interesting because it showed the same events but from different points of view. While reading the story I tried to picture in my head what August's face looked like based on the various descriptions from the characters in the book. I also thought that the title of the book was wonder because the reader is supposed to wonder what August's face looks like. It was only until I got to the end of the story that I realized the title of the story is wonder because August's mother said that August truly is a wonder. Another part of the book that I really liked was Mr.Browne's Precepts. I enjoyed reading all of the precepts at the end of the story in the appendix.

I would recommend this story for children in upper elementary school and any adult. This story has a wonderful message that anyone could benefit from. It is pretty lengthy so students have to have the stamina required to read longer books. Children in fourth grade could benefit from hearing the story, but depending on their reading levels the teacher could choose to read the story aloud to the class and then have students participate in whole or small group discussions.

Image References:
http://www.amazon.com/Wonder-R-J-Palacio/dp/0375869026