Tuck Everlasting

Babbitt, N. (1975). Tuck everlasting. New York: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux.

            Tuck Everlasting fits into the genre of modern fantasy because some of the characters are outside of the realm of possibility.  There is a family, the Tucks, that have found a magical spring that has made it so they can live forever.  A fountain of youth does not exist in the real world, although I’m sure there are many that wish it did!  The Tuck family consists of Angus Tuck, the father that goes by Tuck, Mae, the mother, Miles, a son, and Jesse, a son.  The other main character in this story is Winnie Foster.  She is a ten year old girl that lives not far from the woods where the Tucks live. 

            The setting of this story is in the mid-1800s in a rural area.  Winnie lives in a small town just outside of some woods.  The setting of the story is a back-drop because it is possible that this could take place somewhere else, but I think the setting adds to the mood of the story.  Her family has owned theses woods for generations.  Winnie contemplates running away because of the conflict that she is having with her family.  The conflict could be classified as a person-against-person.  She feels that they are too controlling and she wants to get away.  One day she decides to talk a walk through the woods, and on this day, she meets Jesse.  He has no choice but to tell her about the spring because she wants to drink from it.  Jesse’s family takes her home with them so they can explain to her why it is so important that she does not tell anyone of the spring. 

            A man in a yellow suit observes all of this and he wants to use it for his own benefit.  He wants the woods because he knows about the spring.  He tells the family that he will bring back Winnie in exchange for the land.  They make a deal.  You must read the book to find out if his plan works!  This book does have the element of suspense to it because it will skip back and forth from the man in the yellow jacket to the Tuck’s house and you want to know what is going to happen next. 

            Even though Winnie is a bit in shock of being taken away, she is not scared.  A bit of a romance seems to blossom even though Jesse is seventeen and Winnie is only ten.  Jesse wants her to drink water from the spring when she is seventeen.  Will she?  I think this bit of romance will make this book more interesting to students.  It may help them relate to the story because they are at the age where they start to get boyfriends and girlfriends.  This book kept my attention because it is intriguing to me to think about a fountain of youth.  I think it would be nice for a little while, but then you have to think about being the same age for eternity while everything else around you changes. 

             The organization of this book is in short chapters.  There are no headings to the chapters just numbers.  The sentence structures vary from short to complex.  They are easy to read and flow together nicely. 

Big Question:  If you were Winnie, would you drink the water from the spring?  What effects do you think this would have on your life?

Song and Dance Man

Ackerman, K., & Gammell, S. (1988). Song and dance man. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Song and Dance Man falls into the genre of picture books because the illustrations add to the story.  This story could be understood without the illustrations, but I feel that they add emotion to the story.  The story is illustrated using the artistic media of colored pencils to create sketches.  They are not completely colored in and it is obvious that they are sketches.  The sketches are drawn using a mixture of primary colors.  There are shadows in this book but it does not create a dark or sad mood.  The bright colors in the sketches create a happy emotion.  The illustrations are partly unrealistic because objects are not colored how they would be in real life. 

            This story uses the figure of speech simile many times throughout the story.  This helps create images in the reader’s mind.  This story is about three young children who go to visit their grandpa.  They get a glimpse into his past as they explore the attic and grandpa shows them his tap dancing skills.  Students can relate to this story if they’ve ever visited with a grandparent or elderly friend.  If a student has not had an experience like the one in the story, this could give them a springboard to go home and ask their parents or guardians what they did as a child or young adult.  This story could be used at home to spark up a conversation about the past and to make connections. 

            This story could be used in the classroom to start a unit about entertainment in the past.  It can start the discussion of what students did for enjoyment before modern technology.  It can also be used to teach figures of speech in writing. 

Big Question:  If your t.v., computer, games, and all other technology were taken away for a week, what would you do to entertain yourself at home?  How would this make you feel?

Giggle, Giggle, Quack

Cronin, D., & Lewin, B. (2002). Giggle, giggle, quack. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Giggle, Giggle, Quack fits into the genre of picture books because the pictures help tell the story.  I do not think that this book would be complete without the illustrations because they give clues as to what is happening and what is going to happen in the story.

I chose this book because many other books by Doreen Cronin were on the suggested list and I had not yet read Giggle, Giggle, Quack.  I have enjoyed many of Doreen Cronin’s other books such as Duck for President and Click, Clack, Moo:  Cows That Type.  This book was also on the related films, videos, and DVDs section of the recommended picture books list.  It is also a Caldecott Honor Book.  

There is an element of foreshadowing in this book from the beginning when Farmer Brown tells Bob to watch out for Duck because he’s trouble.  You also get subtle hints through the illustrations as you see Duck with a pencil almost every time he is pictured.  You get the characterization of Duck through his actions.  He doesn’t have dialogue other than “Giggle, giggle, quack.”  He doesn’t need to speak for the reader to get to know his personality; it shows through his actions and the letters he writes. 

Many of the illustrations are large and extend beyond the page.  Betsy Lewin did a great job of illustrating this story and showing the animals’ personalities through their facial expressions.  The way the font was typed also gives a sense of mood.  When the farmer yells, it is in bold and extends across the page. 

 Students will enjoy this book because it shows farm animals acting like people.  I think once  they get what is going on in the story, they will really think it is funny and enjoy it.  The students don't have to be familiar with a farm or farm animals to be captivated by this suspenseful story of a mischievous duck.

This book can be used to teach students to make predictions and inferences.  Before you turn the page during a read aloud, have the students guess what is going to be happen next. 

Big Question:  Who is leaving Bob the notes?  What clues are given to help you make this inference?

The Very Hugry Caterpillar

Carle, Eric. (1987). The very hungry caterpillar. New York: Philomel Books.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar fits into the genre of picture books because it tells a story using pictures and words.  This book tells a story about a very hungry caterpillar and what he eats.  It tells what he eats each day of the week and how he changes.  This story is sequential and is told in chronological order. 

This book is very colorful and the illustrations have texture.  The illustrations on many of the pages also go beyond the edges of the book; this is known as a page bleed.  The pictures will also spread across the gutter and continue across the recto and verso side of the page.  This book also has a dust jacket that includes a summary of the book and information on the author, Eric Carle.

This book can be used to teach many things.  In the beginning grades, it can be used to teach the days of the week.  As students get into the first or second grade, it can be used as a fun introduction to the lifecycle of a butterfly.  It can also be used in math to teach addition.  I think many students will enjoy reading this book or having this book read to them.  It is colorful and teaching many important concepts in one book.  This book can stretch across many units and lessons. 

I chose this book because it was on the recommended list in the text book and I remember reading it as a child and really enjoying it.

Big question:  Why do you think that the caterpillar was so hungry?  What was he preparing for?

Color Zoo

Ehlert, Lois. (1989). Color zoo. China: Lois Ehlert.

The book Color Zoo by Lois Elhert fits into the genre of picture books because it is primarily made of illustrations. The illustrations are made from a solid background with designs and shapes of a solid color going around a cut out. The recto side is one color and the verso side is another color. The cut out shapes and figures make the face of an animal. The verso side of the book tells the shape and the recto side tells what animal it is. As you flip the pages in the book, the animals and shapes change. The cut outs overlap each other to form different animals. The book reviews colors and shapes.

This book is recommended for children ages 1-5. Color Zoo will be of interest to children who enjoy bright colors and watching the book change as the pages are turned. This would be a great book to teach young children and kindergarteners about colors and shapes. It could also be used to introduce a unit on animals. 

I selected this book from the recommended picture books list in the text book and it is also a Caldecott Honor Book. I had never heard of this book before and I found it entertaining. I think children would enjoy having this book read aloud to them and it is also a great book for beginning readers since it follows a pattern and doesn’t have too many difficult words. I do not believe intermediate students would enjoy this book unless it was used to introduce elements of art and how to overlap images.

Big question:  How could you use colored construction paper and shapes to make a new animal that was not pictured in this book?

Introduction

        My name is Cara Esarey.  I am from Brandenburg, Kentucky.  I graduated from Bellarmine University in 2009 with a Bachelor's degree in elementary education and learning and behavior disorders.  I am getting ready to finish my 3rd year of teaching.  My first year I taught a regular education kindergarten class.  The past two years I have been teaching 5th and 6th grade special education.  This year I have had co-teaching classes for math, reading, and writing.  In addition to co-teaching classes, I also taught one general education math class in the morning.  It was nice to get a little bit of both worlds in everyday.  I definitely prefer special education and enjoy working with small groups.  I am in the master's program for reading and writing specialist.  I am halfway through the program and will finish in December.  I would love to be a reading and writing specialist one day and work with small groups focusing on literacy skills.  I am also one of the academic team coaches at my school.   

        This July my husband and I will have been married for two years and in August we will welcome our first child into the world!  I am due August 7th with a precious baby boy.  We are very excited for this new chapter in our lives.  We have a dog named Gus which is our child for now.  In my free time I enjoy spending time with my family.  I have two nieces and two nephews that I adore.  I love to go shopping with my mom and sister.  I enjoy taking pictures and making photo albums.  I look forward to learning new literacy activities to use with my classes.  I also look forward to getting more experienced with using technology.