How to Burp In Space

How to burp in space...

Albert Einstein: A Biography

The Rabbit and the Turtle 

 Retold and illustrated by Eric Carle. The original is from a collection of fables from Aesop's Fables.

Medium: Unknown- appears to be painting, cutout, and collages.
Genre: Picture Book – Folklore
Theme: Fables/Moral lessons
Other Relevant Information: These fables are from Aesop's Fables which is a famous book filled with many short fables teaching values and morals of life. Aesop used animals as characters in his fables, and so Eric Carle follows suit, adding in his own flavor (in illustration) to the book.

Summary: Each page has a very short fable, each depicting or teaching a moral value that we learn at the end of the story. For example the fable with the mice and the bell, the mice gather to discuss about how it would be a good idea to place the bell on the cat. It was so that they could hear the cat coming and scatter about before the cat could catch them. However, none of them were willing to be the one to put the bell on the cat, therefore the moral lesson was that you can "talk big" but you must be able to back your "talk" otherwise it's just fluff.

Literary Elements:
In a collection of fables, Eric Carle has selected some of the popular and well known Aesop fables to illustrate. An important aspect of fables is how they are usually moral or value driven, designed to emphasize these as the core message. Morals and values are considered timeless, wisdom that continues across time, it is human nature itself. Fables are also commonly depicted in metaphors and symbolic ways, and this is true of this book. Anamorphic characters are also another feature observed in this book. Aesop used animals as characters in his fables, giving them human like qualities.

Evaluation:
Eric Carle does a great job using his own artistic talents and style to give a modern twist on Aesop's fables. Aesop's fables are one of the oldest stories around, and Eric Carle has made it a bit more modern with his illustrations. I personally like how each story is presented individually on its own page, however on the bottom, the moral or value is written plainly. Personally I'd rather that it wasn't there because it would allow the reader to guess or even practice critically analyzing the text and get the answers on his or her own. It is excellent practice for students to learn how to deprive meaning from text, how to understand metaphors, and also learn some moral or value lessons at the same time.

Social Justice or Issue:
As I mentioned earlier, each fable is focused on addressing moral or values. There are several social justice examples in some of these fables. This book is pretty straightforward and pretty much, a book of advice on specific situations in life.

Follow-Up Activity:
I'd like to use the fables as practice for students to learn how to analyze text, deprive meaning from metaphoric text, because this is one of the more difficult areas to learn for young students. Using fun fables like this, which involve imagination and some "magic", students can find this pretty fun to learn from.

Boxes for Katje

The Name Jar

One Grain of Rice

Title: One Grain of Rice

Author/Illustrator: Demi

Medium: Painting

Genre: Folktale

Theme: Selfishness, Multiplication

Summary: This book is a mathematical folktale from India, telling the story of a greedy raja who collected rice from all of the peasants after each harvest, and refused to share even when famine struck. After a good deed, Rani, a peasant, was granted a reward and found a clever way to outsmart the raja.

Literary Elements: This folktale is set in a province in India long ago. The author provides the reader with two main characters. The greedy raja is the antagonist of the story, refusing to provide rice to the starving peasants in his province. The second main character is Rani, the protagonist. She is a peasant who finds a clever way to gain rice from the raja to feed the community, as she requests just one grain the first day, two for the second, multiplying the grains each day for just 30 days. By the end of the story, the reader notices a change in the raja, as he promises to only take the amount of rice he needs, making him a dynamic character. Gold in this folktale is used to represent wealth. In the beginning of the book, the raja is painted on a gold background. He is surrounded with wealth in the first half of the story. As Rani collects more rice, you begin to see gold associated with her. By the end of the book, the peasants are painted on a gold background, as they receive rice from the raja. This signifies their wealth not in the form of money, but instead in happiness for they will no longer go hungry.

Evaluation: This book does an incredible job of incorporating a moral story, culture, and mathematics into a book allowing children to learn on more than one level and leaving room for a variety of discussion. For example, what famine is, what a raja is, where India is located on a map, etc. The illustrations are painting of small human and animal figures with a strong use of red and gold coloring. The illustrations provide the reader with a visual of just how much rice Rani collects. One downside of this folktale, is that it is not written by an India native. Although the author spent some years studying in India, the artwork and cultural aspects would be more authentic if they came from a true Indian perspective.

Social Justice Element: This folktale brings up the issue of social injustice. Raja, shows clear superiority over the peasants, as he required they give him rice yet refused to return it during a time of need. The raja is displayed in a palace of gold, eating bowl after bowl of rice, while the peasants are depicted as starving.

Follow-Up Activity: This book provides teachers a fun way to introduce multiplication to their class. Before reading the book, a poll could be taken to ask the students if they would rather have a few hundred ice cream cones, or one that was doubled each day for one month. After reading the story, the class can create their own chart using a calendar month to display how one grain of rice can become 536,870,912 grains of rice in just 30 days.

By: Brittany Kollmer

Silver Seeds

                

Title: Silver Seeds

Author: Paul Paolilli and Dan Brewer

Illustrator: Steve Johnson and Lou Francher

Medium: Painting

Genre: Picture Book –Poetry

Theme: Nature

Summary: This book is a collection of acrostic poetry that takes a look at different elements and objects in nature without a literal perspective. Beginning with dawn and ending with the night sky, this book captures common words in a new light through the progression of a day.

Literary Elements:

This book includes a variety of literary elements.

· Personification: The authors personify the sun, giving it human like characteristics as it “nudges us out to play.”

“Sliding through the window,

Underneath the door,

Nudging us out to play.”

· Metaphors: Many metaphors are also used, for example when hills are referred to as elephants.

“Huge elephants

In a row,

Lying

Low and

Sleeping.”

· Onomatopoeia: Onomatopoeia is used when referring to bees and rain.

“Bzzzzzzz…”

“Rap-tap-tapping”

Evaluation:

This book of poems is fun and easy for children to follow. Each page uses a word that falls into the category of nature, such as dawn, rain, and stars. Each letter of the word is separated into a new line, creating acrostic poems. Along with the poems are large full-page paintings that beautifully fit each poem. The illustration colors match the mood of the poem, such as the gloomy grey colors in the poem describing rain. One image per page seems to stand out more than the rest, as the artists avoid the use of any harsh lines and instead incorporate a variety of color shades to detail their work. The authors and illustrators dedicate the majority of the pages to paintings, and carefully position the limited text to avoid overwhelming a new poet. This is a great way to expose children to poetry and metaphors, as the poems are short yet powerful and use images that act as a visual aid to the metaphorical descriptions of nature.

Social Justice Element: Although a social justice element is not distinct, this book is clear in its dedication to nature. The social justice element number five, awareness raising, could be used to discuss the beauty of our natural environment. Along with this, in depth discussions can be held about how to properly treat and promote the preservation of nature.

Follow-Up Activity:

Students can use this book as inspiration to write their own acrostic poems. After brainstorming other objects, animals, and elements in nature, each student can choose a topic and begin their own process of poetry writing and illustrating. Upon completion, students can share their poems with the class, allowing the audience to guess the theme of their work.

By: Brittany Kollmer