# data[].attributes.body
Bibliographic Data:
Title - Anansi The Spider
Author - Gerald McDermott
Publisher - Henry Holt and Company
Publication Date - 2017

Plot Summary:
Anansi the Spider is one of the great folk heroes of the world. He is a rogue, a mischief maker, and a wise, lovable creature who triumphs over larger foes. In this traditional Ashanti tale, Anansi sets out on a long, difficult journey. Threatened by Fish and Falcon, he is saved from terrible fates by his sons. But which of his sons should Anansi reward? Calling upon Nyame, the God of All Things, Anansi solves his predicament in a touching and highly resourceful fashion.

Critical Response/Analysis:
This West African folktale represents the oral tradition of storytelling that explains for the Ashanti people how the moon got in the sky.  The author uses animals (spider, fish, falcon) as the characters to bring this entertaining tale to life.  This story's plot has details that can easily be retold to others in keeping with the oral tradition of sharing of folktale.

Connections:
The Anansi tales offer students a culturally rich example of folktales that could used in a variety of "reader response" activities.  This approach supports a student making connections, raising questions, and writing original folktales to provide explanations for how something came to be.   Another option would be for students to act out their folktale for their classmates who could then discuss the message or meaning of the final product.

Awards Won:
1973 Caldecott Honor Book
ALA Notable Book

# data[].attributes.body
Bibliographic Data:
Title - King Midas and the Golden Touch

Author - Freya Littledale
Illustrator - Daniel Horne
Publisher - Scholastic
Publication Date - 1989

Plot Summary: A king who wishes for the golden touch is faced with its unfortunate consequences.

Critical Response/Analysis:
King Midas and the Golden Touch is an example of a myth which has its roots in primitive people wanting an explanation for events of life.  In this myth, King Midas struggles with understanding the true meaning of happiness in his life.  He asks the god Dionysus for the golden touch believing that his wealth is the reason for being happy.  After he turns many objects, food, and even his own daughter into a golden statue, Midas sees the error of his ways and asks the god Dionysus for the cure.  This myth would provide an explanation for the meaning behind the saying "you have the Midas touch" meaning a person or character has good fortune.

Connections:  The reading of myth's in the classroom as a method of exposing students to various of literature would accompany a unit of study of Greece and Rome quite nicely.   My sixth grade students were able to make many connections to the various versions of the mythical founding of Rome when discussed from a historical and literary perspectives respectfully. This topic allowed for the facilitation of "response through talk and conversation" both with partners in "think-pair-share" as well as a comparative t-chart writing exercise.

Awards Won:  None to date.

# data[].attributes.body
Bibliographic Data:
Title - City Mouse, Country Mouse
Author/Illustrator -  Maggie Rudy
Publisher - Henry Holt and Company
Publication Date - 2017

Plot Summary: In this modern twist on the classic tale of the city mouse and the country mouse, Will and Tansy meet and become friends. But Will loves the bustling city and Tansy loves the quiet country. Will these two friends find a way to live mousily ever after?

Critical Response/Analysis:
This modern retelling of a classic folktale has strong themes of compromise and the power of friendship between the city mouse, Will and country mouse, Tansy.  The story is a wonderful example of a "wonder-tale" that despite the challenges faced by the characters in the story the reader can believe that everything will work out in the end.  The friendship that develops between our animal characters portrays qualities that children and young adults can apply to their own lives since this tale can teach us how to behave in life.

Connections:  In my classroom, I think reading folktales with my students can teach some valuable life lessons in how to best interact with their peers and friends.  The middle school years can be tough for students who are working on finding their identify while experiencing many changes both physically and socially. I think this type of literature can be used with dramatization and role play activities like the "revolving role play" described in this week's reading from "The Wonder of It All" (p. 64 ).

Awards Won: None to date.

# data[].attributes.body
Bibliographic Data:
Title - Tortoise and Hare
Author/Illustrator- Jerry Pinkney
Publisher - Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date - 2013

Plot Summary: Even the slowest tortoise can defeat the quickest hare, and even the proudest hare can learn an age old lesson from the most humble tortoise: Slow and steady wins the race! This classic fable recounts the journey from the starting line to finish that embodies qualities like perseverance that we all have within ourselves.

Critical Response/Analysis:
This classic fable originally apart of Aesop's collection and beautifully remastered in this version from Pinkney is a story known by many generations.  Today's students can learn a meaningful life lesson from this fable that emphasizes the quality of perseverance when faced with overcoming impossible odds.  The pages without words convey a visual message that students can interpret and apply to their own life.

Connections:
Sketched Response would be the approach I would use with my students to interact with literature that naturally curates "image making as a more comfortable and effective way to envision a text" (Wonder of It All, p.65).
Thus students could discuss in small groups how they created their visual representation and how it relates to the essence of the piece of literature read aloud.
Awards Won: None to date.

# data[].attributes.body
Bibliographic Data:
Title -  I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsberg Makes Her Mark
Author - Debbie Levy
Illustrator - Elizabeth Baddeley
Publisher - Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publication Date - 2016

Plot Summary: Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has spent a lifetime disagreeing: disagreeing with inequality, arguing against unfair treatment, and standing up for what’s right for people everywhere. This biographical picture book about the Notorious RBG, tells the justice’s story through the lens of her many famous dissents, or disagreements.

Critical Response/Analysis:
This picture book provides a compelling story of the life a Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.  This is another example of the type of read aloud I would use with my middle school students to discuss the life and work of a great historical figure.  The actions of Justice Ginsburg provide many discussion and written prompts for my students to analyze the concept of dissent when examining Supreme Court decisions.

Connections:
The strategy discussed in this week's text reading called Author's Chair Responses could be reformatted for the purpose of students reading selected Supreme Court documents from historical time period being studied then sharing their annotations by sitting in the "author chair" to share their work with peers. I think reading this type of nonfiction as a whole group read aloud would provide students with insights and motivations along with notable historical contexts for the "dissents" Justice Ginsburg has written while serving on the Supreme Court.

Awards Won: 2017 Orbis Pictus Award Honor Book; Numerous other awards

# data[].attributes.body
Bibliographic Data:
Title - How I Learned Geography

Author - Uri Shulevitz
Publisher - Farrar Straus Giroux
Publication Date - 2008

Plot Summary: As he spends hours studying his father's world map, a young boy escapes the hunger and misery of refugee life. Based on the author's childhood in Kazakhstan, where he lived as a Polish refugee during World War II.

Critical Response/Analysis:
Shulevitz takes the reader on multiple journeys by sharing his own personal story of moving and the adventures he takes with his own imagination to far away places based on the map his father brings home. This book utilizes perspective and point of view to convey the different emotions of our main character from that of hunger, anger, excitement, and forgiveness. The illustrations provide the elements of design like line, shape, color, value, and space to visually engage the reader in the story. The author note page provides some additional information to help the reader put this story into historical context in addition to a greater knowledge of the author's artistic influences: collage, pen, ink, and watercolor.

Connections:  As a history teacher, geography plays a key role in supporting my student's understanding of historical events.  My sixth grade World History students begin their study of a new ancient civilization by studying how the physical geography shapes the development of the way of life in different parts of the world.  This picture book would be a wonderful addition to our study of geography and the importance of reading a map in the age of GPS. I think this could spark a fabulous conversation of where students have traveled and could be displayed with colorful push pins, postcards, and practice identifying examples of the five themes of geography.

Awards Won: 2009 Caldecott Honor book

# data[].attributes.body
Bibliographic Data:
Title - Coming on Home Soon
Author - Jacqueline Woodson
Illustrator - E.B. Lewis.
Publisher  - Putnam
Publication Date - 2004

Plot Summary: After Mama takes a job in Chicago during World War II, Ada Ruth stays with Grandma but misses her mother who loves her more than rain and snow.

Critical Response/Analysis:
The illustrations and use of value throughout this picture book offer a vivid portrait of longing from the point of view of Ada Ruth.  As each page turns, the contrast of light and dark reminds the reader of the character's longing for her mother with the hope that she will return home soon.  The images of Ada Ruth and her grandmother are missing some facial details that allow the reader to fill in these details based on their own experiences of missing a loved one.

Connections:  Woodson's story provides a sneak peek into the lives of those that are affected my major world events that define a generation.  World War II is a historical event that can be brought to life through the use of personal experiences of the people who lived through or the use of fictional stories to highlight the stories of under represented voices.  I think the use of picture books like this one could prompt a discussion or writing activity for my students that recognize the voices that history overlooks.

Awards Won:

Caldecott Honor

ALA Notable 2005

Booklist Editor’s Choice

Child Magazine Best of 2004

# data[].attributes.body
Bibliographic Data:
Title - Feast for 10
Author - Cathryn Falwell
Publisher - Clarion Books
Publication Date - 1993

Plot Summary:
A counting book that chronicles how an African-American family shops for food, methods of preparing dinner, and sitting down to eat. The numbers one to ten are utilized to tell how family members shop and work together to prepare a meal.

Critical Response/Analysis:
Falwell provides a snapshot into a large family through the picture book format that also lends itself for practicing counting from one to ten.  Portraying a typical family activity like going to the grocery story, picking out items for a meal, takes the reader on a journey through the use of perspective/point of view as the chosen element of design.  The composition of this book contains several themes and discussion opportunities for students to share about their family traditions.

Connections:  Today's classrooms are made up of students that come from a diverse and culturally rich backgrounds that needs acknowledgement by the teacher as well as their peers.  In order to validate the diversity in my classroom, I could select books that highlight differences among people as strengths and model how my classroom culture values differences as well as everyone would be treated with dignity and respect. I think this work of literature would offer students a safe space to "value individuality and honor uniqueness".

Awards Won: None to Date

# data[].attributes.body
Bibliographic Data:
Title - Eating the alphabet : fruits and vegetables from A to Z
Author - Lois Ehlert.
Publisher - Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,
Publication Date - 1989

Plot Summary: An alphabetical tour of the world of fruits and vegetables, from apricot and artichoke to yam and zucchini.

Critical Response/Analysis: Ehlert's picture book offers the reader numerous graphic images of fruits or vegetables associated with each letter of the English alphabet.  The author's use of graphic images engages the reader to explore familiar and unfamiliar sights and sounds.  The elements of design such as the use of line, shape, color, and space provide make this book perfect for very young children who are learning their letters, phonetic sounds, and pronunciations.  The composition of this picture book lends itself for the reader to explore the letters, words, and images since the spacing does not follow the typical left to right pattern but allows for turning of the pages to accurately take in each image and word.

Connections:  The use of picture books with students of all ages is strongly supported by a variety of academic literature.  In my evaluation, this type of picture book would not be suitable for my middle school students, however, I think using pictures as a community building strategy is quite valuable. I think sharing about myself using a picture book as a whole group read aloud would provide some valuable insight into my personality and classroom culture.  As an educator, I have come to recognize the many facets of utilizing "literature as a teaching partner" in my classroom.

Awards Won: An American Bookseller's "Pick of the Lists"

# data[].attributes.body
Bibliographic Data:
Title - Voice of Freedom Fannie Lou Hamer Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement
Author - Carole Boston Weatherford
Illustrator - Ekua Holmes
Publisher - Candlewick Press
Publication Date - 2015

Plot Summary: Despite fierce prejudice and abuse, Fannie Lou Hamer was a champion of civil rights from the 1950s until her death in 1977. Integral to the Freedom Summer of 1964, Hamer gave a speech at the Democratic National Convention that aired on national TV news and spurred the nation to support the Freedom Democrats.

Critical Response/Analysis:
This picture book is exactly what I envision reading aloud to my students in my history class.  Weatherford writes a powerful story about a true hero of the civil rights movement, Fannie Lou Hamer.  The writing creates a vivid picture in the mind of any reader therefore the illustrations leave room for the imagination.  I think the use of line, shape, color, and value as the choice in elements of design coupled with the writing style provide a necessary backdrop for studying this historic time period.

Connections:  This book has many ideas running through my head for the numerous ways it could be incorporated into my classroom.  I think this book would be a perfect teaching partner for the Civil Rights movement along side other personal narratives and iconic primary source photographs. The combined elements would create a visually engaging unit of study for my students along with the basic facts.  This reminds me of a "five senses" writing activity that I used with my 8th graders last year that provided practice in historical context, photo analysis, and strengthened their historical writing.

Awards Won:
2016 Caldecott Honor Book; 2016 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book; 2016 John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award Winner