South Carolina Children's
Book Award Nominees
2003 - 2004
All the Way
Home
Patricia Reilly Giff
Delacorte Press, 2001
169 pages
SUMMARY:
It is the fall of 1941. The Brooklyn Dodgers
have a chance at the pennant and Mariel and Brick have a chance at making
their dreams come true. Mariel dreams of finding the mother who disappeared
after leaving her in a hospital for polio victims. Brick wants to
save his friend's farm and bring his family back together after the devastating
orchard fire drove them apart to find work. First they have to reach
Windy Hill, NY, two hundred miles away by bus. And, if they do get
there, can they meet the challenges that lie ahead? Supported by
loving families and their powerful friendship, this story of a time past
comes to life and has an inspiring conclusion.
IF YOU LIKED THIS BOOK, TRY…
Lily’s Crossing and
Nora Ryan’s Song,
both award winning books by Patricia Reilly Giff.
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS:
Language Arts:
Have students conduct research on the Great Depression.
Have students conduct research on the polio epidemic
and compare to epidemics that are prevalent in the world today.
WEB SITES:
Patricia
Reilly Giff Teacher Resource File
Patricia
Reilly Giff: About this Author
Book
Review
BOOK TALK:
During the summer of 1941, two brave and caring
children meet and share a great adventure. Mariel, a polio victim,
lives in Brooklyn with her adopted mom, Loretta. Loretta nursed Mariel
in the Windy Hill Hospital when she was four and adopted her when her family
never returned to claim her. Mariel has learned to live with the
prejudice and fear people show toward her as a cripple. Some people
even think she might infect them, and therefore it requires courage every
time she leaves the safety of her home.
Brick is sent to live with Mariel and Loretta
after fire destroys his family's Windy Hill orchard and farm. After
a rough start, Mariel and Brick learn to trust each other and embark on
a journey to their shared home, Windy Hill. Their stories mingle
in such a wonderful way and the conclusion to their adventure of discovery
is very satisfying. To find out how these delightful characters resolve
their conflicts, you really have to read this book!
Prepared by: Marcia Russo
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Amber was Brave,
Essie Was Smart: The Story of Amber and Essie Told Here in Poems and Pictures
Vera B. Williams
Greenwillow, 2001
72 Pages
SUMMARY:
Two sisters help each other deal with life while
their mother is working and their father is in jail.
IF YOU LIKED THIS BOOK, TRY…
The Railway Children by E. Nesbit
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
Out of the Dump: Writings and Photographs
by Children from Guatemala by Kristine Franklin and Nancy McGirr
It's Not Hard to Worry: Stories for Children
about Poverty by John M. Barrett
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS:
Social Studies:
1. Discuss how poverty can affect children.
As a class, create a project that can help children in the community who,
like Amber and Essie, might not have enough to eat or sufficient warm clothes
to wear.
2. Research how children are affected when
their parents are incarcerated and how many children in the United States
have parents who are imprisoned.
3. Discuss how many students in the class
are “latchkey” kids and make a chart that you can duplicate for everyone
with ways that latchkey kids can stay safe when their parents are not home.
Distribute your list to other classes who have latchkey kids.
WEB SITES:
Biographical
Information on Vera B. Williams
Vera
Williams Biography
National Center
for Children in Poverty
BOOK TALK:
In this poignant prose poem of two very young
girls living in poverty, Vera B. Williams takes young readers to places
they may not have been before: into a poverty-stricken urban apartment
where sisters Essie and Amber must feed and entertain themselves in the
absence of their working mother. Williams’s illustrations, however,
temper some of the sadness that the story expresses. The black and
white sketches interspersed throughout the chapters, as well as the colorful
portraits of the girls and their family at the beginning and end of the
book help to lighten the mood. The honesty of Amber Was Brave,
Essie Was Smart will leave readers pondering long after they close
its pages.
I recently read Amber Was Brave, Essie
Was Smart with a five-year old British child who is very well loved
and cared for. Naomi couldn't imagine her parents ever leaving her
alone and said that if her mother hadn't enough money for a baby-sitter,
she would very nicely ask a neighbor to keep her and her brothers until
she could come home. Although the idea of being too poor to afford
a baby-sitter was almost beyond this child's imagination, I was glad that
Williams’s written portraits of these two little girls were able to reach
into Naomi’s world just enough to make her realize that many children are
not as blessed or as wealthy as she is and that many poor children's parents
have many fewer options than hers. Williams deserves praise for her
gentle but realistic portrayal of the lives of two sisters who have little
more than one another.
Prepared by: Dr. Michelle Martin
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The
Butterfly
Patricia Polacco
Philomel Books, 2000
50 pages
SUMMARY:
During the Nazi occupation of France, Monique’s
mother hides a Jewish family in their basement and tries to help them escape
to freedom.
IF YOU LIKED THIS BOOK, TRY…
Donut You Know There's a War on?
by James Stevenson
Fireflies in the Dark by Susan Goldman
Rubin
Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan
Lily’s Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS:
Language Arts:
Research World War II, Nazi occupation of France,
Jewish hardships.
Social Studies:
Compare hiding of Jewish families with “underground
railroad” in America.
WEB SITES:
Patricia
Polacco Web site
Teaching
Ideas for Use with Jewish Themed Literature
Righteous
Gentiles
BOOK TALK:
Nazis have marched into our small village.
They are everywhere in their tall black boots. It is war! One
night I see a little ghost sitting on the end of my bed and when I tell
my mother about it, she tells me that it was not a ghost but a young Jewish
girl who – along with her family – has been hiding in the basement.
I bring her grass, flowers, and beautiful butterflies from the outside
world every day. One night while we are playing secretly in my room,
we are discovered by a neighbor. Because of this, they must flee.
Read this touching story of courage and friendship and find out what happens
to them. Will they ever be free like a butterfly?
Prepared by: Nancy Bull
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The Chimpanzees
I Love: Saving Their World and Ours
Jane Goodall
Scholastic Press, 2001
80 pages
SUMMARY:
This is an autobiographical account of Jane Goodall’s
life and work in the Tanzanian research center in Gombe National Park.
Carefully detailed and explained, Goodall relates her research findings
on chimp behavior, the animals’ relationships, habitat, and especially
the traits that make them “more like humans than any other creature living
today.”
IF YOU LIKED THIS BOOK, TRY…
My Life With the Chimpanzees by Jane Goodall
The Chimpanzee Family Book by Jane Goodall
Jane Goodall: Pioneer Researcher by Jayne
Pettit
Chimpanzees by Claire Robinson
Chimpanzees by Patricia Fink Martin
Jane Goodall: Living With the Chimps by
Julie Fromer
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS:
Language Arts:
Imagine you are Jane Goodall, working on chimpanzee
research at Gombe. Write a five-day dairy of what you do, see,
and experience in your work. Use information from the book and other
resources to make your account realistic.
Read other books about the dangers facing chimpanzees
and other endangered animals. Write a poem that expresses your
feelings about the uncertainties these animals face.
Social Studies:
Conduct research on Gombe National Park and Tanzania.
Create a travel guide for the region, including a map and description of
the climate. Include a picture of the area from the Internet.
Create a timeline of Jane Goodall’s life and
work.
Science:
Imagine that you are responsible for adding animals
to the Endangered Species List. You know of an animal that you think
needs to be added to the list. Conduct research. Then
prepare a report for your boss, who is the head of the World Wildlife Fund,
detailing the animal's habitat, diet, and behaviors. Tell why you
think that animal should be protected under the Endangered Species Act.
WEB SITES:
Jane Goodall
Institute
Chimp
Researchers
World
Wildlife Fund, Creators of the Endangered Species List
BOOK TALK:
Do you know that the chimpanzee is the animal
that is most like humans? They have thumbs like we do, they use tools
like we do, they even have families and feelings much like we do.
Chimpanzees live mainly in Africa, and although there used to be many thousands
of chimps in the wild, today there are very few left. Poachers kill
them for their pelts and for their value as souvenirs. There is hope
for the chimpanzee, however. A woman named Jane Goodall is a researcher
who has studied chimpanzees in their natural habitat, and she has written
many interesting books about them. Her newest book is called The
Chimpanzees I Love: Saving Their World and Ours. Sure, you say,
saving the chimpanzee might be important, but what does it have to do with
saving my world? Read this book and you may learn that all living
things – even down to the chimpanzees – have to rely on each other.
Prepared by: Susanne Hogan
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Coolies
Yin
Philomel Books, 2001
40 pages
SUMMARY:
A young boy hears the story of his great-great-grandfather
and his brother who came to the United States to make a better life for
themselves, helping to build the transcontinental railroad.
IF YOU LIKED THIS BOOK, TRY…
Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say
Full Steam Ahead: The Race to Build a Transcontinental
Railroad by Rhoda Blumberg
Building the Transcontinental Railroad
by James Barter
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS:
Language Arts:
Conduct an author study of Yin. What is
meant by first generation Chinese American?
Use this book as a read aloud to foster discussions
about discrimination.
Discuss the Cantonese language.
Guidance:
Discuss derogatory names given to people.
How can students help foster understanding and
friendships?
Science:
Research clipper ships vs. steam ships.
WEB SITES:
Chinese
American Contribution to Transcontinental Railroad
Review
of Coolies
BOOK TALK:
Shek and Wong, two Chinese brothers, come to
mid-nineteenth-century America to work on the transcontinental railroad.
The two month trip from China is difficult, but nothing in comparison to
the indignities and danger that they endure as workers on the railroad.
They are referred to in a derogatory manner as Coolies which means “bitter
labor” in Chinese. And bitter it was. The brothers endure more than
they could have imagined – bleeding hands, blasting dynamite, and treacherous
avalanches. All for very little pay. This book reveals actual
events in the history of the American railroad while celebrating the love
and loyalty between two brothers who were determined not only to survive,
but to succeed.
Prepared by: Joyce Wolfe
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Down Cut Shin
Creek: The Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky
Kathi Appelt and Jeanne Cannella Schmitzer
HarperCollins, 2001
58 pages
SUMMARY:
This is an inspiring and gripping true story
of the courageous librarians who overcame many hardships to bring books
to the poverty-stricken rural areas of Kentucky during the Great Depression.
IF YOU LIKED THIS BOOK, TRY…
Mary on Horseback: Three Mountain Stories
by Rosemary Wells
More Than Anything Else by Marie Bradby
The Inside-Outside Book of Libraries by
Julie Cummins
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS:
Language Arts:
Have students keep a journal of the daily life
of a pack horse librarian describing the people she meets along her route
and the hardships she overcomes to deliver books to her patrons.
Social Studies:
Research FDR’s New Deal program, particularly
the WPA , and some of the ways these programs brought relief during the
Depression era.
Math:
To give students a sense of the depth of the
poverty during the Depression, have students create a bare minimum budget
for their household. Have them decide what they absolutely have to
have as income each month to survive.
WEB SITES:
Book
Women of Kentucky Information
Franklin
D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
New Deal
Network: The Great Depression. the 1930's and the Roosevelt Administration
BOOK TALK:
Just imagine, it is 4:30 in the morning and a
woman is riding an old horse up a cold, steep mountain path; it is
freezing and a light rain is falling. The woman's saddlebag is filled
with books to be delivered to poverty stricken people who live along her
route. Enthusiastically awaiting the tattered books and magazines
in her saddlebags are families and school children. One woman walks nine
miles to meet the book woman and exchange her books and magazines.
This is a day in the life of a pack-horse librarian. The authors
present captivating information which takes readers back to the Depression
era in Appalachia. This book is sure to leave readers with an appreciation
for the pack-horse librarians and a desire to discover more about the Depression
Era, as well as FDR’s programs that were established to relieve the
poverty and suffering during this time.
Prepared by: Mary Tyler
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Fair Weather:
A Novel
Richard Peck
Dial Books, 2001
139 pages
SUMMARY:
Thirteen–year-old Rosie and members of her family
travel to Chicago to visit their Aunt Euterpe and attend the World’s Columbian
Exposition. The experience turns out to be life changing for everyone.
IF YOU LIKED THIS BOOK, TRY…
Buffalo Bill and the Pony Express by Eleanor
Coerr
Exploring the Chicago World’s Fair by
Laurie Lawlor
Bill Pickett: Rodeo-Ridin’ Cowboy by Andrea
D. Pinkney
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS:
Language Arts:
Research Buffalo Bill and Lillian Russell.
Write about an interesting family member
Write about living with a grandparent or visiting
a grandparent.
Social Studies:
Study the American West, Yellowstone Park, Plains
Indian people.
WEB SITES:
World's
Columbian Exposition Web site
World's
Columbian Exposition Website
Buffalo
Bill
Buffalo
Bill
BOOK TALK:
This story takes place in rural Illinois in 1893.
Thirteen–yearold Rosie lives on a farm with her parents, her granddad and
her siblings, Lottie and Buster. When Aunt Euterpe invites the family
to visit her in Chicago and attend the World’s Columbian Exposition their
quiet life changes. During the first 48 hours in Chicago, the clan
manages to run off the household help and embarrass their aunt in front
of some of Chicago's most prominent ladies. The grandfather is a little
senile and cantankerous, and his antics will keep you laughing. Famous
firsts are woven into this story such as the first Ferris wheel and the
introduction of hamburgers and postcards. Peck's unforgettable characters
and fast paced action will keep you in stitches as a colorful chapter inAmerican
history isrevealed.
Prepared by: Edith Ley
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Gleam and Glow
Eve Bunting
Harcourt, 2001
32 pages
SUMMARY:
After his home is destroyed by war, eight-year-old
Viktor finds hope in the survival of two special fish.
IF YOU LIKED THIS BOOK, TRY…
So Far From the Sea by Eve Bunting
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS:
Language Arts:
Study poetic similes that abound in this book.
Guidance:
Discuss impact of war on families and children,
including separation of families
How does this book portray life in refugee camps
for children?
WEB SITES:
Biography
of Eve Bunting
Poetry
Site
Meet
Afghan Children from the Red Cross
BOOK TALK:
My name is Marina and I live in Bosnia.
Our country is fighting in a war and my father has left to join in the
fight. A family came by yesterday on the way to a refugee camp and
gave me some fish. Look at them. I named one of them Gleam
and one Glow. Aren't they beautiful? My mom says we will have
to leave soon because it is getting too dangerous to stay any longer –
the war is coming closer. My brother, Viktor says we will have to
leave my fish in the pond behind our house. They are so beautiful
and I don't want to leave them. Inspired by real events, Bunting presents
the difficult topic of war with clarity and sensitivity. Read
this beautiful book about a family, a war and a dazzling discovery found
when they return home.
Prepared by: Leigh Ann Vitale
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Goin’ Someplace Special
Patricia McKissack
Atheneum Books, 2001
34 pages
SUMMARY:
In segregated 1950’s Nashville, Tennessee, a
young African American girl braves a series of indignities and obstacles
to get to one of the few integrated places in town: the public library.
IF YOU LIKED THIS BOOK, TRY…
Martin’s Big Words by Doreen Rappaport
The Land by Mildred D. Taylor
Rivka’s Way by Teri Kanefield
Carver: A Life in Poems by Marilyn Nelson
The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles
More Than Anything Else by Marie Bradby
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS:
Language Arts:
Read aloud Goin’ Someplace Special and
More
Than Anything Else. Discuss the importance of learning to read.
Have students talk about when and how they learned to read.
WEB SITES:
Voices
from the Gaps: Patricia McKissack
Patricia
McKissack Site from Kent State University
BOOK TALK:
You know that you should be some place other
than where you are. It isn't safe here; there are dangers all around
and they are pressing in, getting closer. If only you could find
that safe haven!!! It is close, so close, but you just can't find
it. The danger is getting closer and closer and safety is just around
the corner. Now open your eyes and the nightmare is over. You
are awake and safe in your own bed. It was all a dream. Not
so for Tricia Ann. The dangers and indignities of a segregated Nashville,
Tennessee in the 1950’s are with her whenever she ventures out of her neighborhood.
Tricia Ann must brave her real nightmare in order to get to someplace special.
Tricia begins her trip and takes us along with her as she journeys across
the city to the public library.
Prepared by: Jane S. Chinault
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Leonardo’s Horse
Jean Fritz
G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2001
48 pages
SUMMARY:
A story of the life of Leonardo da Vinci focusing
on the unfinished sculpture of a statue of a horse which caught the attention
of a pilot named Charlie Dent who took the initiative to bring Leonardo’s
dream to life.
IF YOU LIKED THIS BOOK, TRY…
Pish, Posh, Said Hieronymus Bosch by Nancy
Willard
Michelangelo by Diane Stanley
The Starry Night by Neil Waldman
Camille and the Sunflowers: A Story
About Vincent Van Gogh by Laurenace Anholt
The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins: An Illuminating
History of Mr. Waterhouse Hawkins, Artist and Lecturer by Barbara Kerley
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS:
Art:
Discuss horses in art.
Reseach Leonardo da Vinci and his works
Research Charlie Dent
Practice drawing horses
Language Arts:
Read a biography on Leonardo da Vinci
WEB SITES:
Jean
Fritz Page from Internet School Library Media Center
Review
of Leonardo's Horse
Leonardo
da Vinci's Horse Web site
BOOK TALK:
Leonardo da Vinci – just his name evokes wonder-filled
visions of beautiful works of art from paintings, to statues, to drawings
of fantastic flying machines. One of the works that Leonardo began
was never finished in his lifetime – a statue of a horse for the Duke of
Milan to give to his father. Leonardo’s Horse begins with
a brief look at Leonardo da Vinci’s life and then his meetings and plans
for the horse. Leonardo studied horses. He drew them, he measured
them, and he learned all about their muscles and how they worked together.
He actually did construct a 24-foot high clay model but then the real problems
began – how to actually cast in bronze that large of a statue! Then
Leonardo was distracted by other projects and even a war interfered with
his statue. The Duke took all of the metal Leonardo had collected
for making the horse to use for weapons. Then when the French attacked,
they destroyed the clay model! All was lost and Leonardo worried about
his horse until his dying day. In 1977, Charlie Dent, an airline
pilot read about Leonardo’s grief over not finishing the horse and decided
that he would complete the task. He studied, measured, and drew horses
like Leonardo did. Dent had a special domed building made to work
in and began constructing the new horse. However, Charlie Dent’s
untimely death in 1994 ended his work. Was the horse ever to be finished?
Read Leonardo’s Horse and follow Leonardo da Vinci’s and Charlie
Dent’s stories to find out.
Prepared by: Skye Hall
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Love That
Dog
Sharon Creech
HarperCollins, 2001
112 pages
SUMMARY:
Jack hates poetry. Only girls write it
and every time he tries to, his brain feels empty. But his teacher,
Ms. Stretchberry, won’t stop giving her class poetry assignments – and
Jack can’t avoid them. But then something amazing happens.
The more he writes, the more he learns he does have something to say.
IF YOU LIKED THIS BOOK, TRY…
Professional:
The Art of Teaching Writing by Lucy Calkins
Writer’s Workshop: Working through the
Hard Parts and They’re All Hard Parts by Katie Wood Ray
Students:
Brown Angels: An Album of Pictures and Verse
by Walter Dean Myers
Collected Poems: 1909-1939, Volume I by
William Carlos Williams
The Poetry of Robert Frost edited by Edward
Connery Latham
All the Small Poems and Fourteen More
by Valerie Worth
Street Music: City Poems by Arnold Adoff
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS:
Language Arts:
Author studies - have students study about Sharon
Creech and several of her books.
Writer’s Notebooks - have students keep writers’
notebooks similar to the one Jack keeps in the book, responding to what
they are reading and communicating with their teacher.
Love That Dog is a great read-aloud.
Have students share their reactions to the poems in the book as well as
their reactions to Jack’s comments about
them.
Have students write “shape” poems inspired by
the poem Jack wrote that was shaped like a dog.
Guidance:
Guidance counselors can use this book in counseling
students who have lost a pet or loved one.
WEB SITES:
Sharon
Creech's Web site
Interview
with Sharon Creech
BOOK TALK:
Jack hates poetry and thinks only girls write
it, until his teacher, Ms. Stretchberry, inspires him to read poetry and
the work of Walter Dean Myers, where he discovers a poem that touches his
heart. Jack’s teacher says that Jack has poetry inside him and she
knows what to do to help this budding poet blossom into a writer.
As Jack attempts to read and write poetry, he realizes he does have something
to say, and that others will want to hear what it is. Jack is also
instrumental in getting Mr. Myers himself to come to his school to talk
about his poetry. After this visit, Jack will be forever changed.
Prepared by: Janet Kittrell
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Love,
Ruby Lavender
Debbie Wiles
Harcourt, 2001
188 pages
SUMMARY:
When her quirky grandmother goes to Hawaii for
the summer, nine-year-old Ruby learns to survive on her own in Mississippi
by writing letters, befriending chickens as well as the new girl in town,
and finally coping with her grandfather’s death.
IF YOU LIKED THIS BOOK, TRY…
Halmoni’s Day by Edna Coe Bercaw
Grandmothers by Lola M. Schaefer
Grandma’s Records by Eric Valasquez
Just Grandma and Me by Mercer Mayer
Keeping Up With Grandma by John Winch
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS:
Guidance:
Help children deal with the death of a grandparent
through the use of children’s literature.
Language Arts:
Read and discuss Little Bear’s Grandad
by Nigel Gray and The Granddad Tree by Trish Cooke.
Honor grandparents during annual Grandparent’s
Day at school.
WEB SITES:
Debbie Wiles Web Site
Grandparents:
Best Friends
BOOK TALK:
Meet Ruby Lavender. She is nine years old
and has red hair and freckles. She lives in the small town of Halleluia,
Mississippi – “Population: 400 Good Friendly Folks And A Few Old Soreheads.”
Ruby’s best friend is her grandmother, Miss Eula. Ruby and her grandmother
write each other every day and leave their letters in the trunk of an old
tree. One summer, Ruby’s grandmother leaves to go visit her son in
Hawaii whose wife has just had a baby. Ruby is not about to willingly
share her grandmother with any baby living in Hawaii. Ruby and her
grandmother continue to write each other and Ruby passes her time reading
to her chickens and sweeping the floor of her aunt’s store. This
refreshing novel points out how daily events often take on huge proportions
in the minds of children and that with love, support, and kindness, they
can find their way.
Prepared by: Susan Adams
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Martin’s Big Words:The
Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Doreen Rappaport
Sun/Hyperion Books, 2001
34 pages
SUMMARY:
This inspiring picture book biography celebrates
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a great leader, preacher and politician.
IF YOU LIKED THIS BOOK, TRY…
Carver: A Life in Poems by Marilyn Nelson
Martin Luther King, Jr.: Young Man with a
Dream by Dharathula Millender
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS:
Language Arts:
Have students rewrite the sentences in their
own words.
Social Studies:
Use this book during Black History Month as a
read aloud.
The illustrations of the marches only show men.
Where are the women and children? Were they participants?
Art:
Have students make their own books and pictures
of Martin’s big words. What would the students use instead of what
the illustrator did?
WEB SITES:
Doreen
Rappaport Web Site
The King
Center Web Site
The
Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project at Stanford University
BOOK TALK:
Martin’s Big Words is about Martin Luther
King, Jr. and some of the important events in his life. One life
time impression he had when growing up was how segregated the South was
in the 1950’s. Seeing signs that had “white only” were deflected
by his parents words which were, “Anyone can do anything.” As he
grew up, he became fascinated by Ghandi and how he helped India to become
free without using violence. That became his passion, to use words
and non-violence to make a change. This book is very descriptive and takes
many of King’s words to inspire the reader to think about what they say
and do and to treat all mankind with love in their heart. On the cover,
the artist shows King with his eyes glancing to the side. In the
final portrait, he is looking directly at the reader, his eyes offering
an unmistakable challenge.
Prepared by: Becky Marshall
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My Dog, My Hero
Betsy Byars
H. Holt, 2000
47 pages
SUMMARY:
A panel of three judges must decide which of
the eight finalists (dogs) should win the “My Hero” medal.
IF YOU LIKED THIS BOOK, TRY…
Shelter Dogs: Amazing Stories of Adopted Strays
by Peg Kehret
Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
White Fang by Jack London
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS:
Language Arts:
After reading the book have each student write
a one page essay on which dog they think should have won the award and
why.
Have students write a report on a person who
is a hero to them. This could be a family member, a teacher or a
well-known person.
Have students use this book as an example of
point of view, characterization, and plot construction.
WEB SITES:
Betsy
Byars Web Site
Working
Dog Heroes and Champions
Famous
Dog Quotes and Quotations
BOOK TALK:
Has your dog ever done something brave?
If he has I bet you thought he deserved to get a medal! Newbery Medal
winner Betsy Byars and her daughters collaborate for the first time in
this collection of stories about heroic dogs. Each of the tales is
told from the point of view of a contestant entering a dog in the "My Hero"
contest. Drama, humor, and love fuel these short, well-written stories.
Prepared by: Jessie Catalano
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The Mysterious
Matter of I.M.Fine
Diane Stanley
HarperCollins, 2001
201 pages
SUMMARY:
When Franny and Beamer notice the kids in their
school acting weird after reading each new book in the popular Chillers
horror series, they start investigating the books and the author, I.M.
Fine.
IF YOU LIKED THIS BOOK, TRY…
Edwina Victorious by Susan Bonners
Dear Napoleon, I Know You’re Dead, But….
by Elvira Woodruff
Dear Whiskers by Ann Whitehead
The Year of Miss Agnes by Kirkpatrick
Hill
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS:
Language Arts:
Discuss the possible meaning of the author’s
name, I.M. Fine. Is the name an accurate description of the author’s
personality?
Imagine you were Franny and Beamer. What
would you do when you noticed the kids acting strangely?
Would you have made I.M.Fine rewrite the new
book? If yes, what changes would you have made?
Math:
I.M.Fine’s home is described in detail.
Choose a partner and create a 3-D model of it.
Based on the description of Wimberly, draw a
map of the town and highlight the Kute Kandy Company, the library, the
diner and I.M. Fine’s house.
Social Studies:
Research Senator Joseph McCarthy and McCarthyism
in the 1950’s and discuss the affect it had on the people in the U.S. then
and now.
WEB SITES:
The Official
Diane Stanley Web site
Writing Books
for Children
BOOK TALK:
“NOOOO! Make it go away! Make it
go away! Oh no! My head’s killing me! Make it stop!”
What do you do when kids all across the country
suddenly have a Jelly Worm obsession, experience exploding headaches, slither
and hiss like snakes and see ghosts? You find out what’s causing
these things to happen, right? Join Franny and Beamer on their journey
to discover the truth and the power of the written word.
Prepared by: Becky James
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Oddhopper Opera:A
Bug’s Garden of Verses
Kurt Cyrus
Harcourt, 2001
32 pages
SUMMARY:
This book is a fantastic poetry collection that
follows many different garden insects and animals from the end of winter
through spring and summer to fall.
IF YOU LIKED THIS BOOK, TRY…
Barking Spiders and Other Such Stuff: Poetry
for Children by C.J. Heck
Lizards, Frogs, and Polliwogs by Douglas
Florian
It’s Raining Pigs & Noodles by Jack
Prelutsky
Rumpus of Rhymes: A Book of Noisy Poems
by Bobbi Katz
The Pig in the Spigot: Poems by Richard
Wilbur
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS:
Language Arts:
Have students study techniques used in writing
such as alliteration, onomatopoeia and rhyming.
Science:
Research the various types of bugs and insects
mentioned in the story.
WEB SITES:
Insect
Zoo
This
is a great site with insect facts and pictures on over 100 different spiders
and insects.
BOOK TALK:
Kurt Cyrus begins Oddhopper Opera with
a garden about to awaken after winter.
“Once upon a Garden rotten,
twice forlorn and half forgotten…
Drip-drip-cold and wet.
Winter isn’t over yet.
Drip-drip-soaking, sopping,
Always dripping, never stopping.
Drip-drip-sound of thunder
wakes a weevil way down under.
Drip-drip-burrow deep.
Wait for spring. Go back to sleep.”
Then the insects start to awaken in the garden
as spring and summer unfold.
Meet the aphids, beetles, and bees,
as well as the snake, the centipedes, and the
ants-if you please.
We meet the pollywogs
Who turn into frogs,
And then spiders and the snails
Who leave long icky trails.
What do the insects do all spring and summer
long?
Then comes the fall, no matter what may go wrong.
Read Oddhopper Opera by Mr. Kurt Cyrus
And then come tell us all about
it-
Just sit right here beside us.
Prepared by: Mary Hall
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The Other Side
Jacqueline Woodson
G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2001
32 pages
SUMMARY:
Two girls, one white and one African-American,
gradually get to know each other as they sit on the fence that divides
their town.
IF YOU LIKED THIS BOOK, TRY…
Rosa Parks: My Story by Rosa Parks
The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles
Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS:
Language Arts:
Have students pretend they are living in the
early 1960’s. Have them write letters to Martin Luther King, Jr.
letting him know how they, as individuals, can make a difference in the
fight against racism.
Social Studies:
Study the history of the Civil Rights movement.
Plan a trip to Columbia to visit the newly restored
home of civil rights activist, Modjeska Simpkins.
Guidance:
Discuss caring and respect and how these important
attributes contribute to friendship.
WEB SITES:
Jacqueline
Woodson Web Site
Modjeska
Monteith Simkins Web site
BOOK TALK:
Written from the point of view of a black child,
this book uses a powerful symbol – a fence – to emphasize the racial division
in a southern town. Two young girls, Clover who is black and Annie
who is white, have both been instructed by their parents not to go on the
other side of the fence because it is not safe. Eventually the story
finds both girls and all of their friends sitting on the fence together.
“Someday somebody’s going to come along and knock this old fence down,”
Annie says. What a great metaphor the author has created for knocking
down old beliefs and barriers that keep people apart. This book is
a great way to show that change can happen little by little – one child
at a time.
Prepared by: Aileen Holland
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Owen Foote, Super
Spy
Stephanie Greene
Clarion, 2001
90 pages
SUMMARY:
Owen and his friends decide that spying on the
school principal at his own house will be a fun challenge.
IF YOU LIKED THIS BOOK, TRY…
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
Junie B. Jones and Some Sneaky Peeky Spying
by
Barbara Parks
Spying on Miss Muller by Eve Bunting
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS:
Guidance:
Character Education traits of honesty, being
responsible for your actions and trustworthiness could be discussed and
written about.
Have students discuss how they feel when they
see their teacher away from school.
Language Arts:
Read June B. Jones and Some Sneaky Peeky Spying
and
compare this book to Owen Foote, Super Spy.
Make of list of books for students to read that
deal with spying and teachers.
BOOK TALK:
Owen and his friends were practicing to be super
spies. They came up with an exciting plan to spy on their principal
at his house. This seemed like a really cool thing to do, until they
started approaching the house. None of them wanted to be “chicken”
so they all went ahead with the plan. Then there was a terrible incident
where they were found out by the principal, and he wanted them to come
back to his house in one week for punishment. What a week that was!
What happened to the spies? Read Owen Foote, Super Spy to
find out!
Prepared by: Leigh Ann and Susanne
Bryant
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The Secret School
Avi
Harcourt, Inc. 2001
153 pages
SUMMARY:
In 1925, fourteen-year-old Ida Bidson secretly
takes over as the teacher when the one-room schoolhouse in her remote Colorado
area closes.
IF YOU LIKED THIS BOOK, TRY…
One-Room School by Laurence Pringle
Front Porch Stories at the One-room School
by Eleanora Tate
My Great-Aunt Arizona by Gloria Houston
Three Names by Patricia MacLachlan
Stargone John by Ellen Kindt McKenzie
Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS:
Social Studies:
Have students research events, styles, trends,
and social standards of the Roaring Twenties.
Have students compare one-room schoolhouses with
their school.
Language Arts:
Have students write letters to the characters
describing their schools, teachers, lessons, and classrooms.
WEB SITES:
Avi Web
site
One
Room Schools: Architecture
One
Room Schoolhouse Project
BOOK TALK:
Have you heard the news? I suppose you
passed Mr. Jordan on your way in. He just left. He’s the head
of the school board, and he just announced that our little school will
close at the end of the day. Well, I don’t like that idea at all.
Yes Ma’am, I understand the teacher’s mother is sick. But there are
only 8 of us here, and most of us, ‘cept for Herbert, do like school.
I know I do. You see, I want to go on to high school next year, so
I have to graduate from eighth grade and take a big important test.
But I’m not concerned just about myself. My classmate Ida is real
smart, much smarter than me - than I. See, she’d know which pronoun
to use. And someday she wants to be a teacher too. I surely
would hate for her to miss out on this whole year. After all, we
have only around six more weeks to go. Surely they could get someone
to come for only six weeks, but you know how those school board people
are about spending money they don’t have to spend. Hey, wait a minute.
I just got a bright idea. It wouldn’t cost anyone a bit of money.
It just might work, too. I think I’ll go ask Ida what she thinks.
Prepared by: Daniel Beach
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When the Circus
Came to Town
Laurence Yep
HarperCollins, 2002
113 pages
SUMMARY:
An Asian cook and a Chinese New Year celebration
help a ten-year-old girl at a Montana state coach station to regain her
confidence after smallpox scars her face.
IF YOU LIKED THIS BOOK, TRY…
Sister Anne’s Hands by Marybeth Lorbiecki
Koi and the Kola Nuts by Verna Aardema
My Brother Made Me Do It by Peg Kehret
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS:
Language Arts: Read the true story that
this is based on. Compare and contrast the two stories.
Social Studies:
Research the Chinese New Year. Focus on
how it is celebrated and when it is celebrated. Plan a Chinese New
Year celebration.
Science:
Find out the plants that can be used to make
dyes and what colors they make. Make some dye.
Research the effects of smallpox. Relate
this to the world situation today.
Art:
Design a dragon for the Chinese New Year.
Guidance:
Discuss the kindnesses performed in this book
and how they were repaid. Possibly use the saying from Koi
and the Kola Nuts: “Do good and good will come back to you – in full
measure and overflowing.”
WEB SITES:
Laurence
Yep Teacher Resource Page
Making
Dyes Naturally Web site
Small
Pox Web site from Centers of Disease Control and Prevention
BOOK TALK:
Ursula and her family run the stagecoach station
in Whistle, Montana. Ursula loves living there and has turned her
group of friends into a “band of blood thirsty pirates.” Then Ursula
gets smallpox. Even when she is well, she refuses to leave her house
because of her smallpox scars. Ursula’s parents try many ways to
entice her to leave the house but only through the efforts of their new
Chinese cook, Ah Sam, does Ursula finally decide to rejoin her community
and friends. To find out how Ursula makes that decision and how she
thanks Ah Sam for helping her, read When the Circus Came to Town.
Prepared by: Sue Bennett
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Many thanks to the following members of the 2002-2003
Children’s Book Award Committee for their dedication to children of South
Carolina, many hours spent reading, and submitting activities for this
booklet.
Joyce Moore, Chairman
Jana Wood, V. Chair
Susan Adams
Daniel Beach
Sue Bennett
Nancy Bull
Leigh Ann Bryant
Susanne Bryant
Jessica Catalano
Jane Chinault
Mary Kay Hall
Skye Hall
Alleene Holland
Susannah Hogan
Becky James
Janet Kittrell
Edith Ley
Dr. Michelle Martin
Becky Marshall
Marcia Russo
Mary Tyler
Lee Anne Vitale
Jayne Willison
Joyce Wolfe
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