http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ball-for-daisy-chris-raschka/1100058597?ean=9780375858611

 

A Ball For Daisy by Chris Raschka

Plot

A Ball for Daisy is a picture book about a dog named Daisy and her ball. Daisy is a self-assured dog whose companion is a red ball. As the story develops, children learn how the dog faces a challenging situation when Daisy’s ball is deflated, leaving her devastated. From being a happy dog and then going through a hard situation, Daisy bounces back to happiness when she receives a new blue ball.  

Analysis

This wonderful wordless book takes place in Daisy’s home and in the park and sends a positive message to children. No words are needed to understand this beautiful story of how children can go through hard changes and understanding that at the end everything will work itself out. This simple colorful picture book shows clarity to children in order to comprehend the story as well as to appreciate the light colors it uses.  The illustrations are water color based paintings that change depending on what is happening in the story.  There is a change of colors when Daisy is playing happily with her red ball; most of the illustrations are blue, green and yellow. The colors change to purple brown and beige when her ball deflates leaving her frustrated and sad. The warm drawings give children a sense of compassion allowing them to identify with the story. By looking at every picture children understand what is happening in the story step by step.           

The strengths of this book are how well the illustrator personified Daisy’s feeling in each of her facets; happy, depress, stress, frustrated, etc. One of the weaknesses I found in the book is the turning point when Daisy’s ball is deflated. The illustrator shows four different pictures when the ball is about to deflate, which is one of the most important parts of the story. I believe the scene could have been better depicted by using fewer or one big illustration. It’s important for children not to miss this part of the story and having numerous pictures can get confusing.

Reviews

“Raschka's genius lies in capturing the essence of situations that are deeply felt by children.” --School Library Journal, August 2011

“The result feels like something made of pure emotion, a pretty close approximation of what it’s probably like to be a dog.” —Daniel Kraus, Booklist, 6/15/2011

Connections

Related books-   

“Daisy Gets Lost” by Chris Raschka

Activities-

Having children express themselves through art is a healthy way of voicing their emotions.  Drawing a picture of how one feels is a way of understanding themselves. Educators can then discuss the drawings with children.

Looking at related books about the same theme and discussing them allows children to have a better understanding of life. 

Bibliography
Raschka, Chris. 2011. A Ball for Daisy. New York, NY: Scwartz & Wade. ISBN 9780375958618.

Lukehart, Wendy. 2011. "A Ball for Daisy." School Library Journal 57, no. 8: 82. MasterFILE Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed September 8, 2013).

Kraus, Daniel. 2011. "A Ball for Daisy." Booklist 107, no. 19/20: 90. MasterFILE Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed September 8, 2013).






http://www.amazon.com/Library-Juana-The-World-Ines/dp/0375806431/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1378788187&sr=8-3-fkmr0&keywords=A+Library+for+Juana+by+Pat+Mora+Illustrated+by+Beatriz+Vidal


A Library for Juana by Pat Mora Illustrated by Beatriz Vidal

Plot

One day, a three year old girl named Juana, sneaked out of her house and followed her sister to school.  She was fascinated in books and wanted to learn how to read. Her sister’s teacher began teaching Juana how to read at the age of three. Seven years later, Juana left to Mexico City to live with her aunt and uncle. Her dream was to go to the University and learn, however back in those days women were not allowed to pursuit a degree.  In Mexico City, Juana was able to initiate her learning’s with a help of a tutor.  At fifteen Juana was asked by the village viceroy to live in the palace as a Lady-in-waiting where she had access to a huge library. One day the viceroy from the palace wanted Juana to meet forty scholars who were skeptical of Juana’s Knowledge. Juana met with the scholars and surprised impressed them with her knowledge. As an adult Juana became a nun and read thousands of books in her famous library. She also wrote many poems and enjoyed painting. Juana passed away on April 17, 1695. Today, Juana is considered one of the best Mexican poets.

Analysis

A library for Juana is the title of an extraordinary picture book biography. The main character is Juana Ines de la Cruz who at the age of three began to read and by the age of fifteen was self-educated. Author Pat Mora does a great job telling us about the life of Juana from beginning to end.  The story is about a three year old girl who always asked herself “why” and who wanted to learn how to read. From the time when Juana was little she was determined to learn and with persistency accomplished her dream of reading thousands of books at a young age. 

The qualities of the pictures are extremely artistic. The illustrator uses vivid colors depicting history and culture. Children who read this book can notice a warm family environment by looking back at the illustrations that took place in the seventeenth century.  In one of the pictures, Juana is surrounded by her family eating at a kitchen table with a warm supper. These kinds of pictures take readers back to those vivid family moments. The colonial images of Mexico are full of grass and trees, giving the reader a deep country feeling. The images and text that impressed me the most is when Juana is at the palace sitting among important scholars who are well dressed.

The impact of the story is towards the end in an illustration showing Juana as an adult nun making all her dreams come true. One of the strengths of this book is the illustration along with the story that allows children to realize that they can accomplish anything they want.  A weakness in the story is the omission of why Juana decided to become a nun. What persuaded her to follow a religious life? It would have been nice to know what inspired Juana to pursue this lifestyle. 

Juana Inez was a determined little girl who never gave up no matter how far away her goals looked. She proved to scholars that woman could also learn. Juan was a very intelligent woman and readers can see it through the story and images.

I enjoyed this book because of the beautiful pictures and the wonderful story that accompanies it. I also adored the Spanish rhymes; it gives the book a special bilingual touch. At the end of the story the book offers an author’s note and a small bilingual glossary. An additional plus to this book is its phrase that Juana says “Why decorate the outside of my head if the inside is empty?” I read this phrase to my eight year old daughter who asked me to explain to her the meaning. When I did she saw the story in a different perspective.

 

I believe this book has many pictures children will enjoy. The images get children’s attention immediately and the story itself grabs your attention and is very hard to put down. The story is well develop and gives a strong message of perseveration.

Reviews

“Children will enjoy Mora’s inspiring, anecdote-filled account of a Latin American woman who loved learning during a time when few women were educated, and Vidal’s delicate, watercolor-and gouache illustrations, reminiscent of elegant folk art, are beautiful.”-- Booklist, 11/15/2002

“This lovingly produced picture-book biography of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz features a fresh subject and introduces young American audiences to an important figure in Mexico's literary history.”-- Horn Book Magazine, Nov/Dec 2002

Connections

Activities-

Children can learn about the history from the seventeenth century. Woman issues of that era will be related to the story “A Library for Juana.”

Choose words from the story book and get a bilingual dictionary for translation.

Related books-

The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles, George Ford (Illustrator)

Bibliography

Mora, Pat. 2002. A Library for Juana. New York, NY: Random House.  ISBN 0375806431

Engberg, Gillian. 2002. "A Library for Juana (Book)." Booklist 99, no. 6: 605. MasterFILE Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed September 9, 2013).

Burns, Mary M. 2002. "A Library for Juana." Horn Book Magazine 78, no. 6: 778. MasterFILE Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed September 9, 2013).



http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/make-way-for-ducklings-robert-mccloskey/1100475585?ean=9780670451494

Make way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey

Plot

This lovingly children’s book “Make way for Ducklings” is an adorable story for children. Mr. and Mrs. Mallard, two ducklings trying to build a nest and raise a family, are having a hard time finding the right place to live. Finally they land in an area called the public garden but soon find that it is not a safe place to raise ducklings. Soon after, they find a nice quiet place by the Charles River not too far from the public garden where they decide to live. One day Mr. Mallard sets off and tells his family to meet him in a week at the public garden. Mrs. Mallard has one week to prepare her little ones for the adventurous walk to the garden to meet dad. The story gets a little intense while making their way to the garden because of the busy street they have to cross. Finally, after struggling and having many obstacles they all make it safe to the public garden where Mr. Mallard is waiting for them. 

Analysis

The story takes place in the city of Boston next to a park called the Public Garden. The picture drawings, including the text, are all one color. However, the different shading techniques allow the reader to differentiate the various pictures. The pictures have a lot of detail giving an insightful and normal look to the story. The character’s expressions work very well with the setting, giving realism to the story. Looking at the images of the characters in the story the reader can tell when they are in danger or when they are safe.

Robert McCloskey does a wonderful job explaining to children the importance of animals and humans sharing the space we all live in. He also touches on family values and how important mothers value safety and security for their children. Another added bonus to the story is the dialogue between the characters. This helps the reader follow the story along with the great pictures it has. Make way for Ducklings reaches its peak when the ducklings find themselves struggling and trying to get the garden.

The strengths of the story are the different moods the characters portray. There is happiness when the little ducklings are born and when they are rejoiced with their father. There is also a sense of concern when they are trying to reach the garden and humor because of Mr. Mallard’s admiration of free peanuts. The weakness of the story are very minimal, but why Mr. Mallard decides to take a weeklong trip right after the little ducklings are born still concerns me.

Reviews

McCloskey brought ducks home to live with him in his New York studio so he

could observe and make sketches of the way they moved and interacted.-- Book Links, 2006

 Connections

Related Books-

“Centerburg Tales” by Robert McCloskey

Activities-

Children can describe or draw places where extra precaution must take place around their home, school and parks. This activity can be accomplished in a  group setting or as individuals.

Bibliography

McCloskey, Robert. 1941. Make way for Ducklings. New York, NY: The Viking Press.    ISBN 0140564349

Erbach, Mary M. 2006. "Classic Caldecotts by Decade." Book Links 15, no. 6: 16. MasterFILE
Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed September 9, 2013).