Graphic Novel

Title: The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Author:  Brian Selznick
Publisher: Scholastic
Date of Publication: 2007
ISBN: 13:978-0-439-81378-6











The book The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a graphic novel that is a mixture of both text and images.   Most of the pages in this book are wordless.  The pages have a  black back ground , and there is a black and white pencil drawing on each page.  The effect is very dramatic. The first few pages show the reader that the story is set in Paris.  The drawings are beautifully detailed, looking through this book s like watching a black and white movie.  A little boys is shown running through the train station.  The reader learns that he lives this train station. The time period looks to be around the turn of the 20th century.  The first chapter is entitled “Thief”, and  the reader realizes the main character stole toy pieces to fix his broken clock.  The first text with words appears on page 46. The first part of the story is told completely with pictures. Selznick describes the book as a novel in words and pictures,  which is exactly what it is. There are more pages with pictures rather than words.  The story is full of suspense, mystery, and has numerous twists.  Towards the end of the book there are photo stills of black and white movies.  This book is about childhood, magic, movies, photography, and wonder. It is also a very touching story about a boy without parents.  Five out of five stars.  This is a great book for middle school students and up.  This is a good book to get a child who is interested in stories, but not in reading really involved in a book.  Emerging readers would enjoy this because there are more pictures than texts.  It is a very clever way to tell a story without words.  The copy I have says it was a National Book Award Finalist, and a Caldecott Medal Winner. 

Historical Fiction

Historical Fiction:

Title: Road to Revolution

Authors: Stan Mack and Susan Champlin

Publication Date: 2009

Publisher: Bloomsbury

ISBN: 1-59990-9-013-0







This book is written as a graphic novel or cartoon.  It is set during the Revolutionary War, and the prologue gives us some background as to the events that happened before the story.  There is a summary of the history beginning in 1764, when the  British parliament enforced taxes on the colonists.  It mentions some of the historical figures of the day such as Samuel Adams and John Hancock, and gives a summary of 1774 and the events of the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia.  This is all background information to the story, which  is set in Boston in 1775. The book begins with a description of the main characters, some real - like Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, and Dr. Joseph Warren; as well as British military officers, average Bostonians, and the minutemen militia soldiers.  There are also fictional characters -  Nick “an orphan who lives on his wits in Boston” , and Penny the daughter of a local tavern owner. 

The book is the  story of Nick and Penny, and how they get caught up in all the action in the start fo the American Revolution.  The book is basically a cartoon graphic novel.  Nick and Penny help the rebels.

The authors do a good job in an epilogue of the book of explaining what was fact in the book and what was fiction.  This is helpful for students and makes it clear what actually happened and what is made up.  Penny and Nick are fictional, butt there were children who  acted as spies during this time.  Penny is friends with Sarah Revere, who was the actual daughter of Paul Revere.  In the story, Penny yells “fire”, which causes a stampede out of Old South Meeting House.  The authors explains that what actually happened was that  the British officers yelled “fie”, and someone in the crowd thought it was fire, and started a panic which led to everyone believing an actual fire was occurring and there was a stampede.  In the story Nick does some historically significant things, like lightening the lanterns in Old North Church, and rowing Paul Revere across the river.  The author in the epilogue made it clear someone did do those things,  but not a boy named Nick.

The author took these facts about the historical events, and placed two teenagers in the midst of it.  It makes for a fun read, and a way to make history more interesting and less dry.  At the end of the book, the authors wrote “If you mention fictional  characters in historical settings, then you better know your history.”  This is why the book works, the authors did know their history and used that as their base.

This book is funny,  action packed,  and reads like a comic book.  I think most children will understand that Penny and Nick were  not real.  I think this comic book style will be engaging to students who might not be drawn to historical fiction.  It is a fun story.  I would recommend this for a middle school classroom.  It would definitely enhance a unit on the American Revolution.

I give it a five out of five stars. 

Poem

Poem

Title: A Child’s Calendar

Author: John Updike

Illustrated: Trina Schart Hyman

Publisher: Holiday House

Date of Publication: The poems were originally written in 1965.  This edition includes illustrations that were done in 1999.

ISBN: 0-8234-1766-2












This book received a Caldecott Honor. It is a book of poems that center around the calendar, in each month of the year there is a separate poem.  There are illustrations that show the change of seasons with each month. 
For January, there is a poem that starts out:  “The days are short, the sun a spark, hung thin between the dark and dark.”  It is a perfect description of January in the northeast.  The picture that accompanies it is a little town covered in snow with children on the top of the hill getting ready to ride down on their sleds.  There is another larger illustration of a cozy house, with a dog and cat curled up.  A little boy is outside the door, looking through the window, all  bundled up for winter.  It gives a nice seasonal feeling of winter.

February there are pictures of children making Valentines, and birds feeding at the feeder. 
For March the pictures show the countryside thawing out, and some crocuses peaking out of the ground.  This is part of the March poem: “Pale crocuses poke through the ground, like noses come to sniff around.”

April shows spring, and this is part of the text for April: “All things renew, all things begin.  At church they bring the lilies in.”

In June; “The sun is rich, and gladly pays in golden hours, silver days.”  There is a picture of two boys in a lake trying to catch a frog. The illustration is made up of several shades of green and it just feels like summer.

In August: “Some people leave the local scene, and go to seaside bungalows, and take off nearly all their clothes.”  There is a scene of a family at the beach.

October shows trick or treat night with kids dressed up in costume.

For October: “Great V’s of geese honk overhead, and maples turn a fiery read.”

November shows leafless trees and families enjoying Thanksgiving. 

Last is December; “Old carols peal, the dusk is dense.  There is a mood of sweet suspense.  The shepherds wait, the kings, the tree - all wait for something yet to be.  Some miracle, and then it’s here, wrapped up in hope - another year!”  That is how the poem ends, with children gazing at a Christmas tree. 

I like this book because the illustrations include people of different races.  The pictures reflect present day looking America and have a modern, yet cozy, look.
 I think these poems are great for children because they are beautifully written and complex, but children can understand them . I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

I think this is a great book for elementary school teachers to use when teaching about the months. I  also think a teacher could take this book out the first day of each month and read that month’s poem. What a fun way to celebrate the seasons

Children's Poem

Poem

Title: Paul Revere’s Ride

Author: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Illustrator: Nancy Winslow Parker

Publisher: Mulberry

Publication Date: 1985

ISBN: 0-688-123-87-2








In this edition of Paul Revere’s Ride, the illustrator, Nancy Winslow Parker, also wrote a brief introductory essay that sets the scene for Paul Revere’s famous ride.  She gives a brief history lesson about what was happening in Boston in 1775.  She describes the siege of Boston, and that the British troops marched  to Concord because they believed the rebels had stored weapons there.  Paul Revere and several of his friends rode  to Lexington to  warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams that they were about to be arrested.  Nancy Winslow Parker explains the poem sounds like Paul Revere rode all the way out to Concord, but he actually only went as far as Lexington. That is a good example of poetic license. Ms. Parker also drew a  map showing the route of the ride from Boston to Lexington, then from Lexington to Concord. 

The poem starts out like so: “ Listen my children, and you shall hear, of the midnight ride of Paul Revere, On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five; Hardly a man is now alive who remembers that famous day and year. ”  There is an illustration of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow reciting his poem on this page.  The book is laid out in an easy to follow pattern.  Each page of the book contains  a paragraph of the poem and an illustration that accompanies the words. The illustrations are simple, and are drawn in a cartoon-like style.  In some ways this book looks like a graphic novel with small cartoon  illustrations and a few lines of text on each page.  The illustrations are very effective in enhancing the poem.

 I really like this poem, and there is some excitement in it:

“Up the trembling ladder, steep and tall, to the highest window in the wall, where he paused to listen and look down  A moment on the roofs of the town, and the moonlight flowing overall.

It has some great lines like: “The fate of a nation was riding that night”
And
“ A cry of defiance and not of fear, a voice in the darkness, a knock at the door, and a word that shall echo forever more.”  

This book with the colorful illustrations from Nancy Winslow Parker really brings the poem to life.  There are some words that might be hard for students to understand, but the pictures make it easier to get the meaning. 
This would be a good read aloud for elementary and middle school students learning about the Revolutionary War. It would also be fun to read on April 18th in any social studies class, just to remind of what happened on that date.
 I give this book five out of five stars, it is a good way to expose children to a classic poem that they probably would not enjoy if they read on  their own.  But in the context of a history lesson and as a read aloud by the teacher, it would be a lot of fun.

Informational Text

Informational Text
Title: Shh, We’re Writing the Constitution
Author: Jean Fritz
Illustrator: Tomie de Paola
Publication Date: 1987
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
ISBN: 0-399-214030-8

This is the historically accurate story of how the founding fathers wrote the Constitution.  However, it contains a lot of funny stories that make it a fun read.  Almost like a behind the scenes look of the founding fathers and how they wrote the Constitution.  It is more like a story than a dry history text.  For example, in describing how the delegates from the different states arrived at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Jean Fritz wrote that the most colorful arrival was Benjamin Franklin.  He was 81 years old, and was in too much pain to be bounced around in a carriage.  He came to he meetings in a Chinese sedan chair carried by four prisoners from the Philadelphia jail.  There is a picture of Benjamin Franklin in the box with poles carried by four men, dressed in smocks with hats.  It includes humorous stories about delegates visiting mummies on display in Philadelphia, and that Philadelphia was bombarded by flies that summer.  A lot of mention of how hot it was that summer in Philadelphia.  Eventually the delegates have a compromise they could all accept.  Once the Constitution was written it was sent out to all the states and argued about.  The delegates agreed while the Constitution was not perfect, it was the best thing they could all come up with.  Some people around the country were concerned there were not enough rights in the constitution, so the Bill of Rights was added.  Ms. Fritz at the end of the book includes notes that explain in more detail the historical facts, and she includes a copy of the actual Constitution  of the United States.  She also includes a list of delegates who signed it.  \

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars, it is a fun history lesson.  I was impressed with her historical accuracy, because I took a course on the American Revolution this fall and I know she included a lot of important information. She adds these tidbits of information and details which make it very engaging. The pictures by Tomie de Paola really liven up the history.  The reader feels what it was like to be there for the birth of the Constitution.  I would recommend this for late elementary or early middle school students.

Informational Text

Title: The New Way Things Work
Author/illustrator: David Macaulay with Neil Ardley
Date of Publication: 1988
ISBN: 0-395-938-47-3
Publisher: Dorling Kindersley

David Macaulay is an internationally known author and illustrator of books about architecture.  He has written books on cathedrals, pyramids, castles.  The New Way Things Work was written with Neil Ardley, a science and technology writer.  This book explains how things work in technical language that is written in a way that an older child or young adult can understand.  This book is something people of all ages can enjoy because it explains how things in everyday life work, and many of us never learn this stuff.  The chapters include the incline plane, levers, the wheel and axle, pulleys, frictions,  and mechanics of movement.  Many of the explanations are given through very precise illustrations.  They have step by step instructions on how things work.  The. Text is accompanied by very detailed but also charming drawings.  One thing that makes it fun for children is a cute woolly mammoth that is drawn throughout the book.  You see woolly mammoths in humorous situations.  The wooly mammoth stories make its entertaining. For example, incline plane is explained by showing how a wooly mammoth was tamed.  We learn how to weigh a woolly mammoth.   These drawings are both technically detailed and very whimsical.  Other chapters in the book explain working with electricity and wave lengths, the digital domain, and the invention of machines.  There is a section on cars, batteries, solar panels, computers; he covers just about everything.   This is a great book for a student who is interested in reading about informative texts.  It is  over 300 pages, so most people will not read it cover to cover. But for a student interested in technical stuff and not that interested in fiction, this is a great book. It could also be used as a reference book. This book should definitely be in middle school and high school classrooms.   I give it 5 out of 5 stars for the great illustrations and step by step explanations.  If I read this book I would be a much smarter person.  It is the ultimate informational text.

Fantasy Book

Title: Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
Author: William Steig
Publisher: Aladdin Paperbacks
Date: 1969
ISBN: 0-671-66-269-4

Sylvester is a donkey and lives with his mother and father in a lovely home.  Sylvester’s hobby is collecting rocks of all shapes and unusual colors.  On a rainy day he was out in the woods and found an extraordinary pebble.  It was red, shiny, and perfectly round like a marble.  It happened to be raining, and he wished it wasn’t, and just like that, the rain  stopped.  He realized it was a magic pebble.  He was so happy because he realized ta with this pebble, his mom and dad could have anything they wanted.  On his way home he met a lion, and became frightened. With his pebble he could have wished for anything, he could have wished that the non became a butterfly.  But Sylvester panicked, and thought “I wish I were a rock” too escape the lion.  Sylvester is transformed into aa rock.  The picture shows a pink rock where Sylvester used to be, and on the ground next to the rock is the magic pebble.  This part of the book is so upsetting. Sylvester is a rock who could not speak or cry out for help.  It seems hopeless.  Meanwhile back at home,  his parents were frantic with worry.  They asked all the neighbors if they had seen Sylvester.  They went to the police and Sylvester’s friends, but to no avail.  All the dogs searched, and no sign of Sylvester.  After a month they realized something horrible must have happened to Sylvester.  Summer turned into fall, fall to winter, winter to spring.  Sylvester is a rock through all the seasons.  One beautiful spring day, Sylvester’s  parents went out for a walk in the woods.  His mom sat down on the  rock that was really Sylvester.  She noticed the pebble next to the rock.  She knew Sylvester would have loved this pebble.  As she held the pebble,  she wished that  Sylvester was there, and suddenly he turned from the rock back into Sylvester.  They never used the magic pebble for another wish because they had Sylvester back, and that was all they wanted. 
This book won the Caldecott medal, and is truly a beautiful story.  Children would feel the fear Sylvester felt that he would never see his parents again.  Children would be so excited in he part of the story where his parents were right next to him.  The ending is a happy every after story.  Tis is a tender story full of magic.  The art work is beautiful.  The book reminds us what is truly important in life.  5 out of 5 stars.