Arrow to the Sun by Gerald McDermott

Arrow to the Sun: A Pueblo Indian Tale. Written and illustrated by Gerald McDermott. 1974. ISBN: 0-670-13369-8. Winner of the Caldecott Medal. Native American culture. Ages 4+.

In Arrow to the sun, the main character, boy, is sent to the Pueblo people by the God. Boy sets out to find his father, which is the God, who lives in the sun. The wise arrow maker realizes that Boy is special and turns him into an arrow and shoots him to the sun to see God, his father. When Boy gets there, his father makes him do a series of test to see if he really is his son. He emerges victoriously, and his father sends Boy back to the Pueblo people to spread the word of God.

This tale is an old Pueblo Indian tale about how the spirit of the Lord of the Sun was sent to their people. In this book, the pictures are the story. McDermott uses the rich colors of the dusty earth and shapely geometrics. The art really personifies the Pueblo Indian art, and it is so interesting to look at.

An idea for using this book in the classroom would be to have the children create their own Native American art. It would be interesting to see how they would personify the members of their family using this geometric style.

Kira Kira by Cynthia Kadohata

Kira Kira. Written by Cynthia Kadohata. 2004. ISBN: 0-689-85639-3. Winner of the Newbery Medal. Teen Fiction. Japanese American culture.

Kira Kira is the childhood tale of younger sister Katie, and her close bond with her older sister Lynn. As the girls family moves to south eastern U.S. in the 1950's, they are in the extreme minority. They live and interact only with Japanese Americans like themselves, and are ignored by all children and adults. They are each others best friends.

Their parents struggle to give them a good life, and work extreme hours at the chicken factories just to make ends meat. They are trying to save up for a house that Lynn and her mother so desperately want.

Lynn becomes very ill with anemia and lymphoma, and Katie is there to watch her suffer. As the childhood accounts go on, the girls bond becomes strained and then close again.

This book is engrossing to read and saddening when Lynn dies, but it is an interesting tale of an abnormally close childhood bond, and parents that will do next to anything for their children. It is heart warming to say the least.

This book is interesting, and I don't know how I would use this in the classroom. I feel like it does need to be read, but just like the main character Katie, I am struggling to find the common theme here. Probably that it is a theme of unbelievable love that a family has for one another.

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

Number the Stars. Written by Lois Lowry. 1989. ISBN: 0-440-40327-8. Winner of the Newbery Medal. Ages 10+. Historical Fiction.

This book depicts Annemarie, a 10 year old Lutheran girl growing up in Nazi occupied Denmark. Her best friend and next door neighbor is Jewish, and things are starting to get worse and worse for the Jewish people in Denmark.

Annemarie's family takes under their wing her friend, Ellen, as Ellen's parents seek other shelter from the Nazi soldiers. From their it is a whirlwind of events to help Ellen and her family escape to freedom in Sweden. They stage a funeral and escape with the help of Annemarie's uncle and her would have been brother in law, Peter, a Resistance fighter.

This book is short, but gripping, and leaves the reader wanting more stories that seem to be similar to Annemarie's. This book would be a great book to introduce the war and how the Nazi's invaded much of Europe. It could also be a good discussion book about bravery and pride, and what they both mean, in today's time and back in the time of WW2.

Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

Bud, Not Buddy. Written by Christopher Paul Curtis. 1999. ISBN: 0-385-32306-9. Winner of the Newbery Medal and the Coretta Scott King Award. African American race is represented. Ages 10+.

In Bud, Not Buddy, a motherless 10 year old boy, Bud, has been living in an orphanage in Flint, Michigan, for the last four years during the great depression. Bud doesn't know who his father is, but has some clues that his mother left behind for him. These clues are Bud's treasures. They are posters and flyers of appearances by the band lead by Herman E. Calloway.

After Bud gets placed in a foster home and escapes, he makes up his mind to go and find this man. His adventures take him to a Hooverville, encounters with "vampire," and being picked up by a nice man named Lefty. Bud's adventures eventually lead him to Herman, only Herman doesn't believe that Bud is his son. After a little bit of digging, Bud finds out that Herman is really his grandfather!

This book is a nice page turner! I think it is a good way for children to tie a history lesson into something fun. Since the depression is such a large unit in the classroom, this is a nice way to learn about Hoovervilles and bread lines. It just makes the situation more real for the child.

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

The Snowy Day. Written and illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats. 1962. ISBN: 0-670-65400-0. Winner of the Caldecott Medal. Contemporary Realistic Fiction.

Peter, a young boy is excited when waking up one morning to see that it had snowed the night before. He bundles up to go out and explore the snowy white wonderland. He makes tracks and snow angels and snowmen. He really enjoys himself and at the end of the day hopes that the snow will be there tomorrow. He has a dream that all the snow melts, but when he wakes up, he finds that this isn't true and he is off again to enjoy another snowy day.

The illustrations in this book are fabulous because they seem to be made out of wrapping paper cut outs! The patterns on the paper are so fun, and the snow is a beautiful bright white with blue tints! Growing up in Minnesota, there is no better day than a snow day. Not only does school get canceled, but you get to play outside in the beautiful pristine snow. Snow is wondrous because it seems to give the world around you a clean slate. And there is nothing more beautiful that big flakes of light fluffy snow falling all around.

This book, if used in a class setting, could be great for children to create their own snowy scene out of construction or wrapping papers, much like Keats illustrations. I actually just did this project with a class of first graders, and it turned out so cute. They were all so proud of their created scenes, as each time a new medium for art is introduced, it lets children open up their creative minds even more!