Thanhha Lai
Lai, T. (2011). Inside out & back again. HarperCollins.
Multicultural/Global/Diverse Literature
Historical Drama/Fiction
Grade level: 3-5, 6-8
This book was very interesting with true and real facts that were more heartfelt than anything. Before I started reading, I thought the book was going to be more focused on someone culture and how they live their lives compared to other countries. Although I was somewhat right, I never predicted that main girl telling her story to be so brave and smart, taking on life at such a young age. This book should be highly recommended to young children to understand that different culture have to experience life so much different than how we do. Having to fight for a good future and career is something we do not see everyday in the education system. Making my connection with this book is how your struggles do not affect your future if you work hard for it. Sometimes I forgot that and this book reminded me of my struggles and that even know I have been through hard times, you can succeed and prevail in life.
The plot have perfectly executed, I enjoyed reading the story because it was the truth and came from a girl that was struggling but brought light to the world. Along with the setting the main character, Hà, went through many transitions in her life but ends up in the state of Alabama where she discovers more about herself and a different part of the cold world. Hà is experiencing a theme of coming of age and is growing up faster than most ten-year-olds but does a great job in having an open mind. She is in the first person, Hà, and expresses everything from the present tense as she is the one that makes notes throughout her experiences life.
What makes her move to Alabama?
How does she experience the school systems in an unknown state?
What is the main symbolism in Inside Out and Back Again?
Click to access DiaCurriculum_8-12_Lesson5_%20Inside%20Out%20and%20Back%20Again.pdf
Pink and Say
Patricia Polacco
Polacco, P. (2003). Pink and say. Place of publication not identified: Lectorum Publications.
Multicultural/Global/Diverse Literature
Grade level: 3-5
What a great read. This book has so many integrate details in this story of the two boys getting together to find themselves. They have their own struggles of surviving and have some road bumps along the way but in the end, making it out alive and to tell future generations about their lives. Children reading this book would need a deeper understanding of the background of the book along with learning more about the war to know how these soldiers had lived. With the title of the book, I had no idea they were the names of the soldiers. My prediction was it was going to be about coming together and talking about their two different lives separately but realizing their not too much different and eventually becoming friends.
Pink and Say has major themes including race, family, food, and war. Race being the main one since of the relationship between Pink and Say is what makes the book more powerful. All this takes place in the South during the Civil War. The setting was essential to the plot since it was how the two men met. The boys found themselves in Andersonville Prison for fighting against the “sickness of slavery”. Taken from the stories themselves to express their opinions on this issue.
How did they two end up in Andersonville Prison?
Where did Pink and Say originally meet and why.
What does “sickness of slavery” mean?
https://www.varsitytutors.com/englishteacher/pink-and-say-lesson-plans
https://study.com/academy/practice/quiz-worksheet-pink-say.html
A Book of Coupons
Susie Morgenstern
Morgenstern, S. H., Bloch, S., & Rosner, G. (2003). A book of coupons. New York: Puffin Books.
Batchelder Books (Translation)
Grade Level: 3-5
This book was my favorite one to read. It was thoughtful and insightful, especially for children. Very educational and interesting to keep young children interested and help them relate to similar situations. Any prompts I would use while reading this book to a group of children would be coupons, of course. How the teacher in the book used them and have my own made coup0ns to show the children what they would actually look like. This would be the children interested and involved in the book while learning the concepts the author was trying to promote.
A Book of Coupons takes place in a classroom in France with a new teacher. As the students thought they were getting some handsome, fun, interesting new teacher but end up with an older man, who isn’t the most flattering to look at yet, this is all the children base their experience with. No based on personality or qualities this new teacher has but based on looks. Even though the theme is education, first glance you get a vibe that it is also on never judging a book by its cover. I love the style of this book, it has a perfect read aloud structure and can relate to any students experiencing new teachers. It was well written and helped readers become attached to characters in order to keep reading.
What was the new teachers name given to his students?
How were the coupons so important to the plot of the book?
How did the appearance of the student new teacher affect the way they was going to run his classroom?
https://www.books4yourkids.com/2008/12/book-of-coupons-by-susie-morgenstern.html
https://delilahgolding73.wordpress.com/2015/01/22/a-book-of-coupons-by-susie-hoch-morgenstern/
A Wrinkle in Time
Madeleine L’Engle
LEngle, M. (1962). A wrinkle in time. Ariel Books
Challenged Book
Grade Level: 4-8
This book was good, but I felt like there was still a lot of detail missing. To me, the plot was confusing at first but ended up with an interesting ending. From the book over and title, I was expecting it to be about someone’s life in time where they went through difficulties with a job or school but I never expected it to be so unpredictable yet capturing to the audience with the creativity surrounding each situation. The one issue I felt was important that was raised throughout the book was family and wanting to protect them at all cost to keep them around. In this case it was a father that needed saving and his daughter went to all costs to bring him back to his family.
Looking back to show that the power of love and family play such an important theme throughout the story. A relatable yet strange story about a high school girl to travel through time and space to obtain her father that is being held captive. It is from Meg Murry, the main character, who talks about her struggle to bring him back.
What was the planet called they traveled to?
Who went with Meg to travel through space and time to find her father?
Why did Meg get imprisoned on this planet?
https://www.rif.org/literacy-central/book/wrinkle-time
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Browse/Price-Range/Free/Search:A+Wrinkle+in+time
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Sherman Alexie
Alexie, S. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. Little, Brown and Company.
YA Book
Grade Level: 9-12
This book was raw and has so many feeling attached to each line. I appreciate the thought Alexie put into his book. It has so much detail on people’s background and really getting to know each character. For the children to get more involved with the book, having them have a read aloud along with asking questions throughout the chapter would help students develop a deeper understanding of Sherman Alexie’s life.
The overall outlook of this book is the illustrations Alexie out in throughout his book. He was a 14 year old boy living in poverty on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, Washington. Such theme are encountered: Alienation and loneliness. Alienation since Alexie felt isolated from his school that led to the loneliness of not feeling like he belongs.
Describe the illustrations of the book.
What kind of school did Sherman Alexie go to?
How and why did Alexie feel to isolated at school?
https://www.edhelper.com/books/The_Absolutely_True_Diary_of_a_PartTime_Indian.htm
The Arrival
Shaun Tan
Tan, S. (2006). The arrival. Hodder Children’s Books.
Graphic Novel
Grade Level: 6-8
The Arrival tells a story of wordless images. An immigrant who leaves his family to find a better life in hopes of finding a new job. Since the book is solely based upon images, it expresses a different viewpoint on the audience. How we view the book in the perspective on what we see versus what we read. Each image tells its own story through detailed images that describe the story that words could never do.
This book captures the experiences of a man starting a new life to find happiness and leave his isolation and family behind. It takes place in an unknown country on the other side of a vast ocean. As I mentioned isolation plays a role with the theme along with cultural differences and displacement. Conforming to a new environment, customs and climate, it has a different adjustment period and time getting used to.
How does these images impact the story?
How is the main character and why did he express his actions in this manner?
Why did he leave his family?
https://www.k12reader.com/subject/themes/spring/
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Browse/Search:the%20arrival%20by%20shaun%20tan
Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction
David Macaulay
Macaulay, D. (1973). Cathedral: The story of its construction. Houghton Mifflin.
Informational Text
Grade level: 6-8
Another book that has illustrated pictures. I enjoyed the process it took to construct this book as I have no idea what this book could intel. This construction was suppose to be fast and worthy. Since the Amiens, Beauvais, adn Rouen were also building new cathedrals, the Churtreaux wanted to come out on top with the best one.
The setting begins in 1252 in Chutreaux, a fictional French city. At this time, these types of structures were becoming very common. This building hold such a symbolic narrative of its religious history. With such detailed drawings, you can see the building a realize the workers will not live long enough to see the end product of the final masterpiece.
What have you learned about the structure of society during this era?
Why do you think people of Chutreaux begin a project that would take them so long, they would not even live to finish?
What architectural advances made this construction possible?
http://www.bookrags.com/lessonplan/cathedral-the-story/shortanswerkey.html#gsc.tab=0
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Browse/Search:cathedrals
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