The Giver, by Lois Lowry

Oh, I never knew what a powerful message this book held until NOW! I read the book in elementary school (sixth grade) and honestly I couldn't remember any of it. It was an entirely new experience.

What a grim existence Jonas must have lead, knowing that he had all of the feelings, memories, and emotions of "The Past," and at the same time that he could not share any of it because he was among a community of ignorance - conformed-against-their-will "NON-THINKERS!" As the Giver told Jonas, "They know nothing." And it was true.

"Ignorance?" Isn't it our job as teachers to "ward off ignorance?" To inform, educate, and enlighten? I think that this book speaks directly to teachers - and perhaps even more so than it does to students - because it reiterates the power of education and acquisition of knowledge as a deterrent against "ignorance."

This novel is wonderfully well written, and kept me thinking the entire way through. It made me realize that no matter how hopelessly desperate it may seem to work as an agent of change (whether in a closed-minded, conformist, even cult-like community as in Lowry's novel, the classroom, the district, school board, or whatever...), there's always hope if you are willing to sacrifice enough of yourself for the better of the group. Take risks, learn, gain wisdom, don't stagnate, and NEVER resort to SAMENESS.

The Mysterious Giant of Barletta: An Italian Folktale adapted & illustrated by Tomie de Poala

This is a captivating story about the the huge statue of a Mysterious Giant who stands in front of a Church in the little Italian town of Barletta. The people of Barletta interact with the Mysterious Giant everyday, but an oldest one in all of Barletta, Zia Concetta, has a special bond with the statue. She greets him in the morning and at night Zia Concetta would call, "...good night, Big One."

When an army of a thousand men threatens to destroy the little town, Zia Concetta asks the Giant to step down off the pedestal and frighten the army away. The oldest woman and the Giant come up with a plan to save the village which includes an enormous onion, hiding the townspeople, and having faith in the Mysterious Giant. Their plan to trick the army is rather clever, I didn't see it coming - I would imagine that children would find it hilarious!

We can see some of de Paola's favorite themes at work in this book: Self image ("They call me names, like 'tiny' and 'weakling'" as in Oliver Button is a Sissy), Magic (as in many de Paola books), Italy, the old woman (as in Strega Nona and others), Catholicism, and others that I am just not thinking about right now... The illustrations are rich as usual. The interesting use of color capture the mood and feelings represented in the folktale.

The Great Divide, by Dayle Ann Dodds & illustrated by Tracy Mitchell

This book uses the cross-country race: The Great Divide (apparently is the tenth toughest race in the world) which is a grueling trek through parts of Canada, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. Dodds uses the race to talk about math. You might be thinking, "what! that's whack!" But I assure you , THE BOOK IS RAD.

Dodds tells a story of the race and its racers... At the starting line there are eighty racers on bikes ready to win. The bikers travel through the treacherous terrain, and keep being divided in half due to unfortold circumstances; a canyon, popped tires, then over a river, galloping on horses, flying through the sky and even more obstacles after that...

This is an interesting book that could be used to spark a discussion about division with children. The rhymes are rhythmic and keep the flow of the story exciting and engaging. The illustrations, done in acrylic on modeling paste, take advantage of the primary colors and entice the reader to stop and look. When looking closely into the illustrations, one can see some really cool visual involvement opportunities at play. Each illustration corresponds with the STORYLINE and the NUMBERS on the page, it takes some counting and searching, but it's a really neat feature in this particular book, and can be fun for kids who like counting and math. The way the author and illustrator work together to do interesting things with the text is also something to take note of in this children's book.

Goody O'Grumpity, By Carol Ryrie Brink & illusrtated by Ashley Wolff

A link to the past. This short children's book is a wonderful example of how poetry can be used as the basis for a story. Paired with the earthy, realistic, hand-colored linoleum prints by Wolff, Carol Ryrie Brink's poem (written in 1937) comes to life. Wolff uses the "clues" in the poem and expands them into well thought-out interpretive illustrations. This book would be really fun to read with kindergartners, probably right before snack :) hee hee!

The poem and illustrations tell about a Pilgrim, Goody (from Goodwife), who collects all the ingredients for a delicious spice cake from her farm. Of course, the smell of the spices travel all through the land, there is an illustration of the Indians in a nearby village sniffing the lingering smell of Goody's Cake. All of the children in the settlement are drawn to her home by the savory smells of spice. And in the end,
"Goody took a great knife
and cut each a slice."
Mmmm, makes me hungry! There is even a seventeenth century spice cake recipe in the back of the book. Perhaps I will have a piece of Goody O'Grumpity's cake...

This may be an old fashioned story, but it's one we can ALL relate to! Yum!

The Knight and the Dragon, by Tomie de Paola

This is another fun book by de Paola. The fantasy-like tale tells a story about a Knight who has never fought a Dragon, and a Dragon who has never fought a Knight. They each must learn the intricacies of fighting their opponent, but when the battle ensues... things do not go as planned and in the end the reader is taken by complete surprise!

As usual, the illustrations are unique and interesting. They tell much of the story on their own, as there are very few words in the book. In fact, there are eighteen pages in this book without any words. Most of the wordless pages illustrate the "fight" between the characters, and the hilarity that ensues following the big defeat.

The book allows the reader to use the imagination as a tool to develop a unique interpretation of the story - SUPER COOL!

Twister, by Darleen Bailey Beard & illustrated by Nancy Carpenter

This is an exciting, suspenseful picture book about a tornado. The author retells her memory of braving the storm with her younger brother. The reader is forced to the edge of their seat as the two children are forced to wait in the dark cellar while their mother is outside trying to help a neighbor find shelter. In the end the reader is reassured when everyone is okay, but the damage that the tornado produces adds a whole new level of excitement.

The illustrator captures the moods and feelings of the characters and events perfectly. The beautiful muted paintings span both pages, and are filled with emotion, setting the mood for the storm. The colors are vivid and tell a story in and of themselves.

The imagery created by the author is also lovely, For instance, after the storm when the children come out of the cellar the author writes, "Hailstones sparkle like glittering diamonds and crunch under our shoes." What a strong visualization!

I'm not going to pretend like it didn't happen: I cried at the end of this book. I felt for Mama and the destruction that took place... In the end she cries. Is she thankful that everyone is okay? Is she concerned about how the damage will be repaired? Or is she just relieved that it is all over? I just don't know. At any rate, the emotion in this book seems very real.

The Legend of Hong Kil Dong: The Robin Hood of Korea, by Anne Sibley O'Brien

Gasp! This graphic novel was amazing. It took some strategy to get used to reading this style of writing, but once I got comfortable with it, I enjoyed everything about it. It took me back in time to 17th century Korea. I am not sure I would recommend this book for children younger than twelve - there are many controversial issues and themes presented throughout the story and the reading is actually pretty difficult (despite it's picture book appearance). But, for older readers, especially those interested in learning about other cultures and legends, this is a highly recommended graphic novel.

The graphic novel based on a traditional Korean folktale, tells a story about the "illegitimate" second-born son (Hong Kil Dong) of a powerful minister. Hong Kil Dong leaves his father's estate when he realizes he will never be able to "claim his father" or become a man. He discovers magical powers inside himself, and becomes an influential leader among peasants who steal from the corrupt and spread the stolen wealth among the poor.

The art is wonderful, and seems to have been researched thoroughly, as it is reminiscent of what I would imagine the setting of seventeenth century Korea to be like. The picture boxes seem overwhelming at first because there's so much going on. Drawings, speech bubbles, and text boxes everywhere! But, the reader is quickly finding themselves reading everything they can find, the story is so engaging. The author includes some very interesting information in the final pages of the book: about the author, sources, translations, traditional Korean clothing/hairstyle/accessory key, and the 10 symbols of longevity. BONUS!

Time passes in the story, and the author uses wonderful descriptive text to describe it, for instance: "As the grain ripened in the fields..." "Under the brilliant blue skies of autumn..." "As the last winds of winter chilled the air..." The language paints a rich image. The story is written beautifully. The author does something "strange" along the sides of the pages. There is a little symbol made up of a series of lines of varied lengths, following the symbol it will say something like "The creative/active: power of a leader awakens higher nature of men" . . . I don't know what it means, I think it follows the story, but it's another example of an interesting feature in this graphic novel/Korean folktale.

Tom, by Tomie de Paola

This book tells the story of a boy, Tommy and his grandfather Tom. Tommy and Tom cause all kinds of mischief, and the reader gets the feeling that perhaps Tom is not the best influence on little Tommy. Tom owns a butcher shop and gives his grandson a two chicken feet and teaches him how to "pull the tendons" to make them move. Tommy precedes to use the chicken feet as weapons of terror as he scares his classmates and teachers.

Of course I loved the book, it was hilarious! I was almost rolling in laughter. Tom reminds me of my own grandpa, always getting me into trouble with his silly tricks and games - for some reason we keep going back for more (Tommy and I do, anyway)...

I can see how kids would really love this story about having fun with grandpa. The content may be a little outdated - corncob pipes, the butcher shop, chopping off chicken heads and feet with a cleaver, coal furnaces - and perhaps an illustration of Tom chopping off chicken heads isn't the most loving of Grandfather images. But nevertheless, it's awesome!

You just don't seem to see as many recently published books as rich as this anymore...but perhaps I'm old fashioned. Have we lowered our standards to Spiderman and Bratz? In my opinion, a little violence in a children's book is WAY better than the dense, commercialized junk that's being mass produced and is filling up libraries everywhere. GO TOM!