Science Fiction – The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games is part of a science fiction trilogy, set in the future in once was North America, but now called Panem and is filled with inventive technology, adventure; and survival.

Ruled by the iron fist of The Capitol, who is harsh and cruel, they devised a plan to keep districts in line by making them send one boy and one girl ranging in ages of twelve to eighteen to participate in the Hunger Games, a brutal competition composed of murder and survival, which is broadcasted all over the country on their TV’s. The main character, Katniss Everdeen is a young woman who lives with her mother and sister, and becomes a volunteer when her little sister is drawn to compete in the games. Strong and stubborn, Katniss becomes a contender in the games but must make choices that will weigh against love, humanity, and survival (Collins, 2008).

The novel falls into the science fiction category because it features inventions and technology that do not exist, while making them appear realistic during the story. Main themes of life in the future, survival, mind control and technology are present in the book, all of which are typically seen in the science fiction genre.  The Hunger Games fits criteria in quality science fiction because it is an excellent example of narrative fiction, the world is detailed and believable, the events are imaginative, but logical and consistent within the world; it features multidimensional characters; the writing is believable and rich and it leads readers to think about life (Galda, Cullinan, & Sipe, 2010, p. 209).

Questions to ask the readers could include, “Which character do you relate to the most? Katniss or Peta?” “Do you think you would volunteer yourself to go into the games if your younger sibling was chosen, especially with the knowledge that you could die?” “Would you do anything different during the games?” When considering response- centered project ideas, there are a couple that would fit well with this particular novel. The first would be a present for a character, and since in the book, the characters receive random presents based on their sponsors and needs, this project would be interesting for readers to make because they could decide on what would be valuable to give to the characters. They would write a short essay explaining the gift and why it would be important to the character. Next, I would have them create a theme song for the book, including at least three stanza and a refrain. They could use the theme song from the movie that is associated with this novel or create a new one. Upon completion of the song, they would write an essay explaining why they chose the tune and why they chose the particularities of the words to include (Galda, Cullinan, & Sipe, 2010, p. 351).

I personally adore this trilogy. I read it before the movie came out and bought the series for my sixth graders, who love them as well. They are creatively written, unique stories that are destined to be a favorite for many people in the years to come. The story captivates even the most negative critic, making you root for characters and mourn others.

References

Collins, S. (2008). The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic Press.

Galda, L., Cullinan, B. E., & Sipe, L. R. (2010). Literature and the Child. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cenage Learning.

Realistic Fiction – Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell

Karana is a girl left behind by Indians who had once lived on an island called San Nicolas, where blue dolphins played in the water, sea otters can be found in the kelp, and seabirds roost. Karana waits year after year for the ship to come back from the east, but it never comes for her. She finally realizes that she must attempt to follower her people or remain alone on the island for the rest of her life (O’Dell, 1988).  Scott O’Dell is known for other books like Black Pearl, Streams and River to the Sea, and Black Star Bright Dawn.

This story is beautifully written, full of wonderful visual wording, allowing the reader to really capture Karana and themselves in this story. The story falls into the genre of realistic fiction because it is written about real places, a real time, and the circumstances surrounding the story could be real. As with a distinctive type of realistic fiction, one that is popular is adventure and survival stories, which Island of the Blue Dolphins fits into, as it is a survival story. It is marked by a fast pace plot, adventure, and conflict between Karana and nature, which allows captivation of the reader (Galda, Cullinan, & Sipe, 2010, p. 240).

The story is a prime example of quality in realistic fiction as it “…exemplifies characteristics of excellence in narrative fiction” (Galda, Cullinan, & Sipe, 2010, p. 235), it provides a realistic setting that supports events, the characters are multidimensional, changing over time, the problems she faces are realistic and believable while remaining thematic in nature. Karana’s thoughts are natural sounding as well.

Questions that I would ask the students would be, “What would you do if you were stranded on an island like Karana?” “How do you think she will survive?” “Where do you think her family went?” All of these questions would assist in developing the story and helping them to really connect with the main character. Response –centered projects would be a great way for the readers to really connect with this realistic fiction story. The first would be a present for a character, where they could give Karana a present, developing it in 3D, and writing an essay why the present would be useful or special to her. Second, I would have them create a family tree for Karana, as she longs to be reunited with her family, so the family tree could provide a link to those who left her behind. The students would need to write an essay about each individual they added to the tree and why they are important (Galda, Cullinan, & Sipe, 2010, p. 351).

I believe this book would be a fantastic read, especially for little girls, as it is an in-depth look at a young girl who is abandoned and needs to survive in the wilderness, surrounded by the sea, animals, and other hazards. I would recommend it to all young readers that enjoy survival stories.

References

Galda, L., Cullinan, B. E., & Sipe, L. R. (2010). Literature and the Child. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cenage Learning.

O'Dell, S. (1988). Island of the Blue Dolphins. New York: Sandpiper, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Nonfiction – Children of the Dust Bowl: The True Story of the School at Weedpatch Camp by Jerry Stanley

Based on true events in the 1930’s, this book falls into the nonfiction genre and presents a story that will captivate the readers with its gritty storyline.

This story is a compelling one about children of homeless “okie” migrant workers and the school that was built in a farming labor camp during the Dust Bowl era California. The book presents a dramatic and inspiring story  about mistreatment, lack of education and the changes that take place when people work together to make changes (Stanley, 1992). The book is illustrated with photos from the Dust Bowl to provide accurate accounts and imagery, making the story more compelling.

This story falls in to quality nonfiction as the facts are accurate and complete with a balance of fact and theory, differing in viewpoints when necessary. The scope is appropriate for its story and for the readers. It is apparent that the writer used appropriate resources and expertise to write the book. It is organized in a clearly developed manner which is presented in a logical sequence while indicating proper facts and theories. The design and format of the book is reader friendly and attractive, showing appropriate illustrations (photos) that are placed in a proper fashion. The writing presents an interesting and enthusiastic way while using appropriate terminology and rich language to keep the reader engaged (Galda, Cullinan, & Sipe, 2010, p. 306).

Questions surrounding the reading of Children of the Dust Bowl could include “How do you think the children felt by the mistreatment because of their immigration?” “Can you imagine what life would be like during the Dust Bowl?” “What do you think that you could do if you lived during the time to increase quality of life?” Since this is a nonfiction genre of book, response-centered project ideas could include a newspaper, where the children create a newspaper about the Dust-Bowl, the School raising; or any other related subjects. They could include advertisements for items during the 1930’s, as well as including editorials that would relate to the subject manner. A second project could include recipes that would reflect the life and times of this novel, where children could do research to find out what type of ingredients would have been available during the Dust-Bowl on a farming camp. They could then write an essay about each of the recipes to explain why they would make a good companion to the novel (Galda, Cullinan, & Sipe, 2010, p. 351).

I would recommend this novel to all young readers so they can see how important it is to have an education, to learn about a historical event, and to develop their sense of self. It is important for readers to be able to relate to the story, and this one surrounds a subject that many children most likely do not know about, making it a valuable read.

References

Galda, L., Cullinan, B. E., & Sipe, L. R. (2010). Literature and the Child. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cenage Learning.

Stanley, J. (1992). Children of the Dust Bowl: The True Story of the School at Weedpatch Camp. New York: Random House LLC.

Historical Fiction – Johnny Tremain A Story of Boston in Revolt by Esther Forbes

Originally copyrighted in 1943, the book was renewed in 1971 and is a phenomenal example of historical fiction and has won the Newberry Medal.

The story takes place in the city of Boston during 1773. Johnny Tremain is a fourteen year old boy who apprenticed with a silversmith, and is very talented and gifted, taking his talents above the other apprentices, until there is a tragedy, where molten silver, held in a crucible spills over his right hand, making it useless because it is badly burned. Since Johnny cannot become a silversmith with his useless hand, he begins a new life, encountering historical figures like Samuel Adams, John Hancock; and Paul Revere along with historical events surrounding the Boston Tea Party and Battle of Lexington. His new dream takes him into becoming a part of our history (Forbes, 1971).

This book falls into the historical fiction genre because it uses history to re-create a time and place (Galda, Cullinan, & Sipe, 2010, p. 255), making a fictional story appear as though the character and events surrounding his life could have actually occurred during the time of Boston’s famous historical time. The events and attitudes in this book remain consistent with the period of 1773, honest social issues are portrayed, and the piece fits all criteria for excellent narration.

There are a few illustrations in the book, depicted by simplistic ink renditions of people, drawn in ink and illustrated by Lynd Ward. The illustrations present images to assist with the historical notion of the book, where the characters depicted are dressed in a manner from the period, assisting in the imagery presented by the story so that readers can see certain aspects of the time.

Questions I would ask readers include, “What do you know about the Boston Tea Party?” “Who was Paul Revere?” “What do you think Johnny Tremain should have done when the silver burned his hand so badly that he could not have continued in silversmithing?” All questions would be followed by a simple history lesson to further bring a sense of history into the activity. Response-centered projects would include a newspaper, where the students would create a paper about a day in the book, including front page news, editorials, advertisements, and articles pertaining to the main characters in the book. This would be very informative to the students as the articles would refer to actual historical events as well as be a creative way to make advertisements for products that could be purchased during the time frame. A second project could include a once/now essay where the students would write an essay about Johnny, where he began to where he would be after the ending of the book, using examples from the text to support the essay (Galda, Cullinan, & Sipe, 2010, p. 351).

I would highly recommend this title for all readers who enjoy historical fiction because it is surrounded by great events in America’s history and although it is a fictional piece, the facts surrounding events like the Boston Tea Party and the Battle of Lexington may lead to inquiring and studying these historical events in more depth.

References

Forbes, E. (1971). Johnny Tremain A Story of Boston in Revolt. New York: Sandpiper, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Galda, L., Cullinan, B. E., & Sipe, L. R. (2010). Literature and the Child. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cenage Learning.

Folklore Fantasy - Straw into Gold By Gary D. Schmidt

This take on Rumplestiltskin falls into the genre of folklore, providing a variation of the classic story. The novel is filled with adventure and twists and turns that keep the reader guessing.

Two boys are ordered by the king to answer a riddle of what fills a hand fuller than gold? If they do not figure out the answer within seven days they will be killed. A nursemaid, formerly to the queen's child explains to them that the banished queen can help. They are pursued by Great Barons, the greedy King's Grip, an individual that tells a story of a man who can spin straw into gold, yet disappeared with her firstborn son. One of the boys, Tousle knows the man spoken of, and one them may be the prince. This adventure reveals a story of what may have happened before the queen made her last guess out of three, and Rumplestiltskin, as we know it ends (Schmidt, 2001). 

The story follows quality in folklore as it "Echoes spoken language, with rich, natural rhythms, Reflects the cultural integrity of early retellings, Preserves the straightforward structure of oral stories; and explores significant universal themes (Schmidt, 2001, pg. 178). There are no illustrations inside the novel.

Questions I would have the children answer would include deciphering what the genre of the novel is, what are the goals brought by reading this book; and what do they anticipate are the goals of the main characters as they figure out the riddle? Response-centered project ideas would include a comparison paper, where they would read a different variation of Rumplestiltskin and then compare the two in an essay, while analyzing the genre, content, style, and structure of the two books (Galda, Cullinan, & Sipe, 2010, pg. 351).

I would recommend this version of Rumplestiltkin for all those who enjoy folklore and enjoy differing variations of this story. 

References

Galda, L., Cullinan, B. E., & Sipe, L. R. (2010). Literature and the Child. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cenage Learning.

Schmidt, G. D. (2001). Straw into Gold. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Folklore Fantasy - Mr Fox From Joseph Jacobs; English Fairy Tales

Miles Kelly publishing published a wonderful compilation called Scary Fairy Tales Little Red Riding Hood and other stories, where it features a folklore fantasy story called Mr Fox.

The story is about a fair maiden named Lady Mary who has two brothers and a lot of lovers, where the most valiant of them, Mr. Fox was a mysterious man that Mary cared for alone more than the others, so much so, she agreed to marry him. When discussing the place where they would live, he discussed the castle, but did not ask anyone she knew to come see it. Shortly before the wedding, Mr. Fox was out on business and she decided to visit his castle, finally she found it. After going through a gate, doorway, up the stairs there was a final warning written, but because she felt she was brave, Mary continued on, finding many bloody skeletons of young ladies! Witnessing Mr. Fox bringing in an unconscious young lady, she witnessed him kill her with a sword! She escaped, but was still in the marriage contract with him, telling him that she had bad dreams and explained it to him, showing him a ring that she found even though he denied it. The story ends with her brothers drawing their swords cutting him into a thousand pieces (Jacobs, 2012, pgs. 20-26).

Although I cannot say that I have read the folklore fantasy surrounding this before, but it is an interesting story to say the least. This selection represents quality folklore with its reflection of cultural integrity and preservation to oral stories while exploring universal themes (Galda, Cullinan, & Sipe, 2010, pg. 178). All of the artwork is from the Miles Kelly Artwork Bank and darkly, yet richly illustrates the story in beautiful colors, ranging in a style of dark shadowing illustrations to cartoon like pictures. 

Questions that I would have the children ask regarding the story would include asking why Mr. Fox used riddles to answer Mary, what message does the story present to the reader, and what do you think would have happened if Mary did not sneak into his castle?

Response-centered project ideas would include a new ending or new chapter exercise where the readers could rewrite the ending of the book or write a new chapter. It is important for the reader to match the writing style of the original story and make sure it makes sense with the story. Second, I would recommend a family tree project, where they could create Lady Mary's family tree, while drawing pictures of all of the brothers, etc. while writing a paragraph explaining who they are and how they are important to the main character (Galda, Cullinan, & Sipe, 2010, pg. 351).

I would recommend this book and the story of Mr. Fox to anyone that is a fan of folklore and enjoys scarier versions of oral traditions.

References

Galda, L., Cullinan, B. E., & Sipe, L. R. (2010). Literature and the Child. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth     Cenage Learning.

Jacobs, J. (2012). Mr Fox. In C. b. Parker, Scary Fairy Tales Little Red Riding Hood and other stories (pp. 21-26). Bardfield End Green, Thaxted, Essex, UK: Miles Kelly Publishing Ltd.

Biography - Who Was Daniel Boone? by Sydelle Kramer

Most kids enjoy being outdoors, letting their creativity run wild as they create new stories and adventures. Daniel Boone was a boy who did not enjoy being inside, he grew up to be a strong adventurous man that rescued his daughter from kidnappers, and led pioneers out West as the "Great Pathfinder" (Kramer, 2006). This biography provides an accurate and easy to read story about Daniel Boone beginning from his childhood hunting days, to wandering, the kidnapping of his daughter, to his experience as the man who led pioneer's out West.

The publishers of this book have an entire series of famous biographies that allows younger readers to learn about great people from history. 

Considering quality in the biography, Who Was Daniel Boone? follows all criteria in a fun and adventurous manner fit for younger readers. The story is grounded in fact, with timelines of Daniel Boone's life as well as accurate timelines for the world at the time of his life. It portrays a multidimensional subject that provides an in-depth character. The style presents comprehension and engaging text while unifying the theme, highlighting specific events in his life (Kramer, 2006, pg. 288).

The illustrations were done by George Ulrich, that are black pen sketches which depict various aspects of the story in a manner that is simplistic, yet captures the eye, drawing the reader into the biography.

It would be important to have the readers ask questions about historic events surrounding the pilgrimage, how they feel about kidnapping; as well asking questions about the outdoors. Response centered projects could be a theme song, which the readers could create a tune of their own or select a tune that is well-known, writing stanzas from the book, which they can then write an essay describing why they chose these particular facts to include in their song. Another project would be a once/now essay, where the reader could write about the main character in the book, supporting their ideas with examples from the book to create an essay (Kramer, 2006, pg. 351).

I would recommend all of these books for young readers as an accurate and factual, yet fun and adventurous way for them to learn about historical figures and facts. The books provide a wonderful avenue to explore great events from history.