Poetry

The poem Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe has been in my husband's head since he first read it in seventh grade. I think this is an appropriate grade level for children to read this poem. There is imagingry in it. There are also some words that teachers could talk about with the students relating to meanings of them. The name Annabel Lee and the sea that Poe talks about it perfect in rhyme. If I could get a child to recite this poem, what a beautiful sight my eyes would know.

Sarah Plain and Tall

This historical fiction book takes place in the late 19th century. The setting is on a midwestern farm.Sarah who is from Maine comes to meet a widowed farmer.He has two children who are looking for a mother type model.The children are intrigued by the stories Sarah tells of Maine. They also wonder whether or not Sarah will stay in the midwest or will return to Maine.Sarah eventually learns the ways of the midwest and decides to stay.
The story is fairly accurate for the time period. Sarah traveled by train and when the family went into town it was by horse and buggy.The conflicts occured when the children didn't want to trust Sarah right away and she wasn't so sure about the farm she had arrived at. This is not a difficult story for children to understand at all. The English is authentic, but not to advanced for children to not understand.
As for the theme, it becomes about trust and abandonment all at the same time.The children and the father are worried about Sarah leaving and Sarah has to learn to gain trust from the family in which she was invited to.

Rapunzel

The story starts out in a fairly realistic manner. Rapunzel's parents were just trying to start a family when the witch from next door caused trouble. I think children might start to wonder that Rapunzel is not going to grow up as a normal child when the witch enters the picture.

Rapunzel starts out in the real world, but certain things in her life change as the story progresses. The witch has a raven that does what he is told. One of the things the bird is asked to do is to carry Rapunzel to a tower far away from home. Rapunzel likes her surroundings, because she can communicate with all the creatures of the forrest. Her hair grows really, really long, and she learns she can use it as a rope when the prince arrives. The language that the author uses fits with story. It keeps children engaged while they are listening to the story.

I'm not sure if the time periods are completely realistic. For example it is suggested that the prince comes to visit Rapunzel a couple of times and then they are whisked away by the bird to Rapunzel's parents. The prince then asks for Rapunzel's hand in marriage? It seems like every fantasy has a prince in it somewhere. If there's no prince there is always a hero.

The Jade Dragon

This is a novel that may be read by the teacher to a fourth grade class.It is written by Carolyn Marsden and Virginia Shin-Mui Loh.Virginia Says, "It is important to have stories that reflect the contemporary realities of Asian Americans." My hypothesis is that Virginia grew up in the United States as an American, but with a Asian background.

There are two Asian girls in the book. One girl her parents are from China,and the family lives in the United States. The other girl in the book is adopted from China into an American Family.The American Family does have a stereotypical idea about the Chinese Family.I think this stems from some ingnorance or not wanting to learn about another culture.There is a great deal of stigma between both families. The Chinese family thinks the American family is strange. The American family thinks the Chinese family is strange. The values in each family are very different.

The two families appear to be from two different socioeconomic backgrounds. It doesn't specifially say a whole lot, but the American Family drives a Mercedes Benz. It is unclear the socioeconomic status of the Chinese family.The book only mentions in one part that the dad took of his tie.

I think the two different worlds are portrayed accurately.The American family is trying to make life as easy as they can on their adopted daughter. The Chinese family on the other hand doesn't make it easy for their daughter to fit into American white culture.The book talks about many foods that the Chinese eat, and I've heard of most of them myself.

The setting is definitely real. What happens in this story probably occurs every day in America. After all this is the melting pot of the world.

I don't agree with how the chinese words are used in the book. They only come up when the parents of the Chinese girl are disappointed with her. It is though they are reminding their daugter that she has only learned English as a way to communicate with the kids in school. She should still know Chinese because this is part of her culture.The book does a great job of social issues by may portray some stereotypical references in some ways.In the American Family the mother goes to work at a very nice job. On the other hand the Chinese mother stays at home and tends to the house. One family is more traditional is many ways.

Growing Seasons

Elsie Splear the author of the book Growing Seasons writes about her life in the early 1900's. It is a story about a family that lives on a farm and all the things that happen in their daily lives. The book is written from the view of a young child Elsie. I look at this to be a fairly accurate piece since the author is writing about her life in a children's book.

In the early 1900's the roles that each family member played seemed carved in stone. The father did the farm chores such as, thrashing, husking, and butchering. The mother and the four girls did the other chores like, cooking, cleaning, canning, gardening, washing, and milking. The father made an invention that he showed off at the Fourth of July Festival. This family must have been financially stable because they were able to afford a Model T Ford. When I read, this I thought the women and the children did a tremendous amount of work and the father, was only around in certain parts of the story.

I believe that this is a great story for children to hear from a teacher. It does let them know about how lives were different only a hundred years ago. It brings up many questions about how roles within a family have changed, or how they might have stayed the same. One question that can be asked of the students is, what inventions have made life easier on people today?

The balance between fact and storyline is there. The fact part comes from the view of a child that lived in the time period of the 1900's. The storyline is that kids might be able to envision what it would have been like if they grew up in the same time period. The book probably gives kids a greater appreciation of the hardships that their great or great, great grandparents might have endured.

Someday Is Not a Day of the Week

I chose the children's book Someday Is Not a Day of the Week. It is written by Denise Brennan-Nelson and Illustrated by Kevin o'Malley. An appropriate grade level for this book would be 1st grade if read by the teacher.

The story goes that this little boy(depicted as a beaver)goes around asking his mom to go to the fair and when he can spend time with his dad. He also asks his grandpa to go fishing. All of the adults answer him with the one word "Someday". The little beaver is confused and looks at his calendar and remembers the song he learned in preschool. He frantically looks for someday, but can't find it anywhere.The beaver tells his mom that someday is not a day of the week.After his mom realized what she had told her son, he got to do all the things he asked for. The book ends with a picture of the boy and his grandpa fishing.

Very bright colors are used and the words of the week are always listed in bright red. On almost every page there is a calendar in the background or in some other spot that is very recognizable. This book is a great tool in teaching the days of the week as well as making children realize to not give up on people. They will have time for you.