Ballons over Broadway by Melissa Sweet

Sweet, M., Newborn, R., & Paquette, C. (2011). Balloons over Broadway: The true story of the puppeteer of Macy's Parade. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children.

Balloons Over Broadway is a lively book that tells about the creator, Tony Sarg, of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons, and how he made his ideas of creating a massive floating balloon come to life through the use of puppets. It took the puppeteer, Tony, three tries to get the right material to use for the balloons, figure out the correct size of the balloons, and to figure out how to make them float high in the air. Tony was an immigrant whose passion had been trying to figure out how to make things move and puppeteering his entire life. The way the book is organized integrates the look of a scrap book and a story board. The author uses an array of text styles including printed text and cut and paste text. The bright, eye catching illustrations are very busy which makes the reader have a feel for how Tony organizes his thoughts on paper. The pictures are a conglomeration of watercolors, clay model characters, and a depiction of real life objects. By using realistic objects, the reader has a better understanding of the timeline transition from puppets to balloons. This book would be a useful teaching material around Thanksgiving. Children can make a text to real world connection when they see the Macy’s parade on TV.

It's So Amazing by Robie Harris

Harris, R. H., & Emberley, M. (1999). It's so amazing!: A book about eggs, sperm, birth, babies, and families. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.

This informational and educational book chronicles the cycle of how the human reproductive system works. The book uses pregnancy timelines of other mammals in comparison to a human’s pregnancy timeline. For example, a dog is pregnant for about three months and an elephant is regnant for about 2 years. When a baby is born in Russia they are laid on fur to bring the baby good luck, wealth, and good health. The book is presented in a cartoon style format. It has talking bubbles, and the different actions are separated into its own square. The facts and illustrations are displayed in an easy to follow way for a young reader to read and understand what the text is talking about. The illustrator gives a majority of the characters a positive demeanor, which helps keep the reader engaged for what might be a possibly awkward book for the reader. The parts and processes of the reproduction system are personified by giving the egg and sperm a face and hands, and giving them a voice in the text. The bird and bee are, a common myth, bring comical relief that keep the reader interested throughout the narration. This book can be used as discrete way for young readers to learn this highly private information so that they do not feel embarrassed. 

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Selznick, B. (2007). The invention of Hugo Cabret: A novel in words and pictures. New York: Scholastic Press.
Hugo loved hearing stories about his father’s favorite movie, “A Trip to the Moon”. Hugo's father found an automaton in an old museum, and decided to fix it. However, a fire at the museum killed Hugo's father. Hugo discovered the automaton and a pocket book where his father drew the plans on how to fix the automaton. Hugo lived in the walls of a Paris train station where he was an orphan ever since his uncle disappeared. He also started stealing from Papa Georges, a toy store owner, so he could fix the automaton. Eventually, Papa Georges caught him stealing, took his notebook, and vowed not to return it. Papa Georges's goddaughter, Isabelle, swore to help Hugo get it back. Hugo quickly realizes Isabelle is wearing a heart-shaped key that fits perfectly in the back of the automaton man, which is all Hugo needs to make him work. Isabelle finds Hugo in his room, and watches as the automaton draws a picture of a scene from Hugo's dad's favorite movie, and signs it Georges Melies, which is no other than Papa Georges. With the help of Isabel and her film student friend Etienne, they discover that Papa Georges was once a filmmaker, but after hard times, lost everything. He donated his automaton he created to the museum, but it burned in the fire that killed Hugo’s father. Luckily, he saved one key that made it work, which was the key Isabelle wore. Hugo realizes that Papa Georges, the toy store owner, also known as Georges Melies, created “A Trip to the Moon” that Hugo's dad loved. He also created the automaton man Hugo's dad discovered abandoned in the museum. Unknowingly to Hugo, he had been trying finish the automaton, which was actually built by Papa Georges, who he was stealing parts from. After a miscommunication with the police about Hugo's missing uncle, Hugo finds himself on train tracks about to die. However, Papa Georges was there to save him, similar to Hugo saving Papa Georges with his discovery. This books merges the picture book, and novel concepts, with most of the pages being illustrations. The black and white crosshatched pictures, along with the black and white pages with text give the book a mysterious and suspenseful feeling. The illustrations are created through the use of sketches, making it appear as if the story is being told through a flip book or film strip. The end of the book links the information given at the beginning of the story, creating aha moments for the readers. This was a Caldecott Medal award winner in 2008. This book would go great with other books written by Brian Selznick.

We Are the Ship by Kadir Nelson

Nelson, K. (2008). We are the ship: The story of Negro League baseball. New York: Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children.
This is a nonfiction book about how Negro players in the Negro League Baseball had to overcome hardships and adversity during a time of segregation in America. It gives detailed accounts of what they experienced while playing baseball in the Negro League. The author talked about how the Negros had to sleep crammed on a bus because they were not allowed to sleep at hotels due to the color of their skin. Unfortunately, the Negros even had to go without water because they were not allowed to get any from restaurants. The book has double spread fold out pages, but mostly consist of a full page of artwork on one side and a full page of text on the other. The chapters of the book are cleverly titled “innings” to go along with the baseball theme. The author used the narration of each inning as the voice of the player, or collectively as a group of the Negro League Baseball. At the bottom of each page, there was a footnote that stated who was depicted in the picture or what was taking place. Due to the deep and intricate details in the rich pictures, the illustrations are made to look realistic. The fine precision of the shading in the paintings give the artwork an authentic and vintage feel. After reading this book, another interesting nonfiction baseball book to follow up with is Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow, by James Sturm and Rich Tommaso.

The Three Pigs by David Wiesner

Wiesner, D. (2001). The three pigs. New York: Clarion Books. This story starts off by telling the tale of the original nursery rhyme “The Three Little Pigs”, however, the pigs are tired of their same story so they take it upon themselves to change it up. Each time the wolf blows the house down the wolf thinks he eats them, but the clever pigs out smart him and "leave" their nursery rhyme. They break their story line apart and use it as a paper airplane. However, their plane crashes and they find themselves saving characters, including cat and his fiddle and the dragon in other nursery rhymes. All the characters come up with a plan to trick wolf in the pig's story. So they all travel back to The Three Little Pig's story and devise a plan to finish off wolf once and for all. Wolf tries to blow the third pig's house down, but is unsuccessful. He climbs through the chimney unknowing everyone is waiting for some wolf soup. This tale is a humorous spin off of the classic story of The Three Pigs. The book merges the graphic novel and narrative format with the beginning retelling the classic Three Pigs Story, and the end of the book becoming a narrative story. The story is narrated through the use of dialogue between the three pigs. The creative and clever artwork are a mirror image to the amusing text. The illustrations change texture and appearance depending on what the setting is, and what scenes are taking place within the story. In 2000, this story won the Caldecott Medal for the illustrations. Another book that would complement The Three Pigs is Rapunzel’s Revenge because it too merges one classic tale into other classic tales.

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Paterson, K., Diamond, D., & Hill, A. (1977). Bridge to Terabithia. New York, NY: T.Y. Crowell.
Jess, a fifth grader, wants to be the fastest kid. He longs for attention from his exhausted parents, and has to battle the daily struggles of home and school life. Everything changes when he meets his new neighbor, Leslie Burke, a girl from an affluent family, who is polar opposite of Jess's lifestyle. Their strong bond is evident when it’s revealed that Jess is an outstanding artist. He’s embarrassed of his artwork, which in the eyes of many, including his father, is not considered masculine. The music teacher, Miss Edmonds, and Leslie encourage him to keep drawing. Because Leslie's parents are constantly working, it's hard to find time to notice her. Therefore, Jess and Leslie decide to make a wooded area, on the other side of a creek, into a magical land where they can be whatever they dream of. They use a rope swing as their only means of getting to Terabithia. Unfortunately, Jess learns the swing snapped and Leslie drowned. Jess has to learn how to deal with her untimely death. Jess wanted to honor Leslie's legacy, therefore, painstakingly built a bridge to Terabithia. When finished, he invites his sisters to join him in Terabithia, so the magic never ends. This endearing book will pull on the heart strings of any reader. The text is filled with many literature elements including symbolism and irony. Miss Edmonds is a symbol of inner beauty and confidence, which does not seem to be of existence in Jess's world. However, she helps him start to believe in himself. The theme of friendship, between Leslie and Jess, is represented throughout the book as Leslie and Jess lean on each other and their dedication to each other. The magical rope swing also symbolizes the beginning of their journey to their magical world, however, when it breaks, and Leslie drowns, it symbolizes the end of their make-believe world. Irony is portrayed when it’s revealed Jess is afraid of water, and Leslie is the character that drowns. This book would make an emotional connection to anyone who has lost a loved one.

The Nest by Kenneth Oppel

Oppel, K., & Klassen, J. (2015). The nest. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

This thrilling story details Steven, a troubled adolescent teen who struggles with anxiety, stress, OCD, and making friends. He and his family are also dealt a difficult life situation with the birth of his younger brother, Theo. Theo battles multiple congenital defects. Steven is plagued at night with nightmares about a dark shadowy figure. One day while outside, Steven is stung by a unique looking wasp. He is taken to the emergency room which determines he is allergic to wasps and given an Epipen. Starting that night, while asleep, he is engulfed with multiple dreams of an angel-like figure, which turns out to be a wasp. He is drawn to the wasp creature, which is named Queen Wasp, as she brings him a level of comfort in his difficult time. The wasp also helps calm his mostly nightmarish dreams. Throughout multiple nights, Queen Wasp explains that his brother is not doing well and that she has a way to repair and fix him. Reluctantly, Steven accepts her help. However, he rethinks his offer and quickly turns her down. The Queen Wasp doesn’t take no for an answer. Steven is found in a battle of life and death as he must save his younger brother from the Queen Wasp and her army of workers. The Queen Wasp wants to replace Steven’s brother with a replica baby, and feeds his brother to the worker wasps. He miraculously saves his brother who is only stung twice. Unfortunately, Steven is stung multiple times and is pronounced dead, but thankfully makes a full recovery. This book illustrates black and white pictures that have very high amounts of contrasts and shading, showing depth with each picture. The story describes and reflects on Steven’s past emotional state. The feeling of loneliness and despair are brought to the front of the readers mind as they try to navigate and dissect the plot of the book. It quickly, but meticulously evolves, much like the forming of a wasp nest. The author presents foreshadowing with the introduction of the knife guy, a mysterious, yet intriguing character. I would recommend The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin. This book also has tragedy and imagination in it.

Comics Squad by Jennifer and Matthew Holm

Holm, J. L., & Holm, M. (Eds.). (2014).Comics Squad: Recess! New York, NY: Random House.

This entertaining graphic novel is a mixture of several stories centered around school life and recess. The first story is about a group of three boys who created a group called the “Super-Secret Ninja Club”. The group meets every day during recess until one day, Daryl, an “outsider”, begs to join their group. Annoyed with Daryl’s relentless begging, the group tells Daryl they would discuss it further after the winter holiday. During the entire winter holiday, Daryl learns every tactic there is to be a super ninja. When the holidays are over, Daryl is ready to be a part of the “Super-Secret Ninja Club”.  However, the group decided that the club was “so last year”, and now dodgeball is their new past time. Furious with the three boys, Daryl shows them up with his ninja skills and hits and throws the dodgeball all over the place. The group is stunned at what they saw and ask Daryl to teach them his new skills. Other stories include, silly lunch lady antics, mischievous Babymouse and her recess troubles, and others. All the stories are created by different authors and illustrators. The entire book consists of only 3 colors, black, orange, and white. Each one of the authors of each story have multiple books published and many are a series of books. At the back of the book is a section about each of the authors, along with a caricature-like drawing of each of the authors. There is also a page where the reader can learn to draw, Betty, is one of the characters in one of the stories. I would recommend Comic Squad-Lunch, which is another book that consists of similar characters and story lines.

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

Landy, D. (2007). Skulduggery Pleasant. New York: HarperCollins.

The central figures in this novel are Skulduggery Pleasant, a “living” skeleton who is a detective and a 12 year old girl named Stephanie Edgley who renames herself Valkyrie Cain later in the novel. These two characters work together in a series of adventures to try to solve her uncle’s murder and to save the world from doom by an evil character named Serpine. The two main characters meet many magical and mysterious characters who sometimes help and hinder their quest to solve a murder and save the world. The book ends with the two main characters working together in future adventures to solve mysteries and conquer evil. This book, the first in a series of children’s novels, is a supernatural fantasy filled with magic for children. The setting for the book is in Ireland in the mid 20^th century. There’s a central theme of good overcoming evil. The book is organized into sections named for characters or action in that section. The character, Skulduggery Pleasant, a skeleton, is given human characteristics as are other characters. Magic plays a big role in this book. The characters are involved with continual action throughout the book. Solving the mystery of Stephanie’s uncle and defeating an evil character in his quest to destroy all living humans is the central plot of this book. I recommend students reading the entire Skulduggery Pleasant series.

Textbook Assignment #5

Textbook Assignment #5