LITTLE NIGHT
1.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Morales,
Yuyi. 2007. LITTLE NIGHT. New York, NY:
Roaring Book Press. ISBN: 978-1250073242
2.
PLOT
SUMMARY
Yuyi Morales’s LITTLE NIGHT
is about a mother trying to put her playful daughter to bed. Mother Sky tries to put Little Night to bed,
while playing a game of hide and seek.
As Mother Sky goes through their bedtime routine, Little Night tries to
delay each activity. Mother Sky looks
through hills, bee stripes, and blueberry fields to find her daughter, and each
time proceeding to getting her ready using some of the objects in the sky. She gives Little Night a bath from falling
stars, dresses her with clouds, gives her milk from the Milky Way, fixes her
hair with Venus, Mercury and Jupiter and allows her to play ball using the
moon.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Author and Illustrator Yuyi
Morales, created an incredible narrative with remarkable illustrations. Morales describes a mother and daughter’s
entertaining way of preparing for bed.
Unlike the traditional bedtime rituals, LITTLE NIGHT gives readers an
opportunity to explore nature and make nighttime more magical. Mother Sky’s nurturing disposition and Little
Night’s mischievous persona create a heartfelt storyline. I particularly enjoyed how Mother Sky knew
exactly where to find Little Night, yet kept asking, “Where could my Little
Night be?”. Little Night’s recurring
answer, “Peekaboo, Mama. I am right
here!”, was equally enjoyable as it made the reader feel the character’s bond
at night was an established routine.
Nature and love is
represented through the characters and setting with the magnificent
illustrations. Morales’s artwork is on
point! She presents the characters large
in size to symbolize the amount of love between the mother and daughter. The illustrations are sketched in soft
pastels that exemplifies the tenderness of the story. This book feels dreamlike, because of the
use of elements of the night. Morales
cleverly utilized colors and texture to make this story come to life. Not only has this story taken me back to my
childhood, it also reminds me of my culture.
It has a folklore vibe, due to its buildings and the details on the
character’s appearance.
There is however something
I would love to add to this book. An
ending! After Mother Sky and Little
Night play ball with the moon, I was left wondering if Mama was ever able to
put her daughter to bed. Instead, the
story ended quite abruptly.
All in all, this is a must
have book for all parents! This tale has
made me realize I should step up the game during bedtime with my children. LITTLE NIGHT is perfect to engage students,
especially English language learners during storytelling. I absolutely recommend this book!
4.
REVIEW EXCERPTS
2008
Americas Award Honorable Mentions
2008
Golden Kite Award
KIRKUS
REVIEW: “Strong colors in reds, browns and dark blues with a sprinkling of
starlight add to the mystical effect.
Lovely.”
PUBLISHERS
WEEKLY: “Creating what amounts to a new myth may seem an ambitious project, but
Morales succeeds by combining intimacy and grandeur. Children will love the idea of a girl who
plays while most sleep.”
Starred
review in BOOKLIST: “Children will delight in Little Night’s dreamy world and
will want to read about her unique, yet still familiar, nighttime ritual again
and again.”
5.
CONNECTIONS
*Have students read other books by Yuyi Morales:
Morales, Yuyi, JUST A MINUTE. ISBN 08118375880
Morales, Yuyi, JUST IN CASE. ISBN 1596433299
* This book is a great tool to open a Science lesson on
astronomy. Have children gather and
discuss their favorite part of the story.
Then allow them to draw their scene and display it in the classroom.
*To extend their lesson and provide cross content
learning, students may utilize this book during Social Studies to discuss
traditions and cultures. Have students
share their own bedtime routines.
THE THREE LITTLE PIGS
1.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hillert, Margaret.
1963. THE THREE LITTLE PIGS. Ill. by
Irma Wilde. Parsippany, NJ:
Modern Curriculum Press. ISBN: 0813655358
2.
PLOT
SUMMARY
Three little pigs each build their own distinctive
home. A big bad wolf wants to come into
their houses, and since the pigs do not let him in, he blows down the first two
homes, which were not sturdy. He decides
to go back and try to go in the third house, yet sees himself in trouble. The third house was stronger and was not as
easy to bring down. His plan to go in
the last house, fails as he gets stuck in the chimney.
3.
CRITIICAL ANALYIS
Hillert’s classic tale of THE THREE LITTLE PIGS
is a perfect early reader picture book that will grasp young children’s
attention. Although this tale has been
told for many years, this version’s originality is what makes it engaging. Readers can observe the three pigs getting
ready for the construction of their houses without the need of a big
dialogue. This allows the children to
use their imagination or recall what they already know of this classic
tale.
The piglets each present their home to the
readers, yet the wording used by Hillert gives this book a different feel. I absolutely love the way the author does not
use the traditional “straw, sticks, and bricks” text, yet describes the houses
as, “little house, funny little house, and big one”. The simple sentences and repetitive
vocabulary are intended for beginners, which provides them the opportunity for
achievement. Another twist to the story,
is when readers are introduced to a new, “Not by the hair of my chiny chin chin”
to “You can not…You can not…You can not come in”, which makes this book even
more unique.
Irma Wilde’s colorful and detailed illustrations
sure capture the reader’s attention. I
caught myself many times mesmerized looking at the details of the facial
expressions of the characters. She truly
did an amazing job telling the story th rough the pictures, given the fact that
the book was written with little and short wording. The artwork complimented the storyline to
perfection. The pigs were given a cute
cheeky face, yet to make them more realistic a hairy body was designed. The vicious wolf’s eyes and mouth were on
point, making him manifest his anger throughout the story.
I am extremely thankful Hillert added a list of
sight words at the end of the story.
This allows teachers and parents to preview words students will
encounter during reading. Hard work and
patience pays off at the end, is a valuable lesson kids should be reminded of
constantly, and this book is a great tool to provide an example of such. This version of THE THREE LITTLE PIGS might
be an oldy, but it is definitely worth reading!
4.
REVIEW EXCERPTS
Starred Review by NORWOOD HOUSE PRESS.
“Margaret Hillert’s books are known throughout the world as the gold standard
for beginning readers.”
GOODREADS.COM Average Rating of 3.49 out of 5 Stars.
5.
CONNECTIONS
*Different
versions of The Three Little Pigs:
Eric Kimmel. THE
THREE LITTLE TAMALES. ISBN: 9780761455196
Sierra, Judith. TO
TELL THE TRUTH, B.B. WOLF. ISBN:
9780375856204
*This book is
perfect to re-aloud and have students participate due to its repetition. *Children may retell and act out the story
using puppets or props.
THE LION AND THE MOUSE
1.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Pinkney, Jerry. 2009. THE LION AND THE MOUSE. New York, NY: Little, Brown Books for Young
Readers. ISBN: 9780316013567.
2.
PLOT
SUMMARY
In this wordless
adaptation of one of Aesop’s most cherished fables, readers are taken to the
African Serengeti of Tanzania and Kenya.
A small mouse escapes the claws of a hungry owl, then scurries to find a
safe place. As soon as she believes she
is out of seen, she discovers she is being captive by a huge lion. The lion could have easily eaten the mouse,
instead, he lets go of the mouse after it pleads for it to be released. The mouse promises to help the lion whenever
it is in need. The lion is amused and in
disbelief a how a small creature could possible help such a grand animal like
him, that he opened up his claw and freed the mouse. Poachers had been placing traps in the area,
and the lion unknowingly got caught in one of the nets, unable to escape. The mouse recognized the roaring of the lion,
and quickly went to its rescue. She
nibbled on the ropes until it made a big opening for the lion to escape. She takes with her a single knot that she
later gives to her family to play. The
mouse and her babies are able to linger with the lion and its family, after
realizing how each one of them was helpful to one another.
3.
CRITITICAL ANALYSIS
THE LION AND THE
MOUSE is a delightful retelling of the classic Aesop fable that children will
want to read over and over again. The
book hooks you just by looking at the book jacket. The attractive water colors jumping right at you
and the beautiful illustrations of the Lion in the front cover and the Mouse
equally represented in the back cover, makes you want to stop what you are
doing and find out what is inside. The
book has a few words here and there, mostly onomatopoeia to represent the
animal sounds, yet it feels like a silent book or if you are watching a silent
movie on paper. Pinkney’s visual
storytelling is so astounding, that for a moment I did not realize the book was
wordless, until I was almost halfway in.
I enjoyed seeing the expressions on both the character’s faces
throughout the story and the setting, which reemphasized that there was no need
to have words. The illustrations took
care of the storyline and plot development for this uplifting fable.
The story has a
moral that can be perceived in many different ways. I have read this fable many time to my
student, and each time I read it and ask them what they have learned, I am
amazed at each of their responses. They
each perceived the moral very differently, yet they all agree they can relate
it to their own life, and that is just beautiful. When the lion spares the mouse’s life and in
return the mouse goes back and saves the lion, it teaches the lesson to be kind
to others and they will in return be kind to you, just like “pay it forward”.
4.
REVIEW EXCERPTS
Caldecott Medal
Winner 2010
New York Times
Best Illustrated Book 2009
ALA Notable
Children Book 2010
Horn Books Awards
Honor Book 2010
A School Library
Top 100 Picture Books #37
Parent’s Choice Gold
Award Winner 2009
Starred review in
KIRKUS REVIEW: “A nearly wordless exploration of Aesop’s fable of symbiotic
mercy that is nothing short of masterful.”
Starred review
in PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: “Pinkney has no need for words; his art speaks eloquently for
itself.”
Starred review
in SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL:
"The ambiguity that results from the lack of words in this version allows
for a slower, subtle, and ultimately more satisfying read. Moments of humor and
affection complement the drama.”
5.
CONNECTIONS
*A book
representing the importance of family, friendship, or kindness even in an
unconventional situation.
*Other books
written and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney:
Pinkney,
Jerry. TIMIMOTO’S GREAT ADVENTURE. ISBN
978-0823401192
Pinkney, Jerry. AESOP’S
FABLES. ISBN 978-1587170003
Pinkney,
Jerry. THE LIT716421
TLE RED HEN. ISBN
978-0803729353
Pinkney, Jerry. PUSS IN BOOTS. ISBN 978-0803716421
*Activities found
on the following website: http://www.dltk-teach.com/fables/lion/index.htm
*Make hand held
puppets using craft sticks and construction paper, so that students can act out
and retell the story in groups or in a center.
JOSEPH HAD A LITTLE OVERCOAT
1.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Taback,
Simms. 1999. JOSEPH HAD A LITTLE
OVERCOAT. New York, NY: Penguin
Group. ISBN: 978-9655091168
2. PLOT SUMMARY
Joseph had a little overcoat that was old
and worn. It eventually had many holes,
so instead of throwing it away, he makes a new piece of clothing out of
it. From the coat, he first makes a
jacket. It, too, became old and worn so
he makes a vest out of it. The story continues, each time with Joseph making a
new piece of clothing which gets smaller and smaller every time. The vest
becomes a scarf, then the scarf becomes necktie, then necktie becomes a
handkerchief, and the handkerchief finally ends up as a button. He is left with nothing after the button gets
lost. Joseph does not lament his lost,
he instead makes a book about him and his overcoat. The moral of the story is that “you can
always make something out of nothing.”
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Simms Taback writes a fun story based on a
Yiddish fold song that he enjoyed as a child.
He uses a creative way to get the reader’s attention and
participation. Children can anticipate
what Joseph will do next with his clothing, just by looking at the cutouts on
the pages that follow. This book allows
readers to use many reading skills needed for comprehension. Readers are able to predict, infer, and even
use sequencing to retell and understand the story. The use of repetition and rhythm makes this
book ideal for young readers to re-aloud with confidence.
In addition, Taback uses humor and hidden
moral quotes throughout the story. For
instance, a very intriguing quote found in one of the pictures, is “When the
coat is old, only the holes are new.”
Furthermore, you can find other pictures saying, “Better to have an ugly
patch than a beautiful hole” and “What one has, one doesn’t want, and what one
wants, one doesn’t have.”
The artwork depicts the author’s Jewish background,
using watercolors and a folk-art style in all his illustrations. What a great way to expose young readers to
the Jewish culture and to items that they may not be familiar with. Throughout the book, readers can find many
Jewish objects, Yiddish writing and even music lyrics. At the end of the book, Taback includes the
music and lyrics of the song he enjoyed as a child.
Just like most traditional
tales, this story includes a moral and a happy ending. Taback cleverly symbolizes the moral of the
story, when Joseph makes a book after losing the button and has nothing else to
reuse. The lesson is easy for children
to understand and put to good use.
Teachers and parents can both use this book to teach children to
recycle, reuse, and ultimately value what they have.
4.
REVIEW EXCERPTS
2000 Caldecott
Medal Award
SCHOOL LIBRARY
JOURNAL: “A book bursting at the seams with ingenuity and creative spirit.”
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY:
“Taback works into his folk art a menagerie of wide-eyed animals witnessing the
overcoat’s transformation, miniature photographs superimposed on paintings and
some clever asides reproduced in small print (a wall hanging declares, “Better
to have an ugly patch than a beautiful hole”; a newspaper headline announces,
“Fiddler on Roof Falls off Roof”). With its effective repetition and an
abundance of visual humor, this is tailor-made for reading aloud.”
5. CONNECTIONS
*Other books by
Simms Taback
Taback,
Simms. THERE WAS AN OLD LADY WHO
SWALLOWED A FLY. ISBN 978-0874997798
Taback,
Simms. THIS IS THE HOUSE THAT JACK
BUILT. ISBN 978-0142402009
*Students may
write or share their meaning of “You can always make something out of nothing”. Have them explain it to the group.
*Have a Science
lesson about recycling and reusing items using this book as an example.
*Watch and listen
to a song and reading of the story JOSEPH HAS A LITTLE OVERCOAT on Youtube.com.
