Book Review: Clementine

Clementine by Sara Pennypacker posted on barnesandnoble.com

Summary:
Clementine is in the third grade and she is having the worst week ever. Everytime she tries to do something helpful it gets her in trouble. In this book, CLementine spends most of the week getting trouble for helping Margaret cut her hair, then cutting her own hair to match Margarets. Clementine then helps her dad with the great pigeon war, and her parents throw her a party to celebrate her achievment and even Margaret comes to the party!

I thought this book was wonderful. I think children can easily relate to Clementine, because the story is told from a childlike perspective. I loved how in Clementine's world she was just trying to help, but from an adult perspective it seemed like she was causing trouble. I think this book is a good book for educators to use because it can help us remember that children see things very differently than we do, and also because like I said before children relate to Clementine.

Pennypacker, Sara(2006). Clementine. New York: Hyperion Paperbacks for Children.

Journal: Ruby Lu, Brave and True

Ruby Lu, Brave and True by Lenore Look and illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf

I thought this book was cute. It took me a little while to get into it, but overall it was an enjoyable reading experience. I thought it was interesting how there were so many little stories within the main story, but felt that Look did a good job on keeping them all connected and flowing. I think that kids would enjoy this because, like Clementine they would relate to Ruby and her adventures! I also think this would be a good multicultural book, because it deals with people immigrating to a new country, and also trying to keep their cultural influences alive while living in a different culture.

Video Book Talk 2: Wombat Divine

Craft Lesson 3

Literature as a means of expressing feelings

Materials:
Sophie by Mem Fox and Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson
Pencil and journals
Thesaurus

Discussion:
Often in literature authors use their books as a means of expressing emotions. Many of these emotions come from the authors personal experiences. People often have a hard time expressing what they are feeling in words. This is especially true of young children as they do not have the vocabulary to always say what they are thinking or feeling. Allowing children to journal their ideas will help them to find a way to express the feelings that they otherwise might not be able to get out.

How to teach:
Today I going to talk to you about how your feelings can affect your writing. Have you ever been feeling something and you just could not find the words to express what you were feeling? (Wait for responses) What did you do when that happened? (Wait for responses) Well today we are going to read a book about a girl named Sophie. Sophie and her grandfather have a very special relationship and through this book you will see Sophie and her grandfather grow together and experience many different feelings. (Read story to children stopping periodically to discuss what the characters might be feeling and why we think that) Now that we have read Sophie, can anybody name a few of the ways the author or the illustrator expressed emotion in the book? (Wait for responses) Do you think that maybe the author has had a similar experience in her life, and that is why she wrote the book? (Wait for responses) I want you all to now go back to your seats and take out your journals and write about a time in your life when you felt something that you had a hard time telling people about. You can write about happy experiences, sad experiences, scary experiences, or anything you choose. But think about the words that you chose to describe your experience and use the thesaurus if you need to.

About the book:
Sophie is about a girl and her grandfather. Sophie's family is very happy when she comes into the world, and Sophie's grandfather is especially happy. Sophie grows and grows and grows until she if finally old enough to work with her grandfather. Then her grandfather starts to get smaller and weaker until finally he dies. Sophie's world is sad for a while until she has her own baby and then it is feeled with joy once again.

Journal: Stuart Goes to School

Stuart Goes to School by Sara Pennypacker and Martin Matje

I thought this book was good considering that it is meant to be a chapter book for young readers. I felt like children could identify with Stuart and his worries about school, and that they would find this story entertaining. Having read Clementine also by Pennypacker, I felt that this book did not have as much of the humor that I was expecting, but that the characters that she writes are similar. Both Stuart and Clementine are children who have a lot of ideas about things, and usually have a hard time fitting in at school. Stuart is different from Clementine in that he worries about everything and she is just a free spirit. The part of the story where Stuart introduces his magical cape was a little confusing, because I didn't understand the "magical" element of the story. The begining of the book makes it seem that the story is going to be a story that could possibly happen in real life. But then when Stuart starts crawling through magical holes in the wall, and forgetting to draw his teacher in the classroom and she dissappears is where I got a lost. I thought that the cape was more of a symbol of a good luck charm that gives Stuart the confidence to do things. My only concern with having my class read this book would be that they would get confused about the same things that I did and I would not be able to explain them. However, seeing that they are young children they may be able to use their imagination and look past that and enjoy the story!

Journal: What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?

What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? By:Steve Jenkins and Robin Page

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I really enjoyed the information the book provided, and felt that the illustrations made the book more child friendly. I also liked how the book allowed for predictions to be made. You could predict what you would do with that body part, and you could predict what the animal was. I found it very helpful that there was a glossary at the end of the book that showed each individual animal, and also gave a brief description about that animal. I felt like I learned a lot from this book, but also that it could be used in many different ways in a classroom at many different grade levels.

Book Talk-Pinkalicious