Books from Book Reviews

Choosing a book can be very difficult. The library is full of great books but which ones do we want to read in our classroom. I am going to list three books that I plan on adding to my classroom library.

Aunt Harriet’s Underground Railroad in the Sky by Faith Ringgold

Awards: Although the author herself has gained many awards for several of her books, this book received the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award for Picture Book in 1993.

This book employs a lot of imagination. It is written in first person narrative and starts out with a young girl explaining that one day she and her baby brother were flying among the starts. The pictures are painted without dimension as though a child might have drawn it. Throughout it though, here and there, the reader can see added details that make the artwork very unique. In the sky, the two children find an old ramshackle train. At the door of the train stands a woman, the conductor of the train. Around the train stand a multitude of ghostly figures. The woman is calling these ghostly men, women, and children to board the train, the train that is bound for Freedom.

The conductor finally introduces herself to the girl as Harriet Tubman and a conductor on the Underground Railroad. She begins to tell the young girl about slavery, the fear and the cruelty by those who suffered under it as well as the price it took for freedom.

The dream quality seems to change and the girl is sucked into the past. She must escape slavery and find her own way to freedom. Following the North Star, the young girl escapes her plantation, hides in the safe home of a young farmer couple, and then that of a blind woman’s. Along the way she looks for clues and signs that the places she is going to truly are part of the Underground Railroad. Some of the signs are songs of slavery and freedom. Some are signs sown on to quilts or Show Away’s that point the way to freedom. The girl faces many perils as she travels north to Freedom. She is always looking over her shoulder for the bounty hunters who would take her back into slavery. The story ends in celebration as the young girl enters the Canadian border and is reunited with family and friends. They celebrate their freedom and those that sacrificed so that they could have it.

This book would be a good addition to a lesson during Black History month. It would be fun to use with a Web Quest that would assign students different aspects of the Underground Railroad that they could look up. 

Show Way by Jacqueline Woods

Awards: This book received the John Newbery Medal Honor Book in 2006

Okay, this little picture book brought tears to my eyes. The story was about slavery and freedom. Instead of look at the larger picture of those seeking freedom, this book looked at one family’s road to freedom. It was about a family who rather than running away to find freedom, provided those that came to them the map to freedom. The map was sown into quilts called Show Way. As each daughter down the line was sold away into slavery, they brought with them the tools and the knowledge to show the way to freedom for those who sought escape. This was a heartwarming, heart-wrenching tell of the cost of freedom.

As a teacher, I will be adding this book to my collection. It will be a book that I will be reading to my students. I love the heroism that I saw in this book and the selfless sacrifice. As far as a lesson I will have to think more about it. This book would deserve something special. I like the idea of a lesson on self-sacrifice but I would have to also work that into some of my standards.

Blackout by John Rocco

Awards:

·         Caldecott Honor Book in 2012

·         Borders Original Voices Award for Best Picture Book

·         Original Art Show in Society of Illustrators

·         New York Times Best Book of the Year

 What happens when the lights go out? In this book we get to watch a busy family’s reaction to a blackout. They light candles and play. They then go up to the rooftop and see all the stars. They are amazed by these beautiful natural lights. They then go outside where the fire department has opened the pipes to let the kids play. A block party has ensued as families seek relief from the heat.

A lesson with this book would be science connected. I would read this book as a connection with how light travels and what might affect the lights.

Harry and Hopper by Margaret Wild

Awards: 2010 Greenaway Medal Winner

This is a very sad book. It is about a young boy and his dog. The boy plays every day with his dog. They run, hide, play catch and love each other. The dog Hopper sleeps with his little boy every night. An accident though takes place and Hopper is killed. Harry does not know how to say goodbye. He dreams about hopper every night until he is finally able to tell him goodbye.

I would probably not make a lesson out of this book. On the other hand, I think that it would be a great book to include in a classroom library to help kids who are going through loss.