# 30 Here Comes Our Bride (African)

Here Comes Our Bride! An African Wedding Story #30

Author and Photographer: Ifeoma Onyefulu

Frances Lincoln Children’s Books

2004

26 pages

Multi-cultural (African)

                This book tells about an African wedding. You learn how marriage is the joining of two families instead of just two people. Weddings are a major deal in Africa. The reader learns about what the man must do for the family before he can take the woman as his bride. The man gets a list from the father and has to bring all of the items on the list because each thing means something special. Another difference between the African and American culture is that the African culture has two weddings.

                The illustrations in this book are photographs by Ifeoma Onyefulu. The text is formally placed because the pictures are framed in red then the text is to the side or the bottom of the page. There is a lot of texture to the pictures because of the design of the clothes, furniture, and balloons.

                This book is appropriate for second grade and up. You could use this book to compare and contrast other culture’s wedding ceremonies. You could also learn facts about the culture by referring to the yellow fact boxes on each page. This book would also be great to use during black history month to bring in different cultures. Ifeoma Onyefulu is known as an award-winning author and photographer. 

#29 Jamie O' Rourke and The Pooka (Irish)

Jamie O’ Rourke and the Pooka #29

Written and Illustrated by: Tomie De Paola

G.P. Putnam’s Sons

2000

Multi-cultural (Irish)

            This Irish book is about a wife that is going to her sister’s house. The wife prepared food and cleaned the house for the husband so all he has to do is clean up after he eats. When his wife leaves his friends come over. They had a feast and did not clean up after themslves. While he was asleep to pooka cleaned up the mess. His friends came over and he told them that he did all the cleaning. So he decided he could do this every night since it was getting cleaned up. He was so grateful he gave a jacket to the pooka but then the pooka stopped cleaning. He said he was only supposed to clean until he was rewarded. His wife came home and he was in trouble.

            The illustrator uses liquid acrylic on handmade Fabriano paper. The text is formally placed because the pictures are framed and the text is below the picture. Warm colors are used like yellow, orange and red throughout the book. The line of the book is horizontal.

            This book would be appropriate for kindergarten and up. You could use this book to show different dialects because the main characters talk different then what Americans do. You could use this book for moral education as well. You could feed off this by saying you should do your own work. You could also teach your students about fiction books because the pooka talks in the book. Tomie DePaola has received many awards for his books like Caldecott Honor book Strega Nona and Newbery Honor book 26 Fairmount Avenue. His latest award was the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal in 2011.

#28 Cinco de Mouse-o (Spanish)

Cinco de Mouse-o! #28

Author: Judy Cox

Illustrator: Jeffery Ebbeler

Holiday House

2010

30 pages

Multi-cultural (Mexican or Latino)

            This book is about a mouse that wakes up and smells some amazing food. So he tries to find it. While he is looking for the food smell a cat starts to follow him. He finally finds the wonderful food smell at a Cinco de Mayo celebration. He gets incredible food from the people dropping snack size crumbs for a mouse. He has to run from the cat and sees a mariachi band, a piñata, and dancing. He gets away and goes home with dessert.     

            The medium was created with acrylic paint, pastels and colored pencils on paper. The pictures are drawn to the portion of the mouse so everything looks larger than life. Vibrant colors are used in the illustration because the book is about a festival. The illustrations look like you could feel the piñata or the mouse’s hair. 

            This book is appropriate for the lower level grades. It could be used to teach children about the Mexican or Latino culture. You could also teach students about the food chain by bring attention to the mouse and the cat. This book would be great to use during Cinco de Mayo to help younger children understand the culture of that celebration. This book has been awarded the Bank Street College of Education Best Books of 2011.

# 27 The Cabbage Soup Solution (Polish)

The Cabbage Soup Solution #27

Author and Illustrator: Erika Oller

Dutton Children’s Books

2004

30 pages

Multicultural (Polish)

            This Polish book is about a woman that has a garden but cabbage is the best vegetable she grows. Every morning she would pick the largest cabbages to sale to the greengrocer. But one morning, half of the cabbages were gone. She decided to stay up that night to see who was taking her cabbage but she fell asleep. When she woke up she was cold and her cabbages were missing. She was so upset but she tried to sleep it off. While she was asleep the cats took charge of the garden and got the bunnies to help get everything needed for the soup. When she woke up the next day she was going out to the garden to get everything needed to make the soup and found it all at the front door. She made an extra amount of soup for later. When she started to eat she noticed the bunnies were watching from outside so she invited them into the house. They all ate and slept. The next day they helped her plant more cabbages. These were the best cabbages she ever had. She sold some to the greengrocer, kept some for herself, and gave some to the rabbits. She gained more friends, more business, and more cabbage soup.

            It looks like Oller used watercolor and color pencils as the medium. Oller used informal text placement to tell the story. The horizontal line in the book compliments the farm landscape pictures in the book. Calm colors are used in the book and the pictures are balanced.

            This book is appropriate for kindergarten students and up. I recommend using this book to teach about the Polish culture in social studies. This book would also be ideal to use when you are teaching character education. You could teach your students about not taking from others and helping others. You could also teach a math lesson from this book by finding a cabbage soup recipe. This book has received the Bccb Blue Ribbon Picture Book Award.   

#26 Celebrtitrees

Celebritrees #26

Written by: Margi Preus

Illustrated by: Rebecca Gibbon

Henry Holt

2010

36 pages

Nonfiction

             This book is about all different types of trees. The book refers to trees as a type of history because they can sometimes be thousands of years old. There is a tree that is over 4,000 years old. Another tree was used for a prison while another was used for a place for Robin Hood to stay. This book is called Celebritrees because they are known globally for their significance and fame but most importantly what they can tell us about history.

            The illustrations in this book are created from acrylic ink, colored pencil, and watercolor on free-acid cartridge paper.  The colors are earthy tones like green, brown, and gold. The trees are given texture and the pictures are drawn to scale in some illustrations to show how tall the trees really are.  The line of the book is vertical that shows the height of the trees.

            This book is appropriate for kindergarten to fifth grade. This book would be wonderful to use on Earth day to show students the amazing things that grow if we take care of our world. Another away this book would be useful is to use one of the tree stories that relate to a history topic or a place in the world. This book would be ideal to use to tell students about the lifecycle of a tree. Celebritrees was a nominee for the Cybils award for nonfiction picture books.

#25 She Sang Promise

She Sang Promise #25

Written by: Jan Godwon Annio

Illustrated by: Lisa Desimini

National Geographic

2010

33 pages

Nonfiction

            This book is about Betty Mae Jumper. It tells how a child in the Seminole Tribe is brought up in Florida. Betty Mae grew up with songs that have legends. She respected the songs and the legend. This story tells about her as a story teller, alligator-wrestler, and nurse. This book also tells readers about her becoming a voice for her people since she was the first woman tribal leader in modern times.

            The illustrations in this book look like they were created with acrylic paint. The colors are vibrant and relate to the Seminole tribe.  The line is horizontal so it is calm and tranquil.  The pictures have texture that makes the pictures come to life. The text is informally placed because it is placed to the side of the text.

            This book is appropriate for kindergarten through fifth grade.  I think it would be ideal for teachers to use when they are teaching about another culture. The teacher could educate the children on the Seminole Tribe. This book could also teach children about Betty Mae Jumper since the book is about her life. This book could be used in the classroom as a timeline from 1513 until the late 1990s because different occasions throughout her life are chronology ordered. This book has received awards like the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame and Florida Folk Art Award. 

#24 Jimi Sounds Like a Rainbow

Jimi Sounds like a Rainbow #24

Written by: Gary Golio

Illustrated by: Javaka Steptoe

Clarion Books

2010

32 pages

Nonfiction

            This book is about Jimi Hendrix in his childhood.  It informs the reader that he played on a one string ukulele. Jimi would play simple tunes and try out new ways to play it making the sound of rain drops. He grew up in a boarding house with his father. The other kids loved Jimmy’s drawings, how he made funny noises with his mouth like trumpets and guitars. He had two best friends that stayed by him even though he had a rough time as a child.  The book tells how he loved to draw and his love for music.

            The illustrations of this book are astonishing. The illustrator listened to his music and did a lot of research on Jimi before he drew the pictures. He used plywood from The RE Store in Ballard. Jimi is painted different then the background and other people because he saw people in another way. He layered the pictures to represent the depth of music. The bright colors red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple were used to represent the texture of his music.

            This book is appropriate for kindergarten to fifth grade students. This book could be used in your classroom in main ways. Jimi  Sounds like a Rainbow could be used to teach your students character education by educating them to see things through their own eyes like Jimi did. This book could also be used to learn about Jimi Hendricks childhood through the end of his life. This book would also be ideal to use when you are teaching your students about authors and illustrators because there is a detailed note from the author and the illustrator.  This book just recently received the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award in 2011. 

# 23 Me... Jane

Me… Jane #23

Written and Illustrated by: Patrick McDonnell

Little, Brown and Company

2011

37 pages

Historical Fiction

            This book is about Jane Goodall. Jane loved to be outside with all the animals. When she was young she could be found sitting in a tree reading Tarzan of the Apes. Since childhood she has imagined helping in the jungles of Africa with the wildlife.  This story tells how Jane Goodall became a primatologist, environmentalist, humanitarian, and United Nations Messenger of Peace.

            The illustrations in this book are stunning. The illustrations are a combination of Jane Goodall’s childhood drawings, sketches and photographs. Other photographs are from the National Geographic Stock. The other pictures appear to be illustrated in watercolor and color pencils. The pictures are simple and with a low hue. Earth tone colors are used throughout the book. The text is informally placed.

            This book is appropriate for any age group but would be most utilized by second grade through fifth grade. This book would be a wonderful tool to use when you are teaching children about wildlife. The teacher could teach the students about Jane Goodall‘s life. Another way this book could be used is to motivate students to follow their dreams. Me… Jane just won the 2012 Charlotte Zolotow Award. 

# 22 Rosa

Rosa #22

Written by: Nikki Giovanni

Illustrated by: Bryan Collier

Henry Holt and Company

2005

34 pages

Historical Fiction

            This book is about the stand that Rosa Parks took during the civil rights movement. She was sitting in a section on the bus that was a neutral section and the bus driver asked her rudely to move. She did not move from the seat. All of the “colored” people heard about the bus and started to rally together. Some girls meet at Alabama State that night to make poster. The poster encouraged people not to ride the bus but to walk. People from around the nation heard about this and started send walking shoes coats and money. They were proud of this nonviolent protest. Final on November 13, 1956, segregation was illegal. Rosa Parks made a enormous impact of the Civil Rights movement.

            Collier used acrylic paint to illustrate this story. The illustrator sad he did research before he drew the pictures by visiting Montgomery and Selma, Alabama. He noticed that Alabama has hot weather so he used warm colors. Collier draws attention to Rosa in the story by surrounding her with a glow of gold. The text is formally placed on the page. Collier’s illustrations also look like a collage. The pictures in this book are breath taking.

            This book would be appropriate for kindergarten and up. If this book was being read by the students it would be best for the higher elementary grades. This book has many possible classroom connections. You could teach your students about Rosa Parks as a person and what she stands for. The students could be educated about the Civil Right Movement. Another idea is to teach the students about protesting and standing up for what you believe. The students could learn about Dr. Martin Luther King.  Nikki Giovanni has received countless awards and honors from Women of the Year to having keys to difference cities. Nikki Giovanni is an Award-winning poet, writer, and activist.

# 21 Ben Franklin and the Magic Squares

Ben Franklin and the Magic Squares #21

Written by: Frank Murphy

Illustrated by: Richard Walz

Random House Inc

2001

48 pages

Historical Fiction

                This book shows how Benjamin Franklin was a writer, scientist and an inventor. The book illustrates how he came up with the magic square puzzle. He said he made it to keep him from being bored while he was working at the Pennsylvania Assembly as a clerk. This book tells about his pet squirrel Skugg. The book also uses a lot of text boxes.

                The illustrations look like they were created in watercolor and colored pencils. The pictures are horizontal and the text is placed informally. The colors are not very bright so the hue is light.

                This book is appropriate for kindergarten and up but I think it would be most valuable in a third, fourth, fifth or sixth grade classroom. This book would be ideal to use when you are introducing Magic Squares for the first time in a classroom. This book would be great to use when you teach about Benjamin Franklin’s life. Another way is to discussion the difference between historical fiction and nonfiction. Frank Murphy has not received the Caldecott yet but he says he hopes to one day.