Module 4: Miss Hickory

Image retrieved from goodreads.com

Book Summary: Miss Hickory is a doll made of twigs with a hickory nut head. She lives in a corn cob house outside Great-granny Brown's house in rural New Hampshire. She learns from her friends, Crow and Mr. T. Willard Brown, the barn cat, that Great-granny Brown is closing her house, the Old Place, for the winter, and the family has gone to Boston. This means Miss Hickory will not be spending winter on the warm kitchen counter, as she is accustomed, and will have to find a new home and a way to survive. Dejected, Miss Hickory basically gives up and shuts down until Crow finds her a new home in a nest Robin has abandoned, nestled in an apple tree where she will be warm and dry. She learns to adapt to her new reality, making her nest a home, fashioning winter clothes out of materials from the forest, and foraging for food to freeze. However, she keeps finding herself missing out on things, such as the Christmas parade in the barn, because of her "hard head." In the end, Squirrel, of whom she has been afraid all along, eats the head right off her body, but she does not die. On the contrary, her body finds that she knows her apple tree so well that she can climb up high into the tree and take root on a branch, becoming part of the tree. Then, we learn that she was a scion all along, and by taking root on the tree, she makes the old, gnarled tree vibrant again. 

APA Reference: 

Bailey, C.S. (1946). Miss hickory. New York: Viking Penguin.

Impressions: At first, I did not think I was going to like this book because I thought it would be boring and a slow read. However, I found myself quite enchanted by this peculiar little story about an odd sort of doll living in the woods. As I read, I could see Bailey's love of nature, confirmed in the author information on the book jacket, shining through. The story, in my opinion, really serves to teach young readers about nature. Much of the story centers around explaining what different animals do during each seasons, how to prepare for and survive the winter, and other various aspects of country life. For instance, I did not know what a scion was until I read this book. I am not sure whether this book holds up to current children. I imagine those who really love to read and will read anything, or those who love nature, might still like it, but there is not a lot of action, and the story definitely has an old feeling. I think if a reader can appreciate it for what it is, a simple story of the natural world, its magic is still there. 

Professional Review: 

"The adventures of a country doll made of an apple-wood twig, with a hickory nut for a head. The story is told with humor and with an appreciation of the countryside and the seasons. Miss Hickory remains at all times exactly what she is, a doll, yet becomes for the reader a very rich and memorable personality." -- Booklist

Miss Hickory [Review of the book Miss Hickory, by C.S. Bailey]. (1946). Booklist, 43(5), 74. 

Library Uses: This book could be used for lessons about nature. Excerpts could be read during different seasons, followed by a nature walk in which students look for and/or record elements of that season outside, after reading about them in Miss Hickory. An extension of this activity would be for students to do further research on changes during the seasons, or how animals behave during each season, in the local area (since Texas is very different from New Hampshire), and make real observations based on those findings.

Module 3: So You Want to Be President?

Image retrieved from childrensbookalmanac.com

Book Summary: This book summarizes various aspects of being President of the United States, such as features of the White House, perks, drawbacks, duties, all while interweaving history and background of past presidents throughout the information. The book is full of fun anecdotes about different presidents. It talks about which presidents were frugal and which filled the White House with expensive knickknacks; it also discusses presidents' hobbies, including a funny story about a reporter stealing John Quincy Adams' clothes while he was skinny dipping in the Potomac. This book is full of interesting facts and presents a ton of American history in a fun, easy to read way. 

APA Reference: 

St. George, J. (2000). So you want to be president? New York: Philomel Books. 

Impressions: I thought this one was of the most unique books I've read so far. It was a fascinating read, even for an adult, and I learned a lot of interesting information about presidents and the presidency that I didn't previously know. I think children would also like it and find it interesting and fun to read. It's presents the information in a fast-paced way, and a reader doesn't have to read it cover to cover or even in chronological order; you can skip around and still learn a lot and enjoy the book. It won the Caldecott medal, so obviously it has great illustrations, done by David Small, and one reason I chose this book to write about this week was how well the illustrations complement the book. They are done in caricature style, and look like political cartoons you would see in a newspaper or magazine. They embellish the anecdotes in the text; for example, on the page that talks about Warren Harding being handsome, he is depicted as the winner of a "Presidential Beauty Contest" in a king's robe with a crown and scepter, waving to a crowd of adoring fans.  A reader could easily flip through this book just looking at the illustrations and completely appreciate it, and, more than that, the pictures would make someone want to read the text to find out what the illustrations are referring to. 

Professional Review: 

"Curious tidbits of personal information and national history combine with humorously drawn caricatures to give this tongue-in-cheek picture book a quirky appeal. 'There are good things about being President and there are bad things about being President.' So begins a walk through a brief history of facts, successes, oddities, and mishaps. For example, most readers won't know that William Howard Taft weighed over 300 pounds and ordered a specially made bathtub. Small's drawing of a naked Taft being lowered into a water-filled tub by means of a crane should help them remember. Another spread depicts a men's shop where Andrew Johnson (a tailor) fits Ronald Reagan (an actor) for a suit while Harry Truman (a haberdasher) stands behind the counter. While the text exposes the human side of the individuals, the office of the presidency is ultimately treated with respect and dignity. A list of presidents with terms of office, birthplace, date of birth and death, and a one-sentence summary of their accomplishments is provided. This title will add spark to any study of this popular subject."--Alicia Eames, New York City Public Schools. 

Eames, A. (2000). St. George, Judith: So you want to be president? [Review of the book So you want 

     to be president?, by J. St. George]. School Library Journal, 46(8), 206-207.

Library Uses: This book could be used as introduction to unit or activity about U.S. presidents. The librarian could read the book, or excerpts from the book, to groups of students. Then, the students could choose a president to research and create a project about (which would also be a good way to teach/enhance research skills). This could be done around President's Day, and the projects could be displayed around the school. Art classes could even be involved, and students could create caricatures of their chosen presidents, inspired by the book's illustrations, to accompany the displays. 

Module 2: Harriet the Spy

Image retrieved from Amazon.com

Book Summary: From the beginning, we learn that Harriet is a precocious, observant child who likes to know people's stories and who has many questions about the world. She has two best friends, Sport and Janie, and she is very attached to her nurse, Ole Golly, who has lived with Harriet since she was born. Harriet has a spy route that she travels everyday after school where she spies neighbors she finds interesting undetected and takes notes on them, as well as her classmates and family members, in her notebook. Ole Golly leaves to get married and moves away, and Harriet is devastated. Not too much later, Harriet's classmates find her notebook and discover some mean things she has written about them, thinking no one would ever see them. The classmates band together against Harriet, and Harriet finds herself at war with literally everyone else in the sixth grade. Meanwhile, her parents and teachers try to keep her from writing in light of all that is happening. After a letter from Ole Golly and a trip to see a psychiatrist, Harriet's parents and teachers find a way for her to channel her talent by writing for the school paper, and Harriet's real friends come back to her after a carefully drafted and sincere apology.

APA Reference: 

Fitzhugh, L. (2000). Harriet the spy. New York: Delacorte Press. 

(original copyright date 1964)

Impressions: I thought this was a wonderfully original, complex story about a girl growing up and entering adolescence without being overtly a coming of age story. It dealt with loss, finding one's way, finding one's true friends, and how to deal with difficult situations and how to relate to others all through a refreshingly true-to-life story. I particularly enjoyed how the message of the book was not what I thought it was going to be. I thought, somewhere in the middle of the story, that Harriet was going to learn not to write her every candid thought for fear of hurting someone's feelings, but the lesson was much more about navigating the complexities of relationships. The real moral of the story, in my opinion, was about finding one's place in the world and learning to say goodbye. The spy element of it also really added to Harriet (and by extension, the reader) learning about how people move through their everyday lives and deal with their feelings and the things that happen to them. I was overwhelmed by the genius of this book.

Professional Review:  

"The character of Harriet M. Welsch, aspiring writer and neighborhood spy, remains as original as she was when this novel was first published, helping to usher in a new age of modern realistic fiction. Though never out of print, the novel now has a different publisher, still containing Fitzhugh's own black-and-white illustrations, and stands as a testament to the author's unique creative vision."

Fitzhugh, Louise: Harriet the spy [Review of the book Harriet the spy, by L. Fitzhugh].                 (2001). The Horn Book Guide, 12(2), 305. 

Library Uses: This book could be used for a library challenge in which, after reading the book, students keep notebooks or journals where they take notes and write down observations about people and things they see in their everyday lives. These notes could be turned into stories, like Harriet does in the book, and the stories could be published at school, displayed in the library, or used as part of a contest (write so many and receive a reward, etc.).

Module 1: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

Image retrieved from simonandschuster.com

Book Summary: Mr. Morris Lessmore loved to read. He wrote a book about his life as it was happening until one day he blew away and the words got scattered. He saw a lady being pulled by flying books, and when Morris's book wouldn't fly, she sent him a book that led him to building where books lived. Morris ended up spending his life with the books, reading them, caring for them, and sharing them with others. He continued to write his own story, and when he grew old, the books took care of him until he decided it was time to go. The books flew him away, and he turned young again. He left his own book behind, and a little girl wandered into the book building. Morris's book flew up to her, and she began to read. The story implies that the cycle begins again. 

APA Reference:

Joyce, W. (2012). The fantastic flying books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. New York: Atheneum 

     Books for Young Readers.

Impressions: I absolutely loved this book. What struck me first about it were the illustrations. They are so vivid, imaginative, and unlike anything I had ever seen. The use of black and white transitioning to color when Morris gets taken away by the books really enhanced the story. I also loved the idea of a man who loved words and books literally being taken on a fantastic adventure by books. I thought it was interesting that the story never says Morris is taken to a library, just a home for books, and also that even though he loves reading and living with the books, he isn't a recluse. He shares his love with the world. The ending plays to the reader's emotions; even though Morris's life is over, his legacy continues through another (and we can assume the lady who first gave him the flying book preceded him at the books' home). Overall, I thought it was a touching, inventive story without being overdone. I would be excited to see the short film it is based on. 

Professional Review:

"Grades 1-3. First it was an Academy Award–winning animated short. Then it was an intuitively interactive iPad story app. And now it’s a regular old book, which is fitting given that the story is all about the lasting power of books to transport and nourish the soul. Our hero is a bibliophile modeled after legendary children’s-literature advocate William Morris (in spirit) and Buster Keaton (in looks), whose gray-colored world is colorized when he sees a woman fly past, pulled by 'a festive squadron of flying books.' One such book leads him to take custodianship of a house full of rambunctious stories. As the years pass, he writes one of his own, which in turn inspires a young girl after he is gone. The message-heavy narrative is lifted by Joyce’s superb artwork, presenting nostalgic, picket-fence scenes with a modeled, dimensional feel built on the animation but given a lustrous polish for the printed page. Perhaps most fascinating, the movie, app, and book taken together present an entirely kid-friendly opportunity to talk about the interplay between content and format. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The movie and app iterations of this work have attracted gobs of acclaim and attention for the book to capitalize on."

Chipman, I. (2012). The fantastic flying books of Mr. Morris Lessmore [Review of the book

The fantastic flying books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, by W. Joyce]. Booklist, 108(21), 70.

Library Use: This would be a great book to read before having kids do a project where they create a "flying book" inspired by one of their favorite books. They could create illustrations and their own summaries and/or reviews on construction paper, fold them into book shapes, and the librarian could hang them on strings from the library ceiling.