Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Author Maruice Sendak's Caldecott Honor Award-Winning picture book Where The Wild Things Are embodies the heart of childhood, and what a vivid imagination can create when dealing with the reality of the world. One night, Max is sent to bed without finishing his dinner, calling him "a wild thing." Max, unable to carry out his mischief in his wolf suit, is swept away by his imaginative spirit and journeys to the land of monsters.


"That very night in Max's room a forest grew -
and grew -
and grew until his ceiling hung with vines and the walls became the world all around
and an ocean tumbled by with a private boat for max as he sailed off through night and day
and in and out of weeks and almost over a year to where the wild things are..."

Max is crowned "The King of Wild Things" upon his arrival to the land of monsters, and they all have a "wild rumpus." As the wild things are sent off to bed, Max begins to long for his home again and feels alone. He gives up being king of where the wild things are because of his yearning to feel love and comfort once again.

"and into the night of his very own room
where he found his supper waiting for him
and it still was hot."

As Sendak defended the critics to his story for it being too "frightening," in his acceptance speech for the Caldecott he stated, "despite adults' desire to protect children from painful experiences," "the fact is that from their earliest years children live on familiar terms with disrupting emotions, that fear and anxiety are an intrinsic part of their every day lives, that they continually cope with frustration as best they can. And it is through fantasy that children achieve catharsis. It is the best means they have for taming the Wild Things." (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/)

Max's character is someone that readers may be able to connect with; we all experience feelings of anger from time to time; but instead of acting upon those actions, he uses his imagination to free him from the stress of the situation. Although at first he enjoys being in this fantasy world, in the end he realizes that his place is to be at home, safe with his mother.

Sendak's story celebrates the power of a child's imagination, and emulates the realistic emotions and thoughts of children of yesterday and today. It allows for children to enter into a fantasy world with Max, and its through the simplistic text and story-telling illustrations, that readers come away with an understanding that it's okay to fantasize and discover a world hidden within your own bedroom.

"Sendak presents an image of children not as sentamentalized little dears but as people coping with complex emotions such as anger, fear, frustration, wonder, and awareness of their own vulnerability. This well-earned and reassuring happy ending for all children wrestling with human nature's darker emotions." ~ Children's Literature Review

It is through literature, and converstion within literature, that children and teachers, parents can discuss the emotions involved. Children need to know that it is okay to have these emotions but to know how to deal with them in an appropriate manner. Children will be able to relate, imagine, and enjoy the exploration of finding their individual wild sides, while being assured that its okay to have it!

The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pickney

Jerry Pickney retells the original Aesop fable, The Lion and the Mouse. In his first wordless book, Pickney tells the story of a mouse, who, both exchange acts of kindness for one another.

"It did not start out, the intent was not for it be be wordless. As a matter of fact, I thought that this story was so clear in my mind that I would actually start the process of doing thumbnail sketches then adding the text later. So the story is visually narratively driven, and I think that's what you find in it. Not only telling the story of the lion and the mouse, but also the story of what attracted me to the Serengeti, the African Serengeti."
(http://www.readingrockets.org/)

Pickney's illustrations clearly demonstrate his wealth of knowledge of the Serengeti. His carefully sequenced images of the characters develop the closeness of their relationship, as the close-up images that are seen throughout note the lion and mouse as the protagonists of the story, as they appear to be realistic. In an author's note, Pickney explains that he set the story in the Serengeti, "with its wide horizon and abundant wildlife so awesome yet fragile, not unlike the two sides of each of the heroes."

Pickney's pencil work, coupled with the watercolor images create a characters that fit well into its surroundings, while also using perspective to see the Serengeti through the mouse and lion's eyes. The interview from Reading Rockets continues, "I wanted them to be anthropomorphic, but in a way that suggested the true nature and the character of a lion, and a true nature and a true character of a mouse. And in doing so I had to straddle a fence making them respond in a kind of natural way, but the reader to understand what they were responding to."

The symoblic meaning behind the lion and the mouse is something that is valued by this popular tale. "The lion, while strong and powerful, does not harm the small, defenseless mouse after it scurries away from an owl. In return for this kindness, the mouse comes the rescue of the lion by chewing through the roped snare that captured him. As many fables have a moral, in the story of the lion of the mouse the reader does not know why the lion lets the mouse free or why the mouse saves the lion by setting him free." Perhaps, it's the acts of kindness and the actions represented in the pictures that becomes the moral of this popular, and thought-provoking fable.

Although this was a retelling, Jeff Pickney's version of this tale forced me to re-evaluate my own knowledge of fables. It is amazing how a wordless book can drive the story right out of its illustrations. The ability to interact with the text between a teacher and a student or a mother and a child is the beauty of what resonates from these types of storybooks. And it will be a storybook and lesson that a child will live by, and never forget.

Owen & Mzee, The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship by Isabella and Craig Hatkoff

Owen & Mzee tells the heartwarming story of a friendship that results after the 2004 Tsunami in Kenya. The inseparable duo first meet when Owen, a baby hippo is stranded. As villagers work tirelessly to rescue Owen, Mzee, a 130-year-old tortoise, "adopts" the young hippo. From that moment on Owen and Mzee become acquainted with one another at the animal santuary and stay by each other's side day in and day out.

These are a few of the questions that I had after reading this story:

• Why did the authors decide to write about Owen and Mzee?
• How did they know of their bond in Kenya?

While trying to find these answers, I found in a review by Publisher's Weekly. The review stated that a photograph of the two was published in newspapers about a month after the tsunami. "Craig Hatkoff and his then six-year old daughter, moved by that image and the accompanying article, decided to learn more about these animal-companions-and to write their story."

The photographs of Owen and Mzee detail each of the events and emotions involved throughout their journey. Photographer Peter Greste incorporates full page spreads of Owen's trying transport to the sanctuary. Photos also demonstrate Owen's immediate movement toward Mzee once arrivng there - "Owen crouched behind Mzee, the way baby hippos often hide behind their mothers for protection." While the illustrations depict the heartfelt emotions of the pair, the text allows readers to closely follow just how remarkable yet suprising the bond truly is between the two of them. Illustrations throughout the story detail the daily activities of cuddling, swimming, and playing around with one another. "Most wildlife experts have never heard of a mammal and a reptile forming such a strong bond."


The story of Owen and Mzee just goes to show how during life's most trying times, it's the people (or animals) in this case, that help us survive it and move on. Even though there were differences between Owen and Mzee, that did not stop them in surrendering their love for one another and forming a mother-son relationship that continues to exist today. I was surprised yet pleased that these two would create this relationship. I believe that children who read this story will be glad that Owen was able to find a mother to care for him, as well as Mzee having a son to take care of. Once reading this book, students will be inclined to read the follow-ups that tell of their first year together and the unique "language" that they created to communicate. UNREAL!

Yo! Yes? by Chris Raschka

Illustrator and storybook writer Chris Raschka's Yo! Yes? details the short yet sweet meeting of two boys, one white, one black on the street. With the story's word count totalling only 34 words, one would think at first glance that the story's plot would be uninteresting; however, it's message of finding friendship in the oddest of places it what is clearly understood at the culmination of this award-winning book.

Raschka's rhythmic text introduces the reader to two opposities, while one is shy, the other is very outgoing. As the two communicate with very few words, "Yo!" "Yes?" "What's up?" "Not much." The exchange of words lead up to an increased amount of converstaion. The two boys join together to become friends at the final pages as Raschka depicts them both jumping up into the air while yelling simulateneously, "Yow!"

Although the text is simplistic, the underlying message that Raschka details in the story is that you can find friendship with someone who may appear completely different than you on the outside. But if you take the time to get to know that person and his intentions, you may find that you have alike than you assumed.

• What gave Raschka the inspiration to write Yo! Yes?

While I did not find an exact answer to this question, I discovered the process of how he gets started on writing a story. In an interview with Scholastic, Raschka states,"usually a number of events will be going on around me to start on a book. What I mean is I will have read a poem or saw a picture that is lingering in my mind. I will be brooding about something going on in my life, and then I will remember something that happened to me as a child. Some of this will just come to me; some if it I will actively pursue for instance, maybe it was that worried me the most when I was eight. So then I will have this thing that I want to get down. It might just be a single picture in my mind, or an image suggested by a line of poetry, or a phrase I heard on the street, something that I want to nurse along into a picture book."

The part of the interview where he says, or a phrase I heard on the street, totally struck me - perhaps he heard bits and pieces of a conversation like this on the street, and this was his motivation to write Yo! Yes? I wonder??

I think reading this story aloud, even using this as a Reader's Theatre activity in the classroom, will allow for children to be actively involved in the text, as well as being "eavesdroppers" on their conversation. Raschka sends the message that children can find friends in the most unlikely places, and at first glance, with the most unlikely people.

When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant

I read Cynthia Rylant's Caldecott Honor book, When I Was Young in the Mountains, after reading Waiting to Waltz, A Childhood. After reviewing reader's responses online, I was interested in seeing the similarities and differences between both books that captured Rylant's experiences in living in West Virginia as a young girl. When I Was Young in the Mountains has an entirely different feel to it than Waiting to Waltz. When reading this story, her words were inviting, welcoming, and warm. The experiences told in this story explain the events in living with her younger brother and loving grandparents in the mountains. Rylant's somewhat autobiographical story reflects how her life was simplistic yet pleasing living in Cool Ridge. She reminisces about the simplistic yet satisfying pleasures such as visiting the general store, pumping water from the well, and floating in the local swimming hole. She even remembers the smell of the sweet milk bought from that general store and how awful she felt after eating too many of her grandmother's okra. The vivid details and descriptions prompt you to question, how can she remember these events as if they just happened yesterday? In a Q&A interview with Harcourt Publishers, Rylant states, "I long to put what I have lived, how my heart and mind have changed over time into beautiful, meaningful language."

Illustrations by Diane Goode fully compliment the text in displaying Rylant's recollection of her experiences in Cool Ridge as if they happened yesterday. The warm colors comfirm the happiest feelings expressed by Rylant as she details her fondest childhood events that happened in the mountains. While I have not lived in this setting, I have a clearer picture of what life would be like living in this type of rural environment. Life doesn't seem as busy and complicated in the past as it does today. I feel somewhat envious of the fact that I haven't experienced the smell of fresh, clean air in the mountains - you can't smell that growing up in a heavily populated city!

Comparing this autobiography to Waiting to Waltz, both pieces are similiar in how Rylant depicts her childhood experiences of growing up in West Virginia. However, Waiting to Waltz contains experiences that were not the warm, fuzzy feelings portrayed in When I Was Young in the Mountains. The poems told more about the moments that challenged her, as well as moments that she experienced grief, sadness, and tragedy (with a few poems that showed times of happiness and certainty). Both stories tell of different times in Rylant's life; When I Was Young in the Mountains demonstrates Rylant's transformation of her childhood into becoming a young woman, while When I Was Young in the Mountains strictly details her experiences and feelings as a young, carefree girl living with her grandparents. I found myself questioning a few things: where was her mother during this time? Why did she leave her son and daughter in the care of grandparents? I found in an article about Rylant's life when trying to find answers to my questions on the web. In the article, it stated that her parents were separated when she was four years old, and her mother wanted to pursue a nursing degree. So young Cynthia and brother were left with their grandparents in Cool Ridge. Four years later, Rylant's mother reunited with her children and moved to Beaver, West Virginia - the setting for her childhood poems, Waiting to Waltz. She once called this new location "without a doubt a small, sparkling universe that gave me a lifetime worth of material for my writing." www.edupaperback.org/showauth.cfm?authid=40

It is evident that Rylant's past truly impacted her success as a writer today. Her experiences I can describe somewhat like a rollercoaster ride - there are many ups, downs, twists, and turns. Sometimes you feel safe, happy, and secure. Other times you feel terribly frightened. I truly admire her as an author as well as a young woman. She inspires me to hold onto memories, both good and bad, as they are all a part of life and make us who we are today.

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

Come and explore the fascinating ways that animals can use their tails, ears, eyes, mouths, noses, and feet through the interactive and colorfully illustrated book titled What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? Illustrator Steve Jenkins and wife Robin Page create a fun and interactive guessing game throughout the entire story. Jenkins cut-paper art is shown on a one-page spread, while allowing only for the specific animals' tails, ears, eyes, mouths, etc. to be shown - accompanied by the text asking (i.e. What Do You Do With a Nose Like This?). The pages following present the reader with a full-page bleed of illustrations that show full bodies of animals, coupled with the answers to the questions asked on the previous pages. "If you're a scorpian, your tail can give a nasty sting," "If you're a lizard, you break off your tail to get away."

While researching what medium Jenkins utilized, I found a Q&A review regarding how he creates his cut-paper collages. "Once he knows what he wants to illustrate, he collects his references. He may visit many zoos, or the aquarium. He takes photographs and looks at a lot of books. "I don't do the actual studies there, but I do find it useful to get an appreciation of how beautiful and subtle they really are. I do an outline drawing based on the references and how I want them to look on the page. Then I do a quick color setting to figure out what paper I'm going to use in the collage. Finally I cut and tear." The Q&A also mentioned that Jenkins is continually collecting all different kinds of paper, most of them being from other countries that have a tradition of hand made paper, such as Japan.(www.childrenslit.com/mai/jenkins_steve.html) Still after knowing this, it truly amazes me how he creates these illustrations just from cut-paper collages. How can he create such life-like fur, skin, and feathers with just paper? QUITE FASCINATING YET UNBELIEVABLE! His cover illustration is a full page bleed of the lizard, showing only his tail on the front cover, while the text wraps itself around the coiling, long, green tail. The back cover, once opened up, shows the entire body of the lizard. Later in the book, it is revealed that, "If you're a lizard, you break off your tail to get away." OUCH!

As most characters in the book will most likely be familiar to children, such as the elephant, chimpanzee, or the hippo - strange creatures such as a four-eyed fish and a blue-footed booby will surely capture children's eyes and ears. The pages at the very end of the book also provide further information and facts about the creatures mentioned in the book and allow for the opportunity to learn more about the animals that they've met in the story. According to a review by Children's Literature, What Do You Do With a Tail Like This "is a perfect choice for talking with preschoolers about similarities and differences and an essential introduction to any second through fourth grade animal units because it teaches readers to be sharper observers of any animal's features and how the animal can use that feature." And I completely agree. I even learned quite a bit from this story - like the blue-footed booby?!?! That will get quite the laugh from students!

After reading this story, I am interested in reading more stories by Jenkins and Page. The illustrative and writing styles presented in this story continually kept me guessing, wondering, learning, and still I had questions after reading. Isn't this just what we want from our students??

My Questions: Where did blue-footed boobies get their name? Why do they have blue feet? I found some info regarding these questions here on National Geographic for Kids. "Booby" means "bobo" or clumsy (stupid in Spanish) because these birds are somewhat clumsy and slow on land. The males feet are strikingly blue when they are ready to mate with females (yes, they have blue feet, too!) The males do all they can to make sure females notice their feet. How romantic! http://nationalgeographic.com/Animals/CreatureFeature/BlueBooby

Thy Friend, Obadiah by Brinton Turkle

Thy Friend, Obadiah details a unique friendship that forms between a young boy, Obadiah, and a sea gull. Obadiah, a young Quaker living in colonial Nantucket, gets very frustrated when a sea gull continually follows him around town and throughout his errands. In fact, he wishes at one point that he would just go away. And it does.

Until, one day, the Obadiah sets out to do some errands for his Mother and gets caught in a snowstorm. He wishes for the sea gull to be there in order to help him home, but the gull is nowhere to be found. Obadiah searches for days and days and still cannot find his faithful "friend," then he finds a group of gulls by the wharf. One of them was his friend, but had a wish hook wrapped around his beak. Obadiah unwrapped the hook and line and the gull flew out to the lighthouse. From that point on, Obadiah's friend visited his window at home and watched over him while he traveled around town. Finally, at the end of the story, Obadiah realizes that the sea gull was a true friend.

Thy Friend Obadiah demonstrates the idea that friendships can form between even those who do not seem to have much in common, whether it be on the inside or outside. The book uses language such as "thee" and "thy", which can be somewhat confusing, and I used this book to support a class to instroduce a novel that I am reading with my class, Who Comes With Cannons? The Quaker religion and and use of language is also used within this story, and can be somewhat confusing to students had I not supplemented with other texts prior to this novel. The novel focuses on the Civil War and its main characters are Quakers who run a station in the Underground Railroad. Stay tuned for more as I will blog about this book in the near future!

Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine

Henry's Freedom Box details the heart-wrenching story of a slave named Henry Brown living in Virginia in the 1840's, when, tragically, his wife and children are sold and his world is completely destroyed. Henry asks a friend to help mail himself in a crate to Philadelphia to four anti-slavery men. While this would prove to be very dangerous and life-threatening, his friend agrees to assist him. Henry makes it to Philadelphia from Richmond in 1849, on the day of his birthday March 30th! This day also represents his first day of freedom!

At the end of the story, I thought, did Henry ever reunite with his wife and children again? How could he find them, even if he wanted to? Was he ever found and sent back to the south? What did he do in Philadelphia once he gained his freedom?

I found that upon Henry's arrival to Philadelphia, he wrote an autobiography titled, The Narrative of Henry Box Brown, with the help of Charles Stearns. He also created a panorama titled Mirror of Slavery that involved a series of scences detailing his life as a slave and his escape in the crate. http://www.mcps.org/ss/5thgrade/boxbrown.pdf

The author's note at the back of the story states that he never found his wife and children, and it is believed that he remarried in England in 1850.

I admire Henry for his valor and commitment to his family. He risked his life and used his experiences to teach the world about slavery and cruel realities that he and his wife and children endured. So many slaves throughout this time period were separated from their families and faced harsh living conditions that are unimaginable - and it's important to remember these families and how their accomplishments inspired others to follow in their footsteps of attaining independence and equal rights.

So You Want to Be President? by Judith St. George

In honor of President's Day, I sat down with my students this past week and read Judith St. Georges witty yet informative story, So You Want To Be President? Both St. George and illustrator, David Small, created a story that informed readers of past Presidents of the United States with an underlying message that it is true that anyone can be President. My class experienced a variety of reactions from the text based on the facts and humorous details about each President.

It is true that a lot of my students had learned about past presidents based on their involvement in history and content lessons they have learned; such as with George Washington - he was an important leader and general in the American Revolution, but did he attend college, NOPE! This lead into a discussion about the time period and how the importance of education has changed greatly since Washington's presidency.

One of the most hilarious illustrations and descriptions was that of William Howard Taft, when they learned he had to get a special tub put into his bathroom in the White House because of the fact that he was over 300 pounds! The political cartoon-like illustrations of Taft coupled with these specific details gave quite the reason for uncontrollable laughter in our classroom!!

Readers of all ages, yes even adults, would enjoy this book. It shows readers that even though these individuals hold an important role in our country, that they are human and live some-what normal lives like us. After reading this story, students began ask me questions about details that were not in the book about a President. This book does not give an in-depth description and bio about each of the 41 Presidents profiled, but gives a glimpse into each of their lives and overall importance in our country. Therefore, while giving only a snapshot, students become inquisitive and pursue a fascination that sparked their interest within the story. This story can lead into possible writing exercises for students to create an extension of the story based on the Presidents we've had since the book was published in 2000. Students can illustrate and write about research information while giving trivial and humorous information about their President.