#23- Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad

#23- Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad

Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad

Written by: Michael Martin

Illustrated by: Dave Hoover and Bill Anderson

Capstone Press, 2005

27 pages

Historical Fiction

“Later that night, Harriet decided to head for freedom. Pennsylvania was about 90 miles away. Slavery was against the law there.”

            This book tells the true story about Harriet Tubman’s life, while including some interesting dialogue and thought bubbles. Harriet Tubman was born into slavery. As the years passed, she was told that she would be sold to another master in Georgia. That night she decided to escape. Harriet endured many hardships and much loneliness on her journey to Philadelphia. When she reached freedom, Harriet went back to lead other slaves safely through the Underground Railroad.

            Hoover and Anderson depict this historical story in a graphic novel format. The artistic medium is not listed, but I believe that pencil and oil are used to create the cartoon-like characters within this story. Panels are used to show progression through the story.

            This book is most appropriate for second to fourth grade students. This book could be incorporated in a history lesson as well as an English lesson. You could read this story to your students while studying about the subject. They could then make their own graphic novels about what they learned in the story. This would be a great visual aid for the students to use to remember the facts about Harriet Tubman’s life.

#22- Moses

#22- Moses

Moses

Written by: Carole Boston Weatherford

Illustrated by: Kadir Nelson

Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children, 2006

37 pages

Historical Fiction

“’How far, Lord’?’ As far as you can walk with me my child, and I will carry you.”

This book contains very true elements of Harriet Tubman’s life. However, the book is mainly about her conversations with God during this time. The book describes how Harriet Tubman gathered the courage to flee from her master. Throughout her journey to freedom, Harriet relies on God’s reassurances to guide her to safety. Harriet has to trust strangers to help her on her journey, and God is the one who gives her the confidence to trust them. Harriet eventually makes it to Philadelphia. Here, she realizes that she needs to help other slaves travel through the Underground Railroad to freedom. With God’s guidance, she does just that.

Kadir Nelson used pencil, oil, and watercolor to illustrate these incredible depictions of Harriet Tubman. Each page is emotionally charged, which allows the reader to feel the worry and sorrow in each picture. The pictures are all double-page spreads. The text is very informal because God’s words are typed in bigger print.

This book is appropriate for any age group, but I believe that third to sixth grade students would most benefit from the book. This book would be a terrific read aloud while teaching a unit on slavery, the Underground Railroad, or Harriet Tubman. The students could write a journal entry about their reaction to this book. Moses has received two awards: the Caldecott Honor, and the Coretta Scott King Award. 

#21- You Wouldn't Want to Be a Roman Gladiator!

#21- You Wouldn’t Want to Be a Roman Gladiator!

You Wouldn’t Want to Be a Roman Gladiator!

Written by: John Malam

Illustrated by: David Antram

Franklin Watts Grolier Publishing Co., Inc., 2003

29 pages

Historical Fiction

“Your fate is out of your control, but you can be sure of one thing-you wouldn’t want to be a Roman gladiator!”

This book starts out by putting you in the role of a Gaul whose tribe has just been invaded by Romans. Throughout the rest of the book, you are captured, sold, and trained to fight in the arena. The book is filled with many interesting facts, as well as funny captions to accompany the vibrant pictures. The book also gives you “handy hints” to help you stay alive during this process. At the end of the story, your body is dragged out of the arena, and another man is declared the victor of the fight. There is a glossary provided in the back of the book to explain some of the content-specific vocabulary.

The medium is not listed for this book, but it looks like Antram used watercolor and pen to create the vibrant and cartoon-like drawings. Each page contains a large picture on a double page spread that portrays the main idea of that page. Vignettes are incorporated on the pages to accompany interesting facts pulled from the text.

This book is appropriate for fourth to fifth grade level readers. It would be advantageous for the students to have this book available for them to read during a unit on Rome. A good activity to do would be to have students fold their paper into sections. On each section, they would illustrate the stages that the book describes to becoming a Roman gladiator. They would write a short sentence to explain their pictures.

#20- Scaredy Mouse

#20-Scaredy Mouse

Scaredy Mouse

Written by: Alan MacDonald

Illustrated by: Tim Warnes

Scholastic Inc., 2002

25 pages


Fantasy

“In a small hole behind a closet under the stairs there lived a large family of mice. The youngest was called Squeak. Squeak was a small mouse, a scared mouse, a stay-at-home mouse.”

            This book is about a young mouse named Squeak. Squeak was always nervous and scared. He liked to stay at home. One day his sister asked him to go to the kitchen with her because she found a chocolate cake. Squeak is afraid of the cat and getting lost. Because Squeak is afraid of getting lost, his sister ties a string around his waist so he can find his way home. The whole way to the kitchen, Squeak thinks he sees the cat. Every time he finds out that he is just imagining it. Both the mice find the cake and start to take it home with them. The cat finally sneaks up on them. They run away and the cat starts to chase them, but he gets tangled up in the string that was tied around Squeak. Squeak eventually finds his courage and overcomes his fear of the cat.

            Warnes’ pictures are very colorful and cartoon-like. The medium is not listed, but I believe he may have used oil pastels and pencil to create the drawings. Proportion is used in these pictures to show how small the mice are compared to everything they face. When Squeak finally overcomes his fear, he is the only character on the page, and he is drawn to be gigantic.

            This book is appropriate for younger elementary level students. You could use this for a lesson on how to fill out a sequence chart. You could demonstrate a sequence chart in front of the class and have them help you fill it out using this book. Then the students could partner up and chose a book to read. They would then have to fill out their own sequence chart based on the book they read. 

#19- I Need My Monster

#19- I Need My Monster

I Need My Monster

Written by: Amanda Noll

Illustrated by: Howard McWilliam

Flashlight Press Inc., 2009

31 pages


Fantasy

“What was I going to do? I needed a monster under my bed. How was I supposed to get to sleep if my monster was gone?

            This book is about a little boy who loves his monster that is under his bed. One day, his monster, Gabe, goes fishing. The little boy is upset because he needs his monster to sleep. He missed his ragged breathing, nose-whistling, scrapping claws, and spooky green ooze. He knocks on his floorboard to summon another monster. Four different monsters come to try and properly scare the boy, but he sends each of them away. Finally, Gabe returns. The little boy is very happy Gabe is back, and he is able to go to sleep.

            McWilliam used pencil on paper, and then painted the pictures with digital acrylic paint to create these beautiful, vibrant illustrations. McWilliam plays with light and shadows in every one of the pictures. Some of the illustrations are on a double-page spread, and some of them are only drawn on a single-page spread. All of the monsters who the little boy rejects are drawn to look silly; but Gabe is drawn to look scary with dark colors.

            This book would be appropriate to use in a 2^nd or 3^rd grade classroom. You could use this book as a writing prompt. Your students could write a story about what their imaginary monster would look like, and what would happen if their monster lived under their bed. They would need to use a lot of description in their writing. They could follow their story with an illustration of what their monster looks like.

#18- First Graders from Mars

#18- First Graders from Mars. Episode 1: Horus’s Horrible Day

First Graders from Mars. Episode 1: Horus’s Horrible Day

Written by: Shana Corey

Illustrations by: Mark Teague

Scholastic Inc., August 2001

32 pages


Fantasy

"So Horus and Pelly bounced into Pod 1 together. And from then on, first grade started to look up."

            This book is about a martian named Horus. Horus loved martiangarten (kindergarten), so he was very excited about starting first grade. When he got to school, he quickly realized it was nothing like martiangarten. Instead of playing and having fun, they actually had to do work. He wasn’t put in the same group with his best friend, his drawing was made fun of in art class, and there was no “snooze time.” When he went home, he decided he was never going back to school. Of course, his mother made him go the next day. When he arrived at school, he met a new girl names Pelly who was nervous and shy about going to school. Horus told her about school, and he realized it wasn’t so bad. He and Pelly happily walk into school together.

Teague uses very colorful, kid-friendly drawings to illustrate this book. The medium for this book is not listed, but it looks like watercolor and pencil might have been used. Most of the drawings have a very round shape to them. The facial expressions of the martians are very readable and comical.

This book is targeted for the younger elementary grade level students. This book could easily be used as an ice breaker book. It would be a terrific book to read to first grade students on the first day of school. It’s silly and outrageous, but it would help the students feel more comfortable in your classroom.

#17- The Little Red Hen

#17- The Little Red Hen

The Little Red Hen

 Written by: unnamed author

Illustrated by: Barry Downward

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2004

29 pages

Traditional Literature

“’Who will help me plant this wheat?’ ‘Not I,’ said the duck. ‘Not I,’ said the pig. ‘Not I,’ said the cat. ‘Then I will plant it myself,’ said the Little Red Hen. And she did.”

            This book tells the classic story of a hard-working hen. During the story, the Little Red Hen has to plant the grains of wheat, cut the wheat, go to the miller, make the dough, and bake the bread. The whole time, the hen asks the pig, the duck, and the cat if they will help her with her chores. The animals refuse to help her through the whole story. Once the bread is baked and ready to be eaten, the pig, duck, and cat all want to help the hen eat the bread. She won’t share the bread with them because they did not work to make it. She ends up eating the bread herself.

            Downward uses real photographs that he put together in a collage on the computer. The illustrator uses real animals in his pictures. The illustrations have a comical quality to them. All of the pictures are very bright and colorful.

This story would be most appropriate for a 2^nd-5^th grade classroom. This story could be used for a ‘writing directions’ lesson. The story tells about the process of how to make bread. The students would have to choose something that they knew how to do. They would have to write down explicit instructions for that process. The teacher could bring fresh bread as a fun treat during this lesson.