The Gold Coin
Alma Flor Ada
The cumulative tale style is fun to read, enjoyable to hear, and a wonderful example of how picture books inculcate values in children. Though an original story, it has the feeling of folklore and fable. Set in Central America, a thief named Juan tries to steal Dona Josefa's gold coin. She has just said she thinks she is the richest person in the world. However, Juan is to learn that what she meant is more about the value of friendship, hard work, and goodness. As he follows her in his attempts to steal her coin, he is affected by the beauty around him in nature and the pleasant memories that come to him from his prior life. These encounters with the old woman lead him to realize he cannot be a thief anymore. The illustrations by Neil Waldman portray the Central American setting and hardworking farmers along Juan's path. The story won the Christopher Medal given to a story that uplifts the human spirit. A CD is available in which the author reads the story in English and again in Spanish. La moneda de oro!
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
My Uncle Emily
My Uncle Emily
Jane Yolen
This is a beautiful story from the life of Emily Dickinson, told from the view of her 6-year-old nephew, Gilbert. He begins by explaining that she calls herself "uncle" and that this is a joke in their family. Gilbert is entranced by the words his aunt uses to describe bees and roses. We learn that he loves to spend time with her in her garden, and it seems quite natural that Gilbert has taken on a poetic way of talking that fills this story with descriptive phrases and similies. As he tells about this episode he also ponders what his aunt means by poetry, and readers get a sense of the curiosity and wonder of this young boy. When he punches a boy in the nose who he thinks is making fun of his Uncle Emily, he has more to learn about being impetuous and about telling the truth. This becomes the ripe occasion for the author to bring into the story one of Dickinson's great poems. Tell all the truth...but tell it slant...
Jane Yolen
This is a beautiful story from the life of Emily Dickinson, told from the view of her 6-year-old nephew, Gilbert. He begins by explaining that she calls herself "uncle" and that this is a joke in their family. Gilbert is entranced by the words his aunt uses to describe bees and roses. We learn that he loves to spend time with her in her garden, and it seems quite natural that Gilbert has taken on a poetic way of talking that fills this story with descriptive phrases and similies. As he tells about this episode he also ponders what his aunt means by poetry, and readers get a sense of the curiosity and wonder of this young boy. When he punches a boy in the nose who he thinks is making fun of his Uncle Emily, he has more to learn about being impetuous and about telling the truth. This becomes the ripe occasion for the author to bring into the story one of Dickinson's great poems. Tell all the truth...but tell it slant...
The Story of Ruby Bridges
The Story of Ruby Bridges
Robert Coles
In 1960, Louisiana began the desegregation of its schools at Franz Elementary School in New Orleans. Ruby Bridges was the first African-American child to attend an all-white school in the South Federal marshalls had to accompany this six-year-old little girl as she walked up the sidewalk to the school amidst the jeers of an angry racist white crowd. For several months white parents kept their children home from school in protest, and Ruby entered her first grade classroom alone. This is a story of courage and faith, one which served as a catalyst for desegregation to continue in schools throughout the South.
I have read this picture book version of the story to students in grades four to eight. At least two messages are clear and powerful: dignity in the face of adversity and forgiveness. To enter into the times and feelings of this event more fully, I also recommend the movie that was made for TV in 1998. It can now be purchased as a Disney DVD. (98 minutes) Other inspiring characters are fleshed out in the movie. Children see how this was not an easy decision for her parents who struggled between the high cause of desegregation and the impact on their daughter. They knew how Ruby's actions could inspire others and pave the way for other children to live in a more just society; yet, they understood the peril of exposing her to the hostile mob. What is particularly striking (and encouraging to me) is that the movie portrays how racist white people could actually change their views.
Note on Robert Coles:
Coles is a child psychiatrist, professor at Harvard University, and author of books with titles such as The Call of Stories: Teaching and the Moral Imagination, The Moral Intelligence of Children, and The Spiritual Life of Children. He feels that we learn our most lasting moral lessons through stories. Among his many awards, he has received the Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In the early years of looking for literature that would build character in children at our school, we stumbled upon Coles. As we sought to describe how it is that stories have power to kindle and hold the moral imaginations of children, his writings provided eloquent support.
Robert Coles
In 1960, Louisiana began the desegregation of its schools at Franz Elementary School in New Orleans. Ruby Bridges was the first African-American child to attend an all-white school in the South Federal marshalls had to accompany this six-year-old little girl as she walked up the sidewalk to the school amidst the jeers of an angry racist white crowd. For several months white parents kept their children home from school in protest, and Ruby entered her first grade classroom alone. This is a story of courage and faith, one which served as a catalyst for desegregation to continue in schools throughout the South.
I have read this picture book version of the story to students in grades four to eight. At least two messages are clear and powerful: dignity in the face of adversity and forgiveness. To enter into the times and feelings of this event more fully, I also recommend the movie that was made for TV in 1998. It can now be purchased as a Disney DVD. (98 minutes) Other inspiring characters are fleshed out in the movie. Children see how this was not an easy decision for her parents who struggled between the high cause of desegregation and the impact on their daughter. They knew how Ruby's actions could inspire others and pave the way for other children to live in a more just society; yet, they understood the peril of exposing her to the hostile mob. What is particularly striking (and encouraging to me) is that the movie portrays how racist white people could actually change their views.
Note on Robert Coles:
Coles is a child psychiatrist, professor at Harvard University, and author of books with titles such as The Call of Stories: Teaching and the Moral Imagination, The Moral Intelligence of Children, and The Spiritual Life of Children. He feels that we learn our most lasting moral lessons through stories. Among his many awards, he has received the Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In the early years of looking for literature that would build character in children at our school, we stumbled upon Coles. As we sought to describe how it is that stories have power to kindle and hold the moral imaginations of children, his writings provided eloquent support.
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