The Crayon Box That Talked

    The Crayon Box that Talked is written by Shane DeRolf and illustrated by Michael Letzig.  It is geared toward preschool or kindergarten students and I would rate it 4 out of 5 stars.
    This book is about a young girl who goes to a toy store to find a box of crayons that are all up in arms with each other.  They don’t like one another, with no reasons given for the animosity.  The girl purchases the crayons and when she gets home, she begins to draw a picture with all the colors, showing that they are all needed to complete a beautiful picture.  The crayons also learn that they have to work together in order for art to be created and they can blend together to create new colors of beautiful things.  In the end, the crayons are getting along and embrace each other since everyone is needed. 
    Using this book in an elementary classroom, especially the younger grades, will be a simple way to teach diversity without connecting the idea to people yet.  Since it is the crayons (which all happen to be different colors, like people) that are fighting, it is somewhat unlikely that students will immediately think that the book is metaphorical.  Students will learn that everyone needs to work together to get everything needed done.  Also, it is a great way to introduce the idea of mixing colors together to get a new one.  Since the crayons blend and color over one another to form new shades, students can try this on their own to experience the act. 
    Since the book is also written in rhyme, it will especially appeal to the younger children by keeping their attention in tune with the rhythm of the story.  A lesson involving this book could consist of students getting a pile of crayons and having to use every color coherently to create a picture.  If students can see how well the colors work together and benefit the picture, they might make the connection on their own about how each person is important to a community.  This book could be used to introduce diversity or the components of a group of people. 
There is a whole mini-unit that can be used based on this book.

The Colors of Us

The Colors of Us is written and illustrated by Karen Katz.  It is geared toward kindergarten to 1st graders.  I would rate this book 3.5 out of 5 stars.
    The book begins with a young girl painting a self-portrait.  Her mother (an artist) informs her that if she mixes red, black, yellow, and white together just right, she will be able to find a color that matches her skin just right.  The little girl replies by saying that brown is brown.  The mother then takes the girl on a walk to show her all the different shades of skin that exist in the people they know, often relating their skin color to a food of some sort.  At the end of the story, the little girl is amazed at how different all the portraits turned out of all her friends and family.  She learned that there are many different skin colors, but they all have the same basic colors used.
    This book is great for introducing diversity to a younger classroom of students to the idea of diversity.  Even if students have already noticed that different skin colors exist, they could realize that they have the basic colors to start with.  A classroom of students could even experiment with skin tones in paint and other art mediums.  The illustrations are also really fun, so students won’t think they are reading a book that is a structured lesson at all.  Many students, especially in a diverse classroom, will notice that many of their classmates or friends have different skin tones and this should be embraced and celebrated instead of swept under the rug.  Books like this can help bring out the diversity and realize that it is quite amazing how communities are composed of such different people. 



Here is a The Colors of Us lesson plan by Karen Katz!

It's Okay to Be Different

The book It’s Okay to Be Different is written and illustrated by Todd Parr.  It is geared toward preschool to kindergarten students.  I would rate this book 4 out of 5 stars. 
    The premise of this book is simple: diversity is okay and is seen everywhere someone looks.  Some examples of the different things that are shown include: having missing teeth, being bald, having wheels (like a wheelchair), and being adopted.  Each page displays a different person with different aspects of their lives that people may find peculiar. 
    This book is great for introducing the idea of diversity to children, especially at an age where children don’t really see the skin color differences.  However, children painstakingly notice differences like a wheelchair and will blurt out comments that can embarrass everyone around.  The illustrations are very colorful, so they do not depict one particular group of people and sometimes use animals to show the differences.  The book also links very silly things (like eating macaroni in the bath tub) to very serious things (like it’s okay to have different moms). 
Students may be more at ease with a serious topic if there are things that they can laugh at thrown into the mix.  This lifts some of the burden from the teacher and translates the word diversity into words that children can understand and relate to.  Children will also be able to point out people in their own lives that they see represented in the book and realize that they have already accepted the terms of diversity without consciously doing it. 

Locomotion

Jacqueline Woodson’s Locomotion is written for students in grades 4^th-6^th.  I would rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.

            Locomotion tells a story of a young boy named Lonnie Collins Motion (nicknamed Locomotion) through a poetry notebook he wrote for class.  His parents died in a fire while he and his sister were away on a trip to the zoo and he discusses the loss of them frequently in the book.  Since being put in a foster home with Miss Edna, Locomotion has found a comfortable place to belong.  His younger sister, Lili, lives in a more upper-class home with a mother who judges Lonnie constantly.  During the story, Lili prompts Lonnie to “find God” and gives him her copy of the Bible.  He wants to find God to get closer to Lili, but ends up finding God all around his life through the simple pleasures he enjoys.  The book mainly discusses his struggle with accepting his place of belonging and finding faith in his life.  Lonnie has experienced some horrible things, but does not broadcast it to his peers at school, which makes this book of poetry a great outlet for him.



            This book is a fabulous find to incorporate into any classroom.  It has so many unique themes that are covered and although it is not the easiest to relate personally to, the feelings Lonnie expresses are common to all people.  The theme of belonging surfaces a lot in Locomotion.  Even in the beginning of the book (p. 5-6), Lonnie recalls a memory where his mother refers to his younger sister as “her baby”.  Lonnie asks her if he was ever her baby and she tells him that he still is.  This sense of belonging to his mother sets up his future quest for the same comfort.  Then on page 33, he has a poem titled “List Poem” in which he lists everything he owns (which amounts to some clothing and parts of his body).  He writes these things out to give himself solace in the idea that he has things that belong to him in this world where nothing seems good.  On page 83, he says “Rodney’s voice sounds like it should always been in this house.” This is significant because this is Miss Edna’s older son who views Lonnie as a younger brother.  Having him move back into Miss Edna’s house means a lot to Lonnie and brings happiness to him and Miss Edna.  The voice of Rodney belongs in the house according to Lonnie, as if it is something that fits into the scene like a puzzle piece that he has been missing for years.  He needs this small detail to feel completely right in his life.  Lonnie’s teacher, Ms. Marcus, told Lonnie he had a poet’s heart (p. 87).  He goes on to say, “That’s good.  A good thing to have.  And I’m the one who has it.” This accomplishment, in Lonnie’s eyes, has brought him happiness as well as something to contribute to the world.  He was searching for a way to be good at something and since he found he had this heart inside him, he felt a wave of happiness wash over him. 



Jacqueline Woodson



            Locomotion is a book that can be taken in many different ways.  It is simple in language and writing style, but if you peel back the words to discover the character’s motivation and emotion, it is not hard to see that this book can be the source of great discussions in the classroom.  Students can open up about many things that are discussed in the book: adoption/foster care, having a friend who is sick, growing up in a low-income area, the loss of one’s parents at a young age, having your first crush, and many other interesting dynamics that are presented.  Teachers can really dig deep and make the book connect to their students, no matter what identity they hold. 

Here is a website to hear and see Jacqueline Woodson discuss her books: http://www.teachingbooks.net/spec_athr.cgi?pid=3460&a=1 and here are some teaching guides to accompany her books!

Scholastic also has this great discussion guide for Locomotion.  There is also an extension activity.

The Man Who Walked Between the Two Towers

            The Man Who Walked Between the Towers is written and illustrated by Mordicai Gerstein.  It is written mainly for 3-4 grade students and I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

            This book tells the story about Philippe Petit who strung a wire between the two towers of the World Trade Center and walked across in a daring act (See video of it HERE) .  He had previously walked between the two steeples of Notre Dame in Paris, where he was from.  Since the idea of him doing this seemed too dangerous to the owners of the towers and the police, he had to secretly plan to get the wire up and walk across.  Since the buildings were in the end stages of being built, he dressed as a construction worker and snuck in.  As he walked the wire when day broke, he was spotted and everyone began to gather around the towers to see.  Immediately, there were several policemen on the roofs of both towers, demanding that he come to the end of the wire to be arrested.  He danced around on the wire and even lay down.  When he went before a judge after being arrested, the judge ordered that he perform in the park for children.  The last two pages of the book are somewhat ominous.  After describing his act in the park, the next page shows the New York City skyline without the towers (presumably after 9/11) and the last page reads “But in memory, as if imprinted on the sky, the towers are still there.  A part of that memory is the joyful morning, August 7, 1974, when Philippe Petit walked between them in the air.”



            Since this book is geared toward elementary students, it is pretty acceptable that the author just glazed over the whole day of 9/11 to not distract the reader from the story at hand.  However, just simply stating “Now the towers are gone” can lead some students to be confused and wanting to know more.  The author could mention September 11, 2001 without going into too much detail.  Readers need something to go off of, especially students currently in elementary school who were babies in 2001. 



Images of Philippe Petit walking from tower to tower



            The illustrations of Philippe stringing up the wire at night are so great because they remind the reader that the act is taking place under the cover of darkness but still allows them to see everything that is going on.  Gerstein does a great job making the city glow beneath them and keeping the foreground dim.  Also the way in which the illustrations appear on each page is different: some pages have three long, panoramic illustrations (representing the sunrise as he gets ready to walk the wire), some take up the whole page, and some have two on one page with text dividing them in the middle.  It allows the reader to constantly be surprised by what they are seeing next. 

            Obviously this is a story that is not told very often, so any opportunity to explain a true event like this to children through a picture book is awesome.  The way in which the author juxtaposes the loss of the towers and the image of hope and happiness in Philippe in the last two pages is a great way for children to consider the literary elements.  They can consider something that is sad that happened in their lives and compare it with something better, but still related.  The teacher can also select random acts in history like this one that are free of political or cultural ties for students to discuss.  Since it is just so extraordinary, students may have a great time exploring other events like this one in the classroom through a reading and writing activity.   The rhythm used in this story can also be discussed in depth.  It is not quite a rhyme on every page, but the author does incorporate some sort of pattern in writing style, so students can develop their own writing style and form when writing of another event in history. 

Here is a lesson plan for this book that analyzes character traits: http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=32439

Using Controversial Books in the Classroom

Although some teachers may be quite afraid of using controversial literature in the classroom, there are some very useful resources to turn to, and always remember, does this knowledge benefit children?

A lesson plan about censorship.  Although this is for high school students, it can be altered to include the elementary grades.

Students can learn more about censored and banned books in this lesson.  Also, students choose a book and write a paper about their position regarding the book in the classroom.

Here is some information from a website that is made by parents who are advocating for keeping "bad" books out of schools.

Of course, I could not look into controversial children's literature, without stumbling across a Lucky Article!

Controversial Children's Books

Nappy Hair

The book Nappy Hair is written by Carolivia Herron and illustrated by Joe Cepeda.  The book is written probably for 4^th-5^th graders.  I would rate this book 3.5 out of 5 stars.

            Following its title, Nappy Hair is about an African-American young girl who has the nappiest hair on Earth.  Her grandfather is telling her family about how this hair came to be, stating, “Her hair was an act of God, an act of God that came straight through Africa.”  The book also thoroughly discusses slavery in America and the auctioning of Africans to slave owners.  Throughout the book, nappy hair is given a strength and emphasis of power, referring to it as something beautiful, not to be tamed. 

            Although this book is controversial for many reasons, the literary merit of the writing is not hard to discover.  The style of the story is somewhat conversational, with the grandfather saying a sentence and the family he is telling it to replying on the next line.  The dialogue goes back and forth, so it allows the reader to feel like they are eavesdropping on a conversation instead of reading a story. 

            This book is controversial because it may make some Caucasian students feel uncomfortable or inferior (what a new experience!) to their African-American counterparts.  Herron refers to Ebonic-like speech as “king’s English”, putting the culture of this community at the top of society.  Also, the book is very empowering to African-American children and very few students know how to react to this in an elementary classroom.  This is not to say that this book cannot be used in a classroom, because it could provide powerful instruction on this writing style as well as documented struggle and lines of division between African-Americans and the rest of the country. 

Students could get a lot out of reading this book, but a teacher incorporating this book into a lesson needs to fully prepare a discussion and consider the possible paths this discussion could wander down.  The teacher needs to be highly knowledgeable about how to defuse heated or confrontational situations in a way that resolves the problem and is not biased.  This can be very difficult in an elementary classroom, especially a diverse one. 

            This book is about the more unique feature of an African-American’s appearance, especially in the eyes of children.  The author makes a statement like ‘We are here, we are this way, get used to it.”  This powerful message makes this book controversial, but the problem or facts will not disappear if this book or topic is ignored.  As Herron bluntly describes it, “Ain’t nothing going to straighten up the naps on this chile’s head.”

Rose Blanche

            Rose Blanche is written by Roberto Innocenti and is written for older elementary students, like 6^th-8^th graders.  I would rate this book 4.5 out of 5 stars. 

            Very few children’s books depict the Holocaust.  This book is not afraid to explore the history of such a horrific event and describes the life of a young girl, named Rose Blanche, who finds herself in a town that is taken over by Nazis.  Some of her neighbors have been taken away in trucks by soldiers and this leaves the young girl curious as to where they could have gone.  She follows the trucks one day and finds groups of people on the other side of an electric barbed wire fence.  Rose begins to save food from her meals to bring to these people as much as possible.  One day, everyone in her town begins to flee and Rose runs to the fence.  There, everything is destroyed and through the smoke, she sees soldiers with guns.  There was a gunshot and the story ends with Rose’s mother “waiting a long time for her little girl.” 

            Among controversial children’s literature, this type of book is one in which a teacher needs to use total discretion on.  If the teacher does not believe the students are ready to learn of such a dark time in history, this book should not be used.  However, if students are thought to be mature enough for the subject, this book could be a great way to experience the Holocaust on a child’s level.  The students probably have the same curiosity and questions that Rose Blanche did, so they can relate to her thought process. 

            A lot of literary strengths can be found in Innocenti’s writing as well.  In the beginning of the story, he writes, “I like the color of the river.  It looks like the sky.”  This can be used to introduce foreshadowing, since later in the story, Rose Blanche is hoping to be lifted away and have the situation change, much like linking the ground to the sky.  Also, as Rose Blanche stops eating to give her food to the prisoners, she grows thinner while the prisoners also grow thinner.  This can be used to remind the reader that both Rose and the prisoners are of one community and share similar characteristics and life stories. 

            Most adults are overwhelmed at the idea of explaining the Holocaust to children because adults want children to believe that the world could not be possible of hosting such an evil.  However, ignoring history is not a positive way to approach the subject either.  Lots of sensitivity and support are needed to convince the students that the world has learned from its gruesome mistakes, so teachers should host a lot of classroom conversations when discussing this topic.  This book is among one of the more controversial I have read since this is a topic that students are not exposed to everyday, like sexual orientation, religion, or sex.  The Holocaust is not something that is directly in their lives, it is just something they learn about in school, so the idea of mass murder and extermination is so foreign, it needs to be handled with care. 

Here is another blog, further discussing Roberto Innocenti.