Deconstructing Penguins

Deconstructing Penguins: Parents, Kids, and the Bond of Reading by Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone.

This book is about the book clubs that the authors have conducted with elementary school aged children. Each chapter gives an example of how one of their sessions would go. They describe a book that they read such as Charlotte’s Web and the literary discussions that would occur. They try to emphasize going deeper into the meaning of a book. They also demonstrate how they discuss things such as protagonist and antagonist.

At the end of the book, they give a few examples of books that they have used with the children in their book clubs. The list includes many examples of classic literature such as Treasure Island and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Sleepless Beauty

 

Sleepless Beauty by Frances Minters and illustrated by G. Brian Karas.

This book is a modern day version of Sleeping Beauty set in a big city. A wicked witch is scorned when she doesn’t receive an invitation to a welcome party for the newborn baby named Their Own Little Beauty (yes, that’s the baby’s name). She then curses the baby with the traditional Sleeping Beauty curse—that she will prick her finger and then fall into a deep sleep for a hundred years until a rock star will awaken her with a song. The girl’s family then tries to protect her by keeping everything sharp away from her. But the wicked witch visits her and the girl pricks her finger on the needle of an old record player. The girl has tricked the witch and therefore does not fall victim to the curse. Rather than a prince rescuing her, she uses her own clever wit to saver herself.

The book is written in rhyming verse. My favorite part is when the girl says that she couldn’t use a pencil until someone used it twice. There are two women at a nail salon and a jazz player who appear at various times in the margins of the book making comments about the story such as: “they actually named her Their Own Little Beauty”.

The illustrations are dark and gloomy and give the book a little bit of a sinister look. There are a few hidden happy faces that I found throughout the book, including on the alarm clock (perhaps foreshadowing to how the girl will rescue herself at the end of the book).

Princesses Are Not Quitters by Kate Lum

Princesses Are Not Quitters by Kate Lum and Illustrated by Sue Hellard.

The story is about three princesses who live in a huge silver palace by the sea but all that they can think about is how boring their lives are. They soon decide that it would be much more interesting to be a servant and they become servants for a day. They are in for quite a surprise when they find out how much work actually goes into a servant’s day. Through it all, they don’t give up because, “princesses are not quitters”. At the end of the day, the three girls make a proclamation that servants should not be overworked and all should have fun.

There are many good messages to be taken from this story. Try to walk in a day in someone else’s shoes. Don’t give up even when something is hard. Stick to something once you start. Take satisfaction in a job well done. All of these are wrapped up in an entertaining and funny tale. When all of their chores are being listed, “SWEEP the floors and WHITEWASH the walls and DUST the ceiling free of webs….” the reader can just imagine all the little details that go into running a palace. Details that the princesses likely didn’t pay attention to before but are now sure to appreciate.

I loved the soft watercolor illustrations. They were comical and filled with lots of little details. Upon closer inspection, each of the illustrations had small jokes, like spider webs in their hairdos. The faces of the characters had great expressions. The story could have been told even without the words.

The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease

I’ve read a few books and articles on reading to children and many of them have referred to or suggested The Read-Aloud Handbook: Sixth Edition by Jim Trelease. The author is very passionate about the message to read-aloud to children. Throughout the book, he gives his message with some studies as well many anecdotes.

Of course, if you are reading a blog devoted to children’s books, you probably already know the importance of reading. We started reading to my first daughter while she was in the womb, mostly because I wanted my daughter to hear her father’s voice a little more often. I read to her from birth. She is now 24 months old and loves being read to. So I definitely agree with his message to start as soon as possible. One thing that I didn’t really think about was when I was going to quit reading aloud to my children. He thinks you should continue reading aloud to them even as teenagers. To be honest, the idea sounds really intriguing to me. I will see how that works out in eleven years or so.

The book not only encourages parents to read aloud to their children but teachers as well. The name of my blog is Thank You, Mrs. Jones. It is dedicated to my fourth grade teacher who made a big impact on me. One of the things that I remember vividly from that year was the books she read aloud. Specifically, Where the Red Fern Grows, The Hundred Dresses, and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.

I think that the most valuable section of the book is at the end where he lists many books that are great for reading aloud. He mentions that some books such as those with too much dialogue or those with uncomfortable subjects are not really the best suited for read-aloud. While reading through the suggested books, I was brought back to many childhood books that I hadn’t thought about in years (by the way, all of the books that I mentioned that Mrs. Jones read to her class were listed). I was smiling just reading the descriptions.

I read many pictures books to my children and I treasure those moments. I am really looking forward to the coming years when we will be able to share novels together.

You can visit Jim Trelease’s website: www.trelease-on-reading.com He lists many of his book reviews there as well as other topics related to reading.

Reading Together by Diane W. Frankenstein

Reading Together: Everything You Need to Know to Raise a Child Who Loves to Read by Diane W. Frankenstein is a great resource for parents who aren’t sure what to read next with their children. This book is also great for anyone who needs a starting point for conversations with children about books.

In the introduction of the book, Frankenstein points out that reading is about finding the right book and often children who don’t like to read just haven’t found the right book to read yet. She gives some helpful hints about how to help children love what they read including “help your child find the hook of the story—what taps into their curiosity and captures their interest quickly”. One of the main focuses of the book is conversational reading, starting conversations with children about the books after they are done reading. She also gives helpful hints on how to do that as well.

The rest of the book highlights a book (1 book every 2 pages) with Frankenstein providing a synopsis and pointing out a list of subjects the story explores (friendships, responsibility, perseverance). She also has a list of further suggestions that your child could read if that particular book appealed to her. She has age recommendations on the books as well, both the read together age and the read alone age.

Frankenstein said that she wanted to go beyond just the award winners so within this book I am sure you will come across some old favorites as well as discover some ones you have never heard of.

What questions do you ask your children to get the conversation started?

I did not receive anything for this review.

About Me

I am a person who loves to read...anything and everything. I was first introduced to books by my grandmother (who raised me), an avid reader herself. Then an even deeper love of reading occured when I was in fourth grade and I had a teacher named Mrs. Jones. She shared her love of reading and writing with her students. Years later, I am still thankful for that gift that these two women gave to me. Thank you, Grandma and Thank you, Mrs. Jones!

Now that I have two very young children, I have been reintroduced to children's literature. I cannot believe that I ever left it! So within this blog I am going to re-read my childhood favorites while hopefully coming across new favorites.