The Faithful Friend

 

San     San Souci, R. D. (1999). The faithful friend. New York: Aladdin Paperbacks.

The Faithful Friend is a Caldecott Honor Book and a Coretta Scott King Award winning book.

The tale of Clement and Hippolyte’s adventure offers romance, intrigue, courage and unimaginable friendship. The genre is a traditional folktale from the French West Indies. A traditional literature piece is of ancient storytelling that found its way to the written word. These stories are of cultural and spiritual truths and beliefs. However, factual elements exist making these tales a thoughtful insight into human nature. Folktale elements in this interesting read are wizardry, zombies, poisonous fruits, a fer de lance, and the like. Children find these elements fun to discuss as a during-reading activity!

The illustrations are exquisitely accomplished, by Brian Pinkney, via the “scratchboard” technique. This type of artwork begins with a black ink-covered canvas and the illustrator uses a technique that gives the impression that he has used a sharp tool to “scratch-in” color resulting in thin, straight, lines. An example of a composition work is on page 24-25 in the picture book, the wedding scene.

The wedding on page 25 serves as a focal point of the page(s).  In contrast, composition in the form of disharmony is displayed on page 10 whereas the uncle is rising above the others in the artwork, displaying dominance.

The colors chosen for this story accurately depict the isle with vivid greens and pinks, bright yellows and orange in the island flowers. The sky is very realistic in color with hues of blue on one page and the light pinks at sunset. The ocean waters combine the blues and greens, looking very natural. The illustrations compliment the story setting, on the island of Martinique, brilliantly.

The story unfold as two boys, Clement (of dark skin) and Hippolyte (of fair skin), grew up together as life-long friends. As grown men, Clement falls in love with a beautiful woman in a picture.  He wants to set out on a journey to find her and propose marriage. His friend, Hippolyte agrees to go along with him on his adventure. The young men find the woman, Pauline and Clement proposes marriage which angers her uncle, Monsieur Zabocat, who is a racist and is said to be a wizard. “I forbid any such thing. I have decided that we will travel to France,” he said. “There you will marry the man I choose for you.” He decides to stop the wedding at all cost. The uncle sets several traps to kill Clement and save Pauline. However, Hippolye begins to intervene on behalf of his dear friend and thwart the attempts on Clements life. How far will he go to help his friend?

Reflection: I have made decisions that have not always been popular, or supported by others, have you? Did you stand your ground and persevere? Did you have a support system to help you accomplish your goal, or decision?

 

 

The Hunger Games

Collins, S. (2008). The hunger games. New York: Scholastic Press.

This is an excellent fantasy book! The fantasy tale is of a distopia, a society characterized by human misery, oppression, disease, squalor, and/or overcrowding. I was entrigued by the idea that what was once North America is now Panem, a very different and brutal place. The people are hungry and must go to great lengths to feed themselves and their families. Enter Katniss, the main character who is female and a fantastic hunter! She has hunted many times with her friend, Gale to feed her family and keep them alive. This skill set comes in very handy for Katniss as she enters the hunger games under unusual circustances. The games are held as a human competition for survival (in a reality- television manner for the populaton of Panem).  The contenders range in age from 12-18. The winner receives food and things needed for basic survival of the family. A fellow challenger from District 12 is Peeta. He is familiar to Katniss as she realizes he once stole bread from his family’s bakery to help feed her and her family.

The story unfolds as preparations for the games begin and then the games get underway. The games are televised (and I feel as though I am an observer throughout the book) and another fantasy element is apparent whereas the environment plays a part in the competition via climate control and added obstacles for interest. Another unexpected twist of fantasy is the form the former contenders take after their attempt at winning.

How will the games play out? How did you feel as Katniss volunteered? Would you have made the same decison? Would you pursue the strategy of creating an alliance with another? What are the pros and cons?

Faithful Elephants

Tsuchiya, Y., & Lewin, T. (1988). Faithful elephants: A true story of animals, people, and war. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Faithful Elephants is a beautifully illustrated picture book tale of animals, people, and war. The illustrations are fluid as they are made with watercolor.   The people in the illustrations are depicted with more care and detail than the animals and scenery. It gives a vague contrast to the artwork. This is a heart wrenching tale of the devastating effects of war. The loss of animal life is not taken into consideration as much as human loss, but it is a great loss as well. The narrator is from the visitor point of view and tell a story of three wonderful elephants who live at Ueno Zoo; John, Tonky, and Wanly. These massive creatures live among the beautiful cherry blossom and bring joy to those who visit. Joy is fleeting, however, in a war-torn country.  What will happen to the elephants? Will they be used in acts of war?

How can we be advocates for peace? What can we do?

The Sweetest Fig

Van, A. C. (1993). The sweetest fig. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

This book is by the same author who wrote Just A Dream and The Polar Express. The illustrations are outstanding in all three books. The visual aspect of this particular book is very realistic yet only neutral colors make up the color palette throughout. The pages have a calm and nostalgic feel.  The story begins with a patient who needs and receives dental care. The problem is that she has no money to pay for the services but she is able to pay for her dental bill with figs. Yes, figs. However, these are not your boring, usual figs. Could they be magical? What strange things happen when the figs are eaten?

This book would be great to use with the two mentioned above as a way to demonstrate different books by the same author.

The True Story of The 3 Little Pigs.

Scieszka, J., & Smith, L. (1989). The true story of the 3 little pigs. New York, N.Y., U.S.A: Viking Kestrel.

There are two sides to every story, right? This story is told from the point of view of the wolf. He gets a chance to tell his side of the story!  He has been sooo misunderstood. Can’t a wolf just borrow a cup of sugar? The events of what really happened unfold in the pages of this funny book. Or do they?

The book is illustrated primarily in dark or neutral colors, thus, giving the rustic and primitive look and feel. Additionally, the pictures capture a sense of texture for the reader. You can almost feel the straw on the straw house and smell the dust from the demise of the second little pig. Finally, almost every page is presented in a frame style layout that gives you the feeling of flipping through an old photo album.

I have used this book, along with the original little pigs book, in class as a compare and contrast activity. The students really enjoyed hearing both sides of the story.

                                               *******************************

The Polar Express

The Polar Express

Van, A. C., Van, A. C., & Houghton Mifflin Company. (1985). The polar express. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.

All Aboard! The Polar Express is a breathtaking picture book that takes children on a trip to the North Pole.  An old steam train, The Polar Express, is the mode of transportation this Christmas Eve, no sleigh required. The book displays full page illustrations that have been called theater and worthy of that description. The colors are muted and there is a warm, fuzzy feel to each page. The illustrations are from the view through the train windows and the story is told from an adult perspective as the storyteller was once a passenger on the train. The book is a quick read, perfect for bedtime on Christmas Eve. It will whisk you away with words. Can you still hear the bell? Read and believe!

What would it feel like to visit the North Pole? What would you wish for if you could ask Santa for anything?

Just A Dream

Van, A. C. (1990). Just a dream. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

This is an interesting and beautiful picture book that unfolds from a boy’s dream. The colors used throughout are, sometimes, muted and play on hues of the same color. Most of the dream scenes are from a bird’s eye point of view and are very large in scale. The format of the book utilizes large, full page illustrations as well as small cropped-like photos as well. A little boy named Walter learns a lesson about “being green” and caring for the environment via his dreams. As he sleeps in his bed, he finds himself in unusual places and circumstances throughout the book. The illustrations are wonderfully done and give the feeling of actually being in the dream with Walter.

What can you do to be more "earth-friendly"?

Welcome!

 I am Kimberly Simpson and I am a third grade teacher. I am learning to blog about books as part of a class requirement for my graduate work. So, welcome to my blog! This will be sooo much fun because I love, love, love my job AND  I also love, love, love to read and these (teaching and reading) are my passions.

I have been teaching for four years. I completed undergrad work at Lindsey Wilson College and am completing my grad work at University of the Cumberlands. I have taught grades 1-3 and have looped with my students! I am serving on my school's SBDM committee as well as Program Reviews-Writing and CSIP committees.

I live in Somerset, KY. with my husband and three furry friends. We have 4 children and 5 grandchildren. We recently joined the entreprenuer world and opened a fun center for the children of Pulaski County. We are super busy!!

I look forward to learning to blog as I share books and my love of books!!