Coretta Scott King Award

Giovanni, Nikki. (2005). Rosa. (1st. ed.). Henry Holt and Co. New York, N.Y.

Rosa, also a Caldecott Honor book, is a short biography of one of the bravest civil rights activist who ever lived. I loved Rosa. This book left me wanting to find out more about Mrs. Rosa Parks. I've read several stories about the civil rights movement. Yet, this book helped me to relate to how it feels to do a hard day's work and how I would feel if this had happened to me. I learned things about Mrs. Parks that I did not know before.

This book is full of history and information. The illustrations were rich and powerful. The flat geometric shapes helped to push the three dimensional figures and objects foward and emphasize their importance within the story.

Image retreived from www.amazon.com on October 2, 2009.

Author, Yoshiko Uchida

Uchida, Yoshiko. (1975). The Birthday Visitor. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, N.Y.



When I first began to read this book, I wasn't sure that I would like it. I tried to imagine myself as a child reading this book and how I could relate to the story. The story revolves around a little girl and her birthday and how she doesn't want the visitor to spoil it. What I like about the story is that it helps young readers to understand that we shouldn't stereotype people as we sometimes do. Emi had the minister stereotyped as boring and dull when, in fact, he was just the opposite. Upon his arrival is when this story actually starts to become interesting.



Uchida has written similar stories with her character, "Sumi" who is a little girl in Japan. Uchida was also very interested in the problems of the Japanese-American and some of her books, Journey to Topaz and Samurai of Gold Hill reflect this concern.

Author, Laurence Yep

Yep, Laurence. (1995). Hiroshima. Scholastic. New York, N.Y.

Dedicated to the memory of Yoshiko Uchida, this heartwrenching story is one that will put chills up and down your spine. It tells the story of the children that witnessed this horrific event in history. A child, Sachi, who is terribly burnt loses not only her sister but also her father. The sufferings that these poor people had to endure is like a horrid nightmare. This is a wonderful book and well worth the time to read.

Image available at www.amazon.com. Retreived on October 1, 2009.

Other books by Yep include: The Ghost Fox, selected as a Children's Book of the Year by Child Study Children's Book Committee, and two Newbery Honor Books, Dragon's Gate and Dragon Wings.

Jumpstart

Jumpstart

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Author, Julius Lester

Lester, Julius. (2005). Let's Talk About Race. (1st ed.). Harper Collins. Amistad.

We've all heard that we are all the same underneath no matter what color our skin is. Yet, Julius Lester creates a version of this that is like no other. In this book, Lester helps the reader to actually see that we are all the same. The colorful illustrations, yet abstract, brings his story to life. I loved this book and I will include this as a part of my African American unit that I do each year with my students. It is one that I would recommend that every teacher include in their unit of studies. His story is so clever and unique that I would definitely read other books from this author.

Image retreived from www.amazon.com on September 25, 2009.

Other books that Lester has written include: And all our wounds forgiven, From slave ship to freedom road, Guardian, John Henry, and Long journey home: Stories from Black history are just a few of his many books.

Jerry Pinkney--Author and Illustrator

Pinkney, Gloria J. (1992). Back Home. (1st. ed.) Dial Books. New York, NY.

This book written by Gloria Jean Pinkney was illustrated by husband, Jerry Pinkney. Jerry's illustrations are remarkable. Each page is an artwork in itself. His use of watercolors and other media brings his books to life. As I read through the pages of this book, I found myself looking in detail at each illustration. Being an artist and teacher, illustrations are as just important as the words of the story.

Image found at http://www.amazon.com/. Retreived on September 25, 2009.

Other books that Jerry Pinkney has illustrated include:

The Little Red Hen, More Tales of Uncle Renus, retold by Julius Lester, Noah's Ark which was also written by Pinkney and mentioned in this blog, The Talking Eggs by Rober San Souci, and The Patchwork Quilt by Valerie Flournoay to mention a few.

John Newbery Awards

Perkins, Lynne R. (2005). Criss Cross. Harper Collins. New York, N.Y.

This Newberry Medal book takes me back to those carefree but yet painful teenage years. I remember how awkward these years were and Perkins reminds us of those little things that we as teenagers thought were the end of the world. Searching for love, the meaning of life, and who they are, brings these friends in the book together. This is an excellent book for preteen and teen girls.

Schlitz, Laura Amy (2007). Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Tales from a medieval village. Candlewick

Press. Cambridge, Ma.

This was a very interesting book. I wasn't sure that I would like it because of the timeperiod. Needless to say, I was reluctant to check it out. Yet, I was glad that I did. I found this book to be one of the best reading materials in this blog. It was written by a school librarian for one of her classes that was studying the Middle Ages. It contains 22 skits/stories from children of that time and place. These short stories were very informative as well as interesting. To imagine things from a child's perspective during this time period was sad and harsh. They faced many hardships and were forced to grow up at an early age. To say the least, they had no childhood. Yet, the author writes their stories in somewhat humorous tones like the story of Mariot and Maud. Some of the stories of the children are directly related to each other like Mogg and Jack. One of my personal favorites is Alice the Shepherdess. This brought back childhood memories of when my cat was giving birth and was unable to continuing with her labor and I had to help her with the delivery.

Image available from http://www.amazon.com/. Retreived on September 25, 2009.