SLIS 5420 Module 2 Classic Children's and Young Adult Literature

SLIS 5420 Module 2 Classic Children's and Young Adult Literature

The Important Book
By Margaret Wise Brown
 

Bibliography:

Brown, M. W., & Weisgard, L. (1977). The important book. New York, N.Y.: HarperCollins Publishers.
 
Summary:

Various items are looked at (a leaf, a spoon, and finally you) and what's important is given always going back to the first characteristic that is important.. 

 My impressions:
 
This book is very sweet.  Ending the book by stressing how each reader is important and that the important thing about "you is you" is heartfelt and an ego booster for kids. The illustrations are mindful of a happy time, very serene and unassuming.

Reviews:

 Palmer, L. (1949, July 17). Everyday Things; THE IMPORTANT BOOK. New York Times, p. BR22.

 It is difficult for adults to see everyday objects as children see them. They have been using spoons and shoes for so long that these are just spoons and shoes. They have been feeling the wind and the rain for so long that these are just wind and rain. But to children, spoons, shoes, wind, rain are all new experiences.

Howell, S. (2011, July 28). Book Review: The Important Book. Caterpickles. Retrieved from http://caterpickles.com/2011/07/28/book-review-the-important-book/

The important thing about this book is
that it is lyrical.
It is fun to read,
and it has lovely pictures,
and mistakes the obvious for the important,
and you can use it to teach children to write,
and describe things for themselves.
But the important thing about this book is that it is lyrical.

Suggestions for use

After reading this to the students, a discussion about whay all those things were important and did each student agree with the reasons.  Then it could be used in a "write-like" exercise having the children choose things in their lives and write about what is important about each thing. 

Cloudy with a chance of meatballs

by Judi Barrett

Bibliography

Barrett, J. (1988). Cloudy with a chance of meatballs. New York, NY: Atheneum.

Summary

A flying pancake mishap during breakfast prompts a grandfather to tell a tall tale about a town called Chewandswallow where food is the precipitation until all goes awry and the townspeople escape the downpour of unpleasant food experiences.

My Impressions 

I don’t enjoy tall tales very much and food falling from the sky grosses me out.  This book is silly and I can see boys liking it or younger kids enjoying it.

Reviews

Jenks, C. K., & Gerhardt, L. N. (1978). Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (Book Review). School Library Journal, 25(1), 102.

 A Saturday pancake breakfast inspires Grandpa to tell a story: in the tiny town of Chewandswallow everything is usual except the weather, which brings food from the sky three times a day.  In case readers cannot imagine this situation through words alone, the line and watercolor cartoons complete the picture: eggs, sunny side up, hang on trees, soda drizzels a molded jello sets I the west, and so on.  The townspeople think this is a fine way to live until undesireable food begins to fall.  The Chewandswallow Digest carries the headline “Spaghetti Ties Up Town!” and “Traffic Snarled on Lower Intestine Street.”  The people begine to leave for another settlement, where they make temporary houses out of stale bread and live “normal” lives, buying food at the supermarket.  This is enough to make some readers throw up; but perhaps it is just a matter of taste.

Gallagher, G. (2006). Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. School Library Journal, 52(7), 45.

In the town of Chewandswallow, the citizens enjoy the bounties of the skies, and open-roofed restaurants allow diners to catch their dinner. Unfortunately, the weather takes a turn for the worse, and there is no choice but to flee from the falling food. The detailed pen-and-ink illustrations begin in black and white, but as the tale progresses, colors join the black line details. A savory story to share over and over again.

Suggestions for use

This could be a springboard into a unit on nutrition and what foods could the people live most healthily on.