The Great Gilly Hopkins

Author: Katherine Paterson

Publishing information: (HarperCollins, June 17, 1987, Ages 9-12)

Number of Pages: 178 pages

Genre: Controversial fiction

Summary of Plot:

           

            The book was about an 11 year old girl named Galadriel Hopkins, Gilly for short. She has been living in foster homes since she was very young. Her biological mother was named Courtney Rutherford Hopkins. She had sent a postcard to Gilly saying that she missed her and wanted to be with her. Nevertheless, nothing ever happened for most of the book.

At the start Gilly was being very resistant at wanting to go to her newest home. When she arrived, she did everything possible to get into trouble. Her caregiver, Mrs. Ellis, wanted her to behave for Mrs. Trotter, her new foster mom. Trotter, a large woman with a messy house, had a son named William Earnest, who was also a foster son. He was slightly mentally handicapped and loved to watch sesame Street. Even though she got into a fight on the first day she went to her new school, she learned to accept it. She liked her new teacher, Mrs. Harris.

            For dinner this family always invited their black blind neighbor, named Mr. Randolph. Gilly was very opposed at first, but throughout the book she became closer to him. He had many books in his library. On one occasion she found some money behind the books in his house. She stole it, and came back looking for more. It totaled to be around 40 dollars. She used this money, as well as 100 dollars that she stole from Trotter, to purchase a train ticket. She got caught by the police before she could get on the train. She, under the glaring eye of Trotter, returned the money, and worked it off with Trotter.

            Courtney’s mom visited her one day, while Trotter, W.E, and Mr. Randolph were sick. A while later Gilly was notified that her grandmother was going to have her live with her, at Courtney’s request. Gilly did not want to go. She believed them to be family. However, she went, and kept in touch with the school, Trotter, W. E., and Mr. Randolph.

            Courtney came to visit her-just to visit. That did not turn out well. She continued to live with her grandma. She kept in touch with Trotter and W.E. She did not live with her mom, who she had wanted to. She had a permanent home with her grandma.

My Reaction to the book:

            I found this book informational. Right from the start I found a perspective of Gilly’s interesting. I had never really considered what it would be like to go to a stranger’s house and be told this is where you were going to live. This book was descriptive. It was ethnically accurate. The dialogue was a good representation of the situation at that time. People would speak like that. The plot was interesting.

           

Potential Problems:

            Foster care, violence, foul language, and racial comments might be offensive to some children and their parents.

Recommendations:

            This book is good for those people who deal with foster care. It would connect to them a lot. This book teaches the importance of being friendly to all types of people, and the consequences of stealing. This book is a Newbery Winner. It is not a hard book. The plot flows well. I felt like I was in the action, for a lot of the book, even though I don’t have connections to those types of personal experiences.

A Tree is Nice

Author: Janice May Udry

Illustrated by: Marc Simont

Publishing information: (Harper & Row Publishers, March 14, 1956, Ages 4-8)

Number of Pages: 29 pages

Genre: Picture (fiction)

Summary of Plot:

           

            This book was about trees. It starts off by saying how “Trees are very nice”. It tells what trees so for people. For example: trees fill up the sky, make things beautiful, make shade, protect houses from storms, etc. It also tells what people can do with them. They can have picnics by them; they can play pirate ship on them; they can build a playhouse on them; and pick apples off of them. It tells how trees can be planted by people- they should. Trees are very important to the world.

My Reaction to the book:

            What was this book’s purpose? I found all of this to be common sense. It was not my favorite. It does contain an important message. I liked the pictures. The page about the fall season was my favorite picture. The pictures are a huge part of the story. Without them the story would be less meaningful.

Potential Problems:

            None

Recommendations:

            This book would be a great book to read in a class on Earth day. Its message is about the importance of trees in our lives. This book won a Caldecott award. It is well deserved. The pictures look a mixture between marker and colored pencil.

Stories of Pirates

Author: Russell Punter

Illustrated by: Christyan Fox

Publishing information: (Usborne Publishing Ltd, 31 May 2007, Ages 4-8)

Number of Pages: 46 pages

Genre: Caricature (fiction)

Summary of Plot:       

The book was divided into three chapters, each telling a different pirate story.

The first story was about a boy named Charlie Crossbones. He had spent ten years at pirate school and was officially a pirate. He knew how to be a pirate, and even had a ship. He just did not have the parrot to complete the look. One day there was a sale, full of many parrots of all shapes and sizes. However, they were too expensive. The seller said he could have a cheap parrot as he was turning to leave…It was a loud and squawky parrot. When Charlie tried to steal treasure, the parrot would give him away. He tried to lose it, but it always found its way to him again. It all changed when the parrot was able to save them from being robbed. The captain was very thankful, and gave Charlie money for it. Charlie could now buy a much quieter parrot, which he did.

The second story was about how a girl named Molly was taken captive off of her ship, by a band of pirates seeking treasure. They made her walk the plank after she wouldn’t tell them and give them the key. She just jumped onto the port of an island that they had come to. The pirates got arrested, and Molly came out unharmed. Molly became a lighthouse keeper.

The third story was about a guy named Sam Sardine’s dream to become a sailor. He got a job working as a deck hand. He swept, he cooked, and he washed. He pled to his captain to give him a more exciting job. The captain let him guard a treasure chest at night. He fell asleep though, and it got stolen. To his credit, on land Sam was able to catch the thief. Sam got to steer the ship.        

My Reaction to the book:

            The stories were entertaining. The plots were catching. I liked the comical type of feel that this book had.  I think reading about adventures is catching. It wasn’t boring. I felt like having the larger text size is helpful to people.

Potential Problems:

            Pirates and theft are a major part of the book.

Recommendations:

            I noticed several literary elements stressed in this book. I noticed alliteration. Several sounds were repeated, such as: Sam Sardine, Charlie Crossbones, and Macintosh Mullet and Molly. This book also stresses dialogue. This is important for the age of the target readers. Many kids like pirates. This book will appeal to their interests.

Farm Morning

Author: David McPhail

Illustrated by: David McPhail

Publishing information: (Sandpiper, February 21, 1991, Ages 4-8)

Number of Pages: 32 pages

Genre: Picture Book (fiction)

Summary of Plot:       

            This story was about a Father and a daughter’s morning on the farm. The book started by the daughter coming into the fathers’ room before he was awake, they got ready and walked out the squeaky back door. The sound wakes up the animals. They always do the animals in the same order, starting with the rabbit and ending with the chickens. The daughter helps with the chores. After all the animals got taken care of, the father and daughter go in to their house and have breakfast.

My Reaction to the book:

            The plot was really simple. The pictures were the best part about the book. My favorite picture was when the girl was milking the cow after her father said she could. The milk was seen clearly not going into the bucket, rather onto the dirt. I like the father/ daughter bond that the book expresses. It shows how chores can bring people closer together, and how when all is said and done, fun can happen.         

Potential Problems:

            None

Recommendations:

            The picture style is that the pictures are kind of fuzzy, and not really clear. They are not my favorite, but it is good to know other types of styles that aren’t so familiar. It is fun to learn about people who work on farms. This may be a job that is not so present in some parts of the world.

What Charlie Heard

Author: Mordicai Gerstein

 Susan Wojciechowski (Author)

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Illustrator:  Mordicai Gerstein

Publishing information: (Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), March 18, 2002, Ages 9-12)

Number of Pages: 40 pages

Genre: Non Fiction

Summary of Plot:

            Charlie Ives was the main character of the book. He was exposed to lots of music at an early age, and through his life. He loved noise. His father played the trumpet, the violin, the fiddle, and the piano. He soon how to play many of those himself, as well as being skilled in playing the organ. He found music in everything: the church bells, fire trucks, the swish of his mother’s skirt, fireworks, etc. He found a fascinating sound out of two bands playing two different tunes at the same time. He heard people sing hymns, not professionally, but beautifully. His father died. Charley later married a lady named Harmony. He continued to compose his own music which he had started doing, but people didn’t like it. He kept sending his pieces out to the world though. Gradually, as he grew older, they started playing it.  The Boston Symphony played a piece of his, then a famous violinist played one, and it grew more popular from there. His second symphony was played in Carnegie Hall. He continues to be famous, even after he has died.

My Reaction to the book: 

            I connected a lot to this book. I love music. I hear music in everyday activities. Even though I don’t compose music I know what it takes. It is hard work. Charlie was very talented, even if people were not receptive to his music at first. I liked the illustrations; the descriptive words illustrated the noise well. I like how it inspired me to want to learn more. The Authors note at the end of the book helped me learn other things about him that the story didn’t talk about.

           

Potential Problems:

His father died.

Recommendations:

This book teaches a lot about music. Writing music takes hard work. This would be a good book to read in an elementary school music class, or choir. It is suited to children well. It would possibly inspire kids to want to learn me. I was intrigued to want to learn more after I read this. It also teaches the value of a parent’s or a loved one’s example.

Stargirl

Author: Jerry Spinelli

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Publishing information: (Knopf Books for Young Readers, Aug 8, 2000, Young Adult)

Number of Pages: 208 pages

Genre: Modern Realism

Summary of Plot:

            This plot centers on a new girl that comes to town. Before she arrived, no one ever tried to stick out of the crowd. They wore the same types of clothes, acted in the norm, etc. Not Stargirl, the new girl. On the first day she came to school people knew she would be different. She had a long ankle length dress on, a large bag with a life-size sunflower on it, a pet rat in her bag, and a ukulele, which she played in the lunch room. She also decorated her desks with a cloth and a fresh daisy (in a vase), sang happy birthday to strangers, and left gifts on each of her classmates’ desk for the different holidays.

            While at first she remained obscure and weird to the other students, she later became popular when her enthusiasm gave her a spot on the cheerleading squad. Crowd attendance, minimal before, suddenly skyrocketed. The team started winning, and were undefeated. Her enthusiasm did not stop for her team alone; it spread to cheering on the other teams. Her peers did not like her after she did that. After a few losses, they blamed her for their losing streak.  She got kicked off the squad, and was ignored by all but one person. That was Leo. He liked her, and she thought he was cute. As the book progressed, their relationship got bigger.

            Many of the student’s did not just have their school teachers, but Archie, an archeologist, as well. They would go to his house on weekends and learn what he taught, for fun. He had a dinosaur head that he would carry around and use in his stories. He was close to Stargirl. She had stayed at his house at one point of her life.

            The school had a televised program called the “Hot Seat”. They chose people that they wanted to learn more about to be the guest. Stargirl accepted the request to be on the show. It turned out horribly. At that point in time, people had turned the backs on her. They switched from the typical questioning to making accusations and rude comments. It turned into somewhat of a riot. The faculty supervisor cut the episode. It never was aired.

In the end, even after Stargirl had won a state speech contest, people did not like her. She went to a school dance. Hillari, a stuck up girl, hit her, but Stargirl gave her a kiss on the cheek in return. After she rode off from the dance no one saw her again. A while later Leo found another porcupine tie on his doorstep. This was what Stargirl had done to him at the start of the book, anonymous to him when it happened originally.

My Reaction to the book: 

            I found this book to be a pretty good representation of a high school. There is at least one person in every school that stands out. Tricks that were used in the book would be used in a high school.

Susan, Stargirl’s real name, was a great example of turning the other cheek. Doing small acts of kindness were another thing that made Stargirl a good model for readers of the book. People can learn a lot from her. 

I felt like I was in the action. It was realistic, an applicable to the target age range. I found the end strange. I like more concrete endings.  It was an easy book to read because it had simple language a simple plot.

           

Potential Problems:

This book has insulting comments, hate, and hostility in it. These are not positive traits that children will learn about.

Recommendations:

For those that feel like an odd one out of a group this is a good book because it demonstrates the power that one individual had on a school. Even though she was not well liked much of the time, she still had the courage and desire to do good to those who despitefully used her.  

The Christmas Miracle of Johnathan Toomey

Author: Susan Wojciechowski

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 Illustrator: P.J. Lynch

Publishing information: (Candlewick; 1st US edition, October 2, 1995, Ages 4-8)

Number of Pages: 40 pages

Genre: Traditional Holiday

Summary of Plot:

            Once there was a man who had a wife and a son. They had died due to illness. He turned into a grumpy guy; especially near Christmas, the time around which they died. He lives a lonely life in his woodcarving shop.

            During one Christmas season, a widow and her young son, Thomas found their self at his door. They have been told he is a great wood carver. She wants to have him carve a replacement nativity set. The one she had had been lost with a move. He agrees to make it. Occasionally they come to check his progress.

            When they come to his house the widow sits in a large straight back chair by the fire, knitting something. Thomas, after asking, get s to watch the wood carver, Mr. Toomey, carve the one. As he carves Thomas lets him know that an animal should be proud, or another should be happy, or something should be another emotion that people wouldn’t incorporate into a woodcarving.

            On Christmas day the carver, appears at the widow’s door for change. He presents the nativity, just how Thomas described Over the course of the book Mr. Toomey had become happy, with the friendship of the widow and her son.

My Reaction to the book:

            This is my favorite Christmas book. We read it every year as a tradition. Its pictures are really details. They are woody colors which made me think the pictures as warm and inviting.

Potential Problems:
           Mr. Toomey was a grumpy man at the start of this book, because of the deaths.
           
Recommendations:

This is a great Christmas message. It is a fairly lengthy book. It also has an audio recording too. Once children know the story they can have fun filling in the approaching lines, while having it read to them.

The Tale of The Three Trees

Author: Angela Elwell Hunt

Illustrator: Tim Jonke

Publishing information: (Cook Communications; 1st edition, March 25, 2004, Baby-Preschool)

Number of Pages: 25 pages

Genre: Folktale

Summary of Plot:

            This book was about the dreams of three trees. One day three choppers come to the trees’ mountain, chop them down, and haul them to a site of the wood choppers choice. All three trees start feeling their dream of becoming a beautiful thing is disappearing. The first tree wishes to become a treasure chest, the second, a mighty ship transporting kings, and the third just wanted to stay and point to God.

            At the end of the story all three things get their wishes, though not what they expected. The first tree gets to hold Jesus, as an infant, in a manager; that is the best treasure. The second gets to transport a mighty king in its ship, the Savior. And the third tree points to God as people are reminded what happened on it, the crucifixion. All three trees had their dreams come true.

My Reaction to the book:

            This is one of my favorite Christmas books. We read it every year as a tradition.  Really like the setting. I liked the perspective of it, some tree really became a manager that held baby Jesus, the ship that Christ used, and the cross that Christ was nailed to. I thought it was neat that showed their viewpoint.

Potential Problems:
           Trees don’t have dreams.
           
Recommendations:

This is a great Christmas message. It is pretty short, but really powerful. It captures the meaning of Christmas really well.  I would recommend this story for every family to read together during the Christmas season.