Shaun Steiner’s Blog

1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving

by Catherine O'Neill Grace and Margaret M. Bruchac, with Plimoth Plantation
Photographed by Sisse Brimberg and Cotton Coulson 

Published by National Geographic Society, 2001
48 pages
ISBN: 0–7922–7027–4

Ages 7 - 14

What really happened at the first harvest gathering between Wampanoag Indians and English settlers? So little was documented then that, over time, the event has become mythologized and celebrated as the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. Based on the in-depth research conducted in recent years at the Plimoth Plantation living history museum, Grace and Bruchac separate fact from fantasy and provide an account of what most likely happened. Color photographs from a three-day reenactment that occurred at Plimoth Plantation in 2000 add accurate cultural and historical details

The Genre of this short story is Narrative..

Motivational Activities

1. I would have the children write 2 or 3 sentences telling me how things were back in 1621 in America.
2. Discussion Questions:

• How was life different in 1621?
• Where did the settlers and the Indians have their meals? Why did the Settlers call this Thanksgiving?
• How would you react if you were the Settlers in 1621 and indians gave you food? What would you say to them?

• Personal Comment:
1. I really enjoyed reading this book because it shows the diversity of each child. The children will see that everyone is different. Each child will see how it really was on Plymouth Rock.

2. The book is good for children who are not exposed to many other cultures.

• About Catherine O'Neill Grace
• Catherine O'Neill Grace, currently a writer and editor, has worked in the past as an elementary, middle and high school teacher. She was educated at Middlebury College where she received a BA cum laude in English Literature and Georgetown University where she also received her MA in English Literature. She has held editorial positions for a number of publications including The Saint Paul Pioneer Press, The National Geographic Society, The Washington Post, USA Today and Independent School magazine. Grace wrote a column on the subject of health and psychology for younger readers in the Washington Post and has also written a number of nonfiction children’s books.
  Among her many books, Grace wrote The White House An Illustrated History, published by Scholastic Nonfiction in 2003. This book was published in cooperation with the White House Historical Association. It includes more than 200 photographs, offers behind the scenes glimpses of life today inside the White House and includes a narrative about the history of the landmark. “This accessible volume is filled with interesting facts, and is a handsomely designed tribute to a symbol of freedom and democracy.” —School Library Journal
  Grace and her husband, a headmaster, live on the campus of a boarding school near Boston.

• Other books by Catherine O'Neill Grace.
1. I want to be a firefighter.
2. Best Friends Worst Enemies

References

Grace, C. O., & Plantation, P. (2001). 1621: A new look at the first thanksgiving. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society.

The Crossover

Shaun Steiner’s Blog

Crossover

by Kwame Alexander

Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014
237 pages
ISBN: 978-0-544-10771-7

Ages 10-13

Josh Bell is a talented middle school basketball player, as is his twin brother Jordan. They learned from their dad, Chuck “Da Man,” who played in the Euroleague before retiring from the game. When Jordan gets a girlfriend, Josh resents that his twin no longer does as much with him, and he takes his frustration out on the court during a game one day, almost breaking Jordan’s nose. It creates a huge rift between the boys and gets Josh banned from playing. The tension between the brothers is wonderfully portrayed within the greater dynamic of this African American family where there is a lot of love and laughing but also consequences when expectations are unmet. Meanwhile, their mom, principal of the boys’ middle school, is also worried about their dad’s health. Hypertension runs in his family and he not only isn’t taking care of himself but he’s doctor-averse. This element of the plot builds to a moment readers can see coming when their dad has a heart attack, yet it’s shocking, as sudden death is, when he dies. Kwame Alexander’s narrative has two styles—straightforward prose poems and vibrant, rap-like poems in which Josh describes the basketball action. Josh also likes language and occasional poems have Josh exploring the meaning of specific words that connect to what’s happening in his life, such as the one titled “ca-lam-i-ty” (“As in: The HUGE bald patch / on the side / of my head / is a dreadful / calamity.”). Josh’s voice is vivid, funny and moving in this fast-paced and poignant story.

The Genre of this short story is Narrative..

Motivational Activities

1. I would have the children write 2 or 3 sentences telling me about the conflict found in this book.
2. Discussion Questions:

• How was Josh effected by his brother getting a girlfreind?
• Where did Josh and his brother learn to play basketball? Why did Josh get angry at his brother?
• How would you react if someone close to you started spending less time with you? What would you say to him?

• Personal Comment:
1. I really enjoyed reading this book because it shows how children you have to let people grow and you cannot always spend every moment with them. The children will see that everyone has some tension in their family occasionally. Each child has his unique qualities and talents.

2. The book is good for children who are not exposed to many other cultures.

• About : Kwame Alexander
• Kwame Alexander is an American writer of poetry and children's fiction. His book The Crossover won the 2015 Newbery Medal recognizing the year's "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

• Other books by Walter Dean Meyers.
1. Indigo Bloom and the  Garden City
2. Acoustic Rooster and his barnyard

References

Alexander, K. (n.d.). The crossover

Morning on the Lake

Shaun Steiner’s Blog

Morning on the Lake

by Jan Bourdeau Waboose
Illustrated by Karen Reczuch 

Published by Kids Can Press, 1998
32 pages
ISBN: 1-55074-373-2

Ages 5 - 8

When an Ojibway boy spends a day in the company of Mishomis (grandfather), the two of them both claim morning, noon, and night as their favorite time of day. In the morning on the lake in a birchbark canoe, they see a family of loons; hiking up a cliff at noon, they see an eagle; and walking through the forest at night, they see a pack of wolves. The boy is initially frightened by each sight but he follows the example of his grandfather and stays perfectly quiet and still. After each animal has passed, Mishomis interprets cultural messages for the boy, thereby teaching him about his heritage. The subtle story of strong intergenerational relationship is illustrated with realistic watercolors that depict the beauty of the natural world.

The Genre of this short story is Narrative..

Motivational Activities

1. I would have the children write 2 or 3 sentences telling me about their relationship with their grandfather.
2. Discussion Questions:

• How was the boy bonding with his Grandfather?
• Where did the boy and his grandfather go? Why did his grandfather take him on the lake?
• How would you react if your grandfather asked you to go out with him on the lake? What would you say to him?

• Personal Comment:
1. I really enjoyed reading this book because it shows the importance of heritage. The children will see that grandparents have alot to share. Each child comes from a different family and the grandparents can help them understand their heritage.

2. The book is good for children who are not exposed to many other cultures.

• About Jan Bourdeau Waboose:
• Jan Bourdeau Waboose is a Nishnawbe Ojibway from Northern Ontario who based SkySisters on her own childhood experiences and her relationship with her older sister.
  
  In her writing, she tries to convey the Native life she sees in her family, friends and community - a larger, fuller picture than the stereotypes prevalent in North American society, she says.
  
  In the late 1960s, Jan began a long-term relationship with the Indian Bands of Ontario, working with them for ten years and eventually heading their child welfare program. Her interest in writing developed in tandem with this organizational work. She has written for many Native magazines and newspapers on issues connected with child welfare. She has also tried to correct inaccurate media portrayals of Native people and Native life. And she has written personal material - stories and poems - which now, increasingly, are being published.

• Other books by Jan Bourdeau Waboose
1. Firedancers
2. Sky Sisters

References

Waboose, J. B., & Reczuch, K. (1998). Morning on the lake. Tonawanda, NY: Kids Can Press.

I Love Saturdays y domingos

Shaun Steiner’s Blog

I Love Saturdays y Domingos

by Alma Flor Ada

Illustrated by Elivia Savadier 

Published by Atheneum, 2002
32 pages
ISBN: 0-689-31819-7

Ages 4 - 8

A young girl spends Saturdays with her English-speaking grandparents and los domingos (Sundays) with her Spanish-speaking grandparents, and each household offers love and support. On Saturdays she has scrambled eggs and pancakes for breakfast, watches the fish in her grandpa's aquarium, and listens to her grandmother tell stories about her grandmother coming to California in a covered wagon. On Sundays, she has huevos rancheros for breakfast, sits on the pier with her abuelo, and listens to her abuelita talk about her Native American grandmother. The story concludes with the entire family coming together for the narrator's seventh birthday party. Spanish words and phrases are naturally woven into a gentle story of a bi-cultural/bilingual child.

The Genre of this short story is Narrative..

Motivational Activities

1. I would have the children write 2 or 3 sentences telling me how they feel when they get together with their entire family.
2. Discussion Questions:

• How was the main character diverse?
• Where did the main character come from? Why did the main character have breakfast in different areas on Saturday and Sunday?
• How would you react if you were invited to come have breakfast with both families in this story? What would you say to him?

• Personal Comment:
1. I really enjoyed reading this book because it shows how children of bi-cultural families sometimes blend their customs. The children will see that people have unique customs and often eat different foods because of this.

2. The book is good for children who are not exposed to many other cultures.

• About Alma Flor Ada
• Alma Flor Ada was born in Camagüey, Cuba on January 3, 1938 to Modesto Ada Rey and Alma Lafuente.^[3] She grew up in La Quinta Simoni,^[3] a house owned by the family of Cuban revolutionary Ignacio Agramonte.^[3] Born into a family of storytellers, poets, and educators,^[4] she grew up hearing traditional tales re-told by her grandmother, father, and uncle. At the age of 15, she traded aquinceañera party for summer school in the United States, thus beginning her life as a bilingual person.^[5][6] After completing high school in Cuba, she earned a scholarship to attend Loretto Heights College. There she first encountered discrimination against Mexican-Americans,^[5] a discovery inspirational to her diversity appreciation efforts. After a year at Barry College in Miami,^[3] she earned a Diploma de Estudios Hispanos with an Excellency Award at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.^[5] She completed her PhD at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú.^[7] She was awarded a Fulbright Scholars Exchange Grant and appointed aRadcliffe Institute scholar at Harvard University^[8] and prepared her dissertation for publication, Pedro Salinas: El diálogo creador.^[9] In 1970, she and her four children relocated permanently to the United States.^[1] She currently resides in Marin County, California and has 9 grandchildren.^[3] Ada credits her children as a powerful influence in her writing,^[1]stating, "One of my greatest joys is that my daughter collaborates with me".^[3] Recently, Ada co-authored two books with her youngest son, Gabriel Zubizarreta

• Other books by Alma Flor Ada.
1. Brown Girl Dreaming
2. Feathers

References
Ada, A. F., & Savadier, E. (2002). I love Saturdays y domingos. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Shaun Steiner’s Blog

My People

by Langston Hughes
Photographed by Charles R. Smith, Jr. 

Published by Ginny Seo Books / Atheneum, 2009
32 pages
ISBN: 978-1-4169-3540-7

Age 3 and older

        “The night is beautiful. / So the faces of my people.” The full-hearted affirmation of Langston Hughes’s celebratory poem is given stirring visual accompaniment by Charles R. Smith, Jr. in this volume featuring black-and-white photographs of Black faces young and old, dark and light, joyful and soulful. Smith captures his subjects from varying angles and distances, creating ever-changing interest in the design. The photographs, tinged with sepia, are striking against the black background of the pages—each face is like the sun: shining and warm. Page spreads feature one to three people; sometimes carefully juxtaposed portraits, sometimes individuals interacting. Thumbnails of additional portraits grace some of the page borders, while larger images are features on the end papers of this singular volume.

The Genre of this short story is Narrative.

Motivational Activities

1. I would have the children write 2 or 3 sentences telling me what their two favorite pictures are in the book. They would have to give details about the pictures and what made them special.
2. Discussion Questions:

• How was this book encouraging to you?
• Where do you find inspiration? Why did this book interest you?
• How would you react if your family member were in this book?

• Personal Comment:
1. I really enjoyed reading this book because it gave the reader many illustrations to view of African American people from the present and the past. The children will see that there have been many influential people from African decent.

2. The book is good for children who are not exposed to many other cultures.

• About Langston Hughes:
• James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form called jazz poetry.

• Other books by Langston Hughes.
1. The Weary Blues
2. The Negro speaks of Rivers

References

Hughes, L., & Smith, C. R. (2009). My people. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers/ginee seo Books.

Shaun Steiner’s Blog

The Good Luck Cat

by Joy Harjo
Illustrated by Paul Lee 

Published by Harcourt, 2000
32 pages
ISBN: 0-15-232197-7

Ages 4 - 7

        Woogie runs in front of a car and lives to calmly lick her paws on the other side of the street. She crawls under the car hood where the motor is still warm and doesn't even lose the end of her tail. She gets shot in the ear with a BB gun and survives - more or less intact. These and six other mishaps are recounted by a young school-aged girl who agrees with her aunt Shelly that their cat Woogie seems to have nine lives. Maybe more than nine, because Woogie seems to bring good luck to others, too. After Aunt Shelly pets Woogie on her way to bingo, she returns with enough money to buy shoes for the family. Our young narrator misplaced the favorite beaded earrings she had planned to wear to the spring powwow, and she later remembers that she located them under the bed after petting Woogie! Maybe this "stripedy cat with the softest fur, the tickling whiskers, and the green electric eyes" who "purrs as if she has a drum near her heart" really is a harbinger of good luck. Maybe it's all coincidence. That actually doesn't matter in the story. Joy Harjo's seamless, lyrical sweep though nine mishaps and a subsequent lost-cat episode is closely observant about cat behavior and yet remarkably fresh. She creates a warm snapshot of one particular contemporary family's experiences with their pet using a consistent, credible first-person narrative voice. Paul Lee's full-color acrylic paintings loom large on the pages of a first-rate picture book replete with more than one kind of new image. This children's book debut by one of today's significant poets is refreshing for another reason, too. Harjo is a literary celebrity who actually CAN write well for young children.

The Genre of this short story is Narrative..

Motivational Activities

1. I would have the children write 2 or 3 sentences telling me about cats they have come across in their lives. They would have to give details about the cats and what made them special.
2. Discussion Questions:

• How was this cat good luck?
• Where did this good luck cat go? Why did the author say the cat has 9 lives?
• How would you react if your cat continued to survive multiple life threatening occurances? What would you do to help him not get in those situations?

• Personal Comment:
1. I really enjoyed reading this book because it shows how animals bring joy the family. The children will see that having an animal will make life better.

2. The book is good for children who are not exposed to many other cultures.

• About  Joy Harjo:
• Joy Harjo is a Mvskoke poet, musician, and author. She is often cited as playing a formidable role in the second wave of what critic Kenneth Lincoln termed the Native American Renaissance of the late 20th century

• Other books by Joy Harjo.
1. She had some horses.
2. How we became human.

References

Harjo, J., & Lee, P. (2000). The good luck cat. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace.

Each Kindness

Shaun Steiner’s Blog

Each Kindness

by Jacqueline Woodson
Illustrated by E. B. Lewis 

Published by Putnam, 2012
32 pages
ISBN: 978-0-399-24652-4

Ages 5-9

When the new girl Maya first comes to school, “Her coat was open and the clothes beneath it looked old and ragged.” Chloe ignores Maya’s smile that first day and every day afterward. And at recess, Chloe and her best friends, Kendra and Sophie, reject Maya’s attempts to play with them or impress them. Kendra calls Maya “Never New,” because “everything she has came from a secondhand store.” Maya isn’t at school the day their teacher brings a bowl of water and a stone to class. She drops in the stone and tells the students that kindness is like the ripples of water: “Each little thing we do goes out, like a ripple, into the world.” Chloe thinks about Maya, and is determined to smile back the next time she sees her. But day after day Maya doesn’t come back, and then the teacher announces Maya has moved away. Jacqueline Woodson’s moving story is anything but predictable as a young African American girl is left feeling regret for kindnesses undone, but also is surely changed. The writing pulses with feeling in Woodson’s quietly powerful narrative set against E. B. Lewis’s light-filled illustrations. 

The Genre of this short story is Narrative..

Motivational Activities

1. I would have the children write 2 or 3 sentences telling me how it feels to be treated badly because of what you wear to school.
2. Discussion Questions:

• How was Maya different from her peers?
• Where did Maya come from? Why did Kendra call Maya "Never New"?
• How would you react if someone made fun of you because you were poor? What would you say to him?

• Personal Comment:
1. I really enjoyed reading this book because it shows how words can hurt. The children will see that everyone can hurt people with what they say. It also shows that they can make people feel really good to by being kind. Each child has the power to say kind things and it really makes a big difference when they do.

2. The book is good for children who are not exposed to many other cultures.

• About Jacqueline Woodson:
• Jacqueline Woodson (born February 12, 1963) is an American writer of books for children and adolescents. She is best known forMiracle's Boys, which won the Coretta Scott King Award in 2001, and her Newbery Honor-winning titles Brown Girl Dreaming, After Tupac & D Foster, Feathers, and Show Way.
• For her lifetime contribution as a children's writer, Woodson won the Margaret Edwards Award in 2005^[1] and she was the U.S. nominee for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2014.^[2][3][4] IBBY named her one of six Andersen Award finalists on March 17, 2014.^[5] She won the National Book Award in 2014 in the category of "Young People's Literature" for Brown Girl Dreaming.

• Other books by Alma Flor Ada.
1. Brown Girl Dreaming
2. Feathers

References

Woodson, J., & Lewis, E. B. (2012). Each kindness. New York: Nancy Paulsen Books