Eyewitness: Olympics (12)

Oxlade, C., & Ballheimer, D. (2005). Eyewitness: Olympics. New York: D.K. Publishing. 

Book cover.

The picture book Eyewitness: Olympics falls into the nonfiction category informational book series. Typical of this style is a mixture of text and graphics and this selection is true to form. It includes an abundance of stunning photographs as well as charts, diagrams, drawings, and timelines all suitable for portraying information over a topic that spans thousands of years.

Other unique features of nonfiction books are present within the text. These include a table of contents at the front of the book along with an index and glossary at the back. As the book is part of a series, a list of other titles is also listed at the back. 

In addition to the pleasing visual features, the book's content is quite engrossing. Topics ranging from the history of the Olympics to equipment used to athlete body shapes to Paralympics are included in the text, making it sure to intrigue most any aged reader. 

Amiri & Odette: A Love Story (9)

Myers, W.D. (2009). Amiri and odette: a love story. New York: Scholastic Press. 

Book cover.

In the multicultural poetic retelling of the ballet Swan Lake, Amiri and Odette: A Love Story, Walter Dean Myers makes use of a variety of poetic devices to tell the story of a young couple from a housing project who fall in love and must overcome substantial obstacles. Although an engaging and powerful narrative poem, it should be used with mature audiences (approximately eighth grade and up) and would be particularly useful paired with a unit on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet due to similar content.

Like the original ballet version of Swan Lake, the plot of Amiri & Odette is divided into four acts. The brief Act I depicts one of the main characters, Amiri, talking with his mother, who pleads with him to live his life carefully, even offering to host a party so that he may find a suitable girlfriend and avoid the rough life in the projects that she has endured. Act 2 begins with Amiri playing a game of basketball with friends, where he soon notices Odette, the other main character, watching from the sidelines. They soon meet and Odette reveals that she is indebted to work for the antagonist, Big Red, whom it can be inferred is most likely a pimp (hence the need for caution regarding the story's subject matter). In Act 3, Amiri's party occurs, where he confesses his love for Odette. However, Big Red soon appears, throwing their plans askew. As the story ends in Act 4, Amiri and Big Red battle for Odette, with Amiri winning not only Odette's freedom, but their chance for love and a life together as well.

Throughout the poem, Myers incorpoates numerous sound patterns to create a sense of rhythm within his writing. He uses an abundance of differing kinds of rhyme. For instance, internal rhyme appears in the line, "In a cluttering, fluttering, flurry of wings...". End and exact rhyme surface frequently in such lines as, "Is happy chance alone gladly greeted/ And Big Red so easily defeated?" and, "Yo, Amiri! Come on! It's time to get down!/ Way past the moment to be rid of that frown!" (which also demonstrates the poem's use of colloquialisms). In addition to rhyme, Myers also uses assonance, consonance, and alliteration. For instance, consonance is demonstrated with the letter s in the lines, "Amiri, my son, I've paid my dues./ Trust me on this one, it's/ choose right or lose." Assonance is used with the letter e in the line, "To nearly stop and tender dreams to start...". Alliteration appears with the letters d and s in such lines as, "Dark clouds drift across a starless sky/ And streak the fat, doom-heavy moon." Repetition also occurs in the lines, "Ball against concrete/ Ball against steel/ Ball against hurting..." further enhancing the rhythm created by the language of the poem.

Besides the appeal of the language, the picture book's illustrations are equally enthralling. Illustrator Javaka Steptoe uses both collage and paint to depict the story. Vibrant hues are consistently used in what appear to be expressionistic illustrations, expressing the emotions felt by the characters within the story. 

Emotion is frequently expressed in the poem's expressionistic illustrations, as
shown in the sorrow of Big Red's defeat in the above painting/collage illustration.

Despite the presence of potentially controversial content, Amiri & Odette is a strong example of powerful and effectively written poetry that could draw in even the most skeptical of students.

Once a Mouse (8)

Book cover.

Brown, M. (1961). Once a mouse. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

The Caldecott Medal winning book Once a Mouse as told by Marcia Brown recalls the Indian fable of a hermit who uses magic to help a mouse defend itself against predators. The hermit helps the mouse by transforming him into the same animals against which he must defend himself, only the mouse becomes too proud and is ultimately transformed back into the lowly state of a mouse.

The doublespread picture book contains remarkable woodcut illustrations in warm colors of yellow, brown, and orange. Such a medium helps to convey the classic nature of the fable. Adding to the illustrations is the use of enjambment, or carrying one line of text to the next page, in order to create a sense of suspense (For example: "A cat came to the hut with whiskers...straight and tail held high.") as well as add to the repetitive plot of the mouse's image being continually transformed as more and more predators come his way (For instance: "...he quickly changed him into a stout cat," and "changed the cat into a big dog.").

The book contains woodcut illustrations in warm colors.

Crazy Alphabet & When the Elephant Walks (5)

Cox, L. (1990). Crazy alphabet. New York: Orchard Books.

Keiko, K. (1990). When the elephant walks. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.

Crazy Alphabet book cover.

Lynn Cox's book Crazy Alphabet, as its title suggest, is an ABC picture book with a cause and effect relationship much in the scheme of There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly. The book would be excellent for teaching cause and effect as well as to reinforce the learning of the alphabet with young readers.

The repetitive nature of the book's wording along with the brilliant illustrations would make it an excellent read-aloud selection. The illustrations feature mixed media (although not easily discernible, they appear to feature paint and ink and perhaps pencil and collage elements). The pictures are of a brightly colored cartoon drawing nature and often incorporate geometric shapes. The illustrations are often doublespread, adding to their appeal for read aloud presentation.

When the Elephant Walks book cover.

Another selection that seems appropriate for both cause and effect discussions and read alouds with younger audiences is the picture book When the Elephant Walks by Keiko Kasza. The book's plot was explained by the chain of events that started when an elephant went for a walk that scared the bear which caused the bear to run and in turn scare the crocodile and so the story continues. 

Similarly, this animal story featured cartoon doublespread illustrations but of softer colors. Humor was also incorporated in the illustrations, particularly through the facial expressions of the animal characters.

Always Room For One More (4)

Leodhas, S.N. (1965). Always room for one more. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. 

Book cover.

The multicultural folktalke Always Room for One More by Sorche Nic Leodhas depicts a traditional Scottish folk song that has been orally handed down. Because of its representation of the language of the culture, much of it can be tricky to understand; however, thankfully, a glossary is included in the back of the book to define such terms as bairns (children of middle age range), blether (foolish talk), and och ("Oh.").   


The 1966 Caldecott Medal winning picture book makes use of primitive/folk pencil line illustrations that are well suited to the story's simple conflict, which is to find enough room for the ever-growing number of people who come by the home of the protagonist, Lachie MacLachlan and his wife and ten children. Perhaps reflecting the hospitality of Scottish culture, the MacLachlans at last solve the problem of more and more people stopping in by building a bigger house, insuring that there is indeed "always room for one more."

As previously mentioned, much of the language of the story can be somewhat confusing for those unfamiliar with the Scottish culture and language. However, this makes it a book very well suited to teach culture, jargon, and discerning word meanings based on context clues. It could even be easily used with a high school audience for the same topics, and provide a great opportunity for variety in instructional strategies for older audiences.

Olivia Goes to Venice (3)

Falconer, I. (2010). Olivia goes to venice. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

I've seen the Olivia series of books on store shelves countless times, but never had a chance to read any of them. However, I am very grateful that I did! The content of the story Olivia Goes to Venice, written and illustrated by Ian Falconer, was so humorous (even to an adult reader) that on the first read-through, I was barely able to absorb the wonderful mixed-media illustrations, which incorporated color photographs with pencil and ink cartoon drawings, typically in white, black, and red. 

An excellent depiction of the mixed media illustrations used within the book.

The plot of the story centered around a family vacation to the Italian city of Venice, where Olivia, a young female pig, and her family spent time soaking up the local sites, tastes, and overall culture. Because of the setting, the story presented a great deal of specialized vocabulary, such as gelato, gondola, gondolier, prego, and basilica. Because of the use of such terms as well as the inclusion of local landmarks, the book would be a remarkable addition to a study of European cultures.

Book cover.

Though the story was a picture book featuring animals as the characters and the major conflict seemed to be attaining a constant supply of gelato (or perhaps not destroying any of Venice's remarkable landmarks), it could no doubt be enjoyed by a wide audience. The humor of the story was irresistible and often supported by the illustrations, both of which would captivate any age group. 

The original Olivia.

Although this book in particular hasn't been accredited with any majors awards, its predecessor, Olivia, was a Caldecott Honor Book in 2001. Such an acknowledgement, not to mention the pure enjoyment I was given from reading the book, encourages me to read the other books in the series...and to hope they are equally entertaining.  

The Always Prayer Shawl (2)

Book cover. 

Oberman, S. (1994). The always prayer shawl. Honesdale: Boyds Mills Press.

The Always Prayer Shawl by Sheldon Oberman presents an immediate focus on things that change versus things that remain the same. The story focuses on the main character, Adam, a boy who is born and raised in Russia, but, because of the conflict of war and famine, must immigrate with his family to the United States. Prior to leaving Russia, Adam spends time talking with and learning from his grandfather, who teaches him that circumstances may change, but some things--such as what the prayer shawl he gives Adam represents, or the fact that Adam will always be Adam--never change. The events of the plot thus make the story one that is realistic fiction and to some degree historical fiction (some events occur in the past, while some are closer to present time).

The illustrations transition from black and white
to color to mark Adam's transition from childhood to adulthood.

The illustrations of the picture book are significant to the story line. For approximately the first half of the book, that presenting Adam's childhood, the book has only black and white illustrations. However, when the story transitions to Adam's adult life, the illustrations become color. All of the artwork is realistic, detailed, and completed in the medium of paint.

The story is strongly focused on Jewish culture and traditions, including that of family, heritage, and prayer. Thus, with a focus on change, it is easy to detect a theme of conditions changing, but faith remaining constant. Even though readers of different faiths may read the book, they could easily relate to the contrasts it draws between what Adam experiences as a child and what his grandson experiences ("I got eggs from a chicken, not from a store. I chopped wood for heat. I did not turn a dial."), a conversation that occurs between generations of all cultural and religious backgrounds.

The story proved easy to read, with some patterned, repetitive sentence structures that were easily understandable and provided rhythm. The author also used repetition throughout the book, in such lines as, "So he sewed on a new one," and, "Some things change. Some things don't." 

Despite cultural differences, I found the story very relatable and relevant. It has no doubt been widely well-received, as indicated by the abundance of awards it has received, including the Sydney Taylor Book Award and the National Jewish Book Award. It was also featured on the ALA Booklist's Best Books Of The Year list and as a Reading Rainbow Book.

When I Was Young in the Mountains (1)

Rylant, C. (1982). When I was young in the mountains. New York: E.P. Dutton.

Cynthia Rylant.

As a native of Kentucky, I thoroughly enjoyed the story Cythania Rylant presents in her Caldecott Honor picture book When I was Young in the Mountains, a realistic fiction picture book based largely on Rylant's own childhood experiences (Rylant was raised in West Virginia). The book strongly expresses aspects of primitive mountain life, as depicted through first person point of view with such allusions as those to coal mining, baptisms, and johnny-houses. As indicated in the title, the setting of the mountains of the eastern US is absolutely integral to Rylant's story.

Book cover.

Although the book featured no evident central conflict, numerous small problems were mentioned in a form of episodic plot, almost as a collection of isolated memories. For instance, the first person narrator discussed such problematic instances as finding snakes in the yard, stomach problems after eating too much, and being cold after taking a bath--all problems that were quickly remedied, often on the same or following page. Typically, such problems were of the man vs. nature variety.

The characters were likewise simplistic, mostly flat, with even the main character--a young, nameless girl--remaining stable and without any majors changes or developments. However, those events that were described by the character revealed what was most important to her--her experiences with her family (which included her grandparents and brother) in the mountains during her youth. Discussion of such simplistic events reveal a potential theme of valuing one's background, particularly the people who are part of it.

Part of the expression of the character's memories is presented through numerous instances of imagery. In addition to the abundance of visual imagery (e.g., the character's grandfather would come home daily from the local coal mines covered in black dust), appeals to the other senses exist. For instance, the main character recalls shivering in front of the stove after a bath; visiting shopkeepers who "always smelled of sweet milk";  listening "to cows at dusk" and waking "to cowbells outside our windows"; and hearing "a bobwhite whistl[ing] in the forest. Bob-bob-bobwhite!". The author also makes use of repetition throughout the story with the repeated use of the line, "When I was young in the mountains...", and, at the end, "I never wanted...".

The main character with her
grandmother visiting the "johnny-house".

The presentation of the character's mountain experience is further enhanced by simple sentence structure that often includes dialect (johnny-house, swimming hole). The illustrations lend to the experience as they are drawn with colored pencils in a realistic manner with a folk/primitive feel depicted through soft, muted colors. Oftentimes, the illustrations help to convey the text's meaning, particularly with such words as johnny-house. 

With a peaceful, serene tone regarding the memories of the author's childhood depicted fictitiously, it is no surprise that When I was Young in the Mountains was a success as Rylant's first publication.