Red Butterfly

Red Butterfly, written by Deborah Noyes, is a Chinese folktail about the princess of China long, long ago. The story is about how the princess was married off to a king of Khotan, in Tibet. She talked about everything that she loved about her father's kingdom. The princess did not want to leave her fathers prestigious kingdom. She felt that he had everything; nothing that she wanted to leave behind. The princess had not choice and had to leave her fathers kingdom to become a queen. One of China's most long kept secrets, the secret of silk, was somehow smuggled away by the to-be-queen. It was a crime for secrets to be taken away from one kingdom, punishable by death, but how did the princess manage this most daring task.
This book took me two times to read through to discover how the princess smuggled the silk out of her fathers kingdom, it was well hidden in the text. It was very well described in the back of the book within the author's notes as well. This book was very educational and had great pictures for readers to relate to. It was written in a form of Chinese poetry, called T'ang Dynasty poetry. It was a very interesting book and recommend that teachers check the book out if they have the opportunity.

Pappy's Handkerchief

Pappy's Handkerchief, written by Devin Scillian, is about an African American family who is struggling to make ends meet in Baltimore Maryland. Moses is a young boy who helps his father sell fish, which just isn't providing for the family. He lives with his mother, father, grandparents, and 3 siblings. The house they live in is small and they need to get out of Baltimore. Moses' father meets a man named Liberty, who is an educated black man that can read. Liberty reads Moses' father the form from Oklahoma about land claims being given away to any American. Pa goes home and talks all night about the free land in Oklahoma and the family decides to make the long trip. They sell everything they have and face many trials as they make their way to Oklahoma to stake their own piece of land. Will they get the land they wanted? Will the U.S. Marshall's allow for the African American family to keep their claim?
I think that this is a great book to read in class about the westward expansion. The pictures in this book are amazing and provide the reader with great visuals to relate the text to. Another unit this could be used for is when students are learning about the end of slavery. It has some vocabulary that would need to be taught to students to get a good understanding of the book; having background knowledge of the Oklahoma Territory and western expansion would be ideal. I felt that this book would make for a great read in the classroom and would provide with some excitement amongst students as the book is read. I would recommend that teachers take a look at this book.

Toestomper and the Caterpillars

Toestomper and the Caterpillars, written by Sharleen Collicott, is a story about a mouse named Toestomper. Toestomper is a very rude and disgusting creature. He doesnt care for others except his three griends who are also trouble makes; mean and disgusting. Toestomper get's mad one day because his friends arent around to cause trouble with and he ruins the home of a bunch of caterpillars. These caterpillars follow Toestomper home and are sad because they dont know how to build a place to live. Toestomper changes his ways because he starts to see how being nice was more benificial to him and to others.
This book was recommended to me by the librarian at Pioneer Elementary to use with the 5th grade class when teaching them about respect. This book is a good read aloud for students to listen to and reflect on. It shows students how being rude and inconsiderate of each other doesnt help any situation. The book also teaches them how being nice and caring of others can help you make more friends, have more fun day by day and makes you feel better as well. It is a good book for learning respect in the classroom and having students think critically about the story to make real life connections. I would use this book with 5th graders in this situation along with younger grades as well.

Purple Heart

Purple Heart, written by Patricia McCormick, is a book about an 18 year old private in the Iraq War named Matt Duffy. Matt wakes up in an army hospital not knowing what happened to him however he has flashbacks about something. Matt finds out the he is being held and tested for TBI, traumatic brain injury. Matt doesn't know what day it is or how long he has been in the hospital but he wants to get back out with his squad. Matt stays in the hospital and is taken through a series of test and befriends a man named Francis. As time goes on in the hospital Matt finds out more information about what happened and learns some from his friend and squad member Justin. He has a hard time remembering things and writes down what he learns in a notebook. Matt is nearly questioned by the military police for the incident that put him into the hospital. When he is discharged from the hospital he gets to go back to his squad but he is scared of going back out into the war zone. He meets back up with his friends who are glad to see him except his best friend Justin, who seems weird about things. Matt gets back out into the city on patrols with Charlene, a woman from his squad, so that he could keep up with her. They weren't really very good friends but they see something in each other and become closer. One day on patrol things go awry as an explosions, gunshots, fire and smoke fill the immediate area. Two of Matt's squad members become victim's of an insurgent attack. Where is Justin? Can Matt pull the trigger when he needs to? Will he make it through the fight?

Purple Heart is a book about real life situations that effect the men and women in the military. McCormick gained accurate information to write the book via interviews of soldiers and soldiers families. It shows struggles both mentally and physically that soldiers may endure during battle, and the up close and personal situation that arise in the war zone.

I really enjoyed the book. It was very well written and draws the reader into the story, and leaves the reader wanting more, especially at the abrupt ending. The book was a very fast read and did involve some colorful language that many people wouldn't care to read or let their 5th grade student read. It wouldn't be a book that I would read in class but is a book that could be recommended to older middle school or high school students to read. It may be a book that as a teacher you would possibly send a letter home to the parents summarizing the book and stating what the book is about so that they aren't surprised when their children shows a book that you lent them consisting of vulgar language, death and war. War is also not an easy topic for some, so considerations should be made about the overall topic of the book as well. Overall I would rate the book a 4 out of 5! It would be a 5 out of 5 without the abrupt ending; I really wanted to learn more about Matt Duffy.

Wishbone Classics: Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc is a historical fiction book based off of the TV series Wishbone. Wishbone tells of the story of Joan of Arc, the young, courageous, and heroic young woman of France. The book starts when Joan is young and how she first becomes to be known as strong and brave in her community. As she grows people see how special of a girl she is. The hundred years war is destroying the country and the French heir to the throne, the dauphin, is no longer going to get the country because of a treaty signed with the English. Joan wasn't going to let this happen. She became a instant leader and strived for the freedom of France and for them to have their dauphin become king. Joan uses God's strength and his word to guide her and speak for her. Many people doubt Joan but find that her prophetic comments can't be looked over and she gains the trust of many people to fight in the war for her. Joan leads the army to the Battle of Orleans. Will she be able to win the fight and help lead France to freedom from the English? What will happen to Joan on her brave conquest?
This book is a fairly easy book to read. It is helpful to understand the information but can help to teach a lot as well. There are many bold passages where Wishbone gives the reader more information, like quick history tips, or vocabulary terms, or questions for the reader to think about. I think that this would be a good book for 4th-6th grade readers. It is a fun way to learn about history and gain valuable knowledge while reading an easy story. It could also be a good read aloud for the classroom to help learn about history as well, primarily European, French history of course. There are many of these classic books told by Wishbone that can help to engage readers in the text with the few pictures and bold text that give readers additional information.

Beyond Belief

Beyond Belief is a biography written by Tim Keown about Texas Rangers All star Josh Hamilton. Hamilton currently plays for the Rangers and has been since 2008. This book follows Hamilton since he was a young boy and how when he was 6 he was forced to play with 11-12 year olds because he could hit to hard and throw too fast for his age. Hamilton was an amazing baseball player through high school, graduating as the number one prospect for Major League Baseball. He has set a goal during high school to reach the pros and stay away from trouble. He met his goal and was drafter number one overall in the draft and began playing minor league ball to make it to the big leagues. During this time his parents were usually around to support and help him but managers felt that he was being overprotected and Hamilton's parents backed off. One day Hamilton and his parents were in a car wreck that injured his back and kept him from performing at a top level. This is where things got bad for Josh; he became depressed. He started getting tattoos and began to experiment with drugs and alcohol with his tattoo artists. He begin to slide further and further down in life spending excessive amounts of money on drugs. He started to hang out with the wrong people and baseball seemed to slip from his grip. He knew he needed to change but couldn't, he had the support from family that he needed but at times it wasn't enough. One night at his grandmothers, who took him in to feed him and house him, he came across the bible. He opened the book to the passage James 4:7 "Humble yourself before God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." Hamilton memorized and changed from this passage, along with his love for life and family.
This story is absolutely amazing. The events that he went through in his 4 year slump of drugs and alcohol were unreal. Spending nearly 2 million on drugs alone, and bartering off his wife's wedding rings for drugs shows how he was below rock bottom. He is now back at the top of major league baseball and has a story to tell that nobody should ever have to experience. He is an inspiration to many people and a great role model.
Since this book is a sport biography I think it would be hard to recommend in school or do read alouds. It is about his faith in the God and how it saved him; which makes it religious and not able to make others read. I would highly recommend this book, especially to fans of Josh Hamilton. This book is about a mans life at its highest point, reaching the lowest of lows, and making a comeback to be the best once again. It is truly inspiring and is a must read for all sports fans.

Diary of A Wimpy Kid

Jeff Kinney is the author of the series Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The first book is just that, Diary of a Wimpy Kid. However Greg, the main character of the book, states it's not a diary it is a journal, diaries are for girls. The book is set up in a journal format written by him.
Greg is a middle school kid who lives a fun life and enjoys being with his strange friend Rowley. Greg often goes to his friends house to play video games, which is actually only ever one video game because Rowley's dad checks all the games online to make sure they don't have any violence, but this beats not playing any games when Greg gets grounded and can't play at home. Greg tends to get into trouble for things that he does at school and at home, like listening to his brothers music, or going trick or treating in the wron neighborhood and staying out to later. He gets teased by his older brother Rodrick and fears that his little brother Manny will expose his nickname of "Bubby" to others and this will only get him beat up in school. He likes to take the easy way out on some things which only ends up making things worse. Greg tries not to do very much and ends up getting kicked out of his house for a while to go get some exercise, or is forced into the school play to broaden his horizons, and is forced to wrestle at school. Greg is a good kid and has a lot of stories, funny ones at that.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a comic style book like the Big Nate series. I found this one to be funnier than the other and was constantly laughing at the comics and text that Greg was writing in his journal. I like the simple humor that is used in the book and the text makes the book for a fairly quick read. It could be one of those books that gets kids reading because of the humor, mixed with comics and familiar text. It would also be a good read aloud that would have students wanting to hear more because Greg is just an interesting character. I would recommend this book to everybody. Not only would kids like to read it but for me it was a funny book and I like the humor that is in it, even though it is simple. It makes for a fun and quick read at the older level but makes you want to continue. I could see myself finishing the series, which would also be benificial to explain to students further into the series to keep them reading and intersted.