Biography

Title: Who Was Hellen Keller?

Author: Gare Thompson

Illustrator: Nancy Harrison

Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap

Copyright date: 2003

Number of pages: 107 pages

Awards: n/a

Genre: Biography

Brief summary: At the age of two, Helen Keller became deaf and blind. She lived in a world of silence and darkness and this book describes her struggle of trying to break through her disabilities. This is an inspiring biography that enhances the readers’ understanding of this subject.

Cover:

·         Is the cover attractive?  Yes. The covers of these books have bobble head caricatures of the famous person that the book is about- which is unique.

Story:

·         Are the stories interesting to children? Yes. These “Who Was” books are biographies that highlight the lives of famous people in a story-telling format. They are easy-to-read stories that are captivating.

Organization:

·         Do the spacing and placement of the words make the passages easy to read? Yes. These are detailed, fun, and entertaining easy-to-read stories.

Characters:

·         Do characters represent people from a variety of cultural groups? Yes. There is a variety of cultures and people depicted in this story.

·         Are females as well as males depicted in leadership roles? Yes. There are a variety of females who are in both leadership and non-leadership roles throughout the book. For example, there is a servant who is an African American woman in the story and there is Helen’s mom who is in a leadership role as she fights to figure out what is wrong with her baby and works to help her advocate for herself.

Themes:

·         Does the story offer children a variety of things to think about, to question, and to consider? Yes. This book is very informative and will surely capture children’s attention as they read about this unique person and all she overcame.

·         Are there lessons to be learned? Yes. Though these books are fun and entertaining, they still offer an abundance of historical information about each person and the world around them.

Settings:

·         Do the stories reflect a variety of settings? Yes. This book gives a great overview of Hellen’s life, including where she ventured to and what she accomplished.

Illustrations:

·         Are diverse populations represented in the illustrations? Yes. Though the illustrations are black and white, they are still captivating and featured throughout the book consistently.

·         Are the illustrations large, clear and bright? The illustrations are appropriate for this book. Though they aren’t giant or colorful, I still think they do a good job of capturing the essence of the book.

·         Do the illustrations invite the reader to explore the text? Yes. The illustration and the text work well together in this chapter book.

·         Do the illustrations explain and enhance the context? Yes. The text and illustrations work cooperatively with each other.

Other Considerations:

·         Will the stories encourage discussions? Yes. This is a well-done overview of Helen’s life, so the students are sure to learn something new. With new learning come new questions for sure.

·         Are the stories age appropriate to ensure children can understand what is presented? Yes. These books are formatted in a manner that promotes students understanding.

Reading level scale

7	highly difficult
6	difficult
5	moderately difficult
4	challenging
3	above average
2	Average  (8+ year old readers)
1	highly readable

classroom application:
I love art, so anytime I can integrate art, I do! For this activity, after reading Who Was Hellen Keller the students will be given art supplies and a blindfold. This activity challenges the children to think in new ways and explore new feelings. The students will paint on the surface while blindfolded by focusing on the arm and finger movements. They will discover the interesting challenges of creating artwork without vision. After the students have finished their painting, they will do the same picture with their eyes open. We will discuss the differences in the process.

 

My rating: 4/5! This is a great book!

Title: The Anne Frank Case

Author: Susan Goldman Rubin

Illustrator: Bill Farnsworth

Publisher: Holiday House

Copyright date: 2009

Number of pages: 40 pages  

Awards: n/a

Genre: Biography, history, Holocaust

Brief summary: This is the story of the journey Simon Wiesenthal underwent to find out if, in fact, Anne Frank’s diary was authentic. This is an intense story that testifies to the difference that one person’s dedication can make.

Cover:

·         Is the cover attractive?  Yes. The cover is undeniably interesting.

Story:

·         Are the stories interesting to children? Yes. Anne Frank stories are inspiring and entertaining that surely take the reader on a remarkable adventure.

Organization:

·         Do the spacing and placement of the words make the passages easy to read? Yes. For such a short account, the passages are full of detail, which paints a discrete picture in the minds of the readers. I would suggest the reader have background and strong interest in this subject matter if he/she wants to pick this book up though.

Characters:

·         Do characters represent people from a variety of cultural groups? Yes. This is a very culturally sensitive and respectable book.

·         Are females as well as males depicted in leadership roles? Yes. I think this book shows just how big of a difference anyone, despite sex, religion, culture, or background, can make a difference.

Themes:

·         Does the story offer children a variety of things to think about, to question, and to consider? Yes. This story promotes a lot of mature and complex thoughts and questions, such as anti-Semitism, survival, hope and courage.

·         Are there lessons to be learned? Yes. This is an incredibly inspiring story. I think this story does a superb job of revealing the truth to young people about this highly disturbing time in history. I admire this story’s ability to uproot the ignorance of this subject, which helps to show the global issues such ignorance can cause.

Settings:

·         Do the stories reflect a variety of settings? Yes. This story takes the reader on the adventure Simon finds himself in as he tries to find the truth about Anne’s story. It is an incredible account of her story.

Illustrations:

·         Are diverse populations represented in the illustrations? Yes. The illustrations are remarkable! They detail the story very well.

·         Are the illustrations large, clear and bright? Yes. The illustrations are wonderful. They are full page and filled with emotion.

·         Do the illustrations invite the reader to explore the text? Yes. The illustrations parallel the reading very well. They are very powerful!

·         Do the illustrations explain and enhance the context? Yes. The illustrations are absolutely amazing! The illustrations do the story justice!

Other Considerations:

·         Will the stories encourage discussions? Yes. Stories of survival tend to draw readers in with no effort. Stories of survival help to show the reader that there is hope in this world and reminds people that we can still accomplish great things.

·         Are the stories age appropriate to ensure children can understand what is presented? The description of events is so well done that I think this book would be appropriate for readers age 10 and up.

Reading level scale

7	highly difficult
6	difficult
5	moderately difficult
4	challenging
3	above average (readers age 10+)
2	Average
1	highly readable

 *this is a complex subject with specific vocabulary that could prove challenging.

classroom application:
For this project I will have the students research the time period of the Holocaust. There will be groups of two, each being assigned a year during the Holocaust. The group will provide information reguarding what phase the Holocaust was in. In addition, each group will provide information about what was going on around the world and perhaps what the cost of living was, prices of misc. items, other world events that were happening, etc. This will give the students a wider perspective and view of this time in history. Each group will place their information on a piece of paper that will make the timeline that will be placed on the back wall of our classroom.

 

4/5! Wonderfully illustrated and interesting story!