Allusion – Page 10 – Unleashing Readers

The Chatswood Spooks #1 & #2 by Notti Thistledore

October 27, 2013 by Kellee

The Chatswood Spooks
Author: Notti Thistledore
Illustrator: Nela Krzewniak
A Frightful Recipe published January 15th, 2013 by CreateSpace Independent Publishing
Sheets and Ladders published February 17th, 2013 by Crooked Chimney Books

Goodreads Summary (A Frightful Recipe): The Chatswood Spooks are in trouble. If they don’t improve their scare tactics they’ll have to find somewhere else to haunt. But the spooks have lived their entire afterlives at the Chatswood Manor, and are determined to show just how scary they can be.

Unfortunately, they haven’t counted on having to scare Ivan the Fearless…

The Chatswood Spooks: A Frightful Recipe is the first in the Chatswood Spooks series. Each story is illustrated with detailed line drawings and is bursting with silliness.

Goodreads Summary (Sheets and Ladders): With his sheets, chains and pet spider, Jingo likes to look the part of the classic ghost. So when someone puts their red knickers in with Jingo’s favourite white haunting sheets, Jingo is devastated.

Feeling hurt and unloved, he decides to run away to join the local Carnival. But what Jingo has in spooking skills he lacks in street smarts, and he soon finds himself in trouble…

My Review: A cute (non)scary ghost story early chapter book that features 3 very different ghost personalities. I loved the vocabulary throughout this book that was not overwhelming yet showed that the author was obviously not writing down to her readers. She also had allusions to fairy tales, word play, and onomatopoeias making the narrative more interesting. I also found the author’s humor really rang throughout.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: I could definitely see these books being used as a read aloud in a classroom as well as a great mentor text to introduce narrative elements since it has a perfect plot arc, conflict, and interesting characters as well as an introduction into figurative and descriptive language and allusions.

Discussion Questions: Book 1: What do you think the ghosts are going to do to be scarier?; Book 2: Do you think Jingo did the right thing by running away?

We Flagged: “On Tuesday evening Toby, the caretaker of Chatswood Manor, called a meeting. All three Chatswood Manor ghosts were there, as well as two crows and a stone gargoyle.
“That gargoyle is worse than Hansel and Gretel,” muttered Winifred as she swept a trail of rocks from the carpet.
“Ahem!” Toby adjusted his half-moon spectacles and consulted a sheet of paper with a squiggly graph on it. Now, listen up, spooks. You’re here because my research shows that you’re all lazy to the bone!”” (Book #1, Location 5)

“Hauling his battered suitcase along behind him, Jingo wandered out onto Bridges Road. All the way he kept telling himself that the Chatswood ghosts were very disrespectful and didn’t deserve to work with him.” (Book #2, Location 34)

“The moon was starting to drag across the sky when the Ghost Bus appeared. Jingo stuck out his thumb to flad it down. The Ghost Bus was the sort of old-fashioned car that had to be started with a hand crank, and its headlights could only be turned on with a switch near the grille.”(Book #2, Location 40)

Read This If You Loved: Scaredy Squirrel Prepares for Halloween by Melanie Watts, The Witches by Roald Dahl, Ivy Bean and the Ghost that had to Go by Annie Barrows

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Notti Thistledore for supplying copies of these books for review**

The Scary Places Map Book by B.G. Hennessy

October 19, 2013October 19, 2013 by Kellee

Over the next 2 weeks, many of my reviews are going to be in honor of Halloween.

I am so happy to begin my two weeks of scary with:

The Scary Places Map Book: Seven Terrifying Tours
Author: B.G. Hennessy
Illustrator: Erwin Madrid
Published July 10th, 2012 by Candlewick

Goodreads Summary: Grab a flashlight for an after-dark exploration of seven very scary places. Giggles and goose bumps are in store!

Take a tour of seven spooky places, among them the Wicked Woods, a Ghostly Galleon, and the Western Terror-tories. Along the way, avoid booby traps, search for hidden objects, and learn basic map reading skills! A map key, items to look for, and points of interest, such as Dracula’s Castle and Dr. Frankenstein’s laboratory, are included for each eerie region. Tips for touring (never take the Transylvania tour during a full moon) add to the fun. Kids who love to mix the ghoulish with the humorous will pore over the atmospheric pictures time and again, transported to strange, mysterious, very scary places.

My Review: This book tells you seven stories through an interactive tour of a map. Each map has a different theme and starts with an introductory story. I loved thinking of all of the fun ways this could be used in the classroom!

Teacher’s Tools For Navigation: While reading, I thought of so many different ways that this book could be utilized in a classroom:

First, the book teaches map skills because it has a key and directs the reader to different sections of the map by using the grid system and the scale.

Second, the setting of each map would be a great jumping off point to writing a story.

Third, many of the settings are based off of books or history and would be easy to connect to novels. For example, the first map is “The Ghostly Galleon Cruise of the Seven Seas” which could be connected with the Young Jack Sparrow books. “Land of Mythical Monsters” is set in Greece so could connect to mythology and any book like The Lightning Thief. “Roundup of the Western Terror-tories” to The Case of the Deadly Desperados, “Tour of the Wicked Woods and Witchfield Village” to Tales of Dark and Grimm, “Trip Through Transylvania” to Dracula Doesn’t Drink Lemonade, “Sleepwalking Tour of Nightmare House” to All the Lovely Bad Ones, and “Museum of Haunted Objects” to The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde.

I have been very lucky that over the last year or so to be in touch with B.G. Hennessy about this book. I’m honored that based on my original review, B.G. has begun to make a comprehensive list of books to go with each book. This list is so awesome! She includes picture books, beginning readers, chapter books, nonfiction books, and activity books for EACH MAP.

I am sure there are even more ways I am going to keep thinking about it. I, personally, cannot wait to use this in my classroom. (I also found out there is a facebook page for the book where teachers and the author can share their ideas- https://www.facebook.com/ScaryPlacesMapBook) B.G. Hennessy has also put together a teacher’s guide for the book which includes standards, vocabulary, activities, and more (which is written for elementary, but it can definitely by used for middle school as well!). Check it out on her website: http://bghennessy.com/ What a wonderful resource for teachers!

Discussion Questions: For each map, what are some books that you can connect the map to? How do the map and book connect?; [Writing Prompt] Using one of the maps in the Scary Places Map Book to be the setting of a narrative that you write. Challenge yourself and try to include at least 5 of the events or characters mentioned in the map.

We Flagged: “Land of Mythical Monsters: Who better to lead a tour through the birthplace of the foulest, ugliest, and fiercest monsters of all time than Hercules, a legend himself. This tour is for experts only. Pack your best hiking shoes and sunscreen. Mighty Hercules will meet you at Athena’s Temple. You will trek through snowcapped mountains, sail to the sunny island of Crete, and hike back to the dark door to the Underworld. Test your skills and see if you can make it through the Minotaur’s famous labyrinth.” (p. 7)

Read This If You Loved: Lightning Thief (series) by Rick Riordan, Dracula Doesn’t Drink Lemonade by Debbie Dadey, All the Lovely Bad Ones (and others) by Marry Downing Hahn, The Case of the Deadly Desperados by Caroline Lawrence, A Tale Dark & Grimm by Adam Gidwitz, The Coming Storm (series) by Rob Kidd, The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Recommended For:

Journey by Aaron Becker

October 5, 2013 by Kellee

Journey
Author and Illustrator: Aaron Becker
Published August 6th, 2013 by Candlewick Press

Goodreads Summary: Follow a girl on an elaborate flight of fancy in a wondrously illustrated, wordless picture book about self-determination — and unexpected friendship.

A lonely girl draws a magic door on her bedroom wall and through it escapes into a world where wonder, adventure, and danger abound. Red marker in hand, she creates a boat, a balloon, and a flying carpet that carry her on a spectacular journey toward an uncertain destiny. When she is captured by a sinister emperor, only an act of tremendous courage and kindness can set her free. Can it also lead her home and to her heart’s desire? With supple line, luminous color, and nimble flights of fancy, author-illustrator Aaron Becker launches an ordinary child on an extraordinary journey toward her greatest and most exciting adventure of all.

My Review: This book is very hard to explain the magic of it. Lorna (@notforlunch) described it the best, I think: “a wonderful mashup of a David Wiesner book and Harold and the Purple Crayon.” I think this is perfect. It has the illustration beauty and magic of a wordless David Wiesner picture book and it is about creativity (and a crayon) like Harold. The beauty of the castle she visted also reminded me of Cathedral by David Macaulay. This book is just full of amazing! (You know it is good if it is a topic of #SharpSchu book club!)

Teacher’s Tools For Navigation: This was a bit hard for me. I can envision how this book would be used in the middle grades, but I was blanking on ideas for primary. I know this book needs to be shared, but how?

In my classroom, the first thing I would do is project the book and just have the students read it with me. No talking; just looking. Then we’d go back and discuss what is going on in the book, talk about some of the smaller parts of the illustrations, relive the journey. If I wanted to include a writing activity, we could add words to the book (although, I think this book’s illustrations stand alone). We could also discuss what we’d do if we had a magic crayon. I think this book would be a great addition to Dot Day and discussing creativity. Finally, I think a discussion of observing your surroundings would be appropriate as what the girl wanted the most was right in front of her at the beginning of the book.

Discussion Questions: What would you do with a magic crayon?; What was your favorite part of the journey?; Two parts remind me of Where the Wild Things Are, can you figure out which parts?; What do you think the girl’s name is?; Aaron Becker grew up in many different parts of the world including Japan. Can you find influences of Japan in this story? What about some of the other places he lived?

We Flagged:

Read This If You Loved: Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson, Blackout by John Rocco, David Weisner wordless picture books, Cathedral by David Macaulay, Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, Henri Mouse by George Mendoza, Chalk by Bill Thomson, Art & Max by David Weisner, Weslandia by Paul Fleishman, Narnia (series) by C.S. Lewis

Recommended For:

I put “Read Aloud” although this book is wordless; however, I know it needs to be shared with students. How would you share this book with your students in a read aloud fashion?

Imogene’s Last Stand by Candace Fleming

August 16, 2013 by Kellee

Imogene’s Last Stand
Author: Candace Fleming
Illustrator: Nancy Carpenter
Published October 13th, 2009 by Schwartz & Wade

Goodreads Summary: Meet Imogene, a plucky heroine with a passion for history.

As a baby, Imogene’s first words were “Four score and seven years ago.” In preschool, she fingerpainted a map of the Oregon Trail. So it’s not surprising that when the mayor wants to tear down the long-neglected Liddleton Historical Society to make room for a shoelace factory, Imogene is desperate to convince the town how important its history is. But even though she rides through the streets in her Paul Revere costume shouting, “The bulldozers are coming, the bulldozers are coming!” the townspeople won’t budge. What’s a history-loving kid to do?

Filled with quotes from history’s biggest players—not to mention mini-bios on the endpapers—and lots of humor, here’s the perfect book for budding historians.

Review: Imogene is awesome! Her whole life she has loved history and has promoted history. History is her passion. When she finds out that the Liddleville Historical Center is up for demolition, she does everything in her power to save the history center. This, in a nutshell, is what makes her awesome: she is intelligent, passionate, and willing to stand up for her passion. Because of this, and the history allusions throughout the book, make this such an excellent book to use in classrooms. Imogene is such a great role model for any child.

The history aspects of this book were done so cleverly. Throughout Imogene’s story, she uses famous historical quotes to express how she feels at certain points. For example, when she was trying to get others to stop the bulldozing of the historical center dressed in her Paul Revere costume, she rode around Main Street (on her stick horse) yelling, “The bulldozers are coming! The bulldozers are coming!” These clever quotes are throughout the book. Then in the back and front end sheets Imogene’s historical tidbits are shared explaining all of the quotes.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: Like I said in the review, this book is a great for promoting history, intelligence, and passion. Like many of the amazing picture books I’ve been reading lately, it also promotes inquiry because it makes history interesting and fun.

Discussion Questions: What is a historical landmark in your city? Find out about what made it a landmark.; Imogene is passionate about history. What are you passionate about? Share the essentials of your passion.

We Flagged: “Imogene loved history. When she was a baby, her first words were “Four score and seven years ago.” As a preschooler, she finger-painted an accurate map of the Oregon Trail. And as a kindergartner, she used her show-and-tell time to give a series of lectures on important woman in history.” (p. 6)

To see a preview of the illustrations, visit Amazon’s “Look Inside” for Imogene’s Last Stand.

Read This If You Loved: Abe Lincoln’s Dream and John, Paul, George, & Ben by Lane Smith, Of Thee I Sing by Barack Obama, Looking at Lincoln by Maira Kalman, Nonfiction books about the historical figures mentioned

Recommended For: