Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky

Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky was written by Faith Ringgold in 1992. Faith Ringgold is an African American artist and author who is best known for her famous quilts.  These quilts become prevalent within her story as at the end there is a quilt hanging from the sky symbolizing the 100th anniversary of Harriet Tubman's first flight to freedom. This story is filled with historical information regarding Harriet Tubman and the underground railroad and would serve as a great way to integrate ELA and social studies within the classroom.  This story is unique as it is told from an African American's point of view as they were directly affected by slavery and escaped using the underground railroad.  At the close of the story, there are two pages full of information regarding Harriet Tubman.  It goes on to tell the historical story of the underground railraod and even includes a map with arrows showing the way the railroad worked and where people traveled.  The author's voice is very prevalent throughout the story however the story tells the tale of two girls who escape in the clouds to experience the underground railroad for themselves.

The Magic Horse of Han Gan

The Magic Horse of Han Gan is a children's historical fiction book written by Chen Jiang Hong who is a famous Chinese author and illustrator.  Throughout the story of The Magic Horse of Han Gan, the author tells the story of Han who was a famous painter but only liked to paint pictures of horses.  His paintings were extremely vivid and his horses that he painted were always tied up to prevent them from coming to life as Hans proclaimed.  However, the story tells the tale about the day that one of his horses was brought to life and went out to fight in battle until many years later the horse was gone and magically returned in one of Hans' paintings.  This story introduces children to the idea of cultures and traditions within the Chinese community.  At the end of the story there is a note for readers to read that describes the horse as an old Chinese legend that was believed by Han Gan himself.  Although it is up to reader interpretation to decide whether they believe the story is true or not, the story serves as way for the reader to understand a culture other than their own.

The Secret Room

The Secret Room is a folklore written by Uri Shulevitz in 1993.  Uri Shulevitz was born in Poland, Warsaw and his experiences have helped shaped the award winning children's book that he is famous for composing today.  The Secret Room is a witty tale of a king who sets out on an exploration to figure out why the old mans beard is darker than his hair.  The wry old man replies by saying "because my head is older than my beard" and promises the king he will not give away his answer to anyone until he has seen the kings face ninety-nine times.  The author is extremely clever is in writing skills and the chief counselor pays the old man one thousand gold coins to tell him why his hair is more gray than his beard.  Although the king thinks that the old man lied to him, he essentially stayed true to his promise as he saw the kings face ninety-nine times on the one thousand gold coins the chief commander payed him.  After discovering this, the king then realizes just how smart the old man is and makes him the chief commander and fires the old one. This story is one that will stick in the hearts of all readers as it is comical, yet tells the story of an old man who was in the desert. Reading this story would introduce students to a culture unknown to them and very different from their own as we do not have kings in the United States of America.  Through reading this, students are able to expand their horizons and understand the differences among people in the world today.

Knock Knock: My Dad's Dream for Me

Daniel Beaty is an award winning African American author who writes children's books such as Knock Knock: My Dad's Dream for Me which was published in 2013.  This story is extremely realistic in the sense that it deals with an issue very close to the heart of many students within a classroom; the issue of broken families.  The main character in the story, who remains nameless, struggles with accepting the fact that his father will not be home anymore to say "knock knock" and help him navigate through the crazy thing called life.  As the story continues, the father writes a note to his son with his dreams for him.  This note explains that he wants his son to knock down all the boundaries that face him in life and overcome them. The story explains to children that they have the strength winthin themselves to follow their dreams as they are growing up.  The illustrations in this book are very intense as the picutures also have miniscule pictures within them that display deeper meanings within the text. Through paying close attention to the detail within the pictures, the reader is able to better understand the little boys emotions and his fathers reasoning for leaving him behind. The author's note at the end of this story explains Daniel Beaty's purpose for writing the story as his father was incarcerated when he was merely only three years old.  This allows readers to truly connect with the author and see the world through more than one perspective after reading the story and seeing the young boys struggles and how he overcomes them.

Baron von Baddie and the Ice Ray Incident

Baron von Baddie and the Ice Ray Incident is a science fiction children's picture book written by George McClements in 2008.  This story is unlike any of the other children's picture books I have read so far this semester as it features superheros in the text.  Baron von Baddie is an evil supergenius who tries to outsmart his nemesis Captain Kapow.  Baron von Baddie freezes Captain Kapow so that he can in turn take over the world with his evil actions, however he soon realizes being bad is no fun when there is noone there to stop him.  As the story comes to a close, Baron von Baddie unfreezes Captain Kapow and in turn is taken back to jail where he stays for three hours before escaping again.  George McClements uses many elements in this text which make it a really fun book for readers to read.  The story is told from an onlookers point of view and it has a large amount of the author's voice as he tells the story and adds many comical comments to make the story funny.  The illustrations in the text also add to its science fiction feel as the superheros are all cartoons and the readers can use these cartoons to aid in reader comprehension.  Many of the illustrations also contain word bubbles which display each individual character's thoughts.  These word bubbles serve as a different way for readers to read dialogue throughout the story. Take a look at an example above of the word bubbles that are present throughout the story!

Sunshine Home

Written by Eve Bunting and illustrated by Diana De Groat, Sunshine Home is a realistic children's picture book that was published in 1994.  The story follows a little boy named Timmie as he goes with his mother and father to visit his grandmother at the Sunshine Home after she experiences a bad fall and must stay in a wheelchair.  This story truly tugs on one's heart strings while reading it as many readers can directly relate to how Timmie and his parents feel when they visit someone who is in a rehabilitation center or nursing home.  Throughout the story, Timmie learns to overcome his fears and is no longer terrified of the Sunshine Home rather he helps his parents and his grandmother all be honest and share their feelings with one another.  In a classroom, this would be an excellent story to keep on the shelves for readers to read.  It is extremely relatable to readers who are experiencing something similar in their own home lives and serves as a resource to help readers see the positive in all situations.  The descriptive pictures add to the realness of the story it truly feels that you are right there with Timmie and his family while reading the story.  The realistic elements of this story helps readers understand that everyone has struggles that they must overcome in life and by relying on the people they love, they will be able to come out of every single situation stronger than ever before.

Nurse Clementine

Nurse Clementine is a realistic children's picture book written by Simon James in 2013.  This short story allows readers to follow the main character Clementine as she experiments with her passion for being a nurse.  Throughout the story, Clementine is constantly coming to the rescue to help members of her family who have minor injuries however towards the end of the story, Clementine gets to use all of her nurse skills to help her brother safely come down from being stuck in a tree. This story would most appeal to younger elementary school students as there are not many words on each page and the pictures truly aid in reader comprehension.  This book would be extremely useful for students who are interested in the medical field as the last two pages of the book are filled with cartoon pictures of different medical tools with their definition underneath.  The simple structure of this text is easy for beginning readers to follow along and there is even repetition present when Clementine is using her nurse skills to make each member of her family feel better. Overall, Nurse Clementine is a feel good children's story that helps readers understand the importance of following your dreams in order to fulfill
all of their goals in life.