Earthquake by Milly Lee; Pictures by Yangshook Choi

Lee, M. (2001). Earthquake (Y. Choi, Illustrator). New York, NY: Frances Foster Books.

Summary: The 1906 earthquake hits San Francisco. A Chinese American girl and her family have to pack up their essential belongings. They place them on a cart along with her mother and grandmother. The children and father push the cart over the SF hills to Golden Gate Park for safety as the city burns around them and aftershocks continue to shake the ground.

Review: This is a beautifully illustrated book that shows Chinese Americans during the earthquake. The author's after note will also bring up discussion about 1906 in the US and who counted as a person and who didn't.

Suggestions for Teachers: This text could be used when teaching about CA history and the 1906 earthquake. It also could be used on a more general unit on earthquakes or SF history.

Reading Level:

1. Quantitative: Lexile 880L, ATOS Book Level 5.9, Flesh-Kincaid 5.7, Readability Grade Level 6.5, RMM 5.4
2. Qualitative: Earthquake is slightly complex. It is organized chronologically and it is clear and easy to predict. The use of graphics adds lots of value to the text itself. Language is explicit and sentences are mostly simple in structure. There are some words like PoPo which are part of Chinese culture, but can be defined through context. There is one level of meaning which is literal. Students who have experienced an earthquake or have some background from other learning experiences will find this narrative helpful.

Content Areas: English, Social Studies, Science

Common Core State Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.3
Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.6
Compare and contrast the point of view from which different stories are narrated, including the difference between first- and third-person narrations.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.9
Compare and contrast the treatment of similar themes and topics (e.g., opposition of good and evil) and patterns of events (e.g., the quest) in stories, myths, and traditional literature from different cultures.

Relevant links: CalAcademy, MacMillan, Teaching Books

Subjects/Themes: 1906 earthquake, natural disaster, social studies, CA history

Awards: N/A

Series Information: N/A

Animal Poems by Valerie Worth, Illustrated by Steve Jenkins

     

Worth, V. (2007). Animal poems (S. Jenkins, Illustrator). New York, NY: Farrar Straus Giroux.

Summary: Valerie Worth's poems about animals are paired with Steve Jenkins multi-textured artwork.

Review: Worth's poetry ranges from simple to very difficult. Lots of vocabulary will be challenging for younger children but what a great vehicle to teach vocabulary and description.

Suggestions for Teachers: Older students could deconstruct and analyze poems. Younger students will enjoy hearing these poems read aloud. Individual poems could be paired with a science unit as an interactive read aloud. Students can use these poems as models to create their own animal poems. Art teachers can use the artwork as examples or models for students to create their own animals.

Reading Level:

1. Quantitative: Lexile 1720L, ATOS Book Level 12.0, Flesh-Kincaid 23.6 Readability Grade Level 21.1, RMM N/A
2. Qualitative:  This is an extremely complex text. As an adult, I struggled with visualizing because much of the vocabulary is content-specific to the animal itself. When testing the poem "Jellyfish" through the quantitative analyzers, I wasn't surprised to see this as grad school level. While the poems are short, they are filled with lots of dense, unfamiliar vocabulary. Other poems like "Cockroach" incorporate a first person narrator and other poems like "Groundhog" have two line stanzas. The structure and perspective shifts between poems. Poems have few complete stops and will take multiple reads to fully understand. Figurative language will also make poems challenging. The artwork is essential in making these poems more accessible.

Content Areas: English, Science, Art

Common Core State Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.2
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.7
Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text (e.g., graphic novel, multimedia presentation of fiction, folktale, myth, poem).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.5.4.A
Use context (e.g., cause/effect relationships and comparisons in text) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.5.5
Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.

Relevant links: Scholastic

Subjects/Themes: poetry, animals, art

Awards: N/A

Series Information: N/A

Mission: Addition by Loren Leedy

Leedy, L. (1997). Mission: Addition. New York, NY: Holiday House. 

Summary: Miss Prime is a teacher and she explores addition with her students (animals) using real classroom examples. The lessons covered include: defining and practicing sums, adding numbers in the tens and ones column, adding many numbers, adding money, inventing word addition problems based on pictures, checking your work by adding again.

Review: This a colorful book and the animals will appeal to small children. The problems are simple and easy to understand for the most part. Its comic book style might confuse young readers on a first read on their own. There is a lot of text on the page.

Suggestions for Teachers: This would be a good book for a teacher to read aloud with students. After a first reading, students could read on their own with a notebook in hand to do the problems along with the book. A good extension activity would have students and teacher together come up with addition problems from the classroom.

Reading Level:

1. Quantitative: Lexile 410L, ATOS Book Level 2.5, Flesh-Kincaid 0.3 Readability Grade Level 1.5, RMM 0.5
2. Qualitative: The text structure is moderately complex as connections between ideas are made clear through pictures and dialogue bubbles. The graphics are definitely necessary to access the text because there is little expository text except for at the end of each chapter. Students will need to know how to read dialogue bubbles and the order in which to read comics to follow this text. Otherwise the language conventions are simple and conversational. Content-specific vocabulary like sum and addend is explained. The purpose is clear; students will understand that the book is about addition from the title and the repeated examples. Background knowledge of simple addition problems will make this a strong review text. It isn't simplistic enough to be instructional for addition. It would be good to supplement math curriculum and embed Common Core literacy standards in Math.

Content Areas: Math, Literacy

Common Core State Standards:

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.B.5
Count to answer "how many?" questions about as many as 20 things arranged in a line, a rectangular array, or a circle, or as many as 10 things in a scattered configuration; given a number from 1-20, count out that many objects.

Compare numbers.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.C.6
Identify whether the number of objects in one group is greater than, less than, or equal to the number of objects in another group, e.g., by using matching and counting strategies.1

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.C.7
Compare two numbers between 1 and 10 presented as written numerals.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.OA.A.1

Use addition and subtraction within 20 to solve word problems involving situations of adding to, taking from, putting together, taking apart, and comparing, with unknowns in all positions, e.g., by using objects, drawings, and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem.1

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.OA.A.2
Solve word problems that call for addition of three whole numbers whose sum is less than or equal to 20, e.g., by using objects, drawings, and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.OA.D.7
Understand the meaning of the equal sign, and determine if equations involving addition and subtraction are true or false. For example, which of the following equations are true and which are false? 6 = 6, 7 = 8 - 1, 5 + 2 = 2 + 5, 4 + 1 = 5 + 2.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.5
Know and use various text features (e.g., headings, tables of contents, glossaries, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.6
Distinguish between information provided by pictures or other illustrations and information provided by the words in a text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.9

Identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (e.g., in illustrations, descriptions, or procedures).7
Use the illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas.

Relevant links: Scholastic

Subjects/Themes: math, addition, word problems, sums

Awards: N/A

Series Information: N/A

Life on Earth: The Story of Evolution by Steve Jenkins

Jenkins, S. (2002). Life on earth: The story of evolution. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin.

Summary: Using beautiful pictures, Jenkins presents evolution. He illustrates how life has evolved over the past 4.5 billion years from single-celled organisms to complex modern human beings. Captions next to attractive pictures of species starting with how many billion years ago show this change from simple to complex. Jenkins also discusses evidence of how species have changed over time through Darwin's theory of natural selection or survival of the fittest and explains variation and mutation. Lastly, a 24-hr timeline analogy shows the how truly old the earth is.

Review: Jenkins' artwork and layout make this book really eye-catching and easy to understand. The art showing the finches' various beaks explains adaptation well. The example with the frogs shows natural selection clearly. Also, the timeline will help students grasp how long billions of years really is.

Suggestions for Teachers: This picture book could be used with various grade levels. It could be used as an interactive read aloud for students for an evolution unit. Teachers could also photograph pictures and have students put them in order as part of an anticipatory set or after as an informal assessment. Art teachers may use the art as models for creating art with various mediums.

Reading Level:

1. Quantitative: Lexile 810L, ATOS Book Level 5.3, Flesh-Kincaid 4.9 Readability Grade Level 6.5, RMM 8.3
2. Qualitative: The text structure is slightly complex as connections between ideas are made clear through pictures and captions. The graphics and captions definitely are necessary for young students in accessing content and comprehension. Jenkins works hard to make the language conventions straightforward and easy to understand. Once again, content-specific vocabulary like natural selection, variation and mutation are understood with the dependence of graphics. As a first pass at evolution, the purpose is clear, but re-reading with young students would be necessary to help cement the theory of evolution. Knowledge of cells, organisms and species would be helpful to comprehension. If students, have strong beliefs in creationism, they may struggle with the ideas in this text but Jenkins addresses that argument with lots of evidence.

Content Areas: Science, Social Studies, Art

Common Core State Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.2
Determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.3
Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.4
Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.5
Compare and contrast the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more texts.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.6
Analyze multiple accounts of the same event or topic, noting important similarities and differences in the point of view they represent.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.8
Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text, identifying which reasons and evidence support which point(s).

Relevant links: Scholastic, Children's Literature, Teaching Books, 

Subjects/Themes: evolution, darwinism, natural selection, variation, mutation, beginning of the world

Awards: Horn Book, starred review

Series Information: N/A

Dragon's Gate by Laurence Yep

    

Yep, L. (1993). Golden mountain chronicles (1867): Dragon's gate. New York, NY: Harper Collins.

Summary: Fourteen-year-old Otter has to leave his home in China fast to avoid danger. He joins his Uncle Foxfire in America working on the transcontinental railroad. He realizes the visions of America, the land of golden mountains, were false as he, like the rest of the Chinese including Uncle Foxfire who is renowned like a king in China, are treated like slaves. Yep details the hard work and horrendous working conditions of chiseling a tunnel through the Sierra Nevada during the snowy winter. This is a story of friendship, family and action under oppression.

Review: Yep fills a void that is often skimmed over in elementary classrooms. He is honoring the hard work of Chinese Americans and this tale, similar to Paulsen's Hatchet, has the suspense and drama to keep students hooked, especially our boys.

Suggestions for Teachers: Have students read this book with a CA history unit. Compare it with expository texts and primary source documents about the construction of the transcontinental railroad. Or use this text with a unit on immigration and immigrant experiences in America.

Reading Level:

1. Quantitative: Lexile 730L, ATOS Book Level 6.1, Flesh-Kincaid 5.4, Readability Grade Level 6.1, RMM 6.9
2. Qualitative: The text structure is slightly complex, but overall the plot line is chronological. Language conventions are moderately complex as they are largely explicit and easy to understand. Vocabulary is mostly familiar and conversational and sentence structure has some complex constructions but is primarily simple. The theme is very complex as it is slowly revealed over the course of the work. Knowledge of China and California in the 1860's would be helpful as well as some knowledge of Chinese traditions and cultural customs, but overall Yep makes Chinese cultural practices come alive for the reader.

Content Areas: English, Social Studies

Common Core State Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.1
Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.2
Determine a theme or central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3
Describe how a particular story's or drama's plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.5
Analyze how a particular sentence, chapter, scene, or stanza fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the theme, setting, or plot.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.6
Explain how an author develops the point of view of the narrator or speaker in a text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.9
Compare and contrast texts in different forms or genres (e.g., stories and poems; historical novels and fantasy stories) in terms of their approaches to similar themes and topics.

Relevant links: Scholastic, Harper Collins study guide, Teaching Books, Teaching Multicultural Literature

Subjects/Themes: survival, transcontinental railroad, California history, Chinese immigration, family, friendship, legacy

Awards: Newbery Honor

Series Information: Gold Mountain Chronicles

Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman

Heiligman, D. (2009). Charles and Emma: The Darwins' leap of faith. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company.
Summary:  Heiligman chronicles the marriage between Charles Darwin and his wife, first cousin, Emma Woodhouse.  Through Charles' and Emma's diaries and letters, Heiligman captures the beginning of the relationship when Charles is deciding if he is the marrying kind or if his scientific lifestyle will be burdened by marriage.  Over time, we see the true companionship of Emma and Charles as their family grows, faces tragedy and as Charles is beginning to make public his unpopular ideas of evolution.  Throughout it all, Emma, a devout Christian, not only stands by her husband, but holds him up.
Review:  Heiligman's work is a well-researched text.  She captures the Darwins' marriage well and gives backstory to a major figure who has influenced the way we think about our existence.  This isn't an easy read.  Many of my 7th graders struggled with it independently.  I think it could be excerpted well or used as an instructional text in middle or high school.
Suggestions for Teachers:  This text would work well for an interdisciplinary project among high/middle school English, social studies and science teachers.  Students could study the art of research and citing textual evidence in an English class.  They could also analyze the effects of narrative non-fiction.  This text could be compared to an expository text on evolution.  A social studies teacher could have students look at the historical events during Darwin's time through the course of reading this text and anticipate what kind of societal pressure Darwin was facing when publishing his ideas.  Science and social studies classes can look at evolution through a timeline of organisms that have evolved.  They can also examine animal variation and analyze the adaptations animals have made as a result of "survival of the fittest".   Social studies classes could also argue whether or not Charles and Emma's marriage was consistent with the time period.
Reading Level:

1. Quantitative: Lexile 790L, ATOS Book Level 7.0, Readability Grade Level 7.7, Flesh-Kincaid 6.2, RMM 7.2
2. Qualitative:  The text structure is moderately complex; it is told in chronological order.  The connections between ideas are clear.  The photos included in the center of the book help give understanding to the text and help the student keep track of the many children the Darwins had.  Heiligman includes a lot of direct quotations from Emma and Charles' diaries.  Some of the language is spelled differently and the phrasing is different than we use today.  These direct quotes do feel archaic.  However, Heiligman's prose is simple and fairly easy to understand. Heiligman's purpose is moderately complex and she wants to us to understand the marriage behind the man who posed such revolutionary ideas.  There are complex knowledge demands of the reader who will have to use schema of 19th century England to help fully understand the text.  

Content Areas: English, Science, Social Studies

Common Core State Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.1
Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.2
Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.3
Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text; determine whether earlier events caused later ones or simply preceded them.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary describing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social science.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.5
Analyze how a text uses structure to emphasize key points or advance an explanation or analysis.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.6
Compare the point of view of two or more authors for how they treat the same or similar topics, including which details they include and emphasize in their respective accounts.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.8
Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text support the author's claims.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.9
Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.

Relevant Links: Teaching Books, Scholastic, Deborah Heiligman's website

Subject/Themes: evolution, Darwin, 19th century England, natural selection, research, marriage, relationships

Awards:

2010 National Book Award finalist

2010 Michael L. Printz Honor book (Watch a video of my Printz acceptance speech)

L.A. Times Book Prize Young Adult Literature finalist

First-ever 2010 YALSA excellence in nonfiction award

New York Times Editor’s Choice – Click here to read the entire review.

2010 CCBC Choices List

Oprah’s Book Club 2010 Kids’ Reading List: 12 and Up

Series Information: N/A