Monday, December 3, 2012

Module 2 

Classic Children's & Young Adult Literature

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats



Bibliography

Keats, E. J. (1962). The Snowy Day. New York, NY: Puffin Books.

ISBN 0-14-050182-7

Summary

 The Snowy Day won the Caldecott Medal for its cute story and beautiful artwork. It is the story of a little boy discovering a snowy day for the first time.  He spends the day in the snow and has fun by: leaving his footprints on the snow, knocking snow off of a tree, making snow angels, and at the end of his adventures day he saves a snowball for the next day--only to be disappointed when it is not there the next day.  But he is happy again the following day when he wakes up to a brand new day of snow.

My Impression

 It was a very cute story about a little boy and his first experience with a snowy day.  It is very fun, all the things he experiences in the snow, it reminded me of the snow day fun I used to have when I was a kid.  I think this is a good book for kids and would be a good addition to any parents' collection for their little ones.

Reviews

    From Publishers Weekly

Now in a sturdy board-book format just right for youngest readers, Ezra Jack Keats's classic The Snowy Day, winner of the 1963 Caldecott Medal, pays homage to the wonder and pure pleasure a child experiences when the world is blanketed in snow

From Barnes & Noble
Peter wakes up to find the world covered in snow-crisp, clean, and white. Excitedly, Peter ventures out to play. His feet make a variety of tracks, and when he hits a snow-laden tree with a stick, the snow falls off-plop! onto his head. Keats's sparse collage illustrations capture the wonder and beauty a snowy day can bring to a small child.
Use in Library Setting

 I think it would be good to have in public libraries and both in elementary and middle school libraries.  It can be used in public libraries for storytime for themes such as: winter, snow day.  It can be added to their picture book collection.  In elementary schools it can be a good addition to any classroom collection or in the school library, it is a cute story.  In middle school it can be used for the ELD (English Learning Development) students for easy reading.  


Review. (n. d.). The Snowy Day. [Review of the book The Snowy Day]. 
Amazon.com. 
Available from

http://www.amazon.com/The-Snowy-Ezra-Jack-Keats/dp/0140501827/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354592935&sr=8-1&keywords=0140501827 

Review. (n. d.). The Snowy Day. [Review of the book The Snowy Day]. 
Barnes & Noble. 
Available from

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/snowy-day-ezra-jack-keats/1100257198?ean=9780140501827 

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Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret 
by Judy Blume



Bibliography

Blume, J. (1970). Are You There God? It's Me Margaret. New York, NY: Laurel-Leaf Books.

ISBN 0-440-90419-6

Summary

 This is the story of Margaret Simon, a twelve-year-old girl, growing up in New York, and who's family has just moved to a town called Farbrook, New Jersey away from her grandmother and everything and everyone she knows.  As if that wasn't enough, Magaret is also dealing with becoming a teenager, and everything that comes with it such as: a new school, boys, her beliefs and religion, puberty and many other issues. The book deals with realistic issues that girls go through at early teenage years and yet it is full of humor.  Even though it deals with many issues most of all it is about Margaret trying to find herself and decide what religion she belongs it or what she believes in. Her mother is a Christian and her father is Jewish so they told her it is up to her to decide what, if any, religion she wants to be a part of and what she believes in. Margaret has been raised without much religion, although both sides seem to hope she will choose them.  Blume writes an insightful book about a character that many young girls can relate to even today, 42 years after it was written. 

My Impression

 This book has always been one of my favorite books, ever since I first read it when I was a teenager.  This book is a cute story about becoming a teenager and trying to find yourself.  I do not think this book will ever go out of style.  Just like today's teenagers, the characters in the book talk about periods, boys, bras, and bodies, which is something that, obviously, will never change.  She and her friends gossip like any group of girls and play kissing games. Margaret grapples with some big questions about growing up, including what religion she should be (if any).

Reviews

Amazon.com Review

If anyone tried to determine the most common rite of passage for preteen girls in North America, a girl's first reading of Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret would rank near the top of the list. Judy Blume and her character Margaret Simon were the first to say out loud (and in a book even) that it is normal for girls to wonder when they are ever going to fill out their training bras. Puberty is a curious and annoying time. Girls' bodies begin to do freakish things--or, as in Margaret's case, they don't do freakish things nearly as fast as girls wish they would. Adolescents are often so relieved to discover that someone understands their body-angst that they miss one of the book's deeper explorations: a young person's relationship with God. Margaret has a very private relationship with God, and it's only after she moves to New Jersey and hangs out with a new friend that she discovers that it might be weird to talk to God without a priest or a rabbi to mediate. Margaret just wants to fit in! Who is God, and where is He when she needs Him? She begins to look into the cups of her training bra for answers ...
Editorial Review - Kirkus Reviews
The comical longings of little girls who want to be big girls -- exercising to the chant of ""We must -- we must -- increase our bust!"" -- and the wistful longing of Margaret, who talks comfortably to God, for a religion, come together as her anxiety to be normal, which is natural enough in sixth grade. And if that's what we want to tell kids, this is a fresh, unclinical case in point: Mrs. Blume (Iggie's House, 1969) has an easy way with words and some choice ones when the occasion arises. But there's danger in the preoccupation with the physical signs of puberty -- with growing into a Playboy centerfold, the goal here, though the one girl in the class who's on her way rues it; and with menstruating sooner rather than later -- calming Margaret, her mother says she was a late one, but the happy ending is the first drop of blood: the effect is to confirm common anxieties instead of allaying them. (And countertrends notwithstanding, much is made of that first bra, that first dab of lipstick.) More promising is Margaret's pursuit of religion: to decide for herself (earlier than her 'liberal' parents intended), she goes to temple with a grandmother, to church with a friend; but neither makes any sense to her -- ""Twelve is very late to learn."" Fortunately, after a disillusioning sectarian dispute, she resumes talking to God. . . to thank him for that telltale sign of womanhood. Which raises the last question: of a satirical stance in lieu of a perspective.
Use in Library Setting

 This is a book that should be everywhere, in schools K-12, in public libraries.  I think all of Judy Blume's books are timeless, and should always be there for all of our generations to come.  They are timeless, and they always have topics everyone can relate to, at least to one of her books.

Review. (n. d.). Are You There God? It's Me Margaret. [Review of the book Are You There God? It's Me Margaret]. 
Amazon.com. 
Available from

http://www.amazon.com/Are-You-There-God-Margaret/dp/0385739869/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354597974&sr=1-1&keywords=are+you+there+god+it%27s+me+margaret 

Review. (n. d.). Are You There God? It's Me Margaret. [Review of the book Are You There God? It's Me Margaret]. 
Google Reviews. 
Available from

http://books.google.com/books?id=KAOWIJ_j0S8C&sitesec=reviews&rf=st:ed 

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