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Author: Dav Pilkey
Title: Captain Underpants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman
Publisher: Scholastic Inc., 2001.Grade Level: 3rd & up
Summary: George and Harold must help Captain Underpants defeat Wedgie Woman.
Strengths: Captain Underpants certainly surprised me. I had some serious doubts prior to reading Captain Underpants, but I was wrong. These books are extremely funny, lively, and entertaining. The comic book style of the book is a perfect match for the story. I enjoyed how some chapters were comic book style, while other were more text with interspersed images. I think the adventure of Wedgie Woman will also capture the attention of young readers.
Concerns: Misspelled words and language are my biggest concerns with this book. While I understand their use within the context of the story, I am almost certain some schools, parents, teachers, and students will have a problem with this. This book is certainly not for everyone and may only be an appropriate choice for some. I also think its role in the classroom should be limited to independent reading. While some students may enjoy creating comics that emulate the style of Pilkey, using Captain Underpants for an assignment would not be appropriate.
(image from Amazon.com)
Author: Graphic Novel Retelling by Raina Telgemeier (orig. author: Ann M. Martin)
Title: The Babysitters Club: Kristy’s Great Idea Publisher: Scholastic, 2006.
Grade Level: 4th & upSummary: Four friends, Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia and Stacey come up with a great idea to help the neighborhood and earn some extra cash.
Strengths: It’s a girl classic turned into a graphic novel, which will make female graphic novel fans extremely happy. I think young girls will enjoy both reading the original Babysitters Club series and the graphic novel version. The comic book style may also encourage struggling readers to take a stab at a chapter book or encourage the transition from this graphic novel to the Martin chapter book series.
Concerns: The Babysitters Club is definitely a girls only book. Since the audience is gender specific it would not necessarily be appropriate to use as assigned reading, but would be a great book for independent reading time. Another concern is the length. While the story is interesting and entertaining, the length of the book may discourage some readers.(image from Amazon.com)
Author: Matt Christopher
Title: Penalty ShotPublisher: Little, Brown and Company, 1997. Grade Level: 3-5
Summary: Jeff struggles to keep up his grades so he can continue playing on the hockey team.Strengths: Matt Christopher is a great writer and certainly knows how to grab his reader. He is exciting and his account of each hockey play keeps the reader plugged into the game and the book. I think children will appreciate the mystery that Jeff has to solve and his perseverance with his friendship. I think his struggle with friends, schoolwork, and athletics is something kids can certainly relate to. I also think Christopher sends a great message about the importance of balancing athletics with academics, and the importance of schools. Fans of this book are fortunate since Christopher has an entire series of sports books similar to this one, helping to encourage sports fans to keep reading.Concern: My only concern with the book is the possibility of a limited audience. For instance, will girls be interested? Will children not familiar or interested with hockey be able to follow the story? Even if the audience is limited, the book is strong enough to not make this a major concern.Classroom Use: Students may enjoy completing an author study on Matt Christopher. An Olympic year may also find an influx of interest in these books. Even if an official study is not planned, these books are a great asset to a class library.(image from Amazon.com)
Author: Bruce Coville
Title: My Teacher is an Alien
Publisher: Aladdin Paperbacks, 1989.
Grade Level: 3rd & up
Summary: Susan and Peter have to come up with a plan to save their teacher and prove their suspicions that their substitute teacher is an alien.Strengths: This book is certainly an interesting read with a lot of action. I certainly found myself wanting to know what would happen next. I think alien and science fiction lovers will definitely enjoy this book.Concerns: My only concern is if this book may be too scary for some readers, especially Peter’s decision to leave with the alien and go back to his planet. I think some children may struggle to separate reality from fiction and be scared by the story.Classroom Use: I think the best use for this book would be as an addition to the class library. Some students may enjoy writing their own alien story, but due to the possible issues associated with this book I would not personally advise using it as a mandatory class read.(image from Amazon.com)
Author: Jennifer L. Holm
Title: Our Only May Amelia
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers, 1999
Grade Level: 4th & up
Summary: The only girl in a large Finnish family struggles to find her identity as a young woman in late 19th century Washington State.Strengths: This is a great example of a family story. It utilizes personal information and memories of a Finnish family in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The story is set on an island and the children of the family find themselves getting into adventures and into trouble in the wilderness of Washington state. I think a lot of children, especially girls, will also relate to the struggle of finding their place not only as a young adult but within a family.Concerns: I found some parts of this book to be extremely boring or drawn out. This book is longer, which may discourage some readers from continuing through these sections. The lack of quotation marks also makes following the dialogue difficult. I think some readers may struggle to understand the book due to this punctuation choice. The baby Amy passing away may also be upsetting to some children, so special sensitivity and awareness must be given.Classroom Use: I think this book would be a great read aloud book. It would be a great way for students to get acquainted with families of the West in the nineteenth century and even to study family histories. A book like this might spark a creative writing activity where students create their own family history or recount an important event in their family.*Capitol Choice Book, 1999 *Newberry Honor Book, 1999(image from Amazon.com)
Author: Christopher Paul Curtis
Title: The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc., 1995
Grade Level: 5th & up
Summary: Follows the story of the Watson family as they struggle not only as a family, but to understand race relations of the South in the 1960s.
Strengths: The Watsons are a great family! They are loud, funny, and work through conflict together. I think most people can relate to the Watsons, either in a specific relationship or conflict that they must solve. The message about family is strong throughout the book, as well as the need to persevere, which is such an encouraging message to children. The Epilogue which focuses on the historical background of the book is chock full of useful information that helps place this book in context as well as may spark an interest for further research. The short chapters are also a plus, making this book reachable for a wide range of readers.
Concerns: Considering the historical context certain references and language choice may be controversial for some children and some families. The use of “crackers” or “Nazi dinosaurs” may be offensive. Particularly sensitive children may find the chapter on attempting to burn Byron for disobeying the rule about matches or the church bombing in Alabama may be too upsetting for younger children or sensitive children. An overall awareness of the material is necessary.
Classroom Use: This book would be a great addition to any classroom library. It would also be a great read aloud during a study of the Civil Rights Movement. This book may even encourage children to further study racial discrimination in the South during the 1960s.
*1996 Newberry Honor Book
* 1996 Coretta Scott King Honor Book
**many other literary awards
(image from Amazon.com)
Author: Judith St. George
Title: So You Want to be President?
Publisher: Philomel, 2000
Grade Level: 3-6Summary: A study of the characteristics of the United States Presidents.
Strengths: This book is full of interesting and funny facts and caricatures. It studies the characteristics of the U.S. Presidents and even offers advice for children who want to become the President themselves. It is extremely funny and provides a light and new way to study the Presidents. It also sends a great message, that the U.S. Presidents came from all types of backgrounds, emphasizing the message that anyone can become President.Concerns: Prior knowledge of the Presidents would be extremely helpful in order to understand St. George’s humor both in her facts and the caricatures. I think some children would miss the humor associated with this book without proper background information.Classroom Use: This book would certainly be an interesting addition to any Presidential unit or election season. It would be interesting to study the Presidents’ backgrounds as well as things that made them each special as the U.S. President.*Capitol Choice Book, 2000
* Caldecott Winner, 2001
(image from Amazon.com)
