Saturday, October 27, 2012

Smoky Nights




Smoky Nights
Author: Eve Bunting
Genre: Fiction
Grade Level: Grades 2-6
Year Published: 1994

Summary
This is a book about a mother and son, Daniel, who are witnessing rioting and violence on their street. They watch the rioting for a while, and then they go to bed. The boy is woken up by his mother a little later, because there is a fire in their building from all the rioting. The boy is distraught because he cannot find his cat. They go to a shelter with all their neighbors, and their other neighbor, Mrs. Kim, who they do not associate with, is also missing her cat. Eventually, a firefighter brings the two cats to their owners, and the mother and Mrs. Kim realize that they do not even know each other and that they should be friends. 

About the Author
Eve Bunting was born in Northern Ireland, and moved to the United States in 1958. She currently has three children and four grandchildren! She first dabbled into writing when she took a college course, a creative writing class. Her first published story was The Two Giants. She likes to write about just about anything, and has written picture books, novels, and a few nonfiction books. She writes about tough issues, including racial issues, death, and even war.  She currently resides in Pasadena, California with her husband, where her hobbies are reading and hitting the golf course.  

Source:http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/contributor/eve-bunting


How to Use it
The main idea of this book is to open the eyes of children to some conditions that other children have to live in, and what they have to witness every day. Another main idea is that if you do not know someone, you should not dislike them. Everyone has the possibility of being a great friend if you would only get to know them. 


Pre-Reading: Discuss the setting of the book with the students. Explain what a riot is and why some people do it. Explain that while this is not a good thing at all, it can happen anywhere, and some children in the world see it every day right outside their houses.



Post-Reading: This would be a great book for students to respond to with writing. They could write a poem based on the book, or just do an entry in a Reader's Response journal. In addition, this book could kick off a discussion of diversity.


What do I Think?
I don't know that I would use this book with my first graders, but I think that it is an excellent book! It addresses diversity and some tough issues that go along with it. It could also be used to teach vocabulary. This is an excellent book to enrich a social studies curriculum. 

Dazzle the Dinosaur



Dazzle the Dinosaur
Author: Marcus Pfister
Genre: Fiction
Grade Level: Grades K-3
Year Published: 1994

Summary
This is the story about an unusual dinosaur that was born with shiny, dazzling spines along his back. The dinosaur and his family live in a place where there are safe from the other dangerous dinosaurs, but Dazzle and his sister one day go to look for the cave where they used to be able to live safely. After meeting many dinosaurs on the way, they find the cave and chase away the dinosaur living in there using Dazzle’s spines. 

About the Author
Marcus Pfister was born in Switzerland on July 30, 1960. He went to the Art School of Bern (Switzerland) and became trained in the field of graphic design. After he completed school and had worked as a graphic designer, he traveled for a bit across the world. When he returned, he began working for himself as an independent graphic artist. He became an author/illustrator along with pursuing graphic artistry, and it wasn't until The Rainbow Fish that he became known internationally. He has published 49 books! He has four children, and currently resides in Switzerland. In his free time, he enjoys basketball and photography.
Source: http://www.marcuspfister.ch/biography.htm


How to Use it
The main idea of this book is that even though Dazzle was different from the other dinosaurs, he still saved the day in the end, and found his family a safe place to live. This shows the children that even though sometimes people are different, they can still do special things with their differences.

Pre-Reading: Ask these questions: What can all of you tell me about dinosaurs? What kinds of dinosaurs do you think are dangerous? When did dinosaurs live on the earth? What kind of dinosaurs do you think are normally nice? Have you ever heard of a dinosaur with shiny silver spines?


Post-Reading: With this book, a large group discussion involving differences would work in order to make sure the message hits home for the kids. Also, for a younger age, a coloring activity with shiny foil for the back of the dinosaur would assist them in remembering the message of the book. 




What do I Think?
I think that this is a great book to use in an elementary classroom. It can lend itself to an excellent art project for Pre-K or K students, and also can be used as a character education theme for older students. I will definitely be reading this in my classroom this year!