Year of Impossible Goodbyes by: Sook Nyul Choi

I was very interested in reading this book and read it very quickly, as So Far From the Bamboo Grove had spiked my interest in the World War II conflict. Going into this book I was feeling like everyone were losers in this war, because it seemed like everyone was getting tormented and killed by some other group. After reading this book, I felt like I had made more of a connection to the first book, but I am not sure why. I think it may have been because this book the mom is not as strong. She broke down for weeks when her father died and when they tried to escape she was taken away. The kids, who were very young, then had to fend for themselves and survive in madness with no money, no food, and no passports. This seemed so hopeless compared to the other story.

Also, the ending in this one happens pretty suddenly and it is not as in depth as So Far... Once they crossed the lines they were helped, but the Japanese kids still had to keep fighting and working to survive.

I think they are both great books to bring the realities of war and the dynamics of World War II into the classroom. There are so many different emotions and feelings that come up, that I am sure kids will formulate an opinion and their own responses to the books. They may be difficult things to talk about, but they are necessary.

So Far From the Bamboo Grove by: Yoko Kawashima Watkins

I really enjoyed reading this book. I had so many emotions going through my head as I read this book. I felt scared, hopeful, sad, disgusted, among many others. The biggest thing that stood out to me in this story of courage and determination in light of horrible conditions and treatment, was the value of family and school. Although so many horrible things were happening in this book, they looked after each other, and even new moms, babies, and the elderly, before thinking about themselves. In those hard times I am sure it would have been easier for them to drink all of the water themselves and use all of their blankets to keep warm, but they were giving. To show these amazing characteristics in such horrible times really says a lot about their values and personality. Sharing is something kids tend to have a problem with, and after reading this book, I think it is something that not many do enough.

I read this book about a Japanese family who lived in Korea during the Japanese occupancy of Korea before I read the differing viewpoint of a Korean family who lived in North Korea during the same time. I think that if I had read the book about the Korean family first, I would have went into this book with more hatred towards the Japanese family. Instead, I felt like everyone was at-risk and being tormented by the war. It was very scary to read how close Countries and towns were to each other, yet they all had such different circumstances and treatment of people.

In Our Mothers' House by Patrica Polacco

I enjoyed reading this book, although I am not sure how much kids would like it. This book is about a family that has 2 moms and 3 adopted kids in it. They are all very close and have a great time together, but they have one neighbor who doesn't like them. The parents plan a block party for their neighborhood and everyone designs a game for their yard and food. During this party the neighbor comes up to the moms and yells at them. The kids did not understand why, and the parents just said she did not agree with their choices. The ending was about how the kids grew up and got married, and their moms grew old together and died within a year of each other. The brother now lives in the house with his family and they still celebrate the good times in the same house they grew up in.

I think the message of the book and story line is great, but the way it comes across, especially the ending, is kind of boring. I felt like it was very predictable, making it less enjoyable to read.

This book very much reminded me of The Graves Family by Patricia Pollacco. They also moved to a neighborhood where they were the "weird" ones, who did not fit in. Some of the parents did not want them to play with the graves children, because their house was painted bloodred and their parents were different. I think some kids can definitely relate to this, and see in the end having a strong family is all that matters.

A Very Big Bunny by: Marisabina Russo

A Very Big Bunny is about, well a very big bunny. This bunny was named Amelia had not friends and no one would play with her, because she was to big. Then, a new student came to the school named Susannah, and she was really small. No one would play with her,because she was to small to do anything. Susannah discovered Amelia sitting by herself and would come up to her every recess to see what she was doing. Finally, it was picture day and Amelia was dreading it, but Susannah came to the rescue and had them make tiaras and wear necklaces so they could be the star of the show. Amelia loved it and all of the other students thought they were great, from then on out they each had a friend and they found ways to make things work.

This story is very cute, although the front cover is kind of scary. Amelia is on the front and her head looks huge and her eyes are the size of a pencil eraser. This book reminds me of a lot of other books that are about teasing. Usually they will either find one really good friend, or the bully's learn their lesson by getting bullied themselves. I think that it gives a good message, and kids will enjoy learning what Amelia does when she is off by herself. I like that she is constructive with her time and finds good things to do. A lot of times it could be that she is negative, or even bullies other students, because she gets bullied. Instead though, I like that she practices spelling words that begin with p, and counts clouds.

Henry Aaron's Dream by Matt Tavares

I think this is a great book that not only teaches about baseball, but also the treatment that African Americans had to go through before the Civil Rights Movement. This book works so well in the classroom, because it has the ability to connect to a lot of boys who do not want to read about history. Like we discussed in class the other day, children's books are mostly geared toward girls, so it is good to find an enjoyable, educational book that boys would be drawn to.

Henry Aaron's Dream is about the famous baseball player who was one of the first African American players in the MLB. It talks about his struggles and obstacles that he had to overcome in order to reach his goals. He never gave up, even though he could not practice on a real field when he was young and received death threats when he started to achieve success. This message is a great one for young readers, especially since it is a true story about America's favorite pastime.

Cinderella Retold by Lynn Roberts

I find it extremely fascinating reading and watching different versions of the same story. When I came across this version of Cinderella, I was excited to read it. One thing that I noticed right away was that the depictions were very unusual. After looking at the book closer, I noticed it said on the cover "An Art Deco Love Story." The illustrator, David Roberts, created this story to look like it came out of the 30's or 40's. I, personally, did not like this style as much much as the "normal" version, if there is such a thing. I found the people to be kind of creepy, as they had very pointy, odd shaped heads. Cinderella is supposed to be beautiful and charming, but I think she was just as ugly as her evil step sisters in this book. I did really like that they had her vacuuming in this version, as opposed to scrubbing the floors. I think the modern twist helped to make it a little more relatable.

Child of the Civil Rights Movement by: Paula Young Shelton & Raul Colon

I thought this book was really neat, especially since it was from the perspective of the child that went through the Civil Rights Movement. She used some of the information that she remembered during that time, and also stories from her other family members. This historical fiction book does a good job portraying famous figures as normal, hardworking people. One thing that is kind of a negative of the book is that it is quite long and wordy. There is obviously a lot of information to cover when writing anything about history, but I think even I was beginning to feel overwhelmed with all of the names, dates, and places

My favorite part about this book was definitely the illustrations. They are all done in really vibrant and rich hues of browns, blues. It looks like there is a grainy texture to the pages, which almost made everything look like it was in 3-D. After being so drawn to the images I was fascinated to learn what technique the illustrator, Raul Colon, used. To get these beautiful images, Colon had to go through many steps, 5 in all. I think that they are so good, they would be able to tell the story, even without the words. The cover of the book is definitely eye catching, so I am glad the story in side is a positive, educational book for students to read and to learn from.