Module 11 - Actual Size

Book Summary:
     Actual Size is an informational book that shows the actual sizes of animals and insects or the features of animals and insects. It provides physical descriptions (specific measurements) as well as interesting facts about each animal. Some of the pages display the entire animal at its actual size (like the atlas moth), and some of the pages show a part of the animal at actual size (like the giant squid's eye). The saltwater crocodile's head and the Goliath frog take up three pages (the pages fold out). The collage-like illustrations fill up each page. There's an animal index at the back that gives more detailed facts about each animal in the book (habitats, prey, interesting facts, etc). 

APA Reference of Book:
Jenkins, S. (2009). Actual size. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin    
     Harcourt Publishing Company

Impressions:
     I really enjoyed this informational book! I first chose to read it because its cover page caught my attention. The cover has the actual size of a gorilla's hand. The illustrations are beautiful, done in paper cut outs and collage-like. 
    It's really interesting to see how the animals and insects compare to one another, from tiny animals like the pygmy shrew to huge animals like the Alaskan brown bear. I was blown away by facts I've never heard before. For example, it would take 7,000 dwarf gobies to weigh only one ounce, and a giant squid can measure 59 1/2 feet long! I also liked how the book started out with questions to persuade readers to read the book, like, "Have you shaken hands with a gorilla or been face to face with a tiger?"
     I was impressed with the many facts in the index of the book, but I think I would've liked it better if more facts were actually included on the pages of the book. In my experience with reading to children, the book would better keep their attention if not so much information was in the back of the book, but spread out throughout the pages instead. 
     I think children of all ages would enjoy this book (and adults too)! They could use this book for research or read it just for fun. 

Professional Review:
     "Jenkins's signature cut-paper collages are once again amazing in this oversize book in which life-size illustrations of eighteen creatures (or parts of them) invite reader participation. A nearly twelve-inch-long gorilla hand entices readers to see how their own hands measure up; the foot-across Goliath birdeater tarantula will inspire a similar reach. Included are creatures great and small: a dwarf goby fish barely registers on the page, while the Alaskan brown bear's head overflows a double-page spread. The relative sixes are accentuated by the white backdrop and are grounded by the straightforward information that accompanies the creatures - one or two brief sentences followed by the animal's height/length and weight - as they parade across the expansive pages. For dramatic appeal, a single-page foldout unveils itself halfway through the lesson in size: on one side an imposing saltwater crocodile's snout proudly displays a full mouth of teeth, while on the other side the greater part of a Goliath frog is shown in mid-leap. Additional information about each creature is included at the back, along with a complete picture of each animal, helpful in those cases where only part of an animal fits on a page.

Raece, L. E. (2004). Actual size book review [Review of the
     book Actual Size, by S. Jenkins]. Horn Book Magazine, 80(3),
     p. 345. Retrieved from https://libproxy.library.unt.edu:9443/
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Library Uses: 
     Children could watch a video on how Steve Jenkins illustrates and brings the animals to life (youtube.com/watch?v=hhJ1wtHSPc4). Then, they could research their own animals and create their own illustrations.

     

Module 10 - Pink and Say

Book Summary:

     Pink and Say is a Civil War story passed down from great-grandfather to grandmother, to son, and to the author herself, Patricia Polacco. It starts out with a white Union soldier, Say, who is left for dead in a pasture in Georgia. Pink, a black Union soldier, finds him and brings him to his mother's home. Moe Moe Bay cares for the both of them for some time. During this time, the boys develop a beautiful relationship. Then, Marauders come, and Moe Moe Bay has the boys hide, but her life is taken. 

     Moe Moe Bay's words made the boys brave as they headed back to find their troops. As they were walking back, they were being followed by some Confederate soldiers. Pink and Say were grabbed and taken as prisoners of the Confederate Army. 

     Pink and Say were brought to one of the worst Confederate camps, and they were separated. 

     The end of the book talks about what happened after they were separated - Say was released from the prison months later, returned to his home, and recovered. Pink was hanged hours after arriving at the camp.

APA Reference of Book:

Polacco, P. (1994). Pink and Say. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc.

Impressions: 

     Historical fiction is not my genre of choice, but I truly enjoyed this book. I think what I liked most was seeing the relationship between Pink and Say develop, especially since it was an unlikely relationship during the Civil War days. The author really knows how to pull at the reader's heartstrings. Watching Pink take care of Say by carrying him a long distance was very powerful.

     I also like how real the book felt. For example, the way Moe Moe Bay talks makes the reader feel like he/she is in the story ("They's a freshwater spring"). The book shows the struggle it was for the boys to go back to fighting, especially Say. I'm sure that soldiers really did feel like this. 

    I was so sad when Moe Moe Bay was shot and the boys buried her. But it was great to see how her words rang in the boys' hearts and made them brave. I was also sad when the boys were taken prisoners. Even though I didn't like the ending (because I always like happy endings), it was the truth, and the truth speaks loud. 

     The illustrations helped me to picture the story even more. I think they are watercolored pictures, and they are detailed, especially the characters' faces. 

     I think it's really powerful that Patricia Polacco wrote about her own family member. And it's surprising that she mentions this at the end of the book (I think it makes it even more memorable). I like that the book tells about what happened to the boys after the story ended too.

     This book would be great for upper elementary students even up into high schoolers because of the impact it can cause and the discussions it can start. 

Professional Review:

     "This book, the story of Polacco's great-great-grandfather, has been passed down from generation to generation in the author-artist's family. Fifteen-year-old soldier Sheldon Russell Curtis - Say to his family - has been left for dead on a Civil War battlefield somewhere in Georgia. A fellow Union soldier, Pinkus Aylee, who is African American - " I had never seen man like him so close before. His skin was the color of polished mahogany" - discovers him and, with much effort, droughts feverish Say home, where his mother, a slave named Moe Moe Bay, nurses Say back to health. As the boys regain their strength, they become as close as real family and discuss things close to their hearts. Pink shares his special talent: Master Aylee, his owner, had taught him how to read. "To be born a slave is a heap o' trouble, Say. But after Aylee taught me to read, even though he owned my person, I knew that nobody, ever, could really own me." Say receives special comfort from Moe Moe when he admits that he deserted his troop and is afraid to return to war. On the morning the two boys plan to leave and search for their respective troops, marauding Confederate soldiers arrive and kill Moe Moe. Pink and Say are later captured and become prisoners of the Confederate Army, in Andersonville. Although Say lived to tell this story of friendship and brotherhood, Pink was hanged within hours of arriving at the dreaded prison. Told in Say's colorful, country-fresh voice, the text incorporated authentic-sounding dialect and expressions - such as darky - that would have been used at the time. Polacco's characteristic acrylic, ink, and pencil illustrations are suitably dramatic and focus on the intense physical and emotional joy and pain of the story's three main characters. The remarkable story, made even more extraordinary in its basis in actual events, raises questions about courage, war, family, and slavery. A not-to-be-missed tour de force." 

Fader, E. (1994). Pink and Say book review [Review of the book 

     Pink and Say, by P. Polacco]. Horn Book Magazine, 70, p.48.

     Retrieved from https://libproxy.library.unt.edu:9443/login?

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     brd&AN=512490427&scope=site

Library Uses:

     The librarian could dress up in character like Moe Moe Bay to give an introduction to the story (tell the story in her own words before reading it). While reading it, she can chime in to add her "own words." This will engage the children in the story because it will feel like the librarian (Moe Moe Bay) was really there.  

   

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