Kristin Hatch
Reading Record
Overall IRLS 521
Spring 2008
Children’s Books (100)
1. Martina una cucarachita muy linda (Carmen Deedy, 2007)
2. The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain (Peter Sis, 2007)
3. Brothers in Hope (Mary Williams, 2005)
4. Maritcha: A 19 Century American Girl (Tonya Bolden, 2005)
5. Butterflies for Kiri (Cathryn Falwell, 2003)
6. Beautiful Black Bird (Ashley Bryan, 2003)
7. Guji Guji (Chih-Yuan Chen, 2004)
8. My Name is Celia/ Mel llamo Celia (Monica Brown, 2004)
9. Wiil Waal: A Somali Folktale ( Kathleen Moriarty, 2007)
10 Mystic Horse (Paul Goble, 2003)
11. We are the Many: A Picture Book of American Indians (Doreen Rappaport, 2003)
12. My Name is Bilal (Asma Mobin-Uddin, 2005)
13. Zinnia: How the Corn Was Saved (Patricia Hruby Powell 2003)
14. Counting Coup: Becoming a Crow Chief on the Reservation and Beyond (2006)
15. Dzani Yazhi Naazbaa (Evangeline Parsons-Yazzie, 2005)
16. Crossing Bok Chitto (Tim Tingle, 2006)
17. Three Snow Bears (Jan Brett, 2007)
18. In My World (Lois Ehlert, 2002)
19. The Best Hanukkah Ever (Barbra D. Goldin, 2007)
20. My First Ramadan (Karen Katz, 2007)
21. A Confused Hanukkah (Jon Koons, 2004)
22. Pocahontas: Princess of the New World (Kathleen Krull, 2007)
23. Eight Wild Nights (Brian P. Cleary, 2006)
24. The Librarian of Basra: A true story from Iraq (Jeanette Winter, 2005)
25. Miss Crandall’s School (Elizabeth Alexander, 2006)
26. Dona Flor (Pat Mora, 2005)
27. Jazz (Walter Dean Myers, 2006)
28. Someone Says (Carole Schaefer, 2003)
29. Lissy’s Friends (Grace Lin, 2007)
30. One Million Men and Me (Kelly S. Lyons, 2007)
31. I Am Latino (Sandra Pikney 2007)
32. Napi (Antonio Ramirez, 2005)
33.Napi goes to the Mountain (Antonio Ramirez, 2004)
34. Cesar: Si Se Puede! Yes, we can! (Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, 2004)
35. The Red Thread: An Adoption Fairy Tale (Grace Lin, 2007)
36. The Seven Chinese Sisters (Kathy Tucker, 2003)
37. Pretty Salma (Niki Daly, 2006)
38. Los Gatos Black on Halloween (Marisa Montes, 2006)
39. New Clothes for New Year’s Day (Hyun-Joo Bae, 2007)
40. Let It Shine: Three favorite Spirituals (Ashely Bryan 2007)
41. My Name is/Me llamo Gabriela (Monica Brown, 2005)
42. Harvesting Hope: The story of Cesar Chavez (Kathleen Krull, 2003)
43. Just A Minute (Yuyi Morales, 2003)
44. The Three Witches (Joyce Thomas, 2006)
45. Goah: The wise fool (Denis Johnson-Davis)
46. The Ugly Vegetables (Grace Lin, 1999)
47. Giving Thanks: the 1621 Harvest feast (Kate Waters,2001)
48. 1621: A new look at Thanksgiving (Catherine O’Neill Grace, 2001)
49. Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning (Chief Jake Swamp,1995)
50. Navajo ABC ( Luci Tapahonso 1995)
51. Meet Naiche (Gabrielle Tayac, 2002)
52. Ernie Dances to the Didgeridoo (Alison Lester, 2000)
53. The New Girl…And Me (Jacqui Robbins, 2006)
54. Anansi The Spider (Gerald McDermott, 1972)
55. Nothing But Trouble (Sue Stauffacher, 2007)
56. Ananse and the Lizard (Pat Cummings, 2002)
57. Can You Top That? (W. Nikola-Lisa, 2000)
58. My Best Friends (Anna Nilsen, 2003)
59. Sister Tricksters (Robert D. San Souci, 2006)
60. Olvina Flies (Grace Lin, 2003)
61. The Journey of Tunuri and the Blue Deer (James Endredy, 2003)
62. Gugu’s House (Catherine Stock, 2001)
63. Go to Sleep, Gecko! (Margaret Read MacDonald, 2006)
63. Coyote School News (Joan Sandin, 2003)
64. Night Running (Elisa Carbone, 2008)
65. Yetsa’s Sweater (Silvia Olsen, 2006)
66. Fish for the Grand Lady (Colin Bootman, 2006)
67. Night Boat to Freedom (Margot Theis Raven, 2006)
68. D is for Drinking Gourd (Nancy I. Sanders, 2007)
69. Henry and the Kite Dragon (Bruce Edward Hall, 2004)
70. Our Community Garden (Barbara Pollak, 2004)
71. Visiting Day (James E. Ransome, 2002)
72. Our Gracie Aunt (Jacqueline Woodson, 2002)
73. Skippyjon Jones (Judy Schachner, 2003)
74. Yesterday I had the Blues (Jeron Ashford Frame, 2003)
75. Hot City (Barbara Joosse, 2004)
76. Dream Carver (Diana Cohn, 2002)
77. Calavera Abecedario (Jeanette Winter, 2004)
78. Niño’s Mask (Jeanette Winter, 2003)
79. Angelina’s Island (Jeanette Winter, 2006)
80. Talk Peace (Sam Williams, 2005)
81. Mama: A True Story (Jeanette Winter, 2006)
82. Elsina’s Clouds (Jeanette Winter, 2004)
83. Josefina (Jeanette Winter, 1996)
84. I am America (Charles R. Smith Jr., 2003)
85. Estela’s Swap (Alexis O’Neill, 2002)
86. Pitching in for Eubie (Jerdine Nolen, 2007)
87. Elephant Prince (Amy Novesky, 2004)
88. How Medicine came to the People (Debora L. Duvall, 2003)
89. Baby Learns about Seasons (Ed. Jessie Ruffenach, 2005)
90. Baby Learns about Time (Ed. Jessie Ruffenach, 2005)
91. My Mother’s Sari (Sandrya Rao, 2006)
92. Happy Birthday Jamela (Niki Daily, 2006)
93. Go Go Cars! Vamos Vamos Coaches! (Simon Hart, 2006)
94. Confetti: Poems Para Niños (Pat Mora, 2006)
95. Rin Rin Rin, Do, Re, Mi (Jose-Luis Orozco, 2005)
96. Iguanas in the Snow (Francisco X. Alarcón, 2001)
97. Baby Learns about Colors (Ed. Jessie Ruffenach, 2005)
98. My Father’s Shop (Satomi Ichikawa, 2004)
99.The Adventures of Polo (Roger Faller, 2002)
100. Baby Learns to Count (Ed. Jessie Ruffenach, 2005)
Young Adult Books (15)
1. Brendan Buckley’s Universe and Everything in it (Sundee Frazier, 2007)
2. Tangled Threads (Pegi Deitz Shea, 2003)
3. American Born Chinese (Gene Yang, 2006)
4. The Year of the Rat (Grace Lin, 2008)
5. Becoming Naomi Leon (Pam Munoz Ryan, 2004)
6. Moccasin Thunder (ed. Lori Carlson, 2005)
7. The Year of the Dog (Grace Lin, 2007)
8. Poet Slave of Cuba (Margarita Engle, 2006)
9. When Heaven Fell (Carolyn Marsden, 2007)
10. Tequila Worm (Viola Canales, 2005)
11. Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi, 2003)
12. Honeysuckle House (Andrea Cheng, 2004)
13. Paint the Wind (Pam Munoz Ryan, 2007)
14. The Gold-Threaded Dress (Carolyn Marsden, 2002)
15. The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Sherman Alexie, 2007)
16. Re-Gifters (Mike Carey, 2007)
***Books In Depth *****
Author: Alarcón, Francisco X.
Title: Iguanas in the Snow
Publisher: Children’s Book Press
Date/Awards: 2001
Multicultural Aspects?Spanish and English Poetry
Why Chosen?Recommended by World of Words Multicultural Library
Synopsis:This is a collection of poems that celebrates the diversity in Northern California. The book presents the English poems first and then the same poem is presented in Spanish. The author notes at the end of the book that the inspiration for this book came during a two year stay in a Northern California bilingual school.
Author: Alexie, Sherman
Title: The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Publisher: Hatchette Book Group
Date/Awards: 2007/ National Book Award Winner
Multicultural Aspects?Spokane Indian
Why Chosen?Recommended by many sources, including classmates.
Synopsis:This story was very touching and heartbreaking in places. It was the story of Arnold Sprit who everyone on the reservation (the rez) called Junior. Junior is excited for highschool to start, because he enjoys learning so much. But when he receives his new geometry book and realizes that this book was used by his mother when she when to school over 30 years ago, he gets mad. He tosses the book and accidentally hits his teacher, and receives one week of detention. During the week off of school, he decides to attend the white school in town and then his life totally changes.
The book is really about fitting in to the all-white school (the only other Indian is the mascot) and making new friends and also his struggles in order to go to the school, frequently walking and hitchhiking his way there and back the 22 miles from the rez. Junior must repair friendships that are destroyed when he goes to the white school and leans to live in a balance between his Indian world and the white school world. This was a very good story. I have been on the waiting list for a long time for this book and it really was worth the wait.
Author: Bae, Hyun-Joo
Title: New Clothes for New Year’s Day
Publisher: Kane/Miller
Date/Awards: 2007
Multicultural Aspects?Korean traditions
Why Chosen?Recommended in class on the first weekend.
Synopsis:This book illustrated the Korena New Year’s celebration and tradition of wearing new clothing . At the end of the book, is a long explanation of the symbolism and importance of each on the pieces of the dress and other important traditions of the Korean New Year. One interesting item mentioned by the book is that in Korea, New Years is counted like a birthday for everyone. Everyone is now a year older. One criticism that I have of the book is that I did not know that it was a Korean book until the end. I did understand that it was “oriental” but I wish that the author had stated this clearly at the beginning of the book. Additionally the illustrations in the book were nice with simple clean lines that would be typical of the culture.
Author: Bernier-Grand, Carmen T.
Title: Cesar: Si Se Puede! Yes we can!
Publisher:
Date/Awards: 2004/ Pura Belpre Honor Book
Multicultural Aspects?Mexican Amerian
Why Chosen?Recommended by Pura Belpre
Synopsis:A collection of poems and illustrations that colorfully tells the tales of Cesar Chaves and his childhood and eventual leadership of the United Farm Workers Union that made many changes in the lives of the migrant workers in California. This book uses some Spanish worlds to add flavor to the story but is mostly in English. The struggle is clearly and concisely developed without omitting too many important details.
In the back of the book is a glossary of Spanish words that are translated into English as well as some more in-depth information about La Causa! There is even a chronological table of events of Cesar’s life from birth to death and even a works cited page that lists some internet sources used. Illustrations were soft and colorful a nice contrast against the hardship and struggles of Cesar and his United Farm Workers Union.
Author: Bolden, Tonya
Title: Maritcha:A Nineteenth-Century American Girl
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
Date/Awards: 2005
Multicultural Aspects?Daily life of African-American girl in 19 cen. New York
Why Chosen?Recommended on booklist
Synopsis: The daily life of Maritcha R. Lyons (who was born in 1848 in New York City and grew up there and eventually moved to Rhode Island) is examined in depth in this story. She was the first black student to attend high school in Rhode Island (having to sue for the right to attend) and this book is an extensive documentation of her life. This book is full of family photographs, newspaper clippings and maps to illustrate the experiences of Maritcha and her family. Excellent, however wordy for younger children, possibly a good reference book for a report for an older child .
Author: Bootman, Colin
Title: Fish For The Grand Lady
Publisher: Holiday House Book
Date/Awards: 2006
Multicultural Aspects?Fish Tail from Trinidad
Why Chosen?Cover looked interesting
Synopsis:This was a tale of two brothers who live in Trinidad and there fishing trip. They wake up early one morning with the goal of catching more fish than they can eat in one day. But first they have to walk to the market town and buy some hooks. Then they must dig enough worms and finally they arrive at the fishing hole that their Grandmother (The Grand Lady) has recommended. Unfortunately, the fish are not biting well, and the boys get frustrated and toss the bucket into the stream. When they look to collect the bucket, they see that many fish have swum accidentally into the bucket and that they indeed have many more fish than they could eat in one day.
This story from Trinidad used the local dialect to tell the story and sometimes that was hard to read. The author also included a glossary in the back to help clear up any confusion and to explain the new words.
Author: Brett, Jan
Title: The Three Snow Bears
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Date/Awards: 2007
Multicultural Aspects?Inuit remake of the Goldilocks story
Why Chosen?Recommended by a co-hort member, Jo Anne Jansen
Synopsis:This Goldilocks tale has been very nicely re-created into an Inuit tale, and the characters are still bears! In this tale, however, while Goldilocks is drinking their soup, trying on their clothing and sleeping in their beds, the Polar Bear family is out for a walk, that results in the Bears saving Goldilocks’ sled dogs from drifting away on an ice floe. I thought the Bears where drawn in a powerful, respectful way and although they wore “Inuit clothing” (decorated furs) their faces were not painted, nor were they presented in a negative way. I thought the furs, and carved bowl seemed to reflect the culture accurately. All the snow and huge igloo did make me feel cold, however! This book was also illustrated by Jan Brett and she truly did a wonderful job to represent the culture/feeling of the story with the Inuit culture.
Author: Brown, Janet Mitsui
Title: Thanksgiving at Obaachan’s
Publisher: Chicago: Polychrome Publishing Co.
Date/Awards: 1994( Michigan Team Nutrition Booklist member)
Multicultural Aspects?Japaneese-Americans celebrating Thanksgiving.
Why Chosen?Recommended. Award winner
Synopsis:The story of Thanksgiving dinner at a girl’s grandmother’s house. Many Japanese traditions are included as are foods that add to the traditional Thanksgiving meal (Rice and Sushi). There is a glossary of Japanese-English terms at the back of the book. Wonderful watercolor pictures illustrate this book.
Author: Brown, Monica
Title: My Name is Celia/ Me llamo Celia
Publisher: Luna Rising
Date/Awards: 2004/ Americas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature
Multicultural Aspects? Cuban-American singer Celia Cruzes life
Why Chosen?Brought to our first class meting
Synopsis:The life of Celia Cruz is revealed in this wonderfully illustrated children’s book. The author spends a fair bit of time talking about Celia’s childhood memories of life in Cuba and the singing that she shared with many other members of her family. The story even explains the exclamation Azucar! That Cruz used to yell to show alliance with members of the audience of their Cuban heritage. I thought that this story explained the Cuban communism very clearly and well for a children’s book and how Cruz felt too restricted to stay in her country.
Author: Brown, Monica
Title: My Name is/me llamo Gabriela
Publisher: Luna Rising
Date/Awards: 2006/
Multicultural Aspects?Latin American author
Why Chosen?Recommended on Reforma Website
Synopsis:This book in English and Spanish tells the story of Gabriela Mistral (1889-1957) Who was the first Latin American writer to receive the Nobel prize for literature. The book tells the story of the life of this remarkable woman in the first person, how she taught herself to read and write and how she was able to fulfill her dream of becoming an author. This book teaches its readers to believe in the power of our own voices no matter where we come from, what we look like, how old or young you are even if we are rich or poor—none of it matters as much as believing in yourself. An excellent book for all children to read.
Author: Bryan, Ashley
Title: Beautiful Blackbird
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Date/Awards: 2003/ Coretta Scott King Award-winner
Multicultural Aspects?Folk tale from Zimbabwe
Why Chosen?Award winner
Synopsis:All the birds in Africa are only one color. No one has any black coloring except for Black Bird. The other birds beg Black Bird to give them some of his colors so he ‘brews’ up some black coloring and artistically ‘paints’ black onto the other birds in the form of stripes, dots and rings.
I thought this story was a little strange as they do not ask any other bird to share his color (identity) with another bird. We did not see the red bird do the same. And I know that the reviews are along the line of “black is beautiful” but I did not see that in this book. I saw “black give me what you have got”. But perhaps I am looking too hard at this folk tale. I did think that all the cut paper art was beautiful and made for some nice illustrations in this story.
Author: Bryan, Ashley
Title: Let It Shine: Three Favorite Spirituals
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Date/Awards: 2007/ Coretta Scott King Award winner
Multicultural Aspects?African American traditions
Why Chosen?Award winner
Synopsis:This book highlights three favorite Spiritual songs and uses detailed paper cutouts to accompany the text of the songs. The three songs are “This little light of mine”, When the Saints go marching in” and “He’s got the whole world in his hands”. The back of the books has a note from the author about the history of the spiritual songs. At one point they were called “Negro Spirituals” and were created during a time when African Americans were not allowed to read or write. The author also notes that the illustrations were attempting to capture the underlying meaning in the songs. I thought that this book was rather creative with the mix of illustrations and songs together and I also liked the little historical blurb at the end when the author explains the significance of the music.