Kateland's LIS 721 Reading Response Blog

  Blume, Judy. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.: Special Edition . Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2020. In this special edition of the Judy Blume classic, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret , Margaret learns to navigate adolescence, moving, family relationships, fitting in, and friendship. This story takes place as Margaret and her parents move from New York City to Farbrook, a suburb in New Jersey. Our reliable narrator accurately describes what it was like to live in both the city and suburbs at that time, from the perspective of a child. The setting is a major factor in the book, as she must learn not only to navigate life in the suburbs, but she also blames the setting for why she’s farther from family members and needs to try and make new friends at a new school. While this story takes place in Farbrook, a reader can easily apply this story to their own hometown. Children, regardless of location, have had to navigate large changes around this age, and this story can ...

Rinaldi, Ann. My Heart Is on the Ground: The Diary of Nnnie Little Rose, a Sioux Girl . Scholastic, 1999. Rinaldi’s My Heart Is on the Ground is a fictionalized diary of a young girl, Nannie Little Rose, who is documenting a real event in the 19 th century. While the events in the book did happen, this is far from an accurate recording of history and relies very little on fact. The majority of the details are incorrect, even down to the pacing of the story. Events such as children being forced to learn English seem to happen in a year, when that is not accurate or even realistic. Dates of significant events are wrong. The conflict resolution is inaccurate and insulting to Indigenous people. It seems as if there was little research done before Rinaldi began writing this book. The inaccuracies continue when you look at the setting, characters, and style. Historically, inaccuracies are all over the place. One example is the positive view of these boarding schools. Families did not want ...

  Emberley, Michael. I Did It! Holiday House, 2022. I Did It! is a graphic novel for early readers, recommended for ages 4-8. Lovers of graphic novels or comics will enjoy sharing this story with the beginning readers in their lives. In this book, we meet our young unnamed protagonist who works to build their confidence through trying new challenging activities including climbing a rope, climbing a tree, catching a baseball, and riding a bike. While at first, they are unable to ride the bike, after an attempt and the support of friends, they are able to learn to ride a bike! The simple illustrations are effective plot drivers. Instead of the illustrations enhancing the text, the text appears to be the enhancer. The illustrator makes use of the white space, which makes the illustrations jump out of the page at the reader. The text is simple, with very few words on each page. The text is also repetitive, which helps engage young readers and lends the book well to a read aloud. Child...

  Adler, David A., and Sam Ricks. Don’t Throw It to Mo! Random House, 2021. Don't Throw It to Mo! is a triumphant story of a young football player that no one wants to throw the ball to due to his small stature. Through a unique approach from his coach, he overcomes his inability to catch, and helps the team win the game! This is a Level Two Reader with an average of five words per line and 5-7 lines per page. While there are plenty of sight words to assist young readers, this story also expands into multisyllabic words. The longest and most difficult word in the story is the word "butterfingers." There are also longer sentences with some shorter sentences sprinkled throughout the book. While some words are longer, the dialogue remains on the simpler side. There is also more of a complex plot compared to Level One books. The illustrations assist in driving the plot and can help provide context clues if a reader is stuck on a word. The font is larger and spaced out. The t...

  Harris, Robie H., and Michael Emberley. It’s so Amazing!: A Book about Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families . Candlewick Press, 1999. Robie H. Harris is a teacher, winner of Mary Lee Tatum Award and Planned Parenthood Federation of America's highest education award, and picture book author. Through her thoughtful research, she has become an authority in the subject area. She presents the subject through "difficult but necessary" conversations with children through age appropriate language and clear writing. It is easy to follow and understand this book. She avoids stereotypes and generalizations, simply stating facts about what sex is, why people might have sex, and what do different relationships mean. The scope is narrow, without being too narrow or limited. There is more depth than width of subject matter. This book is fact based with accurate information. There is no distinguishing between fact, theory, and opinion, as this is a fact based book. There are two ca...

Bowles, David. They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid’s Poems . Cinco Puntos Press, 2018. According to the back of the book, this collection is to tell the story of a child who  lives on the border between United States and Mexico. It discusses his challenges and how he overcomes them with his family's traditions and his group of friends. The purpose fills a need in the general collection, bringing forward stories of children and families that have to navigate two cultures simultaneously. The poems are appropriate and a strong narrative to the purpose. The compiler and author has the qualifications to tell this story, as a Mexican American who grew up along the border of Texas and Mexico. The intended audience appears to be middle school and older readers. The selections contain appropriate language and material for this audience. These poems might challenge readers who are unfamiliar with the difficulties that families along the border may face in their daily lives. This collection cou...