Train to Somewhere

Author: Eve Bunting
Illustrator:   Ronald Himler
Publisher:  Clarion
Publication Year:   1996
Location: Personal Collection

Awards:   Kirkus & Publisher's Weekly starred reviews, Parent's Choice, ALA Booklist Editors' Choice, ALA Notable, Jefferson Cup Award Honor

Summary:  In the late 1800s, orphans were sent on trains to find families to adopt them. This is the story of the fictional orphan Marianne who believes that her mother will be at one of the stops to fin her. She carries with her a feather that she took out of her mother's hat. At each stop, the younger, more attractive children are taken until at the final stop Marianne is the last child left. An older couple is there who offer her a toy train with the words "Sometimes what you get turns out to be better than what you wanted in the first place." Marianne "crumbles" and offers them the feather as she goes off to become their daughter.

Classroom Ideas: A perfect way for children to understand the plight of the children on the Orphan trains in the 1800s. This book has a wonderful theme and Marianne is a strong character. You can't help hoping that she ends up with a perfectly happy life.

December

Author: Eve Bunting
Illustrator:   David Diaz
Publisher:  Harcourt Brace
Publication Year:   1997
Location: Personal collection

Awards:   Kirkus & School Library Journal starred reviews, Golden Kite Honor

Summary:  Another book from the Caldecott-winning team that created Smoky Night. Simon and his mom live in a house made of cardboard boxes, but on Christmas Eve they have a tiny tree made from a throw-away branch from a tree lot. On the wall is an angel named December that they tore from a calendar. A woman with a rose on her hat comes to their house and they let her stay for the night. She gives Simon the rose and he gives her his Christmas cookie (which he's gotten by turning in 32 soda cans to be recycled). When they wake up on Christmas morning, December the angel has come to life and is singing in the doorway. After that things start to change for the little family- Mom has job and they have a small apartment. On the wall hangs December with a faded rose in her hair. Diaz's illustrations are gorgeous and December the angel glows with a palette of gold and rose.

Classroom Ideas: The themes of homelessness and generosity in this book are timeless, but the story could also be shared especially during the Christmas season.

Fly Away Home

Author: Eve Bunting
Illustrator:   Ronald Himler
Publisher:  Clarion
Publication Year:   1991
Location: Knox County Public Library- Lawson McGhee

Awards:   ALA Notable, Kirkus  & School Library Journal Starred reviews

Summary:  This beautiful story of homelessness is told in the voice of a preschooler. He and his dad live in an airport and try not to get caught there by carefully fitting in. His dad works as a janitor but doesn't make enough money for them to have a place to their own apartment. The boy is sometimes jealous of the families in the airport that get to go home but it ends with him hopeful that one day he'll get to go too. This is a wonderfully done story of a sensitive topic.

Classroom Ideas: Obviously this book is about homelessness. But it's also a great example of first person point of view. The narrator's name is unknown and I believe that's purposefully to make the point that the boy could be any child. It's also a more sophisticated plot structure where the problem is not solved.

Tweak Tweak

Author: Eve Bunting
Illustrator:   Sergio Ruzzier
Publisher:  Clarion
Publication Year:   2011
Location: Knox County Public Library- Lawson McGhee

Awards:   featured on "Calling Caldecott" blog,

Summary:  Mama Elephant and Little Elephant are going for a walk. Mama says to tweak her tail when she has a question, and Little is full of questions. She wants to know about the frog's jumping, the monkey's climbing, the crocodile's swimming, the butterfly's flying, the bird's singing, and whether she could do any of those things. The mother assures her that she can do other elephant things and that she can ask questions, learn, and grown to be a "big, strong, smart, beautiful elephant." Any mother/child pair could see themselves in this sweet story.

Classroom Ideas: For the younger readers, they could identify with the mother/daughter pair here. You could also use this book to teach repetition and onomatopoeia as the "tweak, tweak" is repeated, and as part of a unit on elephants.

Smoky Nights

Author: Eve Bunting
Illustrator: David Diaz  
Publisher:  Harcourt Brace & Company
Publication Year:   1994
Location: Personal Collection

Awards:   Caldecott Medal, ALA Notable, School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, Parent's Choice Award Winner

Summary:  Daniel and his mother watch during the Los Angeles riots and are forced to flee as their building begins to burn.  They discover that their cat and that of their Korean neighbor are both missing.  The community gathers in a shelter to escape the fire and the looting and the cats are found. The book does touch on sensitive subjects, but it ends hopefully with the two cats teaching the humans a lesson about getting along. Diaz's collage art is incredible incorporating real objects with paintings.

Classroom Ideas: This book could be used in a discussion about late 20th century history and riots. It also touches on problem solving and tolerance for difference. An art teacher could use it talk about collage.