Crow Call

Author: Lois Lowry
Illustrator:   Bagram Ibatoulline
Publisher:  Scholastic
Publication Year:   2009
Location: Knox County Public Library- Lawson McGhee

Awards:   Booklist starred review

Summary: (An autobiographical story)  Liz's father has just returned from war and he is a stranger to her. The two set off on a morning together, sharing breakfast of cherry pie at the diner and then heading out into the woods to hunt. They talk about the war and then Liz calls dozens of crows into the trees. Liz's joy in the crows is evident and her father decides not to hunt them that morning after all as the two head back down the hill hand in hand. A sweet book of the relationship between father and daughter.

Classroom Ideas: The description in this book is amazing: "Grass, frozen after its summer softness, crunches under our feet: the air is sharp and supremely clear, free from the floating pollens of summer; and our words seem etched and breakable on the brittle stillness." The setting is shown through the details in the illustrations- the signs in the diner, haircuts, and the car they drive; but the book would be relevant for any child whose parent has served in the military.





Extras: Author's note with a photograph of Lois Lowry from that time period.

Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge

 Author: Mem Fox
Illustrator: Julie Vivas
Publisher:  Kane/Miller
Publication Year:   1985
Location: Knox County Public Library- Lawson McGhee

Awards:   Children's Book of the Year by the Child Study Association of America, ALA Notable, NYT 100 Best Children's Books 

Summary:  A boy named Wilfrid hears his parents talking about the memory loss of a ninety-six year old neighbor who lives next door in the old people's home. He tries to discover the meaning of "memory" by asking the other residents who tell him, respectively, it's something warm, something sad, something that makes you laugh, something precious as gold.He gathers his own "memories" to bring to Miss Nancy, his favorite neighbor because she, too, has four names. Each of his treasures, a freshly laid egg for warmth, a toy puppet for laughter, his grandfather's war medal for sorrow, and his precious football brings back memories for Miss Nancy Alison Delacourt Cooper and smiles for the two of them. Sweet watercolors illustrate the poignant story.

Classroom Ideas: This is a semi-autobiographical story which could lead children to their own stories of things that are precious to them and bring back memories. It could also be linked to Alzheimers and aging and used by a school counselor.

Extras: The story behind the story on Fox's web page:
http://www.memfox.com/wilfrid-gordon-mcdonald-partridge.html

When Randolph Turned Rotten

Author & Illustrator:   Charise Mericle Harper
Publisher:  Alfred A. Knopf
Publication Year:   2007
Location: Knox County Public Library- Lawson McGhee

Awards:   Publisher's Weekly starred review, Junior Library Guild selection

Summary:  Two friends Randolph and Ivy are roommates. Ivy gets invited to a sleepover birthday party, but Randolph feels left out that he didn't get invited. Randolph gets mad and starts to hope that Ivy has a horrible time. His insides turn horrible, rotten, awful, and icky; and he does mean things to ruin Ivy's party. Then he starts to feel guilty. Meanwhile, Ivy accidentally locks the party-goers out of the house, but Randolph's "mean" additions to her bag end up saving the day. When Ivy gets home, Randolph apologizes and Ivy shares her stories of the beach party. The comic strip type illustrations are wonderful with details that kids will want to pour over.

Classroom Ideas: This book can be used to show how feelings become actions- it would be a great book for a guidance counselor or a teacher to use when talking about bullying.  Randolph is an excellent character to talk about.

Bully

Author & Illustrator:   Patricia Polacco
Publisher:  G. P. Putnam's Sons
Publication Year:   2012
Location: Knox County Public Library- Halls

Awards:   Author Study of Polacco

Summary:  Lyla makes a friend Jamie on her first day at her new school, but soon she becomes a cheerleader with the popular girls. She gets a Junior Achievement Award and a Spirit Award and they ask her to hang out with them. They make fun of Jamie, and Lyla pretends not to like him anymore. The girls write mean things on other people's Facebook pages and Lyla starts to distance herself from them. But disaster strikes when Lyla gets accused of stealing the state tests ahead of time and people start spreading rumors about her. Then Jamie admits that he saw one of the popular girls steal the test and Lyla's name is cleared. But the popular kids still hate Lyla and the story ends with a question: "Should Jamie and I go back to school, hope for the best? Or should we go to another? What would you do?"

Classroom Ideas:This book would be a great resource for a guidance counselor or teacher to talk about bullying.

Bluebird

Author & Illustrator:   Bob Staake
Publisher:  Schwartz & Wade
Publication Year:   2013
Location: Knox County Public Library- Lawson McGhee

Awards:   Kirkus, Publisher's Weekly, & Booklist starred reviews, Junior Library Guild selection

Summary:  A wordless picture book of a boy and a bird done in a somber palette of blues and greys which perfectly set up the mood of the story. There is environmental text which places the boy in an urban environment. The bird follows the boy on his walk to school and waits for him outside the building as he is teased by his classmates. We see the two become friends as the boy shows his first smile of the book. The bird even helps him make some friends sailing boats in the park, but then the colors get darker as the boy is accosted by bullies in the park. They steal the boy's boat and kill the bird with sticks. As the bullies run away, multi-colored birds come flying in and carry the boy and the bird away into the sky where the bird flies off into the clouds. On the endpapers the boy waves goodbye.  What an interesting book for interpretation and discussion!

Classroom Ideas: Guidance counselors could use this book with younger children to talk about death and dying. The book has themes of friendship, bullying, and hope.

Peter's Chair

Author & Illustrator:   Ezra Jack Keats
Publisher:  Viking
Publication Year:  1967
Location: Personal Collection

Awards:   Kirkus starred review,

Summary:  Peter, of The Snowy Day fame, has a new sister named Susie, and he is not happy about it. He has to be quiet around here, and she's getting all of his things. He decides that he and his dog Willie will take his blue chair and run away! They go in front of the house, but when Peter tries to sit down his blue chair is too small. Then rejoins the family, in a grown-up chair, and suggests that they paint his little chair pink for his sister.

Classroom Ideas: This would be an excellent story for characterization, as Peter changes during the process. A teacher, librarian, or counselor could also use this story to talk to kids about jealousy and sibling rivalry.

The Lemonade Club

Author & Illustrator:   Patricia Polacco
Publisher: Philomel
Publication Year:  2007
Location: Personal Collection

Awards:  Publisher's Weekly starred review, Volunteer State Book Award

Summary:In this true story, Patricia Polacco tells about her daughter's friend and her fifth-grade teacher. Traci's friend Marilyn has leukemia and has to have chemotherapy. Everyone is supportive and even shave their heads in solidarity with their friend. However, Miss Wichelman ends up getting her own bad news and has to battle cancer too. Through it all, the three support each other and remember to make lemonade out of life's sour lemons. This is a hopful, heart-warming story, made all the better by the positive updates on each character in the endnotes.

Classroom Ideas: This is another personal narrative from Polacco's life which could be used as a mentor text. The themes of friendship and the topical subject are important ones, and this book could easily be used by a guidance counselor.

The Favorite Daughter

Author & Illustrator:   Allen Say
Publisher:  Arthur Levine
Publication Year:   2013
Location: Knox County Public Library- Lawson McGhee

Awards:   Christian Science Monitor Best Book

Summary:  Yuriko has to deal with some teasing at school about being bi-racial and her untraditional name. Her father takes her to a Japanese garden and reminds her of the gifts of her heritage. After a lot of special talk, Yuriko creates a unique art project and reclaims her pride in her name and herself. Allen Say wrote this book for his own daughter and it contains actual drawings of her as a child and then again as an adult. This autobiographical story shows a different side of Allen Say.

Classroom Ideas:  The theme of this story is a very important one, especially for biracial children, but really for any child as they learn to appreciate the things that make them unique. It would be wonderful for a guidance counselor too.

Each Kindness

Author: Jacqueline Woodson
Illustrator:   E.B. Lewis
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Publication Year:  2012
Location: Knox County Public Library- Powell

Awards:   featured on the "Calling Caldecott" blog, Coretta Scott King honor book, Jane Addams Peace Award, Charlotte Zolotow Award, School Library Journal Best Book

Summary:  A new girl named Maya comes to school and Chloe and her friends are unkind to her because she is different. Even though Maya keeps trying, the other girls continue to make fun of her and leave her out. Finally, Chloe's teacher shows her the consequences of her choices, but it is too late because Maya and her family have moved away.

Classroom Ideas: This book could be used by a teacher or guidance counselor to discuss kindness and the consequences for actions. The theme is well articulated and includes a metaphor for kindness in a stone.