Twelve Kinds of Ice by Ellen Bryan Obed

Life with ice. Black ice can mean doing a 360 with the car at a stop sign screaming with your daughter as it becomes a whirly-bird. Regular ice can mean your feet being swept out from underneath you levitating your body so that it is parallel to the ground before squashing you like a bug on the cold, hard asphalt. January ice can mean tossing a bucket of water in the air and watching it freeze before it hits the ground. That was in 1996 when temperatures were almost -60 degrees fahrenheit. February ice can mean stepping outside with damp hair that turns into icicle wind chimes. I felt like the ice goddess on those days. Medusa had snakes. I had ice shards. I'd show up at school and show off the latest Minnesota hair fashion. Ice can mean creating a toboggan run that goes down your backyard hill at speeds that frosts your breath onto your skin in a ghostly face mask. Ice is fun. Ice is hazardous. Ice is mysterious. Ellen Bryan Obed captures this magic in her 61 page book that focuses on the transformation of ice in the surrounding landscape. The nostalgia and beauty of Obed's writing makes for a beautiful piece that can be used in "writer's workshop" to teach small moments; a nice read aloud to show atmosphere, setting, and sensory details; or a warm snuggle with a magical book.

When fall comes the ice slowly transforms from a thin sheet on the top of an ice pail to a solid block freezing streams and lakes. When the narrator describes the transformation of the ice rink in the back yard I was transported to the past of skating in my purple parka with my 4 siblings. We didn't have shows like the author describes or pump music outside over a loudspeaker but they did do that at some of the city parks. We would break off icicles and lick them like ice pops. Of course we didn't think about what we were licking as we broke off the beautiful shapes that formed from condensation dripping down sun-warmed, slanty roofs. Yum - bug and tar flavored ice pops. Obed describes twelve stages of ice and ends with dream ice. This ending captures the magic of ice and the possibilities. As you can see I haven't talked much about the book because my own memories keep cropping into the sentences sidetracking me.

I have noticed when I write book reviews I give 5 stars much more easily with fantasy than realistic books. I think the unbelievable factor makes me more forgiving of elements that aren't realistic in fantasy; whereas, I'm more critical if a book is "real." I also like fantasy as a genre most and must have an unconscious bias towards it. Guess I'm writing this because this could be a five star. I just thought there was a lull in some spots, but I'm such a jet pants I also like lots of action. This book requires more patience. That's my disclaimer anyway. I did enjoy the nostalgia of ice in this book and delicious writing. I confess as an adult I think now of how uncomfortable ice skates are, how many times I've frostbit my toes, and how hard it is shoveling mountains of wet snow. This is a good reminder of the joys of winter as a child. The magic of the ice rink, playing hockey with my brothers, pretending with my daughter we were Olympic ice figure skaters, racing across the ice and sliding on our seats, flipping into snowbanks going full speed, playing broom ball, and more. I need to keep that child alive inside me, and this book certainly does that well.

Reading Level: 4.6
4 Smileys

Just Behave, Pablo Picasso! by Jonah Winter

Another great read aloud with grade 5 students studying biographies. Jonah Winter's work is fantastic as mentor texts and I went and bought all of them for our library after reading this one. He captures a character and sprinkles facts throughout the story that allow students to delve deeper into the character or topic (such as the garbage barge story). Picasso is larger than life in this story, as he is today. Picasso plowed through the art world like a matador devouring different styles and moving on to new ones until he created Modern art. It was his own style. It was unique. It was risky.

 As an artistic youngster, I heard more criticism than support for my creativity and when I took a risk and failed it was very hurtful. I even abandoned my craft at one point. This book struck a cord with me. You really, need thick skin to pursue a craft much less break new ground and create a new art style. It takes a special person. It takes a person who can grow 100 feet. It takes a person who paints for himself or herself versus others. This is a lesson that extends beyond art and is worthy of discussion.

Reading Level 4.2

5 out of 5 Smileys

Sparrow Girl by Sara Pennypacker; illustrated by Yoko Tanaka

Ming-Li likes birds and so does her brother who has a pet pigeon. When Chairman Mao orders war on the sparrows who are eating the wheat, Ming-Li is worried. She creeps to her brother's bed and asks him what if other birds get killed...like pigeon?

Mao tells the people to bang pots, pans, and set off firecrackers to scare the birds to death for three days. Not only is the campaign successful, other birds die as well, including the brother's pet pigeon. Saddened by what is happening Ming-Li and her brother search for birds who have not died. They find seven birds and put them in the pigeon's now-empty cage. Because it is so crowded, Ming-Li secretly moves the birds to the barn and feeds and cares for them. When the crops begin to fail because of too many locusts, the farmers realize that they should not have killed all the sparrows who ate those insects. Find out how Ming-Li becomes a hero for her village.

This book is based on a true story when in 1958 Mao ordered all the sparrows killed because they were eating the crops. A plague of locusts came and destroyed the crops for 3 years. Thirty to forty million Chinese dies from starvation because of the failed crops. There is much to talk about with this book such as the ecological disaster, the civil disobedience of Ming-Li, and wisdom. A great read aloud.

Reading Level 3.5

:-) :-) :-) :-) :-) 5 out of 5 Smileys

 

Wingwalker

For second grader Reuben life is peaceful and happy in Oklahoma where his dad is a dance instructor and his mom a cook at the town cafe. All that changes when the 1933 Dust Bowl hits the town ruining crops and causing people to flee to other states. Reuben's parents lose their jobs and his dad almost loses his life in an oil fire. They decide to leave for Minnesota where Reuben's dad becomes a wingwalker for the circus and his mother cooks. Many of the characters Reuben meets are "different" and find happiness in being accepted by the other circus members.

This book has great details and is a slice of life back in the 30's when times were difficult. The tension comes from Reuben's fear of heights, job loss, danger of oil job, and danger of wingwalking. Reuben expresses and narrates the story from the viewpoint of a kid. At the end Reuben has to face his fears. The author does a nice job connecting the beginning and end so the reader comes full circle in the story. Some readers might find Reuben's narration boring - the voice isn't unique or strong.

My library reading level says 5.6 which I think is too high. Scholastic lists the reading level as 4.2 which is more realistic. The photos and story will appeal to third or fourth graders. It would be a good book to discuss fears, courage, and accepting others who are "different". I will have to try it as a read aloud and see what the students think of it.

Reading Level 4.2

:-) :-) :-) 3.25 out of 5 Smileys

The Harmonica

Henryk doesn't remember his parents faces, but he does remember "their love, warm and enfolding as a song." Thus begins the story of a boy remembering the joy of being with his parents and singing "so off-key we could crack crockery." The family was poor and loved to listen to Schubert. One day Henryk's father came home with a harmonica and taught him to play it. Then the Nazi's came and "like a length of kindling in one stroke, they split our family." Ironically, the commandant at the concentration camp loves Schubert and Henryk plays for him. Henryk muses, "He worked us, beat us for no reason, without mercy. Yet he recognized beauty. I could not imagine how that could be." When the other prisoners whisper "Bless you," Henryk realizes that in this inhumane place his harmonica gives everyone, good and evil, hope; and so, he chooses to play his harmonica with all his heart.

The illustrations, by Ron Mazellan, are gorgeous. In the beginning of the story when Henryk remembers his family the color is warm and glowing. On pages 5 and 6, the lace curtain is blowing in the room while his mother hugs him and his dad looks on with joy. The movement and happiness is captured quite beautifully. It is one of my favorite pages along with the next one that shows a close up of the father and son's hands as Henryk's father gives him the harmonica.

While at the camp the colors shift to cool and are grim and dark, portraying the bleak surroundings. The commandant has a hat on one page with a skull on the brim. Another page shows Henryk playing the harmonica and surrounded in light while the commandant in front of a red backdrop listens to him with his hand over is heart and a blissful expression on his face, a bullwhip in his hand, and dogs at his feet. The white blackdrop bleeds into the red suggesting the music touching the evil and reminding the commandant of what was once good in life. On the page where Henryk wonders how the commandant can love Schubert there is a skull lightly painted in the background above the commandant. The boy is in the front and his striped pajamas look like prison bars but in front of the commandant as well as on Henryk. The picture suggests that while Henryk is in prison, so is the commandant whose life is hollow and bankrupt of all beauty. It is a powerful painting.

While this book is written at a grade 3 level the content is for grade 5 and up. It is a picture book that requires discussion and is not really appropriate for young kids. It would be a great mentor text for teachers.

Reading Level 3.6

:-) :-) :-) :-) :-) 5 out of 5 Smileys