Where the Wild Things Are

For my fifth and final choice book I read "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak. The book tells the story of a young boy who is sent to his room without supper by his mother after misbehaving and then goes on an incredible journey through his own imagination. The boys name is Max and when he departs on his imaginary journey he arrives on an island full of violent and angry beasts known as "wild things". Max, dressed in his wolf costume is able to intimidate and scare the beats. The beasts believing they are defeated name him "king of the wild things" after which a celebration is held and the wild things and Max dance around and celebrate together. After some time on the island however, max grows bored and lonely and decides to return home. The wild things are very upset but Max decides to go nonetheless. When he returns to his room he finds his supper waiting for him. I think that this book teaches two very important lessons. I think the first is of a mothers unconditional love. Despite being furious with Max his mother brings him supper even after threatening to send him to bed without it. This is also what also brings Max back into the real world from his imaginary adventure. I think this portrays a mother and her unconditional love for her children and the comfort that it brings a child to know that they can count on that. I think the second story that we see in this is on of imagination. I think this book really focuses on showing just how powerful a child's imagination is and how easily it can be used as an escape. I think that this shows that allowing children to be creative and imaginative is really pivotal in progressing not only their learning but their happiness as well. Overall I really enjoyed this book. I love the sense of adventure and imagination that is portrays and also love the memories it brings back of reading this book when I was young. I think in a way this book can be relatable for everyone as I think we all need to use our imaginations and find a little escape now and then.

Voices From the Middle

For my second teacher journal I read "Voices From the Middle" coedited by Sara Kajder, University of Georgia and Shelbie Witte, Oklahoma State University. This journal contains texts not only from educators but also students, teacher educators, and researchers. I think that having all of these perspectives readily available in one single composition of writing is really great. This forces the reader to take on many different perspectives at once and really analyze everything that is being said to its fullest extent by comparing and contrasting different viewpoints, understanding why they exist, why they are relevant or not, and why you may or may not agree with them or incorporate them into your own practice. The article focuses mainly on teaching English and how to teach English in different middle school settings. I think the fact that this journal focuses on teaching English was extremely relevant for me personally since I'm in the GECP at MSU and teaching English to those who don't speak it as a first language is one of our main topics. I thought being able to have a number of different perspectives on the issues also helped me to better understand what I, as a teacher, need to do in order to be effective in teaching English to my students. I found that all of the research done in this journal seemed very reasonable, moderate, and well thought out and looked into. I felt that everything in this writing was also very sincere and positive. I think that after reading this journal I really gained a lot of very useful insight and knowledge into something that I care about very much and strive to achieve in my future. I think having the knowledge that I gained from this journal can be nothing but beneficial in my future journey and that's why I felt that this text was so relatable and easy to understand and get into.

JOCI

For my first teacher journal I read "The Journal of Curriculum and Instruction" which is co-edited by Chan Evans and Sharilyn C. Steadman, College of Education, East Carolina University. The journal focuses on various aspects of k-12 curriculum and education. Going into this reading I thought it was going to be very dull and boring but after going through it I actually found it to be extremely relevant and helpful. As someone who is going into elementary education I found that this journal was extremely relevant to what I want to do and the skillset that I need to develop to be able to do so effectively. I found a lot of very helpful and relevant information that I think I would benefit greatly from holding onto and incorporating into my studies and one day my job. The text includes many research studies, practitioner articles, and book reviews along with information and guidance on how to incorporate all of this information into the classroom as a teacher. I thought that this was extremely helpful and beneficial for me to read as often times I feel that this is one of the things that is very much lacking in my classes. I really enjoyed being presented with information and then not being left with it but instead being advised and instructed on how I can use it to not only improve my abilities and my effectiveness as a teacher but also as a person in general when dealing with kids and understanding child development and learning. I believe that this was overall the most helpful and relevant piece of text that I read. I think for this reason I also appreciated this text more than any of the others I read. It was just so relevant to everything I want to do ant everything that I want to learn that I couldn't help but enjoy it.

Owl Sees Owl

For my second book review journal book I read "Owl Sees Owl" by Laura Godwin. The book is very cool and extremely aesthetically pleasing. The book contains very few words, usually only 3-4 per page and instead focuses heavily on the artwork to tell the story. The illustrations in the book are absolutely gorgeous and make it very easy to follow the story even with very few words. The books follows reverso poetry in its writing style and ends on the same text that it begins on. It tells the story of a baby owl who leaves the safety of his nest and goes on an adventure of his own for the first time one night. The story seems to capture the excitement of the baby owl flying on his own for the first time with the simple phrase "Soar, glide, swoop, swoosh" and portrays a feeling of amazement and adventure. As simple as the book is its as if you can really feel the excitement and wanderlust that the baby owl feels as he takes off into the unknown. When the owl gets to the pond he sees his reflection "owl sees owl" and gets scared and turns back where the poem reverses itself where it ends on the same phrase it began on "home, mama, brother, sister" I think the style that the book is written in also really helps to portray the feeling of the book as it starts of in the "comfort zone" and goes more and more into the unknown before reaching a climax of excitement and wonder and then fleeing quickly back to that comfort zone.  I think in a way myself and many people can relate to this book as I think everyone has an inborn sense of wanderlust whether great or small we all want to explore a little bit. I adored the illustrations in this book and thought that  even if there hadn't been any text in this book you would have known what was happening in the story. The illustrations were just that well done and that specific all the while retaining their absolute beauty and sense of excitement and wonder.

The White Cat and the Monk

For my first book review journal book I read "The White Cat and the Monk" by Jo Ellen Bogart. The story is a modern adaptation of the classic Irish poem "Pangur Ban" which I also read to get a better understanding of the text. I found this book on SLJ.com (school library journal). The story tells of a cat that every night wanders into the monastery where each night he sits outside a mouse's hole waiting for him while a monk sits up all night working on his writings. The monk and the cat each stay up until dawn each day patiently doing their "work" The story teaches a great lesson of patience and companionship. The monk realizes that he and the cat are very much alike. Each night they sit up and patiently work away at their task both of them doing what they were made to do. Though they never directly interact they form a sort of bond knowing that they are both fulfilling their purposes in each others company. The story teaches a great lesson about companionship and how simple it can be while still being very meaningful. It also addresses the virtue of patience and how consistent patience will lead to good things. I think these are both very important things and are two concepts that I personally try to work into my daily life so this book was very relatable and easy for me to read. For me companionship is one of the most important things in life. Family, friends, and my wonderful girlfriend are all incredibly important to me and I think that without companionship mankind would be a dull and meaningless species. Patience is also something that I have always prided myself on. I believe patience is extremely important especially in times of conflict. I believe that being patient in the face of adversity will 100% of the time lead to a happier and more fulfilling future than acting on pure emotion and being rash. Overall I thought this book, while very simple, was very meaningful and well done.

The Outsiders

For my second librarian recommended book I read "The Outsiders" by S.E. Hinton. The book was recommended to me by Mrs. Costello at Eaton Rapids High School. The book follows the story of Ponyboy and his two brothers Darry and Sodapop. The boys live in Oklahoma and are in a gang known as the greasers. They are the lower class and dress like you stereotypical 50-60s bad boys with leather jackets and greased back hair (hence the name). The gang is always at war with the Socs, the upper class preppy gang of boys. The two gangs despise eachother and violence regularly breaks out. The book shows the struggles of the boys as they live in Darry's custody without their parents who were killed in a car accident. One night a fight breaks out and Ponyboy's friend Johnny ends up killing a Soc in order to save Ponyboy from being drown. The two boys flee town and hide. Later the boys come across a burning church with kids trapped inside. They manage to save all of the kids but Johnny is badly burned and breaks his back. After this incident the boys are seen as heroes. Eventually Johnny dies from his injuries and in a fit of rage another gang member, Dally, robs a grocery store before ultimately being killed by the police. To cope with his grief Ponyboy writes this book in remembrance to Dally. This book is a classic and I really enjoyed rereading it. I think reading it again for the first time after 7th grade, I really understood more of what was going on in the book. I enjoyed getting to relate the problems in the book to real world issues that I was had been unaware of before such as gang violence, social inequality, and how home situations can deeply affect a persons life. I feel that aside from these major issues the book is also full of small, easily relatable details such as friendship, unconditional love, guilt, and fear. I think all of these are things that anyone can relate to, to a certain extent. Overall I love this book and feel that I can very well relate to it and think that I enjoyed even more reading it a second time.

Christmas Tapestry

For my second teacher recommended book I read "The Christmas Tapestry" by Patricia Polacco. This book was recommended to me by Leanne Kregel who teaches 4th and 5th grade at Springport Elementary School. The book talks about the main character Jonathan Jefferson moving from Memphis Tennessee to Detroit Michigan when his father accepts the position of pastor at a new church there. Jonathan and his sister are initially unhappy with the move and have trouble with adjusting. They complain that the church is not as nice as the one in Tennessee. Their father tells them that the church in Memphis was in even worse shape than the one in Detroit and gets them to agree to help him make the Detroit church beautiful again. The begin working very hard and start making new friends and notice that more and more people started attending church services and lending a hand in restoring the church with the goal of having it done by Christmas. On one wall in the church a huge mural of god is meant to be painted but during a winter storm standing water causes damage to the church on the wall and makes it unpaintable. Jonathan is very upset to learn that the wall wont be fixed until after Christmas and begins to miss home again. When out with his father soon after his father and him find a beautiful tapestry that would be perfect for the wall in the church. While waiting for the bus home they spend sometime in the company of an old lady and his father helps her get home after hanging up the tapestry in the church. After examining the tapestry the lady realizes that its an old antique that she hand knitted herself when she still lived in Germany. The woman tells the story of how the cloth was her wedding Suppa and the cover on her wedding bed before the Nazis came and separated her and her husband. On Christmas eve the man who is to fix the wall in the church comes and recognizes the tapestry and says that his wife made it before she was taken by the Nazis. The family is astonished and take the man to his wife to reunite them. The illustrations are very beautiful as should be expected from a Patricia Polacco book and accompany the text well. I thought this was a really beautiful story about making the best of every situation and always staying hopeful. I always love Patricia Polacco books for this reason. They are always very hopeful and relatable and remind the reader to stay positive through tough times. This is overall my favorite book that I read for this assignment.

Parrots Over Puerto Rico

For my Sibert Award winning book I read "Parrots over Puerto Rico" by Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore. The book gives a brief history of the island of Puerto Rico as well as some overview of the climate and geography and talks about the indigenous parrot population there. The book details how for a long time the people there lived with the parrots without disturbing them but eventually began destroying their habitat with logging and deforestation. The parrot population at one point was near complete extinction, at one point only 24 remained in the wild. The book covers the efforts by scientists to save the parrot population by forming the Puerto Rican Parrot Recovery Program, setting up conservation areas in the wild, and breeding the birds in captivity. Today there are now hundreds of the parrots between those in captivity and those in the wild. The book is also full of extremely vivid collage style illustrations to accompany the informational story telling. I thought this book was very interesting as its one of the few non-fiction children's picture books that I found. I think its a very interesting issue and I think that conservation of nature is something that isn't talked about enough to young people and this book does a very good job of making this issue apparent and understandable for readers. I thought the illustrations, while maintaining creativity and staying interesting, also did a very good job at accompanying the text and giving visual aids that helped to make the story a bit easier to picture along with being very vivid and beautiful. I think the illustrations were my personal favorite part of the book and really stood out to me for some reason. I also really enjoyed reading a book about environmental conservation as it s something that I'm pretty passionate about. Overall I think this book is really well done. It portrays very relevant information while staying interesting and entertaining but not to the point that anything is unclear or muddled.

Faceless

For my fourth blog book which I found on http://www.abbythelibrarian.com, I read "Faceless" by Alyssa Sheinmel. The book follows the life of the main character Maisie after she wakes up in the hospital. Maisie slowly remembers what happened to her, she was hit by lightening and suffered severe injuries. The worst of which is her face which has been completely burned off. Maisie looks and the mirror and sees a face that is not her own. She learns that she has received a face transplant and everyone tells her that she's very lucky. Maisie however feels like a monster and the story follows her struggle to come to grips with what she must now live with. Maisie's boyfriend Chirag stays with her but feels too uncomfortable to touch her which makes Maisie feel even more alienated. On top of this Maisie is no longer allowed to participate in any strenuous activity. This kills her as she is one of the star runners on the school's track team. She is also teased by her friends at school. All of these factors cause her to feel extremely out of place and hopeless. Maisie finds herself falling asleep in class because of the medication she must take and finds that she can't run even if she tries making her extremely depressed. Later in the story as their relationship becomes more and more distant Maisie also ends up breaking up with Chirag now feeling almost completely isolated. Eventually Maisie is driven to the point of suicide and stops taking her medication but soon realizes she has so much to live for. She goes to her senior prom, is reunited with Chirag and finally comes to grips with her new reality. This book was incredibly interesting and in my opinion borderline bizarre. The plot is definitely unique to anything I've read before and I thought it was great. I think the book really made me think about vanity and popularity and how we take it a bit too seriously. I liked that I could relate a bit to this book because that's something that I definitely did in high school before realizing that not trying to impress everyone and being yourself leads to a much happier life further down the road. I think that this book is very well written and carries a great message along with a great unique story.

Stef Soto, Taco Queen

For my third blog book I used http://www.abbythelibrarian.com/ and found "Stef Soto, Taco Queen" Jennifer Torres. The book is about a 7th grade girl named Stef Soto whose father owns a taco truck called Tia Perla. Stef's parents are first generation immigrants and Stef often has to help them as an interpreter as they speak very little English. In the story Stef is incredibly embarrassed by her fathers taco truck, especially when he brings it to pick her up from school. Stef is called the "Taco Queen" by her classmates and struggles to fit in. Stef's parents are also very protective and hesitant to let her have her freedom adding to her struggle to fit in and be a kid. However the main issue changes from Stef's struggle to fit in to her father being at risk of losing his business completely. The city passes new laws on food trucks that threaten to put the truck out of business. When her family's livelihood is threatened Stef ultimately embraces her culture and steps up to help her father's business. The thing that I enjoyed the most about this book was the writing style that Torres uses. The text is extremely descriptive especially when describing the food that Stef's father makes. You can really imagine what it would all be like thanks to the incredibly descriptive passages detailing his cooking. The other thing that I really liked about the writing style of this book is how Spanish words are seamlessly incorporated into the text adding a little extra to the authentic feel of the text. I always think its really cool when I see authors do this in their writing as I think its great to let the reader get a little bit of exposure to something that may not be natural to them or that they are unfamiliar with. I think its also really great how Stef decides to embrace her culture rather that assimilating at the end of the book, I think that this example is something we don't see enough of in literature and I think its good to let the reader know that it's ok to be different.

The Art of Being Normal

For my second blog book I read "The Art of Being Normal" by Lisa Williamson. I also found this book on http://foreveryoungadult.com. The book is set in Britain and follows two different main characters through their struggles and relationships to one another. The first character is David who goes to a very good school, has a great family and is pretty well off. The problem is David is miserable because he is actually a she. David is a girl trapped in a boy's body and is really Kate. Kate feels trapped and miserable because she can't come out to anyone or show who she really is without horrible bullying and being outcast completely. It gets bad to the point that she feels life is no longer worth living. Until she meets Leo. Leo is a new kid who comes from a worse school and a very messed up family situation. Leo and his sisters live with his mother who is an alcoholic who is never home and when she is she does nothing to take care of her children and is even borderline abusive at time. Leo finds himself often digging around for change in order to be able to buy fast food for dinner. The actions of Leo's mother have also caused Leo to resent women and be unable to form any type of feelings towards a girl. Leos father is also absent and his mother refuses to tell him anything about his father. Leo longs to be reunited with his dad and escape his awful home life. Leo meets Kate when he sees her being bullied and steps in to fight of the attackers. Leo and Kate become friends and Kate eventually comes out to Leo. Later in the book Leo also manages to track down his dad and Kate goes with him on a road trip to find him. During this time Kate can actually be Kate and not David. Its great to see that on the entire trip Leo is very supportive and open towards her.   I think this book was wonderful because it shows a very real problem that exists for many people trapped inside bodies that they don't belong in. I think the book also gives a great example of how to be a friend to these people and stand up for them and their rights. I think the fact that the main characters are just on the cusp of puberty also makes it much more relatable and understandable for kids this age which is when a lot of gender identity crisis occur. I really enjoyed reading this book and the perspective it gave me on certain things. Overall I would recommend reading this book especially if you're unsure of many gender related problems as I was. This book makes this issue more understandable in my opinion and offers a great story line as well.

Dead Feminists, Historic Heroines in Living Color

For my first book from a Blog I read "Dead Feminists, Historic Heroines in Living Color" by Chandler O'Leary and Jessica Spring. I found this book on http://foreveryoungadult.com. This book is made up of quotes from historical women and from each quote a piece of artwork is created around it. The book is split up into sections "Build,” “Grow,” “Protect,” and “Make” each focusing on different aspects of feminism and goals of the movement. The book brings up both past and present events, and ideas and analyzes the various ways in which these events affect everyday life. This is done by showcasing the work and progress made by women of the past and present. The importance and relevance is very much felt in each quote and made even more apparent by the artwork. I think this book is great in that it really spreads awareness of real events and issues and provides a knowledge of past events. The book is somewhat frustrating as it makes the reader aware of the fact that many issues still exist today that really shouldn't but at the same time I think the book is really inspiring and empowering. The quotes and artwork all give off a very hopeful and powerful feeling and seem to be focused on progress and equality. The artwork in this book is also really amazing. It is focused on showcasing and honoring the woman's accomplishments in the time period and provides visual representations of not only the issues presents but also of inspiration and determination. The quote is also showcased in a way that incorporates it into the artwork adding to the clarity of the true meaning of the piece. Overall I think this book is really great. It seems special and unique compared to anything else I've ever read and focuses on real life issues that are very important and meaningful. The book feels very sincere and personal and really makes the reader think about and feel for the problems that still exist in today's world. I think this book is very effective in its goal and overall very well composed and put together.

13 Moons on Turtles Back

For my first teacher recommended book I read "13 Moons on Turtles Back" it was Recommended by Shawn Morgan who teaches 4th and 5th grade at Springport Elementary School. The book is written in prose and is full of Native American folktales. This book is really special as it is one that I explicitly remember from my childhood and after rereading it, its still just as great as I remember it being. Each page details the legend of each moon of the year as according to old Native American legend accompanied by a beautiful illustration. The legend begins with a grandfather explaining to his grandson that there are 13 moons in the year just as there are 13 squares on a turtles shell. He then proceeds to tell a story about each moon. The stories are all very clever and interesting and the illustrations are in my opinion mind blowing. Each portrays a stunning epic nature scene. The writing style of the author flows very nicely and includes many Native American words and phrases adding to the richness of the text. The passages all feel very meaningful and sincere and really create a sense of wonder and make you respect the amount of thought that Native Americans gave to everything they observed. When reading this book it really makes you look at the natural world from a new perspective. The book is full of stories of creation and how everything in nature came to be from the moons, to different animals, to the seasons, to mankind all according to Native American legends. The fact that the story is set as if it is a grandfather telling it to his grandson also makes it feel more genuine and as if someone is telling you a story from memory. It also really makes you respect what amazing story tellers Native Americans were and how impressive it was that everything they kept track of was by memory as there are very few written records. I really love this book and reading it again brought back memories from childhood when my mom used to read it to my siblings and I. Between the beautiful illustrations and the wonderful stories this book is really great.

Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass

For my Belpre award winning book I read "Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass". by Meg Medina. The book focuses on school bullying on an extreme level. The main character Piddy Sanchez moves to a new school where a girl named Yaqui Delgado immediately targets her and begins bullying her violently. Piddy is frequently beaten and hurt by Yaqui and her friends. Piddy eventually becomes scared to even leave her house or go to school because of Yaqui and fells isolated and alone with no one to reach out to as she and her mother are not on good terms as her mother will not talk to her about her father who left them and causes Piddy to resent her for that. Piddy eventually reaches out to her childhood friend/love interest Joey about what's happening. She also reaches out to her coworker Lila at the salon where she works. Joey offers his own knowledge of abuse as his father is violent towards his mother and Lila offers her advice as she faced a similar situation as a child. Joey asks Piddy to run away with him as he flees his abusive household but she refuses and instead decides to take Lila's advice and stand up to Yaqui and not let her win. After she takes numerous beatings and suffers through all of the terror that Yaqui inflicts on her someone at school eventually reports Yaqui to the principal and when video evidence of one of the violent incidents is shown the school administration Yaqui is expelled and Piddy decides to transfer schools and finally finds acceptance. I think this book is great because it is very real and doesn't shy away from or sugar coat anything. The book really gives a good example of how bad bullying can get if it goes unnoticed or isn't stopped. I definitely thought this book was well written and stayed interesting throughout. I would definitely recommend this book to any reader as I think this issue is something that people should be aware of and this book does a very good job of portraying it.

The Giver

For my Newberry Award winner I read "The Giver" by Lois Lowry. I had never read this book before which I guess may be surprising since I know it is very popular and now I see why. This book was incredibly interesting and unique. The book takes place in a society where everyone is forced to conform to what those in charge have decided is best for them as a whole. There is no pain, war, disagreement, or choice in life. Everyone is assigned jobs when they turn 12, you may be assigned a spouse if you wish and married couples can be assigned a maximum of two children. If a member of society fails to fit in or adopt the ways of life that the community follows they are "released." The people in the community believe that being released means being sent to the world outside of their community when in reality it means death. The main character Jonas is assigned the role of the Receiver. Since there is no war or pain in the world the memory of these things is also absent from the minds of all the people in this society save for the receiver. The receiver alone holds on to these memories in order to keep them safe and prevent society from repeating the same mistakes. Jonas meets the current receiver who begins passing these memories down to him. When Jonas begins receiving these memories from the current receiver or the "Giver" as he calls him, he realizes how dull life in their society is and that everyone has lost the ability to feel any type of passion towards anything. He also finds out that release is actually death and becomes infuriated. Eventually Jonas becomes fed up with the system and with the Giver's encouragement he devises a plan to escape society and return these memories and emotions to the people. I thought the whole concept of this book was really amazing and in my opinion it offers a bit of social commentary on how people in today's world are constantly forced to either conform to the norms created by society or face being outcast. I absolutely loved this book and wish I had read it sooner as I think it is extremely relevant and well written.

The People Could Fly

For my Coretta Scott King award winner I read "The People Could Fly" by Virginia Hamilton. The book is Illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. The book is a collection of black folktales. The first thing I noticed about the book is the way that it is written. The folktales in the book don't really use what's considered "proper grammar" and instead are written as if they are told by a narrator speaking with a southern African American dialect. I thought this was very interesting and unique and in a way refreshing. It was nice to read something that was different than what I was used to and I think the fact that the author is African American makes it more genuine as well. Although the writing was in a different style it was never incomprehensible or even hard to understand really and I liked how that really reinforced my belief that proper English isn't always necessary in literature. The stories in the book are also very interesting as they aren't really the folktales that I'm used to. I also really enjoyed how at the end of each story there was a paragraph explaining the story and its relevance in black culture. I think this gives a reader like myself who isn't necessarily familiar with black culture or history a better understanding of how the tale came to be and why its relevant. Overall I think this collection is very well put together and is full of really great stories. I really enjoyed how each story had a lesson that it was trying to teach. My favorite story from the book is called "Manuel Had A Riddle" and tells about a boy who out smarts the king and queen to win their riches and teaches a lesson about honesty and integrity. I also really enjoyed "He Lion, Bruh Bear, and Bruh Rabbit" The story is about a prideful lion who learns a lesson about modesty the hard way. It has a good message about being humble and I thought it was great. This is definitely one of the better books that I have read and I would definitely recommend it.

Double Dutch

For my first Librarian recommended book I read "Double Dutch" by Sharon M. Draper. The book was recommended to me by Leona Keeler who is the librarian at Springport Elementary School. The book follows the stories of two middle school students named Delia and Randy.  Delia and Randy are on the double-dutch team and are very good. Their team has a chance at competing at the national championships. However both have a secret. Delia can't read and if she can't learn she may not pass school and get to continue jumping on the team. Randy's father has gone missing and he hasn't seen or heard from him in weeks. Really I didn't enjoy this book too well. I thought it really dragged on and the dialogue was awful. Its full of pointless middle school banter and is not very concise. I think because the main story line is fairly complex and made up of multiple plots its very easy to lose track of everything that's going on with the pointless dialogue and other random sidetracks that the book goes on. In all this was not my favorite book that I've read although I think the idea is good. The complex story line is very interesting and its kind of unique to see the story lines of different characters develop and come together to see how they intertwine. I really just didn't line the writing style or the way that a lot of extra things distract from the main story.

The Keeping Quilt

For my second non-ALA award winner I read "The Keeping Quilt" by Patricia Placco. The book won the Association of Jewish Libraries, Sydney Taylor Award. The book tells the story of Patricia's great grandmother Anna coming to America from Russia. The only two items she had with her from home were her babushka and her dress. When she outgrew them her mother took them along with pieces of clothing from various family members and crafted a beautiful quilt. The story follows the family's tradition of passing the quilt down and using it for special occasions. Every generation since her grandmother has used the quilt as their wedding huppa (a sort of awning over the bride and groom during the ceremony) on the Sabbath during their traditional dinner the quilt is used as the table cloth, and when a child is born they are wrapped in the quilt to be welcomed into the world by the bit and pieces from past family members. The story also tells the tradition of the women's wedding bouquets. Each bouquet contains flowers, bread, gold, and salt so that they may always know love, never know hunger, never know poverty, and so their life may always have flavor. I thought this was a really beautiful story and I remember having it read to me as a kid and meeting Patricia Polacco. Something that I noticed after reading it this time though, that I had never really paid attention to before was that all of the illustrations are in black and white but the quilt is colorful. I think this is meant to represent the happiness and comfort that the quilt represents as it contains a piece of home and a rich family history. I think this book is also a wonderful representation of a rich culture and shows just how diverse the world is. I enjoy the small use of Russian language throughout the book as I believe it also keeps the book genuine and helps to uphold that family history. Overall I really love this book and author.

Zia

For my first award winning (non-ALA) book I read "Zia" by Scott O'Dell. This book won the Hans Christian Anderson Award. The book is a sequel to "Island of the Blue Dolphins." The book is historical fiction and follows the main character Zia after her people have been taken from their home island off the coast of California and moved to a Christian mission in California. The book also tells the story of a Native American woman named Karana narrated by her 14 year-old niece Zia. Zia and her brother Mando go to look for their Aunt after she was left on her own on an uninhabited island in order to rescue her and potentially take her back to the mission. Zia and her brother find a boat washed up on the shore and get permission to keep it and use it to rescue their aunt.  During the attempt to rescue their Aunt Zia is imprisoned and questioned thoroughly while Father Vincent a friend from the mission goes out to look for Karana. When they return a new Father is placed in charge and treats the people very poorly after which Karana leaves and eventually dies from what Zia believes to be "homesickness." I really enjoyed this book and thought it gave a very personal feeling account of ones way of life being threatened. I also really enjoyed the way this book was written. O'Dell's word use is very articulate and precise and I liked the fact that throughout the book he includes a good amount of Spanish which is something that I haven't really seen before. I thought the story was very interesting and it was, in my opinion, a good representation of how people have in a sense been forced to assimilate into "white culture." Overall I would definitely recommend this as a good read for any age. Its a very easy read an stays interesting throughout. It starts out at a pretty good pace and is concise and doesn't drag on like a lot of other books of this type that I have read.