Folklore Book Review: The Paper Bag Princess

Folklore Book Review: The Paper Bag Princess

Folklore

Title: The Paper Bag Princess

Author: Robert Munsch

Publisher: Annick Press

Copyright date: February 1, 1992

Number of Pages: 32 pages

Awards: Gold Award Winner, National Parenting Publications Awards Our Choice List, and Canadian Children’s Book Centre Silver Birch Express Award Nomination.

Reading Level: Reader Sr. “I am doing it all by myself”

Generally appropriate for 2^nd Grade to 4^th Grade. Books at this level are appropriate for the now confident reader who can handle more text on the page and more in depth character development.

Lexile: 740L

Genre: Children’s Literature, Fiction, Folklore

Summary:

Elizabeth, a beautiful princess, is all set to marry Prince Ronald until a dragon smashes her castle, burns her clothes with his fiery breath and kidnaps the prince, Ronald. She throws on a large paper bag and sets off to find the dragon and rescue her cherished prince. What is her plan once she finds the dragon? What will she do to get her prince back? Is Prince Ronald the right guy for her?

Academic Purpose:

This book emphasizes folklore and is a great read aloud book to get students acting in the classroom and understanding the characteristics of what is a good friend. In the classroom I would ask students the characteristics of what a good friend is and what a bad friend is. Then, I would introduce the book, “The Paper Bag Princes”. After reading the story, I would ask students some comprehension questions to assess their understanding of the story. The teacher can pick a few quotes from the book that illustrate traits about a character or two and discuss them with the students.

Then, the students will practice acting like different characters from the story. The teacher can assign students different character roles, and to help them get into character the teacher may ask questions such as, how would they act if you were the Dragon? Prince Ronald? Or Princess Elizabeth. This is a great way to check for listening comprehension and build up literacy. Then, for the fun part! Students can create their own paper bag costume. The teacher also can help them create paper bag crowns for princes and princesses. Lastly, have the students reenact the story, which will strengthen the students’ comprehension, language, speaking and listening skills, and literacy skills.

After role playing, another activity the class could engage in is storyboard posters. The teacher can divide the class into groups. Each group can have different sets of pictures from the story. For each picture, the students will write sentences that summarize what is happening in the story, using their own words. When students are done they can display their section of the story on poster board and display them in the classroom. (This lesson may have to be a two day lesson!)

Rating System:

Categories:	5 Stars	3 Stars	1 Star	Comments
Style and Language	The book anticipates readers’ questions and uses great word choice for the age targeted. It has linear progression and communicates its point clearly.	The book follows a linear progression, with some unclear points. The word choice is okay.	The book is confusing as it doesn’t follow a linear progression at all. The vocabulary in the book is either too simple or too complex for the age group targeted.	This book uses great word choice for the age targeted. There is many vocabulary words such as, expensive, fiery, and knocker. The books style and language creates a great book for beginning independent readers. This book communicates its point clearly about a folklore story and has a linear progression for a storyline.   5 stars
Plot and Character Development	The plot is in depth and helps to create a picture in the reader’s mind. The plot is organized having a beginning, middle, and end. The character development is strong.	The plot is okay. The book is organized with a beginning, middle, and end. The characters are well developed.	The book is confusing and doesn’t have a clear beginning, middle, or end.	This book does have a plot, which creates a picture in the reader’s mind. The plot is organized having a beginning, middle, and end. The ending is very abrupt, the reader may be looking for more information. I didn’t enjoy the ending. 3 stars
Interest	The book holds real life situations which draw the reader in. The word choice and story hold the reader’s attention. The book is suitable for the age group targeted.	The book holds little interest and draws the reader in sometimes. The book is suitable for the age group targeted.	The book is very boring and doesn’t hold the reader’s attention. The book is not suitable for the age group targeted.	This book definitely holds the reader’s attention. The illustrations are bright, exciting, and detailed. The book does such a great job engaging the reader, but at the end the story stops. 3 stars
Educational Value	The book is relatable to education. The book can be integrated into other content areas.	The book is relatable to education. The book may need further resources to help connect it to other content areas.	The book is not relatable to education whatsoever. The book is not appropriate to be integrated into other content areas.	This book is relatable to education. This book teaches about friendships and can also be used for role playing to reach the standards of speaking and listening.   5 star

Folklore Book Review: The Three Little Pigs

Folklore Book Review: The Three Little   Pigs

Title: The Three Little Pigs

Author: Kath Jewitt

Publisher: Parragon Publishing

Copyright date: June 2012

Number of Pages: 32 pages

Awards: N/A

Reading Level: Learning to Read Sr. “The Journey Continues”

Generally appropriate for Kindergarten to 2^nd

Books at this level are appropriate for the reader starting to decode fluently.
This reader has mastered the concepts of print and is ready to experience the story.

Lexile: N/A

Genre: Children’s Literature, Fiction, Folklore

Summary:

In this story, three little pigs set off and leave home for the first time. The first little pig meets a man with a cart of straw and decides to build a house out of straw. The big bad wolf discovers the little pig in his straw house and demands the pig to let him in. When the pig says no, the wolf then blows his house down. The second little pig finds a man selling sticks and decides to build his house out of sticks. The big bad wolf, who is still hungry, finds the little pig and asks him to let him in. The second little pig says no and the wolf blows the second little pig's house down too!

The third little pig, who is much wiser, decides to build his house out of bricks because they are strong and sturdy. The first and second little pigs run to the brick house to hide. Then, the wolf shouts to all three of the pigs to let him come in, and the pigs respond by saying no. The wolf does not like hearing this, so he decides to blow their house in. Was the big bad wolf able to blow their house down? What was his plan to do next?

Academic Purpose:

This book emphasizes folklore and also cause and effect relationships. As teachers, we need to teach a lesson reaching the Common Core Standard about cause and effect relationships. I would implement this book in my classroom during a cause and effect relationship lesson. I would first introduce to my students to what cause and effect relationships are and what they mean. Then, I would read this book to them, and tell them to figure out what the cause and effect relationships are in this book. After I am done reading the book, I would discuss with the students the different cause and effect relationships that they identified in the story. For example, the first pig built his house out of straw….therefore it was easy for the wolf to blow down. I would then have the students write each cause and effect relationship down and illustrate their writing.

Rating System:

Categories:	5 Stars	3 Stars	1 Star	Comments
Style and Language	The book anticipates readers’ questions and uses great word choice for the age targeted. It has linear progression and communicates its point clearly.	The book follows a linear progression, with some unclear points. The word choice is okay.	The book is confusing as it doesn’t follow a linear progression at all. The vocabulary in the book is either too simple or too complex for the age group targeted.	This book uses great word choice for the age targeted. There is many vocabulary words such as, trotted, sturdy, and rumbling. The books style and language creates a great book for beginning independent readers. This book communicates its point clearly about a folklore story and has a linear progression for a storyline.   5 stars
Plot and Character Development	The plot is in depth and helps to create a picture in the reader’s mind. The plot is organized having a beginning, middle, and end. The character development is strong.	The plot is okay. The book is organized with a beginning, middle, and end. The characters are well developed.	The book is confusing and doesn’t have a clear beginning, middle, or end.	This book does have a plot, which creates a picture in the reader’s mind. The plot is organized having a beginning, middle, and end. Each pig in this story, does portray and certain character, for example the third pig was wise. 5 stars
Interest	The book holds real life situations which draw the reader in. The word choice and story hold the reader’s attention. The book is suitable for the age group targeted.	The book holds little interest and draws the reader in sometimes. The book is suitable for the age group targeted.	The book is very boring and doesn’t hold the reader’s attention. The book is not suitable for the age group targeted.	This book definitely holds the reader’s attention. The illustrations are detailed and the font on some pages are creative. This book keeps the reader guessing on what will happen next. 5 stars
Educational Value	The book is relatable to education. The book can be integrated into other content areas.	The book is relatable to education. The book may need further resources to help connect it to other content areas.	The book is not relatable to education whatsoever. The book is not appropriate to be integrated into other content areas.	This book is relatable to education. This book teaches about cause and effect relationships.           5 star

Poetry Book Review: Ashley Bryan's ABC of African American Poetry

Poetry

Title: Ashley Bryan’s ABC of African American Poetry

Author: Ashley Bryan

Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Copyright date: January 1, 2001

Number of Pages: 32 pages

Awards: CBC/NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book, Coretta Scott King

Award Honor Book

Reading Level: Independent Reader Jr. "I am a Reader"

Generally appropriate for 4th Grade to 7th Grade

These books are appropriate for the independent reader who can retain and understand more elaborate and sophisticated story elements.

Lexile: N/A


Genre: Children’s Literature, Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry


Summary:
This poetry book suggests a new way of working with the alphabet, not so much to teach the alphabet to young children, but to introduce a world of poetry and art to all children. Each letter of the alphabet is represented by a line from a poem by different African American poets, describing an aspect of the black experience. You may find African American poets you know in this collection and others you might like to get to know. Readers will be exposed to African American history. What will readers see in this book, does the art portray the poem, and how will the art engage readers? Open this book up and take a look!


Academic Purpose:
This book emphasizes poetry, history, and also art. I would implement this book during Black History month, in a Language Arts lesson, and art class. This book reaches all of these subjects. This book gives information about African American History, but I would also use this book to teach my students on how to write poetry. A highlight in this book is also art. The author/illustrator used tempera paints and gouache colors to bring the illustrations alive. I would have students create their own poem about African American history, and then illustrate their poems with tempera paint and gouache colors. Students will learn how an illustration can bring a story/poem alive.

Rating System:

Categories:	5 Stars	3 Stars	1 Star	Comments
Style and Language	The book anticipates readers’ questions and uses great word choice for the age targeted. It has linear progression and communicates its point clearly.	The book follows a linear progression, with some unclear points. The word choice is okay.	The book is confusing as it doesn’t follow a linear progression at all. The vocabulary in the book is either too simple or too complex for the age group targeted.	This book uses great word choice for the age targeted. There is many vocabulary words such as, unconquerable, toil, and sturdiness. The books style and language creates a great book for independent readers. This book communicates its point clearly about African American history, brought to life through poems and art. 5 stars
Plot and Character Development	The plot is in depth and helps to create a picture in the reader’s mind. The plot is organized having a beginning, middle, and end. The character development is strong.	The plot is okay. The book is organized with a beginning, middle, and end. The characters are well developed.	The book is confusing and doesn’t have a clear beginning, middle, or end.	This book doesn’t really have a plot. It is an ABC book as well as a poetry book. But, it is organized with a beginning, middle, and end because of how the ABC letters guide readers through the book. There are no main characters in this book. 3 stars
Interest	The book holds real life situations which draw the reader in. The word choice and story hold the reader’s attention. The book is suitable for the age group targeted.	The book holds little interest and draws the reader in sometimes. The book is suitable for the age group targeted.	The book is very boring and doesn’t hold the reader’s attention. The book is not suitable for the age group targeted.	This book is suitable for the age targeted.  It is a poetry book that teaches about African American History. The illustrations in this book will definitely interest the readers. The illustrations are colorful, bright, and unique. 5 stars
Educational Value	The book is relatable to education. The book can be integrated into other content areas.	The book is relatable to education. The book may need further resources to help connect it to other content areas.	The book is not relatable to education whatsoever. The book is not appropriate to be integrated into other content areas.	This book is relatable to education. This book teaches about African American history, art, and poems. A teacher could use this book during Black History Month.   5 star