Only One You/Nadie Como Tú by Linda Kranz

Kranz, L., & Mlawer, T. (2015). Only one you = Nadie como tú. Lanham, Md.: Taylor Trade Publishing.

Every child should be given the right that there will be no other person in the world just like them.  How better to celebrate each child's uniqueness other than to show them a book about how important it is to be an individual. In this bilingual picture book, many moral lessons are being taught to the reader through the eyes of a son listening to his father.   This piece is a wholesome story of how to create your own adventure in life and to embrace that not everyone is going to follow the same path you do and that is completely fine.  

Always remember to be yourself. 

This book would be enjoyed by children in kindergarten to second grade.  The illustrations are beautiful and would really catch a child's eye in a read aloud. 

This piece is great for students developing their sense of self which is so crucial in the grades that this would be read in.  Using both languages while you read this book is also very diverse and allowing students to step outside of their comfort zone or what they are used to in a picture book. 

What's inside?
Theme:
Friendship
Individuality
Life
Acceptance
Family

Dialogue:

"It's time," Papa said. 
"I think it is," Mama agreed.

Personification:
The characters in the story are not human, but they are given humanlike qualities throughout.  They know love, happiness, family, social interactions, but they are just simple little fish. 


The drawings are truly beautiful and have many colors to keep a reader very interested.  The use of certain objects around words to tie in the story along with the words was a very creative design. 

How can we teach this?

Celebrate the uniqueness of your students.
Instruct your students to draw a self-portrait.
After the portraits are complete, set up a station with inkpads. Explain that each student will place their thumb on the ink and make a simple border around their portrait with thumbprints.
Note: Make sure the inkpads aren’t too wet, or the thumbprint won’t be detailed.
After the portrait and thumbprint border is complete, provide lined paper to each student, and have them complete the following writing prompts:
My name is ____________________.
I am ______ years old. I have __________ hair and ________eyes.
I love __________________, ________________, and ___________________. 

To Be a Drum by Evelyn Coleman

Coleman, E., & Robinson, A. B. (1998). To be a drum. Morton Grove, IL: Albert Whitman & Company.

What is a drum to you?

What if the rhythm of a drum could be something as so powerful as the heartbeat of the Earth?  The sound of your people and what they've been through.  Evelyn Coleman produced a captivating picture book using the roots of African culture to explain the history of her people with a giant focus: the drum.  A revolving metaphor is used during the entire book to explain the triumphs of the African culture, and the endurance of a people to always feel the beat within their souls.    Such a brief story is able to cover slavery all the way to the Civil Right's Movement making itself a must have on any bookshelf in a classroom.  

This book would ideally be used for children between the ages of 5-10. 

If you're looking for culture, this book is entirely woven together with the meaning of it.  It is a wonderful, powerful and rhythmic read to bring to any classroom community, embracing the qualities of what it means to be an African American.  The deepness of the meaning could bring pride to any young African American child while also educating those of other ethnicities on the importance of remembering where you came from.  

This rendition online, read by James Earl Jones, is mesmerizing and guaranteed to draw children into wanting to research such a rich culture.  It has an air that demands respect and full attention of any student of any color. 

http://www.storylineonline.net/to-be-a-drum/

What's inside?

Theme:

Slavery 
War
Civil Right's Movement
Family
Music

Personification:
The author uses the reoccurring theme of the heart having a beating heart that it shares with all mankind to be heard. 
They waited for the hearing of the Earth's heartbeat. 

Allusion:
The author makes references to Africa back when Africans were sold into slavery and also when the Civil Right's Movement came about for African American rights. 

The illustrations in the piece represent the culture accurately, as well as the time period being portrayed.  The pages are very unique that Aminah Robinson creates throughout To Be a Drum. 


How can we teach this?
This book is rich with African Culture, and it would be a perfect opportunity for students to think more deeply about racism and segregation in your classes.    Although it is a younger grade, have them write in their journals as  a freewrite as to what they know about slavery and the Civil Right's Movement.    Use the book for textual evidence for your students.  Have them write their opinions on the two topics.

Is there anything that could have changed?
What would the world be like today if these events hadn't happened?

Monster by Walter Dean Myers

Myers, W. D., & Myers, C. (1999). Monster. New York, NY: HarperCollins .

Imagine this : You're just a teenager, sweat running down your face as you lie alone in your cot in prison.  You know you're not guilty, you know you're not guilty, but somehow the way your defense lawyer looks at you, you know it is not going to be easy to convince a jury of your peers.  What do you do?

Steve is a young man in prison, awaiting his trial where he will find out if he must face 25 years to life in prison for a murder he didn't commit.  This novel is written in a play-like manner to represent Steve Harmon's love for film, and ultimately what can help decide if the teen is guilty or not guilty.  

This novel takes you into the heart of Harlem, where we examine the day of how four different men were have said to been involved in what was supposed to be a robbery of a convenience store.  With a turn of events, the shop owner ends up being shot and bleeds out at the scene.  Who will be charged?  Will Steve Harmon release his rights as a free man and hear the "guilty as charged" verdict?

This book would be recommended for a 5th grade classroom or above since the writing is typically simple, but more adult concepts to comprehend. 

This story is great since students hear on the news quite frequently about crimes being committed locally.  The understanding of the justice system might be a bit more vague to a student, and this book has a great taste of what it would be like to be inside of one.   The main character is a young man, with a diary, where students can get into the mind of what it would be like to be young and in trouble.  There are no stereotypes being portrayed, and theres an accurate description of the setting that is being used throughout the novel.  The language used throughout is very believable as to what young men would be using at that time an place, so students would really be able to grasp the whole picture of what's going on in Steve Harmon's mind. 

What's inside?

Theme:

Justice
Harlem
Crime
Film
Trials
High School
Adolescence 

Foreshadowing:
Steve Harmon is watching his mother's face as she studies him at a visit right before his trial and he wonders what she is seeing. 

Does she see a monster?

Later on in the novel, right after he is given his verdict, his defense attorney stares at him with the same intent and he wonders what she is seeing inside of him. 

5 years later he still felt the same way.

Am I a monster?

Motif:
This is a reoccurring theme or concept which I saw to be the journal that Steve Harmon kept.  This was the only place that he was able to truly be himself and to escape prison and trial life.  This was his raw emotion and feeling while going through what he was during that difficult time. 

How do we teach this?
Have your students pick a side, guilt or not guilty.  Then have them write up a speech, or even a script of what they would say at Steve Harmon's hearing.  Have them use textual evidence of specific points in the book that proves Steve's guilt or innocence. 

El Deafo by Cece Bell

Bell, C., & Lasky, D. (2014). El Deafo. New York, NY: Amulet Books.

El Deafo is a graphic novel memoir about a young girl who is diagnosed with meningitis which rendered her deaf at 4 years old.   Cece, the main character, is then prescribed a Phonic Ear while attending a school of all deaf children.  She then is transferred to a public school where she is adapting to being different, having no friends and coming of age embarrassing moments.  Cece soon finds out that her Phonic Ear gives her the power to hear her teacher anywhere, not just in the classroom.  Cece uses her alter ego El Deafo for when she is feeling uncomfortable with her hearing loss to help her gain confidence.  Read El Deafo to find out if Cece is able to make the friend she has always been waiting for; a sidekick. 


This would be ideal for children the ages 8-12 to enjoy. 

El Deafo is a great read for children to have a understanding of other children with disabilities, and to see how difficult it can be for a person with a disability to assimilate to a public school setting. We see CeCe struggle with lip reading or even speaking herself, allowing us to step into her shoes for a moment.  All schools have children with disabilities, and children can empathize and not see a disability as a hinderance, but rather a uniqueness.  Using devices like this can encourage children to be accepting to others, especially if their friend is a superhero!


What's inside?

Metaphor:
Bell uses rabbits as a symbol/metaphor to CeCe and her disability since all of the characters are rabbits.   Hearing is an emphasized characteristic of rabbits, due to big ears and I think that it really has a meaning to her of how much she felt like she stuck out since her ears didn't work. 

Theme:

Deafness
Superheroism 
School
Coming of age
Friendship
Bullying
Family

All of these above are very important themes throughout the novel. 

Onomatopoeia:
POP!
This is a noise that is repeated throughout which is the noise that her hearing aid makes when it cuts in and out of working. 

The novel is illustrated in the typical graphic novel sense, which is very comic book style.  This is very fitting for the superhero theme throughout.  The illustrations still remained to keep the integrity of the main character intact, not making anything stereotypical.  

How can we teach this?
Have your students create their own superhero, preferably modeling it after themselves, highlighting something that they aren't great at and making it powerful.  Have their character with an entire background, where they are from, what is their power, etc.   Teach them that the things that we think hinder us can only make us stronger.  This lesson would be important for self worth, but also understanding that our disabilities do not make us any less of a person. 

If they wish to create a superhero with a disability, make sure that their character is respectful and non-stereotypical. 

This lesson is meant for students to reflect on how they may not fit in society, but how they are still strong and powerful individuals with meaning and purpose. 

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Woodson, J. (2014). Brown girl dreaming. New York: Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA).

Jacqueline is a young girl of color who is raised in South Carolina and New York right as the Civil Right's movement is in its prime.   Jacqueline begins her journey staying with her grandmother and siblings in the south where racism is still blatantly present without challenge.  She is then brought to New York  where her mother is living.  Jacqueline makes a new friend of a different race and begins to see more of an accepted culture.   Jackie is faced with the death of family members, witnessing the Civil Right's Movement and transforming herself into what she has always wanted to be: a writer. 

This book would be great for middle school and early high school students. 

This book gives us a fresh take on the Civil Right's movement, as well as the life of a young African American girl.  It is entirely written as many poems stitched together to compile a beautiful novel.  It is culturally diverse and bringing an understanding and acceptance to being a young black person during the 1960's & 70's. 


What's inside?

Poetry:
This entire novel is compiled only of short poems that Woodson has written for her own biography. 

Imagery:
But some days, just after snow falls, the sun comes out, shines down on the promise of that tree from back home joining us here. 

Themes: 
Racism
African American Culture
Family
The South
New York City

How can we teach this?
Inside of all of us is a poet, though we may not know it.  (HA!)

Have your students highlight sentences that speak to them while they are reading.  Once at the end of the novel, have them record all of the sentences they highlighted.  

This is a found poem. 

Have them bring their poem to class and read aloud in small groups.  Make sure they can explain why they picked what they did.

Luna by Julie Anne Peters

Peters, J. A. (2004). Luna: a novel. New York: Little, Brown.

Imagine having a secret so personal that you have to keep it locked down so deep inside that it eats you alive?Now what if hiding that secret made you feel like you couldn't be who you really are? 

What if that secret was that truly on the inside your gender does not reflect your physical appearance? 

Transgender humans struggle immensely when they are unable to be who they really are underneath the mask of their daily lives.  It can perpetuate mental illness with extreme power from keeping them trapped within themselves.  Luna is a young transgender woman who goes to school as the popular boy who's father expects him to want to play sports instead of wear make up and heels.  Luna is trapped inside of Liam's body, and the only one who knows is her sister, Reagan, who can do nothing by allow Luna to show her face at night in her bedroom. 

Read along as we see Luna no longer able to hide who she is on the inside, and slowly transform into the woman she deserves to be. 

This book would be most appropriate for 7th - 10th grade. 

The LGBTQ community is almost never represented in any kinds of media to help be an education tool for a young person about to be an adult.  Luna is one of the first of its kind to take the subject of transgender teens and represent them in a positive light.  A student may have their eyes opened to a topic that they will have be introduced to as some point in their life, or even be able to relate with their own struggles. 

What's inside?
Dialogue:

"You thought what?" I sobered fast. 
"I thought I'd take the chance. Ask you out. But if you're with someone, that's cool."
Themes:

Transgender society
LGBTQ community
Self Identity
Family
School
Relationships
Sibling bonding

Symbolism: ]

There is a butterfly.  A beautiful transforming butterfly.

Like a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis, I thought. An exquisite and delicate creature, unfolding her wings and flying away. Except in Luna's case, the butterfly is forced to rein in her wings and reinsert herself into the cocoon ever day. Every single day, she has to become this shell of a person

Luna longs to reveal herself to the world as a beautiful confident woman and shed her costume of Liam. 


How can we teach this?

Brainstorm themes together as a class and have students pick them with page numbers that the theme is present. 

Take a reoccurring theme in the novel.  How is this apparent in society today?  Can this theme be relevant in your life?  How can you change the way the world perceives the message that your theme is portraying?

Use textual evidence from the book to tie into your writing. 

What do you do with an idea? by Kobi Yamada & Mae Besom

Yamada, K., Besom, M., Forster, S., Clark, M. H., Riedler, A., & Flahiff, J. (2013). What do you do with an idea? Seattle, WA: Compendium Kids.

What do you do with an idea?  Would you hide it?  Would you show it off to the world?

Would you make a change?

What would you do with an idea? tells the story about how an idea is born.  The young man in the book goes through his journey of having the idea pop in his head all the way to seeing it through and change the world. 

If you want your students to know what how ever small they think an idea might be, or no matter how big your dream is, it can always be possible with encouragement and perseverance.

This book can be make from students as low as kindergarten all the way up to high school. 

This book is great read due to the enormous message behind it.  All of the most influential inventors throughout history all started out with a tiny idea.  The moral coming from this story pushes students to realize that no idea is too unimportant to be absolutely groundbreaking in the long run. 

What's inside?
Theme:  
This piece has many themes such as ideas, hope, courage, and doubt. 

Personification: The actual idea itself is given humanlike qualities, such as being friend to this main character boy. 

I decided to protect it, to care for it.  I fed it good food. I worked with it, I played with it. But most of all, I gave it my attention. 

Dialogue: 
Where did it come from?  Why is it here?" I wondered, "What do you do with an idea?"


The illustrations are very interesting since they are minimally colored, but the idea always presents itself as a golden colored egg. 

How can we teach this?
Pose this question to you students:

"What would you do with an idea?"

Allow this time for your students to write a persuasive argument piece about why their idea is the best, and what it is going to do to change the world.  They first have to come up with an idea and make sure to give them examples like an invention or a plan to make the world a better place.  Then they must present an argument as to why their idea is the best idea in the classroom.