Peter's Chair

Citation:

Keats, E. (1967). Peter's Chair. New York: Harper & Row.

Lexile Score: 390L

Summary:

                This story is about a boy Peter who has a new little sister. Peter must adjust to his new sister, and Peter’s family reusing his baby stuff for his sister is one thing he must get used to. Peter, upset that his sister is taking over everything decides he is going to leave.

Evaluation:

                This book is of high quality literature. The storyline itself is very relatable to children. Many children now have younger brothers and sisters. This book is all about the adjustment and how to share your old baby things with your new sibling. The book helps enforce the idea of sharing, which many children are good at.

                The images in this book are great. They are a bit cartoonish with great background details. The images help bring the story together and complete. The images are also child free where everything in the images are at the correct head they would be if the scene were real life.

                 

Literary Elements:

Characters: Peter, baby sister, mom, dad

Conflict: Peter doesn’t want his little sister to have all his baby things

Theme: Sharing, accept change

Mini Lesson:

                For this lesson I would talk about siblings. I would create a whole unit on siblings. I would include other books about siblings. I would have kids bring in pictures of their siblings. For kids who don’t have siblings I would have them create their own siblings and what they would do with their siblings, or they can use a friend or cousin.  

Age: 4+

A Letter for Amy

Citation:

Keats, E. (1968). A Letter to Amy. New York: Harper & Row.

Lexile Score:  170L

Summary:

                This story is about a little boy who wants to mail a birthday invitation to his friend Amy. On his way to mail the letter a storm hits and everything changes. When the day of his party arrives the little boy is sad-until a surprise arrives!

Evaluation:

                 Overall I would say this book is of high quality literature. The book does not contain any stereotypes or generalizations. The storyline is easy to follow and the words flow together. The book also does not contain any heroes, but rather has everyone treated equally.

                The images are wonderful in this book, just like other books by Ezra Jack Keats. The images compliment the words and are eye pleasing. There are no sharp or bright colors that seem out of sort. On some pages there also is some realistic imagery, which is a nice touch of detail to the pages.

Literary Elements:

Characters: Peter, Amy

Tone: Worry, Sad, Happy

Genre: Picture Book

Mini Lesson:

                 For this lesson I would have children talk about the different forms of writing and commutation. I would have students create different forms of communication (letter, email, etc) and then have a discussion about what form of communication they like the best and why.

Age: 4+

Pet Show

Citation:

Keats, E. (1972). Pet Show! New York: Macmillan.

Lexile Score: AD370L

Summary:

                This story is about a little boy and his friends who are attending a pet show. While everyone else is getting ready for the show the little boy, Archie, can’t find his cat. Instead of feeling sad and down for not being able to participate in the show, Archie improvises and ends up winning an award!

Evaluation:

                 This book is high quality literature. The storyline itself does not contain any stereotypes or judgments in any form. Instead the book is about pets, which children love. The writing is simple enough that children can read the book themselves (with an adult) and they can comprehend what is going on. The book also doesn’t single out children who don’t have pets because the main character ends up creating his own pet.

                The images in this book are great. They are cartoonish and vague, which words great for the book. From the vague images there is lots of room left for children to use their own imagination to create more details within the book.

Literary Elements:

Tone: Happy, excitement, creativity

Characters: Archie

Genre: Picture book

Mini Lesson:

                 For this book I would have students create their own pet show of creative pets, just like Archie’s pet. I would have students explain why they decided on this creative pet and if they have pets at home how this pet is different from their at home pet.

Age: 4+

Whistle for Willie

Citation:

Keats, E. (1964). Whistle for Willie. New York: Viking Press.

Lexile Score:  AD410L

Summary:

                This story is about a little boy who tries his hardest to learn how to whistle. He tries and tries but he isn’t able to, which makes him very sad. After practicing and practicing the little boy finally gets what he wants; to whistle.

Evaluation:

                 Overall I would say this text is definitely of high quality. The storyline itself is great. It teaches children to never give up and with enough practice they will finally be able to do what they want. It shows children to never give up and to try their hardest even if what they are doing is hard to do.

                The images in the book are also wonderful. They are take up each page fully and are drawn with just enough detail to compliment the text. Some pages have less detail than others, but those pages are great for using your imagination.

                The writing in the book is also great. The story is exactly how a kid this same age would act and feel. The words that are used are child friendly and would be a great book for learning readers to read.

Literary Elements:

Characters: Peter and Willie

Theme: never give up, always try your hardest

Tone: happy, excitement, patience

Mini Lesson:

                 For this book I would have students write about something they had to practice at to learn. I would have students write about what they were feeling at that time, and if they got it right away or if they really had to practice a lot to learn this new skill. I would then have students have a discussion about it.

Age:  5+

Werewolves

Citation:

Jeffrey, G., & Shone, R. (2012). Werewolves. New York: Gareth Stevens Pub.

Lexile Score: N/A

Summary:

                This story is about a special belt that transforms an old lady into a werewolf. The people of the town do not know the wolf they have been hunting for so long is really a werewolf. After finding out the townsmen go on a hunt of the werewolf.

Evaluation:

                 I feel this book could be made into high literature with a few changes to the storyline. I feel children will not be into the book because of how dull the storyline is. Although the book does not contain anything bad, the storyline is the same basic plot for all werewolf books.  I think children who like reading about mythological creatures are going to be upset with how dry and boring the storyline is.

                On the other hand I thought the graphics were great and kids would like them. I thought they were definitely the best part of the book. They were detailed and well drawn in the book. If the words to the story were removed and just the images were left I would definitely say this book was high literature.

Literary Elements:

Illustrations: wonderfully drawn with lots of detail, but some pictures are not suitable for younger children

 Characters: Werewolf, little boy, and huntsmen

Genre: graphic novel

Mini Lesson:

                 For this lesson I would teach a unit on mythical creatures. I would then have students create their own creature and write about the creation.

Age:  9+ (for the images, not all parents would be okay with the blood)