“Tonight on the Titanic” is the 17th book in a highly enjoyable series called the Magic Tree House. I did not know that this book was part of a series until after I had purchased it. One good thing about this collection of books is that you need not have read the books in succession to understand what is going on. The author, Mary Pope Osborne, wrote the series in sections of four. I, fortunately, picked up the first book in the next section of the series.
The Magic Tree House series is about a brother and sister who discover a tree house in their backyard that can magically transport them into the world of any book they wish. They are sent on missions into these books by a magician librarian who needs them to retrieve an item from each world. The librarian uses these gifts to reverse evil curses placed on good people. In the book “Tonight on the Titanic,” Jack and Annie are sent to the Titanic on the fateful night of April 14, 1912 to find the next item.
Although the series is written for children ages 4-8, I really enjoyed reading this book. It is a chapter book of about 70 pages and has pictures every few pages. “Tonight on the Titanic” is a very exciting and interesting book. The twists and turns and cliffhangers kept me enthralled. I would definitely read this book to my students or my own children not only so that they may enjoy it, but so that I may have a chance to read the series also.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Pat Hutchins
Pat Hutchins (1942 - present) is a children's literature author and illustrator who was born and raised in England. She had wanted to become an artist from an early age and was highly encouraged to. Hutchins specialized in illustration while at art school and wrote five novels and created more than 25 picture books. Several of her books have the same main character by the name of Titch. The books that are in the Titch series were made into a television series beginning in 1998. Three seasons and 39 episodes were made.
http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/pathutchins.htm
This website is the Pat Hutchins page from the Internet School Library Media Center. It is a webpage which contains links to several other websites that librarians, teachers, parents, and students may find interesting and useful.
There are four links to biographies written by different writers, several lists of books written by Hutchins, and quite a few links to lesson plans that use literature written by this author. The lesson plans are mostly for students in grades kindergarten through third, but there is one lesson plan for fifth and sixth grade. These lessons are very hands-on and are not only about literature. A few of the lessons are for math classes.
http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/pathutchins.htm
This website is the Pat Hutchins page from the Internet School Library Media Center. It is a webpage which contains links to several other websites that librarians, teachers, parents, and students may find interesting and useful.
There are four links to biographies written by different writers, several lists of books written by Hutchins, and quite a few links to lesson plans that use literature written by this author. The lesson plans are mostly for students in grades kindergarten through third, but there is one lesson plan for fifth and sixth grade. These lessons are very hands-on and are not only about literature. A few of the lessons are for math classes.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
"Finding Nemo: Fish School"
"Fish School," as the title implies, follows Nemo and his under-the-sea friends as they attend school one day. They attended music class, science class, lunch, recess, a language class, and had a show-and-tell time. The author did a really good job of making the classes similar to those that humans attend, but making them more appropriate for a world of fish. For example, in the music class, Nemo played the conch shell (which is similar to the trumpet), Sheldon played the clams (which are similar to a drum set), Tad played on some kelp (which is similar to a string instrument), and Pearl played sand-dollar tambourines (which are similar to cymbals).
The author wrote the book as a follow-up to the Disney movie Finding Nemo, but the book could be read and understood without having seen the movie. I love how the author placed random references to the movie into the book. At the beginning of the story, the narrator was saying how much Nemo loved school and everything about it, especially field trips. The narrator goes on to describe Nemo's first field trip, "On his very first trip, he was fish-napped by a scuba-diving dentist and brought to an office aquarium in Sydney."
This book had a very important message for children. School can be fun. Students have the opportunity see their friends everyday, learn new and interesting things, spend time with exciting teachers, and go on fascinating and educational field trips. I really enjoyed reading this book, because it was really interesting to delve into the world of Nemo and see how things work under the sea.
The author wrote the book as a follow-up to the Disney movie Finding Nemo, but the book could be read and understood without having seen the movie. I love how the author placed random references to the movie into the book. At the beginning of the story, the narrator was saying how much Nemo loved school and everything about it, especially field trips. The narrator goes on to describe Nemo's first field trip, "On his very first trip, he was fish-napped by a scuba-diving dentist and brought to an office aquarium in Sydney."
This book had a very important message for children. School can be fun. Students have the opportunity see their friends everyday, learn new and interesting things, spend time with exciting teachers, and go on fascinating and educational field trips. I really enjoyed reading this book, because it was really interesting to delve into the world of Nemo and see how things work under the sea.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Red Riding Hood
Excluding the tales by Thurber and Dahl, what differences do you notice between the protagonists in the various Red Riding Hood tales?
In "The Story of Grandmother," the little girl is naïve and easily distracted. She is naïve because she actually stopped to talk to the wolf and told him where she was going. The little girl did not know that the wolf had evil intentions. She was easily distracted because picked up needles along the path. The little girl tricked the wolf and saved herself from being eaten, but she did not kill the wolf.
In Perrault’s "Little Red Riding Hood," Red is also naïve and easily distracted. She did not know that it was dangerous to talk to wolves and she told him exactly where her grandmother lived. Red was easily distracted because she played in the woods instead of going straight there. The little girl is eaten by the wolf.
In the Brothers Grimm's "Little Red Cap," Red is also naïve and too trustworthy. She did not know that wolves were dangerous and she let him walk with her to her grandmother’s house. The wolf tricked her into wasting time picking flowers. Red and the grandmother were saved by a hunter from the belly of the wolf, but the girl ultimately killed him by placing stones in his belly. The girl and her grandmother later have another run-in with the wolf, and this time they outsmart him and kill him themselves.
In Calvino’s "The False Grandmother," the girl realized that an ogress was pretending to be her grandmother. She saved herself by outsmarting the ogress and escaping.
In Chiang Mi’s "Goldflower and the Bear," the girl was clever and brave instead of naïve. In the firelight, she noticed that a bear was impersonating her grandmother. The girl outsmarted the bear several times by tying the rope around a pot, showing her reflection in the water, and pretending to feed the bear pears on a spear. She killed the bear and saved herself and her brother.
In "The Story of Grandmother," the little girl is naïve and easily distracted. She is naïve because she actually stopped to talk to the wolf and told him where she was going. The little girl did not know that the wolf had evil intentions. She was easily distracted because picked up needles along the path. The little girl tricked the wolf and saved herself from being eaten, but she did not kill the wolf.
In Perrault’s "Little Red Riding Hood," Red is also naïve and easily distracted. She did not know that it was dangerous to talk to wolves and she told him exactly where her grandmother lived. Red was easily distracted because she played in the woods instead of going straight there. The little girl is eaten by the wolf.
In the Brothers Grimm's "Little Red Cap," Red is also naïve and too trustworthy. She did not know that wolves were dangerous and she let him walk with her to her grandmother’s house. The wolf tricked her into wasting time picking flowers. Red and the grandmother were saved by a hunter from the belly of the wolf, but the girl ultimately killed him by placing stones in his belly. The girl and her grandmother later have another run-in with the wolf, and this time they outsmart him and kill him themselves.
In Calvino’s "The False Grandmother," the girl realized that an ogress was pretending to be her grandmother. She saved herself by outsmarting the ogress and escaping.
In Chiang Mi’s "Goldflower and the Bear," the girl was clever and brave instead of naïve. In the firelight, she noticed that a bear was impersonating her grandmother. The girl outsmarted the bear several times by tying the rope around a pot, showing her reflection in the water, and pretending to feed the bear pears on a spear. She killed the bear and saved herself and her brother.
Outside Reading List
Book 1: "Fiding Nemo: Fish School"
Author: Seymour Mackerel
Picture Book: Yes
Posting Date: January 26, 2008
Book 2: "Tonight on the Titanic"
Author: Mary Pope Osborne
Picture Book: No
Posting Date: January 28, 2008
Book 3: "Anna Meagan: The Aggie Cinderella Story"
Author: Cindy King Boettcher
Picture Book: Yes
Posting Date: February 6, 2008
Book 4: "The Berenstain Bears and the Week at Grandma's"
Author: Stan & Jan Berenstain
Picture Book: Yes
Posting Date: February 15, 2008
Book 5: "The Trouble with Tink"
Author: Kiki Thorpe
Picture Book: No
Posting Date: February 24, 2008
Book 6: "Flat Stanley"
Author: Jeff Brown
Picture Book: No
Posting Date: February 29, 2008
Book 7: "Amelia Bedelia"
Author: Peggy Parish
Picture Book: No
Posting Date: March 7, 2008
Book 8: "My Little Pony: Pony Party"
Author: Kate Egan
Picture Book: Yes
Posting Date: March 21, 2008
Book 9: "Shrek the Third: A Good King is Hard to Find"
Author: Catherine Hapka
Picture Book: Yes
Posting Date: March 28, 2008
Book 10: "The Hundred Dresses"
Author: Eleanor Estes
Picture Book: No
Posting Date: April 4, 2008
Author: Seymour Mackerel
Picture Book: Yes
Posting Date: January 26, 2008
Book 2: "Tonight on the Titanic"
Author: Mary Pope Osborne
Picture Book: No
Posting Date: January 28, 2008
Book 3: "Anna Meagan: The Aggie Cinderella Story"
Author: Cindy King Boettcher
Picture Book: Yes
Posting Date: February 6, 2008
Book 4: "The Berenstain Bears and the Week at Grandma's"
Author: Stan & Jan Berenstain
Picture Book: Yes
Posting Date: February 15, 2008
Book 5: "The Trouble with Tink"
Author: Kiki Thorpe
Picture Book: No
Posting Date: February 24, 2008
Book 6: "Flat Stanley"
Author: Jeff Brown
Picture Book: No
Posting Date: February 29, 2008
Book 7: "Amelia Bedelia"
Author: Peggy Parish
Picture Book: No
Posting Date: March 7, 2008
Book 8: "My Little Pony: Pony Party"
Author: Kate Egan
Picture Book: Yes
Posting Date: March 21, 2008
Book 9: "Shrek the Third: A Good King is Hard to Find"
Author: Catherine Hapka
Picture Book: Yes
Posting Date: March 28, 2008
Book 10: "The Hundred Dresses"
Author: Eleanor Estes
Picture Book: No
Posting Date: April 4, 2008
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