Learning while Teaching

Book Review: Travels with Gannon and Wyatt: Ireland

Title: Travels with Gannon & Wyatt: Ireland

Authors: Patti Wheeler & Keith Hemstreet

Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group Press

Date: 2015

Pages: 93 (NOOK version)

[Disclaimer: I was provided and ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my fair and honest review of this book. I was not compensated in any way and I was not required to write a positive review of the book.]

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Y.E.S

Gannon & Wyatt

Travels with Gannon & Wyatt: Ireland, is one book in a series of books featuring Gannon and Wyatt, two young men who have the good fortune of being able to travel around the world visiting new places and doing all sorts of adventurous things. The series of books are 'loosely based on real-life travels' of a real-life Gannon and Wyatt.

Their travels have taken them to many different places including Egypt, Botswana, Greenland, and the Rain Forest. The current iteration of these adventures takes place in a more low-key environment: Ireland.

The book is written in the form of a journal with the entries of the journal alternating between the two protagonists--Wyatt and Gannon. This is an interesting format because we end up getting two perspectives on nearly every event and we certainly get to experience different personalities in this way. I did wonder about a couple of features. First, I wondered about the style of journal entries and how so much could be remembered about, for example, conversations between people in the story. That's just my thing. Perhaps we are supposed to suspend disbelief or maybe some people really write journals in that format and have prodigious memories. Second, each journal entry includes a date, time, location, temperature, weather conditions, and specific GPS locations. This is fairly succinct information that, again, might be a style of this sort of journal keeping. Journals are usually written after the fact and with all the adventure going on in the story, I wonder how they had time to keep track of such information.

Maybe that's just how adventure journals of home schooled children are written. It does add a certain realness to the story which, however strange, made the reading a little more fun. It might also be fun for students reading these books in a classroom or otherwise to use the coordinates to look up specific locations using GPS or Google Earth. Again, it adds depth to the story and makes the reading an interactive experience which will help engage reluctant readers.

Another important feature of the book is the photographs that are scattered throughout. I enjoyed seeing pictures of real and historical aspects of Ireland (and much more besides). I especially liked the picture of the library at Trinity College. I think the pictures add significant depth to the story and help keep the reader in touch with the comings and goings of the two young men. They give the story a real feel which will certainly help young readers make a connection. In a word, they are engaging.

A lot of stories that are written for children today are just absurd because they are devoid of anything smacking of culture. Many of these works tend to be fairly narcissistic stories about how to overcome some personal defect or how to become 'truly oneself.' The characters are real and even if they have certain defects, they are what I call strong characters. I didn't find any of the narcissism that plagues a lot of children's stories in this story. I read about the history of Ireland, about famous people from Ireland, and about some of the more significant aspects of Ireland. I was encouraged to read about famous locations in Ireland and about some of the significant traditions that our Irish friends have given us. I was hopeful when names like Monet and Cezanne and Van Gogh made passing appearances. Space is made for Oscar Wilde and James Joyce. I was also happy to learn about "Three Studies of Lucian Freud" and conduct a little of my own research on this magnificent piece of art. And finally, the interspersing of Irish lingo throughout the book was fun (thankfully the authors provided a glossary of these terms for the lingu-ignorant among us.)

So as far as it goes, there is a lot to commend with this book, but if I am to be truthful in my review, I will quickly add that I didn't find the overall story very compelling. It seemed a little heavy on the 'preachy' side of things. The authors note at the end that '[F]armers must deal with issues of volume and efficiency. Not to mention make a profit. All legitimate concerns. So, what's the solution? We don't know. What we do know is that there are humane and healthy ways to go about it." I can appreciate this and if the book happens to provide a somewhat outrageous and convenient solution to these problems, I can at least confess that the story does raise a significant and legitimate concerns  that humans from all countries need to address. Animals should be treated ethically and our environment should not be destroyed at the expense of farmers making a profit. Contrasting the corporate mega-farm with that of the smaller, local farm was a nice touch and maybe therein is part of the solution: local farms working with renewable and sustainable resources to provide for local families and communities. Maybe such wisdom can be shared and perpetuated around the world.  Perhaps some readers would be interested in reading the work of Wendell Berry who provides a great deal of commentary on such matters.

In the meantime, having the conversation is important and perhaps young readers will sense the urgency of these issues and begin to think of solutions that us adults have yet to consider. At least the authors are candid enough to admit their own ignorance; I stand with them in ignorance. But there are thoughtful young people in the world who will help us overcome our ignorance. Perhaps books like this will serve as catalysts for growth and change as our individual and collective conscience is raised in awareness.

All in all this was a fun book to read. It was also a quick read and shouldn't pose any problems for its intended audience. This would be a good companion story to read along with a unit on Ireland and I can envision all sorts of side projects to go along with it in social studies--geography, history, conservation, environmental issues, language, local polity, and more. It would be exciting to watch a group of students take the main issue in the book and debate it and/or present solutions to solving it. Suspend disbelief and enjoy the story because even if there are a lot of strange, outrageous things that happen in the story, it is still worth the effort if it helps students do things like write their own daily journals, explore the world around them, or begin thinking about how we might solve some of the more problematic issues our world continues to encounter in the face of unrestricted greed.

4/5 Stars

Book Review: Zippy the Runner

Title: Zippy the Runner

Author: JiYu Kim

Illustrator: JeongHyeon Seon

Publisher: Norwood House Press

Year: 2015

Pages: 29

[Disclaimer: I was provided an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my fair an unbiased review of this book. I was in no way compensated for my review and I was not required to write a positive review of the book. ]

I teach special education at a small elementary school. I have been teaching special education for 4 years now as a second career. It is not easy work--I work with students who have emotional/behavioral disorders. The students keep my on my toes and on the go. They have more energy than is typically necessary for a human, but that is all part of the fun of the work.

Another aspect of these students' lives that is perplexing is their willingness to give up easily on tasks they deem too difficult. Typically their default mode is: "I can't." It is terribly frustrating for me as a teacher because I see in them the ability to do anything they set their minds to doing--even if it requires more processing time to do so. Yet within in them there is a chicane of some sort or another that convinces them they cannot. Thus a large part of every day is spent working to show them that they can, in fact, accomplish something and that what matters is not, always, success, but effort. We constantly use the word 'try' in my classroom because, as I tell the kids, you do not know if you can or cannot until you try. 

To this end, I believe Zippy the Runner would be a helpful book. Zippy, the main character, has to press on and on, keep practicing, keep running--keep trying. What I like best is that at the end of the book Zippy has no yet succeeded, but neither has Zippy quit trying. This, in my opinion, is what is key to this story.

I also like the artwork very much. I believe the illustrator did a brilliant job composing art for the pages--even though what I saw on the digital version didn't render very well on my Adobe Digital Editions (I didn't even download this to my NOOK so I'm not sure how it rendered on that device.) Still, I loved what I saw. And if the truth must be told, I will say that if a children's book as good artwork, it will usually fly with kids--and with me. I love the illustrations.

The end of the book features a Reader's Theater idea which can be found here and some curriculum ideas for using the book in the classroom. The reader's theater is a bit short, but may be helpful in lower grades. The curriculum idea is a fun little art project that the students will likely enjoy as well.

This is a book I will incorporate into my classroom and one that I think my students will enjoy. I enjoyed very much and I will look forward to reading more from this author and, perhaps, from Norwood Press House books in the MySELF Bookshelf Series.

5/5 stars

The information below is from the Norwood Press House website I have linked to above.

Grade level: K-2
Dewey: E
Subject: Fiction, Social and Emotional Learning, Optimism, Self-Worth
Accelerated Reader Reading Level: 2.5
Accelerated Reader Quiz #: 168500
Lexile Level: 470L
GRL: K

Book Review: Blue Ocean Bob: A Challenging Job

Title: Blue Ocean Bob: A Challenging Job

Author: Brooks Olbrys

Illustrator: Kevin Keele

Publisher: Children's Success Unlimited, LLC

Year: 2015

Pages: 51+

Blue Ocean Bob Website

[Disclaimer: In exchange for my fair and unbiased review, I was provided an ARC by the publisher through NetGalley. The views expressed here are mine alone. I was not required to write a positive review and I was in no way compensated for the review. All images belong to the copyright owner.]

Blue Ocean Bob wants to be a marine scientist who helps all the animals and 'safeguard the sea.' What follows are five short stories told in a series of couplets (AABBCC, etc.). Each chapter is relatively short, but they are fairly well balanced and interesting enough to hold the attention of the reader. It took me about 20 minutes to read the book and I enjoyed it.

In chapter 1, Bob has to help a baby seal learn how to swim, but first he must learn how to dive himself. In chapter 2, he has to help clean up the water, but in the process gets a pelican tangled in a net and has to solve another problem. In chapter 3, he has to warn some sea animals that a storm is coming and they need to find safe place to wait it out. In chapter 4, he has a crisis concerning his choice of a career path and has to wrestle with some tough decisions. And in chapter 5, Bob finds his calling once again by rescuing an animal that needs help.

Bob has to work hard to see his goals through to the end in each chapter. I'm guessing this has something to do with the author's interest in 'achievement philosophy.' The little bird, Xena, his 'guardian, ally, and friend,' is kind of annoying and serves as a sort of Jiminy Cricket type character except that Xena is (seemingly) always negative and warning Bob of the dangers that lie ahead and why he should just abandon all his quests and his ambition to be a marine scientist. Bob has to press on through this constant negativity, through constant challenges, and seek wisdom from others in order to accomplish his goals of rescuing and warning animals in the sea.

I do like this book. There are times, yes, when the rhythm of the rhyme gets a bit difficult and that may prove challenging for students at times. With that said, I have no real problems with the story as such. I would use this book in my special education classroom because I find that many of my students often default to 'I can't' or 'it's too hard.' Sometimes those negative nancies abound and it would be helpful for them to have another voice showing that they can, in fact, accomplish things they put their minds too; that they can achieve when they try. Bob is a great character study in perseverance.

One final note, the artwork is spectacular. I would like to have provided a link to the illustrators website, but I'm not sure I found the right one so I didn't include it. I love the pictures and the color and the overall wonderfulness of the art. It is appropriate to the story and enhances it on every page. Children seem to like stories involving interaction between humans and animals. I think this accomplishes that in a nice way, even if there are moments when the grammar could be a little clearer.

I recommend this book and will adopt this as part of our social skills curriculum in my classroom.

4.5/5 stars

Book Review: Oliver and the Seawigs

Title: Oliver and the Seawigs

Author: Philip Reeve

Illustrator: Sarah McIntyre

Publisher: Oxford

Random House Children's

Year: 2013

Pages: 200

[Disclaimer: I was provided with an ARC (advance readers copy) via NetGalley in exchange for my fair and unbiased review of Oliver and the Seawigs. I have in no way been compensated or asked to provide a positive review. Just honesty.]

I am glad that I am rather frequently asked by publishers to review children's literature. In this way, I am introduced to new authors that I may not otherwise know about or hear of. I am also introduced to illustrators who make beautiful drawings and or painting. One of my favorite classes in graduate school was the one where we did nothing but read children's books and literature.

Oliver and the Seawigs is a fun, whimsical book written for upper elementary to junior high students. I suspect, however, that even senior high students and adults will enjoy and appreciate the fast paced action, light-hearted fun, and witty humor of this book. It's filled with plenty of puns, alliterations, and jokes along the way--and rambling islands, talking birds, sarcastic seas, sea monkeys,  mermaids, and hallowed shallows. As a teacher, I enjoy when authors make fun use of words and invite the readers to think their way through a story. Words are great fun and Reeve did a wonderful job making his enjoyment of words fun for the readers.

As I noted above, I read an ARC. I downloaded through NetGalley into Adobe Digital Editions and attempted to read the book using my Nook. I was very disappointed that the graphics heavy book did not function at all on my Nook. In fact, it crashed my Nook many times before I simply gave up and read the book entirely on ADE. Even in ADE the book pages turned very slowly and at times caused the program to be unresponsive for several minutes. This was unfortunate. I don't know if this is a problem just with the ARC or if this is an inherent problem, but it was my experience.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book and these technical glitches in no way took away from the enjoyment of the story and my pleasure in reading it. I think I would prefer to have a nice hard bound copy as opposed to the digital copy, for reasons mentioned above and I hope that my digital experience was my own and not shared by other readers.

In some ways the book reminded me of A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket--in this case, one young child working through a challenging adventure and attempting to solve relatively complex problems along the way. Furthermore, the language is not softened for readers who may well find themselves in need of a dictionary to work through some of the larger words in the book (e.g., crotchety, feted, doubloons). Of course they are not mountainous words, but still there may be some challenges for some students and other readers. And of course I believe this to be a good thing. One of the best ways to learn how to read and how to think through books is when a reader is forced, at times, to look up a word in a dictionary. Even now, after 40+ years of reading, this is a frequent practice of mine.

The artwork is spectacular. The version I read was mostly pencil drawings with a very small palette of color (blue & black). The artwork was very well done and complimented the story nicely. After looking at the web pages of the illustrator, I also see how the artwork reflects her personality in any number of ways. The artwork only enhanced the story and in no way detracted from it.

The story is simple. The story is short (and the illustrations, sometimes taking up two pages, make the book go by rather quickly). The story is fun. I don't think there is a lot of suspense for older readers who will find the story somewhat predictable and cookie-cutter, but younger readers will probably find it somewhat suspenseful and scary at times. (Maybe.) I highly recommend the book and hope at some point to include it in my own classroom (there are some extras at the illustrator's web page, see above for link).

5/5 stars