King Louie's Shoes

Steinberg, D. J., (2017). King Louie's Shoes. New York: Beach Lane Books.
48 Pages, Grades PreK-3, Picture Book/Biography/Historical Fiction, ISBN: 978-1481426572

King Louie the 14th had the biggest and largest of everything. He had the biggest palace, army, parties and gave the largest gifts.  However, there was one small exception- he was five feet and four inches short.  King Louie was committed to changing this and ordered larger everything a higher throne, larger wig, and a bigger pair of shoes.  None of these seem are working until he realizes that his people saw him as the great king he was no matter his height. 

I love this book and think it would be great for social studies.  This book would be a great book to use while talking about government and power because it emphasizes the fact that size doesn’t matter.  You can still make a difference even if you are small in stature.  I like how the book talks about image and how we try to change what we look like because we are insecure.  This book talks about how even King Louie felt insecure but then realized that image doesn’t matter as much as what you do in your life. 

Reviewed by: Serena R.

Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets

 

Alexander, K., Colderley, C., Wentworth, M., & Holmes, E. (2017). Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets.  Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

56 Pages, Grades 3-7, Poetry Picture Book, ISBN 076368094X

Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets is exactly that--poems celebrating poets.  These poems were written by Kwame Alexander, Chris Colderley, and Marjory Wentworth in the style of the twenty poets being celebrated.  The Newbery Award winning author, Kwame Alexander, and her team, not only write like the writers that inspired them, they tell the celebrated poets' stories in another way, express their love of poetry, and encourage the readers to write poems, perhaps from the inspiration of some of the great poets.  Together, Kwame and her team commemorate poets like Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, and Robert Frost.  In this book, there are celebrated poets from ancient times, the nineteenth century, the twentieth century, and contemporary time.  The book also provides information on each of these poets and the three celebrating them.  The information includes the awards they won, their style of writing, their inspiration, their contributions, and their famous works. In addition to the poems, the illustrations by Ekua Holmes also tell a story.  Through the use of mixed-media painted collages,  Ekua expresses a sense of wonder, and she earned the Coretta Scott King Award for her illustrations.

Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets is a wonderful ode to the twenty poets included, and the writing of the three authors is moving.  This book would be an excellent addition to any classroom, especially starting at upper elementary and even through high school.  This book has a variety of different styles of poetry.  I am a huge advocate for poems, but I was not as familiar with the vast majority of the poets being celebrated.  So, I was not able to fully appreciate the similitude of the authors' writing.  I recognize that there were many poets included who significantly influenced history, however, the poems included focused more on the poets themselves and the audience's sense of wonder than the history the poets portrayed.  That being said, I love this book for language arts; as for social studies I think it could be a wonderful mentor text for a project where the students write poems from the perspective of historical figures or contemporary figures.  In addition, I love the mixed-media collages and will use this book as a mentor for the artwork, as well.  

The Sundown Kid A Southwestern Shabbot

Bietz, B. (2016). The Sundown Kid A Southwestern Shabbot. Atlanta: August House

32 pages, Grades K-2, Picture book/Historical Fiction, ISBN  978-1939160942

It is not easy for any family to move to a new town. It is no different when a Jewish family decides to move out West. This story is of a family adjusting to life in a new city and making a new life. Everything was being set for the planting and providing for the family.  However, during every Shabbat, Mama would say that there is “too much soup, not enough family.”  It was not until the son asks a simple question to all the townsfolk that their home was filled during the Shabbat and all felt just right.

I think this a good book to teach students about Judaism beliefs and traditions.  It also can help to explain how communities are different and how they can come together although they are so different.  Education about Jewish cultures, beliefs, and traditions should be taught in schools. This story illustrates that although customs and traditions may be different that there can be things like chicken soup to connect people and build a community.  This book talks about the historical events that had many Jewish families settle in the Western states and their integration into the communities without losing their values.  Teachers can use this book to teach about these events in history and the people and communities in the Western states. 

Maya Lin: Artist-architect of light and lines.

Harvey, J. W., & Phumiruk, D. (2017). Maya Lin: Artist-architect of light and lines. New York: Henry Holt and Company.

15 pages, Preschool to 2, ISBN 978-1250112491

This is a child-friendly picture book that briefly tells the life of Maya Lin and how she designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The reader is guided through Maya Lin's life and how she developed a passion for spaces and her environment. She became interested in building and architecture in college. In college, she entered a contest to design a memorial honoring Vietnam soldiers who passed away. She began designing for the project by reflecting and taking in the environment where the memorial would be made. She put a lot of thought into the contest and she was competing against many great and well known artists and architects. She was chosen, although she faced praise and she faced objections she continued with her plan. Many visit the memorial and she continues to create what she loves.

This book is appropriate for the age group. The pictures are engaging, calming, detailed, and related to the text on the page. I enjoyed this book, it was interesting and I learned a lot form it. I grabbed this book because I a have been to the memorial before, and the feelign there was intense and meaningful. This book brought a deeper meaning to what I had already experienced. Although, more pages would help wth how choppy the book is. It jumps around alot without much transition. Despite this, I think it would benefit students who live near the memorial or a re learning about the memorial.

Chef Roy Choi and The Street Food Remix

Martin, Jacqueline Briggs. (2017).Chef Roy Choi and The Street Food Remix. Bellevue, Washington: Readers to Eaters.

30 page, Grade 1-5,Biography and Children’s non-fiction literature, ISBN 978-0-9836615-9-7

            Chef Choi is a Korean born chef that grew up in L.A, California where he enjoyed eating his favorite food, his mother’s Korean home cooked meals cooked with sohn-maash (love and talent that comes from the finger tips), along with a variety of other different food in L.A. He became a chef in a fancy restaurant. Although cooking for fancy occasions and celebrities were great, the toll of the work caught up to him and which led him to lose his job. This situation led him to the bright idea of starting the Kogi food trucks, in hope to put his passion out there and make amazing sohn-maash flavorful food available to all people, children, teens, shufflers, skateboarders and so forth. It worked!

            This book is really great because it has the author’s nots and the illustrator’s note on the back and it is really special because it give a great sense of the wonderful relationship that the author and illustrator has with Chef Roy Choi. I would definitely recommend this book to be used in social studies because it is a true story, it shows an insight of what it’s like to have people immigrate into a country, it shows real struggles, it shows how the mix of cultures can work together like the Korean bbq tacos, and it has awesome pictures that speaks for itself.

Pocket Full of Colors

Guglielmo, A., Tourville, Y., Barrager, B., ( 2017). Pocket Full of Colors. New York, NY: Atheneum  48 pages P-3 grade, Picture/ Fantasy/ Fiction. ISBN 9781481461313

Mary always loves colors when she was young. She was an adventurous girl when it comes to different colors and shapes. She and her family moved to a new place where she continues to collect different colors that she saw around her. years later, she was an adult who continues to love art and want to pursue her dreams. She went to Walt Disney where she presented her ideas of the different colors but the men there seem not to be interested in the different colors she presented. She went on a work .where she even collects beautiful colors from South America. She presents her idea with a great joy hoping the company will let her use her ideas. They agree to use some of them but not all. Mary decided to leave Walt and later became an illustrator for children's book where she can enjoy exploring the different colors. She seems to miss Walt Disney but then she receives a call. It was Walt telling her to come back to Walt Disney but she told him one condition which is to use her ideas of exploring the beautiful colors of art.

I really love the book. It showcases the beautiful colors of Art. The Authors and Illustrators did a really good job to help little kids to want to read because it is so colorful. I also love the story behind it. The story is realistic and beautiful and well tell. I think this is by far one of my favorite children book to read. it is easy to understand and to follow along. It is a very exciting and beautiful book. I think the authors really did a great job to help little kids to imagine and to dream of the different colors in life. I also really like how they describe each color with the color of different things so that kids can look around and learn the different colors. I enjoy this book a lot. It is the best book that kids should read and learn the different colors and enjoy it.


Review by, Emylyn Walter

Everyone

  
 Neal, C. S., (2017). Everyone. Walker Books Ltd. 
 32 Pages, Grades: Preschool-1, ISBN-13: 978-1406373271. 

    This book "Everyone" talks about not only yourself but also everyone has emotions and feelings in our lives. Also, these emotions and feelings that you have may not always be positive. However, it is normal and okay for us to have negative emotions because we will be able to turn the dark to happiness. We should know that there are always some people who would like to listen to our feelings and share their feelings with us. We should know that we are not alone and everyone experiences similar feelings as you do. 

    I would highly recommend this book for elementary kids to read for their social studies class. First, the author uses simple words which are clear and appropriate for kids to read so that students can easily understand the main idea that the author is trying to express. Also, the paintings in this book are very pretty and wonderful to look at. The author drew all the scenes from the view of a little boy. In this case, when kids are reading it, they will be drawn into the story. The pictures are closely related to the content, which helps kids understand better as well. At the same time, the pictures that the author drew are very creative and interesting, which can catch kids' attention and interests more easily. Furthermore, the content is highly matched with social studies class from preschool to first grade. Students can learn self-acceptance and understand others in the community better. They can also get to know and understand individuals' emotions and feelings better. It is a must-read book for kids for 4 to 6 years old to read. Teachers should definitely buy one for students to read at school, and parents should also buy one for your children to read at home!


 Reviewed by Yulin Liu. 

Why Am I Me?

Britt, P., & Qualls, S., & Alko, S. (2017). Why Am I Me? New York: Scholastic Corporation.

40 pages. age range 4-8. ISBN: 978-1338053142

Have you ever wondered why you are you, not someone else? Two children in this book were eager to know "why they are they." They both tried to seek for the answer to their common question and finally found the empathy between each other. The book is presented in a poetic form which follows the internal monologue of both characters. They list many possibilities of being other people rather than themselves. The main idea of this book emphasizes humanity and diversity as well as invites readers to imagine a world without you or me, only us.

The first thing that drew my attention was not the content or the text of the book but the illustration. The illustration of this book is very interesting due to the illustrator painted on the pages of the newspapers. The first time I read this book, I did not like it. As I read more, I realized the question that the two children had could be an educational question to teach in social studies. The theme of this book aligns well with Hawaii social studies standards of teaching Individual Development and Identity. I would recommend this book because it can be used as a great picture book to read aloud to your students. Moreover, the author claimed this book is for all ages; therefore, it would also be useful as a beginning book for teaching psychology.

Reviewed by: April Huang

That is My Dream!

Hughes, Langston & Miyares, Daniel. (2017). That is My Dream! New York: Schwartz & Wade.

32 Pages, Grade Level K-12, Poetry Picture Book, ISBN: 0399550178

That is My Dream! is the poem "Dream Variation" written by Langston Hughes and transformed into a picture book with illustrations by Daniel Miyares.  Langston Hughes (1902-1967) was an influential writer and leader in the Harlem Renaissance and primarily wrote about African-Americans.  In this poem and picture book, he and Miyares tells a story of hope whilst depicting the segregated life in the 1950s through the eyes of a young African-American boy.  Miyares illustrates drinking fountains for "Whites Only" and "Colored Only" and paints the "Colored" people in the back of the bus and the "Whites" in the front.  Miyares conveys Hughes' dream of freedom and acceptance by painting the children of both races--together--flying with birds and resting under a tree.  

Langston Hughes used rhyme, rhythm, symbolism, and imagery to beautifully tell a story, which makes me love this book even more because it can be used across curriculum to teach both literary devices and history.  This picture book can be read again and again by any age.  Miyares captures the essence of each line of the poem so perfectly.  Together, Hughes and Miyares, portray what segregation was like, and this book can be used to talk about the Harlem Renaissance, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., the Civil Rights Movement, slavery, and anything else that relates to African-American history.  In addition, this book can be used to talk about current social issues, especially issues that relate to race, as well as encourage children to include everyone and treat everyone kindly.  It is no wonder why it received an award for Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People 2018; it truly deserves it, and in my opinion it should receive additional awards for the literature and beautiful illustrations.  I love this book and will definitely buy a copy and use it in my lessons.  

Lost and Found Cat

Kuntz, D., Shrodes, A., & Cornelison, S. (2017). Lost and found cat: The true story of Kunkushs incredible journey. New York: Crown Books for Young Readers.

The book "Lost and Found Cat" illustrates the life of a mother, four daughters, one son, and their cat Kunkush. When Iraq became threatening and their fathers dead this family decided to live their home and take with them food, water, and their loved cat, Kunkush. After a long journey of crossing mountains, forest, they have finally arrived to cross the Aegean Sea to Greece, but how would they make it to the Greek Island of Lebos? The boat had only space for twenty-five people; however, they were more than sixty men, women, children, and Kunkush trying to cross six miles across the water. After a couple of hours during the boat launching the boat began taking and some people had to throw their belongings because the boat was too heavy. Sura, the mother of the family carry Kunkush with all her strength and kept him safe. 
After the second launching in Greece, Kunkush, frightened and wet run away to the forest and hide in the wild cat community. After not being accepted by the wildcat community, the volunteers noticed a white cat stranger to the local cafes. Amy, one of the local volunteers took care of Kunkush for several months. After a couple of months, Amy decided to find "Dias" his new home. Facebook, pamphlets, videos, throughout the world showing kunkush picture to find his family. Until one day Kunkush family saw a video and asked them to bring Kunkush home. Kunkush traveled thousands of miles to Norway to find his family. When Sura and her family hugged Kunkush, Sura said, "We are all safe now." 

I love this book! This book but mainly the story has many values and morals our children and society need today. Stories like Kunkush, and his family demonstrate the world that when humanity is united we can do so much more than when we are separated. I love that the story and pictures of the book. The details could make the reader find a connection. Definitely a book to have at home. 

The War I Finally Won

Bradley, K. B., & Bradley, K. B. (2017). The war I finally won. New York, NY : Dial Books for Young Readers, [2017].

The book "The War I Finally Won" is about a brave young women whom was born in a middle of world war II. Not only was she neglected by her mother, she had a club foot, she had a young brother she felt responsible for, she was uneducated therefore was home-schooled and she was caught in the middle of a war. Ada (the brave young women) moved in with Susan whom later became her legal guardian when her mother passed away. She had a surgery that cured her club foot and she did all that she could to keep her and her brother safe. She moved in with the rich Lady Thorton whose daughter is her best friend and whose son is fighting in the war. Lord Thorton brought an eleven year old German girl for Susan to teach. Ada was afraid that the German girl might be a spy. It turned out that the German girl is a Jew therefore, her resentment against Hitler and Germany is much more than Ada and Britain. Ada lived in fear that someday she will wake up to bombs and smoke everywhere and has a fear of one day losing the people she love. Everyday for Ada and her family is a struggle to survive.

This is such an amazing story. I couldn't stop reading and I couldn't stop crying at the experience Ada went through while growing up. While reading this book, every single detail that was explained made me felt like I was there. I could see and feel the danger of the war and I could feel the pain that was surrounding and sometimes overcoming Ada. I could read this book a hundred more times and still cry every time I read it especially when the news of the death of Lady Thorton's son arrive to their doorstep. This is such a great book and I highly recommend this novel for learning social studies and history. This book will help everyone to understand how hard life was growing up in a time period of war. I got to understand more about the history of the Holocaust, what the people where feeling at the time, and how some of them were able to survive. In addition, this story will help student view the relationship of German and Jews during this time. Every experience in this story was real to me and I guaranteed the same experience for others if they read it.

Reviewed by: Delsa Mana'o

How the Cookie Crumbled: The True (and Not-So-True) Stories of The Invention of the Chocolate Chip Cookie

Ford, G., (2017). How the Cookie Crumbled: The True (and Not-So-True) Stories of The Invention of the Chocolate Chip Cookie. New York: Simon and Schuster.

32 Pages, Grades PreK-3,  Picture book/Biography, ISBN 978-1481450676

The chocolate cookie, how was it made?  No one really knows for sure.  One thing we know is that Ruth Wakefield invented it.  But how did she do it? That is where we have some confusion.  Some say it was made by accident, by substitution, or by inspiration but what do you believe?  The world may never know just how it was created, but readers will come to know just how this cookie became so famous.  There is also the recipe inside to try out.

I love this book!  It was fun to read the different versions of how the chocolate cookie might have been made.  This book sheds light on the idea that stories have different versions that may or may not be true.  The book has the recipe inside that can be a fun project for a class.  This is an intriguing, quick read for anyone wanting to learn more about the history of the chocolate chip cookie.