Queen Victoria’s Bathing Machine by Gloria Whelan & illustrated by Nancy Carpenter

 


Queen Victoria’s Bathing Machine by Gloria Whelan & illustrated by Nancy Carpenter


  • Historical Fiction

  • Grades: Kindergarten - 3rd

  • Awards: None 


Summary:

Queen Victoria’s Bathing Machine is a book about a queen who wants to go for a swim in the ocean. The queen’s lady in waiting informs her that it would be preposterous to consider showing more than her hands and her face. Prince Albert devises a way to help Queen Victoria get to the ocean without anyone seeing her, but Queen Victoria fears his catapult idea will fry her to a crisp. Then, Prince Albert has a better idea and spends time devising and building Queen Victoria a bathing machine. This machine allows Queen Victoria to change and swim in the ocean without being seen except by two sailors who thought she was a flatboat or a skiff. At the end of the story, Queen Victoria returns happily to her prince because she does not know of the sailors so she thinks the bathing machine was a grand success. 


Evaluation:

I think Queen Victoria’s Bathing Machine would be a fun and exciting book to use in my classroom. This book would enhance the students’ understanding of past events by building historical awareness about queens and proper etiquette on the Isle of Wight, England. Queen Victoria’s Bathing Machine takes place in an authentic setting and contains characters based on real historical figures which are important criteria for historical fiction books. This particular story contains characters that display an ingenious and innovative solution to a problem. Queen Victoria’s Bathing Machine would be an appropriate book to use in a unit on multiple genres and the elements of drama (characters, drama, and setting) or on public officials and government.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saving Winslow by Sharon Creech

Image
  Saving Winslow by Sharon Creech Fiction Grades: 3rd - 5th Awards: Bluebonnet 2019-2020 Summary: Saving Winslow is a story about a boy named Louis and a newborn donkey named Winslow. One day, Louis' father brought Winslow home and Louis developed a deep connection with the donkey. Winslow was small and sickly and Louis did not have the best record for nurturing little animals, but he was determined to help Winslow survive. Louis began to form a deep connection with Winslow which distracted him from missing his brother who was serving in the army. Louis' neighbor, Nora, also deeply cares for Winslow, but she has suffered the loss of her baby brother and dog so she does not have faith that the sick donkey will survive. Winslow grows stronger and even gets in trouble for braying loudly until everyone discovers he was trying to bring attention to the crying baby. Winslow becomes ready to go back to Louis' uncle Pete's farm, but Louis doesn't want him to go. An animal c
Read more

Music Everywhere! by Maya Ajmera, Elise Hofer Derstine, & Cynthia Pon

Image
  Music Everywhere! by Maya Ajmera, Elise Hofer Derstine, & Cynthia Pon  Nonfiction Grades: Pre-K - Kindergarten, 1st & 2nd Awards: None Summary: Music Everywhere! is a book about children who love music. The children make music by stomping, clapping, singing, and clapping. The children make music using lots of different instruments. The instruments are played in many ways like shaking, whistling, strumming, and thumping. The children think it's fun to play and perform and they can use music to show different moods. The children can play music in school, at home, or in their neighborhoods. The book ends by saying music brings people all over the world together and the children love it. Evaluation: Music Everywhere! would be a fun book to use in my classroom. This is an informational book on the Humanities. Music Everywhere! focuses on music and would be great for engaging students’ curiosity on the topic. This book provides a brief text with uncomplicated illustrations th
Read more

Feathers for Lunch by Lois Ehlert

Image
  Feathers for Lunch by Lois Ehlert  Poetry  Grades: Pre-K - K, 1st - 2nd  Awards: A Horn Book Fanfare List Selection, An IRA-CBC Teacher’s Choice, and A Redbook Children’s Picturebook Award Winner Summary:     Feathers for Lunch is an example of narrative poetry. This poem tells the story of a mischievous cat that escapes his house. He goes on the hunt for a wild lunch. The cat prowls the streets for different birds like the American Robin, Blue Jay, House Wren, and many more. The birds whistle a warning to each other and escape the cat’s clutches by flying away. All the cat catches are feathers for lunch. Evaluation:      I would use Feathers for Lunch in my classroom because this book meets the criteria for a good poem. The illustrations reflect the content of the piece which can be seen through the depictions of the birds flying high in the trees and communicating with one another through whistles and chirping as they narrowly escape the cat’s claw. In addition, this poem gives ch
Read more