In My Mother's House by Ann Nolan Clark & Illustrated Velino Herrera

 

In My Mother's House by Ann Nolan Clark & Illustrated Velino Herrera

• Poetry

• Grade: 1st & 2nd 

• Awards: 1942 Caldecott Honor Book

Summary:

In My Mother's House is a collection of poems about being a Pueblo Indian. The book begins by describing how much work and time the child's mother and father put into hand-making their house. It goes on to talk about the plaza full of people working and tending to the crops. The next poems are about protecting the land, the rivers that run through it, and the heart that holds the place together. The young child describes his abundance of horses and how they bring wagons full of corn. The final poems are about the juniper trees, wild plants, Indian tree flowers, yucca, and more growing things. The final poem says that the pueblo, the people, the fire, the fields, the water, the land, and the animals make the place feel like home. 

Evaluation:

I would use this book in my classroom because it is the appropriate reading level for the second-grade level. This would be a great resource for the classroom due to its detailed illustrations in black and white and color. The children should be able to tell the story through these award-winning illustrations. Children would be able to comprehend the story much more easily by looking at the pictures because they complement the text well. I would use this book in a unit on comprehension because some of the words might be unrecognizable to children but the pictures will help them understand what's happening. It could also be used for a Social Studies unit on knowledge and skills about how people influence local community history.