Zara's Blog

   Mailing May by Michael O’ Tunnel & illustrated by Ted Rand  Historical Fiction Grades: Pre-K-Kindergarten, 1st & 2nd Awards: Notable Children’s Books 1998 Summary: Charlotte May Pierstorff’s parents promise her she can go visit her Grandma Mary who lives 75 miles away across the Idaho mountains. When May wants to go see her grandma, her parents say it’s too expensive because a train ticket would cost a full day’s work. The next day, May visits Alexander’s Department Store and asks for a job but he says there are only grown-up jobs available. May’s parents wake her up early one morning and she leaves with her father. May’s father has a brilliant idea to mail her as a package because she is under 50 lbs. Leonard, the mail carrier made sure May stayed safe on the train with the other packages. The story ends as May made it safely to her grandmother’s house and she is happy because her parents kept their promise.  Evaluation: This book would be an excellent choice for my classro

  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 Vic

  Drum Dream Girl by Margarita Engle & illustrated by Rafael Lopez Historical Fiction Grades: Pre-K-Kindergarten, 1st & 2nd Awards: Pura Belpré Award 2016   Summary:   Drum Dream Girl is a book about a girl who lives on an island. She dreams of playing conga drums, bongo drums, and timbales. Unfortunately, everyone on the island believed only boys could play drums. The drum dream girl dreamed of drumming and played in secret. She wanted to join her sister’s all-girl band but her father said no because only boys play drums, so the dream girl kept dreaming. After much consideration, her father allowed her to go to a music teacher to see if she could play drums well enough to be heard and the teacher agreed to teach her. After practicing and practicing, the drum dream girl finally got to play drums while her friends and family danced and everyone decided that girls could play drums too.   Evaluation Drum Dream Girl is a historical fiction book that I would use in my classroom bec

  If A Bus Could Talk by Faith Ringgold Historical Fiction Grades: Pre-K-Kindergarten, 1st & 2nd Awards: NAACP Image Award For Outstanding Children’s Literary Work - Children’s  Summary: If A Bus Could Talk is a book from the perspective of the bus that carried Rosa Parks. One day a young girl is on her way to school but an unfamiliar bus is at her usual stop and she gets on it. The young girl, Marcie, does not see a bus driver, and then she hears a voice but none of the passengers are talking to her. It was the bus! The bus explains to Marcie that she is on the  Cleveland Avenue Bus which is now the Rosa Parks Bus. The Bus tells the story of Rosa Parks, her family history, education, and how she refused to give up her seat on the bus. The bus explains that they are celebrating Rosa Parks' birthday and her many accomplishments in her struggle for equal rights. The book ends after Marcie meets Rosa Parks and gets off the bus excited to tell her class about what she learned.  Eva

  The Gardener by Sarah Steward & illustrated by David Small  Historical Fiction Grades: Pre-K-Kindergarten, 1st & 2nd Awards: 1998 Caldecott Honor Book Summary: The Gardener by Sarah Steward is a book about a young girl, Lydia Grace, who leaves her mama, papa, and grandma to move in with her uncle until things at home get better. In her letters to her uncle, Lydia Grace mentions that her papa lost his job and her mama does not have any customers asking her to make dresses. Throughout the story, Lydia Grace writes letters to her grandma about how thankful she is for the seeds and bulbs she can garden with, how she taught Emma, one of her uncle’s friends/ workers, to speak Latin while learning how to knead bread, and how she’s working on her secret garden which she hopes can make her uncle finally smile. At the end of the story, Lydia Grace’s uncle receives a letter that her papa got a new job and she can finally go home. Evaluation: I would use this book in my classroom becaus