Balloons over Broadway

Growing up my family attended the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in NYC almost every year.  I was always amazed by the sight of the balloons and we always took pleasure in the ones that didn't make it or that we're barely hanging on by the time they reached us.  WW also marveled at how many people it took to steer them, hold them down and navigate the balloons through the NYC streets.  That is why once I saw this book, I knew it would be one I could connect with immediately.

I enjoyed reading it not just because of my own personal connection but because of the great adaptability of the puppeteer of the balloons, Tony Sarg.  He was in fact a puppeteer first and then the balloon inventor.  I had no idea the connection with Ohio or Goodyear and those connections for me made this all the more worthwhile.  As a picture book, there are so many more stories in the pictures and the layouts then just in the text.

Helen's Big Words

the beautiful, simplistic cover drew me into this book but what kept me fascinated as a teacher was how seamlessly this book lent itself to teaching first and third person writing.  The author carefully wove in quotes from Helen's autobiography to capture the whole story of Helen's life.  I have read Helen's autobiography as a kid and I was amazed at how much more I learned from this picture book.  I knew that Helen's teacher Annie was credited for so much of her success but I didn't remember how devoted to Helen Annie was all throughout her life.  I also never realized how outspoken Helen was on such politic issues and that people listened to her opinions of issues.

Uncle Andy's

The great part about this book is that it is told in such a way and illustrated in such a way that you are certain that it must be a fiction book,  it is great to read along side a biographical article about Andy Warhol to realize that this is a biography of his.  This is great for teaching author's point of view, author's purpose and characteristics of a biography. Great combination of illustrations in a very fun yet informative way!

Carver: A life in Poems - Poetry Chapter Book

Nelson, M. 2001) Carver: A life in Poems. Library of Congress Cataloging: New York.

This is a a biography written in a series of poems from the point of view of people that had experiences with George W. Carvery throughout his life.  If helps to chronicle a bit of American history as it travels through slavery, segregation, the depression and WWI.  Carver was born from a slave mother but was raised by his white owners as their own when his mother was kidnapped.  It is those "adoptive" parents who set him free to pursue his education and his passions in life.  He eventually got his master's degree and was a professor in agriculture.  The amount of research he did into the uses of peanut is incredible - my kind of man!  I love peanuts.

Poetry chapter book (but also a biography).   Grades 6+.

This book is significant in the study of slavery because it gives hope to slaves that there is a future.  Carver suffered a lot and was faced with many barriers and hatred.  He crossed racial barriers and was in love with a white woman who committed suicide.  He was also discriminated by his colleagues and fellow African Americans because he spoke "like a white person" and had an advanced degree and wore "white people clothes."

This book would lend itself to reading talk.  There is a lot that needs to be inferred and connected from one poem to the next in this book and it would help students to be able to put the pieces of Carver's life together if the students could talk about it.  Poetry also is a great resource for reader response.  There is meaning that can get made from each of these poems although the meaning has a purpose from the author, the reader does not need to create that purpose.

Minty: A story of a young Harriet Tubman - Biography Picturebook

Schroeder, A (1996). Minty: A story of a young Harriet Tubman. New York: Dial.

This biography is from a completely different perspective as the biography of Harriet Tubman earlier presented.  This biography details her childhood as that of being very disobedient to her slave owners but loyal to her family.  It discusses how her taught her the numerous survival skills she used to become free.  It also told the story of how there was one night where she had the opportunity to escape and become free if she only had the courage to steal a horse.  That experience and the regret of it, must have taught her to have courage further in life.

Biography picture book for K-3.  The illustrations are done with pencil, colored pencil and watercolor.

I wanted to keep my two biographies about the same person as to compare them.  This book helps to build Harriet Tubman as a character and a person much more because we feel more attached to her childhood and her actions as a child.  It makes her more like someone the kids can relate to.  Hearing about her becoming a nurse and a conductor and a spy seem so fanatical but hiding when you are called and setting the traps free.  Those are experiences that kids can relate to!

Because of the content of this text, I would use this book as a read aloud to discuss character.  I would position it as a person who I loved and admired but who was a kid who acted just like them.  Then the students could better think about how she was like them as I was reading.

Who Was Harriet Tubman? - Biography Chapter Book

McDonough, Y. Z. (2002). Who was Harriet Tubman? New York, NY: Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers.

This book is part of the "Who Was..." series of biographies.  They are all written so that they are more accessible for younger students to read biographies.  This book give a full listing of events in her life.  It talks about her young childhood and how she learned many of the survival skills that helped her be a conductor on the Underground Railroad.  What it also went into detail about was that her life's work was more than just the Underground Railroad.  She was only doing the Underground Railroad for 8 years.  She usually ran slaves twice a year but had such a steep price on her head that she had to stop.  She did so much more with her life.  She was a military nurse, a spy for the northern army, started a Home for those that needed help or caring for, spoke at many rallies and so much more.  Harriet Tubman is known for what she did on the Underground Railroad, but her life was filled so much more!

Biography for Grades 2-5.  It is a chapter book with black and white pencil sketches, diagrams, and maps to aid in understanding

Harriet Tubman is a significant person to any study of the Underground railroad.  I had never read any books as part of this series and I wanted to as to determine their usefulness in nonfiction literature.

This book is a great book to help dissuade those students who have a negative feeling towards academic reading.  There is a great amount of knowledge that can be gained from this book and it can be read by many academic levels and still attain information.  I only wish it contained more nonfiction text features, like and index, a glossary, or bold words so that it could be even more accessible as an academic text.

Fifty Cents and a Dream

In a different tone of slavery is a story of the faith and hope that many slaves had.  This biography of Booker T. Washington was beautifully illustrated but the story wasn't one that I wanted to read over and over.  There are a lot of good teaching points and a great deal of content about character of a man that can be taught from this book.  Booker T Washington was incredibly determined as evidenced in this book.  He overcame more than many other men and is a great symbol of endurance and believing in yourself and following your dreams.  What he did to follow his dream was certainly a great feat and that alone should be shared, especially with those that feel like they can't ever make anything of themselves.