House on Mango Street

House on Mango Street
Sandra Cisneros
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Copyright 1991
Pages: 128
Reading Level : 10-14
Genre: Fiction
Summary:

Esperanza is twelve when her family moves to Mango Street. This house is better than the appartment her family has been living in, but Esperanza still isn't happy with it, she resolves to have a home with privacy when she grows up. Esperanza makes friends with two girls who live across the street from her. The three girls have fun being children together. Esperanza's grandpa and aunt die, sending Esperanza into the world of adults. She starts watching women in the town around her. Esperanza is sexually assaulted by some young men and wants to leave Mango Street even more than before, but when she is emotionally ready, she realizes that she has to help all the women who are stuck on Mango Street. She uses writing as a way to distance herself from her experiences and hopes that one day she will be able to leave Mango Street.

Recommendations and Conflicts:
I would recommend this book to students in the end of middle school or the beginning of high school. I wouldn't recommend it to younger girls because the main character is sexually assaulted.
Reaction:
I thought this was an interesting book, but wouldn't read it again

A Year Down Yonder

A Year Down Yonder

Richard Peck

Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated

Copyright 2002

Pages: 144

Reading Level: 10-14 years

Genre: Historical Fiction

Summary:

Mary Alice is sent to live with her Grandma during the Great Depression. Her first day of school in Grandma's town doesn't go so well, she gets on the bad side of the Mildred, the bully, who demands a dollar of her. Grandma turns the tables on her and Mildred ends up having to walk the five miles home barefoot. When Halloween rolls around, August Fluke Jr and his friends decide to knock down people's privies, but Grandma has a plan, she makes home-made glue and hides out in the shed by the privy, so she can throw the glue on the perpetrators. Grandma makes pecan and pumpkin pies for the school Halloween party. Armistice Day rolls around and the Legion Auxillary Ladies sell soup for a dollar a cup, but Grandma is cashier, so it's actually pay what you can afford. The money raised is given to Mrs. Abernathy and her son, a wheelchair-bound war veteran.For the Christmas pageant Mary is cast as the Virgin Mary, but the baby doll is switched out for the Burdick's newest member of the family that they can't take care of. Grandma is late to the pageant, but brings Mary's brother with her, she bought him a train ticket with the money from the furs of  the foxes she and Mary collected that winter. Royce McNabb moves into the small town and Carleen develops an instant crush on him. Mary and Ina-Rae set out to make Carleen think Royce has a crush on Ina-Rae for Valentines Day. Grandma hosts a tea for the Daughters of the American Revolution, and country bumpkin Effie Wilcox learns that the hoity-toity Mrs. L.J. Weidenbach is her long-lost sister.Grandma takes in a New York artist as a boarder and Mary Alice invites Royce over for a study-date. Grandma cameos as matchmaker, introducing the boarder (Arnold Green) to Mary Alice's English teacher, Miss Butler. Mary Alice survives her first tornado, and the school-year wraps up with a hayride that finds Royce and Mary Alice promising to exchange letters. “A year down yonder” leaves Mary Alice with a more tender-hearted view of country-life and Grandma Dowdel, and she hesitates to head back to Chicago. Mary Alice and Royce Marry at the end of World War II on Grandma's porch.

Recommendations and Conflict:

I would recommend this book to a sixth grader. The only conflicts I see in this book is having a grandma who didn't grow up all the way.

Reactions:

I enjoyed A Year Down Yonder, Grandma was a character I could relate to and had fun finding out what she would do next.

A Single Shard

A Single Shard
Linda Sue Park
Random House Children's Books
Copyright 2003
Pages: 192
Reading Level: 10 and up
Genre: Historical Fiction
Summary:
Tree-ear is an orphan boy who loves to watch Min make pottery, but lives with Crane-man under the bridge. One day, he goes up close to look at Min's work and breaks one of his pots. Tree-ear offers to work to pay off his debt, and Min puts him to work cutting wood for the communal kiln. After his debt is paid, Tree-ear asks Min if he can continue to work for him, and Min agrees, saying that he can't pay Tree-ear. Tree-ear starts to collect clay and his duties rotate between collecting clay and cutting wood. Tree-ear wants to learn how to make a pot, and one day Tree-ear asks Min to teach him, Min refuses because Tree-ear is not his son. Tree-ear takes two of Min's pots to the King's court to show off Min's work and on the way is ambushed by bandits. They break both Min's pots and leave Tree-ear without money. Tree-ear looks for the pots and all he can find is a pile of fine shreds and a shard that shows the beauty of Min's work that is the size of his palm. Tree-ear takes this shard to the Royal Emissary who gives Min a commission then and there. Tree-ear is given a ride home on a boat and when he gets there, Min tells him that Crane-man drowned, when he was pulled out of the river, he was holding the clay monkey that Tree-ear had made for him. Min and his wife adopt Tree-ear and rename him so that he is part of their family (and Min teaches him how to make pottery).
Recommendations and Conflict:
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read. The conflicts in this book is the main character seriously considering suicide, Crane-man dying, and Min's refusal to teach Tree-ear
Reactions:
I fell in love with the characters in this book, when Min refused to teach Tree-ear, I understood the feeling of loss that Min felt over the death of his son, Crane-man became a mentor to me and I cried when he died. Tree-ear fills me with hope and courage, because that is what he showed in the face of all his trials.

The Story of Ruby Bridges

The Story of Ruby Bridges
Robert Coles
Scholastic, Incorporated
Copyright 2004
Pages: 32
Reading Level: 4-8
Genre: Biography
Summary:
Ruby lives in the south and is selected to start integration. She goes to school, but all the white kids don't go because their parents don't want them to go to school with a black girl. Every day, Ruby stops before she meets the mob and says a prayer for them, one day she forgets until she is in the middle of the mob. Her teacher (the only person in the school except for Ruby) sees her stop and wants to know what she said to the people (because it looked like she was talking to them) Ruby responds that she prayed for them every morning before school started and everyday after school ended. Eventually, some kids started to go to school with Ruby and the parents one by one allowed their kids to go as well.
Recommendations and Conflict:
I would recommend this book to the young and old. The conflict in this book is the racism of the people towards Ruby.
Reactions:
I really liked this book, it told Ruby's story in a way that I would be satisfied letting young children read it.  It told of the problems Ruby faced, but in a way that wouldn't scare children.

Love That Dog

Love That Dog
Sharon Creech
Harper Collins Publishers
Copyright 2003
Pages: 112
Reading Level: 8-12 years
Genre: Poetry
Summary:
This is the diary of a young boy who is assigned to write poetry and he doesn't want to. It shows his progression from this isn't poetry to yea you can put my name on that poem. Jack's yellow dog died in a hit and run with a blue car, and he writes a poem about it after reading the poem about the blue car. Every poem that the teacher puts on the board of Jack's, he asks her to put it up on yellow paper. His teacher reads Walter Dean Myers poems and he asks Mr Myers to come to their class, and he does come. Jack wrote a poem based off Myers poem Love That Boy and called it Love That Dog.
Recommendations and Conflict:
I recommend this book to all fourth grade classrooms. The conflict I see in this book is that Jack's dog died.
Reactions:
I enjoyed this book, it is a good example of a guy writing poems and they are good. I enjoyed the blue printing and how Jack liked yellow.

Children Just Like Me

Children Just Like Me
Anabel Kindersley and Barnabas Kindersley
Dorling Kindersley Publishing, Incorporated
Copyright 1995
Pages: 80
Reading Level: 9-12 years
Genre: Juvenile Nonficion
Summary:
This book tells the stories of children from five different continents and show their differences and similarities. It tells of the day to day lives of these children with out judgment and with out saying "this is how it should be." Uniceff sent a teacher and a photographer to meet all of these children and to learn from them. We can all learn from this book about not judging others simply because they look different. Some of the biggest differences in the lives of these children were between children living in the United States.
Recommendations and Conflict:
I would recommend for this book to be in every elementary classroom. I do not see any conflicts in this book because of how it was written
Reactions:
I really enjoyed reading about the lives of so many different children and seeing how much their lives were similar.

Lincoln A Photobiography

Lincoln A Photobiography
Russell Freedman
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade & Reference Publis
Copyright 1989
Pages: 160
Reading Level: 8-12 years
Genre: Biography
Summary:
Freedman tells the life of Abraham Lincoln, but he tells the bad with the good. Lincoln struggled with depression, but he worked through it everytime it came back. He was disorganized, but he knew where all his things were. Lincoln was a country boy who taught himself, he had very little formal schooling, but was a lawyer and when he was president, he taught himself battle tactics and took an active role as executive chief of the armies. At Ford's theater, his body guard was watching the performance and not the president, Boothe shot him and was eventually shot himself. The people of the west stood silent as the train passed that carried his body to it's final resting place. Years later the contents of Lincoln's pockets was unsealed, they were a pocket knife, a handkerchief, a button, a fob watch, two pairs of glasses, a pencil, a wallet, newspaper clippings, and a confederate $5 bill
Recommendations and Conflict:
I would recommend this book to a student who would be able to relate to Lincoln better because of his faults and that he was able to live with them and become a great man in history. The conflict I see with this book is its openness with the faults of Lincoln and not allowing children to have a role model with out faults, also the pictures of the battle field are graphic
Reactions:
I enjoyed this book. Seeing the faults of a great man will have one of two effects 1) less respect of him for the faults, or 2) more respect for him because he worked through his faults. I fell under the second category.

Beauty: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast

Beauty: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast
Robin McKinley
HarperCollins Publishers
Copyright1978
Pages: 336
Reading Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fairy Tale
Summary:
Faith, Hope, and Honor are three sisters, but no one calls Honor by her name, what everyone knows her as is Beauty, a nickname she got when she was five. They are the daughters of Mr. Huston, a well off Merchant who owns his own shipping business. Faith fell in love with Robbie, one of her father's Captains. They were to be married as soon as Robbie came back from a two year trip so that he could support her and their future family. A year after Robbie left, Mr. Huston received word that all of his ships had run into a bad storm and were all severely damaged if not destroyed. His business was destroyed and Robbie was probably dead. Ger, one of Mr. Huston's blacksmiths, and Hope have fallen in love and were about to talk to Mr. Huston before the news came. Ger comes to Mr. Huston and proposes a deal with him, they throw their resources together and move to the country until they can get their to their feet again, making sure that there was no pressure on Hope to marry him. The family auctions off most of their things to pay their creditors, and move with Ger to the country. Hope and Ger marry and are happy, which helps Faith move on without Robbie. News comes to the family that one ship has limped into the harbor and Mr. Huston goes to see what he can find out about it and to take care of the finances. On his way home he gets lost and finds a castle full of magic, after spending a night there, he comes home, but takes a rose to give to Beauty. This angers the master of the castle, who is a beast, Beast demands that Mr. Huston comes back in one month with a daughter (to be the beast's companion) or on his own to die. Beauty demands that her father take her to the beast at the end of the month because the rose was for her. Beast had sent Mr. Huston home with saddle bags full of fine things, including rose seeds for Beauty. The end of the month comes and Beauty goes to the castle to be the companion of the Beast. They become friends and both love books. Beauty has a dream of Robbie and wants to go tell her family so Faith doesn't marry the preacher. She goes home and stays a day longer than she promised the beast and her return to the beast was difficult and long. She entered the castle and couldn't find the Beast, after searching long and hard, she finds him and tells him she loves him and wants to marry him. Magic fills the castle and the beast is changed into a prince who is magnificent. Beauty says she can't marry him because he deserves a princess, which she is not. He shows her what she looks like in the mirror and she is more than beautiful, she is magnificent. Her family arrives at the castle dressed as lords and ladies and Robbie is with them.
Recommendations and Conflict:
I recommend this book to teenagers who need to get a new point of view on a story they thought they knew. I would also recommend this book to all girls who need a definition of what love is, because there are four different loves shown in this book, all with their own happily ever after. I don't see any conflicts in this book.
Reactions:
I loved this book. I spent a month in high school reading every version of beauty and the beast I could to re-find this book.

The Wind Singer

The Wind Singer
William Nicholson
Hyperion Books for Children
Copyright 2000
Pages: 358
Reading Level: 9-12 years
Genre: Science Fiction
Summary:
The Hath family consist of Hanno, Ira, Bowman, Kestrel,  and Pinto (who's nickname in Pinpin). It's the day of Pinpin's first examination, when she will first contribute to their family's rating, even though she is only two years old. Pinpin doesn't open up to the examiner, and because she doesn't answer a single question, she recieves a zero. The family's rating is effected and they move down a color in the rating system and have to move. Kess gets fed up with the rating system in school and ends up in the center of the city shouting profanities into the wind singer (which projects her voice). She gets sent to a special school, which is full of old children, and runs away, ending up in the emperor's chambers. The Emperor sends Kess on a quest to find the voice of the Wind Singer (which had been given to the Zars to prevent war, but was then given to the Morah [who feeds off dispair]). Kess sneaks back home and gets council from her father before she and her twin, Bo, leave to retrieve the voice. Mumpo follows them into the under city, where they find that life can be very different than it is in Amarath. On their journey, they meet the Ombaraka who, after convincing, help them get closer to their destination. Mumpo ends up getting turned into an old child and races into the fire that is the entrance to the Halls of the Morah. Bo and Kess follow him and find the voice of the Wind Singer in the hair of the Morah. Bo pulls it out, but wakes the Morah when he pulls a strand of her hair. Bo gets caught up in the eyes of the Morah and starts to think like the Zar. Kess snaps him out of it, they find Mumpo, who was turned into a Zar, and get him to go home with them. The three friends have to race the Zar to Amarath so they can put the voice of the Wind Singer back and, by doing so, stop the Zar, and end the effects of the Morah on the people of Amarath. The kids get to Amarath during the high examinations and have to doge the Examiners to get the voice back where it belongs. As soon as it is in place, the Zar freeze in place and age rapidly, leaving the people of Amarath to come back to their senses and be free of the Morah. At this point, the Chief examiner claims Mumpo as his son, as he was ashamed to do while the Morah ruled, and the Emperor was able to leave his tower to rule his people on his own.
Recommendations and Conflicts:
I recommend this book to advanced readers who want to read a book that will challenge them, but still entertain them. The conflicts that I see in this book are the "profanities" which are nonsense words, the government of Amarath, which controls everything the people of Amarath are allowed to do, the cruel way in which Mumpo is treated in the first half of the book, the old children who  suck away your youth, the army of young soldiers who sing "kill" over and over again, and the fact that a father refused to recognize his son as his own.
Reaction:
I enjoyed this book, Kess, Bo, and Mumpo are realistic characters, and you want to know what's going to happen next to them.