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Module 3 – Los Gatos Black on Halloween by: Marisa Montes

Module 3 – Los Gatos Black on Halloween by: Marisa Montes

PLOT:  On a dark October Halloween night a ball is taking place. But it’s not a regular ball with regular people it’s a monster ball.  First the creepy black gatos come out and then to follow are las brujas, los esqueletos, and the scary phantoms. By the middle of the book every possible monster known to mankind is at this ball, the mummies, werewolves, zombie like corpses and your typical vampires are all partying it up. So as they listen to music and dance away they are rudely interrupted by a knock at the door. To their surprise they are young “trick or treaters”.  The monsters are terrified of their presence and they scatter away as quick as they can.

Montes, M. (2006). Los gatos black on Halloween. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company LLC.

IMPRESSION OF THE BOOK:  This was a very cute book to read to my little ones. They laughed and giggled and couldn’t believe that the monsters were afraid of the kids in costumes.  I enjoyed reading the Spanish words and translating the meanings to my children.  They got a kick out of the word “bruja” which means “witch”.  My favorite part of this book was the rhyming words, the illustrations and colors used to portray the story. The end has a great twist because the monsters are afraid of the kids… I love it.

REVIEWS:  Kirkus Reviews (2006)

Montes's vivid poem, replete with the appropriate creepiness, describes all of the usual-and some not-so-usual-Halloween suspects. Under the full moon, los gatos slink, yowl and hiss. Las brujas fly on their brooms. Los esqueletos rattle their bones. Pumpkins burn, mummies stalk, the wolfman prowls, the dead rise and ghouls and zombies march across the pages, all parading toward a haunted mansion for a monstrous ball. Eerie music resonates throughout the night, and all of the creatures begin to waltz, boogie and bop-until tres loud raps ("Rap! Rap! Rap!") sound at the door. Who could it be? Not children trick-or-treating! Suddenly the creatures vanish. Nothing scares a monster more than human ni-os, particularly on Halloween. Spanish words, perfectly defined by context, flow smoothly throughout the atmospheric, rhymed text and are officially defined in an accessible glossary at the story's end. Morales's dark, glowing pictures of inventively proportioned ghosts and other sinister night creatures provide the ideal accompaniment. A spooky seasonal treat and a great choice for any collection. (Picture book. 6-8)

Kirkus Review. (2006). [Review of the book Los gatos black on Halloween, by Marisa Montes]. Kirkus Reviews Issue. Retrieved June 22, 2013, from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/marisa-montes/los-gatos-black-on-halloween/.

USE IN THE LIBRARY: This book could be used in different ways for different ages. The best way to use this book is for cultural background. Halloween is an American tradition every Oct. 31^st. For the younger ages they can create their favorite scary mask or design their costume.  For the older students they can study questions such as: Why does Halloween exist? Where did it originate from? Why do we celebrate it? What other countries partake in Halloween traditions? Students could research these questions by using computer technology.

Module 3 – Goin Someplace Special by: Patricia C. McKissack

PLOT:  The story begins with a young girl named Trisha Ann who has determination to go off on an adventure to go someplace special.  Trisha Ann is motivated by Mama Francis to always keep her head up as she makes her way through the city to get to her someplace special.  As she sets off she encounters racism and segregation.  She must sit at the rear of the bus, she is unable to sit at the park bench and she is not allowed into certain places.  All these rules are subject to the Jim Crow Laws that exist during that time period.  She becomes sad and has to decide whether to continue with her adventure or to turn back.  Once again she is motivated by the reminder of her grandmothers words “keep your head up”.  In the end she continues her voyage and makes her way to the Public Library where no Jim Crow Laws exist. 

McKissack, P. (2001). Going someplace special. New York: Athenum Books for Young Readers.

IMPRESSION OF THE BOOK:  This is a very powerful book that can be used to teach segregation and racism to students.  I was a Social Studies teacher and I for one love this book because it describes the obstacles and harsh time in history that African Americans had to endure. The power of this book shows how Trisha Ann overcomes the unnecessary treatment towards colored people.   My favorite part of this book is when she reaches the Mission Church ruins and she meets Blooming Mary, an elderly woman who took care of the garden.  She converses with this woman and tells her that she cannot continue on with her voyage to her special place.  Blooming Mary tells her to listen closely and she will hear her grandmothers voice.  Trisha Ann begins to have faith and hears the special words of her grandmother and decides to continue her voyage.  The words that the grandmother says are so powerful that I wish more people would live by them.  “You are somebody, a human being- no better, no worse than anybody else in this world.”

REVIEWS:  Kirkus Reviews (2001)

In a story that will endear itself to children's librarians and, for that matter, all library lovers, 'Tricia Ann begs her grandmother to be allowed to go alone to Someplace Special. Mama Frances acquiesces, sending her off with instructions: " 'And no matter what, hold yo' head up and act like you b'long to somebody.' " 'Tricia Ann's special place is not revealed until the end, but on the way there, the humiliating racism she encounters on the city bus, in the park, and in a downtown hotel almost causes her to give up. " 'Getting to Someplace Special isn't worth it,' she sobbed." When she recalls her grandmother's words: " 'You are somebody, a human being-no better, no worse than anybody else in this world,' " she regains the determination to continue her journey, in spite of blatant segregation and harsh Jim Crow laws. " Public Library: All Are Welcome" reads the sign above the front door of Someplace Special; Mama Frances calls it "a doorway to freedom." Every plot element contributes to the theme, leaving McKissack's autobiographical work open to charges of didacticism. But no one can argue with its main themes: segregation is bad, learning and libraries are good. Pinkney's trademark watercolors teem with realistically drawn people, lush city scenes, and a spunky main character whose turquoise dress, enlivened with yellow flowers and trim, jumps out of every picture. A lengthy author's endnote fills in the background for adults on McKissack's childhood experiences with the Nashville Public Library. This library quietly integrated all of its facilities in the late 1950s, and provided her with the story's inspiration. A natural for group sharing; leave plenty of time for the questions and discussion that are sure to follow. "(Picture book. 5-9)"

Kirkus Review. (2001). [Review of the book Goin someplace special, by Patricia C. McKissack]. Kirkus Reviews Issue. Retrieved June 22, 2013, from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/patricia-c-mckissack/goin-someplace-special/.

USE IN THE LIBRARY:  After a read-aloud have the student’s think of their “someplace special” and then draw a detailed picture along with 5-7 sentences describing what their place is, where their place is, and how they found their place.

Module 2 – VERDI, by: Janell Cannon

PLOT:  This is book is about a baby python snake that leaves its nest.  His color is yellow with sporty stripes and he is quite fond of them.  Although resistant he will change to a green color and blend with the rest of the snakes, except he believes that once you are green you become lazy and boring and he doesn’t want to become that.  He does everything to try and prevent the color change but in the end he does turn green. However, he doesn’t forget who he really is because he proves to some younger python snakes that he still has a great attitude and is not lazy and boring.

Cannon, J. (1997). Verdi. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace & Company.

IMPRESSION OF THE BOOK: 

I’m not too keen on snakes but I have to admit I loved the character of Verdi. Typical youngster believes that everyone who is older than him is boring. Verdi he has to learn a few lessons before he learns to settle down and realize that he can really hurt himself. Kids can really relate to this because they really do think that they are invincible, I have two boys and they are constantly getting themselves into harm’s way without thinking of consequences.  I like Verdi when he tries to stop the green color from coming through his skin.  He almost gets eaten up by a fish because he is determined not to change.  Of course it’s even funnier when he springs himself from the tree and falls, practically killing himself and the other snakes have to tie him down so that he can recover physically and mentally. This is a great read that can really touch the lives of young and older readers.

REVIEWS:  Booklist (Vol. 93, No. 16 (April 15, 1997)) Ages. 5-8. A python baby leaves his mother and enters the tropical world. "Grow up big and green," she calls after him, but Verdi much prefers his snazzy yellow skin with stripes, finding the big green snakes boring and sedentary. He determines to keep both his yellow skin and his adventurous, fast-moving lifestyle, and he goes zinging about the rain forest until eventually--"Whippety, whappity, fwip, fwap, WHAM!" During his recovery, Verdi grows to appreciate slowing down enough to notice things, but when a couple of cheeky, young yellow snakes come along, he proves that he can still have fun. The rich greens and shiny yellows of the jacket art are sure to entice youngsters, and Cannon's acrylic-and-pencil illustrations look almost three-dimensional with the blend of plain gray pencil and brightly colored paints. As she did in her very popular Stellaluna (1993), Cannon blends natural science with story, providing a double-page spread of added information on snakes. Even if the pace drags in places, Verdi is both an endearing youngster and an admirable elder.

Lempke, S. (1997). [Review of the book Verdi, by Janell Cannon]. Books for youth: Books for the young. Booklist, 93(16), 1434.

USE IN THE LIBRARY:  This book could be used in the science curriculum as you study animals.  This is a great book to use as an introduction to a lesson.  After reading the story students could research other animals that change colors, animals that are lazy and boring or animals that live in the same habitat as python snakes.  Students can use computers to do this research and prepare a technology presentation or a poster presentation.

Module 2 – Ox Cart Man, by: Donald Hall

PLOT:  This is a simple story of a family in the New England colonies during the 19^th Century. The family works hard as the seasons change and they make products such as candles, mittens, blankets, brooms and many other items. They make these products by making use what the earth produces and the farm animals they have. They work all year long and in the fall father makes a journey into town to sell his products so that he can purchase other items to continue the cycle.  After he sells everything including the ox and cart that he rode into town with; he then purchases a few items for his family.  He buys an iron kettle for his wife, an embroidery needle for his daughter, a carving knife for his son and two pounds of wintergreen peppermint candies for his entire family to enjoy. He returns his journey back home and the cycle begins all over again.

Hall, D. (1979). Ox-cart Man. New York, NY: Viking Penguin Inc.

IMPRESSION OF THE BOOK:  This book was great, I really enjoyed this book because I was a social studies teacher and this book could be used to introduce the New England colonies.  The pictures are by far the best.  The pictures are very detailed and you can capture the feeling of really being in the New England colonies during this era.  The story has a great way of also introducing the ways of the economy during that time.  The New England colonies are known for making products and selling them, they didn’t rely on plantations because the land was so rocky.  Students could really grasp the reasons why factories eventually became the life style of the New England colonies.  My favorite part of this book is where the father sells everything but remembers his family and buys everyone something so that they can contribute back to making more stuff.

REVIEWS:  PreS-Gr2 – It is fall and farmer loads a car with the year’s produce, journeys to market, sells, buys, and returns to his family to begin the year’s work anew. The journey, and the ensuing year, unfold at a stately pace against the rich 19^th-Century New England backdrop alive with the subtly changing colors and activities of the succeeding seasons.  By today’s standards, the pace may seem to measured, the plot to spare, the results of a year’s labor to slight, the goods purchased in exchange, minimal.  The dignity of the text and the beauty of the landscape draw readers on, and the reward is not to be measured, for the road that leads to the marketplace also leads home.  By stepping into the cycle at the precise point where the process, often, is seen to end, the author reinvents or us the sense that work defines us all, connects us with our world, and we are all rewarded-mother, father, son and daughter – equally, in measure of our effort. – Kristi L. Thomas, Northwest Regional Library, Vt.

Thomas, K. L. (1979). [Review of the book Ox-cart man, by Donald Hall]. School Library Journal, 26(2), 140.

USE IN THE LIBRARY: There are many activities that can be taken from this book one lesson could be writing and illustrating some pages to tell what the ox-cart family does in the summer.  Another lesson could be retelling the story to set it in today's world and how a family would work together to survive.

Module 1 – Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, by: Judith Voirst

PLOT: This is about a little boy that starts off his day by waking up with gum in his hair and as the morning unfolds it gets worse.  His day ultimately progresses into a terrible, horrible, no good very bad day.  Everything that can possibly go wrong goes wrong. By the time he gets to school more unexpected situations occur that makes Alexander realize that his day is doomed and he should move to Australia. His teacher didn’t like his invisible castle picture, he sang to loud in music class and he skips the number 16 during counting time.  He also has friction with his best friend Paul. Paul decides that he no longer wants Alexander as a best friend. Lunch time gets worse; his mom forgot to pack him a dessert while his other lunch buddies enjoyed their desserts. As school ends for Alexander his mother takes him and his brothers to the dentist where they discover that only Alexander has a cavity, not his brothers. As they are leaving the elevator door smashes Alexander’s foot.  As they were waiting for their mom with the car his brother Anthony made Alexander fall into the mud.  The brothers begin to taunt him and he tries to defend himself and begins to hit his brother Nick, but his mom catches Alexander in the action and he gets scolded instead of his brothers. You would think this poor kid has had enough but it continues when they go shopping for sneakers, then they pick up his dad at his work, and when he is forced to eat lima beans for dinner. Does it stop there? No.  Alexander ends his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day with a hot bath and his railroad train pajamas, which he hates.

BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION: 

Viorst, J. (1972). Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc.

IMPRESSION OF THE BOOK:  I loved this book because even kids can have terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days.  This is a great book to read to kids and adults because it allows the reader to realize that everyone can have a bad day.  There are two messages in this book one for a child and one for an adult.  Children can relate to this book because maybe they have been in similar situations where they have had really bad days.  This book can help them comprehend that bad days can occur to kids and that they are not “weird” kids.  The message for adults should be that childhood problems can affect any age group.  A childhood problem that is nonsense for an adult can be extremely stressful to a child. Adults need to be a little bit more mindful about the different types of problems a child can encounter throughout the day. My favorite part of this book was where Alexander saw kissing in the TV and he hates kissing.  Even though this book was written in the 1970’s boys that age still react the same way.  I have an 8 and a 5 year old and they react the same way about seeing a kissing scene on TV or in a movie.

REVIEWS:  Publisher's Weekly - Objecting loudly to his family's plans to relocate, the hero of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day "makes a gratifying return," said PW. Ages 5-8. Aug.

Publisher’s Weekly [Review of the book Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, by Judith Viorst]. Retrieved from http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/alexander-and-the-terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad-day-judith-viorst/1100238460?ean=9780689711732

USE IN THE LIBRARY:  This book could be used in a prediction lesson. The librarian could begin by reading the book and in different parts the librarian can ask the students to predict what could happen next as Alexander is having a bad day.  Also, as the librarian is reading the story the librarian should not show any pictures and have the student draw a prediction of what the picture may look like after reading a small part of the story.

Module 1 - Love You Forever, by: Robert Munsch

PLOT: This is a book about mother’s true love for her child and the reciprocating love a child has for his mother.  Regardless of all mishaps a child might do, she unconditionally loves her child.  She does this by sneaking into his room throughout his life and cradling him and sings a lullaby.  As she gets older she is unable to continue her ­­­­tradition of singing and cradling him, so her son, in the final stages of his mother’s life, picks her up and cradles her and sings her the lullaby.  He continues this tradition because in the end he cradles his newborn child and sings the ever so heartwarming lullaby to his child.


Munsch, R. (1986). Love you forever. Ontario, Canada: Firefly Books Ltd.

This is one of my favorite books and I enjoy reading it with my two little ones.  I get a kick out of the crazy things the boy does as he is growing up because my 21 year old did the exact same things.  From the parents point of view I love the part where she is driving with a ladder strapped to her car so that she could cuddle her adult son that has moved out and is living on his own.  That’s some motherly love.   The part that really tugs at me is when the son picks up his mom and reciprocates the actions back to her.  As parents we hope that we did our best to show our children that we love them no matter what and that in the end they will be there to take care of us.  I feel this is a great read for children, parents and soon to be parents. 

REVIEWS:  Forbes - Dana Lenetz - One of my all-time favorites. I cry every time I read it.... [The book] is a beautiful script about parenthood, a poignant parable about life and death, a testimony to when the roles of child and parent become blurry. The story reminds you that no matter how grown up you are, you're always someone's child; that no matter how "adult" you are, you're never too old to be loved by your parents. It makes me appreciate even more how my mother still calls me and my brother (despite us being 32- and 22-years-old, respectively) by our childhood nicknames, Pussycat and Tchotchke (Yiddish for "knickknack"). Pigeonholing this as a children's book is like saying "Romeo & Juliet" is merely a cautionary tale about drug abuse. I dare anyone to read this story and not shed at least one tear by the end. It's even more poignant when you learn that Munsch wrote the book as a memorial to two still-born children he and his wife had in 1979 and 1980.

Lenetz, D. [Review of the book Love you forever, by Robert Munsch]. Retrieved from http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/love-you-forever-robert-n-munsch/1002322471?ean=9780920668375

USE IN THE LIBRARY: Grade levels 1^st -3^rd  -  This book could be used in an activity about family.  The students evaluate the book cover and explain how a mommy would react to this. As you read the book you could follow with a series of questions about things they may have done and their mommy might have felt upset.  They could discuss is they have a song or a special moment that they share. In the older grade levels they could even write a paper about something they did and how it was resolved with their mom.  To end the activity the students could draw a picture of their mom now (on one side of the paper) and what she would look like when she is older (on the other side of the paper).