Book vs. Movie "The Bridge to Terabithia"

            “The Bridge to Terabithia” by Katherine Paterson was made into a Disney movie.  I was surprised at how closely the movie portrayal of the story was to the book’s portrayal especially after watching how different the movie of  “Tuck Everlasting” was from the book. 

            “The Bridge to Terabithia” is a story about a young boy who becomes best friends with the new girl at his school.  The two friends create an imaginative, ancient, magical world in the woods by their houses.  They have to swing on a rope over a creek to enter the world of Terabithia in which they reign as King and Queen.  The two friends must fight off evil creatures and protect their world. 

            Jess and Leslie also face problems at school in both the movie and the book.  There is a mean girl named Janice Avery who makes it her goal to bully all of the other students.  Jess and Leslie create a plan to get Janice back by embarrassing her about a secret crush that she has.  In the end, Leslie becomes friends with Janice because she talks with her about how her father has been beating her.

            The ending of the book and the movie both brought me to tears.  Jess goes to town with his music teacher and while he is out, Leslie decides to enter Terabithia on her own.  She ends up slipping and falls into the creek and drowns.  Jess takes the loss of his best friend hard. After being upset, he copes by building a bridge into Terabithia and inviting his younger sister May Belle to be the princess of Terabithia.

            The main difference between the book and the movie was the time period in which the story is set.  The movie is set in a more modern of time period than the book.  In the movie, the teacher talks about searching the internet and they use wireless phones.  The book is set in a time period before internet and wireless phones.

            Overall, I was very pleased with how Disney portrayed the story of “The Bridge to Terabithia.”  Although some of the animation and graphics were cheesy, the overall story of the movie was very similar to the book.  With such a powerful and timeless story, there was no need to change anything for the movie!     

International Children's Literature "Alexander the Great"

            “Alexander the Great” by Pavlos Valassakis was originally printed in Greece.  The text has been translated into English for American children to read.  “Alexander and Great” is an informative text about who Alexander the Great was and what important events took place in his life.  This text is effective in providing a large amount of information about Alexander the Great, but it is ineffective in engaging children in the story.

            “Alexander the Great” is 31 pages long with small print and dated pictures.  Although the text is accurate and informative, it is written in a format that makes it look and feel more like a textbook that a children’s book.  The author does not use any techniques to write in a tone that is child-friendly or fun, but rather writes in a dry tone and provides many facts instead of engaging stories.

            Since I read this book close to the end of the school year, and since I have little interest in Alexander the Great, I think that I did not enjoy the book as much as I could have.  I really enjoy reading colorful, engaging children’s book that are full of creative and fun stories, but this book did not catch my attention because of it’s strictly informative nature. 

            “Alexander the Great” reminded me of the children’s textbooks that we have at our school.  Both have headings and subheadings as well as pictures that display the events that are discussed on each page.  The visuals are effective in both texts in letting children visualize the historical events and figures. 

            Reading “Alexander the Great” taught me that chidlren’s literature is not always colorful and engaging.  This book taught me that I need to read through books keeping in mind the perspective of a child.  As I was thinking about my students while I was reading this book, I realized that this text would not be an effective teaching tool in my classroom because the students would not be engaged or motivated to read the text.  I would have to separate the text into smaller sections to make the reading more manageable and engaging for my students.                  

International Children's Literature "Equiano"

            “Equiano” by Jean-Jacques Vayssieres, was originally Published in Jamaica.  It is a tale of the journey of an African slave.  Equiano was sold into slavery when he was about ten years old.  He was a hardworking, intelligent, honest and loyal slave.  He was given positions under his Masters of great leadership and power.  He eventually earned enough money to buy his freedom and pursue his dream of being a navigator on the seas.  He also pursued an education and became a writer. 

            I really enjoyed this story because of how well it relates to historical events.  I love reading books that could also be used to teach American History.  This source gives the reader a first hand account as to what it would be like to go through the slave trading system.  Some of the stories in the text did seem to be exaggerated a little, which I did not enjoy about the book.

            Since I read this book in the middle of a busy season of life, I don’t think I was able to appreciate it as much as I would have if I had more time to enjoy the text.  Since the book what longer than a typical picture book, I got anxious in reading it and wanted the storytelling to go quicker.

            This book reminded me of “Unlce Tom’s Cabin” because it gave a first hand account of the life of a slave.  Although this book was simpler and geared towards children, it brought about many of the same ideas of injustice of slavery.  “Equiano” gave more background information about what Equiano did after he was freed from slavery than what most books do that are based on the topic of slavery.

            As I was reading this book, I learned that international children’s literature can be used to help children and adults in the USA to learn the historical perspective of how others were impacted by the actions of citizens in North America.  Equiano’s story opened my eyes to the hardships of slavery as well as what life would have been like before slavery.  It broadened my perspective of slavery in North America.

International literature for Children "Big Wold and Little Wolf"

“Big Wolf and Little Wolf” written by Nadine Brun-Cosme, was originally published in France.  In the book, Big Wolf lives under a tree all alone.  One day, a little wolf comes to join him and begins to mimic all of the actions of the Big Wolf.  At first, Big Wolf is not sure what to do, and does not talk to Little Wolf.  Big Wolf does give Little Wolf some food and a bit of his blanket.  Big Wolf walks to the forest, but when he returns Little Wolf is gone.  Big Wolf realizes how much he enjoyed the company and how lonely he was without it.  Little Wolf comes back to the tree and both wolves decide to live there together to ease their loneliness.

I really liked the transformation that can be seen in the Big Wolf in this book.  At first he is stand off-ish and unwelcoming to his visitor.  As I read the book I witnessed him transform into a loving and kind wolf.  I enjoyed that this book’s main idea what that you should always appreciate what you have before you lose it.  It reminded me to enjoy the people around me while I have them, because I will miss them once they are gone.  Since the book was translated from its original language of French, there were a few ways in which things were written that I didn’t like.  The author seemed to use a choppy style that did not always sound fluent and cohesive.

I think being recently engaged affected me as I was reading this book.  It’s easy in this phase of life to just want to “get through” all that I’m dealing with, but I don’t stop to think about the fact that I will miss this phase of life once it is gone.  Although “Big Wolf and Little Wolf” is a simple children’s story, it really made me think about the perspective I’ve held in life over the past month.  I think that I enjoyed this book more because of the personal life lessons I was able to take away from the story.

This book did not remind me of other books I have read that were published in other countries.  Even though there were a few moments where the word choice was not consistent with the rest of the book, the overall story was powerful and easy to understand.  Since the book did not have any specific cultural references to French culture, it was easy to understand.

In reading this book, I realized that children’s literature holds lessons that are important for adults to learn.  I used to think that children’s literature had simple life-lessons for children to learn, but now I realize that it also offers deep life lessons that all people need to be reminded of.  The lesson that one should always appreciate what they have is a lesson that I need to be reminded of daily.

Chapter Book That Addresses Diversity

                “The Liberation of Gabriel King” by K.L. Going is a chapter book that should be in ever school library media center collection.  This book should be accessible by all students because it teaches about the effects of racism after integration.  In the book, Gabriel King was best friends with an African American girl named Frita.  The two of them graduated from fourth grade and spent the entire summer becoming braver by facing their fears one at a time.  Frita was helping to liberate Gabriel from all of his fears. 

                Mr. Evans is an older gentleman in the book who threatens Frita and tells her that the Ku Klux Klan may come to find her if she’s not careful.  Gabriel realized that Frita was most afraid of Mr. Evans and the Ku Klux Klan.  Frita’s fears are made known to Gabe’s parents as well as her own.  The families organize a rally in their community to raise awareness about the mistreatment of African Americans.  Almost the entire town shows up to take part in the rally.  By the end of the story, Gabriel and Frita have both faced all of their fears and are ready to move up to the fifth grade.

                The main reason that each child should have access to this book is because it shows how racism still lingers even though there has been laws passed against it.  This book shows how detrimental racism is to a society and how the African American population has been impacted by a history of racism.  The author uses humor and a child-like perspective to engage children in the book and to teach valuable life lessons. 

Picture Book that Addresses Diversity

“Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave” by Laban Carrick Hill, is a book that was published in 2012 that addresses diversity.  Diversity is addressed through this text because the story invites the reader into the life of Dave, an African American slave.  The book discusses how Dave learned to form a life as a slave through molding clay.  Dave lived in a society that discouraged and threatened him for his brilliance in art.  Despite being looked down upon, Dave worked hard to create clay pots that were beautiful as well as functional.

                This story should be included in every school library because it teaches a variety of lessons. “Dave the Potter” shows the diverse culture of a man enslaved because of the color of his skin, but it also teaches the lesson that the thoughts of others should never define anyone.  If Dave had believed all that people had said about him, he would have never been the successful artists that he is known as today.  Since this book offers both historical lessons as well as important character lessons, it is important to share with every child in an Elementary school.

                “Dave the Potter” should also be included in every school library media center collection because of the vivid illustrations that display the art Dave produced in a vivid and beautiful way.  The illustrations will engage students in the text and allow them to see what life was like for Dave as a slave.  The illustrations will also show students how hard Dave had to work to create his clay pots.  “Dave the Potter” is an enlightening story that should not be missed!

Coretta Scott King Award Book-- "The Great Migration"

                The book “The Great Migration: Journey to the North” written by Eloise Greenfield and illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist is a book that displays the experiences of African-American families who left their homes to move North in search of better lives.  It explains the perspectives of each member of the family during the Great Migration.  The most meaningful part about the book is that Greenfield and Gilchrist both used their own personal experiences of being a part of the Great Migration to create the book.

                “The Great Migration” addresses diversity by showing the perspective of multiple African-Americans.  The book takes place between 1915 and 1930 and shows the fear that was embedded within the African-American culture of the Ku Klux Klan and the desire for a better life.  The book also shows how many African-American men had a connection with the land on which they worked.  The girl and the boy in the story are filled with wonder and excitement about the journey.  The woman has to do hard work for very pay.  She encounters signs wherever she goes telling her where she can go and what she can do.  The woman is ready to escape the southern town.  All of these examples show the diversity of African-American culture during the time of the Great Migration.

                The story of “The Great Migration,” shows how far the African Americans were willing to go to find a chance to make a good life.  They were willing to move their entire families based on the hope that things would be better further north.  The book emphasizes the courage needed for the families to pack their bags and move to a new city to start afresh. 

                In reading this book, the reader’s eyes are opened to the hardships and challenges that African-Americans had to face during the Great Migration.  The book hints at the segregation and limited opportunities that African-Americans were facing during the early 1900s.  The illustrations of the book convey the worry and stress that was placed upon African-Americans who took part in the Great Migration.  “The Great Migration” is an eye-opening tale about how the African-Americans sacrificed their comfort in search of a better life.   

Caldecott vs. Newbery Awards

            In the United States, two of the most esteemed awards that can be given to children’s literature are the Caldecott and Newbery awards.  Although both of these awards are geared towards highly esteemed children’s literature and are awarded to authors that are US citizens or residents, there are also many differences in the criteria for each of the awards.

            In general, the Newbery awards seem to be given to books that are written for older children, whereas the Caldecott awards are given to books that are written for a younger audience.  Although there is not a specific age level focus for either of the awards, they both seem to focus on a specific age level because of the nature of the literature.

            Caldecott awards take large considerations into the pictorial representations of the plot and characters in the story.  In order for a book to win a Caldecott award, the artistic techniques employed throughout the book are considered.  The book must portray the story through pictures.  Words are optional.

            The Newbery award was the first children’s book award in the world. Newbery awards are given to authors who make esteemed contributions to children’s literature.  Their writing must be original and thought provoking.  The Newbery award is given as an incentive to encourage writers to write engaging, distinguished literature for children.

            It is impossible to say whether one award is better than the other.  Both awards are highly esteemed honors and celebrate creativity within children’s literature.  Since the awards are very different in their nature, they are hard to compare with one another in the sense of value.  If one values the pictorial display of a story more than the written form, then one would value the Caldecott awards more.  If one values the insight of written work more than the pictorial, then one would value the Newbery more.   

Awards given for children's books published in other countries

            There are many awards that are given for different genres of children’s literature.  Since the population of the United States is changing to include a wider variety of cultures from other countries, it is important to value books that are published from other countries.  There are awards given to books that are published in other countries that are available to children in the United States. 

            One award that is given to children’s books that are published in other countries is the Pura Belpre award.  The Pura Belpre award is given annually to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays and celebrates the Latino culture.  The award is named after the first Latina librarian of the New York Public Library. 

            Another award given to children’s books that are published in other countries is the Batchelder award.  The Batchelder award is given to the most outstanding children’s book originally printed outside of the United States of America.  The book must originally be printed in a language other than English and then be translated into English.  This award honors Mildred L. Batchelder, a former executive director of the Association for Library Service to Children, a believer in the importance of good books for children in translation from all parts of the world.

"The Bracelet" --A book by Yoshiko Uchida

                “The Bracelet” by Yoshiko Unchida is a story about a young girl, Emi, who is a Japanese-American who was being sent to a prison camp because America was at war with Japan.  Emi’s friend, Laurie brings her a bracelet to take with her to the camp.  Emi wanted to keep the bracelet forever in order to always remember her friend.  When Emi arrived at the lonely, dirty camp, she realized that she had lost her bracelet.  At first, she was extremely sad that she had lost the bracelet, but then she understood that she did not need a bracelet to remember Laurie, but that she would always carry Laurie with her in her heart.  She would never forget her best friend.

                I liked that this book showed the truth of the hardships that Japanese-Americans went through in 1942.  I was hit hard when I read that there was a sign that read “We are loyal Americans.”  An important role of children’s literature is to show the truth about historical events.  I liked that this book was willing to show the mistake of putting Japanese-Americans through such harsh conditions during the war with Japan.  Although it’s humbling and difficult to read the truth at times, I appreciated the honest portrayal of this time in this children’s book.  I wish that this book had given a few more details about what was going on in history during the time of the war.  I think that if the author had included more of the details of the author’s note throughout the story, children would walk away with a deeper understanding of the historical events. 

                In reading “The Bracelet” I learned that at times, children’s literature can be more honest than adult literature.  Seeing how a child is impacted by a terrible event such as the prison-camps, one can learn a new perspective of history.  The viewpoint of a child seems to give an honest and naïve look at evil deeds.  I learned that at times, it is children who can teach us the most because of their honesty and simplicity.

Other books by Yoshiko Uchida:

Samurai of Gold Hill

Journey to Topaz

Jar of Dreams

Picture Bride

The Best Bad Thing

Journey Home

Caldecott Medal Winner "The Three Pigs" by David Wiesner

                “The Three Pigs” by David Wiesner is a Caldecott Medal winning book.  Throughout this book, Wisner uses creative illustrating techniques.  The book begins with the classic three little pigs story.  As the story continues, the pigs “escape” from the regular story book and begin to explore other stories.  Characters from other stories join the pigs as they continue to journey through other story books.

                When I first began reading this book, I thought it was going to be just a basic retelling of the classic story.  I really enjoyed this book because of the creative thinking that was involved in creating the illustrations and story line.   The fact that the pigs were able to “escape” from their own story captivated my attention and kept me wondering what would happen next.  I also enjoyed the contrast between the old storybook illustrations and the “escaped” illustrations.  The contrast made it easier to see which characters were still in the storybooks and which ones had come out.

                The library media specialist at my school highly recommended “The Three Pigs” to me.  He explained how creative the illustrations were to me.  I think that talking to him before I read the book made me more excited and intrigued into the illustrations and story line than I would have been if I hadn’t talked to him.  I think that my positive reaction to the book was impacted by my conversation with the LMS before I actually read through the text.

                The style of the illustrations in this book reminded me quite a bit of David Wiesner’s other Caldecott winning book, “Flotsam.”  On one page, Wiesner even used the same fish that he included in “Flotsam.”  In both books, Wiesner demonstrates a creative perspective of a somewhat simple event.  He thinks outside of the box when creating books.  In turn, his books become engaging and interesting because of his unique perspectives!

                In reading “The Three Pigs,” I learned that thinking outside the box is important in creating an engaging story.  I was amazed at the creativity that was included in a “simple children’s book.”  “The Three Pigs” taught me that characters in a book can truly come alive to the reader if they are developed in the right way.  This text would be great to use in teaching children to think outside of the box when they are creating a narrative.   

Jerry Pinkney and Caldecott Medal Book-- "The Lion and the Mouse"

            The book “The Lion and the Mouse” is a heart-warming tale of a lion who catches a mouse for his prey, but decides to let the mouse go free.  Then, the lion is caught in a net by poachers.  The mouse hears the lions roar of distress and frees the lion from the net.  In the author’s note, Pinkney discusses how he enjoyed the heart warming fable so much that he wanted to capture it in a picture book.  The moral of the story is that the meek can triumph the mighty.

            The story of this book is told primarily through pictures.  The only words that appear in the book are the sounds that the animals or vehicles are making.  Even though the tale is communicated only through drawings, its story-line and moral are both crystal clear.  The illustrations have such vivid detail that one is able to perceive every emotion that Pinkney intended the audience to view. 

            I really enjoyed the moral of the story.  I love that the small mouse was the unlikely hero of the book and came to save the powerful lion in the end.  I’m always a fan of stories in which the underdog comes out on top!  I also liked that the lion and the mouse were an unlikely pair, but ended up needing each other to survive. 

            This book had a similar illustration style to all of the other Jerry Pinkney books that I have read.  His pictures are detailed, with muted colors and have great texture.  Pinkney seems to be able to tell any story in a powerful way through pictures. 

            Through reading this book, I was able to learn that even short picture books can express a deep moral and meaning.  Even though there were few words to the book, the book displayed the powerful moral that the meek can triumph the mighty.   The message that the meek and mighty must also work together to survive is also communicated through this book.  I think that the more and more I read through the story, the more meaning I would be able to see in the story being communicated.

           

Other Books By Jerry Pinkney

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Little Red Riding Hood

Three Little Kittens

The Little Red Hen

Noah’s Ark

Mirandy and Brother Wind

Puss in Boots

Strange Animals of the Sea

"Rules" by Cynthia Lord-- Newbery Honor Book

            “Rules” by Cynthia Lord is one of the greatest books that I have read throughout this semester.  The book is about a girl named Catherine and the difficulties she faces in having an autistic brother.  She meets a boy named Jason at the OT that her brother goes to.  She and Jason strike up a friendship, despite the fact that Jason’s only means of communicating is a communication book that he keeps with him on his wheelchair.  Catherine wants to be liked by her new neighbors Kristi, but is afraid of what she will think of her if she’s with her brother and Jason.  In the end, Catherine overcomes her fear of what people will think of her and brings both Jason and her brother to the dance held at the community center in the end of the book.

            I really liked that this book opened my eyes to the perspective of being related to someone with special needs.  I never realized before reading this book how much it must hurt families to have to see the stares or pitied looks of those around them.  This book also gave me a new perspective for the abilities of non-verbal students.  I am ashamed to admit that I never really imagined being close friends with someone who was non-verbal.  Catherine’s story really helped me to see that my view of students with special needs is very small and that I need to be willing to open up to all that they have to offer.

            I honestly could not put this book down once I began reading.  I think that reading the entire book in one day helped me to stay enthralled and engaged in the story line.  Being able to sit outside on such a beautiful warm day helped me to relax and to fully engage in the story.  I fear that if I had read this book in a hurry, or in the midst of a busy time at school, I would have missed the full impact the story had.

            I realized that children’s literature can be a very informative tool for learning about different children’s personalities and struggles.  Literature can truly be used to create empathy within oneself for someone else’s situation.  I would like to use literature in my classroom more often to teach my students about the cultures of others.  Most of the students at my school are extremely sheltered and don’t realize how blessed they are.  I think reading more literature that expands upon the hardships of others may help to open the eyes of my students to the world around them.

"Mr. Popper's Penguins" --Movie and Book Comparison

            I recently read the book “Mr. Popper’s Penguins” by Richard and Florence Atwater.  I enjoyed the humorous and heart warming story of Mr. Popper taking care of all of the penguins!  I loved that the penguins became an entertaining act and then were taken with Mr. Popper and the Admiral to the North Pole.  It was such a sweet and endearing story.  Much to my surprise, I was disappointed that the movie was barely anything like the book.

            In the movie, Mr. Popper is a real estate agent of some sort.  He seems to be incredibly wealthy by his living conditions.  In the book, Mr. Popper paints houses and seems to have just enough for he and his wife and kids to survive.  In the movie, Mr. Popper is also separated from his wife and only gets to see his kids every other weekend.  In the book, Mr. Popper, Mrs. Popper and their children are together almost constantly. 

            A big twist that the movie placed on the story is that Mr. Popper’s dad sent him the penguin as part of his will.  In the book, Mr. Popper received the penguin from the Admiral.  Mr. Popper names all of the penguins in the book after famous explorers, whereas in the movie, Mr. Popper seems to name the penguins in a similar manner to the seven dwarfs. 

            The penguins in the movie did learn a few tricks from Mr. Popper, but they did not travel and perform for audiences as they did in the book.  I won’t lie, I was actually a little excited about seeing the penguins perform in the ways that the book described.  I was disappointed when the book changed the penguins to being more of a tool of entertainment just for the Popper family.

            In the end of both the movie and the book, Mr. Popper takes the penguins to their natural habitat.  In the book, Mr. Popper goes with the admiral to take the penguins to the North Pole.  They were trying to start a new breed of penguins that would inhabit the North Pole.  In the movie, Mr. Popper and his entire family take the penguins back to where they originally came from.  They watch the penguins reunite with their families and claim that they will be back to visit. 

            I enjoyed the movie, but I was very disappointed with how different it was from the book.  It seemed to me as if they took the modern spin on the book a little bit too far.  In my opinion, they should have stuck closely with the original text.  In my mind, Mr. Popper’s Penguins is a classic tale that I grew up with and it was sad to me that the producers decided to diverge from the story in such large ways.

"Tuck Everlasting," Book and Movie Comparison

I thoroughly enjoyed the book “Tuck Everlasting” by Natalie Babbitt.  I had never seen the movie before and was very nervous about how Disney would portray the story.  I ended up loving the movie almost as much as the book!  There were quite a few differences between the movie and the book, but both included all of the primary plot points. 

The movie opens with Jesse riding a motorcycle up to where Winnie Foster once lived.  The book begins with Mae and Tuck talking about how their boys will be coming home soon.  The foreshadowing of Jesse coming back to Treegap in the movie was added for dramatic effect.  In the book it is Tuck and Mae who come back to Treegap to notice that Winnie had passed away, but in the movie, it was Jesse who came back for her.  Being the helpless romantic that I am, I enjoyed the twist that the movie put on the book in having Jesse come back for Winnie. 

One of the stark differences between the book and the movie is how long it took the Tuck’s to reveal their secret of not aging.  In the book, the author alludes to this secret from the second chapter.  The Tucks also tell Winnie what is going on the first night that she is with them.  In the movie, Jesse does not reveal the secret to Winnie for what seems like many days.  Overall, Winnie seemed to stay at the Tuck’s in the movie for quite a bit longer than she did in the book.

The movie also played up the romance between Winnie and Jesse in many ways.  In the book, Winnie and Jesse did not spend quite as much time alone together as they did in the movie.   In the book, Jesse did ask Winnie to drink the water when she was 17 and marry him, but they didn’t have as much of a romance as they did in the movie. 

The book and movie also differed because Mae Tuck was the only one put in jail in the book.  Both she and Mr. Tuck were put in jail in the movie.  In the book, Winnie had to take the place of Mae in order to protect her.  In the movie, Winnie just ran into the jail and distracted the jailer to get Mae and Mr. Tuck out.  I thought that the book had a more powerful message in having Winnie take Mae’s place.  The scene showed how much the Tucks meant to Winnie and how much she was willing to risk for them.

            Overall, both portrayals of the story were powerful and captivating.  I prefer the story in the book over the movie, just because the book gave me more of an insight into the emotions that Winnie was experiencing through her journey with the Tucks.

Newbery Medal "The Higher Power of Lucky" by Susan Patron

In the book “The Higher Power of Lucky” by Susan Patron, a young girl, Lucky, decides to run away from home in the middle of a sand storm.  She fears that her Guardian, Brigitte, has decided to leave her to move back to her home in France. The main reason that I enjoyed this book is that Lucky reminded me of myself as a child.  Lucky is very curious about the world around her and enjoys eavesdropping on the conversations that the adults around her are having.  Lucky is also very easily angered.  When I was a child, I possessed many of these same characteristics. 

I also enjoyed the humor that the author used in expressing Lucky’s thought life.  Lucky would often come to crazy conclusions based on the evidence she had seen in life, as is the case with most children.  When Lucky saw her Guardian’s passport sitting on top of her suitcase, she decided that her Guardian was planning on moving back to France.  Lucky failed to realize that Brigitte was needing her passport in order to officially adopt Lucky. 

I read this book right after I read “Tuck Everlasting.”  It struck me that Lucky and Winifred were very similar characters.  Both girls wanted to have an impact on the world.  Lucky wanted to be a well-known scientist and Winifred wanted to make a difference in the world.  Both girls also got caught up in situations in which they had run away from home.  I admire both girls for being brave and independent.  Those are two qualities that I don’t possess that I’ve always longed for. 

In reading this book, I realized that children’s literature can help me to remember how children think.  I had forgotten about the illogical conclusions I would come to as a child.  This text also helped me to learn that children’s literature can be full of high level similes and metaphors that children can understand.  “The Higher Power of Lucky” included many examples of common metaphors, but Lucky would usually explain the metaphor in way that kids would understand.

I would highly recommend the book “The Higher Power of Lucky,” for any classroom or school library!