“'We are like Phoenix,' said Abuelita. 'Rising again, with a new life ahead of us'“

In a future classroom I would have students connect any times in their life where they may have been knocked down. I also would ask students how they managed to pull themselves up and who helped them along the way. I may also ask students how they think Esperanza was feeling when she was going through this hard time.

The author uses the 1920's a time period when many Mexican families are traveling across the United States border in hopes of finding a better life. The author uses characters with rich backgrounds as a means of describing what life would have been like for servants in California during this time. The main character, Esperanza life turns upside down after living a wealthy life in Mexico to becoming a servant in the United States.

“Rosa was not the first person to fight these laws, and it wasn't even her first time (she had been arrested previously for defying bus rules). But her protest ignited a reaction that caught the attention of the whole country“

This book contains beautiful illustrations accompanied by facts about each woman and their lives. Being broken up into 40 individual one-page biographies this story would easily offer a teacher the opportunity to share one or two stories with their class at a time. These mini biographies could potentially act as introductions for further potential research about the women. Each individually are perfect examples of fast-moving narratives.

This piece of children‘s literature was the debut book for author Vashti Harrison. This book features a collection of 40 biographies focusing on trailblazing black women in our world's history. This book educates and inspires readers as it retells the true stories of women who broke boundaries and exceeded all gender and racial societal expectations. This book was awarded to The Amelia Bloomer Book List in 2018.

“Some artists paint pictures of flowers or people or landscapes. Not Jackson. He expresses his thoughts and feelings directly on the canvas, calling it “energy and motion made visible.”

This children's book is an example of a biography, told from a third person perspective. Upon reading it, I found it to be a fast-moving narrative. It was a rather short read in comparison to other biographies. Additionally, it was very easy to read and follow along with. It told a beautiful story focusing on the subject of art. It offers its readers additional knowledge on the subject and the various thoughts that go into the work of artists.

Published in 2002, this children's biography is an authoritative account of the life of the pioneering abstract expressionist painter, Jackson Pollock. Throughout the book it discusses the time, skill, and uniqueness that is displayed in all of his artwork. In the book it specifically follows Pollock through this creation of his famous painting, “Lavender Mist“. It is a Robert F. Sibert Honor Book recipient. It is a Robert F. Sibert Honor Book.

“Twenty-six years after Bill‘s arrival in Chattanooga, his plan was complete. He had worked, sweated, and prayed. Now he finally had his loving family around him, just like when he was a boy. Only now they were all free”.

This biography is a fast-moving narrative that follows the life of an enslaved boy named Bill. This book would offer student‘s knowledge about what being an enslaved person was like. The book displays accurate information about Bill‘s life in a story format with pictures that also help to tell the story.

This book is about an enslaved boy, Bill, who learned to become a blacksmith and eventually made a deal with Colonel Lewis to rent his freedom so he could open his own blacksmith workshop in Chattanooga. Bill eventually earned enough money to buy the freedom of his wife, children, and himself. Bill also saved enough money to buy the freedom of the rest of his family including his mother, aunt, brothers, and sister.

“Get ready for a BLAST. Get ready for JOSEPHINE.”

This biography is a fast-moving narrative as it shares the overview of Josephine Baker's life. The biography highlights the extraordinary life of Josephine Baker and how she overcame many challenges. One main topic the book focuses on is segregation and how Josephine believed everybody, no matter their race, could live together in harmony. This was important to include in this biography as Josephine was very motivated to speak out against it.

The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker, is a beautifully written and illustrated biography about Josephine Baker's life. The book highlights the joy of Josephine Baker and her life accomplishments as a dancer, actor, and performer. The book celebrates her life as it shares the barriers she broke to her rise to fame. Overall, Josephine Baker was a great inspiration to many and this book does an excellent job capturing it.

“In February, as the Polar night begins to approach the Antarctic, the young will begin a long journey north, migrating, following the pack ice as the Southern Ocean begins to freeze.“

I think this is a very unique book setup. You do not have to read the entire book cover to cover. A child can read a section of the book and still learn something. The watercolors depict the scenarios wonderfully. A child can learn from the pictures as well. I would use this book in my classroom and aim to read it around December-January time frame. It would be neat to read the journal of that date on that calendar day. This can engage students.

My Season with Penguins An Antarctic Journal by Sophie Webb shows a glimpse of the life of penguins during the two months of December - January. Webb is a biologist and added beautiful watercolor pictures that depict what she observed every day. She is studying a breeding colony of Adélie penguins on Cape Royds, an island off the coast of Antarctica. And because it is picture-oriented it can apply to a younger audience to learn about penguins.

“It was a royal pain for those who made the paint, and so expensive, only the wealthy could buy it.”

I thought that this book did an excellent job discussing the significance of the color blue by understanding its cultural and historical presence. The illustrations throughout the book expressed much emotions and allowed the reader to capture the message. This book is intended for children ages four to eight. After revieing this story I agree with this statement, but I also believe that it could be utilized with older aged students as well.

The book, Blue: A History of the Color as Deep as the Sea and as Wide as the Sky, highlights the significance of the color blue. The book dives deeper into understanding the significance of the color blue by examining its history and cultural presence over the years. Overall, through its creativity, the book traces the origin and allows students to view social justice issues.

“When you face the wind, gazillions of moving air molecules collide with you. That's why you feel the push of the wind.“

This children's picture book is intended for readers ages four-seven years old. After reviewing this book and its various components, I would agree with this statement. This book provides an interactive opportunity for its readers to tap into their personal experiences and preconceived knowledge about this scientific topic. The structure of words throughout this book is helpful in explaining the movement of wind and air in various scenarios.

This children's nonfiction picture book focuses on the science concept of wind. In the beginning of the story the young girl is faced with a strong wind when exploring the outdoors. Basic observations are stated that teach the properties of air to young children who are just beginning to explore various scientific concepts. The artwork in the story is digitally designed, and the words are portrayed in a creative and typographical manner.

“With writhing arms and ghostly, lidless eyes they glide; some large as buses, some weighing a ton. So big, yet rarely seen.“

This would be a great book to read to students to get them engaged in a lesson that talks about deep-sea animals. This book is about the mysterious giant squid and how it lives deep deep deep in the sea. It is a Robert F. Sibert Honor Book. It discusses the challenges that come with living in the deep sea and how the squid defends itself and its babies.

This is a nonfiction book that explores the mysterious animal in the deep sea, the Giant Squid. It uncovers the different body parts of the squid and why they are important to the squid. For example, it explains the eye being as big as a soccer ball. Then the story tells how when another dangerous animal comes up, the squid squirts its ink to defend itself.

“They were one of the first predators to walk on land, starting more than 350 million years ago. And they are still one of the most successful predators. Today, there are more than 38,000 types of spiders.”

I enjoyed reading this book and think it would be appropriate for all ages. This book would pique the interest of any study who is interested in learning more about animals, especially spiders. The book has an intriguing cover with a large image of a spider. The book is a Robert F. Sibert Honor book.

This book contains lots of information about the way spiders live, how their body works, different statistics about spiders, and the different species of spiders. The book includes photographs of real spiders with captions describing what the spider may be doing in the photograph. The book also contains facts about how spiders find a mate and acquire their food.

“Certain species of animals inflate themselves to appear bigger and more formidable to enemies. Some types of birds do this to show off during breeding season.”

I enjoyed reading this book and would use this with older grades. The book contains some complex vocabulary as well as a wide variety of structure. The book would definitely interest children who are curious about animals.

This book contains many interesting aspects of animals. Each chapter shows what aspect that sets apart each animal from others. The book includes diagrams, captions, and illustrations depicting each animal‘s unique traits.

“There was a naughty boy,
A naughty boy was he,
He would not stop at home,
He could not quiet be--“

This poem book uses a lot of rhyme and repetition to tell the story. The book is broken up into 4 sections. Almost like mini-chapters. At the beginning of each “chapter“ it star6ts with the same the first line.

This is a poem that John Keats wrote about himself. He describes himself as a “naughty boy“ who was curious about the world and loved to explore. He decided to go for a walk in London and explore. He wrote this poem because he wanted to make his little sister laugh.

“By the end of the week Jasper was seeing creepy carrots creeping EVERYWHERE“.

This book has a strong sense of imagery. It can also be read at a fast speed as the poem has short sentences.

This is a book about a bunny, Jasper Rabbit, who loves carrots. He picked carrots everywhere he went. On his way to school, little league practice, and back home. He noticed that the carrots were following him everywhere he was going. Even as he was brushing his teeth. He turned around and thought it was his imagination. So then Jasper fenced in the carrots so they couldn't get him. The carrots cheered because Jasper couldn't eat them.

(W-poem)
“Who can be born black and not sing the wonder of it
the joy
the challenge
Who can be born black and not exult!“.

This is a great book to introduce to your classroom to discuss these heavy topics in a light-hearted way. The rhythm of this story is slow=paced as there is a lot to comprehend with each poem. Some poems use rhyme. some poems use figurative language, and other poems use imagery as they are all written by different authors.

This book is a series of 24 poems written by various authors authors as each poem begins with a letter of the alphabet. It connects the story of God creating the world, and creating people exactly how he pictured them to be perfect. It is a new way of working with the alphabet to teach heavy topics about diversity, putting every person in a perfect light in the mind of God exile connecting Pride month and Freedom to the story.

“There is love where my change sings“.
“I am the change I want to see“.

This is a good book to build classroom community. No matter our abilities, we are all the same. And we all get to be the change in the world we want to see.

This is a book that is set up in a poem format. Saying that WE or children are the change the world is about to see. It talks about spreading love and that we are all the same, despite our difference in abilities.

“If you want to share a poem with me,
Give it to the tall birch tree.
Or if you need a friend for writing,
Playing with, or sit beside-ing,
I'll be here for you joyfully,
Right beneath the Poetree“.

This book contains various elements of poetry including the use of sound patterns and a sense of imagery in order to tell the story. The poems written both by Sylvia and Walt were filled with rhyming phrases that portrayed the world and nature around them during the season of spring. The poems focused on the readers sense of smell, sight, and sounds as they each created vivid imagery of what we experience during the spring season.

This story is about a young girl named Sylvia who wrote a poem and shared it with a tree in the park, tying it to its trunk. The next day she found a new poem tied to the tree. Sylvia was is disbelief that the tree had written a poem back to her. Sylvia comes to find out that the poems where not from the tree but rather a young boy in her class. The two kids become friends and continued to trade rhymes under the tree that brought the together.

Sally's Sweet Corn
“Get your roasted corn here!
Can't be beat this time of year!
Eat it fast!
Eat it slow!
Crunch in circles!
Nibble rows.
Wipe the butter off your chin.
Ear to ear, you're sure to grin.
Quick, before it disappears!
Step right up the sweet corn's here!“

The book contains various elements of poetry including sound patterns and a sense of imagery. Specifically, the poems incorporate the use of rhyming words among the lines represented within them creating an easy and continuous flow. Additionally, the poems allow the readers to imaginatively tap into their sense of sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch as they imagine themselves exploring the various components of a farmers market.