Reader Response: This book is a poetic piece that invites the reader to imagine the types of questions that you would ask a person before they left forever. Gibran's The Prophet is broken into life subjects that impact the people of Orphalese. The Prophet offers his last bit of wisdom before journey home on his long awaited ship. 

Evaluator Response: The language of this book is archaic. However, it provides the opportunity for the reader to interpret the text in a contemporary language for the sake of understanding. 

Teacher Response: It is important to expose students to classic poetry and allegories such as this that builds their appetite for literature of various genres.

Literacy Coach Response: This is book allows the student to exercise their skills in deciphering language and using context to discovering the meaning of a word

Coelho, P. & Clarke, A. (1993). The Alchemist. [San Francisco]: Harper San Francisco.

    

Reader Response: The reason why I chose this book is because of its mysticism and the writer's skill to invited the reader in as a part of the story. Coelho’s The Alchemist is a classic tale of Santiago, a shepherd boy who has a recurring dream about a treasure in Egypt near the Pyramids. He sets out of his journey to interpret his dream and also find his treasure. As he embarks upon his journey, Santiago learns that life is full of decisions that must be made in pursuit of one’s personal legend. On his journey, he encounters decisions about his beloved sheep, belief in the supernatural, trust of strangers, love, and knowledge of omens. These decisions lead him to the Alchemist, who serves both as guide and teacher. The beautiful part about this book is that Coelho only uses Santiago's name in the beginning  of the book and at the end. I believe that the author desires the reader to become "the boy" in the story and relate to him as he is on his journey. The story is inspirational, and is filled with so many lessons that it can not be read from beginning to end without a "selah".

Evaluator Response: If I were to evaluate this novel, I would say that it's strengths are the multiple yet consistent underlying themes that occur throughout the text. Santiago encounters many different struggles from love, family, and money to trust, faith, and hope. The book has a cross-cultural element as Santiago travels from one place to the next. The book does well to define the meaning of words and contextualizes the surroundings that the character finds himself in.

Teacher Response: This book offers a great opportunity for debate and socratic seminars. There are a number of thematic powerpoints that assist in pushing the students thinking on critical thinking and the analyze the decisions the character makes in the text.

Literacy Coach Response: I would recommend that students keep a travel log for Santiago as they read the text. They can chart where he goes, the people that he meets, the decisions that he makes and the outcome.

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

Reader Response: This is a fun and quirky young adult novel that engages the reader with its humor. The main character is a "child prodigy" (Colin) who has been dumped 19 times by girls named Katherine and is taking a road trip with his overweight best friend to snap out of a funk. Along the way, Colin tries to write a mathematical equation that will predict with certainty when a couple will break up to help others avoid heartbreak. Although the plot is a little predictable, readers will be entertained throughout by the characters and writing style.

Evaluator Response: While students will likely enjoy reading Green's novel, they might not relate to it very well since the characters are older and in different life situations. Additionally, the Lexile level is technically within the range for middle grades students, but might be too complex for readers who are below grade level.

Teacher Response: For a student who really enjoyed An Abundance of Katherines, I would recommend they read one of John Green's other books. Looking for Alaska would probably be my next suggestion because it has a similar tone and style but deals with more advanced topics. Readers could ease into the more difficult subject matter, including teenage depression, with a familiar writing style and narration.

Literacy Coach Response: Teachers should ensure that students reading An Abundance of Katherines are familiar with footnotes as a stylistic tool. Students who have never read a text with footnotes, or who have only seen them used to cite sources, may be confused by Green's use of them to provide additional details to the story. Additionally, teachers will need to ensure that students are not thrown off by the use of math to the extent that they cannot follow the plot of the story. While Green does a good job of keeping it light, students with aversion to math may be confused and frustrated by how the main character discusses high level mathematical thinking.

One Grain of Rice

Reader Response: 
This "mathematical folktale" is a wonderful book for readers of all ages. With easy to understand language, beautiful illustrations and theme of serving others, Demi provides a heartfelt life lesson paired with an introduction to a difficult math concept. In the story, a witty peasant girl outsmarts the all powerful raja of her village. She asks for one grain of rice and then asks the raja to double the amount from the day before. By day 30, her ration of rice has grown exponentially and she possesses all the rice from the village. Instead of keeping the rice as the raja had done, she distributes the rice evenly to all the village so that everyone is fed. There are many lessons to be learned here and the concept of exponential growth is clear and easy to understand.

Evaluator Response: 
Demi uses a simple folktale to teach math, introduce/explore Indian culture, and discuss the power of social responsibility. The plain language and use of illustrations make it easy to understand the story so that students can focus on the lesson at hand. Using this book with older children can bring on more in-depth conversations regarding wealth distribution, feeding the hungry and abuse of power.

Teacher Response: 
On a basic level, this book could be used to explore the idea of doubling an amount. As a middle school teacher, I would use this book to explore the idea of exponential growth of a function. Have students explore why the raja was surprised when the baskets of rice kept rapidly increasing. Why did the raja not realize that he had been outsmarted? If Rani (the girl) would have asked for the same amount using different words, would the raja have agreed? Students could be asked to graph the increasing amount of rice. How does this graph compare with a linear function? These are all difficult concepts to grasp in the math classroom and this book provides an excellent example to explore these ideas.

Literacy Coach Response: 
Used in a middle school or older classroom, this book is a simple story where students can focus on comprehension of the story. Because the reading level is lower, students can realize the classroom where the book is being read and be on the lookout for math concepts rather than decoding words, new vocabulary, or a complicated story. The colorful pictures help to emphasize the dramatic outcome of the girl's request and can be used to reiterate the impact of exponential growth. This simple story is a great way to expose students to a complex concept and teach them to serve others at the same time.

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

·   Reader Response: As a reader of the text I was drawn to the autobiography of Maya Angelou. I was able to visualize all of her childhood and resonated with her emotional experiences in the text. This book was written in the time period about three years after Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. were assassinated and puts the reader at the point where black women were searching for identity and independence. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is a coming of age novel detailing how Marguerite (Maya) navigated through a racially segregated South, dealt with loneliness due to abandonment, self acceptance, sexual abuse and ultimately is set free through her love of literature and words. 

· Evaluator Response:  I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is a novel that I would recommend to anyone. The book confronts racism, change, appearance, and immerses the reader into Stamps, Arkansas and travels with Maquerite (Maya) and her littler brother, Bailey through the South, St. Louis, and eventually San Francisco. A huge strength of this book is how Maya Angelou makes an autobiography read like Literary Fiction. Although the experiences in the book are true, a lot of the accounts in the book are easy to read and visualize for young readers. While she tells of the experiences of herself, thebook echoes the experiences of African Americans as a whole during this time. 

          Teacher Response: I would recommend other Maya Angelou books to interested readers like Letter to My Daughter and Rainbow in the Cloud. I would also recommend Alice Walker's The Color Purple and Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye. These main characters share similar experiences with Maya Angelou and ultimately come of age or triumph.

     Literacy Coach Response: I would suggest teaching this book in a series of excerpts in a unit on self identity. While reading this text, I would pair the text with context and background about segregation in the South and Feminism. Students should respond to the events in the book in a Reader Response Journal and determine what cages if any trap their generation.

Love that Dog, Love that Reading, Love that Writing.

LOVE THAT DOG BY sharon creech

Evaluator's Response: 

A book about learning, growing, confidence, and personal experience, Sharon Creech's Love that Dog is a treasure to be had in every classroom library. The book describes a student named Jack's journey from loathing poetry, writing it, reading it, you name it, to an undying appreciation for the art. Jack is so taken by the Walter Dean Myers' poem "Love that Boy" that he writes a gushing letter to Myers asking him to visit his school and talk more about poetry. 

As the book progresses, Jack begins to become particular about the color of paper his poems appear on (yellow being his favorite), the space in between lines, and ultimately the inclusion of his name on his featured work in the classroom.

Teacher's Response:

          SEPTEMBER 13

          "I don't want to 

          because boys

          don't write poetry

          Girls do."

An all-too-familiar sentiment from the 12-year-old boys in my classes. Mr. Davenport, do we have to write poetry? Yes. Yes you do. However, Love that Dog is a book both girls and boys can appreciate. The book's storyline follows experiences many students have encountered in the classroom-- you write something descent and what does the teacher do? He or she puts your work up on the wall. While some beam with pride at having their work showcased, others are abashed, "Please take that down. Did you have to leave my name on there?" Apprehensive at first to having his work showcased, Jack always reminds Miss Stretchberry to leave his name off of the typed poem she places on their wall of poetry. 

Moreover, students can get behind the relatability of wanting, losing, or owning a family pet.Stephanie Jones says that there is a "great void" in children's literature that validates ordinary day-to-day experiences. Students who read this book will recall and empathize with this book as well as grow alongside Jack.

Literacy Coach's Response: Clocking in at 86 pages, Love that Dog is not a daunting book, even for beginning or struggling readers. Each page, approximately, holds a single poem, with plenty of white space. The book incorporates many standards-based reading devices, too, such as simple metaphor, simile, imagery, and can even be used to teach theme.

A book that practically scaffolds learning on its own, Love that Dog begins with very simple diction and syntax...

SEPTEMBER 21

I tried.
Can't do it.
Brain's empty.

And builds gradually in complexity. This provides a welcoming first few pages to readers who find deriving meaning from text especially helpful and can even provide a path to an empathetic reading. Maybe they, sometimes too, feel like they can't do it, just like Jack.

Love that Dog

(Inspired by Walter Dean Myers)

by Jack

         Love that dog,

         like a bird loves to fly

         I said I love that dog

         like a bird loves to fly

         Love to call him in the morning

         love to call him

         "Hey there, Sky!"

For a complete lesson outline of Love that Dog, click here!

Marina by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Marina

By Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Reader Response: The book cover, an enigmatic portrayal of a seemingly beautiful red rose, instantly caught my attention. In front of Chapter one, there is “A Note From The Author,” addressed to me, the Reader, admitting that the book I was about to begin was his very favorite. For some reason, Zafon’s ominous tone and stylistic obscurity, even in this initial letter, drew me in. From there on out, I was hooked.  The book begins with a powerful statement: “We only remember what never really happened” (Zafon, Pg. 1).  Zafon’s style is rich, complex and filled with vast imagery that paint images of the beautiful streets of Barcelona, the setting of the novel, for his readers. The plot follows the story of a young boy, Oscar, seeking a sense of belonging when he meets the mysterious Marina and encounters the adventure of a lifetime. Marina introduces Oscar to a particular mystery she is itching to solve. As the events unfold, Oscar and Marina quickly realize the complexity of the matter concerning issues way beyond their own maturity level and innocent imaginations. They form a bond with each other that only people who have suffered through so much together can understand. Their understated love story, along with the impending disaster of the unfolding mystery, makes this book one impossible to put down for teachers and students alike. I began this book in class as a way to spark my student’s interest in reading and my students took me by total surprise with their pure investment in the character’s lives. They ended up acquiring the book and finishing it before me. This book provides you with a timeless experience of heart-break, identity crises and loss. 

Evaluator Response: This story is incredibly engaging, yet it requires a solid vocabulary—or at the least the willingness to seek out definitions. One can definitely read the book without a dictionary, but if students are provided with about 10 words that Zafon uses over and over again, their experience will only be enriched by their solidified understanding. Every chapter ends on a sort of cliff-hanger that forces the reader to keep turning the pages. Chapter 1 begins with this idea that, “We only remember what never really happened,” and ends with, “We all have a secret buried under lock and key in the attic. This is mine…” (Zafon, Pgs.1,3). Students thus are told right off the bat to question the narrator’s validity; nonetheless, readers grow to trust Oscar and his memories. The story is told through Oscar’s eyes and the reader empathetically intertwines themselves with him. The reader is anxious to uncover the secrets of the successful mind behind the Barcelona medical company while impatiently waiting for Oscar and Marina to realize their love for each other. As the plot continues to twist and turn, the ending leaves readers shocked, perplexed and unsettled.  The story sticks with readers and makes them want to seek out Zafon’s other literary works.

Teacher Response: There are so many complex themes prevalent within this book that it’s hard to solely categorize this story into one particular genre. Although the ending involves some shocking imagery that justified the “Gothic” descriptions, I still believe that teachers could include this in a narrative writing curriculum or as a way to engage students at the beginning of class with a 5-minute read-aloud. The descriptions of the streets of Barcelona are ridiculously spot-on and historically accurate in accordance to the time-period. This book was translated from Spanish to English and thus involves some Spanish names that interested my students who come from Hispanic backgrounds. This book allowed my students to read about children who look like them and speak like them. It allowed me, as a teacher, to hold up a mirror for my students rather than instruct them to look out of an unfamiliar window. Students could definitely practice comprehension strategies through making personal connections with the raw emotions of the characters. Both Marina and Oscar experience immense loss, along with other typical teenage struggles of identity, beauty and fear of their own worth. With all the cliffhangers, students can make inferences as to what is about to happen next and compare their predictions with the actual unexpected events. Zafon keeps both the teacher and the students guessing. It was an extremely enriching experience to watch my students react to the dense concepts within the story.  Zafon also sends a simultaneously strong—yet subtle—moral message that death is a part of life and humans are literally incapable of controlling everything. The book is humbling and urges students to enjoy their life, demand what they deserve and live each day with gratitude and sincerity. Lastly, Zafon reminds students of the temporary nature of youth itself—once it’s gone, it truly is gone forever. The places of your youth will only seek to exist in your memories.

Literacy Coach Response: This book should be used to target stronger readers as a way to improve their comprehension and challenge their minds. It is often challenging to grow your advanced students, yet Marina provides teachers with the tools to do just that. There are many exercises that teachers could use to spark growth through vocabulary, comprehension, including inferences and synthesizing, as well as visualization tactics to accompany the vivid imagery of the novel. Moreover, since there is so much going on in the plot, teachers can empower students to self-monitor their own understanding through comprehension checks and personal journals that ask students to respond to various plot developments. The strongest way that this book can be utilized, however, is to draw thoughts out of your students. There are so many issues of morality that Marina brings up—what do you think? I want to know because your voice matters.  It allowed me to cultivate valuable discourse within my classroom— a rarity that I do not take for granted. Honestly, the opportunities are vast and I feel like I learned more from my students than I ever had through discussions of this book.