Glogster

If A Bus Coould Talk: The Story of Rosa Parks

This was the first book that I read by Faith Ringgold and I absoulutely loved it. I thought that it was a really creative idea to take the story of Rosa Parks and talk about it from the perspective of the bus. I also really enjoyed the art work and the fact that she switched up where the text would be on the pages. I actually used this book in a second grade classroom paired with a rap song that I found about Rosa Parks and the students really enjoyed the lesson. I did not hear any groans about already knowing who Rosa Parks was or anything like that. I believe that they enjoyed the lesson so much because it was a new way for looking at the story of Rosa Parks.

My Dream of Martin Luther King

I really enjoyed reading this book. I found it very interesting how Faith Ringgold incorporated facts into the story, which is something that I have learned that she is able to do well. I think that she is probably one of the best authors there is when it comes to writing children's books about events in history. I also really liked the fact that there was a timeline of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's life at the end of the book. I thought that this would be a very useful tool in the classroom for further studying of Dr. King's life.

Tar Beach

The borders around the pictures were very interesting to me. I really liked that they looked like a quilt. I also enjoyed the way the paintings were done in this book. One of the things that I noticed about this book was the fact that it had facts about different things throughout the book. I thought that this would be a very effective way for students to learn history without realizing that they are learning history. Many of the times students believe that history is boring and has too many things to remember but I thought that this book did a good job at presenting history in a fun way and making it not seem so intimidating.

The Invisible Princess

This book was great because it was a book about an African American Princess which there are not many books about. I also liked this book because it made an attempt to show the hardships of slavery and the types of things the slaves had to sacafice in order to survive. One of the things that I found interesting about this book was the hidden religious aspect. In my mind all of the characters such as the Prince of Night and the Lady of Peace seemed as if they could be gods and the palce of freedom, peace and love seemed like it could be considered heaven. I also found myself thinking that the place of freedom, peace and love could be a representation for how we as Americans one day hope the United States will become and Faith Ringgold just put it on paper.

Dinner at Aunt Connie's House

After reading this book it has become one of my new favorite books. I really enjoyed the pictures and the way that they were painted. Im not really sure what it was about the pictures that I liked so much but they just seemed real appealing to my eyes. I also loved this book because it discussed African American women who have made a contribution to the world in some way. I have not run across any other books like this one so I thought that it was very interesting. Some of the women discussed were even new to me, so I thought that students would like this book because it gives some variety on the people who are studied instead of the same ones who are always in books. I also thought that this book had a hidden message from Faith Ringgold. Since she is an illustrator first, I found it very funny that she would use paintings and give personify them. I thought that this was her way of showing students that anything can have a lot to say even if it cannot verbally speak. I thought that this was very creative.

Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky

I thought that this book did a good job at simplifying the underground railroad for students. I thought that this book would be a good one to use when trying to explain the underground railroad to younger and even older students. I thought that it was also interesting that the character Cassie actually had to go through many of the actual safe houses that Harriet Tubman used herself when going back and forth on the underground railroad. I thought that this book took a piece of history that could be considered complicated and made it easy and enjoyable for younger students to read about to gain an understanding of this piece in history.

Bonjour, Lonnie

This book I thought was a very good book. I liked the fact that this book covered many different things in history instead of focusing on one period. I also liked that some frenh language was used in the book because I believe that this would be a good way to introduce a student to a second language. I thought that the book covered a lot of different ideas but did so in such a way that it did not come off as boring. I liked that the book also focused a lot on interracial and inter-religious relationships. I thoguth that this was an interesting way to show students that all different people can get along with one another and learn to love each other.

Cassie's Word Quilt

I really liked this book and the way that it was written. I found the form to be a very interesting one. I thought that this book would be a good book to use for beginning readers becaue it uses words that are not too complicated and they are also paired with a picture so that the student could use the picture to help them figure out the word. I also liked that the first page would always have the pictures and the words on them for the student to practice before moving onto the next page in which the pictures and words were placed in their respective locations on the page. I just thought that this book was an interesting way for attacking reading.

The Sissy Duckling

I really enjoyed this story. I thought that the author did a really good job at telling it. I think that this book would be a good one to have in the classroom because it could show so many different things. I thought about having a little boy in my classroom who did not like to do all the things that the other boys liked to do, and I thought this book would show that he could still be true to himself if that is what made him happy. I also thought that this book would be a good one to use to show how people should respect differences among people because there might come a time when a person who is different from you is just the person that you need to help you.

Nappy Hair

I really liked this book. I think that this book is considered to be controversial because the word "nappy" has such a negative connotation within the African American community and whenever the word is used it is seen as a negative thing. I personally liked the fact that the storyteller was actually praising the little girl for having nappy hair. I thought that this book could do a lot for a little girls self esteem in a society where they are judged on superficial things such as their hair type. I think there is so much emphasis on changing the texture of a black woman's hair that black women have forgotten how beautiful and unique their natural hair is. Being a African American woman, I believe that this book did a great job of pointing out that unique factor.

Where the Wild Things Are

I really enjoyed this book. I thought that kids would really love the made up animals and the mysterious world that Max traveled to. I am not sure why this book is considered controversial because I personally did not see anything in the book that I would considered to be controversial. I think that this book is a great potrayl of how the minds of kids work. I remember being young and pretending that I had traveled to a far away land with lots of different animals and lots of different people so I am not sure what the problem is with this book. To call a book like this controversial to me is to say that a child's imagination is also controversial.

The Story of LIttle Black Sambo

I personally did not like this story at all. I thought that the story would have been the same story had the author not used a stereotype of African American people. I also did not like the way in which the pictures were constructed because they were made to look like the actual stereotype that the Sambo presented. I did not think that this name added anything to the story at all and it was actually a little hard to concentrate on the rest of the story because there was so much concentration on the fact that the little boy was black. I think that if the story would have been written without this stereotype it may have made the story a better read for me personally.

Daddy's Wedding

I thought that this book was very interesting. I can see why it is considered a controversial book because it is promoting the union of two people of the same sex and many people are not comfortable with things like that. I personally do not have a problem with the book, I actually think that it was a good idea. I think it is important for there to be books representative of all people. I also believe that this is a good idea for the kids who do have families who look like the one in the book. They will not feel like there family is completely weird or different and I think it will help to make them not feel alienated from the rest of their peers.