Happy Passover! - "The Passover Guest"

 Happy Passover!

Guest Post #2 - Amelia Rowe

 Guest Post Biography:

I have a degree in special education and I have worked with children for over 30 years. I enjoy reading to students and understand the 

value of early literacy.  

Behind The Little Red Door

Author: Coy Bowles
Illustrator: Joanna Davidovich
Publisher: Giggle Goods LLC, 2018 

ASIN: 0999502204

Reading Level: 4 to 6 years

Genre/Theme/Style: Children's Book, Picture Book, Behind the Little Red Door Social-Emotional Activity Kit

I Gave This Book 5 Roars! 🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁

Why 5 Roars? I gave this book 5 roars because the book encourages children’s imaginations. It leads children to imagine what could be behind the little red door. It is a cute book with a positive look at the imagination of children.

Critical Analysis: The book can be used alone or as part of a social-emotional kit that includes a CD featuring 10 original songs written and performed by Coy Bowles from the Grammy Award-winning Zac Brown Band, a storytelling board with activity pieces, activity cards, and puzzles. The book and kit are great activities and resources for teachers. 

Connections:

Coy Reads "The Little Red Door"

 

Thank you

 Ms. Rowe for your love of connecting people and books! 

Poetry Friday!

Check Out:

 Susan at Soul Blossom Living

&

National Poetry Month

"The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library."

~~ Albert Einstein

Book Review #46

 The Passover Guest

Passover 2021 begins 

at sundown on March 27 

and ends Sunday evening, April 4th. 

This year I purchased 2 signed copies of 

Susan Kusel's new book

The Passover Guest.   

Welcome Passover!

Author: Susan Kusel
Illustrator: Sean Rubin
Publisher: Neal Porter Books, 2021
ISBN: 978-0823445622

Reading Level: 4 years and up
Main Characters: Muriel, the mysterious magician, her family and her Jewish community

Plot: This is a retelling of the classic I.L. Peretz story, best known through Uri Shulevitz's 1973 adaptation The Magician.

During the Seder meal at Passover, a cup of wine is poured for the prophet Elijah should he show up. He is the honored guest. It is tradition that the front door of the home is opened as a symbol of hope for the arrival of Elijah. When the door is opened, participants say… “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

Malachi 4:5-6 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.

The plot of the book centers around the mysterious magician that Muriel meets during the Great Depression. Muriel discovers a surprise feast for Passover Seder and invites her whole community to enjoy it with her and her family. Who is the magician?    

"Kusel's adaptation preserves the wonder of a holiday that always captivates children who yearn to lay eyes on Elijah or at least witness a sign that he has indeed visited during their Passover Seder. . . . Recognizable national landmarks ground us in the real world while the rich Chagall-inspired illustrations convey a mysterious, magical quality perfectly suited to this fantasy. From the springtime cherry blossoms depicted in the beginning to the sumptuous Passover spread at the end, this is a wonderful story about hope." 

~~ AJL News and Reviews

Settings: Washington, D.C.

Genre/Theme/Style: Children's Jewish Fiction Books, Holiday Books, Diversity and culture.

I Gave This Book 5 Roars! 🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁

Why 5 Roars? This is a great book for children and adults. I enjoyed reading this book and will enjoy reading it again.

Critical Analysis: This is Susan's debut book and it is such a great start. She included a short note in the back of the book that explains the Passover holiday for readers who are not familiar with it. She is a synagogue librarian and a children's book buyer for a bookstore. She was also the chair of the prestigious Sydney Taylor Book Award committee. 

Illustrations: The illustrations are beautiful and perfect for the story.  

"Rubin’s line-and-color art beautifully conveys a Washington, D.C., spring with cherry blossoms blooming, crowded streets that also evoke a long-ago, slightly off-kilter European town, and a gloriously bright holiday evening. Kindness is rewarded and a holiday is celebrated in this endearing, satisfying story."

~~ Kirkus Reviews

Connections: "The Passover Guest" is a PJ Library selection.

 "The Passover Guest was featured in Children’s Books: Treats for 

Easter and Passover"

 ~~ Meghan Cox Gurdon,   

The Wall Street Journal – Full article here.

Susan Kusel - website 

Activity sheets for children for 

The Passover Guest. 

Poetry Friday!

 

Check Out:

Linda at Teacher Dance

Poetry Friday schedule can be found at: 

A Year of Reading

Another great poetry resource:

The Poetry Foundation

"The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library."

~~ Albert Einstein

Poetry Review #45

 What the Heart Knows: Chants, Charms, 

and Blessings

Author: Joyce Sidman
Illustrator: Pamela Zagarenski
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers, 2013

ISBN: 978-0544106161
Reading Ages: 12 and up
Genre: Poetry for Teen and Young Adult

I Gave This Book 5 Roars!🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁

Why 5 Roars? It deals with a wide variety of topics. A great many of those are difficult topics, such as forgiveness, death, shame, grief and evil.  

Poetic Elements: The introduction got my attention and was the reason for reading this book. I found it to be an unusual book, but interesting. 

From the introduction:

“We speak to send messages to the world. We chant for what we want, bless what we like, lament what we've lost. When angry, we curse; when in love, we sing.

We have always done this. Since earliest human history, we have used language to try to influence the world around us . . .

We may no longer believe that words can make crops grow, prevent illness, or keep rivers from flooding. But we still believe in the power of the words themselves. Why else would we pray, sing, or write? Finding phrases to match the emotion inside us still brings an explosive, soaring joy.

I wrote these poems for comfort, for understanding, for hope: to remind myself of things I keep learning and forgetting and learning again. They're about repairing friendship, slowing down time, understanding happiness, facing the worst kind of loss. They are words to speak in the face of loneliness, fear, delight, or confusion.

I hope they work for you. I hope you're inspired to write some of your own--and chant them, in your own voice.”

~~ Joyce Sidman

Appeal: Common items turn into metaphors for loss, there is repetition and alliteration that adds interest, and the author has a clear relationship with the natural world that is very obvious in this collection.  

"An evocative book that pulls readers to a special place--their hearts." 

~~ Booklist, review

Overall Quality: The poetry collection would be a great addition to a young adult library. It would also make a great resource for students struggling with difficult topics. The author handles the subject matter with humor, hope, and a deep sense of spiritual respect for the healing power of words.     

"Each poem speaks directly from Sidman's heart to the reader's, addressing subjects of deep importance . . . Zagarenski's illustrations beautifully extend the poems with her dreamy style and deft use of white space, symbolism, and images from Sidman's text."

~~ The Horn Book Magazine

Claudia Lewis Award (2014)

Layout: The book is divided into four parts: Chants & Charms, Spells & Invocations, Laments & Remembrances, and Praise Songs & Blessings.

Connections:
Spotlight Poem - 

Song of Bravery

This one’s not a sure thing.

I’m not bound to win.

I don’t think I’ll ace it this time.

I won’t break a leg,

make my own luck,

or reach the stars.

The sun is not shining on me today.

The force is not strong.

Before the day is out,

I’ll taste the grit of dust.

Maybe I didn’t do all I could.

Or maybe I did

but there were others who did more.

Maybe I’ll never know.

But here I go—

blood flowing dutifully

from heart to hands and back again—

here I go, stepping out

through the door

of my own shadow:

into the glare of the arena

to face the lions.

~~ Joyce Sidman

Sharing/Activity - I like the readers guide provided by Joyce Sidman for sharing this collection. These teaching suggestions are for grades 6-9. 

Poetry Review #44

How to Read a Book

Author: Kwame Alexander
Format: Audiobook 

Publisher: HarperAudio, 2019

ASIN: B07MXP96N5

Narrator: Kwame Alexander

Reading Ages: 4 - 8 years

Genre: Children's Poetry, Story in Verse

I Gave This Book 4 Roars! 🦁🦁🦁🦁

Why 4 Roars? This is a lovely book about books. I think the audio version worked really well for this piece of poetry. I would recommend it wholeheartedly. 

Poetic Elements: The words are beautiful and well chosen to make reading a book sound like a magical experience. 

“Award-winning poet Alexander compares reading a book to peeling the gentle skin of a clementine, digging into its juiciness, enjoying it ‘piece by piece, part by part,’ until you can ‘watch a novel world unfurl right before your eyes.’ And who better to illustrate this delicious poem than Caldecott Honoree Sweet. The artwork is done in watercolor, gouache, mixed media, handmade and vintage papers, and found objects, including old book covers and a paint can lid. Not a splash of color, a piece of paper, or a line is out of place. Starting with the initial collage that incorporates the building blocks of reading (the letters A to Z) and the lines from a poem by Nikki Giovanni that careful readers will have to pay attention to see, the tone is set. ‘So get/real cozy/between/the covers/And let your/fingers wonder/as they wander…’ for there is much to relish in this poem and its exuberant images. ‘Squeeze/every morsel/of each plump line/until the last/drop of magic/drips from the infinite sky.’ The book includes a note from both the poet and the artist. VERDICT A beautiful book not to be rushed through, but to be enjoyed morsel by tasty morsel.”

~~ Lucia Acosta, Children's Literature Specialist

Appeal: A big part of the appeal of this poem is the love of books and reading. It is just that simple for the listener. If you connect with books, this poem will resonate with you.

“[This] love poem to literacy conjures up startling, luscious images...By turns dreamy and ecstatic.”

~~ Publishers Weekly, Review

Overall Quality: The illustrator of the physical version of this book was Melissa Sweet. However, I just think for me, the audio version created it's own imagery in the listener's head.  

Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award 2020

Connections:

Spotlight Poem -

“Find a tree - a black tupelo or dawn redwood will do - and plant yourself. It’s okay if you prefer a stoop, like Langston Hughes.”

~~ Kwame Alexander

Sharing - I like the idea of introducing this poem as part of an awareness of poetry awards. I would suggest that after listening to the audio version, watching the 2020 Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award Ceremony with Winner Kwame Alexander would be a great way to expose children to poetry awards. 

Activity: Children will also enjoy the book being read to them. HowTo Read A Book