Contemporary Realistic Fiction and Poetry

Author- Kevin Henkes Title- Kittens First Full Moon Publication- 2004 Genre- Contemporary Realistic Fiction Format- Picture Book Awards: Caldecott Award- 2005 ReflectionThe story begins with Kitten who experiences a full moon for the first time. However, no one has even explained to Kitten what a full moon is and she does not know what to think about it. She eventually relates the full moon to a big round white bowl of milk. Because Kitten believes the moon is a bowl of milk shes wants to get to it. The story follows her as she tries to reach the moon to get some milk. After Kitten tries and tries again she goes home to find a nice big bowl of milk waiting for her. The story has a great message for kids in that can try new things and go for anything they put their minds to. This is a fun story to read to younger elementary students. It does not have a lot of educational aspects but can be used for the message or with story elements. When critiquing the story I began with the positive aspects. I believe the author did a good job with allowing readers to draw personal conclusions from the evidence. This story allows for students to see that Kitten is not making it to the moon and they can predict why they think she is not making it, as well as, what Kitten thinks it is. This allows them to use their own intelligence and thinking. Secondly, a story should satisfy childrens basic needs and provide them with insights into their own problems and relationships. Using this critique, children can use this story to relate to their own lives in that they can discuss things they have struggles with or any misconceptions they have had, just as Kitten did with confusing the moon and milk. The negative aspects of the story that did not fall in the critique criteria, is that the story should expose personal and social values central to our culture and how those values may change. With this story allowing children to think for themselves and make conclusions bringing in culture or social values would allow children to think further. This would have been a good opportunity for students. When looking at the critique I believe this story falls in the realistic fiction category. It did a good job of including most of the critique points.

Author- Kate DiCamillo Title- Because of Winn- Dixie Publication- 2000 Genre- Contemporary Realistic Fiction Format- Chapter Book Awards: Newberry Honor Book- 2001 Parents' Choice Gold Award Winner- 2000 Reflection The story is about a young girl named Opal and her father as they make a move to Florida. When Opal goes into a Winn Dixie supermarket at the beginning of the story she comes out with a dog. Opal names the dog Winn Dixie because of where she found him. Because of Winn-Dixie, her father tells Opal ten things about her absent mother, one for each year Opal has been alive. Winn Dixie is great at making friends. The story follows as Opal and Winn Dixie as they meet many people, a librarian, a blind woman, and an ex-con. They spend their summer meeting and listening to the stories of all the new people they have met. This allows Opal a chance to let go and allow for more friendship in her life and deal with the fact that her mother is gone. When looking at the critique I believe the story follows many of the attributes. One thing is that the story exposes personal and social values that are central to our culture and showing how they can change. This is a great story to discuss death with children. This is part of our society and unfortunately something that our young children may have to deal with. This story shows how they can overcome the death of someone and how their life will go on and they can use the memory of that person to further their own lives. The story could be used educationally but I feel it would be best for a fun read or a dear time for students. Another critique should satisfy the childrens basic needs and provide insight to their own problems and relationships. Again, this falls into the fact that they can relate to Opal and the struggles she has in the story. When looking at the critique I do not feel there is one that this story does not fit into. With that being said this is a great example of realistic friction and for upper elementary students. I know my student always enjoy this story and I enjoyed reading it as well!

Author- Patricia Polacco Title- Thank you, Mr. Faulkner Publication-1998 Genre- Contemporary Realistic Fiction Format- Childrens Picture Book AwardsAuthors Hall of Fame ReflectionThe main character of the story Trisha is eager to learn everything she needs to know. However, when she looks at words and numbers they look like a jumbled mess. She begins to fall behind and struggles with her classmates calling her names and thinking she is stupid. When Mr. Faulkner, a new fifth grade teacher, comes into the story he begins to help Trisha. Mr. Faulkner begins to teach Trisha and she blossoms and increases in her schooling, especially in her reading. This is a great story to read to children of all ages promoting learning. Every year I have student who struggle and they get frustrated with at least one concept each year. This story is great for them to see that they can work through it and in the end they will master the skills they need to know. When critiquing the story based on the aspect of the story, there are several that apply to this story. A story should expose personal and social values to a culture. This definitely falls in this category because it is teaching our children that learning will occur if you try hard. These are the values that we try to teach our own children and our classroom children. Secondly, the author should realize that our young readers are in the process of growing towards adults. Not only did the author create this with the way she wrote the story but with the message and main idea behind the story. She is promoting reading growth, which our children need, especially if they are struggling. Thirdly, the author should write in a hopeful tone, this she did. She was very hopeful in that Trish would learn to do better in school and learn to read. In looking at the theme of contemporary realistic fiction, this story falls in line with it. The plot, characters, and setting together are closely related to the needs of modern children. This story was truly based on the needs of children in todays society. With all of these things I believe this is a perfect example of contemporary realistic fiction.

Author-Cynthia Rylant Title-The Relatives Came Publication-1993 Genre- Contemporary Realistic Fiction Format- Childrens Picture Book AwardsCaldecott Honor Award- 1986 ReflectionThis is a great story to read around the holidays when children would experience and be able to relate to relatives coming. I read this to my class first grade class starting off with discussing what relatives are because they were not 100 percent sure what they were. The story told about a family who had relatives coming to visit. The relatives came and stayed for an extended period of time. They hugged, slept, ate, and talked the entire time they were there. I read this story to my students as we discussed predications and asking questions when you read. After reading the story I was a little confused as to, what was the point of the story? I did not love the story, however looked at it following the critiques. One aspect the story followed was that it should provide children with enjoyment. My students liked the story, they were eager to see what was going to happen and what the relatives were going to do while they were there. Another criterion the story followed was that it satisfied the basic need and provided them with insight to their own relationships. After reading we discussed and compared the book to our own lives. My students had fun talking about their own lives and hearing about everyone elses. I enjoyed hearing what they did with their relatives and seeing how everyone differed. Looking at the characters of the story they did fall in line with realistic fiction in that the author relies on relevant subject. These are people students may have come in contact with and they may have relatives just like them. Looking at the setting of the story, the story took place in a house with a lot of family member. Students experience this when they have relatives visit. They may not be able to sleep in their own bed or may have to share, just as the characters in the story did. When looking at the criteria in the book, this story does meet most of the criteria. With this being said the book is a good example for realistic fiction. However, I was not a fan of the story for my classroom.

Author- Louis Sachar Title- Sideways Stories from Wayside School Publication- 1989 Genre- Contemporary Realistic Fiction Format- Chapter Book AwardsIRA/CBC Children's Choice wards ReflectionI have always loved the books by Louis Sachar and can remember reading them when I was young. This humorous story is about a school that was built incorrectly. It was supposed to be built with 30 classrooms side by side but instead 30 classrooms were built on top of each other, making this school 30 stories. The story takes place on the 30th floor in Mrs. Jewels class. At the beginning of the year the class has a substitute teacher who turns the bad children into apples. If you do something wrong or give an incorrect answer the substitute teacher wiggles her ears and sticks out her tongue and they turn into an apple. Soon all the students were apples and they planned an apple attack. She turns them back and their teacher returns. Each chapter talks about a different student in her class. This is the part that I really liked about the book. Each student gets their own story because everyone is different, which is a good point to show students.

When looking are the critique criteria I believe the story provides enjoyment to students. It keeps their attention and they want to know what will happen next. As an adult I felt the same way! The story should allow students to draw personal conclusions. Students can do this although they may not be able to relate to being turned into an apple, they can relate to the things the student go through in each chapter of the story. The language and syntax should reveal the background and the nature of characters and situations, the story does this. The language of the students is on their level and goes along with each character. The story satisfies childrens basic needs and provides them with insights into their own problems and relationships. This story is very relatable between students and the students in the story. They can relate to things they are going through weather have go through it themselves or they know someone else who has gone through it. I believe this story encompasses the characteristics of being a good realistic fiction story and is a great book to read in every upper elementary classroom.

Author- John Mackey Shaw Title- "The Broken-Legg'd Man" Publication- not listed Genre- Poetry Format- Narrative AwardsNone found ReflectionThis poem was about a man that had a missing leg and used a crutch. The story teller saw the man at a store and asked where his leg was. He asked him several questions such as, did someone cut off your leg or did you cut your own leg off? He replied that he did not do any of those things. He began to explain that he was hit by a car and when he woke up at the hospital it was gone. The poem was a narrative poem in telling the experience of two people. However, it was a weird poem. I found the poem because it was said to be for kids however, I am not sure I would use this with my young elementary students. When critiquing this poem I looked at several things keeping in mind the narrative aspect. To begin with I do not think this is a lively exciting poem. I think it tried to be with the wording but the meaning behind the poem was not lively or appeal to young students. This poem did emphasize word play in that it repeated a phrase and tone within the phrase. With the most effective poems allowing children to put themselves in the poem and encourage comparisons, this did not fall in that critique. The poem could have used more vivid wording to create the images in the childrens minds. It could also have gone into more detail about what happened, where the characters were, and what they looked like. This was definitely not a poem I would encourage someone to stand up and retell or repeat. I was not impressed with the words used or the meaning and message behind it. I would say that overall this poem does not fit in the evaluation criteria for being a well-developed poem. It does meet a few of the criteria however not enough to be proficient.

Author- Avis Harley Title- No title given Publication- 2000 Format- Book Genre- Poetry- Limerick AwardsNone found ReflectionThis poem was about a frog. It was a very short poem that discussed characteristics of a frog/toad. It told how the toad lived in a marsh and would come up from his home. When he emerged it was spring and that was when he could sing. He compared himself to a balloon that exploded when he croaked. This was a very cute poem! I really liked it and think it would be great to use with my young students when we talk about animals. I really liked it because it was full of information but was told in a fun way. Looking at critiquing the poem it is a limerick in that it is a 5 line poem, the 1st, 2nd, and 5th lines rhythm and have 3 beats. The first critique I looked at was asking if the poem was lively and had exciting rhythms that appealed to young children. I believe this does, like I stated before I compared it to my young students and asked myself if they would like it. Secondly, this poem can be retold by others and it would entertain young students. This would be an easier poem for students to memorize or recopy to use for creative activities. The subject of frogs is of interest and delight for children, especially boys. We know boys are fascinated with frogs and this would capture their attention, they would learn more information, and spark an interest to want to know more. Lastly, I looked at the evaluation of an effective poem allowing children to put themselves in the poem and if it encourages them to extend their finding. I do not feel this poems allow children to visual, based on details, put themselves in the poem, however they can also extend their findings. This can be used for starting a discussion on frogs, what spring is, as well as, vocabulary work. I feel this poem embodies all of the criteria elements of a good poem. It is always helpful for students and teachers when we have one activity, reading or content that can reach several learning areas, just as this poem did. I will definitely be using this poem with my students as we wrap up our unit on seasons to further their knowledge.

Author- Jack Prelutsky Title- If Not for the Cat Publication- 2004 Genre- Book Format-Poetry- Haiku AwardsNone Found ReflectionThe Haiku I chose came from a book that was made up of several different Haikus. Each one was illustrated with the topic of the Haiku. Haikus are three short lines with the middle line being a little bit longer. The syllables are arranged in a 5-7-7 syllable pattern. This Haiku was about a jellyfish. The basis of the poem was just to inform the reader of what a jellyfish was and basically gave describing words. I was not impressed with this particular Haiku, however it could have been because I am not a fan of Haiku poetry. I feel they are too short and there is not enough information for the reader. When critiquing this poem I began with if the poem was lively and exciting, it was not. It was very dull and boring and used words that my students would not understand or would not even understand if we looked them up and discussed them. Secondly, I looked at if the poem emphasized the sound of language. Again, it did not emphasis the sound. It did emphasis vocabulary with higher level words most children do not hear. It did not emphasize the sound of words with two of them being the same. Thirdly, the images should be fresh and allow children to expand their imagination. This I can say was a great part of the poem. The images of the jellyfish were great! A lot of young students have not seen a jellyfish before. This would be a great visual image to use when discussing the poems and the theme. The colors were vivid and very realistic. Forth, the poem should tell a simple story. This poem does not, it listed describing words of the jellyfish. Children can take these words and the picture and use it for story writing or retelling. However, the poem itself does not have enough information for storytelling. Lastly, I looked at if the poem would be good for repeated reading. This would be great because it is so short however, it would take practice to begin with in the vocabulary it uses. I do not feel this poem meets enough criteria to be considered an appropriate example of poetry.

Author- Avis Harley Title- Connections Publication- 2000 Format- Book Genre- Poetry-Metaphor AwardsNone found Reflection This poem was a metaphor poem. I have heard of these kinds of poems but never really looked at or used them. Metaphor poems compare two things by saying one thing is like another. I always like teaching upper elementary students about similes and metaphors because students can be so creative with their comparisons, so I was eager to read this poem. This poem was about connecting life with a seashell and what you hear in the shell. It began comparing it to a cell phone and asking how their family was. It then told of how you can hear beach sounds in the shell when you listen to it, ending with being in a small home and connecting the outside world with the shell. To begin the critique I looked at if the poem could be repeated and retold. This could definitely be repeated and could be used with upper elementary students for retelling possibly in small groups of students. Next, would this subject be delightful for children or encourage them to explore? Yes, this poem would definitely do that. A lot of children have been to the beach and they can use this experience to explore their experience more with sharing with other students and reading more about characteristics of the beach or shells. I critiqued the poem based on if the poem told a simple story and introduced action. This poem did tell a simple story and it was not full of action. I feel it would fall in this critique because it tells a story of how a shell travels and what a shell can do. This poem is a good example of a poem because it uses most of the evaluation criteria. I would enjoy using this poem and I know children would as well.

Author- Woody Guthrie Title- This Land is your Land Publication- 1956 Format- Book Genre- Poetry- Lyric AwardsNone found ReflectionThis poem is an example of a lyric poetry. I have never heard of this type of poetry. A lyric poem is brief and emphasizes sound and imagery more than narration or drama. I took this poem as a journey. It was talking about a journey someone took and comparing it to things ahead of them and behind them. In critiquing the poem I tried to only look at it from the evaluation stand point and not the point that I did not like the poem. It was neat to see it as a poem and not hear it in a song like I have before. I began with asking if the pome would be good for repeated readings. It would be but I feel it is better in song form which could also be considered as retelling. This poem would not delight children in my opinion. This criteria listed several aspects such as: delight them, make them laugh, encourage them to explore, and enhance their egos. This poem does not fall in any of these categories. This does not meet these criteria. This poem should have been written down to childrens supposed level. I feel part of the poem was but the words used would not apply to all children. This would be better suited for middle grade students. With this, I would say that it does meet the criteria even though it does not meet for all children. Lastly, I looked at if the poem told a story and introduced a scene. This poem does tell a story of a journey and what the person is seeing and experiencing. I can picture what the writer is saying and can create an image in my head. With all of these things and more I feel this is a good example of a poem based on the criteria. I do feel it is much better in song form and could be use d with more children that way.