The Wave (by Tyler Charlton)

Title:  The Wave

Author:  Tyler Charlton

Illustrator:  Tyler Charlton

Target Ages: 5 and up

Genre: Fiction Picture Book

Summary:  A young boy describes his experience with a wave of sadness that he must learn to navigate to get back to shore.

First Lines:  

“The last time it happened I was building a fort.  

Sometimes…

I lose my joy and I don’t know why…

…and the wave takes me away.”

Memorable Moment: 

“And even though the wave still has me…I can get to my feet.”

Evaluation: 

I pulled this book for a symbolism activity, but I felt it was worthy of a post on its own. In college, I took a course called Bibliotherapy.  It made me realize the power books can have to help someone deal and heal.  If I were teaching that course, I would use The Wave as an example book for educators to support their students and counselors to help their patients.  

I like this book because it illustrates and discusses depression in a concrete way that children can understand. The wave symbolism aptly captures how someone depressed feels–alone, joyless, overpowered.  The book extends beyond that though.  

The protagonist shares what he does to help him reach the shore (i.e. get through the depression and back to himself).  Even when the wave has him, he can get to his feet and keep moving.  He can protect himself from further hurt–emotional, mental, and physical.  He can look for (and move toward) the shore.  Just as a person caught in a wave will fight to protect himself and to gain his footing again, so should a person caught in a wave of sadness. The narrative shows these positive principles in the text and illustrations.

The story provides hope.  First, as mentioned previously, depressed people can do things to help them survive and eventually get back to themselves. Second, the story reminds readers that a wave eventually ends and makes it to the shore.  Similarly, the pain of depression will end for most.  Finally, the shore is hopeful because there are loved ones there waiting to support the protagonist.  In the same way, the reader has people wanting to help them.  The extended wave metaphor gives readers hope that the sad feeling can subside or end.  

For those experiencing depression, the wave captures what they are going through.  For those who do not experience depression, the wave illustrates what some of the peers and loved ones struggle with.  

The book is geared for children.  However, picture books like this one can be used with all ages–middle schoolers, high schoolers, adults–to help them identify their feelings or to build empathy for others.

Activities and Extension Ideas for Lesson Plans:

• Bibliotherapy:  Read the book with someone experiencing depression.  Use it as a starting point to discuss how he/she feels and how to cope with the feelings and symptoms. 

• Character Education:  Use this story to discuss how to show empathy for others. 

• Comparison:  Compare on a graphic organizer how a wave acts to how the character is feeling.  

• Figurative Language:  Use this book as a springboard to teach or to discuss symbolism and/or extended metaphors.  The wave is a powerful symbol for depression and its impact on a person.  

• Project Board:  Brainstorm ways to support someone struggling with depression.  Then, use a project board to educate others how to help people with depression.

• Poetry:  Older readers can study Atwood’s poem “Up” which describes in more depth what depression feels like. Use the poem to further the discussion of depression or compare it to the descriptive details in the book.

Looking to dive deeper into literary symbolism with your readers? Check out my Teach Symbolism Through Picture Book Analysis Activity—a flexible, discussion-rich resource that pairs perfectly with this book and many others. It's designed to build critical thinking through accessible texts and guided analysis that can be used with a broad range of school levels including middle, high, and even college. Find it now on TpT!

They All Saw a Cat (by Brendan Wenzel)

Title:  They All Saw a Cat

Author:  Brendan Wenzel

Illustrator:  Brendan Wenzel

Target Ages:  3 and up

Genre:  Picture Book

Awards:  Caldecott Honor Book

Publisher Summary:  When you see a cat, what do you see?  In this glorious celebration of observation, curiosity, and imagination, Brendan Wenzel shows us the many lives of one cat, and how perspective shapes what we see.

First Lines: 

The cat walked through the world,

with its whiskers, ears, and paws…

and the child saw A CAT,

and the dog saw A CAT,

and the fox saw A CAT.

Yes, they all saw the cat.

Evaluation: 

The striking multi-media pictures in They All Saw A Cat will thrill young readers while expanding their understanding of others. Each fascinating perspective can prompt a discussion. Children can evaluate why the artist made the cat look skinny in one picture and fat with an emphasis on his bell in another.  Also, the use of color varies greatly, making each illustration a feast for the senses and ripe for conversation.

On a concrete level, it is fascinating to get the vantage point of animals and insects. There are emotional differences (like how the mouse sees the cat as  monstrous) and physical ones (like the bee seeing in dots).  Also, the vantage point impacts the view: To the bird, the cat is a small speck, and to the flea, the cat is an enormous mountain. This book allows readers to imaginatively see life through another's perspective.  

On a more abstract level, the book prompts a deeper discussion on how perspective impacts perception.  This perspective can come from cultural, familial, community, and individual experiences.  It explains how two people can witness the same event, yet view it in a completely different way.  Because of the larger message, this book could be used to springboard a discussion with older children. 

For younger children, this abstract idea will be harder to grasp. However, they can begin to understand that an object, for instance, is not inherently good or bad, valuable or worthless.  It is about how we view it. 

They All Saw A Cat is simple, yet profound children's book. Overall, the illustrations and thought-provoking story make it worthy of your bookshelf.

Ideas for Extension Activities at Home or Lesson Plans for Teachers:

• Lesson Opener:  Show one or more pictures or objects that will likely get varied responses from the children.  Prompt the children for replies. Depending on the age of the children, they may raise hands to different prompts (like, dislike, or neutral), words, or pictures (smiley, sad, or neutral faces).   Tally the responses.  Spring board into the book by discussing how we all have different perspectives.

• Math:  Use the responses in the lesson opener to create a graph.

• Science Research: Learn how various creatures see objects.   

• Science Exploration: Using keen observation skills, discuss or draw nature finds. 

• Social Studies: Discuss how different perspectives impact how a person sees a situation or other person.  

• Writing: Write a simple sentence from the cat’s or other creature’s perspective. The cat saw the ____, the ______ and the ______.  Then, illustrate it the way you think the cat (or other animal) sees each one.

• Choral Reading: The repetitive text is ideal for choral reading or audience participation. 

• Reading: Limited, simple vocabulary for early reader practice.

• Art:  Complete a fun cat craft like the ideas here and here.

 For Perfect Picture Book Friday, visit Susanna Leonard Hill's blog. 

Out of My Mind (by Sharon Draper)

Title:  Out of My Mind

Author:  Sharon Draper

Target Ages:  10 and up

Genre:  Realistic Fiction

Publisher Summary:

Eleven-year-old Melody has a photographic memory. Her head is like a video camera that is always recording. Always. And there's no delete button. She's the smartest kid in her whole school—but no one knows it. Most people--her teachers and doctors included--don't think she's capable of learning, and up until recently her school days consisted of listening to the same preschool-level alphabet lessons again and again and again. If only she could speak up, if only she could tell people what she thinks and knows . . . but she can't, because Melody can't talk. She can't walk. She can't write.

Being stuck inside her head is making Melody go out of her mind--that is, until she discovers something that will allow her to speak for the first time ever. At last Melody has a voice . . . but not everyone around her is ready to hear it.

From multiple Coretta Scott King Award winner Sharon M. Draper comes a story full of heartache and hope. Get ready to meet a girl whose voice you'll never, ever forget. 

First Lines:

I’m surrounded by thousands of words.  Maybe millions…

Words have always swirled around me like snowflakes—each one delicate and different, each one melting untouched in my hands. 

Deep within me, words pile up in huge drifts.  Mountains of phrases and sentences and connected ideas. Clever expressions.  Jokes. Love songs…

But only in my head. 

I have never spoken one singe word.  I am almost eleven years old. 

Evaluation: 

Growing up, I rarely saw anyone who was disabled.  When I did, I was uncomfortable and confused.  I did not have any significant encounters until well into adulthood, mostly working as a regular substitute teacher in special education classrooms. I am grateful for that experience.  I still do not fully understand though all that is involved with working with special education students, let alone understand what is going on inside them.  This book though brought me a little closer.

To me, a good book should broaden my experience and challenge my worldview.  Both prompt greater empathy and understanding. The middle grade novel Out of My Mind did all of that for me.

First, I could not help but think multiple times as I read, I wish I would have read novels like this as a student and especially as a novice teacher. It was so astonishing to get into the head of someone like the protagonist, Melody.  I realize each person has different abilities. However, I never much thought about the possibility that someone so physically disabled could have such a sharp mind and hidden abilities.

A main motif of the story is Melody’s desire to communicate. There are probably many disabled children (and adults) who yearn to express themselves, but cannot. She “acts out” because she wants to communicate something, but she incapable. Melody thinks, “But sometimes that’s how I feel—like wouldn’t it be cool if I had somebody to write the words over my head so people would know what I’m thinking?  I could live with that—large bubbles above me, speaking for me” (87).  Her feelings of frustration and isolation are depicted vividly, but the story never plunges into hopelessness.

The novel chronicles Melody’s many social highs and lows.  She longs to fit in with her peers.  In fifth grade, she begins some mainstream classes.  When another student whispers in her ear during class about an upcoming trip together, she reveals, “I felt like a real girl” (117). I do not think that most people, and especially not most children, think about the possibility that disabled students may desperately want to be “normal” and be accepted by them.  The novel is an excellent springboard for that discussion.

There are many other ways the novel challenges how people think about those with physical limitations.  For instance, Melody fears (and rightly so) that her peers think her “brain is messed up like the rest of” her (153). Many people speak as if she does not understand them and even worst speak in front of her as if she were an imbecile.  Several of her teachers demonstrate in word and deed that they do not think she has much going on in her brain.  Mr. Dimmings, her geography teacher, announces to the class that the quiz questions were not difficult enough because Melody got them all correct. Another teacher drills the same couple letters of the alphabet over and over with her even though Melody can read proficiently and has a photographic mind.  I felt angry at the other characters while simultaneously challenging my own preconceived notions of the disabled. 

One of the best parts of the book is Melody’s resilience in the midst of circumstances most of us cannot imagine.  She faces bullies with humor, and she respectfully stands up to teachers who belittle her.  Her best quality is her determination to “delete, delete, delete” negative words from others as well as her own self-talk. Some pretty harrowing incidents occur (especially toward the end of the novel). However, Melody makes a concerted effort to face them head on and to persevere gracefully.

Another highlight is the many people who endlessly support and challenger her.  My favorite is Mrs. V, her neighbor and caregiver.  Hours and hours are spent with Mrs. V, learning vocabulary, history, geography, and so forth. She does not allow Melody to get away with tantrums or to feel sorry for herself.  She treats her like a "normal" kid, which causes Melody to thrive.

Out of My Mind is a must-read middle grade novel.  I recommend this book to students, young adults, teachers, parents, grandparents, and everyone else.  After his novel, you will not see people the same way. 

Ideas for Extension Activities at Home or Lesson Plans for Teachers:

Study Guide with Discussion Questions, Writing Prompts, and Activities

For other Middle Grade Recommendations, visit Always in the Middle.