First Star: A Bear and Mole Story (Will Hillenbrand)

Title:  First Star:  A Bear and Mole Story

Author: Will Hillenbrand

Illustrator:  Will Hillenbrand

Target Ages:  3-8

Genre:  Picture Book Fiction

Publisher Summary: 

Up, up, up climb Mole and Bear.  They are on the way to Camp Tiptop to see the stars.  But as the sun sets, Mole is scared.  What if they get lost in the dark?  Luckily, Bear has the perfect story to calm Mole’s fears. 

Later, the sky has its own surprise in store for the two campers.

First Lines:

Mole gazed up.

“May we sleep under the sky tonight?” asked Mole.

“I want to see the stars turn on.”

Memorable Moment:

Bear comforts Mole, “Dark is not so dark if you know where you are.”

Evaluation:

The cover art is adorable! It previews perfectly the theme—friends using their strengths to help each other out. 

A simple plot focuses on a camping trip.  Mole and Bear work together to pack up for the journey, to help each other out on the way up, to set up camp, and to spend the evening outdoors. 

The story within a story framework is utilized.  As night moves in, Mole is afraid of getting lost in the dark (a bit ironic for a mole).   To comfort him, Bear tells the story of how the moon and stars were added to the sky to give them light and direction. 

Hillenbrand’s signature illustrations use soft shades in contrast with bright colors.  The story moves from close up shots of the characters to sweeping views of the sky, emphasizing a strong intimacy of friends and family in the vast and spectacular universe.

These characters are memorable and endearing.  Bear has great physical strength, but he also is kind and gentle.  I love how he uses these qualities to help his small, meek friend, Mole feel safe and overcome his fears.  Overall, their friendship exemplifies the importance of using our strengths—whether physical, emotional, spiritual, or mental—to help each other.   

First Star:  A Bear and Mole Story a sweet story of lasting friendship and overcoming fears.

Also, check out Hillenbrand’s Spring Is Here and Down by the Barn. 

Activities and Extension Ideas for Lesson Plans:

• Literature:  Read other creation stories.  Compare and contrast them.  See Picture Book Connections.
• Writing:  Write an original creation myth about the moon and stars or something else in nature.
• Science:  Learn about the moon and its phrases.
• Life Skills:  Allow students to share their camping experiences. What supplies did they need?  What did they do on the trip?  How did they get around at night? 
• Field Trip:  Plan a camping trip (even one in the backyard).  Have the whole family (or class) determine what supplies are needed and pack them up together.  For a class, it could be a picnic outside school. 

Picture Book Connections (Creation Stories and Myths):

A Big Mooncake for Little Star

This heartwarming modern folktale explains how the moon ends up in the sky—as well as the reason for its phases. 

The Star-Bearer: A Creation Myth from Ancient Egypt

Creation begins when Atum, the god child, emerges from the bud of a lotus. Stories build off his family that explain how the world and other gods came to be.

Anansi the Spider: A Tale from Ashanti

When Anansi falls into trouble, his six sons come to the rescue. This trickster tale explains the origin of the moon. 

Why the Sun & Moon Live in the Sky

The story explains why the moon and her children the stars only appear at night when Sun is not around.

Why the Sun and Moon Live in the Sky: An African Folktale
Like the aforementioned story, the origin of the moon in the sky is explained.

The Woman who Fell from the Sky: The Iroquois Story of Creation
As a sky woman falls from a floating island high in the sky, she creates the earth, creatures, and sky. 

Piecing Earth and Sky Together: A Creation Story from the Mien Tribe of Laos
A brother and sister duo from heaven make a bet.  The brother weaves a majestic sky while the sister a glorious earth. When they put them together, the world is created. 

Visit Susanna Leonard Hill for Perfect Picture Book Friday.

Imaginary Menagerie (Julie Larios)

Title:  Imaginary Menagerie

Author: Julie Larios

Illustrator:  Julie Paschkis

Target Ages:  5-10

Genre:  Poetry Picture Book

Publisher Summary: 

Who is half gallop, half walk?

Who can turn you to stone with one look?

Whose voice do you hear in the splash on the shore?

         

Centaurs, mermaids, and other curious creatures populate these wondrous poems and paintings, inspired by a mythological world full of imagination and mystery.

Sample Poem:

“Phoenix”

Rising

from the ashes of her nest,

away she flies.

She is a bird that never dies.

Singer

and shape-changer,

she is a strange one:

Now a crane, now a drake,

now a turtle, now a snake,

now a swallow, now a swan—

she burns and is reborn.

And then she’s gone.

Evaluation:

This collection of poems is full of imagination and wonder.  Poet Julie Larios introduces young readers to well-known mythological creatures as well as several lesser-known ones.  The creatures included are dragons, mermaids, firebirds, centaurs, trolls, cockatrices, hobgoblins, sea serpents, thunderbirds, sphinxes, will o’ the wisps, gargoyles, nagas, and phoenixes.

Come for the poems, stay for Julie Paschkis’ stunning illustrations.  Using rich colors and exquisite detail, each one captures the beauty and essence of the highlighted creature(s) and builds on the descriptions in the poems.

Larios includes some further explanation of each creature in the author’s notes.   

Imaginary Menagerie is a fantastic introduction to many of the imaginary creatures mentioned in fairy tales, myths, legends, folk tales, and other literature. 

Activities and Extension Ideas for Lesson Plans:

• Art:  Students can use the descriptions of each creature to draw, paint, or otherwise create what they think it looks like.  
• Literature:  Read stories that include these mythical creatures.  For instance, Greek mythology often mentions centaurs (such as Chiron). In addition, there are several mermaid books like Sukey and the Mermaid and The Mermaid and the Shoe.
• Recitation:  Assign individuals or groups of students a poem to memorize.  Encourage student to dress up, to use props, and to show emotion as they recite it from memory.
• Research:  Older students can pick a creature to research.  Then, present the information to the class in a PowerPoint or poster board.
• Writing Idea #1:  Write a story about one or more mythical creature. 
• Writing Idea #2:  Create an original imaginary creature which includes a description, abilities, and special powers.  Then, write an origin story for it.
• Writing Idea #3: Rewrite a well-known story or myth with one or more mythical creatures.

For more Poetry Friday selections, head over to Reading to the Core and the Link Up.

Echo Echo (Marilyn Singer)

Title:  Echo Echo: Reverso Poems about Greek Myths               

Author:  Marilyn Singer

Illustrator:  Josee Masse

Target Ages:  6 and up

Genre:  Poetry Collection

Publisher Summary:

There are two sides to every story—especially the Greek myths.  From Perseus and Medusa to Arachne and Athena, gods and mortals rarely see eye-to-eye.

In this third collection of ingenious reverso poems, Marilyn Singer brings classic myths to new and vivid life.  When read from topic to bottom, each poem tells a well-known story from a world of heroes and monsters.  When read in reverse, however, the very same words convey a whole new point of view!

Sample Poems (Click on Picture for a Larger View):

Evaluation:

I am a fan of the first two reverso poetry collections by Singer.  I also love ancient Greek history and mythology.  This book appealed to my many loves! 

The poems are fantastic.  The illustrations are a stunning wonder.  I love the rich golds and blues with splashes of red and green.  Each picture captures multiple perspectives. 

Echo Echo is an engaging and memorable read. 

Activities and Extension Ideas for Lesson Plans:

• Literature:  Add these poems to a study of Greek myths or use them as a springboard to read some myths. 
• Point of View:  Discuss how there can be different points of view to the same event.  Make observations about the characters—their perspectives, background, motivations, and such. 
• Grammar:  Study how punctuation (and even word placement in relation to poetry) changes the meaning of a text. 
• Poetry:  Try to write a reverso for a Greek (or other cultural) myth not already covered in the book.
• History:  Read about ancient Greece and the Greek gods for a better understanding of the context of these poems.
• Origin Stories: Distinguish the stories that give an origin of something (spiders, seasons, daffodil flowers, evil in the world).  Teach about how the Greeks and other ancient people made up stories to understand what was incompressible at the time.  
• Writing:  Write (or draw a picture and tell orally) an origin story for something in nature or happens naturally.
• Visual Texts:  Study the illustrations.  Evaluate how they convey the different perspectives.
• Connections: With such so many concise mythological retellings, it would be easy to look for connections and patterns. For instance, identify common motifs like pride, heroism, family, love, courage, and so forth.  Group character types--heroes and villains, gods and mortals--and character qualities--prideful, competitive, brave, sacrificial, selfish,and such.

Literary Connections:
Pandora
Arachne and Athena
King Midas
Perseus and Medusa
Bellerophon and Pegasus
Narcissus and Echo
Pygmalion and Galatea
Theseus and Ariadne
Icarus and Daedalus
Melanion and Atalanta
Demeter and Persephone
Eurydice and Orpheus

Historical Connections:
Ancient Greece

Visit Today's Little Ditty for the Poetry Friday Round Up.

Visit Susanna Hill for Perfect Picture Book Friday recommendations.

Percy Jackson's Greek Gods (Rick Riordan)

Title:  Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods

Author:  Rick Riordan

Illustrator:  John Rocco

Target Ages:  10 and up

Genre:  Mythological Collection

Publisher Summary:

“A publisher in New York asked me to write down what I know about the Greek gods, and I was like, Can we do this anonymously? Because I don't need the Olympians mad at me again. But if it helps you to know your Greek gods, and survive an encounter with them if they ever show up in your face, then I guess writing all this down will be my good deed for the week.

So begins Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, in which the son of Poseidon adds his own magic--and sarcastic asides--to the classics. He explains how the world was created, then gives readers his personal take on a who's who of ancients, from Apollo to Zeus. Percy does not hold back. ‘If you like horror shows, blood baths, lying, stealing, backstabbing, and cannibalism, then read on, because it definitely was a Golden Age for all that.’”

First Lines:

“I hope I’m getting extra credit for this. 

A publisher in New York asked me to write down what I know about the Greek gods, and I was like, ‘Can we do this anonymously? Because I don’t need the Olympians mad at me again.’

But if it helps you to know your Greek gods, and survive an encounter with them if they ever show up in your face, then I guess writing all this down will be my good deed for the week.”

Evaluation:

I listened to this book with my teen son. The narrator, Jesse Berstein, does a fantastic job with tone and voice. He embodies the character of Percy Jackson perfectly, but also changes his voice to distinguish the other characters. If you can get the audio recording, I highly recommend it.

The point of view is an interesting mix of literary elements.  Percy Jackson is a fictional character from the modern era that has encountered each of the gods in his own life.  While the focus of the storytelling is on ancient world myths, he makes remarks from his personal experience as well. 

Another element related to point of view is how the author has crafted through his storyteller frequent juxtapositions of the ancient and modern world.  As he lists or describes a situation using ancient concepts, he often shifts to connect them to the modern world.  For instance, after Persephone goes missing, they brainstorm ways to help find her like “offering a reward, putting [her] face on milk cartons, and stapling missing posters around town” (81). This technique brings out the character of Percy Jackson, both as a modern protagonist as well as a humorous personality.  Also, it is a way to make the ancient world stories more concrete and relevant for 21st century readers.  Educators and parents can use the contrasts as a springboard to evaluate the specific juxtapositions or to teach the general concept of juxtaposition.

The story telling is highly engaging. It is broken down into chapters on different gods and goddesses. Then, there are several narratives related to each one within the chapter. Many stories will be familiar to young readers, but there are some nice gems that will be new to most.  The stories are ideal for building knowledge of mythology and ancient Greek culture.

Many figurative elements are used. Irony is plentiful—especially verbal.  There are puns, like “Poseidon gets salty.”  Idioms are used, such as “out of his league” and “broke the ice.”  There are similes, metaphors, hyperbole, and understatement examples sprinkled in. 

My only concern is age-appropriateness. There are frequent references to adultery, murder, and, even, rape. As we know, those were activities often attributed to the Greek gods. The behaviors are not glorified though. Nothing is described graphically. Adults will know what is happening, but younger children will not likely grasp the significance. For those with younger readers, you may want to review the book in advance to make sure you are comfortable with the material.

Overall, Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods is a thrilling book to read or to listen to. My son and I enjoyed it so much that we are now listening to Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes.

Activities and Extension Ideas for Lesson Plans:

• Religion: Discuss how the students'/family's ideas about god and the supernatural compare with those of the Greeks.  You may want to ask questions like:  How would you describe the motives and actions of the gods?  How are they similar to humans?  How are they similar to supernatural beings?  Why do you think the Greeks chose to see their gods as more human than god-like?  
• Mythology:  Pick 2 or more myths to compare and to contrast.  What do these myths say about the Greeks' views on life? Their fears? Their values? Their views on human nature?
•  Characterization & Irony:  Discuss ironies in characterization.  For instance, Aphrodite is the goddess of love, but she is known for being hateful and causing strife while Ares is the god of war, but he is depicted as being wimpy.  Why do you think the Greeks chose to paint their god in such contrasting lights?
• Figurative Language: Discuss examples of similes, metaphors, juxtaposition, irony, and so forth.
• Voice:  How does the author develop and illustrate the "voice" of Percy Jackson as well as the other characters?  (See some of the notes in the evaluation to get a discussion started.)

Historical Connections:

Ancient Greece
Trojan War

The First Strawberries: A Cherokee Story (Joseph Bruchac)

Title:  The First Strawberries

Author:  Joseph Bruchac

Illustrator:  Anna Vojtech

Just the Beginning

“Long ago when the world was new, the Creator made a man and a woman.  The two of them were made at the same time so that neither would be lonesome.  They married, and for a long time they lived together and were happy.”

Summary

One day, the man says unkind words to the woman. She walks away in anger. The Sun takes pity on the repentant husband, so he sends raspberries first, then blueberries, and then blackberries to the earth in an attempt to stop the woman. It is with the strawberries—the final gift—that she stops.

“She knelt down and plucked one and bit into it.  She had never tasted anything like it before. Its sweetness reminded her how happy she and her husband had been together before they quarreled.” 

As she gathers some to take back to him, the man catches up.  He asks for her forgiveness.  She answers by sharing the sweet berries. 

Evaluation

The story is simple but beautiful. I read it for the first time several days ago, yet it has stayed with me. I will never eat another strawberry without remembering this lovely Cherokee tale. The soft watercolor illustrations compliment the narrative perfectly. 

The ending is noteworthy: “To this day, when the Cherokee people eat strawberries, they are reminded to always be kind to each other; to remember that friendship and respect are as sweet as the taste of ripe, red berries.”  The strawberry, also, reminds me of the power of forgiveness and the importance of gratitude for the sweetness of life.

If you are teaching about Native American culture at home or in the classroom, I urge you to use this book as part of your lesson or unit plan. However, The First Strawberries is a powerful story on its own. I recommend picking up a copy to read for enjoyment, character building, or multicultural enrichment. The straightforward text is appropriate for ages 5 and up. 

Joseph Bruchac has written many books highlighting the stories and culture of Native Americans. He represents a genuine voice of the culture.