Carol Greene (3)Rezensionen

51281

51909

13 copies

Tale of a cobbler waiting for a very special Christmas present.

I found myself singing along to this delightful Hallowe'en version of a favorite Christmas carol, so I bet kids will too! By far though, the best part about this book for me are the illustrations.

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We all know Halloween now is all about scary things such as ghosts, goblins, and even trick-or-treaters. But what we may not realize is Halloween originated 2,000 years ago and it meant something completely different. I enjoyed reading all about what Halloween meant years ago compared to how we see it now. This book was very educational and I would recommend sharing it with children during Halloween time. I think it would make the perfect book for a lesson during the fall. This book was also filled with illustrations that showed what it was like back then as well.

This book effectively introduces young readers (grades 2-5) to the history of Halloween as it evolved in Europe and eventually made its way to the United States. It begins by explaining its origins in Celtic traditions and provides lots of nifty details about practices and customs associated with like bobbing for apples, lighting fires, or how the holiday got its name or why we use the phrase “jack o’lantern.” It does an excellent job presenting a concise history of how Celtic beliefs (lighting bonfires) overlapped with seasonal Roman rituals (apple harvests) and how both were embraced and assimilated into Christian traditions. It explains how modern Halloween mirth is rooted in old Samhain superstitions. Surprisingly, it discusses negative behaviors sometimes associated with Halloween which do the holiday a disservice; at the same time, an anecdote about a UNICEF fundraising tradition, begun in the 1950's, was a wonderful way to demonstrate how the holiday was in keeping with ancient customs of caring for others who are in need. The only problem which may arise stems from the use of the word “spook” throughout the book (published in 2004). Some readers, teachers, or parents may take exception regarding the use of this word. For some it may be a teachable moment, but others may object outright and ignore the wonderfully fascinating history of this autumnal celebration.

Why do we celebrate Halloween? What is it, exactly, and where does it come from? Carol Greene shares the history of Halloween for young readers, answering these questions. Colorful illustrations resembling chalk art accompany Greene's text, carrying readers from the early days of Halloween as the harvest festival of Samhain to the costume-donning, candy-giving spooktacular it is in the U.S. today. Avoiding some of the highly commercialized elements and darker themes attached to the holiday, Greene delivers the origins of Halloween in a way that is acceptable for small children without being overly simplistic.½

This short chapter book is a biography on Abraham Lincoln. The books briefly covers Abraham'a childhood into Adulthood. The books talks about his time as President during the Civil War. The book ends with covering his death. The books is an easy read for 2nd-3rd graders. I believe it could also be introduced during first grade, but only certain pages should be read since it is a chapter book. I do feel that the book's use of real pictures and paintings/drawings did a good job of keeping the reader's attention. The book was not overly detailed in the information which I believe will help students stay focused during the reading. Overall a very good book to use during an introduction to biographies. During the reading, I would have a side conversation about Abraham's near drowning that is mentioned on page 6. The book mentions that Abraham's store failed on page 17. At this point I might ask the students why they believes the store failed. On page 23 Abraham's stance on slavery is mentioned. I would ask the students to think about his stance and what it meant to feel this way during the 1800s. We would also talk about how quickly the war was started after Abraham became president. I would do a side reading of a speech given by Abraham that is mentioned on page 35. This would be a great book to introduce a biography to a 2nd or 3rd grade class. With the basic writing style and precise information, the students could use this book as an example to refer to during their own creation of a biography on a choose person.

Hilarious and fun colorful drawings. Not for little ones though.

The cat used in the illustrations of this book is a Ragdoll.

Who knew that the history of Halloween extended waaaaay farther back than the All Saints Day warding off of evil spirits? And who could have imagined that a Jack-o-Lantern used to be a Jack-o-Turnip? Apparently, Carol Green did, and she shares tidbits about the history of Halloween in ways that both demystify and intrigue readers both young and, um, more "mature" (such as this one). While not exactly a chapter book, this work organizes the history of Halloween chronologically and gives each "age" a page, making the book's info easily bite-sizeable, and thus a wonderful "read a page a day-able" during the month of October. Highly recommend for the 2nd-5th grade classroom non-fiction classroom.

Summary: This book is about Jackie Robinson and how he was so good in the sports he played, he lettered in high school and in college, then he got drafted in the army and played football, but he wanted to play baseball so he got out and he was allowed to play baseball even though people would yell at him and call him mean names, he became very good and became like and was a role model to other African Americans. This was a huge deal and now African Americans play baseball all the time.

Personal Reaction: I thought this was a good book because some children don't know that African Americans weren't allowed to play baseball back then. I think this book is a good example of how things used to be and how they are now. Society still struggles with racism, and discrimination, hopefully this can help prevent it.

Classroom Extension Ideas:
1) Have the students go and play baseball outside
2) Have the students write facts about Jackie Robinson

I love this children's picture book by Carol Greene! I have enjoyed reading this book to my children, students and now my grandchildren for many years. Tho' the illustrations of Tim Raglin for this updated version of the book are charming indeed, I find myself missing the original illustrations of this story between two witches. However, this delightful story can be read...or sung to the tune of the 12 Days of Christmas with your young readers. A great read for every Halloween season at home or in the classroom! Check it out and enjoy it!

this book take about the important skills that must librarian have it, and how to dail with different type of library

I had mixed feelings about this book. I think it did a decent job explaining the differences between boys and girls but I thought it was a little inappropriate for the age levels, which are ages 4-6. The book uses terms like “penis” and “vagina” and I know children should know the names of their body parts but at that age I think children shouldn’t be exposed to body parts of the opposite sex. The book also had pictures of these body parts and I think that is a little inappropriate. On the other hand I did like that the book makes it important to children that everyone is unique. The book says, “You are YOU. God made YOU.” This is good for children to know that they are unique but its ok to be unique and be who you are. The overall theme of this book is to teach children about the differences between boys and girls.½

13 Days of Halloween is a great parody of the Christmas classic "13 Days of Christmas." It's a fun and silly book to get along with the students during the Halloween day in class. Features everything Halloween related and can be a catchy tune of the kids if they can remember how the song goes for the rest of the day. It's a fun book with a catchy tune and a great book to sage during Halloween. This is a picture book.

Halloween goes all the way back to 2,000 years from now. It use to be harvest festivals in Great Britain, Ireland, and Northern France. Halloween has changed so much over the years through so many countries. This book taught me a lot about Halloween that I did not know. Awesome facts. Great book to introduce to children to give them the background on Halloween.

John chapman was an interesting retelling of the classical tale of johnny appleseed. Though many facts do not exist for the real man. I really like the way the writter kept the language simple for children.
I found the book inspiring and very interesting. It was also kept at a simple reading level.
This story could be used along with a tree planting project where the children all get to plant seeds and grow a tree.

Summary: Astronauts Work in Space by Carol Greene gives readers a neat look into the lives and careers of astronauts. This book targets a younger astronauts and shows a few of the different jobs of astronauts on the space shuttle and what is required of a person for them to become an astronaut.

Personal Reaction: This is a really neat and simple informational book for young readers. Real life photos illustrate the book and give extra detail. I loved getting a look at the space shuttles and parts of the astronaut career that most of us never get to see. Another neat detail is that there are action words that add a little bit of excitement to the page. For example, when the astronauts work on controls, they "tap, tap, tap". It can help keep the attention of a young audience.

Extension Ideas:
Have the class research astronauts. Ask each student to come up with 5 facts or details that were not discussed in the book.

As a class, create a brochure for the career of an astronaut. Include facts found in the book and encourage students to be creative and artistic when they illustrate the brochures. Display them where the rest of the school can see.

Summary: This was a very simple biography of George Washington’s life. The author not only informed the readers about Washington’s political accomplishments, but also about his personal life. The biography was perfect for children because it was written in a way that made you realize he was just a person, just like you or me. The biography had little details about Washington’s life that you probably wouldn’t find in a history book, things that made him more human in a sense.

Personal Reaction: I like that the biography covers aspects of George Washington’s life history books generally wouldn’t. Personal details make it easier to relate to characters in a story and to children that’s all George Washington is, another character in a story. I also really liked the real life illustrations on each page that reiterated what the author was informing the readers about.

Classroom Extension Ideas:
1. Discuss The Constitution
2. Create a timeline of George Washington’s life and his important dates, accomplishments, etc.

This book is actually pretty bad. But at one point it says
"drip...drip....drip on hat. drip.....drip.....drip on cat."
and I just can't resist an icicle dripping water on the head of a pissed-off cat. So three stars.

Carol Greene offers a brief and lively history of the spooky, trick-or-treating holiday. Greene traces the origins of Halloween back to 2000 years ago, and shows how the celebration has transformed through the centuries and how it ended up in the United States. Over 2000 years ago, the Celts in parts of Western Europe held a fall celebration to thank the sun for their harvest by having fire ceremonies (bonfires). Over time the celebration travelled to different countries and changed with different cultures. The beginnings of trick-or-treating as we know it, was said to have been brought to the U.S. by Irish immigrants in the mid 1800’s. This is an interesting and informative little history lesson on Halloween. A brief part of the tale concerns the history of the Jack-o-lantern. The tale tells of a mean spirited Irish drunk named Jack, who is too bad to get into heaven or hell. Some may feel this is not appropriate material for children, and in that case this part could be omitted without it taking anything away from the story.½