Module 1

Module 1

Rainbow Fish
Summary
a. A pretty fish will not share his scales and has no friends in the beginning of the book.  He finally realizes that if he does not change, he will never have friends.  He starts to share his scales and the other fish begin to welcome him. 

Bibliographic Citation
b. Pfister, M. (1996). The Rainbow Fish. New York: North-South Books.

Impressions
c. The book is relatively short and the version I had was a large book and very colorful. I believe this is the boardbook edition.   I thought the book had a good message and that kids would be able to relate pretty easily to it.  The illustrations were very colorful and offer a clear visual of the story. The sparkle on the rainbow fish really added a good cue to understand the difference between it and the other fish.  I had never read it to my kids so this was a new book to me.  I think young children would be attracted to it because of the pictures and then be able to learn a lesson as well. 

Reviews
d. Ages 1-3. This board book presents a bare bones version of the original picture boo story: the vain, lonely Rainbow Fish relinquishes his pride and gives away almost all his special, shiny scales to gain friends. About half the original watercolor paintings appear here, reduced in size and cropped to fit the more compact format. Children too young to sit through the original story will enjoy this version, complete with those irresistible, iridescent fish scales.
Phelan, Carolyn. (1996)."The Rainbow Fish Board Book." Booklist 15 Mar. 1996: 1269. Literature Resource Center. Web. 15 Sept. 2013.

Uses
e. This book would be great for storytime in lower elementary. 







The Giving Tree
Summary
a.  Follows a boy to manhood and a tree that he visits frequently.  The tree gives everything it has to keep the man happy until there is nothing left to give but a stump for the old man to sit on. 

Bibliographic Citation
b. Silverstein, S. (1992). The giving tree. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers. (Original work published 1964).

Impressions
c.  I thought it was a little bit of a sappy story but I think there are some good lessons in it.  Never read this to my kids as well but if I ever read it myself, I didn't remember it.  I enjoy Silverstein poetry so I wanted to see what this is. I found myself wishing the tree would just say no but that is not the message.  I guess there is a moral to the story and there are a couple of things that could lead to good discussion. Very typical Silverstein illustrations, black and white and simple. 

Review
 Horn Book (Fall 2003)
“This book about a boy and a generous tree, who gives him all she has, has long been cherished as a tale of unconditional, selfless love, and likewise condemned as a story of complete codependency. Its controversial themes now live on in a new format, with the same short text per page and evocative line drawings now made larger for easier sharing with a group.”
Horn Book. (Fall 2003). The Giving Tree Full-Text Reviews. Retrieved from http://www.titlewave.com/search?SID=4553b1df4ca0aae30f7f9e8c59614c07

This popular classic of modern children's literature was first published in 1963 and has been embraced both by children and adults. It has just been released with a CD narration of the story by Shel Silverstein. This parable teaches lessons on love and acceptance, is simply told. It is illustrated with black and white line drawings and a straightforward text describing how a little boy comes to visit the "giving tree" every day. The tree gives the boy everything from its apples to a place to swing and slide. As the boy grows up, he demands more and more from the tree until finally the tree seems to have nothing left to give. At the end, the boy is an old man and returns to the tree and finds that the tree provides him with one more thing.

The CD operates well, but the recording is not perfectly clear as Mr. Silverstein is close to the microphone at times. But children will love hearing his tender and soulful voice and the melodious harmonica background music. The recording is close to six minutes long and fits into a pocket inside the back cover.

The book's theme of love and the cycle of life will resonate with adults and will provide many discussion points when shared with children.

Highly Recommended.

Douglas, Lorraine. The Giving Tree CM: Canadian Review of Materials; 6/18/2004, Vol. 10 Issue 21, pN.PAG, 0p Retrieved Literature Resource Center. Web. 15 Sept. 2013.


Uses
e.  This book can be used in a poetry book talk.