Module 3

This Is Not My Hat
Summary
A story about a little fish who steals a hat from a big fish and thinks he got away with it.  The big fish comes to get the hat and in the end does get it back after going into the weeds to find the little fish.  You are left to imagine what happened as the next thing you see is the big fish with the had and no sign of the little fish.

Bibliographic Citation
 Klassen, J. (2012).  This is Not My Hat.  Sommerville, Mass. :Candlewick Press.

Impression
 I have not read any other Klassen works so I had no idea what to expect.  I thought it was a cute little book but a little mysterious in the beginning to middle.  Then you get to imagine what happened in the seaweed, that was interesting.  It seems like this could be a little controversial for small children.  Not really sure if they would be traumatized or think it is funny.  Very likely would make for some interesting conversation.  I liked the illustration and overall story.  Not a lot of words but the pictures do a very good job of telling the story. Overall, I liked it and wouldn't mind comparing some of the author's other works. 

Review
Chipman, Ian. Booklist; 8/1/2012, Vol. 108 Issue 22, p67-67, 1/5p. Retrieved from Literary Reference Center 17 Sept. 2013.

Grades K-2. Klassen’s authorial debut, I Want My Hat Back (2011), became one of the surprise picture-book hits of the year. This follow-up is really only related in its hat-theft theme, animal characters, deadpan humor, and a suggestively dark conclusion. Which might seem like everything, but whereas the first book featured light sleuthing by a semi-dopey bear looking to find his lost lid, this is a similar story from a fishy absconder’s point of view. “This hat is not mine. I just stole it,” claims a minnow darting through the deep-sea black. He tells how he lifted it from a bigger fish. At each stage, the minnow reassures himself that he’s gotten away with his perfect crime. We see it ain’t so, as the big fish trolls along right behind him, right down to the minnow’s final, prophetic double entendre: “Nobody will ever find me.” Once again, the simple, dramatic tension and macabre humor mesh splendidly with Klassen’s knack for tiny, telling details and knockout page turns. Who knew hat thievery was such a bottomless well? HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Klassen’s debut was a #1 New York Times best-seller and Geisel Honor Book. The publisher is rolling out a 15-city tour and pulling out all the publicity stops in support of this release.

Uses
 This could be a good book talk because of the thievery and the imagining of the result.  You could discuss following the law, punishments.  You could also have the students come up with their own versions of what happened in the seaweed. 





f.






A Ball For Daisy

Summary
This is a story about a dog with a ball.  The dog and its owner go the park to play with the ball.  While there, another dog accidently pops the ball and everyone is sad.  Daisy mopes around and misses the ball.  They end up meeting the other dog again at the park and the other dog gives Daisy a new ball.  They both play with it and things are all better.

Bibliographic Citation
Raschka, C. (2011).  A Ball For Daisy.  New York: Schwartz & Wade Books. 

Summary
I dont know exactly why but this one did not do much for me.  The no words thing is a little bit weird to me.  I really did not particularly like the illustrations either.  I think it was probably water color and I though it was pretty crude.  I could follow the story through the pictures so it was not confusing or anything but I found myself not really knowing what to get out of the book.  It was nice of the other dog to replace the ball but just not really sure of the lesson exactly. 

Review

Kraus, Daniel. ( 2011) Booklist (June 1, 2011 (Vol. 107, No. 19)) Retrieved from Literary Reference Center 17 Sept 2013.

Preschool-Kindergarten. This story about loss (and joy) is accomplished without a single word, which is perfect—it puts you directly in the head space of its canine protagonist. The title tells us her name is Daisy, but she is a pretty anonymous little thing, drawn by Raschka as just a few indistinct yet somehow expressive squiggly lines. What’s clear is that she loves playing with her ball, both indoors and out, until the fateful moment that another dog bites too hard on the ball and deflates it. In a heartaching series of nearly identical paintings, Daisy slumps into a sofa as depression overtakes her. Dogs, of course, don’t know that there are more balls in the world, which makes her glee at the end of the book all the sweeter. Raschka uses fairly sophisticated comic-book arrangements—long, narrow, horizontal panels, and so forth—but masks them with soft watercolor edges instead of sharp corners. The result feels like something of pure emotion. Pretty close approximation of what it’s like to be a dog, probably.


Uses
Have some older students act out the book for younger ones.  Ask the students if they can tell what the author is trying to say in the book.