Ellie

By: Mary Christner Borntrager (1988)

This was an amazing novel.  I was trying to find something very different to read this week and as I was browsing the library I came to this series.  I have been fascinated by Amish people for awhile.  My grandmother lives in Upstate New York, so when we drive up to visit her, we drive through Amish country in Pennsylvania.  One of my grandmothers best friends are Amish as well so it is a completely different lifestyle than what we are used to.

This novel follows a girl named Ellie through her life.  It starts off when Ellie goes to school and is made fun of because she is the only Amish student in her class.  It follows Ellie through some very tough times in her life as well as happy times like her wedding day.  I thought the book was great, but it should of been edited a little better.  I found quite a few errors and typos in the story, but it was still very good.  I think that this book is great for all ages and would be a good book to read aloud in class.  I think the students would like to hear about someone from todays society that lives a completely different lifestyle than they do.  Ellie had no toys, video games or even colorful dresses.  She had to work very hard and had very little time to play.  It is a very eyeopening book and is very captivating in showing all about Amish life through a child's point of view.

Walter the Farting Dog

By: William Kotzwinkle and Glenn Murray (2001)

I thought that this book was hilarious!  I found my self laughing out loud a couple of times.  I think I would definitely have this series in my classroom library.  The only controversial thing I found in the book is the word farting.  It was a very cute story and I think that students would really enjoy it and the other books in the series as well.  The story was about Billy and Betty and their dog Walter that they adopted from the pound.  Walter smells awful, so their mom tells them to give him a bath.  The bath didn't help at all, Walter had a farting problem.  Billy and Betty's dad was going to make them return Walter to the pound, but the night before he was supposed to go back Walter farted and helped catch two burglars who were trying to steal from Billy and Betty's family.  Their dad decided to let Walter stay since he rescued the day!

I know that it isn't polite for students or anyone really to walk around and talk about farting, but I think that students would really enjoy this series and if it's books like this that make them want to read then I don't see a problem with them reading them.  I think the authors and illustrator both did an amazing job in this book.  The font the authors used was great and the way the illustrator did the pictures was a lot of fun.  It wasn't your ordinary everyday book and I think that students would enjoy it as much as I did!

My Grandfather's House

By: Bruce Coville (1996)

I really think the author did a great job in this story.  The story was about a young boy whose grandfather had died.  He didn't understand where his grandfather had gone.  When he asked his parents they said he was dead, but didn't know where he had gone.  He was just dead.  I lost one of my grandfathers when I was fairly young and I remember not really understanding what my parents meant when they said he was gone.  This would be a very hard topic to cover in a classroom, but it could be something that one of your students is going through or may go through soon.  It would be a good book to read to introduce the topic of death and have the kids respond.  Having the students respond could be very helpful to the student that may need to hear this story and show them that their friends and classmates have been through the same thing.

I think that the author Bruce Coville did a great job in this book.  He wrote a story about how a child felt when his grandfather died and how he was confused.  This is a controversial book in my opinion because it is dealing with the issue of death.  The one thing I noticed though was the little boys parents never said anything about his grandfather going to heaven.  I imagine if this book was read in class, some students would wonder why his parents didn't tell him that his grandfather had gone to heaven when he asked where he went.  I think that may of made the book a little more controversial if he had added that since there are some people and religions that may not believe in heaven.  Overall, I think the book was very good.

Molly Bannaky

By: Alice McGill (1999)

This book was very good.  It was the story of Molly, who was a milk maid.  The cow that Molly milked everyday knocked the pail over twice in a week and Molly was accused of stealing her masters milk.  Molly was put on trial, but since she could read the Bible, her life was spared, but she was sent from England to the New World.  Molly served as a slave for 7 years, before she was freed.  After she gained her freedom she staked a claim for her own land.  The work was too much for just her so she bought an African slave.  Molly and the slave Bannaky fell in love and got married.  This was highly frowned upon because a white woman was not supposed to marry a black man.  Molly and Bannaky had 4 daughters before Bannaky died.  One of her grandchildren, Benjamin Bannaker went on to be a famous scientist and mathematician.

I would read this as a controversial book while studying slavery.  This is an amazing true story that is very powerful.  I thought the book was very captivating from the very beginning and the fact that it is a true story is even more amazing.  This woman did something that wasn't heard of very often during this time, but she didn't care.  In society today interracial marriages are still frowned at in some areas, but for her to marry a slave during that time was very controversial.  The author and illustrator both did great jobs in the portraying Molly and Bannaky's story to the reader.  I truly enjoyed reading this book.

My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother

By: Patricia Polacco (1994)

As always I absolutely loved this book by Patricia Polacco.  I am the oldest of three girls so I can totally relate to how her brother was treating her in the book.  I am sure my sisters would say I did much worse things to them growing up!  They story captivates the audience from the beginning and leaves you turning each page wondering if she will be able to do something better or longer than her older brother.  One night there is a falling start and Patricia makes a wish that she could do something better than her brother.  The next night at the carnival she rides the Merry-Go-Round longer than him, but when she gets off she is very dizzy and falls.  Ricky her brother carried her home and ran to get the doctor, it turns out she fell on some pop bottles and passed out.

I think this book would be great to use in the class and allow the students to predict if they thought she would eventually do something better than her older brother.  I think students who have siblings would also be able to relate to this story.  It would make an interesting class discussion hearing how the younger siblings felt about the book compared to students who may be the oldest.  I really enjoyed this book and will use it in my future classroom!

The Little Green Witch

By: Barbara Barbieri McGrath (2005)

This book was very similar to The Little Red Hen.  I think it would be great to use at Halloween based on the characters.  In the book the ghost, bat and gremlin are very lazy and do not want to help the little green witch do any of the chores.  One day the witch plants pumpkin seeds, but no one helps her.  The other 3 don't help her water, pick, clean out or carve the pumpkins.  After the witch has done all of these thinks she takes the pumpkin gloop and turns it into a magnificent pumpkin pie.  The ghost, bat and gremlin come running to help her eat the pie.  The witch tells them, you wouldn't help me plant, water, pick, clean out or carve the pumpkins so you don't get to have any of my pie.  Before she sits down to enjoy her pie, she turns the other 3 into....LITTLE RED HENS!!

I would use this book in my class to show the importance of helping each other.  While no one will get turned into a red hen, it is very important that we help each other in the classroom and treat each other with respect and act like we are a family. This story was very well written and illustrated and would be a great alternative to the Little Red Hen.

The Breadwinner

By: Deborah Ellis (2001)

Oh my! This was an amazing book!  This story was absolutely heart wrenching. From the very beginning of the book you are totally engulfed in this story and the characters lives.  The book was about Parvana an Afghan girl who came from a wealthy family.  Both her parents were educated and her mother was a published author.  Then enters the Taliban and Parvana and her family's lives are torn apart.

When the Taliban came into power women's rights were taken away and Parvana's mother wasn't allowed to even leave the house without a male escort or a written note from a male figure in the house, she definitely couldn't work anymore.  One day the Taliban arrested Parvana's father and when Parvana and her mother went into town to have him released they were beaten.  This part of the story was completely gut wrenching to me.  I couldn't imagine how they must of felt with all their freedom just stripped away like that.  Parvana decides that in order for her to help her family she must cut her hair and wear her dead brothers clothes.  She does this and goes out to work to make money for her family. Their lives never really get easier and the family under goes many more struggles.  This book has a sequel which I am very interested in reading!

I would use this book in a 4th or 5th grade class.  It would be a great way to show students how lucky we are to live in the United States where we have freedoms that were stripped away from these poor people in Afghanistan.  It will also open the eyes of students to show them that people who live in Afghanistan aren't all bad and the Taliban does horrible things to these people.  I highly recommend this book.