RM Winter 2016 FLIP

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Reading Matters
Literature Matters
| 72| Reading Matters | Volume 16 • Winter 2016 |
A Baby Elephant in theWild
O’Connell, Caitlin. (2014). Photo-illus. by
Caitlin O’Connell and Timothy Rodwell.
Unpaged. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 978-0-
544-14944-1, $16.99 (Primary)
--By Makenzie Mikesell & Sydney
Childs
Born weighing 250 pounds,
the size of a grown black bear,
is a baby elephant named Liza. Liza lives in Namibia and learns
how to walk on the day she is born. When she is only a few
days old, she is able to travel 10-20 miles with her family to a
watering hole for food. Her family shows her what foods are
safe to eat, how to control the 40,000 muscles in her trunk, and
how to keep cool by taking a mud bath. From getting stuck
in the mud or falling into deep water, Liza’s sisters, cousins,
mother, grandparents, and even aunts stay close by to rescue
her. O’Connell’s book has a large font size and simple vocabulary
for emergent readers to learn all about elephant babies and the
communities in which they live. O’Connell and Rodwell document
the growth of baby elephant Liza in her natural habitat through
vivid photographs. The photographs are up-close and capture
the bond between mother and baby elephant. At the end of
the book the author provides readers with “Did You Know”
facts to expand their knowledge about elephants even more.
Separate Is Never Equal:
Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s
Fight for Desegregation
Tonatiuh, Duncan. (2014). 40 pp. Abrams.
978-1-4197-1054-4, $18.95 (Primary/
Intermediate)
--by Shannon Frydenlund & Sarah
Dickenson
Many of you have heard of
Brown vs. Board of Education,
but have you heard of Mendez vs. Westminster School District?
Separate Is Never Equal tells the story of Sylvia Mendez and
her Hispanic family’s fight for the desegregation of Mexican
schools in the 1940s. This lesser-known case follows the
Mendez family through its struggles in the California school
district seven years before the legendary Brown vs. Board of
Education decision. This authentic book would be a great
resource to use in highlighting the fight for desegregation
focusing on racial groups other than African Americans.
It portrays the story through the eyes of third grader Sylvia
in a fictional manner but with factual events and dialogue
that “comes directly from court transcripts” (p. 39). The book
includes various textual features commonly found in nonfiction
such as a glossary and an index. It concludes with an Author’s
Note that provides additional detailed information about the
account of the Mendez family. Duncan Tonatiuh, winner of the
Pura Belpré Award for illustration, uses his signature style yet
again to beautifully paint the story behind this lesser-known,
but legendary case. Through the easy to follow storyline, and
captivating illustrations, Separate Is Never Equal portrays the
Mendez family’s fight for justice and equality and reminds
readers of its continued relevance in today’s society.
A Rock Can Be
Salas, Laura Purdie (2015). Illus. by Violeta
Dabija. Unpaged. Millbrook.
978-1-4677-2110-3, $17.99 (Primary)
--by Makenzie Mikesell
Author of the “Can Be . . .”
series, Laura Purdie Salas, takes
the reader on a journey around
the world exploring the many
places rocks are found and what they are used for. Part of the
text reads, “A rock is a rock. It’s sand, pebble, stone. Each rock
tells a story, a tale all its own. A rock can be a . . . Tall mountain
Park fountain Dinosaur bone Stepping-stone.” Salas uses lyrical
rhyming text to turn what some might consider a boring, dull
rock into a rock that sparks light or even a rock that glows at
night. Readers will not only be engaged while reading, but they
will also be captivated by Violeta Dabija’s vibrant illustrations.
Dadija uses primary colors, as well as, colors that contrast and
highlight the rocks mentioned. At the end of the book author,
Laura Purdie Salas, offers an informational guide (“More About
Rocks”) providing additional facts about each of the rocks
she presents in her story. In addition, Salas provides readers
with a glossary to define terms (e.g., carbon, fossil, gargoyle,
and phosphorescent) used throughout the book that may be
new or unfamiliar for readers. Still want to know more about
rocks? Salas suggests books about rocks for further reading.
“A rock is a rock . . . Now go and discover what else it can be!”
Rain Reign
Martin, Ann M. (2014). 226 pages. Feiwel
and Friends. 978-0-312-64300-3, $16.99
(Intermediate)
--by Laura Dekle
“I am Rose Howard and my
first name has a homonym. To be
accurate, it has a homophone, which
is a word that’s pronounced the
same as another word but spelled
differently. My homophone name
is Rows” (p. 3). Rose has a running
list of groups of homonyms that she
keeps and regularly updates. She says, “I like homonyms a lot. And
I like words” (p. 4). In addition to her love of words and rules (and
numbers, especially prime), Rose loves her dog, Rain. Rose and Rain
wordlessly understand each other and have an established daily
routine that they enjoy, until one day a violent storm hits Rose’s
town and results in Rain’s disappearance. Rose’s passion to find
Rain pushes out of her comfort zone, and her unconditional love
for her dog motivates her to search far and wide, over many towns
and many months. Her love for Rain later becomes the catalyst for
a selfless decision that Rose makes concerning both her and Rain’s
future. Ann M. Martin masterfully and authentically presents Rose’s
form of autism and her behavior because of it. From a distance,
Rose’s idiosyncrasies might seem strange or nonsensical, but
Rose’s narration of the story explains her thoughts and actions
in a way that helps readers to understand the inner workings
of her mind. This book is appropriate for upper-elementary-
aged students. The story is endearing, true, hard, and real.