Books That Address Diversity/Chapter Book

Bud, Not Buddy
Written by: Christopher Paul Curtis
2000 Newbery Medal Winner
2000 Corretta Scott King Award
Bud, Not Buddy tells the story of a young boy who lives in Michigan during the Great Depression. After living in an orphanage and escaping from a foster home where he's forced to sleep in a shed, Bud travels on his own to find a musician, Herman E. Calloway, who he believes is his father. On his way, he finds a Hooverville, a city made up of the homeless and jobless, where people treat him well. He also meets a kind limousine driver, who warns him about the dangers of a black person traveling alone. When Bud finally meets Herman E. Calloway, he is welcomed by Herman's entire band. Herman, though, isn't so sure how he feels about this boy who claims to be his son. Herman and Bud are both in for a surprise when they find out that Bud isn't Herman's son, but his grandson
Bud, Not Buddy is set during the Great Depression and offers students the opportunity to think about the hardships that the American people experienced during this time in history. Through the homeless main character, students are asked to explore the themes of family, survival, and hope. They are also challenged to think about how racism further threatened the lives of African Americans during this period. Though the living conditions in the novel seem bleak, the main character never loses his sense of humor and offers young readers a survival story with a happy ending.

Books That Address Diversity/Picture Book

Chicken Sunday

Written by: Patricia Polacco

Illustrated by: Edward Miller

The autobiographical Chicken Sunday springs directly from Polacco's Oakland childhood and is one of her most vigorous and lovable stories. The young Patricia is the narrator. Her best friends are two African-American boys in her neighborhood, Stewart and Winston, whose wonderful ''gramma,'' Eula Mae Walker, welcomes Patricia to join them at church on Sundays and to the family's delectable fried-chicken dinners afterward.
Eula Mae is a stupendous character. Her skin glows, her language sparkles, her lap is wide, and when she sings in the church choir, her voice is like ''slow thunder and sweet rain.''
The three children, hearts full of love, plan to surprise Eula Mae with the most gorgeous Easter bonnet in the window of cranky old Mr. Kodinski's shop. But before they can earn enough money to buy the gift, Mr. Kodinski mistakenly accuses the children of vandalizing his shop.
''Baby dears,'' Eula Mae tells the children when she learns of the accusation, ''if you say you didn't do it, then I believe you.'' But she doesn't leave it at that. She reminds them that Mr. Kodinski has suffered too much in his life (a concentration camp tattoo is visible on his arm) and urges them to prove to the shopkeeper that they are ''good people'' so he will believe them too.

Polacco demonstrates in this story and in her art that love and kindness can overcome evil and prejudice. The text conveys a tremendous pride of heritage as it brims with rich images from her characters' African American and Russian Jewish cultures. It is tribute to the strength of all family bonds.

Contemporary Book With the Tension Presented in "The Cat in the Hat"

Jumanji

Written and Illustrated by:Chris Van Allsburg

1982 Caldecott Winner

This book tells of two bored kids, Judy and Peter, who take home a mysterious ''jungle adventure'' board game that they find in the park. The instructions, on a note attached to the box, are firm: once started, the game must be played to the finish. Each adventure on the board brings the real creatures and events to life and into their home, creating danger and chaos. As the kids roll the die and move their pieces, African beasts magically materialize in the living room. But this is no petting zoo — the lion chases Peter up the stairs, the monkeys trash the kitchen, the rampaging rhinos trash everything else. It isn't until Judy reaches Jumanji, the golden city at the end of the board, and yells the name that everything disappears, broken things are made whole and all is normal. The children put the game back where they found it, telling no one, only to watch children of friends of their parents who are known for not reading directions, take the game. It's a little like The Cat in the Hat played for higher stakes.

Van Allsburg describes action in clear, concise, straightforward language that easily carries readers along. The following excerpt demonstrates his use of strong, descriptive verbs (squeeze, scrambled, slammed):
The lion roared so loud it knocked Peter right off his chair. The big cat jumped to the floor. Peter was up on his feet, running through the house with the lion a whisker's length behind. He ran upstairs and dove under a bed. The lion tried to squeeze under, but got his head stuck. Peter scrambled out, ran from the bedroom, and slammed the door behind him. The use of dialogue in Jumanji also works to move the plot along. Younger children can be invited simply to notice the dialogue. Teachers might ask "How do we know that someone is talking?" The pictures and the text are packed with details that invite the reader into the world of the story. Even young children can be asked to notice these details and discuss them. For example, Peter and Judy's home comes to life because of Van Allsburg's attention to detail in the drawings. He draws Peter's and Judy's toys scattered across the carpet and even includes their father's pipe resting on the mantel. The specificity of everyday life makes the intrusion of wild animals even more surprising. The text achieves an equally vivid effect with its use of sensory detail. For example, "Peter and Judy covered their ears as the sound of splintering wood and breaking china filled the house."

Van Allsburg moves the plot forward gracefully and thrillingly with his clear and vivid descriptions of action, which include the use of exciting, precise verbs. Instead of shutting the door, Peter slams it. Instead of running through the living room, the rhinos charge. The author's thoughtful choice of verbs provides a wonderful example for children who are working on describing action in their own stories.

Children's Books Produced As Feature Films/Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Book

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964) is a children's book by Roald Dahl. This story features the adventures of young Charlie Bucket inside the chocolate factory of eccentric candymaker Willy Wonka. The book was adapted into two major motion pictures: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory in 1971, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in 2005.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Movie

A musical film adaptation of Dahl's book Charlie & the Chocolate Factory directed by Mel Stuart and starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka, was released in 1971. It was originally a box office flop, but has since come to be considered a classic, hailed a children's classic by critics, and has attracted a worldwide audience. This film added some dialogue with references to poetry that were not in the novel. The film also included a rival chocolate maker offering the children money if they betrayed Wonka and provided him with an 'Everlasting Gobstopper'. Another departure from the novel had Charlie disobeying Willy Wonka with the encouragement of Grandpa Joe. Also, Veruca Salt's "elimination" involved a room full of golden-egg-laying geese of which she wanted one. When she went to stand on one of the egg-testing machines, she was pronounced a "bad egg" and dropped down the garbage chute. This is different from the book (and 2005 film) where Veruca went after a squirrel, got tested by a squirrel, and thrown down the garbage chute by the squirrels because "her head sounded hollow."
Another film version of the tale was released in 2005. Titled Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, it is a comedy directed by Tim Burton and stars Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka. This film featured sections of the novel that were not included in the first film, but also removed some scenes which were in both. Tim Burton's 2005 version added a history of the character: Willy Wonka is the son of dentist Dr. Wilbur Wonka. Wonka had a traumatic childhood: his father forbade him to eat candy and forced his son to wear large and unsightly orthodontic headgear. Eventually, he tastes chocolate and starts getting ideas for other candies. When he becomes an adult, Wonka opens his own candy store, with Grandpa Joe being one of Wonka's first employees. Additionally, in Burton's film, Wonka initially refuses to allow Charlie to bring his family to his factory. An eventual reconciliation between Wonka and his father causes Wonka to change his mind and allow Charlie's family to move in with him as well. At this point, it is revealed that Dr. Wonka, despite his dislike of candy, came to greatly admire Willy while he was away, and made a habit of collecting and framing newspaper articles about Willy's great success in the chocolatier industry along the years.

Children's Books Produced As Feature Films/The Cat in the Hat

The Cat in the Hat

The Cat in the Hat Book

In the first book featuring the character (The Cat in the Hat, 1957), the Cat brings a cheerful, exuberant form of chaos to a household of two young children one rainy day while their mother leaves them unattended. Bringing with him two creatures appropriately named Thing One and Thing Two, the Cat performs all sorts of wacky tricks to amuse the children, with mixed results. The Cat's antics are vainly opposed by the family pet, who is a sentient and articulate goldfish. The children (Sally and her older brother, who serves as the narrator) ultimately prove exemplary latchkey children, capturing the Things and bringing the Cat under control. To make up for the chaos he has caused, he cleans up the house on his way out, disappearing seconds before the mother arrives.

The Cat in the Hat Movie

Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat is a 2003 American live-action film adaptation of the 1957 book. It was produced by Brian Grazerand directed by Bo Welch; it stars Mike Myers in the title role of the Cat in the Hat, and Dakota Fanning as Sally. Sally's brother, who is not named in the book, is known in this version as "Conrad" and played by Spencer Breslin. While the basic plot of the live-action adaptation of The Cat in the Hat rotates around that of the book, the film added new (pointless) subplots and the characters quite different from those of the original story. This movie has mature content and is crude at times - much different from the original story.

Children's Books Produced As Feature Films/The Polar Express

The Polar Express

The Polar Express Book

A young boy lies in bed on Christmas Eve waiting to hear Santa’s sleigh bells and is surprised by the sound of a steam train outside his window. He invited to board the Polar Express by the conductor. On board, the boy joins other children who are enjoying Christmas treats and the mysterious train ride to the North Pole. When they reach their destination, one of them will be chosen to receive the first gift of Christmas, given by Santa himself. When they arrive, Santa is waiting and chooses the boy to receive the gift. He asks for a bell from the reindeer’s harness. When he returns to the sleigh, he is devastated to discover that he has lost the bell through a hole in his pocket. On Christmas morning, he is delighted to discover that Santa Claus has left the bell for him as a gift under the tree.The magical Christmas bell can only be heard by those who believe in Santa. The boy’s parents can’t hear it and gradually, over the years, his friends and sister can no longer hear it ringing. The boy himself, even as he grows to manhood, continues to believe and can always hear the ringing of the bell.

This story is very simply told, without the embellishments and additional characters found in the movie. It is a lovely story for children at Christmas, although the subdued colors of the illustrations may not hold the attention of very young children.

The Polar Express Movie

Offering a much more complex storyline and message, The Polar Express animated movie is directed by Robert Zemekis and features the voice of Tom Hanks for several of the major characters including the boy’s father, the train conductor, a mysterious hobo hitching a ride and Santa Claus. The performance-capture animation techniques used produce animated characters whose expressions and movements mirror those of an actor. The actor plays the part while wearing a number of sensors that allow a computer to map their movements, translating these into an animated image.

The Polar Express movie features several main characters including four children – the boy of the original story who in this case does not believe in Santa, a confident and compassionate girl, a know-it-all boy and a poor, shy boy. Each child is issued with a ticket onto which the conductor gradually punched letters which reveal what they have learned during their trip.
After many adventures and lessons, the children finally arrive in the centre of the village at the North Pole. The boy is not able to see Santa or hear the sound of the sleigh bells ringing, but when he chooses to believe he is rewarded by not only being able to see and hear Santa, but also receiving the first gift of Christmas.

With far more action and adventure than the book, The Polar Express movie is a favorite with children. The message is more complex with each of the central children learning that some things, such as friendship, are gifts that cannot be found under the Christmas tree.

Yoshiko Uchida

The Magic Purse

Written by: Yoshiko Uchida

Illustrated by: Keiko Narahashi

In this story, a poor, young Japanese farmer interrupts his pilgrimage to the temple to carry a letter from a beautiful wraithlike maiden, held captive by the Black Swamp lord, to her parents in the treacherous Red Swamp. His courage and kindness are rewarded with an ever-filled purse and a tray of gold pieces. Forever after, the now-prosperous farmer brings an offering of rice cakes and wine to the Black Swamp; in return, he receives a flower and hears the maiden's haunting plea, "Don't forget me." Although the story has classic folktale trappings, Uchida's retelling lacks tension. The task is accomplished with facility and little dread, and the point of the farmer's journey, the temple visit, is thinly developed. However, the imagery of the tale provides a wonderful springboard for Narahashi's watercolors.

Newberry Award Winner/Honor Book

Because of Winn-Dixie

Written by: Kate DiCamillo

2001 Newbery Honor Book

This is the heart-warming story of how several lonely people find each other with the help of a very special dog named Winn-Dixie. India Opal Buloni is a 10-year-old girl who has just moved to a trailer park in the small town of Naomi, Florida, with her itinerant preacher father. While in the Winn-Dixie supermarket, she encounters a scruffy dog wreaking havoc. She claims the dog is hers to save it from going to the pound and names it Winn-Dixie. Winn-Dixie's first act of inspiration on Opal is for her to challenge her father to name ten things about her mother, who abandoned them years before. Winn-Dixie also becomes friends with everyone he encounters, and this encourages Opal to make new friends and gradually learn they all have burdened pasts. Miss Franny Block is the town librarian with a large family reputation to uphold; Gloria Dump is a blind black woman and recovering alcoholic feared of being a witch by neighbourhood children; Otis is a shy ex-con pet store clerk with a musical streak. Opal gains wisdom and different outlooks of life through relationships with adults and peers, and grows emotionally in the process. She and Gloria host a party for all her friends to meet, but a thunderstorm breaks it up and scares Winn-Dixie away. While searching for him, Opal and her father rekindle their strained relationship.

I loved reading this book to my class. Although the content is a little mature at times, the students in my classroom could relate and they couldn't wait until I read the next chapter!

Here are some great resources for this book! //www.scholastic.com/winndixie/index.htm, http://www.katedicamillo.com/books/bowd.html