Miss Bee's Books

There are few books I would recommend as highly as this one. Through My Eyes is the amazing autobiographical account of Ruby Bridges' first year at the newly integrated William Frantz Elementary School. Swamped with work as I was when I first read this book, I could not put it down. Since September it has been on my mind; I have written lessons on it and fervently recommended it to friends. This first hand account goes through the amazing struggles a six-year-old girl went through to integrate a school in New Orleans. It shows in the simplest and most visceral terms the impact of this young girls action, not only for the country, but for Ruby herself. It also shows the amazing struggle that integration was. For those of us who were not in the South at that time, it is easy to think that Brown v. Board of Education (1954) happened and suddenly all the schools rolled over and said "Well, that's that, I guess we'll integrate." It is especially easier wh...

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has created a stunning visual exploration of the work of Impressionist artist Claude Monet. The 22 paintings featured in the book are accompanied by 2-5 word phrases lifted from Monet's own writing. The phrases come from personal letters to family and friends as well as articles in which he was quoted. The phrases are translated from french; some of the phrases are taken verbatim, while others are translated more freely. While this may sound jarring, overall it is impossible to tell. The text is poetic and links beautifully with the images; moreover, the text pulls the reader's attention to specific details of Monet's paintings, helping us fully appreciate the beauty of his work. The accompaniment of Monet's words breathe life into the paintings and create a poetic, yet brief narrative of a vibrant, breathtaking day. This book is a beautiful introduction to Claude Monet. It is engaging and an amazing resource for sparking inte...

When I grabbed I Want to be an Actor off the shelf, I envisioned myself opening it up, and ripping apart everything it had to say. A fact that I don't normally like to share with people (because honestly it just sounds silly) is that I've spent the better part of my life acting (see, now you are picturing me dressed all in black self-indulgently soliloquizing to a skull). But I was amazed. This book is actually a very good resource for children who want to learn about acting. It gives a rundown not only of the basics, but of the entire theatrical process. The book is set up as a step-by-step introduction to putting on a play from conception to performance. It includes information on writing a script, stage make-up, scenery, costumes, and publicity. "Send invitations to your friends in plenty of time and make some posters to promote the play," the book offers. "Don't forget to include the date, time, place, and name of the play," it warns. It...

Hiking by Valerie Bodden is an informative text on hiking that is perfect for young readers. With stunning full color pictures, large font, and a glossary this book is a perfect introduction to hiking. This book is a great length for a read aloud and the language and structure are simple enough that many 2nd and 3rd grade readers could peruse it independently or in small groups. Every page contains a paragraph addressing a specific topic (boots, trails, safety) and a large photograph to illustrate it. The photographs all show hikers in action and have captions which gives additional information either on the page's topic or elaborating on the picture. In the back of the book there is also a brief glossary which explains a few of the terms; however, it is not very good. It chooses to highlight words like "grooves" and "mountain", but some of the more specific hiking vocabulary mentioned in the book such as "compass", "topographic map", an...

Henry York has just moved to Henry, Kansas where he and his cousin Henrietta have discovered something very curious in his attic bedroom. A strange thump in the night has dislodged the plaster on the wall above his bed, exposing a curious set of compass dials. The more they chip away at the plaster, the more they discover: specifically, 99 cupboards, the key to their late-grandfather’s room that has been impossible to open for two years, gateways to other worlds, and that Henry York is not at all who he thinks he is. In N.D. Wilson’s 100 Cupboards, he lays the foundation for a new world-hopping fantasy series that has amazing potential, but also some serious flaws. I drank in fantasy books when I was younger. I'd go to the library and scan the shelves for cool covers with dragons or flip through their pages in search of the word "faery". I could explain to you in detail why it was ludicrous that J.K. Rowling suggested a "witch" was the female equi...

"Pascal had always thought freedom would be like Joshua and the walls of Jericho in the Bible... God would raise up Joshua to blow a horn; and colored people would all shout. And those walls would come tumbling down forever. That would be freedom!" But apparently, Pascal has been free... for two years. Two years ago President Lincoln freed the slaves, but the Masters are still buying and selling them. Pascal's Mama was just murdered for asking for more food for the starving slaves. And now the War Between the States is over. And he is free? But what is freedom? Throughout Harriette Gillem Robinet's Forty Acres and Maybe a Mule Pascal struggles to answer that very question. Does owning land make you free? Does going to school make you free? Does having gold make you free? Or is it something deeper? Winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, the text follows Pascal, his brother Gideon, and their family of friends through the...

Owen Birnbaum is 57 percent fatter than the national average for boys his age. Owen Birnbaum is one point short of being a genius. Owen Birnbaum has a sister named Jeremy. Owen Birnbaum is a bully magnet. In SLOB, Ellen Potter tells Owen's story through his brilliant, cynical point of view. Hilarious, yet somewhat sad, twelve-year-old Owen begins his story on a day only slightly less bearable than every other day. When he goes to his recycled-sock lunch box and pulls out his eco -friendly Oreo cookie container, however, his day gets a whole lot worse. The Oreos are gone! Now this may not seem like a big deal to you, its just three dumb cookies. But for Owen its devastating. In a world of bullies, gym teachers, and psychopath new-kids with a burned face and a switchblade in their sock, sometimes eating three dumb cookies is all a kid can do to keep it together. He has to find out who took them. As we follow Owen on this quest to find the thief, however, we find out...

In his 1989 Newberry Medal winning anthology, Joyful Noise , Paul Fleischman weaves together a series of insect-themed poems. Each of these poems is written with two voices in mind, often creating a cacophony of vocals, not unlike the sound of insects buzzing. This work is often labeled as the companion piece to his 1985 work, I am Phoenix, an anthology of two-voice poems inspired by a day in the life of birds. The styles and execution of the two-voices vary from poem to poem. While some poems have a steady meter and rhyme scheme, others are written in free verse. In some poems the two voices are used to represent two different characters, as in "Honeybees" where the two perspectives of Worker and Queen Bee are juxtaposed or "Book Lice" where two book lice share their romantic "opposites attract" tale. In other poems like "Whirligig Beetles", "Cicadas", and "House Crickets" the two voices are made to mimic the sound of ...

One of the most honored children's writers in America, Virginia Hamilton brings us an amazing, well-researched collection of animal folk tales from African American, West Indian, and African tradition. This collection is broken up into three sections based on their place of origin; each section begins with a brief background on the stories, characters, and dialects used in the section. At the end of the collection are further explanations of each individual story. Hamilton discusses everything from the origins of the characters and their metaphorical meaning to the purpose of the story to excerpts of the story in their original dialect. This collection of animal folk tales can be further broken down into 3 main subgenres. While (as the title indicates) all of the stories are trickster tales, in which the main character plays tricks on those in power, this collection also includes a number of pourquoi tales and some beast tales. A pourquoi tale is one that explains how certa...

A piece of debris, a barnacle-covered underwater camera, washes up on shore and opens up a whole new world. In David Wiesner's Caldecott Medal winning book, Flotsam, a normal day at the beach turns into a discovery of a lifetime. In this brilliant work, Wiesner creates an incredible underwater world depicted solely through rich watercolor illustration. This book is a feast for the imagination, the breathtaking visuals transport us to another undersea world, presenting us with images that only lead to more questions. Every time we turn the page there is more to discover and because there are no words, more to explore. This work is fantastic inspiration for writers, each picture on the camera can lead to limitless narratives about the worlds Wiesner created. Not only can this work lead us to explore Wiesner's illustrations, but it can also inspire us to think outside of the box for ourselves. Can we imagine our own new worlds? Or think of other kooky explanations for the...

Stewart has a problem! An obnoxious little molar in the back of his mouth that nags, whines, and demands.... SWEETS. It just won't leave him alone! Stewart would love to be an average, everyday, good kid, but that darn tooth! It makes him destroy his cousin's wedding cake, shout out in class for peanut butter cups, and steal other kids' gummy bears at the movies. Poor Stewart! When that pesky tooth interrupts the story to demand that Stewart eat a bag of cookies Stewart has had enough and decides to cut him off cold turkey. It's an epic battle between tooth and boy in this wonderfully illustrated book by Margie Palatini and Jack E. Davis. This book is just plain fun, and so easy to relate to! Who hasn't had a craving they just can't quench? Or munched down on one too many chocolate candies? And of course it has the wonderful messages about eating right and controlling our diets. Davis' tragically comic illustrations are not confined to the side of the pa...

When talented young artist Pigasso and Mootisse get tired of the hustle and bustle of city life and adoring fans they move out of town to find someplace to paint in peace. Even though they have never met before, Pigasso buys a house in the country right across from Mootisse , and Mootisse buys a house right across from Pigasso . At first the two are great friends, exchanging art and paying visits. Unfortunately, a rivalry soon erupts as Pigasso insults Mootisse's paintings and as Mootisse makes fun of Pigasso's . Despite their differing styles, however, the two artists quickly learn they cannot live without their new found friendship and work together to create an "amazing work of heart". When Pigasso met Mootisse closely mirrors the friendship, rivalry, and subsequent friendship of real-life artists Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. As Nina Laden points out in her informative afterward, Spanish Picasso met Matisse at a party after moving to Paris in the...

Shark has just learned some terrible news! There are enormous, fearsome creatures prowling around that are covered in stripes and full of teeth: TIGERS! With a little help from Lobster's erroneous suggestions that tigers glow in the dark and are invisible until they eat you, the two friends manage to work the whole sea floor into a fort-building frenzy. Seven hundred rocks, a musical number, and a kooky sea monster later Shark and Lobster have had the most exciting (and terrifying) day of their lives. This hilarious book, Shark and Lobster's Amazing Undersea Adventure by Viviane Schwarz and colored by Joel Stewart is illustrate d like a comic book . First person word bubbles and cartoony water-color style give this book a casual, light-hearted air that is hard not to love. Aside from being incredibly fun, this book gives way to a wealth of activities; from finding out the truth about tigers (do they really glow in the dark? Are there any animals that do?) to creating o...

Calico Jack Rackham and his pirate crew are below deck drinking and playing cards, when suddenly the Vanity is attacked by the Captain Jonathan Barnet's man-o'-war the Albion! Barnet has been sent by the governor from Jamaica's Port Maria Bay to capture the Vanity and bring its crew to justice. Only the Vanity's two young look-outs are above deck as the Albion approaches. Though they shout down in warning, the rest of the crew chooses to remain below drinking and gambling. Knowing they have only each other, the brave look-outs stand back-to-back, braced for the onslaught. These gallant young pirates are Anne Bonney and Mary Reade. In The Ballad of the Pirate Queens, Jane Yolen captures the unsinkable spirit of the two most famous female pirates of the 18th Century. Not only does this book contain a captivating [somewhat] true story, but it is an amazing resource to jump start our curiosity. At the end of the book, Yolen provides a brief author's note on the ca...