Hidden

Daivillier, L. (2014). Hidden:
A child's story of the
Holocaust. New York:
First Second. 

Hidden
(L'Enfant Cache)
By Loïc Dauvillier 
Illustrated by Greg Salsedo and Marc Lizano
Originally written in French
Originally published by Le Lombard, 2012
Translated to English by Alexis Siegel
Published in English by First Second, 2014
80 pages

Hidden is the remarkable story of a Jewish woman named Dounia. The story is told in flashbacks as Dounia reveals to her granddaughter Elsa the terrible life she endured as a young Jewish girl living in France. Dounia was required to wear the yellow Star of David to school for the first time when she was 6 years old. When she did, her teacher and classmates ostracized her for now it was obvious that Dounia was Jewish. One night, the Nazis vandalized Dounia's home and arrested her parents, while Dounia stayed hidden under a panel in the wardrobe. After the raid Dounia's neighbors took her in and hid her in their apartment. Eventually, Dounia escaped to the French countryside for the duration of the war, was ultimately reunited with her mother, and lived to tell her heartbreaking yet hopeful story to her granddaughter. Purchase the book here.

Hidden is told carefully and tastefully; however, it is certainly not sugarcoated, offering an honest perspective into the atrocities endured by Jewish civilians, particularly in France, during the Holocaust. The story in and of itself is deeply emotional and the profound, cartoon-like illustrations make it even more so. The characters' faces depict powerful emotion and play an integral part in the telling of Dounia's story. 

Though the story is told as though Dounia is telling her own granddaughter the story the flashbacks are all revealed through a child's perspective, allowing children reading the story to truly connect with Dounia.  Discuss with your children/students what the Holocaust is before reading Hidden. Explain to them that some people hid, some were taken away, families were separated, and some people did not live long enough to tell their story. At age six, children do not need to know all the ins-and-outs of the atrocities that were the Holocaust - but Dounia was six when this terrible thing happened to her, and children today need to know that it happened. This book is a perfect way to introduce it. 

Click here to watch a 7-year-old boy's summary and review of Hidden on YouTube. Includes images from the book. 

A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust

Fairy Tale Comics

Duffy, C. (Ed.). (2013). Fairy
tale comics: classic tales told
by extraordinary cartoonists.
New York: First Second. 

Fairy Tale Comics
Classic tales told by extraordinary cartoonists
Edited by Chris Duffy
Published by First Second
New York, New York
2013
128 pages

Fairy Tale Comics is a collection of 17 fairy tales written, as you may have guessed, in graphic novel/comic book form. Each story is written/cartoon-ized by a different author, giving the story a variety of comic book styles and making each story's format unique. This makes for some great classroom exploration of comic book styles! 

Use this book in your classroom to explore every author's unique style - how does one author's style differ from another's? Compare and contrast the authors' uses of sound effects, speech bubbles, thought bubbles, panel layouts, etc. Compare and contrast the versions of the fairy tales in this story to the classic fairy tales - for example, compare this book's version of Snow White to the Little Golden Book version of Snow White. The last couple of pages in the book have a list of contributors (i.e. all the different authors/illustrators) with a short bio - perfect for further exploration! Purchase the collection here!

Stories included: 

Sweet Porridge!

The 12 Dancing Princesses

Hansel and Gretel

Puss in Boots

Little Red Riding Hood

The Prince and the Tortoise

Snow White

The Boy Who Drew Cats

Rumpelstiltskin

Rabbit Will Not Help

Rapunzel

The Small-Tooth Dog

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Baba Yaga

Bremen Town

Give Me the Shudders

Azzolino's Story Without End

Johnny Boo: The Best Little Ghost in the World!

Kochalka, J. (2008). Johnny Boo:
the best little ghost in the world.
Marietta: Top Shelf.

Johnny Boo: The Best Little Ghost in the World
By James Kochalka 

Published by Top Shelf Productions

Marietta, GA 

2008

40 pages

Johnny Boo is a ghost, and, as the title suggests, he's the best little ghost in the world. He has Boo Power, which means he can "Boo!" really loudly. His pet ghost named Squiggle has Squiggle Power, which means he can fly quickly and do loop-de-loops. After playing hide-and-seek, Johnny Boo and Squiggle are ready for some ice cream... but they run into an ice cream monster! Johnny Boo and Squiggle use their powers to defeat the ice cream monster, but soon discover that he is friendly. They share their ice cream and the ice cream monster can't stop burping! Can Johnny Boo scare the burps away? Purchase the book here. 

Johnny Boo: The Best Little Ghost in the World is an adorable graphic novel for young readers. When reading this book to your students or children, make sure they can always see the pictures. As a graphic novel, the pictures are key to experiencing and enjoying the story. The panels and pictures are large and bold, making it easy for even inexperienced graphic novel/comic book readers to follow along. The book is fun for all ages, and can be enjoyed by children as young as three years old.

At first, I may not have labeled this book "fantasy". However, after much internet exploration, I have come to the conclusion that this wonderful story can, in fact, be considered fantasy. 

Here are some common core standards Johnny Boo: The Best Little Ghost in the World aligns with: 

(retrieved from http://diamondbookdistributors.com/default.asp?t=1&m=1&c=53&s=1256&ai=155746) 

Kindergarten

•   CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.K.1: With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.

•   CCSS.ELA-Literacy RL.K.3: With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.

•   CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.K.4: Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.

•   CCSS.ELA-Literacy RL.K.5: Recognize common types of texts (e.g., storybooks, poems).

•   CCSS.ELA-Literacy RL.K.7: With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear 

•   CCSS.ELA-Literacy RL.K.9: With prompting and support, compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in familiar stories.

•   CCSS.ELA-Literacy RL.K.10: Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.

First Grade

•   CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.1 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.

•   CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.2 Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.

•   CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.3 Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.

•   CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.4 Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.

•   CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.5 Explain major differences between books that tell stories and books that give information, drawing on a wide reading of a range of text types.

•   CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.6 Identify who is telling the story at various points in a text.

•   CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.7 Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.

•   CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.9 Compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in stories.

Second Grade

•   CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.

•   CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.2 Recount stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures, and determine their central message, lesson, or moral.

•   CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.3 Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.

•   CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.5 Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action.

·

The Totally Awesome Epic Quest of the Brave Boy Knight

Naujokatis, P. (2012). The totally
awesome epic quest of the
brave boy knight. Maplewood:
Blue Apple Books. 

The Totally Awesome Epic Quest of the Brave Boy Knight

By Pranas T. Naujokaitis 

Colors by Amy Rumbarger

Published by Blue Apple Books

Maplewood, NJ

2012

40 pages

The Totally Awesome Epic Quest of the Brave Boy Knight tells about an unnamed boy, a self-proclaimed "boy knight", and his adventures with his best friend Butterscotch. They meet a girl (the animal princess) and she needs their help! Actually, she has a few missions for the boy knight and Butterscotch - together, they save a city from big green monster, find a hidden treasure, and patrol a kingdom. The funny adventures of boy knight and Butterscotch are sure to please young readers! Purchase the book here. 

Intended for kids ages 6-9, The Totally Awesome Epic Quest of the Brave Boy Knight would be a great read-aloud book for first-fourth grade classrooms - third and fourth graders could even read it independently or aloud to/with others. When I read this book with some children I babysit, we couldn't stop laughing! It's fun and easy to read. 

 The book is a graphic novel (written in comic book format). Make sure your students can always see the pictures and discuss with them how the pictures can show what is going on in the story and how characters are feeling. Discuss the panels in the story - are they long or short? Horizontal or vertical? What might that mean in relation with the story? How do the sound effects add to the story? How do you know which words are meant to be read as sound effects? 

The pages are full-color and the pictures are simple. The panels are large, making the book easy to  follow even for inexperienced comic book readers. 

Happy reading!

Otto's Backwards Day

Cammuso, F., & Lynch, J.
(2013). Otto's backwards day:
A toon book. New York:
Toon Books. 

Otto's Backwards Day

By Frank Cammuso with Jay Lynch

Published by Toon Books

New York, New York

2013

32 pages

Otto's Backwards Day is the exciting story of Otto the cat who thinks the most important things about his birthday are cake, ice cream, and presents. But suddenly, his birthday is stolen! Otto and his robot sidekick Toot follow the robber and discover a topsy-turvy backwards world where rats chase cats, trash stays on the ground, and people wear their underwear on the outside! After some interesting adventures, Otto and Toot detect a birthday - they enter a strange house and Otto realizes he is lonely without his family and friends to celebrate with and decides to go home... Purchase the book here! 

Otto's Backwards Day is split into three chapters and would be great to read throughout the course of a school day - one chapter in the morning, one chapter before or after lunch, and one chapter at the end of the day. In the book, Professor Backwards explains what palindromes are and Otto finds palindromes during his adventures. Use the book to teach your class, especially if you have second or third graders, about palindromes! Some of the palindromes include: 

Otto

Toot

kayak

race car

Evil Olive 

radar

Star Rats

This book is a graphic novel  (it is written in a comic book format) setting it apart from "normal" books. In graphic novels, the pictures are key - make sure your students can see the pictures and especially the characters' facial expressions. Explore the details in the pictures. 

Explain what speech bubbles are and what they accomplish. How do you know which character is talking and when? Talk about the panels - are they long or short? What might that mean for the story?

Treat the story as a play! With more experienced readers, have students read and/or act out the various parts. Read with expression and add sound effects. 

View sample pages, reviews, and educator tools here.