Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Rowling, J.K. (1997). Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. New York, NY. Scholastic.

The Harry Potter series is a series that I have been wanting to read for a long time, but with all of the other recommended books that have been given to me throughout the years I have not had the opportunity. I even saw the first four movies then decided to stop watching them because I knew that I was going to read the books one day! I am so happy that I have taken the time to start reading the series, and I am even more happy that my little sister who is entering the eighth grade is reading them with me; we are reading a book then watching the movie to follow.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is the first of a seven book series about a young boy, name Harry Potter who learns he is a "famous" wizard and doesn't even know it. The Harry Potter series is a modern fantasy/quest series that focuses on the struggle between good and evil in the wizard world. The first book starts off introducing how Harry entered into the "normal" world, then goes into the problems that he has with his relatives he has been forced to live with. Harry does not know that he is a wizard even though strange things always seem to happen to him when he is sad or angry; such as his hair growing back after being scared people will laugh at his embarrassing haircut or glass disappearing from a snake cage at the zoo when he is angry at his cousin Dudley. Harry's family does not acknowledge that there is magic in the world and refuses to tell him of his abilities; because they did not like what his parents were they treat him as if he is not a part of the family. When Hagrid, the groundskeeper from Hogwart's arrives to take Harry to Hogwart's School of Wizardry, Harry's life starts to change; he goes from being picked on by Dudley his overweight snob of a cousin, to going to Diagon Alley where everyone knows who he is and wants to shake his hand. Throughout the book there is a mystery going on that Harry and his friends Ron and Hermoine help him to figure out; what is being hidden in Hogwarts and why?

Throughout the first book there is a series a person versus person conflict. The story begins with Harry's parents being killed by Voldemort in a good versus evil battle of magic. As Harry begins to get older and is living with the Dursleys he has a constant battle with his aunt and uncle, but mainly his cousin Dudley. Dudley and his friends are always doing mean things to Harry at school and at home. When Harry is taken to Hogwarts by Hagrid he immediately meets a classmate by the name of Drako Malfoy that reminds him of his cousin and much like Dudley, Drako has it out for Harry and will stop at nothing to see him fail. As the plot develops and you learn more about Voldemort and his history with Harry, this then becomes a new conflict that Harry is faced with; how to overcome the power that Voldemort seems to be getting.

I think that the most interesting part of reading the first book was just seeing how Harry developed as a character throughout each chapter. Harry is without a doubt the protagonist of the book; we learn about his life and are able to make connections with him and what he is going through--what was more fun to read though was how Harry grew as a character in this book. Harry starts off being a character that is described as being a small, skinny boy with glasses who never seems to stand up for himself; no matter what his cousin Dursley does to him he just takes it. When Harry makes friends with Ron you see him starting to become more confident as he stands up to Drako when he begins to bully Ron. Ultimately you see Harry grow the most at the end when he is brave enough to go searching for the Sorcerer's Stone even though he knows that someone is going to be waiting for him that is on the evil side of magic.

I completely understand why my students love these books so much-- they are the ultimate underdog story where a boy who had nothing learns to have confidence in himself to overcome whatever obstacles are in his way.

Big Question: How have you grown as a "character" throughout this school year? What are things that you do now that you would not have done at the beginning of the school year?

Henry's Freedom Box

Levine, E. (2007). Henry's freedom box. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Henry's Freedom Box is the story of a slave named Henry Brown. At the beginning of the story Henry is a young boy who lives with his family as a slave, but he soon gets ripped away from his family to work for another master. Throughout the story you hear of the hardships and mistreatment that Henry received such as being poked with sticks when he did not do his job to satisfaction or having his family ripped from him. Henry decided that he wanted to be free and came up with a plan to get him to freedom; he would be shipped in a box!

This book is probably one of my all time favorite books! The very first sentence of the book catches the reader, then the illustration of young Henry sitting and staring straight at you keeps the readers attention and has them wanting to know what the boy is thinking and feeling! This book was a Caldecott Honor book so I knew that the illustrations would be good, but I just could not believe how realistic they are. The illustrator, Kadir Nelson, does a great job of adding small details that make the story come to life such as on pages 13 and 14; the illustrator not only adds the small cracks to the skin of the characters like all of the other pages, but also adds detail to the quilt hanging on wall, makes the fire seem like it is burning bright, and even adds the small detail of being able to see the brick in the back of the fire place. Every page in this book jumps out and tells the reader that this is a true event and it even tells you what emotion you should have on each of the pages because of the colors that are used.

One of the main things about the illustrations is that the illustrator adds lines that make you want to touch the pictures. The main thing in all of the pictures in this book that does that for the reader are the people! The lines on their skin make it look so realistic that you just want to touch it to see if it really is the close up of Henry's face on page 15 and 16 is the best example of this.

I can see using this book to introduce slavery to my students. The emotional connection that you make with the characters would be a great way to get my students to understand how emotional it really was.


Big Question:

What would you do if you were being treated unfairly and you knew that it was not right?

Betty Doll

Polacco, P. (2001). Betty doll. New York, NY: Puffin Books.

Before every reading any of Patricia Polacco's books I had heard that she liked to write stories that reflected on her own personal life; this story is an example of just that. Patricia put a letter that she found written by her mother into a book. The book was about Patricia's mother's doll that she made and named Betty Doll. The doll had seen many events that had happened through out her mother's life and the story reflected some of those events. As I was reading, I felt that for a children's literature book it was kind of emotional; all of the talk about the different occasions in the book and the deaths, yet it went into how Betty Doll helped her to move on from the sad things that happened to her.

I recently read Polacco's book The Keeping Quilt and mentioned that color was a big part in the book because on each page the only thing that was in color was the quilt. It was interesting to read this book and to see the same style used; the only thing ever in color was Betty Doll or anything that was being put on Betty Doll. Color continuously seems to be a big part portraying the message of the illustrations in Polacco's books.

My favorite part of the book, though it was a sad time, was on pages 13 and 14 when Mary Ellen and her brother are under the bridge during the snow storm. Mary Ellen had dropped Betty Doll and could not find her, and her and her brother were scared because of being stuck under the bridge until someone found them. The emotion from the illustration was just pouring off of the page! The expressionistic style allowed readers to look at the illustration and really understand just how cold and scared the characters really were. I found my self searching the page hoping to find a small spot of color where Betty Doll was buried in the snow, thinking this would bring a little bit of happiness, but there is not any color on the page.

Another thing that I found myself spending a lot of time looking at were the pictures towards the end of the book. Really, throughout the entire book Mary Ellen's face was always drawn with such detail that it almost looked as though it was a photograph, but then at the end of the book Patricia started adding photos to the illustrations. Beginning on page 26, you start to see photographs of Mary Ellen and her siblings which I though was a great eye catcher. I loved seeing the actual pictures, then I would go back and compare the portraits to the drawings of the characters and I could not believe how realistic the faces were of the main characters.

I think that this book would be great to use in my classroom when talking about the different book genres as well as in an art class when learning about sketches. It looks as though all of the illustrations (with the exception of Betty Doll) are done in pencil using shading.

Big Questions:

Have you ever lost something that you care about? How did it make you feel? Did you ever find that something?

The Keeping Quilt

Polacco, P. (1988). The keeping quilt. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

This is a great book about customs and how families that come to America bring their culture and customs with them from their home country. The story is about Patricia's family's history in America and how they use they keep their culture with them. The weddings that take place throughout the book show how Patricia's family has kept their culture throughout the year but also how it has changed throughout the generations. On page 16 Patricia describes her great grandmother's wedding and how men and women danced seperately after the ceremony, then on page 32 she talks about her own wedding and how the women dance together.

Color is a key part of this book, being that on every page there is only one thing that is in color--the keeping quilt. The use of color draws the reader's attention to the quilt each time and allows the reader to see the many uses of the quilt.

The plot of the story is one that keeps the reader's attention because you want to know what the quilt is going to be used for next. Going from one generation from another and seeing how the quilt affects the family and how its uses can change due to time but in many cases, it stays the same because of their culture.

This book would be a great one for intermediate grades, especially in a school like mine. Almost a third of our school is ELL and a book like this is one that they might relate to. Many of my students talk about their Quincenera and love to explain it to the students who not know what it is. This book would be a great introduction to culture and leading my students into discussing things that they family does.

Big Question:

Does your family have a custom or item that has been passed down from generation to generation? Have the uses of this item changed throughout the years?

My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother

Polacco, P. (1994). My rotten redheaded older brother. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster

This is a great book that all students can relate to, even if they don't have a sibling there is someone in everyone's life that they compete with. On page 17 when Patricia asks her brother if he likes rubbarb and he tells her know, she thinks she has him beat... then she find out he doesn't like rubbarb--he loves is! That section on page 19 made me laugh out loud, and I can see it doing the same for my kids.

The illustrations in this book made it all the more intersting to read. The vibrant colors on each page draw the reader's eye to the key character, that rotten redheaded older brother. I found it interseting that all of the characters had red hair but the brother's was a brighter hue to draw your attention-- not to mention it was sticking up in every picture just like you would picture a rotten older brother.

I am not big into visual elements but as I was reading and looking at the illustrations of the book I couldn't help but feel like the lines in the book were drawing me to the older brother.

This would be a great book for the intermediate students because at that age they are really starting to complete with the people around them, whether it be their siblings or their friends. This book would be a great way to relate their real life to reading, plus the humor that is added makes it funny for the kids to read. I also like how it ties in Social Studies at the end of the book when it talks about a custom that her family has.

Big Question:

Who in your life do you have that you like to compete with? What drives you to complete with this person?

Required Reading for REOL 536

Glenn, M. (1996). Who killed Mr. Chippendale? New York, NY: Puffin Books.

Reflection to come


L'Engle, M. (1962). A wrinkle in time. New York, NY: Square Fish.

Reflection to come

Curtis, C.P. (2004). Bucking the sarge. New York, NY: Laurel-Leaf.

Reflection to come

Vanderpool, C. (2010). Moon over manifest. New York, NY: Delacote Press.

Reflection to come

Young, E. (2002). Seven blind mice.

About Me

Hello all! My name is Amanda Sigmon, and this is my very first blog! I am a fifth grade teacher at an elementary in Boone County, KY; this is my third full year teaching. I really enjoy teaching math, social studies, and writing but feel that I could strengthen my skills in teaching reading. I am looking forward to gaining resources through this class that I will be able to use in the future! I graduated from Northern Kentucky University in 2008 where I received the Outstanding Teacher Award for elementary education. This current school year I was nominated for and received the Excellence in Teaching Award from Campbellsville University! Until entering college I had never really won anything before so these two awards I am very proud of. I have been married for 4 years and we currently do not have any children. This is a very exciting time for my husband and I though because we just bought our first home and we actually go next week to pick up our Goldendoodle puppy whose name is Jax. I am looking forward to everything this course has to offer!!