The Buffalo Are Back by Jean Craighead George and Wendell Minor

George, J. C., & Minor, W. (2010). The Buffalo Are Back. New York: Dutton Children's Books. ISBN: 978-1430109785.

Annotation

Jean Craighead George’s picture book that details the almost eradication of the buffalo and how that effected the plains Indians and the near destruction of the Great Plains environment.

My thoughts

"In the mid-1800s seventy five million buffalo roamed in North America. In little more than fifty years, there would be almost none." “What happened? The answer is a story of the American Indians, the buffalo, and the grass.”

In The Buffalo Are Back, Jean Craighead George (Julie of the Wolves and The Wolves Are Back) explains in detail the historical events that lead these majestic animals to the edge of extinction. In a very clear narration, the reader is taken back through an eco-history of the Great Plains. The journey begins in the 1800s with the birth of a single orange buffalo then tells the story of the Native Americans/Plains Indians, the white fur hunters, and westward expansion. In a mere fifty years, the Great Plains was an environmental disaster. 

This is a great book to use for discussing the environment and ecology. This is the story of not only the rescue of the buffalo and Great Plains but also the history of American Conservationism with a very important message.

Curricular connections

Subjects: History, Science/Ecology, Biology/Life Sciences, Science/ endangered species, History/environmental history, Biology/environmental issues.

Grade: 5-12

Literary devices

Use of Simile:

"A lark flew to the top of a six-foot blade of grass and sang as sweetly as a panpipe".

"The green-gold grasses of the plains rippled like waves from horizon to horizon.

Use of Repetition:

"A lark flew to the top of a six-foot blade of grass and sang as sweetly as a panpipe"(2). “A lark flew to a blade of grass and and as sweetly as a panpipe.” (17) "A lark flew to the top of a six-foot blade of grass and sang as sweetly as a panpipe." (27)

Reading level/ Interest Age

Grade 3 and up.

Reviews and Awards

Junior Library Guild Selection

Teacher’s Choice Award / Intermediate Readers, 2011

National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12 2011 (Books published in 2010) Life Science division

Author website: http://www.jeancraigheadgeorge.com/

Illustrator website: www.minorart.com/

Media: Watercolors (based on photographs taken by Charlie Craighead and Thomas D. Mangelsen).

Genre: Nonfiction

The Money We'll Save by Brock Cole

Cole, B. (2011). The money we'll save. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux. ISBN: 978-0374350116.

Annotation

Times are tough in this nineteenth century New York City tenement, so Ma asks Pa to try to save money while grocery shopping. Pa takes her suggestion. He comes home with a baby turkey that’s alive.

My thoughts

Talk about great timing. Illustrated to appear out of the turn of the nineteenth century, this book shows a struggling family making do and living happily with what they have. 

This book has a lot going for it. There is the unique situation of a small New York City tenement with a country turkey. The humorous antics that transpire when trying to keep the pseudo-wild bird in the unnatural captivity of the home. There is the unique text that flows and makes this a great read along for younger audiences. There is the concept of being content in owns environment without falling into over consumerism. (As implied by the family existing on their means without sketching debts to buy the best groceries and appearing happy- Pa doesn’t appear despondent. He makes it work). And finally, there is the art.

More about the book- moral issues of eating animals are implied. This book doesn’t get into depth that but it certainly is implied by the family’s resistance to eating the turkey claiming it would be like eating their neighbor. This would be a nice book for parents, children, teacher’s to use for related discussions. It doesn’t toss out the point and say think about food sources, but it certainly leads the reader down that path of thinking about where the meat comes from.

I highly recommend this book! In fact, it is the new “Christmas Story” (80's movie) of my family.

Reading level/ Interest Age

Editorial reviews suggest that this book is for 4 and up (I would suggest that the up equal older readers and anyone looking for a humorous/holiday picture book).

Reviews and Awards

Horn Book’s Best Picture Books of 2011

Starred reviews

Author website: No website found.

Media: Ink and watercolor.

Genre: holiday, juvenile picture book

Ellington Was Not A Street by Ntozake Shange and Kadir Nelson

Shange, N. - author, & Nelson, K. - illustrator (2004). Ellington Was Not A Street. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN-10: 0689828845.

Annotation

Illustrated picture book of the poem “Mood Indigo” by Ntozake Shange.

My thoughts

The book is about historical greats in the black community, told through a child’s (Duke Ellington’s daughter) eyes with “Mood Indigo” providing text. Mood Indigo is a historical poem by Ntozake Shange and was inspired by many different activists and musicians of the Harlem Renaissance. The poet notes these individuals and the back of the book provides biographical information. Paul Robeson, William Edward Burghardt DuBois, Ray Barretto, Earlington Carl “Sonny Til” Tilhgman, Dizzy Dillespie, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Virgil “Honey Bear” Akins, the Clovers, and of course Duke Ellington make appearances at her house and are all included in the book.

What really stands out for me are the beautiful oil illustrations. These are incredible double page paintings that really capture the time. One of the most interesting pictures was the "family photo" at the end. I found this to be a very powerful statement because it shows that it really takes several different types of people to make change and take a stand against society. Each personality comes through Kadir Nelson’s rendering of person’s expression. Very impressive.

Favorite Quotes:

“I listened in the company of men

politics as necessary as collards

music even in our dreams.”

“our doors opened lie our daddy’s arms

held us safe & loved”

Curricular connections

History- African American history- the Harlem Renaissance- 20^th cent Black history- grade 3-8- These men are some of the greatest black heroes of the early twentieth century to past day America. The book includes a helpful biographical section in the back with pictures of the featured men. The book can be used to introduce some of these men. It can also be used in an English class to introduce different poets and forms of poetry.

Lesson Plan

See 'Lesson Plan' page

Reading level/ Interest Age

Grade 3-8

Reviews and Awards

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award winner

Author website: No found website.

Ilustrator website: www.kadirnelson.com/

Media: Oil paints

Genre: juvenile picture book, historical, poetry