Module 6-Duck For President/Pink and Say (w/book trailer)

Module 6-Picture Books

Picture Books for Younger Readers

Duck For President by Doreen Cronin

ISBN:  978-0-6898-6377-6

Audience (according to School Library Journal):  PreSchool-grade 2

Cronin, D.  (2004).  Duck for president.  New York, NY: 
     Scholastic, Inc.

     

Pricing (as of 10/12)

*Amazon:      Hardcover: $12.23

                        Kindle:  $12.99

Book Summary

            Tired of being bossed around by a stinky farmer, Duck decides to oust Farmer Brown by getting himself put in charge through an election among the farm animals.  Duck wins by a landslide but decides that running a far isn’t much fun and that becoming governor would be better.  He and his staff of ducks campaign and soon, Duck is elected governor by the smallest of margins.  His new job gives him a headache so Duck and his staff begin campaigning for president.  Winning that election as well, Duck discovers that his headache is worse and decides to return to the farm…and write his autobiography.

APA Reference
Cronin, D.  (2004).  Duck for president.  New York, NY:  Scholastic, Inc.

Impressions

            While this very entertaining book with its terrific illustrations by Caldecott honoree Betsy Lewin will be enjoyed by young children and will make them laugh at the idea of a duck being president, this book is primarily for politically savvy adults.  The veiled (and not so veiled) allusions to previous presidential campaigns and political issues abound and every U.S. history fan and/or teacher should own a copy.  The satire is outstanding and is cleverly couched in a book that young children will absolutely love reading right alongside their parent(s).  This is truly a book with universal appeal as kindergarten students will get a chuckle out of the absurdity, middle elementary school aged children will gain some insight into the election process, and adults on both sides of the political fence will also be amused.

Professional Reviews

            << This award-winning team returns with a third story of farm animals with ambition. Duck is tired of doing his chores (mowing the lawn and grinding the coffee beans), and decides to hold an election to replace Farmer Brown… Lewin's characteristic humorous watercolors with bold black outlines fill the pages with color and jokes. Cronin's text is hilarious for kids and adults and includes a little math and quite a bit about the electoral process. The animals, who have no verbal language that humans can understand, are empowered by the use of the written word, and the subliminal message comes through loud and clear-one can almost hear youngsters thinking, "Watch out grown-ups! Just wait till I learn to read."

Barrer, J., Jones, T. E., Toth, L., Charnizon, M., Grabarek, D., & Larkins, J. (2004). Duck for president (book). School Library Journal, 50(3), 155-156. Retrieved from http://www.slj.com.

                 <<…Though Cronin's latest Duck tale introduces the basic mechanics of the election process, it lacks many of the silly high jinks and clever plot turns that gave its predecessors their charm. A few nods to past presidents appear in both text and art (Nixon, Clinton, G.H.W. Bush), offering older readers a knowing wink. The focus on Duck's dissatisfaction and loneliness at the top makes the story line perhaps better suited to adults, even as Lewin's chunky-outlined watercolors continue to cater to the younger crowd with her usual dashes of humor and daffy sweetness. Her depictions of the campaign-trail motorcades, parades and town meetings are a hoot.

Duck for president (book). (2004). Publishers Weekly, 251(7), 170-170. Retrieved from http://www.publishersweekly.com.

Library Uses

During the election season, this book (and others like it) should absolutely be on display, put into a bibliography of available election themed fiction/non-fiction titles for use by Social Studies/History teachers from elementary through high school levels, and/or be used as a read aloud or book talk title during library time in the elementary school.

Picture Books for Older Readers

Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco

ISBN:  978-0-3992-2671-7

Audience (according to Book Links): Grades 4-11

Polacco, P. (1994).  Pink and Say. New York, NY: Philomel Books.

Pricing (as of 10/12):

*Amazon:      Hardcover:  $11.24

                        Paperback:  $6.79

                        Audible Audio Edition:  $4.95

Book Summary

         Polacco gives honor to an ancestor in this Civil War based picture book.  Sheldon Russell Curtis told his story to his daughter who told her son who told his daughter who wrote it down in “Sheldon’s own words as nearly as [she could].”  Wounded in battle, Yankee soldier and teenager Sheldon “Say” Curtis lay dying in a field.  A young soldier from the 48th Colored Company carries him home to his mother’s house and there, the two of them nurse Say back to health. Pinkus “Pink” Aylee and Say share their experiences and become fast friends as they both recover while under the nurturing eye of Moe Moe Bay.  Just when the two decide that they must go back to their respective companies, marauders are spotted and Pink and Say are forced by Moe Moe into the safety of the root cellar.  Thinking that even raiders won’t harm an old, black woman, Moe Moe stays in the house to draw them off and give her son and his friend a chance to rejoin their units.  When Pink and Say come out of hiding, they find Moe Moe dead and must bury her before starting their journey.  Things for the pair go from bad to worse and the two are captured by the Confederate army and sent to Andersonville prison camp where they are forcibly separated.  After being returned home after the war, Sheldon Curtis is told that his friend and rescuer was hanged shortly after he arrived at Andersonville and his body thrown into a lime pit.

APA Reference
Polacco, P. (1994).  Pink and Say. New York, NY: Philomel Books.

Impressions

         Book Links rates this book as being appropriate for grades 4-11 but I believe that age range should be extended to adulthood.  Author Patricia Polacco does of superb job of telling a story of friendship that will touch the hearts of all ages.  The youngest readers/listeners may not grasp the level of sacrifice and risk that Pink and his mother made when they befriend and save a white boy during that turbulent time, but older readers will.  All will see the theme of friendship and some will see that element of selflessness and sacrifice.  The dialogue is authentic without using such heavy dialect that younger readers will struggle to comprehend it.  The artwork, acrylic with pen and ink, enhances the story and reinforces the time period flawlessly.   This book, like Duck for President, demonstrate that a picture book can truly have universal appeal and is another “must have” for Social Studies/History teachers.

Professional Reviews

            << Polacco relates a true incident from her family’s history in this powerful story set during the Civil War.  Fifteen-year-old Sheldon “Say” Curtis ahs been wounded and left for dead by his fellow white Union soldiers.  Pinkus “Pink” Aylee, a 15-year-old African American Union soldier, fins Say and carries him home to his mother, Moe Moe Bay…..This picture book is a departure for Polacco in terms of content and audience, but the familial ties still remain.

Pink and say. (2005). Book Links, 15(1), 55-55. Retrieved from http://www.booklistonline/booklinks.

            << This book, the story of Polacco's great-great-grandfather, has been passed down from generation to generation in the author-artist's family… Told in Say's colorful, country-fresh voice, the text incorporates authentic-sounding dialect and expressions - such as darky - that would have been used at the time. Polacco's characteristic acrylic, ink, and pencil illustrations are suitably dramatic and focus on the intense physical and emotional joy and pain of the story's three main characters. The remarkable story, made even more extraordinary in its basis in actual events, raises questions about courage, war, family, and slavery. A not-to-be-missed tour de force.

Fader, E., & Silvey, A. (1994). Pink and say. Horn Book Magazine, 70(6), 724-725. Retrieved from http://www.hbook.com.

Library Uses

Excellent example of a work that crosses over genre lines—biographical, picture book, non-fiction civil war title.  A librarian could use this title to demonstrate how different key word searches would all result in this title as well as show how one book could possibly be shelved in several different areas in a library.

Book Trailer