Short Form (All Genres)

Mary San Pedro

Title: Jacob’s New Dress Author: Sarah and Ian Hoffman

Illustrator: Chris Case Publisher/Year: Albert & Whitman Co/2014

Genre: Multicultural

Summarize the content of the book –

A. For Fiction Form Genres— Explain the characters, the setting, theme and plot of the
book.
Main Characters:
Jacob – was a young boy who was fond of wearing dresses. He was sweet, innovative and kind.
Christopher – was Jacob’s classmate/friend who always teased him for wearing dresses.
Emily – Jacob’s friend. She was a typical young girl who liked playing dress up.
Mom/Dad – was a protective, loving and understanding at the same time.

Supporting Characters:
Ms. Wilson – I could say was supportive towards Jacob.

Setting
- The story was set on Jacobs’s school and home.

Theme
- Every child is different. They might not conform the standards of society but should be
accepted and supported.

Plot
Jacob liked wearing dresses. At school, he would always dress up as a princess. He was always teased
and bullied because of it. One day, Christopher called him out and asked, ‘Why do you always wear
the girl clothes? Put on the knight armor. That’s what the boy wears!’ ‘Christopher, stop telling us
what to do!’ said Emily Jacob’s friend. The teacher, Ms. Wilson approached them and told everyone
that the dress-up corner is where they can use their imaginations. Anyone can be anything. Ms.
Wilson then asked Jacob what he wanted to be. He said, ‘I’m the princess. She just smiled. That day at
his home, his mom asked how school was. He looked so sad while he told his mom what happened in
school. To cheer him up, mom suggested he play while he wore his favorite Halloween dress. He wore
his witch’s costume and twirled. He then asked mom if he could wear it to school. His mom said no
because it might get dirty and it was not a regular dress. He then asked if he could get a regular dress
he can wear to school. Mom said she’ll think about it. The next day, he wrapped himself in a towel
that seemed like a dress. His dad said he could not go to school without wearing anything
underneath. So Jacob ran upstairs and wore a shirt and shorts underneath. At school, Emily noticed
his made up dress. She wanted one too. Jacob offered to make her one. While playing outside,
Christopher snatched the towel and ran waving it like a flag. At home, Jacob cried as he hugged her
mom. He asked mom if she could help him make a dress he can wear at school. Mom did not answer.
Jacob suddenly could not breathe. Then finally mom said yes. Alas he could breathe again. After
making the dress Jacob went down and showed his dad. Dad just like mom did not say anything. Once
again, Jacob felt a tightness in his chest and could not breathe. Then dad said it was a nice dress but it
was something he would not wear. Jacob was relieved. He was happy. At school, Emily liked his dress.
She found a dress similar to Jacob’s and wore it. During circle time, Christopher called Jacob again for
wearing a dress. He told everyone that according to his dad boys do not wear dresses. Ms. Wilson said
that anyone can wear anything they deemed comfortable. She even pointed out that before girls
were not able to wear pants. Outside, the kids decided to play tag. They divided the group girls VS
boys. Christopher teased Jacob again and told him that he was joining the girls. Jacob didn’t mind. He
felt as if he was wearing an armor.
Explain how the book appeals to children, their interests, developmental levels, fun
illustrations etc. Give specific examples from the book:
The book is very relatable. More often children tease their peers because they’re different.
They often call them out because they do not have the same choices as theirs. This will help
them understand the other child’s feelings and see what happens when they continue to
point out their differences. This book will help them see more so accept that each person is
different and there is nothing wrong with being different.

Rate the book 3

Explain your rating.

The book is very relatable. Children will enjoy looking at the wonderful illustrations thus learn
from it. Overall, the book is a good read.
Short Form (All Genres)

Mary San Pedro

Title: Don’t throw it to Mo! Author: David Adler

Illustrator: Sam Ricks Publisher/Year: Penguin Group/2015

Genre: Multicultural

Summarize the content of the book –

B. For Fiction Form Genres—Explain the characters, the setting, theme and plot of the
book.
Main Characters:
Mo Jackson –was dedicated and passionate about football. He’s part of a football team called Robins.
He was the tiny. He was the smallest. He had short limbs hence he was did not play during games.
Coach Steve – was not that supportive of Mo. He barely believed in him.

Supporting Characters:
Jays – football team who saw that Mo was not capable of being a football player because he was
small and had butterfingers.

Setting
- The story was set in a football field probably near Mo’s school.

Theme
- Believe in yourself
- Don’t judge a book by its cover.
- Anyone can do and be anything they want to be.

Plot
Mo was a young boy who loved football. He was part of a team called Robins. He was the youngest
and the shortest as a result he was barely asked to participate in a game. One day coach told him to
practice catching. He rubbed the football with butter and threw it towards Mo. Mo was not able to
catch it because the ball was slippery. The Jays, other team saw him. They talked amongst themselves
that Mo was not fit to be part of the team because he was short and could not catch the ball. They
even called him butterfingers. During their next play, Coach decided to put Mo in the field. At first he
was just there to fill in the spot. He asked the team not to pass the ball to him until the last play. He
asked Mo to go in deep and they threw the ball towards him. Mo was able to catch the ball and won
for the team.
Explain how the book appeals to children, their interests, developmental levels, fun
illustrations etc. Give specific examples from the book:
The book will definitely interest children. The great illustrations together with the wonderful
story of an odd boy who made it to a team and won a game surpassing all the criticisms will
lure children. Overall, this book was a good read.
Rate the book 3
Explain your rating.
The book is relatable. Children will enjoy looking through the great illustrations thus learn
something from it. They will be encouraged to be like Mo who never gave up his dream and
eventually pulled through and proved everyone wrong.
Fiction Evaluation Form
(Picture Books, Folklore, Modern Fantasy, Contemporary Realistic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Multicultural Books)

Mary San Pedro Book Title: The Colors of Us

Author: Karen Katz Illustrator: Karen Katz

Genre: Multicultural Publisher/Year: Fitzhenry & Whiteside Ltd., 1999

EVALUATE THE BOOK USING THE FOLLOWING ELEMENTS

STYLE and Language: Explain the language used – word choices, sentence length, dialogue, rhythm, rhyme.
Explain unexpected insights or interesting information the reader learns from the story. Give examples form
the book
- The author used simple words enough for young children to understand. ‘My name is Lena, I
am seven. I am the color of cinnamon’ text taken from the book.
- The story was narrated by a young girl named Lena. The book was written from her
perspective/point of view. ‘We go to the playground, where we see my friend Sonia’ text
taken from the book.
- There was also dialogue present, mainly from Lena and her mom. ‘Sonia is light yellow brown,
Mom says. Just like creamy peanut butter, I say. My favorite!’ text taken from the book.
- The author compared skin colors to objects or items that a child can easily find in his
environment. Some of which were, light cocoa brown like butterscotch, reddish brown like
the leaves in fall, chocolate brown like the cupcake, et.al.

-
Children will find it interesting that there are varying skin color and each one is a beauty. Also
that skin color or shade is not a hindrance for people to become friends more so a family.
CHARACTER – Who is the main character? Explain the character’s personality traits. How can the reader
relate to the character, become involved in the story?
Who are the supporting characters? Give examples of both.
Main Character
Lena – was a young creative girl. I should say she is cheerful, loving and accepting.
Mom – was supportive and smart. She’s a painter too.

Supporting Character
Lena’s friends and family (Sonia, Isabella, Lucy, Jo-Jin, cousin Kyle, Carlos, Rosita, Mr. Pellegrino,
Candy Mr. Kashmir, Aunt Kathy) – these were the people Lena and her mom met while they walked
their neighborhood. I could say they were both friendly and loving. They had varying skin colors.

- Children will be able to relate to Lena because they too have family and friends of varying skin
colors.

1. PLOT: (Explains the major events in the story.) Summarize the plot

The story starts with Lena introducing herself and what skin color she has. She described her skin
color similar to the color of cinnamon. She introduces her mom whose skin is similar to a French
Toast. Her mom tells her there are varying colors or shades of skin. As they walked around their
neighborhood Lena sees that there is indeed different shades. Her friend Sonia has a skin color similar
to a creamy peanut butter, Isabella resembles a chocolate cupcake, Lucy’s peach and tan, Jo-Jin her
best friend is the color of honey, her cousin Kyle resembles leaves in the fall, Carlos had light cocoa
brown skin, Rosita was like butterscotch, Mr. Pellegrino had the color of a pizza crust, Candy her
babysitter was like a princess who had a skin color of bronze and amber. The story continues to her
and her friends hanging out. Then ends with her painting each one.
2. SETTING – Explain the place and time of the book.
THEME- What is the story’s theme or lesson?

Setting: Lena’s neighborhood.

Theme:
- Each person has a different skin color but that does not mean they can’t be friends or family.
- Every skin color is beautiful.
ILLUSTRATION –Analyze the illustrations in the book (see Chapter 4) with the categories below: Choose a 2-
page spread in the book to answer the following:
What Style (realism, surrealism, expressionism, impressionism, naïve, cartoon art)?
Cartoon Art
Media (paints, oils watercolors, pencil, pen, charcoal, crayons, acrylic, chalk) :
The illustrator used collage, gouache (method of painting), and colored pencils.

Visual elements:
Line: Straight lines were used to outline Lena’s sunglasses, beach towel and create intrinsic design in dress; curved lines
were used to draw Rosita’s hair, their nose and mouth; Zigzag lines were used to create the pattern on the towel
Shapes: Square was seen in the towel’s pattern; rectangle was also seen in one of the towels and Rosita’s sunglasses, heart
was seen in Jo-Jin’s sunglasses; Triangles were seen in the pattern of Lena’s dress; Circle was seen in Lena’s dress and the
patterns on the towel.
Color: Chocolate brown, cinnamon brown, peach, tan, butterscotch brown, red, green, yellow, purple, blue, white, black,
orange, maroon
Texture: There was not a lot of texture seen. Smooth was reflected in their skin.

Explain how illustration and text are combined to tell the story. What do illustrations show that text does not
explain?
The illustration and text fit perfectly. It illustrations reflected the text. What it lacked in the illustration
was Lena thinking of all the characters she saw that day. ‘I think about everyone I saw today: Sonia,
Isabella and Lucy, Jo-Jin and Kyle, Carlos and Rosita, Mr. Pellegrino and Candy, Mr. Kashmir and Aunt
Kathy – each one of them a beautiful color’ text taken from the book.

Describe the Page design: the borders, use of white/dark space, text placement & size, font, placement of illustrations:
The illustrator used the whole two page spread. There were no white spaces, all were filled with
illustrations. The text had the same size and font. The text was located on one page on the top right.

3. CHILD DEVELOPMENT THEORIES – CHOOSE 2 of theories below and evaluate the book according to the
developmental theories. (How the book fits the developmental stage and age?)

PIAGET-COGNITIVE-INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT
Name the stage: Preoperational and the age: 2 to7 years
Explain the cognitive development from the stage:
Children at this stage begin to think of objects and people outside of their immediate environment.
Give examples from the book show how the book fits the cognitive stage:
Lena was noticing the variety of skin colors each person had. She was thinking of the different objects
found in her environment that resembled each skin color, just like what children do at this stage.

ERIKSON – PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Name the stage: INITIATIVE VS GUILT and the age: Preschool

Explain the social development for this stage:

Children develop initiative when adults take time to patiently answer questions
Give examples from the book that support the social development of this stage:
Just like how preschoolers are, Lena was developing initiative. It was reflected in the story in this
dialogue exchanged between Lena and her mom. ‘The right brown? But Mom, brown is brown, I say.
That’s not so, Mom says. There are lots of different shades of brown. Let’s take a walk you’ll see’ text
taken from the book.

4. Overall Rating of the book (3 highest - 1 lowest) 3

Comments: (Support your overall rating)
The book was relatable. It was easy to understand. Children will love the colorful illustrations. It’s a
perfect book that can be used to teach children about the varying skin colors each person has.
 BOOK EXTENSION ACTIVITY - LESSON PLAN
Mary San Pedro Genre of the Book: Multicultural

Book Title: The Colors of Us Author: Karen Katz

Publisher: Fitzhenry & Whiteside Ltd. Date: 1999

1. Pre-K/ CCSD K-2nd Grade Core Standards:

Activity intended for Pre-K

2.PK.1 Use pictures to aid comprehension.

2. Objectives:
SWBAT – describe their skin color and construct a self-portrait.

3. Materials/Equipment:

- Paper plates
- Yarn in different colors

- Googly Eyes

- Colored Markers

- Colored Pencils

- Colored Crayons

- Collage Paper

- Glue

- Colored Tape

4. Teaching:
A. Reading the book

- Have you ever noticed your skin color? Can you think of an object that is similar to your skin color?
(Pause and wait for them to respond). Wow those are good comparisons. So today, we are reading a
book called, The Colors of Us.
 - To keep them engaged I will ask questions such as, Can you think of a family member that has a skin
color similar to butterscotch? What skin color does your best friend have? How about your mom
what skin color does she have?

B. Extension activity:

- After reading the book, I will ask the children to look at the person next to them and share what
object they came up with. Then shortly after I will ask them to create a self-portrait using the
materials available.

5. Closure:
- After a couple of minutes, I will ask each one to share their self-portrait. Point that each
skin color is different but each one is beautiful.