Katie Loves the Kittens

Title: Katie Loves the Kittens

Author: John Himmelman

Illustrator: John Himmelman

Publisher: Scholastic Incorporation

Publication date: 2008

ISBN number: 978-0-545-22364-5

Audience:  Ages 4 – 8

Summary of book: Sara Ann brings home three new kittens.  Katie, her dog, couldn’t be happier.   Unfortunately, Katie’s uncontrollable joy causes her to unintentionally scare the new kittens.  Sara Ann reprimands her and Katie is very sad.  After a series of good intentioned episodes where Katie continues to unintentionally be unwelcoming.  Katie is very upset with herself.  She spends the entire day on her doggy bed.  When she wakes up the kittens have fallen asleep on top of her.  She wants to run around and chase them, but instead she controls herself and happily lays with them on top of her.

Literary elements at work in the book: Through the words and the illustrations, Katie comes to life.  She is an amazingly sweet and joyful character.

How the book presents gender, race, culture, economic status, abilities/disabilities, age, etc.: The only human character in the book is Sara Ann, a Caucasian girl with red hair and blue eyes.

Theological Conversation Partners: Galatians 5:22-23a

22 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, and self-control.

Faith Talk Questions:

1. Which fruits (of the Spirit) does Katie have abundantly?  How do you know?
2. Which fruits (of the Spirit) does Katie need to practice?  How do you know?
3. Describe a time when you were like Katie and had good intentions that didn’t work out well.
4. Which fruits of the Spirit do you have abundantly?
5. Which fruits do you need to practice?

This review was written by Union Presbyterian Seminary student Jessie Smith.

 

 

The Story of Frog Belly Rat Bone

Name of Book:  The Story of Frog Belly Rat Bone

Author:  Timothy Basil Ering

Illustrator:  Timothy Basil Ering

Publisher:  Candlewick Press

Audience:  4 – 9 (but could be used with groups of all ages)

Summary:   “Frog Belly Rat Bone, one, two, three…you must be patient and then you will see!” is the delightful, and I do mean DELIGHTFUL, tale of a boy who buries some grey specks all over Cementland, and in so doing yields a most beautiful and bountiful garden.

Literary Elements at Work:  One of the most compelling literary elements at work in this story is color and artistry.  The tale takes place in Cementland, which is filled with junk pikes and more junk piles.  The opening scenes are colored in grey, black, beige, brown, and steel-blue.  The only bright and warm color is on “the very special boy.”  He is wearing a red-and-white-striped shirt.  The tones remain cool and dark until “the very special boy” goes in search of a treasure and finds a “strange and wonderful box.”  The box contains many jewel-toned seed packets and a note that reads, “Put my wondrous riches into the earth and enjoy.”  This instruction sends “the very special boy” off planting, watering, protecting, and waiting for something wonderful.  Timothy Ering uses a contrasting interplay of dark and cool images with bright, warm and colorful images in a back-and-forth manner to illustrate the disparity between sowing and waiting and seeing.

Scripture:  The Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13:1-9, Mark 4:1-9, and Luke 8:1-8

Theology:  God sows in the most ridiculous places—a small plot of land between a mighty Egypt and a great Assyria; a stammering Moses; an old and barren Sarah; a Canaanite prostitute; the youngest of Jesse’s sons; a murderous breathing Saul—and in so doing reaps a beautiful and bountiful kingdom!

Faith Talk Questions:

Sit down beside your child.  Go through the book slowly just looking at the pictures.  Talk about the colors and the pictures.  Ask: What does Cementland look like?  What do you think it sounds like?  smells like?  tastes like?  feels like?  Why do you think that?  Who lives in Cementland?  What makes the “very special boy” special?  Who else comes to Cementland?  What happens when the visitors come?  What are the tiny grey specks?  How do Frog Belly Rat Bone and “the very special boy” care for the tiny grey specks?  As the tiny grey specks begin to grow, what colors and pictures do you see?  What does Cementland look like now?  What do you think it sounds like now?  smells like now?  tastes like now?  feels like now?  Why do you think that?  What happens to the “very special boy,” the rabbit, the rat, the fruit fly, and Frog Belly Rat Bone when the tiny grey specks grow into fruits, vegetables and flowers?  Why do you think that happens?  Get some seeds and plant a garden in the most ridiculous of places with your child and wait and see!!

Review prepared by Union Presbyterian Seminary alumna Kim Lee

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

Name of Book:  The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

Author: Mary Jane Begin

Illustrator: Mary Jane Begin

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Audience: Ages 4-10

Summary: The sorcerer’s apprentice can’t help but wonder why she must spend her days cleaning and sweeping instead of practicing magic.  While her master is away, the apprentice takes matters into her own hands and beckons a broom to come to life and do her chores.  But the broom’s power is more than she can handle and chaos ensues.

Literary elements at work in the story: A beautifully illustrated fairy tale set “many years ago, when the moon was still young, and everyone still believed in magic.”

Perspective on gender/race/culture/economic/ability: There is no distinction of merit between genders in this story.  The apprentice is a young girl (not Mickey Mouse) and her master a male, but she herself grows up to be a sorcerer (not sorceress).  The role of apprentice and sorcerer, then, are gender neutral.

Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23

Theology: This age old tale shows that passion and hard work, tempered by patience and discipline, can help make dreams come true.

Faith Talk Questions:

1. The sorcerer was described as someone who could “guide away evil spirits and heal those that were broken or lost.”  What do you think that means?
2. The sorcerer was very generous with others.  Do you know what the word generous means?  What were some ways he was willing to give and share with others?  How did he show kindness to the mother and daughter who traveled a great distance to see him?
3. What happened when the apprentice disobeyed the sorcerer and worked magic?  When the sorcerer returned and found the mess, what did he do?
4. The apprentice learned a lesson about patience which means to be able to go the distance calmly.  How would being patient help her to become a sorcerer one day?

Review prepared by Kelly Hames, MACE, Entering Cohort Fall 2008